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Message from the Missionaries

“As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit- just as it has taught you, remain in him.”
– 1 John 2:27

What are we being taught? All of us who are in Christ Jesus have an anointing on us. How-ever, do we listen and receive the teaching that is being given to us? Sometimes what stops us from going beyond our limits or serving God outside the church is because we say “we are not equipped” to do this or that. What does it take to serve God at home or in the mission field? What it takes is an open heart to receive and believe the teaching from God. God does equip us for every task that he puts in our path. We remain in our same old ways because we ignore the teaching that comes from Him who is able to teach all things. Many ask, who taught you how to be a mentor, or to go into prison ministry, or to remove tattoos, or to build new buildings in a foreign country? If I remain in Him, I will always be anointed to do this work. If I stop listening and stop learning from God, then I stop the anointing. What is God teaching you today? Are you in His anointing? And if so, what are you doing with what God has given you? One thing we have witnessed with our short term mission teams is the anointing they have when they leave. Also, we watch how they use this anointing in action when they come home. This is all to glorify the Kingdom of God!

Prison Ministry

As we work with the ex-gang members, we are reminded from time to time what world these men come from. A few weeks ago, while we were working on removing tattoos and had just finished our classes for the morning, there was a news announcement on the TV. As I watched the men’s eyes, which say everything, they looked with fear and disappointment. As I was about to ask what was going on, Lino, the coordinator, came running down saying it was Johnny. They got him. We started to ask what happened because Johnny was a part of our tattoo removal program and also was going to be the first one completely clean from his tattoos in just two more sessions when he was released from prison. Lino told us that Johnny was taken by the 18th Street gang and had his eyes gouged out and his legs broken. Because he left the gang. The problem was, they couldn’t associate him with either gang but knew he was an ex-18 gang member. That day we gained five more men to have their tattoos removed. They didn’t want to waste any more time. We believe this also has motivated them to look deeper into their faith.

Missions

Even the though the work has slowed down on the project at the Fuerzas Armadas school, the teachers are pressing on. The teachers have been organizing fund raisers so the building project can continue. So far, they have raised $794.00 and have used it to purchase more block, cement and re-bar. This coming month of September, they will be having a raffle and garage sale. This is truly inspiring and exactly what we look for in schools as we work hand in hand with them in bettering the conditions and provid-ing opportunities for the students. Another project that Glenda and I have been working on is eliminating lice. When team #8 came down in May, one of the volunteers donated money so we could purchase shampoo and combs for the children who are infected with lice. We were able to help 190 students at the Fuerzas Armadas School. We couldn’t just hand out the shampoo, we had to wash and comb each child’s hair. Luckily, we had help from Carolina.

Community Work in El Barrio Rincon

Yeovanny and Yoel Santiago are two boys who are a part of our youth group. They left school while in the third grade and finished their schooling at a night school up to the sixth grade. However, they cannot read or write that well and only know their time tables up to multiplication of three. At the beginning of the year, I looked at them and saw a huge need. They needed to be rescued before time passes by and they end up in trouble. We gave them work with Pastor Giron at the school project until we could get them enrolled into a technology school. It was definitely God’s time because when we visited the INFOP tech. school, they were accepting kids for carpentry class. We en-rolled the boys and they started classes two weeks ago after a month’s worth of testing and visits to their home. The director of the school was moved by our willingness to rescue these boys, because she told us that by the conditions they were in, they are considered to be “at risk” children. At this school, the boys will receive their normal education from 7am to 12pm and then from 1-3 pm they have carpentry classes. The boys are super happy. The parents are not supportive of this move because it means participation in their studies, so we are acting as their parents. If this works, we will start to work with other youth at risk and fold this into our school sponsorship program. Please pray for the success of this adventure.

School Sponsorship Program

Some of the testimonies we hear from the families we help with school sponsorships are unbelievable. We just picked up two more children this last week. One young girl needed a scholarship because their home was so poor and they only had a single mother raising them. Also, the girls (sisters) had to swap shoes every other day because they didn’t have any. One story has stuck in my mind, and that is about a young boy we picked up. He is the son of a dead MS 13th Street gang member and a product of rape. The boy’s dad raped his own mother and the boy that we picked up is from this. The mother is super poor and doesn’t have the resources to support her son to go to school. The saddest thing is that this young child doesn’t know of this horrible story. So many more children come with their parents asking, begging, and showing us their conditions so they could receive a scholarship to go to school. It is hard many times to say we need to put you on a list until a scholarship is available. We are truly blessed to be able to help the ones we have and it doesn’t just end by giving a scholarship, but we continue to visit and try to be a part of the lives we are touching and serving. It is our hope and desire to help as many little ones as we can. God has placed these little ones in our path for a reason and that is to help. Hebrews 6:10 “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Thank you, to all of you who are helping.

BBM Happenings

As you can see, we have gone with a new format and look for our newsletter. I believe this is our third transformation, but I think you’ll like it as much as we do. We have a lot going on in the ministry and our board is working very hard on some new projects. We would like to highlight a few of the projects. First, we are looking into a new format for our web-site. Why? Because we would like to have a web-site that is very sharp looking and have the ability to provide an album of photos that can keep all of you up to date with the goings-on in this ministry. Also, we would like to provide more information to all of you and keep it user friendly. The board is also working on the 2011 Border Buddies Ministries, Inc. annual dinner in January. They are working on how we can communicate all the different ministries BBM has and how they are working and bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those in Honduras. Please continue to pray with us as we are searching God’s heart to see where He would like BBM to go in the following years. We have come a long way when we first started out in 2004 and the Lord definitely wants us to build a ministry that will last for many other missionaries to come on board and serve Him in Honduras and in the ministries we have set up.

Prayer

Father, so many needs and so many to reach. Show us how. Guide us in the decisions we make and keep us from ignoring your teaching and your discipline. Thank you Father for being who you are and what you are. Thank you for the love you share to so many and the love you put in all of our hearts. Thank you Father for moving those at home to say yes I want to be involved in this work and in this ministry. Lord please be with the Jonathans in the world. The children who are products of rape, domestic violence, abuse, or just feeling alone and unloved. We know you have a great plan for these children and for the men and women we serve in the prisons. Guide their hearts and we pray for their ears and eyes to be opened and for their hearts to be healed. Thank you for your teaching and anointing upon us and this ministry. We love you God and want to serve you in any way we can!
In Jesus name, Amen.