Honduras - Final Day

Buenos Noches Amigos,

A break in schedule meant opportunities for rich fellowship and deep (and funny) conversations. Reflection and genuine conversation along with recreation peppered the day with the Aguilars. See Dan’s take today for the details.

 


Dan on today

Final day in Honduras. Today was a bit of a shift in routine. The cistern is done as far as our part goes. VBS is done. Preaching and teaching are done. What more is there to do? We enjoyed a beautiful hike with the Aguilar family to see a gorgeous waterfall and swim in a Honduran River. It was a great day of low key fellowship and fun with the Aguilars as we enjoyed God’s beautiful creation together.


As I have reflected over the time here, I can’t imagine it going better. Every day has been full and intentional. Though there is a language barrier, the Lord has been gracious in allowing us to establish many relationship and serve and minister in many ways. (Of course Oz and Vittoria are an IMMENSE help in this, and we praise God for them). 

The day ended ...

... in a joyful surprise celebration that the people put on for us, as they served us Honduran snacks and dressed in more traditional Honduran clothes.


And we sang together. Oh, the singing! We sang in English and Spanish together as God’s people.


Though we have many differences, we all have a common Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We will miss them

I, and I know the rest of the team, have been immensely blessed by the people here.  Though it had only been a few days, they have a large place in our hearts, and we look forward to the reversal of Babel, when finally we all speak Spanish (as they say)!

 

We will miss the relationships we have established so very much,

The team

dAY 6

BUENOS Noches, 

We’re now sub 40hrs in country remaining. 

 

The Quick and the Dirty:

- We finished VBS today. Tremendous teamwork between the Socorro church and the EBC team. (Praise God for little souls everywhere who got to hear loads of truth from Stephanie and Phillip Jukkola)

 

- The final layer of blocks went on the cistern today

(Praise God for fast progress)

 

We spent the evening again with the Aguilar’s enjoying Karina & disciple Graciella’s cooking even after they spent themselves during the day. (Thanks be to God for the joy they have in serving)

Steph's take on the day

Today was another day full of God's provision. It's been neat to see how the men on our team jump in with such willing and able hands to do the physical labor on the cistern. I am not good about knowing anything useful concerning construction stuff, but I can say that it looks like hard work and yet the men do it with ease and joy.

 

Vittoria and I joined a group of 7 other women to go visiting some homes. The women we joined included Karina, Carlos Aguilar's wife, and other women who attend church or who we visited earlier this week. The Honduran women that we have visited all seem to carry heavy burdens. Almost every woman we visit breaks down in tears shortly after. It was so precious to see the other Honduran women encourage these ladies with God's word and prayer and kindness. Karina in particular has been gifted with such a compassionate nature and it is evident the women of Socorro are drawn to Jesus in her.


Day 2 of VBS was a rip roaring time. It seemed like more kids came then yesterday and the joyful chaos took all hands on deck. Our team did such a hearty job in loving the kids there and doing the practical service of games, crafts, teaching, leading and just general loving on kids. We trust and pray God uses His Word and love to reach hearts. 

 

Looking forward to another evening enjoying time with the Aguilar's in their home tonight and getting to know them more. God is so kind.

Day 5 - VBS & House Visits

A wonderful and fruitful day (and evening) in ministry with the Aguilars.

 

You’re getting the short version tonight as we just arrived back from the Aguilar home and it’s almost midnight here. We’ll get some extra rest and recovery tomorrow morning 💒 and are doing well! 

 

The Rundown: 

- We left campus this AM and picked up snacks for VBS, worked on the cistern, and did home visitations. 

 

Instead of returning to our campus for lunch some ladies from the church prepared a home cooked meal for our team right before VBS.

 

VBS is hard enough when you speak the language… It was doubly challenging handling kiddos age 3-12+ in four stations for two hours. Nonetheless I was super encouraged by the teamwork. Those dear young souls…


We spent the evening (730-1130) at the Aguilars eating, singing, and sharing testimonies around the campfire. We then passed out the gifts from the EBC body to them. They were elated. 

 

Please Pray for seeds of faith in the hearts of the young children and those whose homes we were in. There is so much more that could be said. We are upheld by your prayer and support. Please help us finish strong these next few days. Things are going very well but there’s still much we hope to accomplish. Pray we’d cross the finish line. 

 

A note from Vittoria:

Today was a very eventful day, in the morning we did visitations to certain people and encouraged them to come to church in the evening and also on Sundays. We had a very good time praying with the ladies in their homes and reading Psalm 27 to them and also 2 Cor 5:21

Day 4

Buenas noches familia de la iglesia (good night church family),

 

We just exchanged our third round of fond goodbyes with the Aguilar family and returned to our rooms smiling and worn. 

Section Title

  • Thank you for your prayers. They are needed and answered. Today exceeded our expectations in terms of fellowship and opportunities with the Socorro Church family. (Thank God for answering prayers)
  • We all agreed the robust singing of the gathered church (some of familiar songs) left a formidable impression. Tanner preached while a young doctor from a sister church translated. (Pray for believers encouragement and converted sinners)
  • We gathered again for a “married couples night” this afternoon/evening. Dan taught (and Oz translated). (Pray for good fruit and careful application)

 

We then traveled to a restaurant and shared a large family style meal together. The laughter was contagious. Our belly’s were full and our faces hurt from grinning. Best of all Carlos looked like a proud father smiling ear to ear over the whole thing (picture attached). (Praise God for an encouraged pastor)

Philip Jukkola

The Details

  • Our day began at 530AM with loud music from a marathon event happening across the street. God gave us extra time to pray and prepare for church ;)
  • Our group was warmly welcomed and thanked as honored guests during the church service. A strange experience since we felt like the beneficiaries.
  • The church is about double what it was last year. There is still a sad lack of men but more than before. Children are comprised at least 1/3 of the attendance. (Pray for men to come to corporate worship)
  • After a many a sweet conversation, and more than a few smiles and nods and when a translator wasn’t available, we returned for a big lunch and a siesta. 
  • There was double the number of couples for the event as last year. They were dressed up and excited to be there. Dan taught a sound and relevant message concerning how Christ loves his Bride and not just that He loves her. 
  • Carlos has said before that good teaching on marriage is rare and the couples need it badly.
  • Tomorrow we go back to construction work and begin VBS in the afternoon. (Pray for a clean transition and for the ladies final prep for VBS)

 

Here’s Phillip Jukkola’s take on today:

What a great blessing and encouragement it was to sing together with the church today! It was a little hard to follow new tunes and new words (while also keeping rhythm with clapping!), but what a joy to participate with them in worshipping our gracious God. The last song to close the service was called Solo en Jesus and was a familiar song (In Christ Alone), so it was special to sing that one especially since I was familiar with it.

 

Pastor Mario preached (during Sunday School) from Genesis 3. Oz translated for me otherwise I would not have understood much if any at all. As a result of Pastor Mario’s message, I pondered how the devil’s tactics have not changed from that initial attack. He still seeks to counter God’s truth with his lies. God help us all to be on guard and vigilant against his evil schemes, and hold fast to God’s truth.

 

In the morning service, Pastor Tanner proclaimed the gospel of Christ and I was overwhelmed in my heart with awe and worship for our great Savior because His love is so lavishly poured out upon us. He gave up His riches and became poor, so that we, although poor, might become rich in Christ. What great truth to meditate upon.

 

It was really special to see so many kids and young people in the church. Surprisingly, some know quite a lot of English, others very little, and many none at all. I quickly felt my inadequacy in Spanish when I would say hola and would hear a response hola, followed by a sentence in Spanish about which I had no idea regarding what had been said. Some kids were so welcoming despite the language barrier; one girl ran up and hugged me without saying anything and ran off as fast as she had appeared, probably to hug the next one of our team that she could find. I pray that these children would have an enduring and abiding faith in Christ.

 

The evening with the married couples was a special night. It was good to see Pastor Carlos lead the church in strengthening marriages, and many of the couples seemed to really enjoy the night. Dan taught from Ephesians, and his message was rich with the truths of the book, which he then applied to the husband-wife relationship. At the dinner following the service, I got to sit with Rovelio and his wife Marybel. He knew some English, but we would not have gotten far in conversation without Daphni’s, one of Pastor Carlos’s daughters, help. He was very appreciative of Dan’s message from God’s Word; “Fantastico” and “Necessario”, I believe, were the words he used when Steph asked him  what he thought about the message. He said he learned some English words from a missionary family who had been here and when they went back to the States, they wrote letters to him in English. It was very fun to hear portions of his life story (thanks to Daphni translating!) and to get to know them a little.

 

 

 

 

Day 2

Good Evening Prayer Warriors,

  • It’s hard to think of how travel could have gone much smoother. A short 3 hr trip out of Houston and we were in San Pedro Sula. (Thanks be to God for modern transportation  conveniences) 

 

 

  • Carlos and his three children picked us up and drove us two hours south (with a  lunch break midway ~4pm) and we were in Siguatepeque and to our dorms by 6pm. (Praise God for a missionary pastor who is elated to have us)

  • The team has continued to “excel still more in love” and enjoyment of one another. (Praise God His Spirit lives)

  • Tomorrow we hit the ground running. Men’s Bible study (leave here 540AM start at 6); spend the morning work on putting in a cistern at the church building. The afternoon is more of the same with home visitations and a youth event tomorrow night. (Pray for impact in the teaching times and coordinated effort in the construction)
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    Praying

    Day 1

    Good Evening Brothers and Sisters, 

     

    Vittoria and I will be working to get pictures and updates to you periodically during our time on our short term mission (STM). I plan to include a mercifully short and optional detailed and long edition (see below). 

     

    If you know someone who would like to get this please let us know their email or just pass this information along to them.

     

    The Quick and Dirty

    • - God is bringing together months of preparation and weeks of team meetings into a wonderful team unity, a commitment to prayer, study of the language, culture and the Aguilar family. (Pray in praise to God)
    • We got to have an extended conversation about Jesus with Anthony, our hotel shuttle van driver. He was very honest about both his faith and sin. We prayed for him and hope you will meet him in heaven. (Pray for Anthony’s soul)
    • Sadly one of our dear team members Lauren McCullough was unable to attend. It was a difficult game time decision. She had suffered a great deal of stomach pain and nausea leading up to this morning. (Pray for her comfort and cheer)
    • Tomorrow we fly out at 945 and will be in Honduras <3hrs later to meet Carlos. It’s good to be moving from prep stage to execution. (Thanks to God for provision of

     

    “The Details”

    • Travel from GF to BZM and then from BZM to Houston could not have gone more smoothly. We checked 3 bags weighing 50.0, 50.0, and 49.5#’s. They are full of books, snacks, crafts, and other gifts from EBC. There is a good bit of language practice happening in the margins of the trip ;) 
    • The team walked to a dinner spot tonight (a relief after so much sitting) and shared moments of thankfulness as well as talked through (another) multi page doc of information on Carlos, MEDA, SEPE, TMAI, and other such ministries to be aware of down here. 
    • We had some difficulty with various health forms and immigration pre-check documents due to website and form malfunctions, and language confusion but are squared away with customs as of an hour ago. Likely nothing that would have kept us out of country but we want to do everything we can (online and on our knees) to make sure we accomplish the mission you sent us out for. We were reminded that travel in 2022 is complex and requires patience. (Pray for patience)
    • We’re hopeful our bodies will keep up with our spirits in these next couple of days. (Pray for endurance)
    • We will be with the Aguilar family tomorrow night for dinner. (Pray we will encourage and bless them to overflowing)