Mission Opportunuity

Matthew 4:23

23 And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.

Helping Hands at the Hospital

                  Assisting people in the hospital

Location:  San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Need: A person to assist families and family members in the hospital.

            These families will need help:

·       Understanding what the doctors are telling them.

·       Understanding how the hospital system works.

·       Purchasing drugs and medical supplies and finding resources to pay etc.

·       Understanding basic sanitation for the room and for the patient.

·       Praying with, comforting and helping the patient and family cope with death, loss of limbs, and life changing illnesses.

If God is leading you in this area, please contact us as soon as possible for more information.

God is with us!

Chuck and I have really learned to appreciate the medical care and the hospitals in the States. Silvia, the girl who injured her leg in the accident, is in a public hospital in San Pedro. It does not cost anything to stay in the hospital but they do not provide anything, other than a room shared by five people. The rooms do not have air condition, are not very clean. The patients receive very little medical attention and absolutely no medical supplies. If the patient needs something, even as small as Band-Aids or gauze, someone has to go and buy them at the

pharmacy. For this reason, Chuck and I have spent a lot of time in San Pedro. Silvia needs pain meds, a very strong antibiotic, and things to keep the wound clean. This week the doctors removed all of the dead tissue in hopes of allowing new tissue and skin to grow. The doctors say it is a miracle that the veins have repaired themselves and the blood is flowing well. Praise God! Thank you for your prayers. Please continue to pray that the new tissue and skin will develop and that God will heal her 100%.

As you know from earlier post, Silvia is a new Christian and we have been praying she will not lose her faith but that she will grow as she learns to fully depend on God for healing. She has missed being in church and the church has missed her sweet presence so we loaded the church up and brought them to San Pedro. We had a beautiful service outside the hospital for everyone who would come and listen.

As a result of spending a lot of time in San Pedro, we have met several of the “street children”. They are very poor children who either live on the street or work the streets for money. We have decided to take the youth and young men in our home and maybe a few others to witness to these kids. They need to know where their true hope is and to know that there is a Savior who loves and cares for them.

We had a record number in church on Saturday night.  We had a visiting preacher and had over 100 in attendance.  I feel some of those were visiting from other churches, but we are growing and I do hope and pray that those who were visiting and do not have a church home, will come again.

God is in control...

Remember, TODAY, To praise God for His love, grace and mercy and to hug those close to you. Our recent ordeal with the truck crash, (For those of you just hearing about this everyone is ok) has been used by God to do several things. It has allowed our little church to grow in faith, has pushed our preacher to live an even more victorious life even though he is already a strong Christian; he is a man out of the boat. And it has caused us to remember what really counts in this life. 
As we were loading the truck I looked at Tiffany and said, "that’s every possession they have in this world". They had much less than a truck load, a five member family. No sooner had I said this, I heard Medi say to a little girl by her, "they have so much stuff, look, they have 5 beds!".
I thought how hard Pastor Jaun Carlos had worked for these few possessions and how much they must mean to him. I had no idea how soon we were going to find out what he thought about them and how much he loved them. 
About ten minutes later we were in a creek with 10 people scattered on the ground and not sure who was hurt or the extent of their injuries and I heard two things that re-focused me and reminded me who I am and where I need to be. One of the people, with in the first minute, said to the Pastor so much of your stuff is broken and he said it’s only stuff, the important thing is that all things are in the hands of God. He will take care of this. He gathered the two conscious members of his family in his arms and sat on a rock and began to pray. I went and checked on his wife and other child as they were beginning to move. The wife had a broken wrist and dislocated shoulder and thank God the daughter was only bruised. I then saw the preacher comforting a new believer that was crying because he couldn’t find the shoulder bag that had his bible in it, "if it gets wet, if it does I can’t read my bible, I need my bible." He was next to his wife who was injured and fading in and out of consciousness. We got the bag and the bible is was not wet. 
They say that in the time of crisis our true colors come through, I so hope that is true. I have been reminded that I need to, in the storms, remember who holds me in their hands and who to cling to when there is absolutely nothing I can do about my situation. 

Thank you God, for looking after us and teaching us to sing even when we are in the rain. Lord, give your peace and comfort to those who live in helplessness.

Happenings in Honduras

God is good! He is working miraculously here in Santa Elena and continues to strengthen our faith daily. We are truly blessed to be called out by Him to to be serving Him here in Honduras.

Updates since December:

• Farming Project-Pedro and Pedro are producing yucca, frijoles, corn and pataste (a vine vegetable with a pear-like shape and texture, but more akin to a potato in soup). Coffee is in the ground but will take about 2 years to mature into a significant harvest. Plantains have also been planted.
• Houses will begin being build in April for the poorest in our community.  We will be working with those families who will help build their own houses as well as with David Forehand and the Fuller Center.
• Marcos and Javier graduated in November 2012. Javier is attending a private college in Peña Blanca to study computer engineering. Marcos will be studying to be a doctor (pediatrician) who goes in the remote areas to serve the people and share the gospel.
• The areas is becoming safe again. Since November, Santa Elena has had 7 murders and had become very dangerous. The police have set a curfew for the community now and the fear  and oppression is beginning to subside.
• We began to make necklaces from paper in October. This ministry is going strong and many are making tons of necklaces to sell for livelihood. One lady has built a kitchen so she does not have to cook outside. She also plans to sell more necklaces so that she can have running water in her home. Another lady plans to build a bathroom onto her house with the income she receives from her necklaces.
• We have opened a school for Kindergarten through 6th grade children to learn. The curriculum we use is a Christian curriculum (ACE) where we stress the Bible, discipline based on the Bible, reason based on the Bible, and teach everyday things based on the Bible. It is a bilingual school where most classes are taught in English and 3 classes are in Spanish. Eleven students attend so far and their progress is great! This curriculum is teaching the children that they are responsible for their learning where they set their own goals each week. It requires that in order to move on, they must pass a test with an 80 or above to be considered "mastering" the work. This is a huge blessing, yet an unexpected endeavor God has allowed us to lead. We are so thankful to God for leading us to this!
• We currently have 23 living with us during the week. Seven children from Los Piños go home for the weekend and return Sunday afternoon. During the past violent times, we had a total of 32 in our home.  The bathroom that was built in October is a true blessing to us, especially during those tough times.

Needs and Prayer Request:

• In order for Marcos to go to medical school to become a pediatrician, he will have to save the funds to go to school. The school is accepting new students Feb 2014 so he has some time to raise the money. It will cost him $650/month or $7800/year to do what God has called him to do. If you wish to sponsor Marcos on the path God has called him into, please contact us or indicate on your check for Marcos Reyes. Pray for His faith in this endeavor. No one has the money here to help him go to school so it takes great faith to even think about becoming a doctor here.
• Safety is a continued prayer request.
• We are in need of places to sell the beads that the people make. We have about 2000 necklaces to sell so we are praying for open doors in that area. God is truly getting the glory for what is being done through these people.
• Please pray for the school we have opened. Pray that we continue to be the witnesses that God has called us to be to these children and that we are teaching them lessons that will stay with them and more importantly that they are learning God's Word to pass down to the generations.
• If you wish to give to Jeremiah 29:11 Mission, you may sent a donation to any of the three churches listed on our supporters tab. As always, we covet your prayers more than anything!