Dear Prayer Partners,
A simple letter will never encapsulate the power packed international trip in which our family had the opportunity to serve. Whether we were investing in pastors at the “Cumple Tu Ministerio” Conference or preaching the gospel over the TV broadcast in Honduras, we were blessed to experience International Evangelism at its finest.
A birds eye view of our trip includes the following:
-The Pastors Conference in Puerto Cortez
-The Spiritual Emphasis Weekend at an orphanage of troubled teens in Lejamini
-The partnering with Medical Missions Outreach. (They specialize in medicine as a tool to preach the Gospel, in that week alone there were over 150 professions of faith.)
-The week long crusade in La Esperanza at the very first place I preached in Honduras nearly 5 years ago.
My family was with me every step of the way, as we experienced the poverty of Honduras, the challenges of international travel, and the the power of God exhibited in people’s lives.
Our monthly support is directly tied to the length of time we spend overseas. After this trip a veteran missionary advised us of many areas in which we could save major money which would then in turn allow us to extend our time in overseas ministry. He addressed housing and other needs, but we concluded that to make our price of living drop significantly we would need to purchase a vehicle in Honduras. At this point, renting a car in the country consumes 30% to 40% of our yearly international budget. In the past 2 years, my rental car fees have almost equated to the purchase of a vehicle. Since there is no insurance needed to maintain a vehicle; logistically, I could purchase a vehicle and have a veteran missionary care and maintain the vehicle in my absence and use it whenever we travel to Central America. A quality vehicle that has 4-wheel drive and can dependably carry our family hovers around the neighborhood of $10,000. Please pray about this need that I believe would help us advance the cause of Christ.
The obvious question is why is there a picture of cookie monster on your newsletter? The picture is my encouragement in the Spanish language. Currently in Spanish my grammar and word choices resemble Cookie Monster, “Me want cookie!” This can be understood most times and can get a point across. However, I believe it is fine to be like Cookie Monster during these learning days, but I do not want to stay this way in the acquisition of the Spanish language. My prayer next year is to invest in one ministry in Honduras. As I invest there, it will serve as a base for me to leave the “Cookie Monster” speech by preaching weekly to the same congregation as well as going on visitation in more familiar neighborhoods. This will serve as an opportunity to become more fluent in Spanish thereby preparing me for more of a lasting future in Central America. This process may take a while for which I am well aware, but as I strive to be transparent with our supporters, I want them to know that I take this step for the purpose of putting roots down deep to have a longer and more in depth influence in the Spanish community. Please keep us in fervent prayer as I prepare/plan to preach my first full message in 2020.
As of February our evangelism schedule is back in full swing. God has given a great in road with teenagers and we have seen great fruit in this specific area of ministry in the last few months. Our travels takes us from chilly Michigan and Indiana to much warmer Florida and everywhere in between. Please pray for our safety as we travel many miles for the glory of God.