In spite of the heavy rains this last week-end, we had a full house for church. (This is not all of our congregation.) Our church, Iglesia Evangelica Emanual, in Campana, HN, waving to the church in the states.
Last night seemed like a dream come true. We held the graduation party for the computer class. Nineteen students recited scripture and gave their testimonies in ENGLISH ! There were a lot of tears and sad good-byes as this class has really bonded together and with Nelson their teacher the Pastor Batista and Gary and I. They spend a lot of time together out of class and linger around here eating and playing soccer . Their families came to see them receive their diplomas. The dream that we have had is that the students receive Christ and then attend the church. This is the first year that we have had a church and pastor for them to go to and now many of them have become Christians and attend our church. (one couple joined another church closer to their village), but we rejoice they are Christians.
Their testimonies were so precious in their broken English, but it was evident that their hearts were truly given to the Lord. Gary and I told them that they were the future of Honduras and that their future was in the Lord. To use what was given to them to further God’s kingdom, develop the church and to be productive for their families and country. Pastor Batista gave a message along the same lines: total surrender to the Lord and using their education for God’s work Yesterday morning several of us did visitation in one of the remote villages. We talked and prayed with lots of people and offered them a ride to church today. Few of them actually showed up. We were invited to a wedding last night. It was the daughter of our domestic, Victorina, and son of our children's teacher, Mirna. We had to be at Victorina’s house at six o’clock sharp in order to give the bride a ride to the wedding. As it turns out, it was a precious experience: beautiful wedding gown, semi-traditional service, nice dinner, afterward.
This morning we went into San Pedro to our church, International Christian Fellowship. We hadn't been for a while and it was great to see everybody. The word "international" really captures the essence of our church. I talked to people this morning from Australia, Finland, Canada, Honduras, USA, Russia, and the Philippines, as well as a number of Latin American countries. Later this afternoon we had our own church service here in the village; there were at least 10 of our students in attendance. We had communion, and then a PowerPoint showing all the things that have happened in the church this year. It was very moving; a lot has been accomplished. Little over a week ago we went up the mountain to see a lady who had been involved in a motorcycle accident. She couldn't even move her legs. As I was sitting in church today I looked up and there she was, walking down the aisle. Pastor Batista will be leaving for Venezuela this week; this was a very emotional time for him even though he will be back the end of February. Yesterday we went up the mountain to see a family from church. It was so quiet and peaceful up there, just beautiful. There were only 56 children in class this pm. (Only?). Yesterday TGI Fridays in San Pedro was offering turkey and dressing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. It was tempting but a little too far away. We planned to go to El Sauce today to hand out Christmas gift tickets, but it was flooded, so we’ll have to reschedule. We’ve had torrential rains. We don’t provide health insurance for our 14 employees but we do help with healthcare. Right now were helping George, Maria and Marcus with their bills. Today it was 66 degrees at 9am in San Pedro. Next Friday there will be a soccer tournament for 8-15 year olds.
Sunday was our second baptismal service at Templo Evangelico Emanuel where six people were baptized. These baptisms are giving strength to the village church. Yesterday, Wednesday, Cheryl had her procedure done on her kidney; it is too soon to tell if it is going to work. Also yesterday Nicolas took Jose, the man in our church with cancer, to El Salvador to see his doctor who uses naturopathy. Nicolas said it went well. I got a call today from Nicolas saying that pastor Batista’s wife, Juliza, is in the hospital with symptoms that appear serious.
Gary spent his 70th Birthday today doing what he did 13 years ago, going door to door in the villages evangelizing. Pastor Batista, Nelson, our computer teacher, and Selvin, the Paz’s son in law that has been working with us in the church, went along. They spent the morning in Seis de Mayo and the afternoon in Los Chorros, across the highway. As a result, three people made a solid commitment to Christ. They along with three others that accepted Christ last month will start discipleship classes in the church and prepare for Baptism. Yuliza, Pastor Batista’s wife prepared Venezuelan food for our lunch. What a special Birthday.
Tomorrow the engineers are to arrive to mark the lot for the dorm construction to begin. We hope to get the footings in before the Christ Presbyterian construction team arrives June 29th. What an answer to prayer. We arrived back in Honduras Monday noon and by evening had pretty much settled in again. Pastor Nelson and Juliza Batista arrived that night at 8 pm and stayed at the Paz’s hotel. They came out this afternoon and then we had dinner at our place tonight. We were able to get caught up on several things…. Nelson Osorto, computer teacher, preached three times while the pastor was gone and several of his students are attending church regularly. Three have accepted Christ
When the First Methodist group was here we went out into the low lands and did house to house visitation. We also explained about our church and invited them to attend. The next Saturday we did the visitation again, but this time we told the people we would bring the van out to El Sauce on Sunday and give anyone a ride who wanted to come to church. Well, the van was full that day and we had 60 in church, which is the most we've ever had. Yesterday we filled up the van again and church attendance was almost as great. Next week Cheryl and I both will be gone, but church leaders are putting on a big spread for Mother's Day. Actually they're having it on Saturday so that mothers can be at home with their families on Sunday. They are expecting between 100 and 150 people. Many of those will be Nelson's students and their families.
The group from First Methodist Church in Tulsa arrived on Saturday, just in time for the first baptismal service for our church here in the village on Sunday. The baptismal was held at an ocean beach. Five people were baptized, but there were so many who wanted to be a part of the service we had to rent a school bus to transport everyone. Pastor Nelson gave an inspiring message beforehand and then everyone went down to the water to witness the baptisms. It was most inspiring. Afterward the locals put on a feast that was enjoyed by everyone. Ministry has gone well for the Methodist group. Yesterday we started off with a walking tour of El Sauce, the very poor area where we started Gathering Hearts nearly fourteen years ago. There has been children’s ministry, testimonies, cake decorating, and woodworking. Seventy two people have been given eye exams and glasses. The group from First Methodist Tulsa left on Saturday; we had a wonderful time while they were here. Sunday was the first communion service at our church here in the village and it was very special. We had invited a number of people from the low lands when First Methodist was here but didn't know if they would attend. We offered to pick them up, and as it turned out, nearly every one of them came; we had nearly 50 people in church. Pastor Nelson and Juliza Batista left this morning for Venezuela due to their visa problems. Yesterday the morning class of computer students fixed lunch for them; and last night the afternoon class had a BBQ. They really hated to go and fully expect to be back within 30 to 60 days. Please pray with us that they will.
Evangelist Temple (our church) and the Gathering Hearts for Honduras computer/English school combined to have soccer day. There were approximately 100 players and another 100 spectators in attendance. The day began with a message by Pastor Batista. Afterward the 12 teams, including both teenage boys and girls, began playing at 9 AM, and two by two played straight through until 5 PM. Play was in the form of a tournament with trophies for both guys and girls. Lunch was provided by Evangelistic Temple; there were two tables with different kinds of food. The proceeds from one table went back to the church; proceeds from the other table were used to buy food for the poor. As with all such events, the purpose of the day was to introduce people the new church and invite them to attend.
Last week we had a bit of a scare. It looked as if Nelson and Juliza Batista were going to have to return permanently to Venezuela on March 26. In the meantime we have gotten a lawyer involved. It appears that conditions might be met by the Batistas going over the Guatemalan border every 90 days while they are here. However, the regulations change frequently and we have no guarantees. Please continue to pray. |