Feelings of Worthlessness

Many of you know very well the story of Rubén. And many of you also know that a young woman named Rosalina recently became our second patient guest to receive the benefits of staying at La Casa de Rubén. If you are not familiar with these stories please scroll down and read the two previous blog posts and then come back to this one.

One of the things that disabled people often suffer with is boredom and feelings of worthlessness, of having no purpose in life. Imagine how great the struggle was for Rubén while spending 2 1/2 years laying in a bed with nothing to do except to look out a small window, or maybe listen to the radio occasionally.

Much of this changed for him simply by coming to La Casa de Rubén and going to physical therapy 2-3 times per week. As he gained strength, and with the help of the staff, he quickly began to be able to stay in his wheelchair more and more. Now bedtime is the only time he is not in his wheelchair. Some of the time in his wheelchair is spent reading now that he has enough strength and movement to hold down a book and turn the pages.

But even with this the feelings of boredom and worthlessness persist. Thankfully we have a God who cares.

Let me introduce you to a young man named Aguinaldo. Before the idea came to us for La Casa de Rubén we hired Aguinaldo to do some electrical work for us in La Campa. It was easy to get to know and like him because he is such a humble, gentle young man. He also happens to be an excellent electrician.

Shortly after we moved into La Casa de Rubén we needed some electrical work done so Aguinaldo was called upon again. He came and did excellent work. But he also took time to begin building a personal relationship with Rubén. One day Aguinaldo pulled me off to the side and told me that he had an idea that would help Rubén and asked permission to pursue it. Of course, I said yes, go for it!

Because God cares He had touched Aguinaldo’s heart to find something for Rubén to do that fit his interests and could be done taking into account his physical limitations. Yesterday Aguinaldo’s idea became much more clear when he presented a small, basic CNC machine that he built using materials he had in his shop and small electronic boards and processing chips that he purchased.

The machine is connected to and operated by a computer. Currently the machine only has the capability to draw images from the computer onto paper. But even this opens up opportunities for Rubén to be able to spend his time doing something that makes him feel productive. There is great dignity in feeling and being productive.

Yesterday we spent a lot of time talking and dreaming at La Casa de Rubén of the future possibilities there are for Rubén using a computer, this machine, and his creative desires to produce all sorts of things that he can sell to support himself, and perhaps someday, his own family.

Rosalina came to the house with her sewing skills and while she is there she continues to produce beautiful hand stitched cloths of various sizes. These cloths can be used as table cloths or decorative hanging tapestries. They typically serve a more practical purpose here in Honduras as they are often used as tortilla warmers. You’ll be hearing and seeing more about Rosalina’s cloths very soon.

We are so grateful to God for how He works by bringing people together in ways that can’t be predicted. Who knew a contract electrician would be the one God chose to use to open up a whole new world of value and dignity to people like Rubén.

We are also grateful that the Lord has brought you into our lives. Thank you all for your prayers and support of FHD Missions Honduras and La Casa de Rubén. We can’t do this without you.

Expanding Our Impact-Meet Rosalina

Shortly after opening La Casa De Rubén last April, during a meeting with community leaders we were having at the house, we heard about a young woman named Rosalina. The person telling us about her said that his organization had helped her several years ago while she was still a student in school. While many years had passed and he lost track of her she had made a lasting impression on him. He couldn’t remember exactly where she lived, only that she was in a smaller community located somewhere near Caiquin.

Since we work with Pastor Jorge in that area I called him. He did not know Rosalina personally so we started to investigate. We learned the name of her community so we drove there and started asking around. It took a few roadside conversations but we finally found Rosalina.

We had to park on the side of the road and take a walk down a narrow, uneven trail, that was mostly dirt but with some rocks scattered here and there, to get to the modest home where she lived with her mom. But they weren’t alone as there were also some other little children, dogs and chickens running around. After finding her community, experiencing the trail to her house and seeing Rosalina in her wheelchair it became more clear why she was not getting the physical therapy she obviously needed.

When we met her she was sitting in her wheelchair outside working on an embroidery project. It was amazing to see the detailed work she was doing with her delicate hands despite the pain and the way they had become deformed due to the crippling arthritis. She told us that she sews mostly to keep her mind busy and pass the time, but also to have something to sell so that she can earn some money to live.

Sadly we were unable to bring anyone else into the house at that time but we promised that as soon as we were that we would contact her. By mid December we knew that we would be ready to bring others into the house in early 2020. The house was never intended to only be about one person but it took us a while to get everything organized and working well enough to be able to care properly for more people. The closer we got to being ready the more we talked and prayed about Rosalina.

For the followers of God there are no such things as coincidences.

At that same time as we were talking and praying about Rosalina we received a call from a doctor at the hospital in Gracias. The doctor wanted to know if Rosalina could come and stay at the house. At the time of the call Rosalina was in the hospital for the second time in just a few months being treated for a respiratory infection that was bordering on pneumonia.

Her doctor told us that the arthritis had so affected her posture that her chest cavity was compressed to the point that she could no longer breathe adequately. However, he also said that with physical therapy her posture would improve enough to significantly improve her breathing.

Before today it had been six years since Rosalina’s last therapy session at CRILE. However, because of La Casa de Rubén she will be able to stay in Gracias to get the care that she has gone without for so long. One of Rosalina’s sisters is staying at the house with her. Her sister will help care for her while staying at the house as preparation to care for her better when they return to their home near Caiquin.

During her session today at CRILE Rosalina began to learn and practice new breathing exercises. She also began to experience just how difficult the physical therapy is going to be because during the consultation and evaluation her limbs were moved in ways they have not moved in over six years. Despite the physical pain we believe that she began to experience the love of God in a new and practical way today.

So please pray for Rosalina as you join us in welcoming her to La Casa De Rubén!

Please contact us if you would like to learn more about how you can be a part of helping Rosalina and others like her.

You can make a one-time or monthly on-line donation here to support La Casa De Rubén. With your generous donations we can continue to improve lives for people like Rubén and Rosalina.

Please text FHDTeam to 66599 to subscribe and receive weekly text updates about the work that is being done by FHD Honduras through La Casa De Rubén and our other programs and ministries.

Please consider joining us in prayer daily by setting an alarm on your phone for 12:11 p.m. daily. But why 12:11?

“I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.”-Psalm 121:1-2

2019 Year End Update

2019 has been an incredible year for Jean and me personally, for the ministry God has entrusted us with in Honduras and for FHD Missions Honduras. Neither of these exist without you.

One year ago we were looking at, for the first time, photos of the house that has become La Casa De Rubén. We did not know how the foundation was going to be able to afford the rent but we thought it was the right house.

It took a little while to finalize the lease and get the utilities established. The house would be of no use without the proper staff so we began to search for the people who would make La Casa De Rubén work day to day. We did not know how the foundation was going to be able to afford to pay salaries but we thought that it was the right time.

In March 2019 we went to visit Rubén at his home in Mescalio to see how he was doing. He was doing relatively well physically, meaning he was infection and fever free, and that his skin ulcers were continuing to heal slowly. But he was not doing so well in other ways (please read the year end letter below for the details). We did not know how the foundation would be able to sustain La Casa de Rubén but, after this visit, we knew it was the right time.

Then the big day came, April 26th, the grand opening of La Casa de Rubén, and the moving in of Rubén and his younger sister Marlen.

So much has changed for them since then. Marlen is growing physically, emotionally and spiritually. As a result of hard work she has passed 7th grade and will be going on to 8th grade this coming February. Rubén went from wanting to give up ten months ago to sitting upright in his wheelchair without restraints, feeding himself, and even moving his wheelchair by himself. But more importantly he has new hope.

We have grown through all of this too as God, through so many of you, has proven himself to be faithful to provide. There have been times when we have not known how the medicines, supplies and food were going to be purchased. There have been times that we have wondered where the next payroll and rent payments were coming from. But God. He has been faithful. And He has done it through faithful and generous people like you.

There is so much more that could be said. We have shared much more in presentations and around tables with so many of you over the last few weeks and we are grateful for the time to do so.

As we began with, none of this happens without your prayers and financial donations. We did our first traditional mailing just a few days ago. Included below is the letter that was mailed in case you hadn’t received one. Please take a few moments to read it, and if you are touched to give, we thank you in advance.

Monthly support for the operating expenses is very much needed in order to offer these services to more people beginning in January 2020. We also have a large capital need as the foundation has the opportunity to purchase the house currently being rented. You can read more about all of this below.

Monthly or one-time support can be made here. If you would prefer to write and mail a check please make it out to FHD Missions and mail it to 2850 Jericho Road, LaGrange, KY 40031

If we receive the check by 11:59 December 31st it will be a tax deductible donation for the 2019 tax year. If we receive your donation later it will be tax deductible on your 2020 tax return.

100% of your donations for La Casa De Rubén go to operate the house. Jean and I receive nothing personally from these donations. If you would like to donate to support us and our other ministries you can do so here. These deductions are also tax deductible.

Here is our year end fundraising letter:

When we met Rubén in 2017 he was 20 years old, paralyzed from the chest down due to a spinal injury, confined to his bed in a remote mountain community with no hope of anything ever changing. Thanks to people like you, things are completely different for Rubén now.

Rubén is still paralyzed. Short of a miracle it is unlikely that he will walk again or regain full use of his hands and fingers. However, he is no longer living mostly alone in an isolated community. He is no longer spending nearly all day, every day, in bed.

Because of the amount of time Rubén spent like this, his body deteriorated significantly as 2017 and 2018 passed. By March of 2019, for the first time, Rubén told us that he was tired of being a burden to everyone and that he was ready to give up. Prior to this, despite the struggles with paralysis, large and deep skin ulcers, fevers and infections, he had always been upbeat with a big smile.

From this came the idea of opening a place where Rubén, and others like him from isolated communities, could come and live temporarily to be near the physical therapy center to receive the care they need.

This place is called La Casa De Rubén. It is the first and only one like it in all of western Honduras.

When Dora, Rubén’s physical therapist, saw him for the first time in over 2 years, she left his room and cried because she had never seen anyone decline to this point. Rubén’s family brought him to the physical therapy center right after the injury and that was the first time Dora met him. Because of the distance, difficult travel and economic limitations, Rubén, like so many others, never came back.

But now Rubén is receiving physical therapy three times per week.  At La Casa De Rubén he is being cared for by nurse assistants who help him with his exercises. Rubén has been eating healthy meals and is well on his way to regaining the 40 pounds he had lost.

With the gaining of muscle tissue he now sits upright in his wheelchair without restraints, feeds himself, helps with small chores like sorting beans, and uses his hands and fingers as they are to read. He even moves his wheelchair by himself now!

But more significantly, Rubén has new hope. He is realizing that he has value and purpose despite his limitations. There are approximately 60 other people in any given month living in isolated communities with no hope of receiving the care they need to heal. Just like Rubén, they need La Casa De Rubén. And this is where you come in.

Your support makes it possible for Rubén and others to receive treatment they need to heal, finding value and purpose in the process. Please make a gift today. Your one-time gift of any amount, or a monthly gift from $25 to $100 or more, will fund the La Casa De Rubén monthly operating budget.

You can also make a one-time gift to our capital campaign to raise $155,000 needed to purchase the house and land we are currently renting for La Casa De Rubén.

No gift is too small, all gifts are tax deductible, and 100% will be used for La Casa De Rubén. If we receive your check or on-line donation by 11:59 p.m. December 31st it will be tax deductible for the 2019 tax year. So please mail a check in the enclosed envelope, give on-line at fhdhonduras.org, or call any one of our board members for more information:

Rick Lucas: 502-643-4461

Dennis Mangum: 502-648-4257

Kathy David: 404-791-7278

Charles Hodnett: 404-788-2804

With much gratitude,

Greg & Jean Hines

Founders, FHD Missions Honduras

P.S. We believe education changes lives, families, communities and even nations. Time prohibits us from telling you about the progress of Rubén’s thirteen year old sister who also lives at La Casa De Rubén. She has returned to school to continue her education, an impossibility where she lived before. Value and purpose are taking root in her life as a result of the education and care that she is receiving. You can make a difference by sponsoring one of our outstanding high school students enabling them to go to college.