October update

Connections being made
Through the evangelistic campaign in September, I met a man named Oliver Mazier who is interested in coming to work with the church in Trujillo after he graduates from the Bible institute in December. While he was here, he impressed many people (including me) who would like to see him and his family move here. As a fount of resources, I am looked to for guidance in such situations. I never imagined that I would be making decisions that could affect the church on a town level. It’s an honor to be respected but a huge responsibility to invite someone into the already twisted church situation in Trujillo. I am trying to gather as much information as possible before deciding whether or not to coordinate support for him.
*Please pray for wisdom for me in this situation.

Connection #2
If you have not yet read the blog concerning unity, I recommend you do so as it speaks about Jorge Vargas’ role in the work in Trujillo. He has committed to come once per month to teach a youth seminar. Through these seminars, he addresses existing church issues like unity, holiness, forgiveness etc. Last Saturday, he taught his second lesson entitled, Communion and Restoration. In the afternoon, all the youth went to the beach together. We played games, swam and had a devotional in which several described the day’s events as “perfect.” Many reiterated that they hoped that there would be more youth events like this in the future. Jorge’s work has helped to define my own role in Trujillo. His work and presence has encouraged me and provided me with a more direct way to support a cause I believe in very strongly: the youth of Trujillo.
*Please pray for the upcoming seminar and retreat in November.
*Jorge is also very seriously considering coming to live and work in Trujillo. Please pray for his future plans.

Connection #3
Last year at the youth encounter at The Baxter Institute, I met two sisters named Sara and Raquel Vasquez. They were both in Baxter’s choir and they both write music. Because of this we began corresponding. During this year’s retreat, I was able to visit with them again and share my desire to have a compilation CD of children’s songs to which they responded, “We just made one a few months ago.” They gave me a copy and gave me permission to distribute it to other children’s Bible class teachers. In return I gave them both copies of children’s Bible class curriculum. It’s a blessing to make connections with people with whom you can mutually share resources.

Connection #4
A North American couple, who will remain anonymous for now, is considering moving to Honduras this coming year to live and work at least during the summer.
*Please pray for them as they have many big decisions and preparations to make.

Visitors
On September 27th, I met two of my best friends, Brian and Beth Bowers, in Tegucigalpa. From there, we traveled to Catacamas, Olancho and visited the church-sponsored works there, such as Predisan (a mission medical clinic), Serepa (an addiction rehab center), the Honduran Bible School (EBH), and The Good Samaritan School (El Buen Samaritano). The visit to The Good Samaritan School was especially meaningful for the three of us. During the summer of ’99, I lived in Catacamas (with Beth Brooks) and worked at the school as a music (and Bible) teacher. The congregation with which Beth and Brian work recently turned over the student sponsorship program to a congregation in Florida, but because of their history and support of the school, the elders wanted Brian and Beth to familiarize themselves with the work. We were able to see and do many things in Catacamas thanks to Jorge, who currently lives there and graciously chauffeured us around.

Visitors continued…
On September 30th, more of my best friends, Craig and Stephanie (Britten) Kline, Cindy Britten, and Brad Wilson flew into San Pedro Sula and began the 6 hour bus ride to Trujillo. Meanwhile, Beth, Brian and I took a bus from Catacamas to Trujillo that was supposed to arrive several hours before our friends coming from SPS. Fortunately both buses arrived. Unfortunately, our bus arrived several hours later than expected. Thankfully, all in the group were able to graciously deal with the inconsistency of Honduran life and travel. Before coming, my friends had been communicating about how they could best encourage me and make their trip purposeful to that end. Each day we had a time of worship and a devotional for which the themes and texts had been carefully selected in advance. They showered me with encouragement through the words, books, Cd’s, letters and friendship that they shared with me. I am blessed to have friends such as these.

We were able to distribute a lot of cough syrup, anti-biotic and hydrocortisone cream (the top three most highly demanded items in Honduras). In addition, Craig was able to stitch a head wound, repair the skin that had healed improperly from a foot wound, treat burns and help create a diet for a woman who is overdue for surgery because of her weight.

As a first time visitor to Honduras, Cindy (Stephanie’s mom) had shared some thoughts with me that I would like to include.

My first time in Honduras! I have had so many wonderful experiences. First, I was amazed by the beautiful land; and then I was shocked by the way people live. It is so different than the States where people have so much they never want or need anything. Here they have so little that even a bunch of bananas can make a whole family happy because they are hungry.
The best thing that has happened to me is feeling accepted and loved just for being here and for the little things we did to help people!
I was very encouraged by Nadine and I hope she was encouraged by us!

Love, Cindy

In this month’s ladies class Maybelline is teaching a seminar using the book, “Mujeres Sujeto al Espiritu,” which is the women’s counterpart of “The Spirit-Filled Temperament,” by Tim LaHaye.
*Please pray that the women would see the ways that their particular temperaments could be best utilized in the kingdom.

Another section of the sewing class began this month, this time with a new teacher. Santiaga has been teaching for another area ministry for several years and comes to us with a lot of experience. The women are working on making skirts with the goal of eventually being able to contract school uniforms.
*Please pray for the development and continuation of this ministry.

The week of October 22nd rehearsal will begin both for the C of C Youth Choir and Children’s Choir of Trujillo.
*Please pray for consistent interest and attendance and for the upcoming concert in December.

Blog address: nadineinhonduras.blogspot.com

New articles: Unity is coming and Sometimes it´s good not to have anyone to vent to

August/September Update

Ambria had a successful visit. She wrote stories on each of the children served by Little Hands and created a powerpoint presentation to be sent to the Stateside director of the organization. She was also able to submit an article on tourism to the publication Honduras This Week which appeared online.
During her time here, we ran fairly frequently. Vanessa, a fifteen year old orphan in the church, would often come with us. Vanessa lives with her 84 year old grandmother who is quite possessive of her to the point that she rarely is allowed to leave the house. As the result of some convincing, she was permitted to enjoy a few hours outside of the home, running and learning to swim.

During the month of August, I taught a ladies’ seminar on holiness. Ladies’ church attendance is very inconsistent. After having prepared all week, I was discouraged at the beginning of the month when just a few of the women arrived 20-30 minutes late. By the third week, 25 people were in attendance (15 women and 10 kids!). During and after the lesson the fourth and final week, tears fell. It’s not very often that you see a Honduran woman crying. I was encouraged to see the Lord working in the hearts of these women and to hear the sincerity of their prayers pleading for God to continue to change them.
*Pray that these women would continue to seek and see God in a new way.
*Pray that I would discern if it is God’s will for me to teach consistently.
*Praise God that a women’s group from a church in Georgia has decided to partner with me and send books and materials for the ladies’ class in the months to come!

The following Monday, the young adult singing group rehearsed. The power went out during the rehearsal which helped to create an atmosphere that we don’t normally experience during worship. We began to rehearse a difficult 4-part song that I honestly never expected to come together and it locked in and sounded beautiful. When I heard a mission group from the States sing the song for the first time, it made me cry. For our little musically uneducated group to recreate that, was pretty amazing.
We sang for the evangelistic campaign in the Buenos Aires church Sept 7-9. Altogether there were 12 baptisms and reconciliations.

During kids’ class last week, Johnny (the maintenance worker) and I presented a short drama depicting the story of Samson and Dalila. To my surprise, the kids went wild. Ahead of time, they were asking if they could be a part of the drama and were upset that they were unable to be in it. When they saw Johnny, they began chanting, “Samson, Samson!” Then, I entered and they shouted, “Dalila, Dalila!” I felt like I was on a talk show or that I was some famous actor. Through this, I discovered that they are huge fans of dramas, which is great for me as a performance arts teacher. I now have a better idea of activities to do with the kids.
*Pray that the kids would continue to be inspired to learn about God’s word.


The youth group from the Limonal church of Christ (and I) will be attending the Central American Youth Conference at the Baxter Institute in Tegucigalpa, Sept 14-18. They are currently preparing a drama to present at the conference. Last year, the group from Trujillo won several awards, including Best Costume and Runner Up in the male soccer competition.

Please pray for the ministry Little Hands Big Hearts. We are facing several challenges at present due to the change in leadership. At times it’s difficult to know what my role is as a young, single, female, foreigner. This tension causes me to question my purpose and effectiveness here and my future plans.
*Please pray that I would feel peace and purpose and that I would listen for where the Lord would lead me.

There have been many moments in which I have felt a rise in my spirit that can only be explained by the prayers of others. I appreciate all of you who take the time to pray for me and the ministry and are sensitive to promptings. They make a difference.

In Him,

Nadine