Hey Everyone,

I just wanted totell you thank you sooo much for the many prayers for us the past 2 weeks. They have been hard in many ways but not one day was there where there was not enough grace and joy to get through it. God is faithful and has all we need IN HIM!!

My back is getting better every day and that is such a relief. It has kept me hurting and half sick for about 6 weeks now so it is about time!! The doctors decided that they cannot stitch up and close this wound as it would not heal properly. It has to heal from the inside out and so we still have to pack gauze in there deeply and I need your prayers to endure the pain of that since the doctors are not here anymore to give me anesthesia to deaden my back. Whew — this is going to be rough and I need COURAGE!!

Thanks for praying for the group. They were able to go to 4 villages and the prison in the few short days they were here. They were so organized and ready and God made (most of ) their trip really run smoothly. They had such sweet hearts to serve and it was a great week for all of them as well as the villagers that were helped by them in many ways.

I didn’t get to go along for most of the days to the villages but I had prayed that I could feel well enough to go to the prison on thursday. We split the team up in two parts — one to a village and the other to the prison — and we needed more translators so I wanted togo and help but also because I wanted to meet the women prisoners. It was the biggest blessing for me. I translated for the first hour for the dentist and doctor while Carlos and the American pastor and another Honduran christian man went to talk to the men in the general part of the prison. They had an incredible experience back there. Carlos was preaching in the power that the Spirit gives him always and he started hearing Satan saying things to him like “Get out of here, you don’t belong here, you didn’t come here because you love God but just because you love people, there are lots of other people outside you could reach, etc.” He was kind of confused at first and kept on preaching. Then the voice started yelling at him, “Get out of here right now, and I’m going to kill you if you don’t get out!!” Then when Satan said “GET OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!!”, Carlos finally just stood firm and said out loud, “In the name of Jesus Christ, YOU get out!!” Immediately a man that was right next to Carlos in the meeting handed him a weapon that he had made out of a long piece of thick metal and had sharpened it to a very fine point and made a handle for it. He handed it to Carlos and told him that he had planned to kill him since the first time Carlos came to preach there. The man wanted to know Christ and many demons left him as they prayed and he surrendered his life to Christ. They had a precious time and 8 more men accepted Christ as well. It was a powerful time and just another great reminder that Satan is just a big threatener but NEVER wins — the Power of God is sovereign and supreme!! It was so exciting to Carlos too to see God empower him to cast out those demons.

When they returned to the offices where the doctor and dentist were working on the individual prisoners, I was free to go back and meet the women prisoners. Kaye Jackson and I went to gether and that was such a priviliege to minister with her — she has such a gentle spirit and love for people. We met the 10 women in their little room and I shared the gospel with all of them and they said they all knew Jesus Christ already as their savior. So the Spirit told me that we should pray for them individually (many of them had asked the doctor for medicines for nervousness and depression and I believed it could be solved with prayer). Anyway, we told them we would be right outside the door and they could come individually if they wanted us to pray for them. I also knew that the Lord wanted us to wash their feet to demonstrate their worthiness before the Father and to help them see what HE thought of them and not to receive the lies of unworthiness and guilt anymore. Every single one of those women came out to be prayed for and we were able to just love and pray for them and wash their little feet — they received it with such joy and I know from their countenances that God did a great work in them that day. I am so excited to return each month with Carlos. We are going to go every month together now to that jail and I will teach the women a Bible study and he will teach the men. We are going to take a short study on baptism this next time and will follow up and take my little plastic swimming pool the next month and baptize all the believers that want to be baptized as a testimony of their faith in Christ. That day was such a BIG blessing to me and I was reminded again just how much I love these precious Honduran people — they need so much love and prayer.

The kids are doing so well. They were all seen by the doctor and dentists this week and they are doing great. Vanessa has just changed so much since our big traumatic night last week. She is so tender and sweet towards me and I am still praying for the appropiate time and words to pray about some of her deep heart wounds. Please pray for wisdom for me in that. Her mom came to visit on Tuesday. She has been in San Pedro for only a few months and already has another man living with her and even thinks she may be pregnant again — Her name is Mirna and she needs a lot of prayer. She has lived this way so long and has 6 children already at the age of 30. I want Vanessa to be different and am praying that she will not follow the example of her mom. We need wisdom for how long Vanessa is to stay with us and what exactly God has for her future.

Well, I guess I better close this today. I am still on pain medicines and am not really in focus at times. My parents are coming on Tuesday and that will be a great encouragement to me personally.

Thanks again for the faithful prayers — you just don’t know how much I count on that always!! God is faithful and is showing Himself powerful because of the prayer backing of all of you.

I love you each so much and am so grateful that somehow God brought each one of you into my lives to team with me in this ministry.

Love in His GRACE (always),

Rhonda

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