Hey Y’all,
I’m sorry that it has been over a week since I wrote last. I try to write once a week but the days went by so quickly and there was so much happening.
Please continue to pray faithfully for us here — it seems that Satan has attacked in many ways, using circumstances and discouragement, disunity, etc. and we need to stand against all that in the name of Jesus and be victorious in the victory that Christ died for!!
We had such a great week with the group here from Bayvale and after they left and we got down to everyday life, I realized that a lot of disunity had been going on while I was away. I believe that most situations have been prayed over and discussed and that God is reuniting many hearts but I would appreciate lots of prayer on this. The Word of God promises that where there is unity, the blessing of God will flow — and I CERTAINLY want those blessings to be pouring over this ministry.
Last Sunday night (9 days ago) we were on the way to church with more than 20 neighbors in my truck and we hit a huge pothole (there was a choice of two and I thought I picked the least deadly). We had a complete blow-out and even broke the tire rim and the truck swerved back and forth across the highway. God kept me amazingly calm and we were all safe but I was amazed afterwards at His obvious protection in the whole situation. We changed the tire and went on to church an hour late — but in Honduras, that is not even missing half of the service! ha.
On Monday morning I tried to take some neighbors into town and the emergency brake cable was broken and the car would not go forward. We considered backing up all the way to Siguatepeque but decided against that! We got that fixed by Wednesday and on Friday when I was again trying to take some other neighbors to the market in town, we had another flat tire without a spare (as the other one was still be repaired in the city). Moncho came and rescued us of course and we are all fine but it has been a hard week of car trouble. I am seriously praying for God to provide the funds for a bus here and would appreciate your prayers as well with me. We are hauling so many people into church each week and it really isn’t safe. I drove them in last night very carefully but we have more every week that want to come and it is just too much! We will keep doing things this way until we have another vehicle but please pray for God to send one soon!! If we get a bus, we can also start bringing some of the new Christians from the village above us to worship with us at our Friday evening services at Destino. The groups that come each month also pay $600 to rent a bus and we could just let them pay us for that and make up the difference in the money we spent on the bus in a very short time! So anyway, help me pray about that, okay?
I came down with bronchitis this past week as well and that was hard to get through. It is so hard to keep my attitude thankful when I feel so bad. Fernando did so much to cheer me up though and I just took naps when he went down in the afternoon and took antibiotics and am now back to myself (praise God for that).
Fernando and Marta left for Jocon today for a few days. I had planned to go but then on Friday, Rosy and Marinita came here to visit me so I didn’t feel the same urgency to get there to visit and will do that later on this year. Please pray for Marta as she is going to be talking to a few more mothers and possibly bringing one or two children back with her to live here at Destino.
One little boy, Eddie, that is a cousin of the family I lived with in Jocon for 3 years, is most likely going to move here as well. He has not been treated well in the house where we lived when the adults were away. The older boy would taunt him and beat on him, and Rosy wasn’t willing to do anything about it. When I asked her several months ago about permitting Eddie to live with me, she said, “oh no, he is the only one that will help me and obey me in my house.” I was so sick about it and told Marta that we just needed to agree in prayer about Eddie coming to live with us. Well, when Rosy came this week, she said that Eddie had been sick for months with anemia and sores on his feet and had missed a lot of school. His mother had called there and asked Rosy if she would send Eddie to live with me!! So we are in the process of getting him transferred this week and, hopefully, he will be returning with Marta as well. I am resting in God’s plan for each child that He wants to send to Destino. I am anxious at times and want lots of children in here NOW and then I remind myself of God’s perfect wisdom and timing. God is still sending a lot of groups to us to help in evangelism and discipleship in this area and that seems to be a big part of his ministry for Destino del Reino at this point in time too and I don’t know how many children we could care for at the same time — so pray that I will continue to just REST in His perfect timing in all things!
We have some other “members” of our family here at Destino already — we got a new puppy on Friday evevning from Pastor Carlos. Fernando named him Samson (that is his favorite Christian video). Another missionary in Siguatepeque had to give up her 4 year old black dog because some other Dobermans that lived on the same compound were trying to kill him. She was so sad to give him up and when she prayed about it, she said my name came to her first and she felt it was from God because she doesn’t even know me well and has never seen where we live. I picked him up on Saturday morning and he is doing wonderful. I named him Barnabas because I had just started reading the Mitford series books and the man in the series had a black VERY FRIENDLYstray dog show up in his life and he named him Barnabas. That was such a funny coincidence because this dog is exactly as the book describes that man’s Barnabas. Anyway, we are having fun with them. Fernando is afraid of the big dog but he is so good with children and people and so only the really little kids are afraid because of his great size. Samson loves playing with Barnabas but Barnabas doesn’t return the sentiment at this point — maybe later. ha.
We got a report that the group that originally dug the well to 370 feet will be returning next month to this area of Honduras to take out the pipes they had left in our well. Once they have done that, the other company is willing to finish out the well and we may actually be doing that by late August. Thanks for your prayers. I don’t really mind living like this with hauling water in for washing and flushing toilets, but once we have a lot of children, it sure would be nice to have the luxury of indoor plumbing. The firemen have been unwilling to keep bringing their truck out here so far from town to give us water, but God has sent the rains continually and we fill up our barrels and the pila almost daily. I’m sure He will have worked out something for us (if not the well) by the time rainy season is over!
I am so thankful for our group of believers here in our area near Destino. On the way home fromm church the other night they told me that they didn’t want their community to be known as “Las Queseras” anymore but they wanted to cal lthe whole community, “Destino del Reino”. I gave them all t-shirts with Destino del Reino on them. I realized that the theme verse on the back of their shirt, which God gave me for this ministry includes all of these precious little people that God has chosen to be His as well: “Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” God is blessing all of us in many ways and we are growing continually in His grace. Please continue to pray for unity as Satan would love to stir things up and destroy all that is being built here. Thanks.
There are so many things on my heart to pray for right now and I am so thankful that you are joining me in prayer for all the needs of the ministry and for future plans. Bety taught a great Sunday School lesson yesterday (as always). We are starting the life of Moses. The story was the beginning where Moses’ parents had tried to hide their newborn son so the Pharoah wouldn’t have him killed with all the other newborn males. They could no longer hide him, so the mother trusted WHOLLY in God and put him in a basket and set it in the river. As you know, God provided for Moses and his family in miraculous ways. But the application was that his mother decided to take all that struggling on her own to take care of her son and just flung it out to God by putting him in the river. The memory verse was I Peter 5:7 — Cast your cares on Him for He cares for you.” It was the first time I had ever looked at that story in that way and it was perfect timing for me because I have been trying to bear tooo many burdens lately. It is a command (not a nice friendly suggestion) to cast all my burdens on God and quit worrying and I had been disobedient in bearing them myself. Thanks for your prayers for me in this as I want to just live carefree as a young girl and let my Father (who is very capable), handle all the burdens!! That is the way He wants us to live and I think I will take Him up on that!
I appreciate all of you sooo much. I know my messages are so long and I am glad you are willing to read them and pray for the things I mention. Believe me, if I told you all that happens in a week here, my reports would be 3 times as long as they are now! Thanks for praying for all the things I didn’t even share about.
Love to all of you and keep letting me know how to pray for you each individually. You are all so important to me!
Love in Him — the great Burden-Bearer,
Rhonda
