Message from the Missionaries

“Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;”
– 2 Corinthians 6:4

Many say to us, what gives you motivation to continue on? Others ask who encourages you and keeps you focused during these troubling times. All this is very simple to us and it has been a source of strength for us and this is what it is; we ask God to keep the eyes of our spirit open to the direction of Jesus Christ. With this in mind we have been able to take the Gospel to some of the hardest places and to the hardest people. We use this focus to motivate others to keep going, not to give up and to fight. Satan wants us to doubt. He wants us to listen to false testimonies. He wants us to be burdened with life. All because he knows that we will be discouraged and quit trying. We can’t allow ourselves to loose focus and harden our hearts to where it will pull us away from the Christ. Then we start to loose interest. We will feel that we have no encouragement and with that we will see no improvement in our lives. The true testimony in our lives and in this mission is running the long run. Many times our differences can not be seen all the time by all those at home and even in the field but God knows and He is encouraging all of us to keep going in great endurance.

Prison Ministry

One thing we stated while we were home in January was as soon as we would arrive in Honduras we would start removing tattoos in prison. Well it took us a couple weeks to get started. It took time because we wanted to meet with government officials to make sure we would produce the right documents that they would need. (All for the tattoo gang related law) They told us to provide copies of the contracts that we have on each person who has a tattoo removed and to give a file of photos of each person and their tattoo. So when we went in to start removing tattoos the ex-gang members were excited when they saw us and the machine. The two men I told many of you about, shadow and the beast whose faces are covered with tattoos were jumping with joy and claiming this is the beginning of my new life. I worked 2 hours straight just on shadows two arms and front chest. It was painful and many tears were shed because of the pain but they knew it was the beginning of erasing a past of hurt, misery, and of violence. We currently have over 28 other men not including the 7 we have already started waiting to start the long process of having their tattoos removed. To clean these men up it will take at least one year with receiving a procedure each month. With the beast I worked on his one arm and started with his face. I was nervous but the Lord gave me a steady hand and the patience to work on areas very delicate to a person. We also have a list of 12 women in the women’s prison waiting for us to start.

Honduras Kairos

Glenda and have had a series of meetings with the KPMI rep from the states by phone and also by e-mails. Nicaragua is planning on hosting a conference for all Latino Kairos’ in April. We will be taking down a group from Honduras to Nicaragua to participate in this information training for our leaders. We are also currently planning on our upcoming June weekend for Kairos women #4. So please keep Mercedes our next Rector in your prayers.

School Projects

Praise the Lord for this upcoming year! We have 82 children in our school sponsorship program. One testimony we want to share is about Emelin. Emelin is one of our first sponsored children back in 2005. She has struggled throughout the years and probably you may remember she has a mother who doesn’t encourage her to go to school but would rather see her home making tortillas or cleaning homes for a living. Emelin has struggled with drugs, sex, depression and many others things. She has kept on and passing the grade in furthering herself farther than any family member. This year she was in a huge fix. She didn’t pass math class last year and she didn’t pass summer school either. Glenda told me that her mother is upset and has given up on her and her marijuana problem. As I was exiting the school one night around 9 pm I saw her and asked her to come and sit down with me to talk. I told her how much I love her like a daughter and how it hurts me and Glenda to see her in this position. I reminded her that we have been walking with her all these years. She cried. Emelin said, “no puedo” (I can’t) I told her she can and that we believe in her. She replied again, “no puedo”. I said Emelin God wants you to succeed and become someone. He wants you to try. I have a message for you from our Lord. She listened intently. I said there is a seat with your name on it and you will go to school. She smiled and said softly, “si puedo” (I can). Four days latter she called our phone and I could hear her scream across the room with excitement. She told Glenda to tell me that she was enrolled in school that day and also she was given a second chance to go to 21 de Octubre college. The very school she was kicked out of 2 years ago for being drunk. We further found out that the secretary found Emelin a seat because she saw that we believed in this girl all these years and we must see something in her. When emelin saw me she smiled and said, “SI PUEDO”.

Community Projects

We have restarted all of our community work again. Our Saturday afternoon youth group has grown to 65 children. Our boys youth group and girls youth groups have grown some as well. One thing we are working on this year is self esteem. Each youth is facing the “teenager years” and also facing a lot of discouragement in their homes because of the economy. The President of Honduras made a law that all workers must receive a minimum of 5,500 lempiras per month. ($291.150) Huge you may say but what is has done is huge. The employers are now letting go of many workers because they can not afford this minimum wage nor do they want to pay it. So what started out to be a good idea to help the people has left a huge amount of people with out work. All this is putting pressure on the families in the Barrios where we work. All this pressure is bringing down the esteem in our youth. Every one has expressed help with resentment towards their parents. We have been taking the youth through a series of teachings (7 steps to overcome low esteem) It has helped our youth to become thinkers and to see life different. We will report what comes from this study latter in the year.

Our tailoring class has begun and we have all new students which are very exciting for us and for the teacher.

A Personal Outlook

We are called to be encouragers of the word of God. When we arrived in January 2009 I went to look for my brother in the faith Pastor Giron. The Spirit motivated my heart to go to him. As I dropped off Glenda and Sendy to look for more sponsored children I drove to Giron’s house. He came out and smiled and hugged me and said it has been a fight sense we were gone. I asked in how. He told me his church members were not coming as they should. He also expressed that his second church in Villa Nueva where he has had huge amounts of run ins with gang members and his tactic of preaching to them hard didn’t work. He said I just don’t know what is going on. I said Satan is at work my brother and he wants you beaten and to give up. Be encouraged and Love the gang members like Jesus loves you and me. This will bring change. I also said pray and talk to your congregation and encourage them to continue on and not let Satan to talk them out of going to church. Two weeks latter on a Saturday while we were preparing for our youth group Pastor Giron came and said it works. Loving the gang members did bring them back. The gang members are listening to the word of God. He went on to tell us that he encouraged his leaders and this has helped reunite his church and is having 80 people on a Tuesday night. I told him that is takes a huge amount of Grace and allowing that Grace to be in control of what we do in our ministries. It isn’t always easy but it does work.

Prayer Requests

Emelin in her studies, all of our 82 sponsored children, to the children in the streets who can’t go to school because of the lack of, to all those who are out of work, our youth groups, to the men and women we are ministering in prison, Jonathan a young man who has given up on life and holds resentment towards his mom and dad, to all the missionaries who are in the field and also to keep in prayer this ministry our board and the two teams that will be coming down in May.

Prayer

Father keep reminding us about the Grace that has been given to us. Keep encouraging us to keep going on in this faith and that we become over comers. Lord help all those who are down and depressed to know that you love them and are walking with them. Let them know Lord that you are more powerful that Satan and he has been defeated at the cross. We have nothing to worry about because you are in control. May your Love surround our hearts and our thoughts as we walk through these trying times. Jesus name, Amen.