Thank you to all of you for your support and encouragement to the DeMotte work team during the WWCS Honduras worktrip.

Marv and I [Bob G.] left Catacamas on Monday afternoon about 3 hours after his fall. The best I know so far is that there was a loose piece of roof sheeting that shifted slightly under Marv’s foot which resulted in his fall through the roof from about 12 feet above the concrete classroom floor. When he fell, his upper body went first and he broke his fall with his hands. This resulted in several bones in each wrist being broken; the doctor described these fractures as “the normal kind of fractures when you break your wrist.” He will require surgery to make sure the bones are aligned as exactly as possible by the joint to help avoid any future complications of arthritus. Marv also struck his head on something, but we really don’t know what. He is skinned up on the right side of his face, with stitches on a good cut above his eyebrow. Whatever he struck must have pushed his jaw to the left enough to cause the left side of his jaw to fracture. This will also require surgery. The jaw surgery took place on Friday (Feb. 3) and went well according to Ruth. Marv is experiencing pain in the jaw as well as pain and discomfort from the wires and rubber bands in his mouth. Surgery is planned on Monday (Feb. 5) for Marv’s 2 wrists.

When Marv fell God was there! And God was clearly holding Marv in his hands when he fell because, to have a person fall from 12 feet up down to a concrete floor with his upper body first, it is truly a miracle that far more serious injuries didn’t occur. Marv has no leg injuries, no abdominal injuries, no chest injuries, no back injuries, and no neck injuries! And we saw so many other examples of God’s intervention in this situation too! A good, well equipped clinic with an English speaking doctor and American nurse was 6 blocks away (a mission outreach clinic); an orthopedic surgeon from Holland, Michigan was on the other work team and went to the clinic to supervise Marv’s treatment and he set the splints on Marv’s wrists; the work team had 2 supplies of Vicodin along which Marv appreciated immensly; Continental Airlines had several open seats and we were able to fly Marv and I home a day earlier; we were able to meet up with Jorge Gomez, President of the Honduran Bible Society, who took us the last hour of the trip back to Tegucigalpa, took us to our hotel, and then picked us up the next morning for the airport; the night went well for Marv and he got a lot of rest; the airline flights both went very well; and Marv was checked over last Tuesday night at St. Anthony’s Hospital on our way home and a precautionary CAT scan showed no other difficulties.

Yes, we are all hurting because Marv is hurting and will continue to hurt for awhile; but if you step back and look at the Lord’s intervention in this situation. you realize what a LOVING and CARING God we have! He held Marv in His hand during the fall, during his treatment, and during the last two days of travel; and He will continue to hold him during the next weeks of treatment and healing. Marv and I had that discussion several times over the 2 days we traveled together, and Marv fully appreciates how good God was to him!

I would request 3 items for each of you to pray about:

1. Pray for Marv and Ruth and the doctors as they all work through his care, and pray for Marv and Ruth to have patience during healing process to be able to deal with the pain and extreme inconvenience of jaw problems, eating difficulties and two rather unusable hands for a number of weeks.

2. Pray for the work team members as they deal with their emotions about an injury to a close friend and fellow worker.

3. Pray for the teachers, parents, pastors, and fellow Honduran workers; they are hurting because it is very hard for them to see a U.S volunteer coming down to help them build their school for their children, and then see him injured like this.

Thanks again for your support, encouragement and prayers. God is clearly a Mighty God, but He is also a LOVING and CARING God!

Serving Him,

The DeMotte Work Team

This morning, while working on the roof, Marv fell when he slipped on a loose roof panel. He fell headfirst to the floor below, first striking a metal water bucket before landing on the cement floor. He sustained 2 broken wrists and a broken jaw. He was taken to a medical clinic a few blocks away where he received x-rays. A doctor from the Michigan team accompanied him to the hospital and worked with the staff there. His wrists were put in splints, and a small cut over his right eye was stitched. He was given pain medication and by the time he left the clinic, he walked out to the van and said his wrists were not hurting. The decision was made to have him return home a day early for further medical attention. John Pippel drove Bob and Marv to Tegucigalpa this afternoon and tomorrow they will fly back to Indiana.

The rest of the team will continue their work tomorrow and fly back on Wednesday as planned.

Please keep Marv and Ruth in your prayers as well as the rest of the team. We sincerely believe that the bucket broke his fall enough to prevent more serious injury.

When Marv and Bob left the school grounds to head to the clinic, the DeMotte team, the Michigan team, and all the local workers gathered for a time of prayer. We all held hands and prayers were lifted up in English and Spanish. We were able to sense God’s Spirit among us and when we conveyed this to Marv at the clinic, he said he felt at peace as well.

Continue to pray for us as we work one more day on the roof and also for the Michigan team as they will continue through the end of the week working on the roof panels as well.

The DeMotte Work Team

On January 16 (about 1:00 AM!) we board our church bus and head for O’Hare Airport to fly to Houston, and then to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The flight is followed by a 4 hour drive in a rented van and pickup truck to Catacamas, Honduras where we will be part of a 3 team effort to rebuild the Escuela Luz Y Verdad (translated: Light and Truth Christian School). The school was built with a clay tile roof supported by wood trusses and stringers; however the roof is badly deteriorating and needs to be totally rebuilt, so we will be fabricating and installing a welded steel roof structure with Jondulite sheeting for the roofing (Jondulite is a corregated cement board material). The school building is 222 feet long and 29 feet wide, consisting of 10 rooms and 2 washrooms, serving 100 to 150 students at present.

The parents and teachers removed the thousands of clay tiles and the old wooden structure in December. The first team (from Ontario, Canada) is now forming and pouring a concrete bond beam around the top of the wall of the entire structure to strengthen the building and give us a good solid wall on which to build the new roof. We (the second team) hope to start work on Jan. 17 and have the entire roof completed by Jan. 30, the Lord willing. The third team (from Holland, MI) will overlap us a few days and will do electical wiring, windows, doors, painting, etc. so the school can reopen by February 12.

This is a big project and we ask for your prayers for safey and health for all the workers. Please remember, this project is not for our glory; all the glory goes to our God who gave us, and you, the privilage to participate each in our own way to help grow the Lord’s Kingdom a little bit more in this small Central American country, Honduras.

We hope to update this site each day so you can share the joy we will be experiencing with the progress being made on the project. Here is a link to our photo albums of the trip on the First CRC website!

The DeMotte Work Team