Sharing what it is all about

Much of our work is advance-preparation.  We travel the roads, the byways, and even sometimes the hedges, to find the areas where the Gospel has not penetrated the darkness.  We rejoice when we find the Light shining brightly in cities, towns, villages, communities through the lives of His people scattered throughout the lands.  And we grieve in those areas where darkness still holds men bound in lostness without hope.  It's true that many of those areas have "churches" but most offer a false doctrine that doesn't present the message of Salvation by faith alone in Jesus Christ.  It is here where we gather as much research as much as we can.

As we add our research into the database of the International Mission Board, it is with understanding that the future missionaries are being commissioned to areas with a less than 2% evangelical witness.  Most areas in Central America are considered 2% or above.  But is Central America evangelical?  No, not by any means. But if it is to be totally evangelized it must be reached by the national believers.  So it is with great joy that we are able to share our research with national churches in order for them to catch the vision of global outreach.

As with many of our churches in the states, churches here in Central America have become complacent.
Their thoughts include:

• Someone else will reach the lost.
• I don't have the training.
• I don't know the language.
• I don't have the funds.
• The missionaries are there to do the work.

As their thoughts have turned inward to themselves and to what the missionaries or mission teams can bring/give them, they have a tendency to shrink, developing a consumer mentality...just like in the states.  God did not intend for us to focus on ourselves but to continue the work throughout the world until ALL have heard and responded to the Gospel!

Last year as we shared our research from the Ch'orti', Pastor Victoriano and our church caught the vision and have begun working there with the goal by the end of this year to have a church planter from our church living among the Ch'orti' presenting the claims of Christ to those walking in darkness, longing to know the Truth.

As we have shared our goal of what we do in our research with Pastor Nahum here in Copán Ruinas, he has asked David to share with two different congregations this Sunday.  David will share the areas we have discovered where the Light of the Gospel is non existent or dimmed with the goal that his people will catch the vision of going, sharing, and living wherever God calls.  Everyone is sent! 

Pray for David as He prepares - it takes much time to prepare to share your heart and God's vision in another language.
Pray for Pastor Nahum as He hears the call.
Pray for the people as they are challenged to walk in obedience.
Pray for those will be called to serve in areas that are foreign to them that the path will be illuminated as they go.

The oft' traveled roads of Honduras

Since pictures are so difficult to upload on our computer while we are in Honduras I haven't shown you any of the beautiful scenery that we are enjoying as we travel.  But I did want you to see where all our journey has taken us.

Follow the blue wider line on the map below and you will see out first journey.  We left Copan Ruinas and went to San Pedro Sula then on to La Ceiba on the Caribbean Sea.  From there we traveled further west and then headed down south.  We stopped in El Carbon and then spent three nights in San Esteban.  We traveled south then west to the capital city of Tegucigolpa for a couple of nights before heading north to San Pedro Sula and back west  to Copan Ruinas.  That was the long trip about which you recently read.

One day last week, we traveled with Pastor Nahum on the red line down to town of Gracias.  We left about 7 in the morning and returned about 6 in the evening.

Earlier this week we traveled back to San Pedro Sula to El Progreso and back to La Ceiba.  We left on the 9:30 am ferry on Monday to the island of Roatan and then on over to West End.  Wednesday we took the 7 am return ferry to La Ceiba and returned to Copan Ruinas. That is the purple line on the map.

Now we will leave next Tuesday with Pastor Nahum again and take the orange marked route over to Orica.  It will be a hard 8 hour drive from Copan.  We will stay there overnight and then travel about 3 more hours to meet with another brother to gather the information we need and return to the same place to spend the night.  On the return trip the next day, we will stop in San Pedro Sula to get our car before returning to Copan Ruinas.  Then a couple of days later, we will be return to our home in Guatemala.

As you can see from the map, we have done alot of driving (thanks to my wonderful "chafeur") and alot of bumping along the way.  But along every mile we have seen the glory of the Lord.  As we have traveled some of the roads for the second time (or more) we often say, it sure makes a difference when you know where you're going!  We appreciate your prayers for us; we do not take it lightly that it is indeed God who goes before us, behind us, beside us, beneath us, above us and in us. 



As you contiue to pray for us as we travel, pray for those along the way who still need to hear the message of Salvation in faith alone in Jesus Christ.

Another one of those days...Life is good!

I just love the way David shared with our kids about a recent day...

"We needed to talk to someone in the nearby village of Coxen Hole about the people group there. We heard that there is a Baptist church in the village, but didn't know anything else except public vans go from where we are staying to the village. So we got in a van that morning and headed out. A little boy was the helper on the bus and took a liking to us. As we neared what we thought was the town, we asked him if there was a center of town where we should exit. He said there was. When we got there, a man from the people group we were there to research who was sitting behind us on the van said, "I noticed that you asked about the center of town. Where do you need to go?" We told him the Baptist church. He gave us exact directions to the church. We walked there, and found an entrance on the side of the church. We knocked on the door, and a lady came to the door, who just "happened to be" the Spanish pastor's wife. After explaining our reason for being there and needing to see the main pastor of the church, she said he lived nearby. She offered to walk with us to his house, but she needed to put her shoes on. In a few minutes she came back to tell us that the pastor was on the way. In five minutes, the pastor was there, he spoke perfect English, and we spent about an hour with him getting lots of good information! Just another one of those days when we set out, not knowing where we are going or how to make it work, and the Lord goes before us and works out all the details. We could not have planned it better.

It's happenings like keep us going because He goes before us every step of the way.  There's nothing any finer than following where He leads!

My, how time flies when you're having fun...

Two weeks ago, we loaded up our vehicle and started out to a new land. Little did we realize the places we would go and the things we would see. Wow, what a wonderful two weeks it has been!

We arrived in our little home away from home and settled in and adjusted to the town of Copán Ruinas, Honduras. Then on Friday, the 6th, we began our jaunt, returning home on Saturday, the 14th. We traveled about 810 miles (representing 26 hours of hard driving); passed through 25 police checks; saw mountains, rivers, and the sea; tasted deliciously fresh seafood and Honduran hearty shish kebabs, tasty KFC, Popeye’s chicken, Quiznos subs, and Baskin Robbins ice cream; enjoyed the warmth of the beach, the chill of cool winds, the arid dust of the flatlands, and the mist of the mountain fog; developed new friendships and renewed treasured ones; passed alongside fincas of coffee, of bananas, of palms, of oranges, of pineapples, of sugar cane, and of cows; at times overtook vaqueros (cowboys) herding their cattle along, at other times, just a young boy with a sharp stick prodding the cows down the road, and at other times, just carefully drove past the freely roaming animals; maneuvered highways of asphalt and POTHOLES, of narrow one lane curves, of wide level smooth dirt, of deep creviced dried/wet mud, of white cement, of well maintained roads, of interstate like roads, of highways offering great possibilities for future use or demonstrating years of abuse. We rejoiced at evangelical churches we passed where the message of salvation was proclaimed. We were greatly burdened at the many areas we passed where seemingly no evangelical witness proclaimed salvation by faith in Christ alone instead where only is heard the oppression of a works based salvation yet they know they can never do enough or be good enough to receive entrance into the presence of the Father.

Pray with us that those who have found the forgiveness of sin and entered into the Light will live and share the Truth so others may experience eternal life. Garifuna, Lenca, Miskito, Pech, Suno, Chorti, Tol, Spanish…all are precious in His sight…all can receive the free gift of salvation...all must hear!

What is it about January?

This morning in my devotional book, Jesus Calling, I preread a little.  Actually it is from tomorrow's devotional but I was in a reminiscent mood as I recalled January 4th, 2010.  Little did I realize the full impact of remembering the past. 

Remember last January 4th, the day that we recalled God's faithfulness, a day in which we said "We trust You Jesus.  We trust in your Peace that passes all understanding."?  Throughout the year we have continued resting in that Peace.  Then today I read..."I want you to learn a new habit. Try saying, 'I trust You, Jesus' in response to whatever happens to you."  Thank you Jesus for your Peace that is REAL.

David went to town this morning to complete a few errands before we finished the day packing and getting ready to leave for Honduras tomorrow.  At one of his stops, he realized that the car doors wouldn't lock...very unusual.  When he got home, he found the reason.  He had parked close to one of his usual parking spots downtown and was gone maybe five minutes to deliver something to a friend.  Evidently it only takes a couple of minutes to jimmy a locked car with a screwdriver, take out a radio and GPS and car phone charger!

Well, our day's plans obviously changed!  Off to the capital we had to go to get the door locks working for this trip to Honduras.  Several hours later we returned home but thankfully we won't be leaving until Wednesday for Honduras.  Since we were headed in to Guatemala City, we returned Heidi to her permanent home and got to visit with her parents, Ron and Margie, (what a special treat!) who returned early this morning from Christmas holidays in the states with their family.  But we returned to an silent house again, we miss this little furry ball of love and energy.
 

 
How good to KNOW that He is the One in control!

How good to KNOW that He is the Author of Peace!

How good to KNOW that "When you view events from this perspective - through the Light of My universal Presence - fear loses its grip on you...Your continual assertion of trusting Me will strengthen our relationship and keep you close to Me."