"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