Less than a month ago, 65 of us were in Honduras - working shoulder to shoulder together.
I hope that the time that we've been home hasn't dampened your fire for service - I know that personally, I'm more fired up than ever about the work that our God has planned for us to do together.
I just wanted to give everybody an update on good things that are happening - first a Josue update. As we all eagerly anticipated, Josue & Karen are parents - the surprise is that they have a son and not the daughter that they were certain was coming. His name is Josue. Please pray for the new family.
Also wanted you all to know some of the good that you helped make happen. A new "Bodega" is about to be under construction at Casa de Esperanza and it is because of you that this can happen. In December we will begin construction on 2 Sunday School class rooms at the church in Santa Ana - again because of your hard work. Also, we were able to buy a truck for use in Santa Ana and at the children's home. Now, Noel will be able to pick-up a number of Christians that until now have lived too far from the church building to get there every Sunday. I'm pickng up the truck today and will get it shipped to Honduras as soon as possible.
I hope to have dates for next year as soon as this week. Keep watching here for news.
Marc
Monday, August 28, 2006
Thursday, August 10, 2006
That's What It's All About
The "Hokey Pokey Boys" sang a little ditty that ended with "That's What It's All About". The song goes - you put your right foot in, you put your left foot in, you put your whole self in...
Since I've been home for a week now, I can easily see that they were correct! Putting your whole self in really is "what it's all about".
Well, I have now led teams to Honduras for several years and you can be assured that the 2006 team and mission was all about putting their whole self in. They put their whole self into the work needed to make the mission one that would answer many prayers and because of that, there are now 18 families with new homes. This morning I'm certain that many of them woke to praise our God for their dry floor and for a place that is safe for their families. I don't have an exact count, but 18 houses means that more than 100 people have a house today and that wasn't true a short 3 weeks ago. Our work allowed us to deliver much needed dental care to over 100 people. Our dental team was organized and worked so well with the kids and the adults. I'm confident that the people that were treated felt that Jesus himself had worked on their teeth.
Food is always an issue in most of the areas that we work. Our food teams packed more than two full truck-loads of food - each truck is more than 5000 pounds! That translated into about 600 food packages that were delivered directly to the families that really needed them. All of this was done in the name of Jesus. Some of the same folks that packed food also worked in our warehouse to organize, sort, and plan for our big give-away in Los Pinos. These sisters packed up more than a container of goods and we were able to assist more than 1000 people in the community of Los Pinos with clothing and shoes. All in the name of Jesus. This community was so appreciative of the work and the new clothes that were given in His name.
With all the work going on in the many ministries that we are blessed to be a part of, it would be easy to miss the point of "What It's All About". Of course, the Hokey Pokey Boys got it right - put your whole self in - that is exactly what so many on our evangelism teams did. Their work of planting seeds led to a harvest of 34 souls while we were in Honduras and even more since we returned home. Last weekend in Santa Ana there were three more that gave their lives to our Lord and it looks like there may be four more to follow this weekend. There were also 3 baptisms in Borger - all from that team going home and sharing the good news.
Our God is GOOD all the time!
There is even more -
Our team was able to help the little old lady on the mountain in Los Pinos with special food and a new bed. We were able to help the kids at Casa de Esperanza with a month of food! We were able to help another group with some emergency food. We were able to help the minister in Santa Ana with transportation for members that are too far from the building to get there on Sunday mornings - hopefully, that vehicle will be delivered this fall. Our team will be able to have some Sunday School classrooms built in Santa Ana and you will be able to see them in use next summer. There are over 100 kids that will be in classes there already!
Our God is Good All The Time!
and - That Is What It's All About!
Marc
Since I've been home for a week now, I can easily see that they were correct! Putting your whole self in really is "what it's all about".
Well, I have now led teams to Honduras for several years and you can be assured that the 2006 team and mission was all about putting their whole self in. They put their whole self into the work needed to make the mission one that would answer many prayers and because of that, there are now 18 families with new homes. This morning I'm certain that many of them woke to praise our God for their dry floor and for a place that is safe for their families. I don't have an exact count, but 18 houses means that more than 100 people have a house today and that wasn't true a short 3 weeks ago. Our work allowed us to deliver much needed dental care to over 100 people. Our dental team was organized and worked so well with the kids and the adults. I'm confident that the people that were treated felt that Jesus himself had worked on their teeth.
Food is always an issue in most of the areas that we work. Our food teams packed more than two full truck-loads of food - each truck is more than 5000 pounds! That translated into about 600 food packages that were delivered directly to the families that really needed them. All of this was done in the name of Jesus. Some of the same folks that packed food also worked in our warehouse to organize, sort, and plan for our big give-away in Los Pinos. These sisters packed up more than a container of goods and we were able to assist more than 1000 people in the community of Los Pinos with clothing and shoes. All in the name of Jesus. This community was so appreciative of the work and the new clothes that were given in His name.
With all the work going on in the many ministries that we are blessed to be a part of, it would be easy to miss the point of "What It's All About". Of course, the Hokey Pokey Boys got it right - put your whole self in - that is exactly what so many on our evangelism teams did. Their work of planting seeds led to a harvest of 34 souls while we were in Honduras and even more since we returned home. Last weekend in Santa Ana there were three more that gave their lives to our Lord and it looks like there may be four more to follow this weekend. There were also 3 baptisms in Borger - all from that team going home and sharing the good news.
Our God is GOOD all the time!
There is even more -
Our team was able to help the little old lady on the mountain in Los Pinos with special food and a new bed. We were able to help the kids at Casa de Esperanza with a month of food! We were able to help another group with some emergency food. We were able to help the minister in Santa Ana with transportation for members that are too far from the building to get there on Sunday mornings - hopefully, that vehicle will be delivered this fall. Our team will be able to have some Sunday School classrooms built in Santa Ana and you will be able to see them in use next summer. There are over 100 kids that will be in classes there already!
Our God is Good All The Time!
and - That Is What It's All About!
Marc
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Ten Days In Honduras
Ten days in Honduras isn’t enough!
Every year until 2006 we have worked for two weeks and because of a number of things, we had a 10 day mission this year....next year we will go to 12 days.
I didn’t get a chance to post a summary of our Sunday in Honduras and it was again – Another Great Day in Honduras. We started off by heading to church in Los Pinos where there were over 300 in attendance at the morning services. Three years ago there wasn’t even a church in Los Pinos and now this congregation serves the community in many ways.
Just prior to heading off to Los Pinos, a young lady that is a friend of Cisco (one of our interpreters) chose to become a Christian and was baptized. After our church service in Los Pinos, there were two more new Christians and later on Sunday evening there was one more. Can you believe that we leave Honduras with 34 new brothers and sisters? Our God is awesome!
In the afternoon, we traveled out to Santa Ana to spend a little more time with Casa de Esperanza & the children there. The five little guys there are very happy and it is such a beautiful place. We were all gathered around the front of the house talking about how far Casa has come in just one year and the needs of the future. We also discussed the need for volunteer workers and how important it is to the project. After the formal presentation, my friend Deborah Krug from Borger, TX told me that she wanted to stay in Honduras and work for a few months in Honduras. Later in the day we found a phone and called her parents to let them know what Deborah wanted to do and they both offered their support – we left Deborah at Casa on Monday to begin her work. Sorta’ reminds me of the way that Jesus called some of the Apostles – he said come follow me and they didn’t say okay, I’ll see you in a few days, they just dropped what they were doing and left. Pray for Deborah!
The group from St Louis left Sunday morning so, we were down to about 50 on Sunday night. We were all tired by the end of the day.
Ours was a Great 10 days in Honduras!
Marc
Ps: Can’t wait till 2007.
Every year until 2006 we have worked for two weeks and because of a number of things, we had a 10 day mission this year....next year we will go to 12 days.
I didn’t get a chance to post a summary of our Sunday in Honduras and it was again – Another Great Day in Honduras. We started off by heading to church in Los Pinos where there were over 300 in attendance at the morning services. Three years ago there wasn’t even a church in Los Pinos and now this congregation serves the community in many ways.
Just prior to heading off to Los Pinos, a young lady that is a friend of Cisco (one of our interpreters) chose to become a Christian and was baptized. After our church service in Los Pinos, there were two more new Christians and later on Sunday evening there was one more. Can you believe that we leave Honduras with 34 new brothers and sisters? Our God is awesome!
In the afternoon, we traveled out to Santa Ana to spend a little more time with Casa de Esperanza & the children there. The five little guys there are very happy and it is such a beautiful place. We were all gathered around the front of the house talking about how far Casa has come in just one year and the needs of the future. We also discussed the need for volunteer workers and how important it is to the project. After the formal presentation, my friend Deborah Krug from Borger, TX told me that she wanted to stay in Honduras and work for a few months in Honduras. Later in the day we found a phone and called her parents to let them know what Deborah wanted to do and they both offered their support – we left Deborah at Casa on Monday to begin her work. Sorta’ reminds me of the way that Jesus called some of the Apostles – he said come follow me and they didn’t say okay, I’ll see you in a few days, they just dropped what they were doing and left. Pray for Deborah!
The group from St Louis left Sunday morning so, we were down to about 50 on Sunday night. We were all tired by the end of the day.
Ours was a Great 10 days in Honduras!
Marc
Ps: Can’t wait till 2007.
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