Helens Snipes left at about noon on Friday. Afterward Cheryl and I ran errands and then met Mike and Sherrill Gasinski for dinner. We have gone to church together for the last several years but never really got to know them very well. We had a great time of fellowship together. Cheryl and I then went to Frank and Phoebe Harrison's to spend the night as it was well after dark. We also had a great time with them. Frank had been studying the book of First Peter and shared some very encouraging thoughts. On Saturday we ran the rest of our errands and then went back to the mission center for the evening. On Sunday Cheryl was the worship leader at church and I had the communion meditation. Afterward we went to the airport to pick up Denny Boersma who had come from Michigan to help with the process of selecting a new pastor for our church here. During the afternoon we met with the Honduran representatives for the Reformed Church, and then attended church service and meeting afterward with the pastors who have an interest in helping us fill the pulpit. Denny has been working on the water filtration system today, and also additional computer connections to the satellite dish. But we have also had a couple of prayer, talk sessions about how to best choose the pastor; and about preparing for the first phase of construction of the dormitories. These were extremely productive times and we are very much encouraged with regard to both initiatives.
1 Comment I wrote last week that I talked to Alfredo Orillana in North Carolina and asked if he plans to return to Honduras soon. He is the one who is an excellent woodworker, but moved to the states five or six years ago to find work enough to support his family. When we ended our conversation last week he said "I'll call you next Tuesday." I was curious to know if he really would, but knowing Alfredo, I really expected a call. Well, tonight as we were in the middle of our sharing session he called and we had another conversation about his and our future plans. We have not arrived at any agreement yet, but we will be talking again within the next couple weeks. Our hope is that he would come back now and assume leadership of our woodworking classes. Another of the patients today was a young man who seemed very cold and hard. Every chance I got I spoke with him and eventually asked him if he had a church. He said he goes to church in Campana and his pastor's name is Samuel. Well, that is the church where the 21 young men came forward in 2006 when the Baptist Chapel youth group was here. As some of you know, we have had a hard time following up on those guys because, being gang related, they are hard to find. I called him into my office where I have a large picture of them on my bulletin board. I asked him, "Do you know any of these guys?" He broke out in a broad smile and said "I know every one of them." I think he will be our contact to follow up on these guys. 2nd Day of the Medical Clinic - Today there was a baby, 5 pounds, that had stopped eating...10/26/2010 Today was the second day of the medical clinic. Doctors Green and Krauter have seen about 100 patients each day. Today there was a baby, 5 pounds, that had stopped eating. The doctor said that if she did not begin eating soon she would not live. We had Nicholas go to Puerto Cortez and find baby milk powder which we mixed up and started feeding the baby in a syringe. At first she couldn't even swallow, but as the ladies worked with her she improved and before she left was drinking out of a bottle. Praise the Lord.  BETTY JO GREEN AND HELEN RUTH SNIPES WORKING WITH A PATIENT  Gary with some of the children. Today we do not have all of our students. Some of them could not get out because of the flooding from Hurricane Matthew last Friday. Honduras was spared another big storm - Matthew was not as bad as predicted, but still widespread flooding and damage of many of the "huts". Josh Fellman arrived here in Honduras and was able to get that four foot satellite through all three terminals, but customs would not release it to us. Josh had to come up with a detailed listing of everything packed along with an invoice. We face potential high tariffs (They do not see many four foot satellites coming through the airlines). Gary and Josh are pleading their case at this time with customs. Please do pray for favor. This reduces the time Josh has to install and set up the satellite. Please pray that there will be not more obstacles and that Josh can get it up safely, quickly and get us better connections. Yesterday I was talking with Larry Voight and Jim Redyke about my wanting to bring Nickolas to the US next spring. I really think it's important for him to see the ministry from this side so he can get an appreciation for all of the work, prayer, and planning that are part of the ministry here. I am also very eager for him to meet our coworkers here and for you all to meet him, if you have not already done so. I am thinking that maybe he could come during the mission emphasis week at First United Methodist Church here in Tulsa. I have been sort of testing the waters with him to see if he would be interested in making a trip. I think he would. A couple weeks ago I asked him if he has ever flown. He said only in a helicopter when he was guarding the president of Honduras. I get the impression he would not want to stay very long, perhaps a week or 10 days. Another topic this morning was all the problems we are having with our vehicles. When I got home I had an e-mail from Nicolas in which he described yet another situation. It seems that he is now having problems with the steering on pickup, our only vehicle that still working. All these car problems reaffirm the fact that we need to make some changes. We are spending altogether too much money on repairs. Nicholas also has another problem; the air conditioner in the computer lab is shorting out and will likewise need repair. Always plenty to pray about. Tax Exempt Status in Honduras08/16/2010 We began the process of gaining tax exempt status in Honduras in 2006; and though we have it in the States, we still don't have it in Honduras. I wrote to Nicholas this morning and asked him to begin once again applying some subtle pressure. It seems like nothing happens unless we stay right in front of them. Every time we have been almost there some sort of crisis occurs that prevents it. We almost had it last year when the political crisis occurred which put everything back to zero. There are several reasons why we need the exemption, but the most important is to be exempt from paying Honduras property taxes which can become expensive. "Nothing Left To Do But Pray"07/31/2010 After classes today we went for a walk through Seis de Mayo and I showed our guests the different places we held classes after we left the "jungle". First there was Hector Garcia's front porch; then the huge tent next to the food store; and then the rent house. Lots of memories, good and not so good. As we walked along kids came out to greet us that weren't even born when we first came. Tonight we had come free time on our hands. We finished dinner anound 7; we don't have TV and for security reasons we can't go out after dark. Seemed like "there was nothing left to do but pray" (I've heard that one before). So we adjourned to the living room and spent the rest of the evening praying. It was an enriching experience. Once when I was speaking to a young adult Sunday School class a young man asked, "Are you saying that sometimes our lifestyle here in America makes it harder to live the Christian life?" I had the feeling he was answering his own question. As I sat in the office this afternoon catching up on some work the book Prayer, Key to Revival by Paul Y. Cho caught my eye. In the preface he says, "I have had pastors and evangelists ask me how they can experience the same growth in their church as we are accustomed to in Korea. Yet, after meetiings , they go out and eat and spend many hours in fellowship. In the morning they are too tired to pray. Having experienced this all over the world for many years, I decided to write this book. I hope men and women of God will get serious enough about revival to get serious about their prayer life." * Back in 1984 Cho's church was adding 12000 new converts each month. Please Pray for our Vehicle Situation07/24/2010 Both vans are broken down. Bill Hoff finally found the needed part to fix the Ford somewhere in Alabama. But it will take several day to reach OK and several more to get it to Honduras--so today we rented a car and it is very expensive. I think the time has come for a change. It probably makes more sense to sell the pick up and one van and get a newer double cab,4 W/D pickup. We have started praying in that direction. | Visit our website at www.GatheringHearts.org
Details on various Ministry OpportunitiesArchivesMay 2012 CategoriesAll |
RSS Feed