We're Back!

We just wanted to let you all know that we made it back home safe and sound late last night! Stay tuned for some final thoughts on our time in Honduras and some of what we've learned.
Seth

The second trip to El Buen Pastor

This trip has been so incredible! We've seen so many incredible things and have seen the Lord work in amazing ways

So anyways, one of the adventures we had this week was a trip to El Buen Pastora. This was the first trip that the Pattersons have taken with a car and we had to bring picks and shovels just in case the roads were too much for the Land Rover to handle. Mrs. Patterson and Caleb Patterson drove ahead on the ATV while Amber, Bryanna, Mr. Patterson, Quina (college age missionary from Florida), Sarah (nurse from Florida who is going to the same college as Quina), and Iris (the Patterson's soon to be adopted daughter) stayed in the car. On the drive, I got to know Quina and Sarah a little bit better as they shared their life stories and testimonies.

On one of the blind corners in that windy road, a car came around super fast and we hit the back of their truck bed with the front of our car. Luckily no one got hurt and the cars only had small dents, so we talked with the other guy for a sec and then drove off. we stopped in some town where we picked up another pastor and a teacher. Seating arrangements where mixed up so I got to transfer from the car to the ATV. It was kinda funny since I (the tallest person) sat on the right of the ATV while the other pastor (basically the shortest person in the group) sat on the left side. It probably looked pretty goofy. Caleb drove the ATV and everyone else went in the Land Rover. The road was really bumpy and we had to pile rocks into a crevice once so the car could make it over.

When we finally arrived, a bunch of the kids from the village showed up and we started introducing ourselves and Mrs. Patterson started sharing a story via flannel graph. A couple of the kids sat off to the side so I tried to learn more about the kids and then encouraged them to go listen. After the story and some songs, allot of the kids left for lunch while Bry had some kids drawing and coloring with crayons while Caleb and I played soccer and handball with a couple others. A little bit later, Bryanna, Amber, Quina, and Sarah talked with a household of some teenagers and an older woman. Through the Spanish of Quina, they got to share the gospel twice and all got to share their testimonies. They were all really interested and hopefully God will grow the seed planted in their lives. Mr. and Mrs. Patterson got to talk with a woman whose husband became a Christian last week. I dropped in towards the end and got to see her convert to Christianity. It was so awesome! We prayed and talked with her and then left for lunch. We hiked up a hill and had lunch at an incredible little spot with rocks for sitting on. The view was absolutely incredible! It was really funny because all the kids had followed us up and sat around just simply watching us eat. As we were eating, a super drunk guy came up to us and sat behind me for a few moments and then went over and grabbed Quina's foot. It was really weird. So we all left to go talk with a specific household with a pregnant woman while Mr. Patterson shared the Gospel with the drunk guy. At the pregnant woman's house everyone except Caleb and I went in and talked with and prayed with the family inside. While that was happening, Caleb and I played some more soccer in the street.

After soccer and talking, we all headed up to a building at the very top of the hill where we were supposed to O.K. our preaching the gospel with the people of the town who didn't want us there. After a lot of waiting and playing with the kids (who were still quite shy but still playful), we started the meeting. Basically, Mr. Patterson shared the gospel and explained it specifically so that the people against our preaching here would have no confusion with what we were saying. After the presentation, he asked if anyone objected to our bringing the Gospel here. It turns out all those who opposed last time did not show for the meeting even though they had been clearly notified. So we got the O.K. to visit the schools and also to preach in the town, praise the Lord!

After the hilltop meeting, we piled back in the car and ATV and headed off. We dropped the pastors off at their towns and then I drove to a little Pulperia (petite store) to get drinks on the way back. Because Caleb ha gotten really sunburned Mrs. Patterson too me on the ATV while everyone else took the car. We all made it safely back and thanked the Pattersons for the incredible opportunity to serve the Lord in a really isolated area. God is so good! : )

Prayer requests:

-That God would grow the seeds in Buen Pastor and that he would continue to bring glory to His name through that incredible ministry.

-That everything will run smoothly as we prepare for departure and that as we return to the US we will continue to have our eyes open to how the Lord would have us serve Him.

-That the relationships we've built here would continue to grow and we would continue to help point all to Christ even after returning to the states.

-That our last days (day) here would be very productive and we would continue to fall on the Lord's strength for continual healing and strength. ( My cough has gotten slightly worse, but as of today, Seth and Andrew are doing much better (praise the Lord!).

You all have really been an incredible encouragement and I am looking forward to seeing you all soon! Thank you!

In His love,

Wade

"My power is made perfect in weakness"

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10

   I wish I could say this verse has been characteristic of my attitude for the whole of the last few days, as Wade, Andruw, and I have been dealing with various illnesses. Paul writes about a thorn in the flesh, a physical ailment sent from the Lord to keep him humble, to remind him not to trust in his own strength. He pleaded with God three times to take it away, and God's response is striking. When we are weak in ourselves, when we face ridicule, health problems, financial hardship, and injustice and trust in Christ's strength as we recognize our complete and utter helplessness, then we are truly strong.

   Looking back at the last few weeks, I can see a number of areas where I began to trust in my strength or to think much of my own efforts and not so much on Christ, and the Lord sent an illness on Tuesday afternoon to strip me down and remind me that I am nothing without Him. At first, there a lot of "Lord, help! Lord, help! I don't want to be useless," prayers. After a day or so of sickness, I began to be despondent, feeling as though I would accomplish nothing more of note before leaving Honduras, so I stopped even seeking the Lord's healing or His presence. And then gradually, the Lord began to humble my hard heart, reminding me that it was always He who did the work, that it was He who gave the strength.  I am reminded of Herod Antipas who was struck dead for not giving the glory to God, and I praise the Lord that He has dealt mercifully with me out of His own love. The Lord gives, and He takes away. Blessed be His name!!!

   I am so thankful that we three guys have been feeling better lately and seem to be on the mend. Tomorrow is our last full day here, and it's almost time to say our goodbyes. Please be praying that the LORD would work mightily using us weak vessels in the few hours we have left, building up the church here, pouring out His love, blessings, and joy upon those we have had the privilege of knowing and sharing our lives with, and preparing to build up the church back home and spread the gospel through the sharing of our testimonies of God's extraordinary goodness and grace here.


   I wanted to share a little bit about the house visits that Andruw, Edwin, Kimberly, and I went on last Thursday.

   Last Thursday, Edwin, Kimberly, Andruw, and I visited the houses of three families that used to attend Iglesia Bautista Betania but have recently stopped coming. For each of these three families, we didn't have a lot of confidence that the families had a genuine understanding of the gospel, so our goal was primarily to encourage them to know Christ as their Savior and secondarily encourage them to attend church.

   The first family we visited had both parents and their 16-year-old son. They invited us to their house and we sat done. Edwin introduced Andruw and myself, and I proceeded to share with them what we were doing in Honduras, and then while Kimberly translated I began to tell my testimony of what Jesus has been doing in my life and of how I became a Christian. I spent a great deal of time talking about the gospel and the surpassing love and worthiness of Jesus Christ over anything else in this world. I also encouraged them that if they did not believe in Christ as Savior to not wait, and that if they were Christians but were not consumed with passion for Him to pursue Him with everything they have. At one point, the mom began crying. When we finished, they thanked us for coming. The father remarked that they hadn't been ready for us that day; what if our coming had been Christ's? Would they have been ready? This first visit was so encouraging. When I opened my mouth to speak, I had no idea what I was going to say, which is when I uttered one of those, "Lord, Help!!" prayers, and God was faithful to speak through me what the family needed to hear. And praise the Lord, the mom and her daughter came to church this last Sunday! When I saw her, my heart leaped for joy, and I gave her a big hug. I pray that the rest of the family comes to hear the word of the Lord and enjoy the wonderful fellowship of the saints!

   This first family recommended we talk to their next door neighbors who used to come to church with them and did not know Christ. We went next door to speak with Susana and her family. She invited us in and we sat down. Andruw began to share with her why we were there, and she told us about what she believed to be a demonic encounter she had had. Andruw talked with her about how Satan and his demons have no power over God and how there's no reason to fear Satan as believers. He then shared with her the gospel. Edwin also encouraged her with the gospel and then asked her how we could be praying for her. As she began to cry, she shared with us that she had recently been diagnosed with a tumor in her uterus, one of the worst medical problems that can happen to a woman here in Honduras. We prayed with her for a while and then left.

   The last family that we went to visit was not home. However, after a few minutes, the mother showed up. Apparently, every member of her family had left her, and she is now living with another family. She could not attend evening services because they require that she be home by 6 or 7 at night, which is when evening services begin, but she said she will try to attend morning services at the church again. We encouraged her by reminding her that while our families have the same flesh and blood, God's family share the same Spirit, and we ought not to try to push through life without them. We prayed with her for a while that God would comfort her spirit and bring her children back to her, that they would come to know the Lord and honor Him with their lives.

   I should probably wrap this up now. Here are a few prayer requests for the next few days:

• For all three families we visited last week
• For Andruw, Wade, and I that we would continue to be strengthened and that God would lift up our spirits and turn our eyes to Him. Also for the families of the missionaries that they would not become sick.
• For effectiveness and diligence in the last couple of days, particularly as we say our farewells that the Spirit would give us wisdom to use our words well to encourage the missionaries, the kids, and the youth with whom we have bonded in Christ.
• For safe and smooth travel preparations as we prepare to head back to the States (for Edwin and Kimberly as well who will be leaving the day after we do to come to the States for 5 weeks)
• That the Lord would build His church here in Honduras, particularly through the ministries such as MEDA and that of the Mitten family here in training pastors to teach the Word of Truth correctly.

   We are ever so thankful for your continued prayers and comments. It is precious to know that around the world, our brothers and sisters are bringing us before the throne of grace and beseeching our Father to glorify the name of Christ through us. God has definitely been using your prayers to do great things! We look forward to seeing your faces again and telling you even more stories of God's goodness in just a few days. Peace in Christ,

   Seth

Hey Everyone!

I know camp was a couple days ago, but I’m still going to share what stood out to me. I really loved my whole team! They were really friendly to me and welcomed me very warmly. They all got my name down really quickly, which was helpful, because they were able to get my attention that way. If they would have just tried to tell me I had to be somewhere or do something, I would have been totally lost!

We played quite a few games during our two days at camp. One of the games… which I found disgusting, was this watermelon game. First I had to crawl under the legs of my teammates and then once I got to the end I would have to take a bit from a half of watermelon and then eat it. The whole team would do this one person at a time until the watermelon was finished. Which means the watermelon turned into a salivamelon in just a couple seconds! I was technically supposed to eat the bit of watermelon I took… but I couldn’t! It was just too nasty! I still played the game, I just spit out my watermelon piece after I bit it out. However… I really enjoyed the hike we took. The walk up was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the view at the top. It was gorgeous! I tried to take a picture, but the sun was so bright, that the camera just couldn’t capture it.

I really enjoyed talking with who ever I could at camp and I was very thankful for the people who tried their best to talk with me, even though they didn’t know much English. This camp trip really allowed me to get to know some of the girls from my Church better, which was really a blessing, because we don’t really get much time to interact at Church. I feel so blessed to have made new friends. :)

"I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father." (Jesus Christ, John 14:31)

I'm glad Andruw explained the whole camp so y'all could get a glimpse of that (see below if you haven't read it yet), but I will say that it was indeed intense. Despite one of our team members saying it felt like a boot camp and another saying a bit of it seemed like a concentration camp, we all had a great time, and our greatest hope is that it will affect all the youth that went. Our prayer is that they will really examine their lives and how passionate they are about Christ, and not be content to stay in that place spiritually but truly desire to seek Him more and more. (Some of the youth are believers yet do not have passion for Christ, while a number that went are not believers. The topic of all the teaching was Passion for Christ.)

Last week and this week have been a lot different from the business of the first week, and what we have been doing a lot of the time has definitely changed. For example, some of the things at the Montoyas house Bryanna and I have been doing are helping with dishes, cooking, laundry, playing with the kids, and helping with homeschooling. Those are all things we already do or certainly could do at home in California, so at times it doesn't really feel like we're really being effective or doing what we should be doing. But that is such a great reminder of what a lot of the time in our lives is spent doing--not anything exciting or new, but simply serving in the "little" ways however we can, wherever we can. When some of us on our team are riding into the jungle to preach the gospel to those who have never heard it, others are pouring yet another cup of juice for a little one or trying to laugh at another "joke" she tells. But we are reminded, "...the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). "...know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought" (1 Chr. 28:9). And: "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God" (Heb. 13:15-16). The Lord looks on the heart, so it doesn't make a huge difference exactly what serving Him looks like, as long as it truly comes out of our love for Him. The writer of Hebrews says that simply doing good and sharing whatever you have are pleasing sacrifices to the Lord! So even if two hands and two feet are all we have, let us persevere in serving others honestly!

On a side note, I just wanted to let you know that we really do read any comments on the blog posts. Thank you to those of you who have commented before; it's fun and really encouraging to know that someone's reading what we write and praying with us and for us!

(If you do not know how to write or view comments, scroll to the bottom of any post and click on "_ comments"--the blank will be some number. If you again scroll to below the post, you should see any previous comments and be able to write a comment.)

Praises:

-Everyone was kept safe (by God's grace) during camp.

-We got to spend some time together as a team last night, which was a great blessing.

Prayer requests:

-That the Lord would cause what was taught and talked about at the camp to bring about sincere change and love for Christ in the youth's lives.

-For the VBS at the day care this afternoon (Tuesday), that we would work together well as a team, set a good example, and continue to build relationships with the kids there.

-Wade was slightly hurt during soccer yesterday (don't worry mom and dad, it's nothing bad, just slightly hurt ankle and toe; he can still walk). For him to heal completely and that it wouldn't hinder his serving.

-Seeing ways in which we can serve and going out of our way to find those.

Thank you so much for all your prayers on our behalf!

In His holy Name,

Amber

The true and exuberant account of the experiences of Andruw Martinez at Campamento Armadillo

WOW ! ! ! SOOOOO CRAZY ! !

Crazy fun that is! Praise God for such a wonderful and amazing experience! Also! I'm gunna stop using exclamation points now, because I think you get the picture. Youth camp was a blast and many seeds have been planted as well as some great words and lessons on God's word. Because of some constraints the camp was smashed into a day and a half, which was Saturday and a portion of Sunday.

Everyone arrived at church to load onto the big yellow school bus at approximately 5:30a. We somehow (only as Hondurans can) squeezed around 60 people along with all their luggage, set of drums, guitar, keyboard, all necessary cooking items and food . . yeah you read that right . . your eyes are fine, all onto one school bus! After arriving to camp we immediately started in on activities, forming groups and getting down our group chants and song along with dance or whatever it is you would call it. Now keep in mind everything is in spanish. Saturday we heard two lessons by two pastors at the churches here. One was in the morning and the other in the afternoon. We were fed so good by some amazing ladies from the church who are delightfully amazing cooks, i mean to cook that well for nearly 100 people (includes counselors, pastors and others). We played some crazy games, which can only truly be described in person. Oh ok a small taste of one game, which i was blessed by the Lord with an allergy to watermelon rendering me exempt.

Brief description: Two teams pitted against one another, Line up in single file with half a watermelon lying on the ground at the front of the line. the person in the back of the line crawls underneath their teammate's legs to the front of the line then taking a bite out of the melon and eating. They then must immediately stand at the front of the line while the line shifts backward, as not to crowd the melon, and spread their legs so the next teammate can pass through. first team with the watermelon completely eaten, WINS! Oh yes! it was a nasty good time!

We did get about an hour and a half free time between games, activities, conference, and stuff in which we all went swinging in the pool. This was a blast. Then off to dinner for some of that super delectable and delicious cookin i previously mentioned. Fried chicken, with rice, salad, tortillas and yummyness. Then we all met for the evening concert put on by some of the counselors and in the middle of the concert it began to rain, you know the typical tropical type rain that Honduras has right now, were the rain drops are like water balloons and the thunder like giant falling pots and pans. Well tents had been set up as sleeping quarters, however the majority of them had issues with water leaking or rather flooding due to the severity of the rain. So we took a break to retrieve (in the rain) our things and bunk up in the dormitories. Then back up the mountainous stairs (oh yeah the camp was at the bottom of a small mountain) so Seth and I could share our testimonies followed again by more music (: A quick snack time before going off to bed which was a sweet and aromatic cup of Honduran coffee along with some sort of sweetened roll. On my walk down from the conference/concert hall a young girl shared her testimony with me, which is something she said she hadn't really done before. she told me that she could really relate to a portion of my testimony. After snack it was off to bed.

Sunday morning we awoke to the sound of the familiar whistle blowing at about 5a. We all got ready, put on our "dirty cloths" and went for an insane hike up the mountain, which was muddy and slippery and tremendous amounts of fun. At the top we sat among coffee bean plants and jagged grey rocks where we memorized a verse and spent some time in the word with a devotional. Then sang a few songs acapella in spanish and began the treacherous trek back down the trail. Some of us mud skied with our shoes others trotted like mountain goats and the majority of us slipped and slided on our backsides. Then one last conference with Carlos Montoya who is very insightful in God's word as well as entertaining. Breakfast time in the mess hall or um hut . . yeah hut sounds more accurate . . followed by games at the pool. A simple one to start and a much more difficult one to finish. Hand fulls of Honduran change was thrown in the pool and teams had to dive and collect a certain amount of money in an allotted amount of time. Several rounds of this where played, with me being the most desired member of my team to be diving for the change. this all started because i could nearly swim the length of the pool underwater twice, so i was the apparent choice for this game. I was exhausted by games end. Then free time again in the pool and lunch was shortly served there after. That pretty much concluded camp, so with full bellies we packed up, announced the boy and girl team winners for the weekend, crammed back into the bus, arrived at the church and the rest is history. Amazing amazing history!

Under, in and with His love

Andruw M

This week has been totally different then last week, yet still just as wonderful! Amber and I have had the pleasure of teach the kids in Meda different instruments. Between the two of us we can teach guitar, piano, violin and flute. All the kids seem to really enjoy it and they are picking up the skill very quickly. Along with the privilege of helping out around the Montoya’s house, Amber and me were able to go to the Church clinic to see what it’s like as well and help out in any way we could. There were not very many patients while we were there, but we still got to help put together the patients pills for them to take home.

The Lord is continuing to open my eyes and heart to how I can be serving him more and more with my life even in the small kinds of ways. It’s been really cool seeing how the Lord is growing me in ways I wasn’t expecting, but yet really needed to grown in. I’m looking forward to seeing how he continues to work in my life during the next couple of weeks I have here. :)