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Today we were in the village of Las Tremintinas way up in the mountains of southern Honduras near the Nicaragua boarder. The goal was to setup a full, one-day clinic, and for the evangelism team to visit some of the families with the preacher from Jayacayan, a neighboring community. The village does not have an established congregation, but some of the initial converts are meeting in a home. This was the first time that Mission Lazarus has taken a group up to this location.

It was interesting to see the differences from Namasigue. Even though this community was in a much more remote location and even though it was still filled with poverty, overall it was a lot cleaner, the houses were quite a bit nicer, and the people were dressed a lot better. I’m not sure what the reasons are for this, but it was fascinating to observe. It was also obvious that many of the people in the village had never seen anyone from the U.S. before.

On a side note, this was probably the most beautiful area of Honduras I have seen in my four visits. It was very difficult to get up there, but the beauty of God’s creation was overwhelming.

Evangelism – Today we were working with Jose who is the preacher in Jayacayan. Jose was introduced to Mission Lazarus through his daughter who has cancer. She was going through chemotherapy treatments, but Jose ran out of money before those treatments were completed. Mission Lazarus stepped in and helped out this family to ensure his daughter could complete her chemotherapy (she is now in remission). Jose was desperate to repay Mission Lazarus for their generous gift, but they continued to tell him that there was nothing to repay. They explained that what he had received was a blessing from God, and not something provided by man. He persisted in asking how he could repay them, so they finally told him to go out and tell people what God had done for him.

Upon hearing this, he decided to become a preacher and ultimately planted the church in Jayacayan near the Mission Lazarus ranch. From there he also began preaching and teaching in other surrounding communities. This included his first contact with Las Tremintinas which occurred last October.

We spent the day today visiting homes and distributing food bags with Jose. Some of these families had already committed themselves to Christ, some had just begun visiting the house church in Las Tremintinas, and some had no association with the church at all. Since this a new work in this community, the studies were fairly basic compared to some of the ones in Namasigue. Our goal was to plant the seed of God’s word and share his love.

From left to right…Joe, Wayne, Jose, Joseth, me

Jose had not worked much (or any) with Americans, so there was a bit of a feeling out process. However, it turned out to be a great day with several good studies. Please pray for this community and these people.

Overall, we had a great week on the evangelism team. Eight new sisters were baptized into Jesus Christ. We visited with over 50 families, distributed over 50 bags of food, and had lots of great Bible studies in Namasigue and Las Tremintinas. Praise God!

Clinic – The medical brigade was setup in a schoolhouse in Las Tremintinas. They were able to operate a full clinic in cramped conditions and saw a LOT of patients today. This was the first time that anything like this has ever been done in this village.

One gentleman who was so happy to receive his first pair of eyeglasses asked the question “Why are you here?” Someone from our group answered “Because God loves you!” He thought about this for a second and said “Yes, and God’s love is manifested in you.” Please pray that these seeds that were planted today will bear fruit in this great community.

Local residents lining up for the Medical Brigade 

Our clinical group has done amazing work this week, and the following are the patient totals for each area:

• Monday – 130 medical, 30 eyes, 9 dental with 22 tooth extractions
• Tuesday – 170 medical, 46 eyes, 12 dental with 39 tooth extractions
• Wednesday – 125 medical, 56 eyes, 9 dental with 39 tooth extractions
• Thursday – 104 medical, 33 eyes, 7 dental with 21 tooth extractions
• Friday – 153 medical, 37 eyes, 11 dental with 28 tooth extractions

That’s a total of 932 patients seen in the brigade this week. WOW!

Construction – This part of the post is especially for Judy Vance. The picture below should explain why I have not posted much about the construction crew this week:

On a serious note, the construction crew has continued to work on the new warehouse and offices for Mission Lazarus. They have endured a number of frustrating circumstances, but were able to make good progress today. This new building is going to be a great blessing to Mission Lazarus once it is completed

From left to right…Justin, Blake, and Jody

Closing Out the Day

Once we got back from Las Tremintinas I did my last 4.75-mile run around the ranch, and my legs will be happy to not do this route again for a while.

After dinner, we listened to a great devotional by Joe Widick from the 23rd Psalm, and then shared with each other the reasons why we came on this trip and what we are taking away. Great night.

Tomorrow we head back to Tegucigalpa in preparation for our flight out on Sunday. Please pray for safe travel.

After another good breakfast at the ranch we headed out toward Namasigue around 6:45am this morning. The highlight of the drive down was finally getting a chance for Dan Johnson and my Dad to get a picture of one of the more humerous road signs on the Pan Am highway up in the mountains.

Driving in Honduras is always an adventure, but it has been even more interesting this year with all of the potholes and chasms in the roads from the massive flooding during the past rainy season. I have actually really enjoyed getting to drive here over the past three years. However, I’m not sure if any of the new “skills” I’ve learned translate to driving in the states. Don’t often get to drive 6-wide on a two-lane road in the US 🙂

Evangelism – Today was a pretty powerful and emotional day working with the evangelism team, and I just want to share some of the highlights:

• My dad joined us today after working construction for the first two days. It was awesome to be able to spend the day with him in Namasigue. It has also been great to work with Joe Widick and Wayne Smith on the evangelism team this week. Both of these men are great servants for God and excellent teachers of His Word. Joe was one of my Bible teachers in High School, and continues to be one of my spiritual heroes.

  
  From left to right – Wayne Smith, Marlon Sanchez, Joe Widick, Javier Perez, me, Patrick Agee (My Dad)
   

• Last year our group studied with and baptized Meylin Cordova. We found out today that she has not attended the church in Namasigue in almost five months. We went to her house today to study with her and encourage her to be together with her brothers and sisters in Christ. Please pray for this new sister.
• We visited with several members of the local church who are dealing with various issues, including one lady who was diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. It was great to be able to meet with these brothers and sisters in Christ to encourage and pray with them. For the sister with diabetes, Marlon (one of the local preachers) was able to talk about his mother who also has diabetes. Joe from our group was able to tell her about his mother who has diabetes and is 86 years old. Finally, Wayne from our group also has diabetes and was able to talk to her.
• This afternoon we visited with several of the families of the young men who work on the local evangelism team in Namasigue. For a typical family in Namasigue to survive they need every able bodied man in the household to go out and work whenever possible. These particular families are so committed to making sure the young men can spend all of their days working to evangelize Namasigue that they are willing to sacrifice this income. Because of this, the church tries to provide food bags for these families to try and offset the lost wages. Today we delivered food bags, talked, and prayed with them. It was awesome to see powerful way in which these families are working for the Kingdom of God.

  
  Visiting with Janier’s sister (Janier is one of the local evangelists)

• This morning we were able to have a Bible study with Eva Luz Prealta and her family. Marlon had been studying with Eva and we were able to continue that study together. Eva decided that she wanted to be baptized into Christ, so we traveled down to the river to help her as she began her new life. Praise God!

  
  With Javier getting ready to baptize Eva into Christ

• Throughout the day we were able to deliver 13 more bags food to families in Namasigue which brings our total to 32 for the week. 

Clinic – I don’t know how many patients we saw total, but it was another very productive day in Namasigue. I did hear that our dentist Dr. John pulled 37 total teeth from nine patients…WOW! We also distributed an additional 55 pair of eyeglasses. Our doctors continue to be impressed at how many fewer cases of parasites there are compared to previous years. The water purification system has really been a blessing to this community.

Closing Out the Day

After returning to the ranch, I was able to get in a very enjoyable 4.25-mile run with Dan Johnson. This was the first time running on the ranch with someone else and it really made the hills and elevation easier to endure. I’ve enjoyed spending time with Dan this week and getting to know him better. Dan is a pharmacist at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, and actually works with many of the same Cardiologists that I used to work with at Saint Thomas Hospital (small world). He is hoping to run his first half marathon this fall or winter.

Once we finished dinner, Jeff Hallums (our group leader) delivered a devotional that tied in extremely well with the things we are experiencing here in Honduras. Tomorrow we plan to spend a half-day in Namasigue before heading out to another community on Friday. Another great day in Honduras!!

We got a much earlier start this morning, leaving the ranch around 6:30am for Namasigue. This allowed for an earlier start in the clinic and for the evangelism team.

Evangelism – Today was another good day with the evangelism team in Namasigue. I continue to be impressed by the work of the local evangelists. Working with them, we distributed eight food bags, visited with six women who have recently visited the congregation in Namasigue to encourage them to continue to visit and study, and did follow-up with two women who were recently baptized (Including Eni from yesterday). The second of those two follow-ups was with a woman named Suyapa who was baptized a week ago Sunday. While visiting with her we were able to begin studying with her mother Candida. After studying for quite a while she decided that she also wanted to commit herself to Christ in Baptism. Praise God!

Candida Cordoba Ochoa being baptized by Marlon

The past two days we’ve been very blessed to have Seth and Riley from Mission Lazarus to translate for us. I really appreciate their dedication to the Lord, and the powerful work they are doing through Mission Lazarus.

From left – Seth, Javier (local preacher), Riley, Marlon (local preacher), me 

Clinic – Another busy day at the Medical Brigade in Namasigue. They saw 169 patients which included 39 teeth pulled and 65 pair of glasses distributed. It is obvious from working throughout the village, how much this medical care is needed and appreciated.

Construction – A small number of men from our group have been working over the past two days on a new warehouse for the Mission Lazarus ranch. This warehouse will be used to store the food which is used for the food bags like the ones distributed today. It will also be the new home for the Mission Lazarus offices.

Closing Out the Day

Since we started out so early this morning I didn’t get to go out for a morning run, but was able to get in a little over five miles in the mountains around the Mission Lazarus ranch just before sundown. It is amazing what a difference it makes running between 4000 and 5000 feet above sea level. Feels like trying to breath through a straw, especially when running uphill. I’m not sure how much total elevation gain there was in that run, but I’m guessing it is in the thousands of feet. Tough!!

After the run we had a fantastic dinner at the Posada, followed by a devotional with an excellent lesson by Wayne Smith.

All-in-all, another great day in Honduras for our group.

What are you there for? I’m going to be there in August…looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

This is my fourth consecutive year to come to Honduras during March. It is a mission trip focused on Medical, Evangelism & Construction. Most of our group are running a medical brigade in Namasigue, which is a small village outside of Choluteca in southern Honduras. I am working as part of a three man evangelism team also working in Namasigue. We help out the local ministers with Bible studies, follow-ups, food distribution, etc.

Why are you coming to Honduras?

While this is actually our second day in Honduras, it was first day for our medical brigade and evangelism in Namasigue. After getting in an early 6-mile run through the mountains and having breakfast at the Mission Lazarus Posada, we headed out toward Namasigue around 8:30am. We got the clinic up and running around 10:00am, and the evangelism team was out in the village by 10:30 or so.

Evangelism – One of the neat things today was to see the growth and maturity of the local church. In past years we spent most of our time holding Bible studies with new contacts, but this year has started off a little differently. We did follow-up visits with four women who have been baptized into Christ within the past 1 1/2 weeks. This is the result of the local preacher Javier and his emphasis on building a solid local evangelism team within Namasigue. These young men are doing fantastic work, and we are witnessing the fruits of those efforts. In addition to these four, we were also able to visit with several families who are active in the local congregation and offer them encouragement and deliver food.

With Javier the local preacher in Namasigue

We were blessed to have a Bible study with Esperanza Salinas and her daughter Dania who decided to put on Christ in Baptism. We were also able to participate in the baptism of Gloria and Ninosca Estrada and Eni Avila.

Praying with the new converts after their baptism into Christ

Overall it was another fantastic day in Namasigue. It is awesome to see the powerful work God is doing here. Please pray for our team as we continue to work throughout this week. 

Wayne Smith baptizing Esperanza Salinas into Christ

Clinic – While I didn’t personally spend much time in the clinic, they were able to see 160 patients, which included 22 tooth extractions and distributing 45 pairs of eye glasses. It was encouraging to hear from our doctors that they are seeing a lot less parasites this year, and we think that is a direct result from the water filtration system that was installed by Greg Armstrong and his team from Friendship Christian last year. What an incredible blessing this is to the village.

Tomorrow morning we will be heading out at 6:30am so, time to call it a day.

The drive down was harder than usual due to the flood damage to CA-5 and CA-1. Never seen potholes like that in my life.

We had a good dinner and the group is getting ready to have a worship service at the Posada before calling it a night.

Looking forward to tomorrow in Namasigue.

Our group made it safely to Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. We’re grabbing a bite to eat before grabbing our rental vehicles and heading south to San Marcos. Feels strange to be sitting in a Burger King with the NCAA Tournament on TV. Glad to be leaving TV behind for a week.

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Tomorrow morning I will leave Nashville with my Dad and a group of 30+ from Maple Hill Church of Christ in Lebanon TN on a mission trip to southern Honduras. This will be my fourth time to go down, and my third time working in the village of Namasigue.

Most of our group will be holding a medical brigade, but I will again have the opportunity to work with a three-man evangelism team teaching throughout the village with the local preacher.

I hate being away from Olivia, Kate and Sara, but relish the opportunity to teach the gospel in this impoverished country. Even though I don’t go down there thinking about what I can get out of it, I always come back with a fresh perspective on the things that really matter in life.

I don’t know if I’ll have Internet connectivity or not, but if I do I’ll try to post daily updates on the evangelism efforts. Prayers would be appreciated for a safe and successful trip.

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Jesus was as Divine as if He had never been human, and he was as human as if He had never been divine.

Well today has been another eventful day in Honduras. We found out around noon that our Tuesday flight on American Airlines has been cancelled, and there is no indication of when the flight between Tegucigalpa and Miami would resume.

While everyone is safe there are a few things that are becoming critical such as individuals running out of prescription medications. After exploring multiple options, all 22 members of our group have been rescheduled on a 12:47pm Delta flight to Nashville through Atlanta.

This rescheduling means that we will incur a significant additional expense, but we are hopeful that our travel insurance and the credit from American Airlines will cover most, if not all, of the additional charges.

The group made it safely back to Tegucigalpa tonight, and we will head to the airport early tomorrow morning.

Please continue to pray for our safe return!

Our group has now been in Honduras two days longer than planned. We are currently at the Mission Lazarus Posada/Refuge on a cool morning in the mountains.

As of now we are scheduled to fly out of Tegucigalpa at 2:20pm tomorrow afternoon. I know the situation in Miami is still uncertain, so your prayers continue to be appreciated.

We made a slight change in plans last night and will now be traveling to Tegucigalpa this afternoon instead of tomorrow morning. Our plan is to have a small clinic in Jayacayan this morning, and some of the men will be working on a construction project at the Posada. Shortly after noon, we will pack up and head north.

I am still grateful that everyone is safe and that we have a place to stay and food to eat. God is good!

The Maple Hill group was supposed to return to Nashville this afternoon, but our flight out of Tegucigalpa was cancelled. This was due to a fuel tank explosion that occurred at the Miami airport. The plane that was supposed to leave Miami was not allowed to leave, so no plane for us to board in Tegucigalpa.

This has created quite a backlog of people trying to get out of Tegucigalpa and we have been unable to find an alternate flight for our group until Tuesday afternoon.

Instead of staying at a hotel in Tegucigalpa, we decided to make the 4-hour drive back to the Mission Lazarus Posada/Refuge in San Marcos to save money.

We have now safely arrived back at the Posada and are sitting in front of a nice fire. The plan is to worship with one of the local congregations tomorrow. On Monday the ladies will be setting up a small clinic in one of the local villages, and the men will be helping with a construction project.

Our plan for Tuesday is to drive back to Tegucigalpa for our 2:20pm flight to Miami. We would appreciate prayers that these new travel arrangements will come through and that our group will remain safe.

Even though this is frustrating, I’m extremely grateful that everyone is safe, and that we have a place to stay.  I’m also grateful that the problems are in Miami and not in Honduras.  With the political unrest that occurred last year, we know that things could be a lot worse than they are.

I’m also grateful that we had an amazing week. Nothing that has happened with our travel plans can diminish that. As I close this post, I’m thinking about the 21 souls that came to Christ during the brigade. We should pray for these new brothers and sisters continually that God will bless them with the strength to remain faithful. The following are the names which need to be lifted up in prayer:

*Carmen Maria Darce *Gladis Darce *Gladis Johanna Darce *Tomas Darce *Oneyda Bricano *AmParo Aguilera *Sindy Castro *Yerika Castro *Mari Oneyda Fuentes *Selvin Cordova *Emilson Cordova *Osman Peratia *Meylin Cardenas *Rut Castro *Norma Matute *Rixa Jarquin *Pedro Munoz *Darwin Munoz *Christian Armas *Wendy Estrada *Gabriela Mendoza

Our final day in Namasigue was almost beyond words. I’m emotionally overwhelmed, and incredibly sad to be leaving this community. I also have great joy because of how good God is, and how powerfully He has worked in Namasigue this week.

Today the medical team treated 180 more patients in the clinic which makes a four-day total of 655! Great work by everyone who participated in the brigade and made such a HUGE impact on this community.

The evangelism team had an overwhelming day. We began by studying with a couple who had invited us into their home. The husband plays soccer with Javier, and asked us to come and study.

Studying with Meylin Cardenas and her husband…

All of us had the opportunity to teach, and the wife decided to commit her life to Jesus Christ. The husband could not be convinced and said that he would wait for his wife to lead him. This was very curious to all of us since he had invited us to their home.

Baptizing our new sister in Christ…

After the study we went down to the river, and I was blessed to be able to baptize her into Jesus Christ. Praise God!

Later that day, we visited with a young lady who is the sister of Sindy and Yerika that were baptized yesterday. We studied with her for a long time, and she kept saying that she was not ready.

Studying with Rut Castro…

Javier said the we should go, so everyone started to head toward the van, but Espartaco kept teaching. Javier came back and the two of them continued to study with Rut. She decided that she wanted to commit to Jesus, and again we headed to the river. Dondi was blessed to be able to baptize her into Jesus Christ! Praise God!

Dondi baptizing our new sister in Christ…

From there we visited with a family to drop off a sack of food. Javier had explained that the children of the house had been faithful in attending the local church since it was planted, but the mother had never committed to Christ. He said that he hoped she would be open to study in the future.

As we came to the house, Javier asked me to pray as we dropped off the food. I prayed that the mother, Norma, would open her heart to the study of God’s Word, and ultimately commit her life to Jesus. As I finished the prayer, she said that she was ready to study right now, so I began to teach her.

Studying with Norma Matute…

As I was studying with Norma, Javier went across the street and began studying with another family. I had only been teaching for 15 or 20 minutes, and could tell that she was very open to the message. I asked her if she wanted to commit her life to Jesus and be baptized for the remission of her sins. She immediately said YES, and gave me a big hug!

As we were taking Norma to the van to head toward the river, Javier came and said that a woman named Rixa from across the street also wanted to be baptized, and that there were others on the same street that wanted to study.

Espartaco, Wayne, Dondi and I headed to another family down the road, while Javier and some of the young men studied with a gentleman across the street.

We studied with a man named Pedro and his mother. Pedro’s wife was already a member of the church. As with Norma, I could tell that Pedro was very open to the message, and very shortly asked if he wanted to commit. He also said YES very quickly.

Studying with Pedro Munoz and his mother…

Pedro’s mother said that she knew what she needed to do, but would do it later after thinking about it for a while. All of us studied with her at length about the urgency of making a commitment, because none of us are guaranteed tomorrow. Unfortunately, she could not be convinced.

As Espartaco, Dondi & Wayne were studying with her, I headed across the street to where Javier was studying with a young man named Darwin. He had spent eight years in America, and had just recently come back to Namasigue.

Javier studying with Darwin Munoz…

While Javier was studying with him, Darwin said that he wanted to commit his life to Jesus Christ and be baptized. We also received word that one of the men on the evangelism team, Erminio Armas, had a 13-year-old son who wanted to be baptized.

Baptizing Christian Armas…

The evangelism team traveled to the river with the five who wanted to be baptized. I was blessed to be able to baptize them into Jesus Christ! Praise God!

Baptizing Rixa Jarquin…

After the baptisms, Javier exhorted the two men who were baptized to work towards being leaders in the local church in Namasigue.

Rejoicing with our new brothers and sisters in Christ…

From there we delivered several food bags to various members of the local church. We also visited with the mother of a young lady who had been working with the evangelism team, Yeny Guevara. Yeny’s mother is suffering from Leukemia and will soon begin chemotherapy treatments. Javier offered a prayer for her mother, and told a story about a critical medical condition he had earlier in his life that God had brought him through.

Kaitlyn Jamison from Maple Hill was with the team in the afternoon, and was able to share with Yeny that her mother had also had cancer. Yeny, and most of the members of the evangelism team began to cry. It was quite an emotional moment in the midst of a very emotional day.

Next, we visited with the Armas family. With the baptism of Christian, and the repentance of Hector earlier in the week, all of the members of the Armas family are now christians. The father, Erminio, asked that we pray to thank God that his entire family were now servants of God.

We came back to the church building well after dark, and began to say our goodbyes to everyone. As we were packing up the van, Javier came back and said that there were two more young ladies who had been studying and wanted to be baptized. He asked me if I would stay and baptize these two girls.

Baptizing Wendy Estrada…

It was well after dark, and not possible to go to the river, so Javier said that we could use the wash area inside his house.

Baptizing Gabriela Mendoza…

Being able to baptize these two young ladies was another great ending to another awesome day, and an incredible week. In all, 21 people committed their lives to Christ and were baptized this week. Praise God!

It was really tough to leave Namasigue, and to say goodbye to Javier, Espartaco, and the rest of the evangelism team. There is a part of my soul that is in Namasigue, and I can’t wait to go back again.

Wow! The days just keep getting better and better in Namasigue. The Medical Team treated another 223 patients for a total of 475 since Sunday afternoon. This team continues to amaze me!

The Evangelism Team also had a very productive day. We started the day preaching to the people who where waiting to be seen in the clinic. These consisted of both individuals who were members of the local church and those who were not Christians.

Preaching to people waiting for the clinic in Namasigue…

After Dondi and I got a chance to teach the people at the clinic, we headed out into the community. Today my father, Pat Agee, was able to go with us.

Our first study was with a mother and two of her daughters. Javier and some of the young Christians from the community had already been studying with them, but they were hesitant to commit due to their father/husband.

Studying with the mother and her two daughters…

The two daughters made the decision to commit their lives to Jesus Christ, but the mother could not be persuaded due to her husband. Javier will continue to study with her in the coming days.

We traveled down to the river, and my father was blessed to be able to baptize these two young ladies into Jesus Christ! Praise God!

My father Pat with our new sister Sindy Castro…

…and our new sister Yerika Castro

From there we visited the home of Dunia, one of the first converts in Namasigue three years ago. With the help of her father, and the local church, Dunia was able to move into a new house yesterday. She had specifically requested that we come by and offer up a prayer of thanksgiving for the house.

Praying with Dunia in her new house…

In the afternoon, we studied with a lady who had never attended the local church or been involved in a Bible study. When we arrived, Javier encouraged some of the younger men from the church who were traveling with us to also participate in the study along with us. This was incredible to see, because Javier is training these young mean how to teach the Word of God, and indeed these young men are already active in evangelizing the community.

Studying with Mari Oneyda Fuentes…

We studied with this lady for quite a while, and over time her heart began to soften. All of us had an opportunity to teach, including two of the young men who were with us, Janier and Arnold.  She ultimately responded to the Gospel, and wanted to be baptized into Jesus Christ.

Again we went down to the river, and I was blessed to be able to baptize her into Jesus Christ. Praise God!

Praise God for our new sister in Christ…

Finally, we were able to study with three teenagers. The father of two of these young men was already a Christian, and active in the local church. He is also the uncle of the third young man.

Studying with Osman Peratia, Selvin Cordova & Emilson Cordova.

We studied with them until very late in the afternoon, and they also decided to commit their lives to Jesus Christ! Again we went down to the river and Dondi was blessed to be able to baptize them. Praise God!

Praise God for our new brothers in Christ…

There are several things that stood out to me today.

1.) It was an incredible blessing to be able to spend the day with my dad. This was the fifth day in our last two trips to Honduras that I have been able to evangelize in Namasigue. However, today was the first day that my dad was able to go with us. It was really powerful to see him baptize two new sisters into Christ, and to be able to share in this incredible work with him.

2.) I am incredibly thankful for Espartaco Alonso. Espartaco is the preacher for the church in Choluteca, and has been translating for us all week. Not only is Espartaco a great preacher and evangelist, but he has also been very patient in translating our teaching, our prayers, during baptisms, etc. It has been great to get to know him this week, and I hope to be able to work with him again in the future.

3.) I am impressed at the way in which Javier (preacher in Namasigue) is training the young men who have been traveling with us this week. They are very active in making contacts and in evangelizing the community. Also, they are already planning to begin follow-up work with all of the individuals we have baptized this week beginning on Thursday, after we leave for San Marcos Wednesday night. Having a team in place to do follow-up work is critical for these new Christians, and what a blessing these young men are for this community.

4.) As we were walking down to river for the baptism of the three young men this afternoon, I was able to have a conversation with the father/uncle, who speaks pretty good English.  He said that he was incredibly thankful we had come to Namasigue to teach, and hoped that we would considering coming again and again.  That really touched my heart, and it was pretty neat to be with a father as his two sons and nephew were baptized into Jesus Christ!

The evangelism team rejoicing with our new brothers in Christ…

As we finished the baptisms, the sunset was beautiful over the river. It seemed like the perfect ending to an AWESOME day!

Another AWESOME day in Namasigue!! Today was the first full day in the clinic, and the team was able to see 178 patients.  That absolutely boggles my mind. What an incredible impact the medical team is having on this community!

I was again part of the evangelism team with Dondi, Wayne, Javier & Espartaco. We delivered food bags to 6 families and studied with three individuals.  

Delivering food in Namasigue…

The first study was with a young Christian who is struggling with the influences of Satan in his life.  We spoke with him and attempted to encourage him to be faithful to God and His church.

The other two studies were with individuals who had not yet accepted Christ into their lives.  Praise God that both ultimately made the decision to join the Kingdom of God and be baptized into Jesus Christ!

One study was with a woman who was the only member of her household that was not a Christian, though she had been visiting the local church for almost a year.

 

Studying with Oneyodi Bricano…

We studied with her for around 30 minutes, and then traveled down to the river, and Dondi was blessed to be able baptize her into Christ.  Praise God!

Rejoicing with our new sister in Christ…

The other study was with a woman who had never attended the local church, and we studied with her for quite a long time.  All of us got an opportunity to study with her, but it was especially impressive to watch Javier at work.  Even though he does not speak English, his passion for the Lord is obvious.  

Studying with AmParo Aguilera…

Once she made the decision to to be baptized, we again traveled down to the river and Wayne was blessed to be able to baptize her into Christ.  Praise God!

Wayne with our new Sister in Christ…

It is an incredible privilege to be able to work side-by-side with Dondi, Wayne, Javier & Espartaco.  These are all great men who love God, and love sharing his Word.

What an AWESOME day in Namasigue!! Well I guess this is officially day 2, but the first day where we were doing actual work.  The day started with worship in Namasigue.  As always, worshiping with the Christians here is an extremely encouraging experience.  The preacher, Javier gave a lesson from Philippians on being happy even when problems arise.

Javier preaching with Cameron translating…

After worship we finished setting up the clinic and began seeing patients around noon.  There were 74 patients that went through the clinic this afternoon.

I was part of the evangelism team that included Dondi Malone, Wayne Smith, Javier (preacher in Namasigue), & Espartaco (preacher in Choluteca).  Espartaco was our translator.  We left the clinic around 1:30pm, and studied with two different families and brought food sacks to two others during the afternoon.

The first study was with the Darce family.  We studied with them for the better part of an hour, and all of the adults in the household made the decision to commit their lives to Jesus Christ!

Adults from left to right … Gladis Darce, Javier (preacher), Tomas Darce, Carmen Maria Darce, Gladis Johanna Darce, and Me.

We went down to the local river for the baptisms, and I was privileged to be able to baptize all four of them….

The study with the second family went well, but they are not quite ready to commit.  Our plan is to come back and visit with them again later this week.

Every year before I come down here, I start thinking about how much of a hassle it is to get everything ready, and how much I’ll miss my family, and begin wondering whether or not it is worth it.  And, likewise every year I’m totally blown away when I get down here.  What a priviledge to be able to share the Word of God with the people of Honduras.  What an awesome day, and what an awesome trip to share again with my dad.  Praise God!!