(Brad) I have been feeling a lot of pressure to learn Spanish so I can do my work effectively. Yesterday I was in a local coffee shop run by YWAM (Youth With A Mission). They have a couple of bookshelves full of books the customers may read. My head was getting a little dizzy from trying to cram more verbos (the Spanish word for verbs) into it, so I decided to look at the books and came across a book written by John Piper titled The Supremacy of God in Preaching. I like John Piper so I read the introduction and the first chapter. The coffee shop has a program that allows people to check out books. I checked it out thinking maybe I would read some of it on Sunday.
Sunday afternoon I once again grew weary from cramming Spanish idiomatic expressions into my head (why don’t they just say what they mean instead of saying the opposite of what they mean but it really means what they want – it’s so confusing. I’m sure we never do this in English). I went to the park, set on bench, and begin reading the book. If you are familiar with John Piper you are aware he doesn’t write with the goal of making you feel warm and fuzzy about yourself.
It’s really been difficult for me since arriving in Honduras because of the language issue. I use language to: encourage, challenge, instruct, make people think, get to know people, pass on what we’ve learned, learn from others what God has shown them, pass on passion and heart, support people, etc. I’ve developed a certain amount of confidence in my ability to communicate. So, with the language issue I feel as if I’m constantly operating with both hands tied behind my back. Unable to encourage, challenge, make people think, learn from others, motivate them to get into God’s Word and see what it says, support people, love on people, and help expand their vision and understanding of God.
As I’m reading this book Piper is making the point (or more accurately reminding me of the point I’ve apparently forgotten) that our purpose in communicating is to bring glory to God. If we are communicating in a way that brings attention to ourselves and our abilities the goal of God being glorified is diminished and the glorification of ourselves is being increased. Paul says he didn’t come using great communication skills (1 Cor 2:4) but he came in the power and demonstration of the Holy Spirit so God would be glorified – not Paul. Paul had confidence that the things of God are not taught by human wisdom and abilities but by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:13).
As I read (see, English is so simple: Read – sometimes pronounced “Reed” and sometimes pronounced “Red”. I don’t see what’s so difficult about English) these verses I begin to think about myself and my push to learn Spanish. What is my motivation? Is it so God will be glorified because I can more effectively communicate in Spanish? Or, is it so Brad will feel better about himself? Is Brad missing the personal satisfaction and enjoyment of teaching and being on center stage? It appears “Self” has raised its ugly head once again in my life. If I’m honest I believe I have moved past the point of working on my Spanish to be able to glorify God and have passed into working on Spanish so Brad can get back to where he “believed” he was in the States. (I use “believed” because something tells me I was thinking a little more of my abilities than the truth would reveal).
So, now I’m wondering, maybe I will never be fluent in Spanish. Maybe I should relax, study my Spanish, but trust God to allow me to learn the little (or lot) of Spanish He needs me to learn so I can be most effectively used by Him to bring glory to Him. Do I believe as Paul did that the things of God are taught by the Holy Spirit and not be human wisdom (read Brad’s abilities) or do I believe that unless I can get to the communication level in Spanish that I have in English the things of God can’t be taught effectively. A very interesting question for myself. Presently, I don’t think I like my answer.
I guess it comes down to what do I trust in most? What God says in His Word or in my own ability.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
April 21, 2008
Our normal schedule is eat lunch about 1:30 and then supper is not served until around 8:00 pm. So, we try to get a snack in town around 5:00 – 6:00 to hold us until supper. Today we decide to split a banana split (lots of spits there). On the streets here there are many people who beg and will just come up to you and ask for money. Many are children. Back to the story. While we were ordering our banana split a young boy (maybe 10) came up and asked us for money. We gave our usual response “No”. Normally they continue to ask several more times. This young man simply accepted our “No” and stood looking at the ice creams in the case. We looked at each other and agreed we would buy the young man an ice cream cone. Somehow the communication between us, the young man, and the lady making the banana split didn’t go as we expected. Before we could figure out what was happening the lady is asking the young man which ice creams he wants in HIS banana split. His banana split? How did this get to be His banana split? Too late now. The little guy has weaseled an entire banana split out of us. At least he gave us a very nice, polite, and genuine “Gracias” as he walked out the door eating His banana split and leaving us to pay.
April 20, 2008
We have a new student that lives in our house. He is from Germany and is working at a local business through an internship. It’s an interesting dynamic. He speaks English well but most of the time we communicate with him in Spanish. He also speaks Spanish very well. It’s interesting communicating with someone else in a language that is not the native language of either person. There is a lot of “Como se dice?” (how do you say) going on in the conversation.
Friday, April 18, 2008
April 18, 2008
Today ended three weeks of clases de Espanol. For all the brain pain and studying it sure doesn’t seem like we can carry on much of a conversation with anyone. Oh, well, we’ll keep subjecting ourselves to much brain pain and see what happens.
Today we went with some friends to a small pueblo (village/small town) named Pastores. We have never heard of it but we’re told by one of the students staying with us that it’s known around the world for making cowboy boots. The main road is just one boot store after another. Each store is a small room with lots of boots on display and someone over in the corner sitting behind a sewing machine making boots.
To get to the pueblo we had to ride a bus from Antigua. The buses hear are referred to as “Chicken Buses” because they fit so many people and things on the buses the people are packed in like chickens. The buses here are old school buses from the states that they’ve fixed up and painted bright, decorative colors and they look really nice. However, once you get on the bus it’s just like being on a school bus.
Cindy also wants everyone to know she has started her “Tenango” tour. We passed through Jocotenango today. Many towns are named “something – tenango”. Cindy found out from her teacher that “Tenango” means “The Place of”. Makes a little more sense now.
Please pray this weekend as Saul (the Bible Institute superintendent) is traveling to the southern part of Honduras to meet with the pastors and visit the churches. This is a part of the plan to strengthen the churches and the build relationships with the pastors and churches. Through this process we hope to develop a solid foundation from which to expand the spread of the gospel as God speaks to and works through the pastors and leaders.
Today we went with some friends to a small pueblo (village/small town) named Pastores. We have never heard of it but we’re told by one of the students staying with us that it’s known around the world for making cowboy boots. The main road is just one boot store after another. Each store is a small room with lots of boots on display and someone over in the corner sitting behind a sewing machine making boots.
To get to the pueblo we had to ride a bus from Antigua. The buses hear are referred to as “Chicken Buses” because they fit so many people and things on the buses the people are packed in like chickens. The buses here are old school buses from the states that they’ve fixed up and painted bright, decorative colors and they look really nice. However, once you get on the bus it’s just like being on a school bus.
Cindy also wants everyone to know she has started her “Tenango” tour. We passed through Jocotenango today. Many towns are named “something – tenango”. Cindy found out from her teacher that “Tenango” means “The Place of”. Makes a little more sense now.
Please pray this weekend as Saul (the Bible Institute superintendent) is traveling to the southern part of Honduras to meet with the pastors and visit the churches. This is a part of the plan to strengthen the churches and the build relationships with the pastors and churches. Through this process we hope to develop a solid foundation from which to expand the spread of the gospel as God speaks to and works through the pastors and leaders.
April 16, 2008
We realize being in language school for 12 weeks can seem like we’re not doing what we came to do. Sometimes we want to be back in Honduras, at Faith Home, working with the pastors, working with the churches, working on putting together a plan for the medical clinic, working with the kids.
On the other hand, we know how important it is for us to learn the language to be able to do all the things just listed. The classes are fun, our teachers are great, and we are learning a lot. Just not fast enough. There is only so much we can cram into our heads in a given period of time. So just have to be patient. Do our work here. And enjoy the ride that God has us on.
On the other hand, we know how important it is for us to learn the language to be able to do all the things just listed. The classes are fun, our teachers are great, and we are learning a lot. Just not fast enough. There is only so much we can cram into our heads in a given period of time. So just have to be patient. Do our work here. And enjoy the ride that God has us on.
April 15, 2008
The report on the earthquake/tremor is that it registered a 6.2 on the instruments used by the States but the papers here are reporting it as a 5.8. We choose to use the 6.2 number. It makes our story better.
Monday, April 14, 2008
April 14, 2008
Cindy took her Grado A test (nope, not an incorrect spelling) and passed.
Ok, it’s 9:07 pm and we’re talking to our son, Michael, on Skype. Then the room starts shaking, the windows are rattling, and the ground is moving. Yep, it’s our first tremor that we can feel. We are a little slow to respond and by the time Cindy gets outside everyone else is already there. It lasted for about 20 – 30 seconds, but we must say, it seemed longer when your sitting here waiting for ground beneath you TO STOP MOVING. Not the most comforting experience when it‘s almost bedtime.
The “locals” tell us the tremors are a positive because they alleviate the pressure so we won’t have the “Big One”. Guess we will just have to trust them on this. Hope their right.
Ok, it’s 9:07 pm and we’re talking to our son, Michael, on Skype. Then the room starts shaking, the windows are rattling, and the ground is moving. Yep, it’s our first tremor that we can feel. We are a little slow to respond and by the time Cindy gets outside everyone else is already there. It lasted for about 20 – 30 seconds, but we must say, it seemed longer when your sitting here waiting for ground beneath you TO STOP MOVING. Not the most comforting experience when it‘s almost bedtime.
The “locals” tell us the tremors are a positive because they alleviate the pressure so we won’t have the “Big One”. Guess we will just have to trust them on this. Hope their right.
April 13, 2008
We went to a local church today. We left after 2 ½ hours and they were still going. The music was great. The message was good (for the first 30 minutes) but then it was another hour plus of making the same point. It made us miss our churches in Honduras. We really do love our churches in Honduras.
April 12, 2008
We walked to the city carrying our book bags to spend the afternoon studying, guess what, yep, you’re right good ole’ Espanol. We bought the little one in our house another dvd (cost us $2) – Hannah Montana. This is important for the next story.
When we got back to the house the family was taking Dulce, the dog, to some friend to give her away. They called it the “Wedding of Dulce.” Anyway, when the family returned the girls were not happy. So, we spent the evening in our room watching Hannah Montana on Cindy’s computer with Cindy and the two younger girls on our bed with Brad in a chair.
Part of the experience of being in Spanish School is suppose to be living with a family and interacting with them. The family we are staying with is a wonderful experience and is helping us experience and learn more of the culture.
When we got back to the house the family was taking Dulce, the dog, to some friend to give her away. They called it the “Wedding of Dulce.” Anyway, when the family returned the girls were not happy. So, we spent the evening in our room watching Hannah Montana on Cindy’s computer with Cindy and the two younger girls on our bed with Brad in a chair.
Part of the experience of being in Spanish School is suppose to be living with a family and interacting with them. The family we are staying with is a wonderful experience and is helping us experience and learn more of the culture.
April 11, 2008
Spent the afternoon studying and then the evening with some new friends we’ve made at school. It was a nice, relaxing evening being away from our studies for a few hours.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Can You Solve the Puzzle?
We walked by this station wagon several times and commented on the fact how strange it was to see a station wagon in Antigua. Especially one this old. Then one day we figured it out. See what you can do with it.
(Hint: Look at the name of the establishment above the vehicle)
McDonalds Con't
More pics of the Garden at McDonalds. The place is so clean and they come around to your table every so often to see if you want anything. If you do they go get it and bring it to your table.
McDonalds
This is the McDonalds where we do most of our studying. Thought we would put some pictures up so you would understand why we are in Antigua and go to “McDonalds” to study. It’s a little different than what we experience in the states. One pic is of the outside of the building. The other pics are of the Garden where they have tables to eat or study. Also Cindy is sitting with her private Spanish tutor doing her homework (tarea). Maybe our choice of tutor should be re-evaluated.
April 9, 2008
Bad news on the tuk-tuk ride front. Cindy told her instructor about riding in a tuk-tuk (see pictures of a tuk-tuk) and her instructor told her to be careful. Some of the drivers will take you to deserted roads and rob you.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
April 8, 2008
Sometimes when you’re stuck at class and you just kind of do you best to wing it. Brad tried it today. He was translating a sentence from English to Spanish and trying to say he was embarrassed. He didn’t know the word for embarrassed so he thought he would take his best guess. Turns out his best guess was the exact word for pregnant. Oh well, another blunder. Lost track of how many that is now.
We cooked supper for the family and the other student staying here. We had roasted scrod (pretty fancy name for fish covered with smashed Ritz crackers mixed with melted butter), green beans, mac & cheese (the three daughters requested this), and garlic bread.
We’ll let you know tomorrow if all are still living.
We cooked supper for the family and the other student staying here. We had roasted scrod (pretty fancy name for fish covered with smashed Ritz crackers mixed with melted butter), green beans, mac & cheese (the three daughters requested this), and garlic bread.
We’ll let you know tomorrow if all are still living.
April 7, 2008
Monday morning and time to head back to class. As we were walking to class this morning we were reflecting on how much has happened since last Sunday. It seems much longer than a week.
We are back to language grind today. That phrase sounds good but we really don’t consider it a grind. We just wish we could speak Spanish now and not have to wait while we learn it. Brad took his Grado (Grade) A test on Friday and passed.
We are back to language grind today. That phrase sounds good but we really don’t consider it a grind. We just wish we could speak Spanish now and not have to wait while we learn it. Brad took his Grado (Grade) A test on Friday and passed.
April 5 – 6, 2008
Saturday we spent most of the day in the city walking through the open-air market. We bought a couple of dvd’s to give to the girls of our host family. Both dvd’s cost us a total of $4. When we got back to the house Cindy and two of the girls watched both movies.
We also went to our favorite study place, McDonalds, to work on our Spanish. We were sitting outside in the Jardin (Garden) and Cindy had her bags sitting on the chair beside her. She saw something moving in the corner of her eye and reached down to grab her bag because it looked like it was falling off the chair. When she grabbed her bag she also grabbed two fingers of a girl standing behind us who was trying to steal Cindy’s bag. It surprised her so much that the girls were gone before she had time to react. We didn’t even notice the girls were behind us because we were looking at our books studying. The mother of the house where are staying told us about the time she was walking through the open-air market and little girl came up and tried to steal her cell phone out of the pouch on her waist.
Just can’t ever relax. You have to always be aware of who is around you.
Brad was excited Saturday night when he found the Final Four on the TV. It was little fuzzy but it was still good. Especially since UCLA and UNC lost.
Sunday we ate lunch in town, studied some in the park and McDonalds (with a close watch on our bags), and headed to the house. About 6:00 pm we decided we wanted some supper so we walked back to town and got Subway sandwiches to bring home and eat while we studied.
Cindy has been wanting to ride in a tuk-tuk (see picture) since we got Honduras so we took our first tuk-tuk ride back to the house.
We also went to our favorite study place, McDonalds, to work on our Spanish. We were sitting outside in the Jardin (Garden) and Cindy had her bags sitting on the chair beside her. She saw something moving in the corner of her eye and reached down to grab her bag because it looked like it was falling off the chair. When she grabbed her bag she also grabbed two fingers of a girl standing behind us who was trying to steal Cindy’s bag. It surprised her so much that the girls were gone before she had time to react. We didn’t even notice the girls were behind us because we were looking at our books studying. The mother of the house where are staying told us about the time she was walking through the open-air market and little girl came up and tried to steal her cell phone out of the pouch on her waist.
Just can’t ever relax. You have to always be aware of who is around you.
Brad was excited Saturday night when he found the Final Four on the TV. It was little fuzzy but it was still good. Especially since UCLA and UNC lost.
Sunday we ate lunch in town, studied some in the park and McDonalds (with a close watch on our bags), and headed to the house. About 6:00 pm we decided we wanted some supper so we walked back to town and got Subway sandwiches to bring home and eat while we studied.
Cindy has been wanting to ride in a tuk-tuk (see picture) since we got Honduras so we took our first tuk-tuk ride back to the house.
Monday, April 7, 2008
April 4, 2008
It’s Friday! We found out from fellow students at school that we had an earthquake tremor this morning around 7:00 am. We felt nothing. Apparently these are not uncommon here. Nobody seems to even care.
We had our four hours of class this morning. Our Maestros (Teachers) names are Ana (for Cindy) and Marco (for Brad). We both like our teachers very much. Brad had to preach his first sermon in Spanish today. Ok, it was only to his teacher and it lasted about 5 mins with probably half of that time being Brad figuring out how to say what he wanted in Spanish. It was part of his homework assignment. Cindy has about 10 pages of homework each night assigned from her workbooks.
Today Brad took his test for Grado A and passed.
Then got an ice cream from Pollo Campero and walked home for lunch.
However, this time when we walked back to town in the afternoon we didn’t take our books for homework. We decided to take a break and just explore since we don’t have class tomorrow. We spent most of the time in the open air market just looking around.
Our day at the market was cut short when we noticed the very large black clouds coming over the mountains. So, we walked back to the house.
We had our four hours of class this morning. Our Maestros (Teachers) names are Ana (for Cindy) and Marco (for Brad). We both like our teachers very much. Brad had to preach his first sermon in Spanish today. Ok, it was only to his teacher and it lasted about 5 mins with probably half of that time being Brad figuring out how to say what he wanted in Spanish. It was part of his homework assignment. Cindy has about 10 pages of homework each night assigned from her workbooks.
Today Brad took his test for Grado A and passed.
Then got an ice cream from Pollo Campero and walked home for lunch.
However, this time when we walked back to town in the afternoon we didn’t take our books for homework. We decided to take a break and just explore since we don’t have class tomorrow. We spent most of the time in the open air market just looking around.
Our day at the market was cut short when we noticed the very large black clouds coming over the mountains. So, we walked back to the house.
Friday, April 4, 2008
April 4, 2008
Cindy is not sure why she needs to be at language school. She feels she is already at the Master of Spanish level and is speaking it fluently. Today she told our host family their garage door was bored (she meant to say open). She told her instructor our son is purple (she meant dark skinned). At lunch Lesbia asked her to pass the tortillas and she passed the salad. And she just told our host family we would like to live under the house. How much more does she really need to learn? And for all her Bolivia friends Cindy says she may just go to Chichicastenango. Come on down and join us!
More Language School Pics
Here are the four of us with our instructors. Friday is dress down day so the instructors don't have to wear their uniforms.
Language School Pics
Brad and his instructor Marco at their table where they spend four hours everyday Monday through Friday.
More Language School Pics
Pics of the inside of our school. It's a two-story building with an an open courtyard in the middle and tables in the courtyard and around the outside under the cover. It's very pretty on the inside.
Language School Pics
Pics of the outside of our language school. It's called Christian Spanish Academy.
More Language School Pics
Some pics of the streets we walk down to get to school. All the streets are cobblestone and sidewalks are not in good shape. The cars don't drive too fast but the motorcycles move along at a pretty good pace so you have always be on the lookout for next motorcylce.
Language School Pics
These are pics of the house where we are staying. It's nice. That's their car backing into their garage/carport. No automatic garage doors here for security reasons. The doors are locked and when they need them open you can hear them honk from the house. Someone goes and physically opens the door.
The house is enclosed by the fence you see and the door to the gate is locked 24 hours a day. This seems to be a common practice in Latin America.
More Med/Den Pics
More pictures from the Med/Den Clinic:
Pharmacy
Pics from a house Dr. Lacey visited.
Med/Den Clinic Pics
These are pictures from the Medical/Dental clinic held the last week of February.
Top to bottom they are:
Triage
Children's Church
Eyeglasses
Medical
Medical
Dental
Worming
Eyeglasses
April 3, 2008
Today is our granddaughter’s birthday. She is two years old today. It sure doesn’t seem like it’s been two years since she was born.
We have completed four days of language school. Only eleven weeks and one day to go. There is so much we want (read “need”) to learn we are not sure eleven more weeks are going to be enough.
We have gotten in to a little routine. We go to school from 8 – 12 with a 30 minute break from 10:00 – 10:30. It is definitely needed. The school has coffee, hot tea, and water available for free all morning. So we drink lots of tea and Brad has some coffee.
During the break a lady comes in as sets up at one of the vacant tables. She brings food she has made at home: tostados, doblados (our favorites) – it’s a fried tortilla stuffed with meat, a cooked cabbage stuffed with red sauce and something else (not bad), and something else we can’t remember at the moment (obviously we don’t get it ).
By noon our brains are hurting and we are ready to do something different. We walk back to our house, have lunch, help with the dishes, mess around for about thirty minutes and then walk back to town to do our homework at McDonalds.
Yep, McDonalds. It’s a little different than the one in the states. It has a huge beautiful outdoor courtyard (is that repetitive outdoor and courtyard). We usually get a coke and spend about 2 ½ to 3 hours doing homework.
We then do some walking around town and walk back to our house. Eat supper somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00. Spend some time talking with our host family. Ok, it's more listening to them talk and us using a lot of very broken Spanish, pointing, and them stepping in with some English when things get really bad. Then a little reviewing of our material and off to bed.
We have completed four days of language school. Only eleven weeks and one day to go. There is so much we want (read “need”) to learn we are not sure eleven more weeks are going to be enough.
We have gotten in to a little routine. We go to school from 8 – 12 with a 30 minute break from 10:00 – 10:30. It is definitely needed. The school has coffee, hot tea, and water available for free all morning. So we drink lots of tea and Brad has some coffee.
During the break a lady comes in as sets up at one of the vacant tables. She brings food she has made at home: tostados, doblados (our favorites) – it’s a fried tortilla stuffed with meat, a cooked cabbage stuffed with red sauce and something else (not bad), and something else we can’t remember at the moment (obviously we don’t get it ).
By noon our brains are hurting and we are ready to do something different. We walk back to our house, have lunch, help with the dishes, mess around for about thirty minutes and then walk back to town to do our homework at McDonalds.
Yep, McDonalds. It’s a little different than the one in the states. It has a huge beautiful outdoor courtyard (is that repetitive outdoor and courtyard). We usually get a coke and spend about 2 ½ to 3 hours doing homework.
We then do some walking around town and walk back to our house. Eat supper somewhere between 7:00 and 8:00. Spend some time talking with our host family. Ok, it's more listening to them talk and us using a lot of very broken Spanish, pointing, and them stepping in with some English when things get really bad. Then a little reviewing of our material and off to bed.
April 2, 2008
The local pastors met the Thursday before we left to discuss plans while we are away for three months. Saul told us the pastors were disappointed we would be gone for three months; however, after the meeting they were excited about their plans for the three months.
We are working toward and praying to transition the leadership of the work to the pastors as soon as possible. We intentionally stayed away from the meeting for several reasons: (1) we didn’t want to influence any of their decisions, (2) we want them to begin to take ownership and be confident they can make decisions and handle the leadership responsibilities – which we are confident they can, (3) if we are present they are much more likely to ask us for money as the solution to problems that arise or the only way to fund something they want to do. If we are not present they are more likely to consider other options. (e.g. they arranged for the bus to bring all the people to campaign without ever consulting us)
We were excited when Saul shared with Brad the pastors’ plans for the next three months. Their plans are as follows:
1. Saul and Miguel (president of the pastors in Honduras) will alternate preaching at the church at El Banano (where we had the crusade) every two weeks in an effort to encourage pastor Elias and the church.
2. Starting April 10th they will go to the village close to us, El Porvenir, to begin the process of starting a new church.
3. Saul will travel to visit the churches in the other parts of Honduras in the middle of April and plans to take Marcos and Marcial (two of the local pastors who are attending the Bible Institute) with him. This should encourage the churches while at the same time strengthening the relationships between pastors. Saul will also take with him several bags of clothes for each pastor and their church.
4. Saul will again travel to visit the churches in the other parts of Honduras in June and plans are to have Miguel go with him. We would like to do this every month but with the Bible Institute being in session during May it’s impossible at the present time.
5. Saul will be distributing to the local pastors several bags of close each. When we organized the storage room we found out we had many, many bags of clothes and some of the ladies on the ST team last week were kind enough to go through ALL of them and separate them out for pastors.
6. Two of the local pastors, Elias (El Banano) and Milton (San Manuel), want to come to the Bible Institute. In addition a gentleman named Raul who lives in El Porvenir and is a friend of the local pastors wants to attend. These three will begin attending (most likely starting in May) on Saturdays. They do not feel they can attend during the week because of work. All of our pastors work at other jobs to support their families and this is an issue we need to address as we move
7. Saul will be arranging and coordinating the Medical/Dental team that is coming the middle of May and also coordinating the two VBS teams coming in late June/early July. These are not easy and will require a significant amount of prep work before the teams arrive.
8. Saul will also be getting the house where the Bible Institute students stay remodeled to accommodate our new student (the sister of one of the students).
9. Saul (Director of the Bible Institute) put together a budget to cover the three months we are away and he will be working within the budget. This is a great opportunity for him to become more acquainted with the money flow within the church planting operation.
If you could join us in praying for the three months we are away while the pastors work their plan. Will everything work out just the way they have planned? Probably not. Would everything work out the way we had it planned if we were there doing this? Probably not. Our desire is that: (1) Saul, Miguel, and the other pastors will gain confidence in their ability to do this and make decisions in these areas (2) that when things don’t go as planned they will not lose confidence. We are not looking for perfection but for this to be a learning process on the road to independence for churches in Honduras.
We are working toward and praying to transition the leadership of the work to the pastors as soon as possible. We intentionally stayed away from the meeting for several reasons: (1) we didn’t want to influence any of their decisions, (2) we want them to begin to take ownership and be confident they can make decisions and handle the leadership responsibilities – which we are confident they can, (3) if we are present they are much more likely to ask us for money as the solution to problems that arise or the only way to fund something they want to do. If we are not present they are more likely to consider other options. (e.g. they arranged for the bus to bring all the people to campaign without ever consulting us)
We were excited when Saul shared with Brad the pastors’ plans for the next three months. Their plans are as follows:
1. Saul and Miguel (president of the pastors in Honduras) will alternate preaching at the church at El Banano (where we had the crusade) every two weeks in an effort to encourage pastor Elias and the church.
2. Starting April 10th they will go to the village close to us, El Porvenir, to begin the process of starting a new church.
3. Saul will travel to visit the churches in the other parts of Honduras in the middle of April and plans to take Marcos and Marcial (two of the local pastors who are attending the Bible Institute) with him. This should encourage the churches while at the same time strengthening the relationships between pastors. Saul will also take with him several bags of clothes for each pastor and their church.
4. Saul will again travel to visit the churches in the other parts of Honduras in June and plans are to have Miguel go with him. We would like to do this every month but with the Bible Institute being in session during May it’s impossible at the present time.
5. Saul will be distributing to the local pastors several bags of close each. When we organized the storage room we found out we had many, many bags of clothes and some of the ladies on the ST team last week were kind enough to go through ALL of them and separate them out for pastors.
6. Two of the local pastors, Elias (El Banano) and Milton (San Manuel), want to come to the Bible Institute. In addition a gentleman named Raul who lives in El Porvenir and is a friend of the local pastors wants to attend. These three will begin attending (most likely starting in May) on Saturdays. They do not feel they can attend during the week because of work. All of our pastors work at other jobs to support their families and this is an issue we need to address as we move
7. Saul will be arranging and coordinating the Medical/Dental team that is coming the middle of May and also coordinating the two VBS teams coming in late June/early July. These are not easy and will require a significant amount of prep work before the teams arrive.
8. Saul will also be getting the house where the Bible Institute students stay remodeled to accommodate our new student (the sister of one of the students).
9. Saul (Director of the Bible Institute) put together a budget to cover the three months we are away and he will be working within the budget. This is a great opportunity for him to become more acquainted with the money flow within the church planting operation.
If you could join us in praying for the three months we are away while the pastors work their plan. Will everything work out just the way they have planned? Probably not. Would everything work out the way we had it planned if we were there doing this? Probably not. Our desire is that: (1) Saul, Miguel, and the other pastors will gain confidence in their ability to do this and make decisions in these areas (2) that when things don’t go as planned they will not lose confidence. We are not looking for perfection but for this to be a learning process on the road to independence for churches in Honduras.
March 31, 2008
Language school started today with the 20 minute walk to the school on a beautiful day in Antigua. We arrived at the school at 8:00. Introduced ourselves to the receptionist. She handed us our new student info packets. Introduced us to our separate instructors who escorted us to our private tables. And immediately our world became Spanish. After four hours our brains were ready for a break.
March 30, 2008
Finally, the day has arrived to go to language school. However, now we’re not sure how excited we are to leave and have to adjust to a new environment. We are just getting comfortable in our present location. But, the plane tickets say this is the day so off to the airport we go.
We go through all the hurdles to get on the plane – we are flying Taca. Oh, never heard of it? Neither had we until we got to Honduras. However, after flying Taca we found out it is a very professionally run airline. We leave San Pedro Sula at 7:10 and arrive in San Salvador, El Salvador at 7:50. We leave San Salvador and arrive in Guatemala City, Guatemala at 9:10. As we are standing in the immigration line at the airport we can see the luggage carousel and all four of our bags are already on it. Yea. This is great. We pass through immigration and have a gentleman put our bags on a cart. He says come this way and we follow. As he flies past customs we hand the lady our custom form and out the door we go. We see the man holding a sign with our names on it. He pulls the van up, they load our luggage, we tip the baggage man, and we are in the van headed for Antigua by 9:35. This has all happened so fast and so smoothly since leaving our home we are wondering when the wheels are going to come off. They never do.
After about a 40 minute drive from Guatemala City to Antigua we pull up in front of the house we will be staying in for the next three months. We unload our bags. Our driver (who is a full-time fireman and just does this as a side job) takes our bags inside. We meet our host family and find out it’s the family we requested. How awesome since two of our teammates, the Smiths and the Willis, stayed with this family and they loved them.
We take our bags to our room. Get a brief intro to the house. The family leaves for church and we begin walking to town to get a bite to eat. Both flights were so short we didn’t even get something to drink much less to eat.
It’s about a 10 minute walk to town and about a 20 minute walk to our school each day. It was strange seeing so many people wearing sweaters and coats after being in Honduras for three months and sweating from morning until night and then some. As we get to town we look at our watch and it’s not even 11:00 am. This is strange. We have been on two international flights and three countries and we’ve only left our house a little more than five hours ago. In case you’re interested we had pizza for lunch.
Tomorrow we start thirteen weeks of Spanish for four hours each day, five days a week. Our heads are already hurting and we haven’t even started yet.
We go through all the hurdles to get on the plane – we are flying Taca. Oh, never heard of it? Neither had we until we got to Honduras. However, after flying Taca we found out it is a very professionally run airline. We leave San Pedro Sula at 7:10 and arrive in San Salvador, El Salvador at 7:50. We leave San Salvador and arrive in Guatemala City, Guatemala at 9:10. As we are standing in the immigration line at the airport we can see the luggage carousel and all four of our bags are already on it. Yea. This is great. We pass through immigration and have a gentleman put our bags on a cart. He says come this way and we follow. As he flies past customs we hand the lady our custom form and out the door we go. We see the man holding a sign with our names on it. He pulls the van up, they load our luggage, we tip the baggage man, and we are in the van headed for Antigua by 9:35. This has all happened so fast and so smoothly since leaving our home we are wondering when the wheels are going to come off. They never do.
After about a 40 minute drive from Guatemala City to Antigua we pull up in front of the house we will be staying in for the next three months. We unload our bags. Our driver (who is a full-time fireman and just does this as a side job) takes our bags inside. We meet our host family and find out it’s the family we requested. How awesome since two of our teammates, the Smiths and the Willis, stayed with this family and they loved them.
We take our bags to our room. Get a brief intro to the house. The family leaves for church and we begin walking to town to get a bite to eat. Both flights were so short we didn’t even get something to drink much less to eat.
It’s about a 10 minute walk to town and about a 20 minute walk to our school each day. It was strange seeing so many people wearing sweaters and coats after being in Honduras for three months and sweating from morning until night and then some. As we get to town we look at our watch and it’s not even 11:00 am. This is strange. We have been on two international flights and three countries and we’ve only left our house a little more than five hours ago. In case you’re interested we had pizza for lunch.
Tomorrow we start thirteen weeks of Spanish for four hours each day, five days a week. Our heads are already hurting and we haven’t even started yet.
March 28-29, 2008.
In our last meeting with pastors they decided it we needed to have a campaign/crusade in El Banano to support the church and the pastor there. We’re not sure the entire history of the church but it used to be pretty strong, the pastor had some moral failures, and the church has been struggling every since. We have a new gentleman, Elias, who is the new pastor. He is a former drug addict who was baptized just last September and seems to have a real love for Jesus and for people. The pastors want to help him and encourage him. They also wanted to have the campaign before we left for Guatemala. So, they picked the two nights before we left for language school. Because we want them to take the reins we agreed to whatever they decided.
On Friday morning, March 28th, the short-term team that is here wanted to pass out beans and rice to needy families we decided it pass them out in the same community we were starting the campaign that night. What we didn’t realize is that the houses are not very close together, the roads are such that the bus can’t take the team to the house, and mucho much (a little spanlish thrown in just for fun) walking will be required to get it all passed out. To make it worse for the past four days we have had clouds and cool (for Honduras) weather. The day we are passing out the food the sun is bright and it is very hot. The team worked so hard passing out the food. The only time any of them stopped was when they passed out (yes one did), they thought they were going to throw up (yes one did feel this way but never did), or their bodies just would not go anymore (believe a couple fell into this category). We were impressed and thankful for how hard they worked to make sure everybody got some food.
Friday evening we pick up Saul and head to the church for the campaign – or so we thought. When we get to the village the campaign is not going to be at the church. Nope. The campaign is going to be at the main intersection of the two dirt roads in the village. Some of the pastors along with some helpers have rigged up lights on banana trees, put together a small stage with a podium and lights, and brought a nice sound system from the church in La Sabana. The sound system is blaring music and it’s good stuff. We got the name of the artist and are actively looking for the cd. Maybe we can even understand the words after language school.
They have plastic chairs set up in the middle of the intersection. Yep, right in the middle of the intersection. Next thing we know they are bringing more chairs and setting them up. Understand it’s suppose to start at 6:30 and it’s now 6:20 and we only have about 12 people there. They proceed to setup about 60 – 70 chairs making sure they leave room on both sides of the rows and between the front row and the stage so the cars can get past them while the campaign is going on. And yes, during the service we had cars drive through and on man ride his bike drinking his whiskey pass between the first row of seats and the stage. Man, this is GREAT! This is what it’s about.
Ok, back to the story. At 6:40 they have all the pastors, leaders, and myself gather in circle and begin to pray for the service. We’re thinking it’s 10 minutes past the time to start and we still only have the same 12 people here. We are feeling bad for the pastors because they have put so much work into this. We pray for maybe 10 minutes and when we look up there are now about 40 people here. Amazing, but it gets better.
Tonight our kids from Faith Home (Hogar de Fe) are responsible for the music. The only problem is it’s 7:00 and they are still not here and we haven’t started the service. Once again, the only people that seem too concerned are us Norte Americanos. About 7:10 a big yellow school bus pulls up and about 60 people from our local churches get off the bus including our kids with their instruments. After a brief sound check we start the service about 50 minutes late. We end up with about 150 people at the service. All the seats are full and people are standing everywhere and many are sitting on or in the back of the few pickup trucks parked on the side of the road. It this great or what? (Well, except for the massive number of bug bites we got)
What was so exciting about the bus is that we didn’t know anything about it. The pastors felt free enough to take the initiative to arrange for the bus and any expenses associated with it without feeling they had to consult us.
They made Brad preach on this night. He tried to get out of it because we want people to see the pastors as the leaders – not Brad the “missionary.” But, they insisted, so we felt obligated support them in what they worked hard to plan.
After the message the pastors and a few others went to each person individually that was not a member of one of our churches and talked with them about where they stood with Jesus Christ.
After it was over we had to take everything down, move it down the street to a gentleman’s house, and lock it up to prevent theft. Which means the next day they will have to set everything up again. We got home about 10:30. Took care of some details that needed attention before our leaving and then went to bed – very excited about what had just happened.
The next morning Saul said he needed to talk with us. The pastors had talked the night before and decided it would be best if we didn’t come the campaign the second night because we had to get up at 4:00 am the next day to leave for Guatemala. They were worried we would not get enough rest. It’s nice to be working with people who care so much about each other. So, we took their recommendation, stayed home and packed for Guatemala.
March 22-30, 2008
We spent the week working with the team that is here, organizing our storage room and finding out what we have, distributing supplies in the medical clinic for the upcoming medical/dental team in May, making arrangements for the same team to come in May, working or arrangements for two vacation Bible school teams to come in back-to-back weeks the end of June/first of July, and making preparations to leave on Sunday March 30th for three months in Guatemala. Otherwise the week was pretty uneventful. We couldn’t get many of the arrangements made the previous week because it was Holy Week and not much is open or operating.
March 22, 2008
We have realized our life now consists of continually living in an environment where we are never sure we know just exactly what if going on, what is being said, what someone is asking us to do, or what we need to do/be doing. It can be a little unnerving to do this day after day after day. We can only imagine what it’s like for those who live in cultures that are so much more different from their home culture. Wow!
March 20, 2008
We went to the grocery today and while there we wanted to get a key made for some of our teammates. The key-making place is just a small wooden shack on the corner of the street. We had been there last week and they had a large selection of blanks so we had no trouble getting all the keys we needed. Key making is big business in Honduras because security is such a concern and everybody locks up everything. Many times the problem you have in getting keys made is the places have a limited supply of blanks and often they will not have the blank needed to make your key.
After seeing the large supply they had last week we made the bad assumption this would be a quick process without any hassles. Never assume that here. Cindy and Paul waited in the van while Brad walked across the street to get the key made. This shouldn’t take long – right? There is nobody else at the key place. Brad will be first in line.
Not so! When Brad hands them the key he notices they don’t have the large quantity of blanks hanging on the wall like they did last week. Strange! The lady making the key pulls out a small plastic bag filled with blanks, dumps them on the table, and begins to sort through them. She can’t find one that works so she calls her partner over and they both are sorting through the small pile of blank keys on the table. After several minutes it becomes obvious they can’t find a blank. Brad is thinking he just won’t get the key made today.
They, on the other hand, don’t seem to be too concerned about the situation. They begin opening up several drawers and looking through drawers full of all kind of stuff including a blank key here and there. Next they pull out a small metal box that is locked. Apparently there are more blanks in the box but it’s locked. The man gets out a key, Brad’s assuming it’s the key to box, and tries to open the box with the key. The key won’t work. So, how does he get the box open? Remember we are at the place where they make keys! He uses a screwdriver to manipulate the lock and open the box.
Not a real confidence booster that the key they are about to make is actually going to work. Oh, we of little faith. Inside the box they find the correct blank. Make the key. And guess what. It works great.
The two minute or less expected time to get a key has turned into to about a 10 -15 minute process and a very educational process at that. Once again, we learned the lesson: Never assume because it worked a certain way last week it will work the same way this week. Very bad way to plan your daily activities.
After seeing the large supply they had last week we made the bad assumption this would be a quick process without any hassles. Never assume that here. Cindy and Paul waited in the van while Brad walked across the street to get the key made. This shouldn’t take long – right? There is nobody else at the key place. Brad will be first in line.
Not so! When Brad hands them the key he notices they don’t have the large quantity of blanks hanging on the wall like they did last week. Strange! The lady making the key pulls out a small plastic bag filled with blanks, dumps them on the table, and begins to sort through them. She can’t find one that works so she calls her partner over and they both are sorting through the small pile of blank keys on the table. After several minutes it becomes obvious they can’t find a blank. Brad is thinking he just won’t get the key made today.
They, on the other hand, don’t seem to be too concerned about the situation. They begin opening up several drawers and looking through drawers full of all kind of stuff including a blank key here and there. Next they pull out a small metal box that is locked. Apparently there are more blanks in the box but it’s locked. The man gets out a key, Brad’s assuming it’s the key to box, and tries to open the box with the key. The key won’t work. So, how does he get the box open? Remember we are at the place where they make keys! He uses a screwdriver to manipulate the lock and open the box.
Not a real confidence booster that the key they are about to make is actually going to work. Oh, we of little faith. Inside the box they find the correct blank. Make the key. And guess what. It works great.
The two minute or less expected time to get a key has turned into to about a 10 -15 minute process and a very educational process at that. Once again, we learned the lesson: Never assume because it worked a certain way last week it will work the same way this week. Very bad way to plan your daily activities.
March 14 – 17, 2008
The trip to visit the churches in the capital Tegucigalpa, Choluteca, and Danli was very good. It was a lot driving (about 1100 kilometers) on two lane roads that wind through mountains. Brad went along with Saul and Miguel (the head of the pastors in Honduras). They let Brad drive the entire time because as Saul said “We want you to have the full experience.” Brad said he got pretty comfortable passing on curves and hills. A little different than driving in the States.
(Brad’s account of the trip)
We met several people who walk an hour or more each way to get to church. Very humbling to be around these people and see what they are willing to do to get to church. The first church was in Los Perles (about a 1.5 hour drive from Danli where we stayed the first night). It was about 8 hours of driving to from Hogar de Fe to the church on Friday. There were about 25-30 people there.
Before church we were able to spend some time with Juan Bonilla and his family at their home. Juan used to pastor a church but now has a serious heart condition and is unable to pastor anymore. He can’t read so his wife would read the Bible and then Juan would memorize his sermon and Bible references with his wife’s help. While at there house (which has dirt floors) their son, Jose Luis (one of our Bible Institute students) caught an iguana that was probably 4.5 – 5 feet long from nose to the end of the tail. I was afraid he was going to try and give it to me and I would have no idea what to do with it. Fortunately he didn’t, but I did find out later from Saul he offered to Saul but Saul declined it because he didn’t know what I would think about him taking it home. Saul says they are excellent to eat. Maybe someday. Not sure my stomach’s ready for it yet.
While visiting the Bonilla family Jose Luis’ sister told us she wants to come to the Bible Institute. So, we are making plans for her to be at the Bible Institute when they come back in May. IF we will just be patient and wait for God to bring us the people He wants He will do amazing things.
My Daily Moto Is: “Brad, Just don’t mess it up today.”
At the church they visited with the Pastor Diaz(who is one of the Bible students) before church. It seemed to mean a lot to the pastor, his family, and the church to have us there. It let them know they are supported, loved, and cared for. In fact, this was a common theme at every church and pastor we visited.
After church we drove the 1.5 hours back to our hotel at night. Night driving in Honduras is much more adventurous (read dangerous) than daytime driving. On the way back we had to avoid a cow in the road and later a horse in the road. We also had to avoid hitting a car that was stopped in our lane with no lights on. We avoided hitting several kids on bikes parked in the middle of our lane just talking and another car moving slowly in our lane with no taillights. Just another night driving in Honduras. It ‘s never boring.
On Saturday we drove another five hours to Choluteca to visit Pastor Ramone and his church. We visited with Ramone and one of his leaders, Milton, at Ramone’s house for about an hour. It was a fairly heated, open, and honest discussion of some problems that Ramone and Milton have with the way they feel they have been treated. I must say, most of their concerns are valid. All I told them was “Whatever you do make sure you are doing what God wants you to do. If you don’t you will never be happy with your decision. I also told them I would support them and hoped to continue working with them no matter what they decided.” After church we took Ramone and his family out for supper to celebrate pastor appreciation day with them. It was actually back in January but this is the first opportunity we’ve had to get down to see them.
The next morning we drove the three hours back to Tegucigalpa to visit two churches on Sunday. One met at 3:00 pm and the other at 7:00 pm. We picked up the pastors, Oscar and Mercedes, at their home and drove them to the church with us. They normally walk and it’s about an hour walk each way.
In between services we took Oscar, Mercedes, and Tino (the pastor of the 7:00 pm service) out to eat for pastor appreciation. While eating we found out that Tino’s father had passed away three weeks ago. This was heartbreaking because this is the first we had found out about it. This was an eye-opener to our failed communication with the pastors and churches who are not close to Hogar de Fe. We have immediately implemented a plan for Saul to call these pastors at least once every two weeks just to see how it’s going.
After the 7:00 pm service we took an elderly woman and her granddaughter home. They too walk to church and it’s about a 45 – 60 minute walk one-way. The next morning we drove the four hours home. Definitely ready to see Cindy and be home. It’s nice to be able to call our house “home” now.
Observations from the trip:
We need to try and personally visit these pastors and churches once per month. It may not be possible every month but we should try. Please pray about a better method to let these pastors and churches know about and experience our support.
It was a very encouraging experience to see what these men and women are doing and their commitment to God and the people of their churches.
Every church we visited began with many of the people on their knees praying before the service began. Hum??????
I think the pastors enjoyed the opportunity to be able to share and talk freely without feeling as if someone was there to critique them, criticism them, tell them what they should be doing, or not listen to what they had to say.
Since I speak muy poco Espanol I could not really enter in to the conversations with the pastors. So, I left it to Saul and Miguel to work with the pastors which was great because the goal is for them to begin running the show as soon as possible anyway.
I did learn that even when you can’t speak the language you can still mess with the kids. So, while Saul, Miguel, and the pastors were talking I spent time playing with the kids.
On the way home Saul, Miguel, and I were able to discuss what we had learned on the trip and what we should about it. Well, it was with Saul interpreting since Miguel speaks no Ingles.
I’m afraid we’ve created a situation where the pastors and churches think most problems are solved with money and the is suppose to come from us, “The Mission”, through the donations of North Americans. In every church I shared God’s plan to reach the world with message of the Gospel and His expectation that all His people should be participating in this great endeavor. We need to move from the receiving phase to the giving and support stage. It doesn’t matter how poor you believe you are – God expects all of us to be a part of His plan and He believes in us enough to trust us to fulfill His plan through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
We are trying to expand the pastors and churches’ vision to see 2.3 billion people around the world that have never heard the gospel and begin seeking God to see how they are to be a part of reaching these people. Please pray with us as we continue to encourage our churches to join God’s efforts to reach the world. I truly believe this will be a major break through for our pastors and churches when they realize they are capable, they do have the resources, and they can play a major role in God’s plan to reach the world.
(Brad’s account of the trip)
We met several people who walk an hour or more each way to get to church. Very humbling to be around these people and see what they are willing to do to get to church. The first church was in Los Perles (about a 1.5 hour drive from Danli where we stayed the first night). It was about 8 hours of driving to from Hogar de Fe to the church on Friday. There were about 25-30 people there.
Before church we were able to spend some time with Juan Bonilla and his family at their home. Juan used to pastor a church but now has a serious heart condition and is unable to pastor anymore. He can’t read so his wife would read the Bible and then Juan would memorize his sermon and Bible references with his wife’s help. While at there house (which has dirt floors) their son, Jose Luis (one of our Bible Institute students) caught an iguana that was probably 4.5 – 5 feet long from nose to the end of the tail. I was afraid he was going to try and give it to me and I would have no idea what to do with it. Fortunately he didn’t, but I did find out later from Saul he offered to Saul but Saul declined it because he didn’t know what I would think about him taking it home. Saul says they are excellent to eat. Maybe someday. Not sure my stomach’s ready for it yet.
While visiting the Bonilla family Jose Luis’ sister told us she wants to come to the Bible Institute. So, we are making plans for her to be at the Bible Institute when they come back in May. IF we will just be patient and wait for God to bring us the people He wants He will do amazing things.
My Daily Moto Is: “Brad, Just don’t mess it up today.”
At the church they visited with the Pastor Diaz(who is one of the Bible students) before church. It seemed to mean a lot to the pastor, his family, and the church to have us there. It let them know they are supported, loved, and cared for. In fact, this was a common theme at every church and pastor we visited.
After church we drove the 1.5 hours back to our hotel at night. Night driving in Honduras is much more adventurous (read dangerous) than daytime driving. On the way back we had to avoid a cow in the road and later a horse in the road. We also had to avoid hitting a car that was stopped in our lane with no lights on. We avoided hitting several kids on bikes parked in the middle of our lane just talking and another car moving slowly in our lane with no taillights. Just another night driving in Honduras. It ‘s never boring.
On Saturday we drove another five hours to Choluteca to visit Pastor Ramone and his church. We visited with Ramone and one of his leaders, Milton, at Ramone’s house for about an hour. It was a fairly heated, open, and honest discussion of some problems that Ramone and Milton have with the way they feel they have been treated. I must say, most of their concerns are valid. All I told them was “Whatever you do make sure you are doing what God wants you to do. If you don’t you will never be happy with your decision. I also told them I would support them and hoped to continue working with them no matter what they decided.” After church we took Ramone and his family out for supper to celebrate pastor appreciation day with them. It was actually back in January but this is the first opportunity we’ve had to get down to see them.
The next morning we drove the three hours back to Tegucigalpa to visit two churches on Sunday. One met at 3:00 pm and the other at 7:00 pm. We picked up the pastors, Oscar and Mercedes, at their home and drove them to the church with us. They normally walk and it’s about an hour walk each way.
In between services we took Oscar, Mercedes, and Tino (the pastor of the 7:00 pm service) out to eat for pastor appreciation. While eating we found out that Tino’s father had passed away three weeks ago. This was heartbreaking because this is the first we had found out about it. This was an eye-opener to our failed communication with the pastors and churches who are not close to Hogar de Fe. We have immediately implemented a plan for Saul to call these pastors at least once every two weeks just to see how it’s going.
After the 7:00 pm service we took an elderly woman and her granddaughter home. They too walk to church and it’s about a 45 – 60 minute walk one-way. The next morning we drove the four hours home. Definitely ready to see Cindy and be home. It’s nice to be able to call our house “home” now.
Observations from the trip:
We need to try and personally visit these pastors and churches once per month. It may not be possible every month but we should try. Please pray about a better method to let these pastors and churches know about and experience our support.
It was a very encouraging experience to see what these men and women are doing and their commitment to God and the people of their churches.
Every church we visited began with many of the people on their knees praying before the service began. Hum??????
I think the pastors enjoyed the opportunity to be able to share and talk freely without feeling as if someone was there to critique them, criticism them, tell them what they should be doing, or not listen to what they had to say.
Since I speak muy poco Espanol I could not really enter in to the conversations with the pastors. So, I left it to Saul and Miguel to work with the pastors which was great because the goal is for them to begin running the show as soon as possible anyway.
I did learn that even when you can’t speak the language you can still mess with the kids. So, while Saul, Miguel, and the pastors were talking I spent time playing with the kids.
On the way home Saul, Miguel, and I were able to discuss what we had learned on the trip and what we should about it. Well, it was with Saul interpreting since Miguel speaks no Ingles.
I’m afraid we’ve created a situation where the pastors and churches think most problems are solved with money and the is suppose to come from us, “The Mission”, through the donations of North Americans. In every church I shared God’s plan to reach the world with message of the Gospel and His expectation that all His people should be participating in this great endeavor. We need to move from the receiving phase to the giving and support stage. It doesn’t matter how poor you believe you are – God expects all of us to be a part of His plan and He believes in us enough to trust us to fulfill His plan through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
We are trying to expand the pastors and churches’ vision to see 2.3 billion people around the world that have never heard the gospel and begin seeking God to see how they are to be a part of reaching these people. Please pray with us as we continue to encourage our churches to join God’s efforts to reach the world. I truly believe this will be a major break through for our pastors and churches when they realize they are capable, they do have the resources, and they can play a major role in God’s plan to reach the world.
March 15, 2008
Brad is traveling through Honduras visiting churches and Cindy is home by herself. During the night she hears a noise outside the side door to the house. It’s obvious it is not a person but some type of critter. She goes outside to find a medium sized iguana on the screen door to the house. Cindy gets a stick and with some encouragement gets the iguana to move off of the door. The commotion of the iguana leaving disturbs the birds in the nest above the door (a nest Cindy was not aware of at the time). The birds are frightened by the all the iguana commotion and fly from their nest right over the top of Cindy’s head. It was a little nerve-racking to have some unknown creature flying directly over your head while she’s focused on trying to stay away from the iguana who is fleeing the screen door.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)