Weekly Prayer Requests

Dear Friends and Family,

We have been talking as a staff recently about how important prayer is for our ministry.   Our guys suffer so much before they come into the Micah House, and in many ways, we feel that their lives were on the frontline of the spiritual battle between good and evil while living on the streets.   As they come into our home, they have to let their guard down and begin the healing process.  Often, in the battle to leave the streets behind, they lose some skirmishes and take steps backwards.

We believe that your prayers can have a miraculous impact on our young men's lives.  Specifically, pray for:

* Marvincito (15)
Marvincito left the Micah House three weeks ago, chased away by his demons that don't allow him to accept our love for him.  He is living with a friend in one of the most violent and drug-infested neighborhoods of Tegucigalpa.  Since coming off the streets in 2007, Marvin has continued to struggle with addiction, with anger, and with issues related to abandonment (his mom left when he was a little boy; he thinks she lives in Guatemala but no one has heard from her in years).

* Hector (13)
Hector has been undergoing drug withdrawls, making him very moody and irrational. He went to the streets for two days last week, consuming glue the entire time.  Early this week,  he paced the house, pleading with us to open the door so he could leave, demanding the right to return the streets, and generally seeking to satisfy his craving for glue. We love this young man with all of our hearts, and we plead with you to help in liberating him from the darkness through your prayers.

* David (13)
Our newest Micah guy has been adjusting quite well to life here! He has proven himself to be a surprisingly good soccer player and has a generous heart (he is one of the few guys who will treat Micah staff to soft drinks or a snack!). However, we do ask you to keep praying for him as he continues to detox and adjust to life in a family structure. Also, he has been diagnosed with rheumatic fever, which leaves him with rather severe joint pain and also, if left untreated, opens the door for the disease to scar his heart. Please pray that he stays with us, as it is very important that he takes his medicine regularly. Also, please pray this disease will not prevent him from living a normal Micah guy life.


* Travels
John and Rebecca Bell on the road, once again, visiting a conference in Southern California. Also, Jenna Miller will be traveling soon to visit the older Micah guys in Costa Rica. Please pray for safety, the opportunity to relax, and for safe travels for all of our hard-working missionaries!

* Oscar Izaguirre
One of our oldest guys, Oscar will be graduating from college in the U.S. in just two months and will be transitioning back to Honduras in the following weeks. Please pray for a smooth transition, the ability to quickly find a job, and for his life as he enters a new stage.

* The Technical School
The Technical school is up, running, and flourishing! Brian is teaching six separate sessions of welding three days a week, with three students in each section. Many different guys from varying backgrounds have entered the school and are seeking to change their lives even as they learn new skills. Please be praying for the success of the school, for strength and wisdom for Brian, and for the guys involved in this program. God be praised for the way in which this ministry has simply exploded in the past few weeks!

 * And PRAISES!!
-David. It is so awesome to see a young man leave the streets behind him and begin growing! Praise God for the beginning of the process for yet another young man.
- Axel. While Axel has struggled and has had his fair share of issues, he is showing a new level of maturity. His normally compassionate and tender heart seems to have grown in the past few weeks and Axel is really growing into a potential leader here in Micah. Axel has also taken David under his wing and can usually be found teaching him about Micah life, accompanying him on errands, and simply being with little David. It is amazing to watch Axel grow in front of our eyes!
- God's grace. Even as we have wept and felt frustration over the decisions of some of our guys, our God has always strengthened us in order that we can press on. He has been our foundation, even in the face of difficulty.
- Our prayer network. We are fighting a tough battle for the lives of our guys, and prayer is our strongest weapon. Many thanks to all of our supporters who are fighting alongside of us!!

- We are truly grateful to be in this fight for these guys' lives, for all those who fight with us, and for all that our God does in strengthening our hands to fight. Many thanks for all of your support, and we look forward to another week of pushing ahead in God's strength!

 Walking in Mercy,
 David Hawthorne

Thrive

Our missionary Jenna Miller has written an update about our troubled young man named Marvincito who has been on and off the streets.  You can read it at the link below; it will help you know how to pray for him!

http://www.ilovehondo.blogspot.com/2010/02/you-only-get-one-life.html

Weekly Prayer Requests

 Buenos días,

  This week will bring about another important change in the lives of all those who live in the Micah House:  we have accepted another child from the street into our family! We have spent the past year or so building a relationship with 13 year old David, and now he has made the decision to step off of the streets and onto the path towards the future. As we anticipate this change and prepare ourselves for this week, please join us in prayer. This week, we especially lift up:

* David
Please be praying for little David and his transition into Micah house.   Pray that he will be able to resist the urge to use yellow glue through the detox process.  Pray that our other guys will continue to accept and support him, especially during those times when the desire to consume creates great anxiety.   (Below:  David holds his bottle of yellow glue in the market district of Tegucigalpa).

* The school year
We are finally back the blessed routine of our school year as classes began again in last week.  Please pray that your guys are all able to dedicate themselves to classes and that they have a hunger to learn.  Also, please that we are able to teach them well and that the Lord is continually glorified in this year both inside and outside of the classroom.

* Axel and David
Ok, THIS time I am talking about "our" Axel and myself. At the end of the week, I'll be traveling with Axel and his family to Guatemala. We have an appointment with a medical center in the city of Antigua in order to have Axel's arm and his brother Julio's foot examined (Axel's arm was broken and never healed, and 10 year old Julio's foot was run over by a bus). If all goes well, they'll both have corrective surgery this coming Monday. Please pray for safe and smooth travels, for the guys' surgery, for a quick recovery, and for incident-free travel across the border.

* Strength
Please pray for refreshment, both spiritual and physical, for an extra dose of mercy and love and for the grace of God to shine in our lives as we put in long days and nights in our effort to raise these boys in a way that pleases their heavenly Father. In our weakness, He is strong!!

* And, of course, we shouldn't forget to: PRAISE!!
- For Jeremy's arrival. Jeremy Tolleson was a HNGR intern with Micah in 2003.  He worked as a soccer coach and player for several years before heeding the call to return to Honduras.  Jeremy will be living in our Leadership House (until the name change - more on that in a moment), assisting Marlon Castellanos in his duties regarding the care of the guys who live there. We are very excited about having Jeremy here!!
- For new visions. While we have been rejoicing over the new Technical School (Brian gave his first class today - clutch repair on Micah's pick-up truck), we are also moving forward in other areas. For example, we are changing the name of Leadership House to "Timothy House." We are excited about how the this new name and its implications will challenge the young men who live their lives after the model set down by the Biblical Timothy. This is truly an exciting time to be here at Micah!

Below:  Brian Wiggs (under car) teaches four street boys how to change a clutch on a manual transition.

- For the grace of God in meeting the challenges of each new day. Our God is faithful and good, and we should praise Him for it!!

As always, we give thanks to God for you and your constant support. As we push ahead into the next few years of ministry and raising up the newest generation of Micah guys, we look forward to partnering with you and in sharing the challenges of the future. God bless!!

 Peace,
 David Hawthorne

Weekly Prayer Requests

Dear Friends and Family,

We are looking ahead to starting classes in the latter part of the week and are slowly moving over to our school schedule. While the guys are adjusting to an earlier schedule, the staff is planning classes and gathering supplies. It's an exciting week of change, and one that we wish to lay at the week of our God. Please join with me in prayer for:


* A new school year
 This week marks the start of another school year here at Micah. The staff is preparing lesson plans and gearing up for the next several months of teaching while the guys are purchasing their school uniforms and handling their own preparations. Please pray that this year goes smoothly, that the guys apply themselves to their studies, and that we are able to continue showing God's love through classes and homework.

* The technical school
 These past two weeks, Brian Wiggs and a variety of helpers have been constructing the first stage of the Micah Technical School right here on the terrace of Micah house. Brian and company have been constructing a small workplace for metalworking and carpentry on our rooftop terrace , and the technical school will be open soon! Please pray in this exciting time that construction finishes smoothly, that the Lord blesses Brian's outreach to the neighborhood guys and the older street kids, and that the Lord's will is done through this new aspect of our ministry.

* Arle
After leaving Micah in December of 2008, Arle Mejia has struggled to progress and grow. However, this past week, Arle made the decision to enter El Sembrador, a technical school located in the countryside outside of Tegucigalpa. While he has struggled in the past, please pray that Arle is able to use this opportunity to its full extent and that he is able to move forward. Also, please pray that he is able to adapt to life outside of the city and that he is able to thrive in his new situation.

* The continuation of strategic planning
As we gear up for the new school year, Michael is continuing ahead with Micah's five-year strategic plan. Please continue to pray for this entire process.

* David and Axel
No, I'm not referring to "our" Axel and myself. Rather, I ask you to join us in praying for two street kids that we have recently met. Both David and Axel are young street children, and thus, prime candidates for Micah! Please pray for our relationship with them to continue to grow and deepen and that someday, they will be Micah guys!!  Below, Deno Fabbre, a firend of the Micah Project, poses with little David!

 * John Bell
John has had health issues this past week, and is currently taking some time to rest. The doctors haven't been clear as to the cause of John's issues, but they have suggested that it is an infection. Please pray that they are able to identify the cause of John's health problems and that he is able to rapidly heal.

* And Praises!!
- Safe travels. Praise God for keeping us all safe as various Micah staffers have been traveling around Honduras for a variety of reasons.
- Micah technical school update: stage one, complete!! It's an exciting blessing to see the new workshop on Micah's roof. Praise God for bringing this to pass!
-  Wonderful friends here in Honduras. From the teachers at the International School to Eduardo to Pastor Edwin, there is a wide variety of people here who support and encourage us. Thank God for bringing them into our lives.
- Wonderful friends in the U.S. and elsewhere. Many, many thanks to all of you for your prayers and messages. It SERIOUSLY helps and encourages us!


In the midst of change and turmoil, we are pushing ahead and looking to see our God glorified in and through us. It is because of His grace that we can move ahead and be His lights, and it is because of His love that we yearn to see Him glorified in the lives of our guys. We ask our God to continue to be the heart, the strength and the director of this ministry, and we look forward to humbly serving Him in this coming year!


 The Peace of God be with You,
 David Hawthorne

January 2010 Photo Album

¡Feliz año nuevo! The Micah boys were very excited about the dawning of 2010 and all that God will do in their lives in this new year! At the stroke of midnight, we set afire the traditional Año Viejo (old year) dummy (above). It looks innocent, but the dummy is full of fireworks (the fire got so hot that the chair the dummy was seated on disappeared completely!) After it exploded, the guys had fun jumping over the leftovers. Below, Axel tries not to catch his shoes on fire!

Brian and Natasha Wiggs moved to Honduras in November to become full time missionaries with the Micah Project. Brian's vision is to set up a technical school, where our boys and other youth from the streets can get a technical education. This year, he is setting up a workshop on the terrace of the Micah House, so that he can begin instruction when the Honduran school year starts in February. Above, he teaches Erick how to cut a piece of metal with an oxy acetylene torch.

With Brian's new tools, the boys were able to undertake some service projects during our school vacation period. In early January, they helped put a roof on a house for Jarvin and Darwin's mom Yolanda. Above: Wilmer cuts the wood joists for the roof. Below, Pedro nails them into place.

Our street ministry is set to grow exponentially in 2010! With the arrival of the Wiggs, our Friday night street kid soccer event has been transformed. Now, the kids not only arrive for soccer, but they also get a homemade meal from Natasha, free haircuts and foot washings, and a Christian message from one of our volunteers. We are blessed to have many teachers from the International School (a Christian bilingual school) every Friday night to participate in the ministry.

Above: Marvin Morazan (white hat) poses with some street youth after the Friday night ministry. Below: Jenna Miller and Megan Scheumann (a teacher at the International School) smile with street boy Kevin at the Friday night ministry.

I (Michael) don't get to participate in the street ministry as much as I would like, since I am usually busy at the Micah House. Even so, it is one of my favorite parts of my job, and I do it whenever I get the chance! In January, I was able to take Elisa Roberts, who is a teacher in Tegucigalpa, and her mom Martie (pictured above) down to the market district to meet the street youth. Below: I get a chance to catch up with some of the street boys. I pray that God will give us the chance to do greater things in their lives in 2010!

One of the most exciting aspects of the Micah Project is watching God use our own boys as missionaries in their country. Above, Wilmer sings about how God has transformed his life during a performance at an institution in Tegucigalpa that works with street kids. God has done an amazing new work in Wilmer's life this year! Below: Cristofer sings his own songs as well at the same event!

While on vacation from his school in Costa Rica in December and early January, Marvin Morazán spent almost every day in ministry! Below, he sings a song with Marvincito at the same event for street kids.

Every January, we send a team to Copan, on the Guatemalan border, to help a team from Houston run a medical clinic in the mountains. Here, our team visits the Mayan ruins of Copan.

The Micah Moms' ministry continues to flourish in 2010! These women come to the Micah House every afternoon to practice their sewing skills. This year, we hope to establish a microenterprise so that these ladies, who are some of the poorest in Tegucigalpa, can begin to create a better life for their children.

One nice thing about living in Tegucigalpa is the ability to go to the beach in December and January! The Wiggs took the Micah boys to the southern coast island of Amapala for a relaxing Saturday. Here, the boys climb onto a banana boat for a ride around the island!

And...no month would be complete without soccer, which we play at least three times a week. Above: Jason stops a ball at a recent soccer game. Below: Maycol does a sideline throw-in!

Thanks to all of you that have been a part of the Micah Project for the last ten years! We love you!

Weekly Prayer Requests

  Dear Friends and Family,

This week, instead of our usual prayer requests (which are frequently being posted late due to our currently hectic vacation schedule), I wish to draw your attention and prayer to Marvin Coban, one of our young men. Marvin is a brilliant and funny young man with deep emotional scars and a much darker side to his normal cheerful personality.  Over the course of this past year, he has continued to struggle with his anger issues, drug addiction, and psychological trauma.  It is difficult for us to watch Marvin struggle and to feel him pushing us away, even as we try to aid him in his "dark nights of the soul."
  Many of Marvin's struggles stem from his time on the streets and his life before the streets. Marvin grew up in a poor home here in Tegucigalpa. At some point during his childhood (no one is sure exactly when), Marvin left for the streets in order to spend time with friends and to enjoy the "fun" of the streets (and, although he has never verbalized it, it is also likely that he left to escape the poverty of his crowded, small childhood home). Additionally, few years ago, around 2005, Marvin's mother left for Guatemala. She returned to visit a few times, but eventually vanished. Her current location and status remains a mystery. As a result, Marvin's "family" here in the city is his aunt and cousins, who also shelter his younger siblings. However,  Marvin's chronic addiction to glue and street life led his aunt to bar him from her home shortly after his mother's disappearance. When we met him in 2007, Marvin was a angry, wary street child.
However, once he was in Micah, another side of Marvin has emerged.  He has shown incredible intelligence, recently graduating from the sixth grade after two years of formal schooling. His happy laugh would be frequently heard in Micah house. However, even as he has grown, he continues to battle the demons of his past.  He has frequent outbursts of violent anger against staff members and other boys in the house and still struggles with the temptation of his addictions.
We can feel the warfare over Marvin. We know that he has incredible potential and we love this young man dearly and want him to succeed. However, as Michael once put it, "It just seems that we can't love this young man into wholeness." There just seems to be walls of anger, trauma, and darkness shielding Marvin's heart from us. Therefore, we are asking you, our supporters and prayer team, to set this week aside for prayer for Marvin. Pray that his heart is softened and that he can begin to understand God's love for him.  Pray that he gains the desire to fight against his own sinful impulses. Pray that Christ moves into and establishes sovereignty over Marvin's heart. Pray that he starts thinking about his future and begins looking to realize his potential. This will be an ongoing fight for this young man's future, but we want to take the offensive and hit back at the dark powers which are seeking to consume him. We beg you to please join us in this process of reclaiming Marvin from the darkness. Thank you all very much.

Lord Have Mercy,
David Hawthorne

Weekly Prayer Requests

 Dear Friends and Family,

My apologies for running late for this week's prayer requests! We here at Micah are doing well, pushing ahead with strategic planning, and buckling down for the "home stretch" of school vacation. As always, we are looking to the Lord to provide us with wisdom, strength, and compassion to meet the challenges of this coming week. As we bow ourselves before our almighty God, please join us in praying for:

* Micah's five-year strategic plan
Now that the holidays and their insanity are behind us, we are now looking forward to the future! Please be praying for wisdom for the Micah staff, and for Michael especially, as we start a period of intensive planning for and practical evaluation of the next few years.

* Hannah Rogers
Hannah, a young lady from the Wiggs' church, has safely arrived and is planning to spend a few months with the the Wiggs family, working and learning. Please pray that she is able to adjust quickly to life in Honduras and that the Lord uses this time in her life for personal growth.

* Safe travels and good school years for the older Micah guys
It has been our delight and blessing to have our older, college-aged guys back with us over Christmas and New Year's Eve. As they travel back to their respective colleges and universities, please pray for safety for them. Also, please keep them in your prayers as they start another semester of learning, stress, and personal growth. Please especially keep Oscar Amaya in your prayers as he will be taking the Testing of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam in the next few days and needs to get a score of 95 or higher in order to keep pursuing his dream of attending Wheaton College. We are excited to see where the Lord takes the lives of these older guys in this coming year!


* The last month of "summer" vacation
We follow the Honduran school calendar, which means that our guys have classes from Febuary through November and use the winter months as vacation time. This means that, right now, we are on vacation. While the guys enjoy being able to sleep in and not have class, it also means that they have a lot more free time that needs filling. Also, their normal routine disappears, throwing their lives into scheduling chaos. As a result, our hands tend to be a lot fuller, trying to find activities, settling squabbles, and working later hours while the guys stay up late. Please pray for sanity, wisdom, energy, and for a continuing spirit of love from us. Also, please pray that the guys use their free time productively and avoid the temptation to bother each other out of boredom.

* The coming year.
We are embarking on another year of ministry! It's exciting to be part of Micah's work ten years after it's founding and as we look to expanding our ministry in several exciting ways. Please pray that the Lord continues to bless our ministry and that the Holy Spirit continues to work in the hearts of our guys.

* And, to give praise to our awesome God!!
- For the opportunity for the older Micah to visit us. We are always excited to see how the Lord has been working in their hearts! We also always welcome the opportunity for them to share with our younger guys!
- For an enjoyable and problem-free time spent celebrating the holidays. When we have over fifty people celebrating both Christmas and New Year's with us, things can get a little hectic! Praise God that everything went well and that we all had fun!!
- That the Wiggs' first weekend covering the Micah house went smoothly. With a packed weekend, including a road trip to the Southern coast, there were a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong. However, everything went well and the Wiggs successfully handled all challenges! Praise God!!
- Jonathan Rogers' visit and Hannah's safe arrival. It is always a blessing to meet new friends and the Wiggs are very grateful for Hannah's help in their budding ministry.

We cannot express the debt that we owe to all of you for the prayer and other support that you have given us over the past ten years. Thank you, each and every one of you, and please continue to walk this sometimes difficult, sometimes exhilarating path with us!

  Peace,
  David Hawthorne