We have been praying that God would provide us a new vehicle as our current vehicle is breaking down a lot. The money we have spent on repairs could easily have paid for 1/2 to all of the monthly payments. Having a new vehicle will also enable Toby to spend more time on ministry instead of searching for parts, and I can spend less time praying that he can make it somewhere safely! Safety is a big concern for us here in San Pedro Sula, which is known as the murder capital of the world. So that makes having a working vehicle that much more important.

Currently, the best vehicle we have found for our roads is available at a huge discount until December 24th. Basically, the manufacturer is taking $20,000 off the price. We just need to come up with a down payment of $7,000. If each of our supporting churches could contribute $100 and 100 people could send $50 each we could purchase this new vehicle this month. It would be an incredible blessing to the mission and our family!

Please give prayerful consideration to this request. If you can help, please send your check to Merendon Mountain Mission 1435 Van Winkle Joplin, MO 64801. Whether you can send something or not, please be in prayer about this important need.

● Toby is currently teaching his students on the books of Acts and Matthew. He takes his students through a book touching lightly on variety of subjects and the overall theme of the book. In a later study, he takes the students more deeply into the book with a more challenging study. Toby continues to work on developing their thinking and reasoning skills.

Over the next two months, before we return to the states for furlough, Toby will also be teaching the students on evangelism. He has been giving the students two or

Toby’s students and Cassandra three questions each week to ask non-Christians. The answers that they receive really at the water park shock them. Toby uses the questions and the answers they received to show the stu-

dents where and how to find the truth in the Bible. When this part of their training is done each student will be paired with a minister in a local church to visit people in the mountain and evangel- ize. Please pray that they would become very effective in evangelism.

● Toby had a great time taking 8 of his students, along with Cassandra and Jonathan, to Zizima water park the last week in March. Zizima water park is located in San Pedro Sula. It is very clean and safe for chil- dren and families. Some of these students work and/or attend school while attending Toby’s class. They come from very poor homes and do not have much to expand their minds. Toby is always looking for new things to stretch their thinking beyond their mountain homes. The water park did that and more.

The students had never experienced anything like a water park. At first the huge slides were intimidat- ing. Cassandra and Jonathan showed them the slides were safe and how much fun they were. It did not take long for the students to became enthusiastic and join in. As you can see in the picture above, there was not a dry one among them. Everyone had an incredible time!

San Antonio Church Celebrates 10 Years

The San Antonio church celebrated its 10th anniversary in March. The church gathered together for a great time praising God for all that He has done. The people en- joyed time visiting, looking at pictures of the last 10 years and sharing a meal. Everyone had a wonderful time.

The church also used this time to introduce and welcome Johana to the mountain. Jphana is from El Salvador and recently married one of our ministers. It is a blessing for

At the Clinic

Amy has seen several cases of very high blood pressure at the clinic in the past several weeks. After consulting various doctors, she has added another anti- hypertensive medication to dispense in hopes to bring the blood pressures down. She will continue to do follow up with the patients to see if the new medication is helping.

With the many deaths in the past month in the mountain churches, Amy has also been busy working with those who are grieving and depressed.

Toby and Amy hired a carpenter to make a new bed for Jonathan as he had out- grown his toddler bed. While working on the bed, the carpenter cut off almost all of his index finger and part of his thumb. The Hills did not know about the accident for a week. A bad infection had set in. Amy was able to help the carpenter get with a surgeon to work on his hand. The surgeon had to re- move his index finger, but he still has his thumb. The infection is cleared up and the carpenter is recovering.

Patients waiting to be seen at clinic

Johana

us to see married couples in leadership that can be an example to the church.

Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)Leonel’s Work

Leonel has been spending a lot of time working with Marvin Saul’s family. Marvin is the little boy that was malnourished that we are helping to feed. Leonel has taken sev- eral trips to visit the family. Because there are no roads to the village, the trip takes 3 hours each way, most of it walking.

Leonel counsels the immediate family and talks with the extended family about the issues they are dealing with and shares the love of God with them. He has talked with the father several times trying to work through why he is abusing his wife and children and how the father can change his life.

Marvin Saul

Marvin continues to gain weight and is looking healthy. We pray that the work Leonel is doing with the family will lead them to Jesus and a safer home environment.

Honduran Customs

During the month of March there were several deaths in the churches in the mountains. Dona Vicenta was one person that we knew very well. Dona had been taken to the hospital several times throughout the years due to congestive heart failure. This time she did not make it to the hospital.

In Honduras when someone dies, the body must be buried within 24 hours, unless you have the money to embalm. The cost of embalming is not something that the mountain people can afford. Dona was brought to our house for Amy to pronounce her dead.

Having an all-night wake is very important to the people in the mountain. Dona’s wake was called within 30 minutes of her dying. It was interesting to help the families from the pronouncement of death to the burial. The men Toby has trained took charge of all the details. They arranged for her to be carried to the church for her wake, brought family members from the city and the mountain to the wake, prepared the grave site, and counseled the grieving family. They continue to work with the family through the grieving process.

It is a joy that we can see the men Toby has worked with step up to take the lead with their families and to continue to work to help their friends and family through difficult times.

Please send support to:

Merendon Mountain Mission

1435 Van Winkle Joplin, MO 64801

W ebsite: www . Merendon. net

Email: TobAmyHill@aol.com

Many thanks for your continued support and prayers!

Our Prayer Requests

*Leonel would obtain a visa to come to the US this summer. *Toby’s students would understand their Bible studies and be able to evangelize effectively. *That the students would boldly speak the truth in love. *Amy’s new residency would be completed.

*More support to be raised this summer. *God would open doors to visit new churches this summer who we can share the ministry. *All the details for furlough this summer would come together. *Our safety in Honduras. *Money for Sunday school material. *The San Antonio church wants to build a new church that has easier access.

Praises

*Amy received a temporary residency card until November 1. *Amy received her Honduran driver’s license. *Leonel received his Honduran passport. *A wonderful celebration of the San Antonio church 10th anni- versary.

*Don Antonio’s hand was quickly repaired after accident. *Sarah’s Spanish is improving. *Several people in the San Antonio church are planning on getting married.

*Toby has two new students.

Cassandra, Sarah and Jonathan
Jonathan turned 6 years old on December 29th and is in kindergarten. Jonathan loves to climb on anything, no matter what it is. He is very imaginative and can think of all sorts of situations for his men as they defeat the evil people climbing buildings or go- ing through obstacle courses. One of his favorite things to do is to wrestle with his daddy or cousin Ky. He enjoys the outdoors whether it is going to the soccer field or fixing our water line. His favorite game to play with the Hondurans is tag. Coco and Chocolate are his two Chocolate Labrador Retrievers.
Sarah is 7 years old and in 2nd grade. Anything that is feminine delights Sarah. Dressing up, putting on make-up, doing her nails and going shopping are some of her favor- ite things. With being girly, she loves butterflies, but she also likes to climb trees and ride her bike. Sarah absolutely adores baby animals. She has a bunny and a Cocker Spaniel. We currently have 7 puppies with which she loves to play.
Cassandra turned 11 years old on January 13th and is in 5th grade. She is turning into a beautiful young lady. Cassandra loves anything that is artistic whether making crafts or making up skits for her friends, siblings and herself to perform, which she does an excellent job with. Cassandra has made several pen pal friends. She enjoys keeping in touch with them. She just got her own email account which helps her keep in contact with her friends in the US. Cassandra has a bunny.
All of the kids love to play in water whether in the bathtub, at the pool or waterpark, or the beach. Daddy occasionally takes the kids hiking in the mountain which they all greatly enjoy. They also enjoy watching movies. All the kids are doing well in school. We are incredibly blessed with loving, affectionate, and wonderful kids.
Shipments and Financial Needs
Shipments: The mission will no longer be able to accept packages sent to us here in Honduras. Because of Honduran law, we are required to pay $2 per pound of the shipments, as well as a tax on the content. This tax could be up to 37%. We greatly appreciate the generosity and kindness of our supporters, but the cost to the mission is becoming too great.
We have recently received permission to have items sent from the U.S. to Honduras on a container with a fellow missionary. We have been able to have a shipment sent to us of things that we got on furlough but were not able to bring home in our luggage. We hope to only use this generosity once or twice a year, if at all.
Financial Needs: Although we cannot accept shipments, there are still several things that the mission is in need of. If you can help with any of these items, please send a check to Linda Weaver, 3705 Johnson Dr., Joplin, MO 64801. Your gifts are appreciated!
Battery for white SUV Gate Generator for office Books for Toby’s students Repairs on guest to make room for classes and to accommodate guests Fans
Ceramic tile for church floor Chairs for church
Our Prayer Requests
* Safety and protection. * Amy’s residency. * Wife for Leonel. * Degenerated disc in Toby’s back. * Families that are suffering from abuse. * Obtaining property for the church.
* Ministers
Praises
* Janet Hudson visiting to help with our children for 6 weeks. * The four couples that were recently married. * Church was painted and ceiling tiles up.
* Mr. and Mrs. Harry Hermann for the gift of chairs. * Garden City Church for providing food for the wedding. * Cornerstone Church for providing funds for a table and chairs for Toby’s students. * Port Orange Church and Forestdale Church for their Christmas gifts to our family. * Port Orange Church for providing additional funds for the clinic. * Various members of Marvin Saul’s family want to be baptized.
Please send support to:
Merendon Mountain Mission I/C Linda Weaver
3705 Johnson Drive Joplin, MO 64801
Website: www.Merendon.net
Email: TobAmyHill@aol.com
Many thanks for your continued support and prayers!

Jonathan turned 6 on December 29. He had a great time celebrating his birthday at Pizza Hut where there is a large play area that the kids really enjoy. Unfortunately, the day after his birthday he fell and broke his arm. He is healing quickly and had his cast removed on January 24.
Jonathan’s Birthday cake
Cassandra’s new birthday dress
• Amy has received a copy of her residency, which is a big praise. She submitted her copy to immigration so it could be sent to the capital to be in- scribed. The San Pedro Sula Immigration Department said that she should have the inscribed card back in a month. This should be the last step in com- pleting Amy’s residency.
• Amy’s mother bought the grandchildren a trampoline for Christmas. It has been great for building relationships. The people here in the mountain, even the adults, are hav- ing an awesome time playing on it.
Working on the new trampoline
Updates on the mission and clinic
• Toby’s students are busy harvesting coffee. Classes are not well attended during harvesting sea- son. Typically the harvest is over by the end of December. This year the harvest is lasting several weeks longer than we have ever experienced. The crop is very large and is worth more money than usual. The people working the harvest are making three times what they normally make in a season. For many the coffee harvest is the main source of income for their family for the year. Please pray that the students will return to class as soon as the harvest is over.
• There were a total of seven local kids and adults that attended The Central America CIY confer- ence in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Everyone had a wonderful time.
• We are very proud of the Penitas Arriba church. We have worked to make each church function independently. Toby’s role is to train Sunday School teachers, leaders, and ministers to make the church stronger and more effective. The leadership of the Penitas Arriba church is taking ownership of the church and starting to function as a New Testament Church. The church is financially helping those in need. They are starting to make the needed repairs to the church with their own money. This is a huge step for the church.
• Fergie first visited the clinic when she was two months old. She weighed only 5 lbs. The clinic has been providing milk for her for the last year. Fergie recently returned to the clinic. She is now 13 months old and weighs 17 lbs. She looks very healthy and happy. It was great to be able to tell the family that she no longer needed the clinics assistance with milk.
Dona Julia is a founding member of the Penitas Arriba church. She came to the clinic with a blood pressure of 286/86, the highest blood pressure ever treated at the clinic in the past14 years. Toby rushed her to the hospital for additional treatment. She is currently staying with her son until her blood pressure is controlled.
A note from Janet
Just before Christmas, Janet Hudson came from Mooresville, IN to spend six weeks with us. She was a blessing in helping with schooling and shared lots of encouragement with our family.
Below she shares her thoughts about the mission:
Toby is really establishing a New Testament Church, and training the locals to be ca- pable leaders and preachers in this country. I really believe that they have the concept of starting God’s church and equipping the locals to establish and carry on the Lord’s church. It is wonderful to see God working and what HE can accomplish when the New Testament is taught to a people.
What a joy to see Amy (a nurse) doing a wonderful ministry in the clinic here. She is desperately needed and busy with her work there.
The effort here is not without much dedication and trial on the part of the missionaries-but that is not what I hear about nor the focus of the work here. So much is being accomplished and is worth every effort, prayer, and dollar we can put into helping it go forward.
Janet is returning home in early February. She will be greatly missed by our family. Our hope is that she will be able to return later this year. The work that she did for our family is greatly appreciated.
Our Prayer Requests
* Safety and protection. * Amy will soon receive her residency. * Wife for Leonel. * The Lord would give wisdom and insight to the leaders of the San Antonio church. * San Antonio church as they experience heavy spiritual attack. * Jonathan’s arm to continue to heal, and his speech would improve.
Praises
* Jonathan’s arm is healing well. * Penitas church is taking ownership of their church. * Amy’s residency awaiting last step. * Fergie no longer needs milk assistance. * Dona Julia’s blood pressure is doing better. * Kyler Reynolds and Janet Hudson’s work here. * Penitas church was filled for New Year’s Eve service.
Please send support to:
Merendon Mountain Mission I/C Linda Weaver
3705 Johnson Drive Joplin, MO 64801
Website: www.Merendon.net
Email: TobAmyHill@aol.com
Many thanks for your continued support and prayers!