YA MON, RICE N BEANS BE IN THE ISLANDS!

We are so excited to share our newest Rice N Beans location: Roatan, Honduras! 

Roatan is an island off the northern coast of Honduras. This project has been a long time in the making.  While Pastor Daryl was in Roatan ten years ago, God planted the seed in his heart for what we now know as Rebuilding Paradise / Rice N Beans. There, Pastor Daryl met James and Stephanie Woods who are our new Rice N Beans team leaders on the island.                               

 The Story of How It Came to Be

James Woods is a native of Roatan who left the island as a talented teenager to pursue sports. He became a member of the Honduran Olympic volleyball team and travelled the world for more than 20 years. Stephanie is a native Canadian whose education and professional career moved her through the corporate world. They met in January of 2003 when Stephanie visited Roatan on a cruise ship stop. It was a trip of fate! The ship made a last-minute itinerary change, and that stop in Roatan - where James operated a tour company - was the one and only time that cruise ship ever went to Roatan! A “chance” hour-long conversation led to an exchange of email addresses that turned into endless phone conversations and visits to see each other;  two years later, they married. 

   James and Stephanie chose to live on Roatan Island because they felt they could live a life of greater purpose: serving the Lord and the island communities in need. After marrying, James took Stephanie on a year-long adventure visiting every community on the island to build friendships and connections with the families they would be serving. James believes you cannot make a difference in a community without understanding their unique history.  

After developing meaningful connections, they began to work with iinternational mission groups. This led to countless mission trips and a variety of projects - from providing washrooms, water, and additional classrooms for schools, to rebuilding homes for seniors and providing wheelchairs to the mobility challenged. They worked with food programs, clothing donations, medical brigades, vet clinics, Christmas drives, and school drives. One of the largest contributions was pallets of U.S. school system books and teacher guides to local schools in need!

Stephanie met Pastor Daryl ten years ago. He had been leading a mission team for Habitat for Humanity and had a day off at the resort where Stephanie worked. This was the beginning of a long-term friendship and a very important spiritual mentorship for Stephanie. Through Stephanie, Daryl and his companions discovered just how great the needs were in Roatan outside the manicured resorts and powder-white beaches. Sin covered communities in darkness, and the work that needed to be done was great. 

Daryl and Stephanie stayed in touch, and Daryl made several trips back to Roatan, leading mission teams to work on rebuild projects.  They knew God had brought them together and had future plans in store, but much had to be done in their individual lives before they were ready. Their connection never wavered, and over the years they talked and prayed about the immediate needs and future hopes. Now, in His timing, God has birthed the Rice N Beans Roatan Project.

Over the years, Stephanie and James have built great connections with many of the struggling, non-funded schools. Daryl traveled to Roatan in February of 2019 to meet with James and Stephanie and look at possible ministry opportunities. Because of the overwhelming needs, it was important to focus on a specific area to establish a ministry presence. Through much prayer, God began to direct them to feeding children. As they looked at different schools on the island, one school rose to the top. Pensacola School was started by Mrs. Dyane who taught a few students under a tree. She then moved to the basement of a modest home, and then to a school house. And now Pensacola School is in a new large concrete building!  The school’s journey has been a miracle in itself, as the funding for the school did not come from the Honduran government but from a Japanese grant obtained through the diligent efforts of Mrs. Dyane. Although they have a new school building to accommodate the growing number of students, the dire circumstances of the children, their families, and teachers have not improved. 

Stephanie and James have been involved in helping Pensacola School from the time the current high school students were in kindergarten. There is an obvious relationship of love and commitment to this community and its children.  As we know, many children even in the United States go to school hungry every day. In the U.S., there is government assistance. But in third-world Honduras - and particularly in Roatan - most families must choose between electricity and food. A majority of children go to school hungry every day, and it is very evident in their lack of focus as they try their best to learn.

 Through many late-night conversations, video chats, and phone calls, Daryl, Stephanie and James devised a plan to expand Rice N Beans to Roatan.

 The Launch of Rice N Beans Roatan

On October 15, 2019, Rice N Beans launched the Roatan program, feeding breakfast to 250 students. It was a very emotional and humbling experience to see children show up to school early, excited to help prepare breakfast for each other. The program was set up with designated mothers committed to the cooking - but the students themselves wanted to contribute!  It is so satisfying to see how well received this project has been. Moving forward, the hope is to add more feeding days to Pensacola School and then open up opportunities for other schools already interested in the Rice N Beans program. The long-term goal is to see that no children go to school hungry. 

 Even when they wanted to give up, James and Stephanie prayed for many, many years for the Lord to reveal His plan and purpose for them on the island. The fellowship that is extremely important to recharge and press on was lacking for James and Stephanie. The heaviness of the needs took a toll on them personally, emotionally, and spiritually, and many times they considered going back to Canada. But there was always the soft voice of the Lord telling them to hold on and to be strong. They knew God was telling them, “Press on, and I will reveal your purpose.”

The Vision for the Future

Through the food program, bonds are being developed with the children their families and the community. The vision for Rice N Beans Roatan is to prepare them for their futures - through love, the word of God, compassion and consistency. The vision includes a mentoring program, a youth center, education in social etiquette, prep work for higher education, and college scholarships for those who desire to go to the next level.  Preparation is vitally important for the children of Roatan. If they are not equipped for an environment other than their tiny island, they cannot succeed in a city with modern amenities and will give up on themselves and return to the island. For the majority of the girls, a lack of education and preparation means a life-long struggle. For the boys it means, at best, finding a trade only to scrape by. Rice N Beans desires to be a part of blessing these children now - and launching them into a bright future.

If you are interested in helping support our work with the children on Roatan please click here.

For everyone involved, Rice N Beans Roatan is a legacy project! May this initial program and future expansions run strong and bring glory to God for decades!