August 2012 Greetings from Wisconsin.

Things were quiet there on 1091 Bolton Lane in Biloxi, MS just about 7 years ago in the last part of August 2005. Bob's mom who had been living with us had passed away the February before. Rosanne and Jeff and children had already left the town of Ocean Springs, MS to live and work in Honduras. Shortly after that, on August 29, 2005, Katrina paid us a visit and destroyed our house. With Bob's mom gone and Rosanne and family gone and then our house gone, we were praying about our next step. We had some time to think about that because after the storm we spent almost a year living in a trailer on Jeff and Rosanne's property in Ocean Springs. Much of that time was spent cleaning things that Katrina messed up. As we were praying, this is what we came up with... We wanted to live near some of my family in the North and so we packed the broken, rusty pieces that Katrina had left and headed in that direction..North would be Madison, Wisconsin. That was nearer to son, Bobby and 3 sisters. That was where we could settle. But our plans did not only include leaving the South and its yearly reminder of oncoming Hurricanes. It also included a change in our direction for serving the Lord. During the years we lived in Biloxi, Bob and I were on the Cornerstone Foundation Board and were very much a part of planning for the future hospital in Honduras. It couldn't have come as a surprise to Jeff and Rosanne when we expressed our desire to live and work in Honduras with them and with the churches of the area. We thought that we could live in Wisconsin half of the year and live the other half in Honduras helping train the local pastors and helping them become bivocational. They had a great need to augment their meager incomes from the small churches they pastored. We were open to whatever the Lord might show us to do. So, we found and bought our condo in Madison and Bob worked hard fixing it up just the way we Loma de Luz Hospital wanted it. His study was his particular joy because most of his books were spared destruction and he had the bookshelves from Italy ready to receive them. We enjoyed that 6 months fixing up the house knowing that we would be glad to go back to it after being in Honduras for 6 months. That was how we planned our future....6 months (December to May) in Honduras and 6 months (June to November) in Wisconsin. We would live in Honduras during the winter and in Wisconsin during the summer. We thought that was good planning but God had something else in mind. In November of 2007, we were approved by CornerStone International and commissioned for the work in Honduras by the Monona Oaks church in Madison, WI. In December, 2007 we left Madison with high hopes for the future. Just about 3 weeks after our arrival in Honduras, Bob had a heart attack and slipped into a coma. The probable diagnosis was a pulmonary embolism. He didn't ever recover from his coma, but 4 years later, he passed into the presence of the Lord on January 19th of 2012.

So, what about how we felt led to go to Honduras to work there as missionaries? What happened to our plans when we got to Honduras? For one thing, 6 months here and 6 months there was out of the question because we soon found out that "foreigners" can stay only 3 months at a time. Because of Bob's condition, he was exonerated from leaving the country but I had to leave Honduras every 3 months. That seemed to fit into plans because it would have been hard to keep up the condo without coming back regularly to care for things and to pay the bills. So much for helping the pastors in the area since I was the one left. What could I do? In all our 58 years together Bob was the spokesperson. He was the preacher. He was the teacher and I was glad to let him have that responsibility. I soon found out that rolling Bob around in a wheelchair would attract much attention as would the offer to listen to the reading of His Word (all in Spanish). Many came, many listened, many shared their burdens and some even came to trust the Lord as Savior. Was all of our planning a mistake? At 80 years of age, would it have been better to stay in our little condo? Would Bob have had that pulmonary embolism while living in the States? Did we lose direction somehow? Someday we will have to ask the Lord about that. In the meantime, I think the Lord made us willing to go, so we went, and then each of us, in our own way, actually was used to honor Him. Someday I will have all the answers, but in the meantime, I expect to return to Honduras the early part of October. As I am in Wisconsin now, thoughts of Honduras come to mind often and I wonder how things are. I miss my class of 7 young people who come to learn English. Along the way, teaching God's word is added to the teaching of English. We encourage the learning of English so that children will grow up having that advantage when they look for employment. While here in Wisconsin, I pray daily for the hospital. I can always come up with things to pray about, but a few days ago I asked Rosanne and Jeff what they considered the greatest needs at this time. Rosanne gave me this list and said that overall they were doing well and they had a pretty cool job! 1. 2. Elementary teachers for the years beginning Feb. 2013 and Feb. 2014 Nurses, primary care doctors and specialty doctors in urology and colorectal surgery

3. Guidance and protection from violence There are problems in the cities with gangs and drug trafficking 4. Attrition of missionary staff... 20 missionaries (including kids) in last 6 months Jeff added this: I would also say that we have faced several administrative and political challenges in the past 6 months which could have derailed the whole work. But they didn't. God saw us through. With hard work and persistence and His favor, He made the work better than it was before the challenges. "Therefore let us run with patience the race which is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith." Hebrews 12: 1,2 Thank you for praying. The final word comes from the Lord and is found in Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails" Praise the Lord!

Zina Lillard
Project Discipleship bobzina@gmail.com