God woke me up one night. I will never forget it. For several months prior Hannah and I had been discussing what seemed to be dropping numbers of missionaries headed to the field and lowering levels of commitment among those already serving. In our discussions we had analyzed what we felt were the factors that were keeping so many promising candidates from ever going and making others to end in failure. Then God woke me up late one night with his "thumb" in my back. It was like he was telling me to write a book; a book that would sound a clarion call to anyone feeling God's leading to ministry to beware of the traps of the enemy. Five years later, the task is complete and the book is available for purchase. My prayer is that God would use this as a tool to call and challenge others to fulfill God's will for their lives. You can order a copy today at https://feaministries.org/focused/

We are so happy to have Alana Gingrich here for a six week missions internship. Her dad dropped her off and during his short stay helped to get several projects done around the Cressman's house.

Alana giving her first message at a youth service. She did a fantastic job!

Teaching a Bible verse to some of the Sunday school children.

Singing one of the songs that Alana visualized.

Bro. Gingrich worked hard during his short stay. He installed a hot water heater for the Cressmans as well as some odd jobs around our house.

The last weekend in May was our annual ladies retreat. Hannah did another fantastic job organizing this retreat. The theme for the weekend was "Letting go of the Past, Embracing the Future".

Argentina Garcia was our special speaker and did a wonderful job connecting the truth to the ladies' hearts.

Wes and Janna were such a big help especially with the meals. What a blessing to have them here!

Hannah planned some great games and activities. There was lots of laughter!

Painting a jar for a craft.

The ladies put together some very creative Bible skits!

Joseph and his friend Brandon were busy building this Teepee.

The ladies were so excited to get these bag holders!

It is great to see the ladies make new friends!

Thank the Lord for His help and presence. Many of the ladies testified that they got a lot of help from the services, testimonies and fellowship!

Joseph got to participate in his first school convention competitions. He was very excited to enter his stamp collection. He ended up wining 1st place! This was his board that talks about stamp collecting.

Some of the pictures he entered in the contest.

His class was divided up into teams and each team had a science project to present. Joseph's team won first place for their science experiment about magnetism.

Joseph took third place in the solo competitions for his rendition of "The End of the Beginning".

Singing with his class.

We were so excited to receive our Christmas box from the Beavertown God's Missionary Church!!

Daniel was squealing with joy with each gift!

Magnetic blocks!

Joseph was really happy with his Tablet!!

The smile says it all!

Joseph got a bunch of stamps to add to his collection. He was so thrilled!

Thank you Beavertown for another wonderful Christmas box!! We love the presents and cards!

Cristian Espinal was just an adolescent when we started working in Las Uvas. He would come to our church services usually with his mother and siblings. Years later his parents separated they sold their house and they moved away. I lost contact with Cristian for quite awhile and then heard the exciting news that he had started going to another church when he had accepted Christ as his Savior and was wanting to preach. His new denomination later sent him to pastor in a little mountain community about two hours away from Tegucigalpa. He invited and many of his family from Las Uvas to come and visit him and his congregation. We had a wonderful evening seeing where God is using his life in Corralitos.

 

It's an hour drive from the pavement back into the mountain where he is pastoring.

This is Cristian's dad Miguel. It was Miguel's first time to visit his son and see his ministry, he was so excited and proud.

 Cristian showing us his little house where he lives. He has a beautiful view of the mountains from his porch.

His bedroom/sitting room.

Some of the ladies from the church made us a delicious supper of rice and chicken.

We had a wonderful service together and felt God's help and presence.

We had a good altar service after the message.

Thank the Lord for how he is helping Cristian!

We are happy to announce that we have a purchased a 2004 Nissan Frontier pickup truck for the farm and church in Las Delicias!!! It has low mileage and is in great condition it also has 4WD.  Thank the Lord for this blessing!!

We enjoyed having Gaby stay with us a week after the youth retreat. Her family moved to Managua, Nicaragua last February and she was needed to get some paper work done here in the capital to be able to study in Nicaragua. God has great plans for her, she feels that God is calling her to be a missionary!! Please pray for her and her family's ministry in Managua.

We just finished our annual youth retreat! What a wonderful time together. There were 35 of us including our children. It was a time of sharing, team activities, Bible teaching and memory making! We are so thrilled to see how God has been working in our teen's lives.

 Thursday night was a time of orientation and dividing up the teams.

Pablo has been doing a super job leading our young people.

Our theme for the camp was "Conquerors" . So we designed these shirts that said conquerors on the front and on the back it says "I will overcome in the name of Jesus Christ" and then a list of negative things surround that statement that we will overcome as Christians.

The back of the shirts. I will overcome in the name of Jesus: temptations, loneliness, depression, difficulties, confusion, bitterness, obstacles, sadness, trials, envy.

6 am was rising bell and 7 am everyone was to meet in this building for morning devotions.

Throughout the day the three teams competed in different activities. 

On the campground were several different monuments that commemorated an event from the life of Christ. We decided to take advantage of these scenes to teach how Christ overcame obstacles during His life. This service was about the storms of life and we can overcome the difficult times.

It's always a joy to see our young people digging in to God's Word.

Gaby talking to the young people about storms in life.

The camp was a beautiful place.

Friday evening we spent a special moment together around the campfire. They sang and worshiped and shared testimonies.

Daniel couldn't wait to roast marshmallows. 

Starting a new day with songs and prayer.

It has been amazing to step back and see God transform Rosa's life. This was her first youth retreat and she loved it!!

Misael is another testimony to the power of God's grace! He has been delivered from a life of darkness and sin!

The teams took turns helping Hannah and Mariah in the kitchen by serving the meals and helping to wash the dishes.

So much potential! Pray for our young people.

Enjoying some delicious baleadas.

The teams on a scavenger hunt. Bible verses were clues that led them to the next spot where they could find the next clue.

Looking for clues in the empty tomb!

This kid enjoyed every minute in the great outdoors!

We had a really special service at the scene of the last supper. You could sense God's presence.

Katy gave a wonderful talk on how we are to overcome pride using the example of Jesus washing the disciples' feet.

Raquel and Joseph gave a demonstration of the humility of foot washing.

Upset the fruit basket!

A good game of Headbanz, where each person has to guess the object on the card on their headband.

The winning team!!

Second place!

Third place!

All good things must come to an end. Now for the long trip home.

Everybody was exhausted!! But what an awesome time we had!

Thanks to everyone who prayed for this retreat. We praise God for the five young people who prayed to be saved!! It was hard work but it sure was worth it!