Wow, where did 2016 go? We spent about 8 months home on deputation. In many ways it was our best deputation ever! We made incredible memories touring the West and visiting a whole new list of churches. Thank the Lord for His mercy upon us as we traveled the many miles.
It was so refreshing to be able to reconnect with our families and spend some special moments together before heading back to Honduras. We arrived back on the field at the end of September, anxious to find out how our churches had survived and excited to get back in the saddle.
The churches had gone through some tough times while we were gone but we were pleasantly surprised to see that they had grown. There were new converts, more children attending Sunday school and brand new visitors in the services! Eduardo pictured above was one of those new converts in Las Uvas. He and several other young people are seeking God and are in a discipleship class getting ready for baptism. They have tremendous potential and we are excited to see how God is going to lead their lives. It's people like this that make all of our efforts worthwhile.
Here is a guy who gave us a real shock when we got back to Honduras. We have known Adam since the beginning of our ministry and for years he was the community drunk. Night after night, in a drunken stupor he would keep us awake shouting absurdities and talking nonsense. We tried to help him but he refused our help. Years went by and this past summer as we were home traveling Adam nearly died. One night while he was drunk he was climbing a flight of stairs when he lost his balance and fell hitting his head on concrete. He was rushed to the hospital unconscious. The medics had little hope of his survival. Miraculously God spared his life and he recovered spending several weeks in the hospital. During that process God began to speak to his heart and he began to recognize God's mercy. After his release from the hospital he came to church and got saved. His life has not been the same! He just spent his first Christmas and New Years in 25 years sober!! Praise God for the amazing change in his life. Pray that he will continue to grow in grace and keep fighting the good fight.
Raul is another trophy of God's grace. He had been an alcoholic for years. His wife Rita prayed for over 30 years for his salvation. He started attending our services regularly about a year ago and also started helping us by driving the church van. About two weeks after our return to Honduras Raul came to the altar one Sunday morning after hearing a message on the prodigal son. He too had been a prodigal son who had been lost and backslidden for years, but he came back home!! God has helped him to keep sober, he is in the discipleship class and he loves serving the Lord. It never ceases to amaze me how God can change a broken life!! God is at work and I am anxious to see what other stories of forgiveness and transformation we will be writing about in 2017!! Happy New Year everyone!
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