Micah Prayer Requests

 Dear Friends and Family,

Our best wishes from Tegucigalpa! The Micah Project has continued to flourish and thrive this past week, and we want to thank all of you for your prayers and encouragements. They really do help us and mean a lot to all of us! However, each new week brings a new challenge and each new challenge leads us before the Lord in prayer. This week, please pray with us for:

* Negotiations for Land for Micah 2.0
This week, we have a meeting with the people who own the plot of land by the Villa Linda Miller that we want to buy for Micah 2.0. Please be praying for this meeting and that this stage of the process would be smooth and quick. Also, please be praying for the lawyers as they sort out the various titles and paperwork that we need in order to move forward.

*Axel Lopez
Axel has continued to settle back down into a normal routine in Micah. However, his forward progress was checked this past week by a conflict that ended with him being sent home for the weekend. Now that he is back with us after the weekend at home, please be praying for him. Pray that he is able to learn and grow and continue to work hard at thriving in Micah.

* Jenna and Megan

 Jenna and Megan have made the decision to help out Axelito's family by taking in his younger sister and cousin and giving them a home for a few months until they have the chance to apply for admission to a new group home for girls. Please be praying for Jenna and Megan as they seek to balance their desire to help these girls with their responsibilities and duties with the Micah Project. Also please pray for calmness and peace within their household as these two girls are coming from a very poor, disorganized home and are having to learn what it means to live in a more "normal" home.

* Jobs for the young men from the Timothy House
Hector Licona and Jarvin are currently looking for jobs here in Tegucigalpa, but have not met with much success so far.  Please be praying for these young men, as it is exceedingly difficult to find steady work here. Also, please be praying for Juan Carlos Ortiz as he was recently downsized from his job at the Tegu Toys factory and has had little success in finding a new job.

* For Safety
Three members of the Micah staff were mugged in two separate incidents within the past three days while walking between their apartments and Micah. While no one was hurt, each time that someone is mugged, it takes away part of our peace of mind, not to mention that there is always the possbility that something will go wrong and someone will be injured. Please be praying for safety for us and for wisdom as we revise how we move about in our neighborhood.

* And, let us PRAISE!!!!!
- For Daniel Benitez. Daniel has continued to flourish and grow during his internship in England. Praise the Lord for giving Daniel such an amazing chance and for working in his life through it!
- For Danilo's new job. Danilo recently was hired by Proyecto Manuelito (another street kid organization here in Teigucigalpa) to run a new group home that they are opening. Praise the Lord for giving Danilo this wonderful job!!
- For Miguelito and Axelito! This week, the two "little guys" are celebrating completing a full year in Micah! Praise the Lord for bringing us these two to us and for steadily working in their lives!!

We are happy to see the Lord working in the lives of the Micah guys and in our own hearts as well this week. We want to thank all of you for your prayers for this past week and for all the prayers that we know that you will offer up on our behalf over the course of this next week. Thank you all very much and God Bless!!

Peace,
David Hawthorne (on behalf of the Micah Project)

Micah Prayer Requests

Dear Friends and Family,

 Blessing and best wishes from the Micah Project! We are happy to tell you all that we are doing well and flourishing here in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The guys have finished almost a month and a half of classes and the long grind of the school year has set in - however, they are in high spirits and putting all their efforts into their studies (for the most part - everyone has an 'off day' at times!). We pleased with the growth in the lives of the Micah guys that we have seen, yet we are continually laying them and their futures before the Lord in prayer. This week, we would like to ask you to pray with us for the following requests:

* Cristofer Cruz
Cristofer struggled a great deal in the end of 2010 and even left Micah for a few months at the end of the year. However, we were able to get in him a place in a school called El Sembrador, which is located about 5 hours from Tegucigalpa and all his old habits and friends. Those of you who have known Micah for a few years probably recognize El Sembrador as the school that Arle attends and which played such a large role in helping him turn his life around. Sadly, El Sembrador was unable to help Cristofer, as he quickly made friends that once again led him into old habits. After he was found smoking pot with his friends, he was expelled from El Sembrador and sent home. As this time, we are unable to help Cristofer, but we are still holding him in our prayers. Please be praying for this troubled young man and that he would repent and genuinely seek help in turning him life around and leaving the downward path that he is currently on.

* Axel Lopez
Axel is another young man in Micah who struggled greatly in the end of 2010. However, unlike Cristofer, he has made great strides towards rejoining the Micah Project this year - he just successfully finished a month-long probation period and moved back into Micah last week! However, please be praying for this young man, as he still has a long road left to walk. Please pray that he finds peace in Christ and that he continues to work with us in finding a path forward out of the darkness that consumed him last year.

* Maycol Meza
''Little Maycol,'' as we sometimes call him, is currently with Youth with a Mission in Guatemala. The Lord is doing a great work in his life at the moment, and we are proud of the growth that we are seeing in his life. However, we would like to ask you all to be praying for Maycol, as this is his first time being so far from home and he is continually challenged by being in a new place, far from family and friends.

* Our neighborhood/Micah 2.0
Negotiations are underway for the land for Micah 2.0! We are very excited about actually starting down the path to building a new home for our guys! However, even as we rejoice (and ask for your prayers covering this whole process), we would  like to ask you to be praying for our current neighborhood. With two more recent deaths and the dumping of a body in the dumpster by the Bells' apartment, our barrio is increasingly becoming more and more dangerous. Please be praying for safety for the Micah guys and the Micah staff (some of whom have been troubled by dreams of violence and death in recent nights) and that we would have the courage to continue to reach out to people in the midst of so much darkness.

* And, regardless of the darkness, let's PRAISE!!!
- For the great work that the Lord is doing in the life of Maycol!! We are so thrilled to see this young man learning a new passion for his faith and his Lord!!
- For the safety that we have had in Micah! Despite hearing gunshots many nights and news of new outbreaks of violence on a daily basis, we have been blessed with a supernatural protection. Praise the Lord for taking such good care of us!!
- For the lives of our older guys! Many 'First Generation' Micah guys, such as Olvin Funez, Danilo, Marvin Soto and many, many others, have continued to flourish and push ahead in pursuit of the Lord and a path forward and away from the streets and their painful beginnings. Praise the Lord for raising up such faithful and mature young men!
- For Danial Benitez! Daniel has been doing an internship in England for the past few weeks - and he is flourishing there! Let's praise the Lord for providing such a wonderful opportunity to Daniel!!

This has been a time of growing strength and maturity in the hearts of the Micah guys, even as the neighborhood and city around us grows darker and darker. We are thrilled to see the Lord working so powerfully in the lives of our guys, even as we continue to try to stand faithfully as lights against the encroaching darkness all around us. In these times, we are especially grateful to all of our faithful friends and 'family' who have stood by us and encouraged us through all the highs and lows of this ministry. Thank you all very much and God bless!!

Peace,
David Hawthorne (on behalf on the Micah Project)