Hey Everyone,
I just wanted to write you a quick update before my parents and Jim come this week to work with me — things get hectic when people are here and I don’t usually get to write many emails.
Thanks sooo much for your prayers for me personally. I had been really struggling in a lot of ways emotionally and about 3 weeks ago, I decided that no matter how difficult it was to work out the details, I would start driving to town on Sunday nights for church at Peniel. It has blessed me and refreshed me so much and I feel like it was exactly what I was needing. Marta is more than willing to stay with the children on Sunday nights and I had always felt guilty leaving them with her so I hadn’t tried this before. But I have the kids every other day for 8 hours straight by myself and Marta goes to school and studies, etc. so she doesn’t mind at all. We have church at Destino two nights a week but I really want the others (Marta, Eduard and Erick) to attend and so I just go for the praise and worship to play the piano and lead worship and then go back up to the house to watch the kids. They are usually in bed but not asleep so I can’t leave them alone for the preaching and teaching. So anyway, it had been a long time since I had been able to sit and enjoy a worship service and it has really encouraged me. God is so good to allow me to be a part of such a precious church as Peniel also. Pastor Cesar and his wife, Norma, have considered me their missionaries since I came to Honduras five years ago and I am always so encouraged by them. Last Sunday night I was feeling particularly lonely and almost decided to stay home. I went though and during the praise and music time, the pastor of youth and music had everyone bow their heads and said for us to just ask the Father to confirm His love for us. I did that because I really needed to sense His presence and love for me that night. Immediately when I started praying that, I felt hands on my back and Pastor Cesar had come in the crowd and felt like the Spirit told him to pray over me. What a confirmation!! Then, as if that wasn’t enough to speak clearly to me — while everyone else had their heads still bowed, I felt the desire to look up at the pastor leading the prayer and he was looking straight at me over the whole crowd and pointed his finger to me directly and said God wants you to know that He loves you and you are pleasing him with your work.” It was so precious and I knew that the Holy Spirit had initiated that for me to be encouraged — I sure did need it. Anyway, God is so good and loves to confirm to us His love when we just ask Him to. Thanks for your prayers for me personally.
The construction is all coming along great right now. The second house just lacks the carpenter’s work (cabinets in kitchen and bath and also the doors), windows and painting. It is looking so wonderful and I can’t wait to start painting and make it really look like a home. We are finishing up the porch this week as well and will just lack the railing after that. Keep praying that the funds will flow as God directs for us to finish these projects before December. We want to move Carlos and his family in there when school gets out and then start on the part under the house to prepare for their permanent living quarters.
It looks like the electricity team will not be able to come for a few more weeks. They got called away to Florida to help with the hurricane aftereffects down there. Pray for God’s perfect timing in all of this. I had wanted to be here to thank them in person and get to know them but I have to leave on the 25th and may miss them completely. I know that God is in control though and it will be perfect timing for us all. Also, please pray for me about what to do about the neighbors as far as the electricity is concerned. I had planned to try to hook them up to us and give this great gift to them, but we have given them water recently and provided the tubing and faucet and yet they don’t help us with anything and I don’t want to spoil them and make them into “takers” all the time. We just need wisdom for the future about what God would have us do about the electricity. I think with us bringing them the wires this close to their homes, they can earn the money and get hooked up by the electric company on their own and then that will avoid possible problems in the future. It is hard to make decisions like this because they have all become part of our big family and are members of our church, etc. Just pray for wisdom and for understanding on their parts if we need to decide not to provide electricity etc.
Thanks for your prayers for our Sunday School. We have about 15 or 16 young people in the new Sunday School class and they love it — they have homework and are really hungry to learn God’s Word. It is such a blessing and also to see Jorge taking the leadership. He has grown so much spiritually in the 2 years since he accepted Christ. (He was the younger groom in the wedding pictures that I sent to you in June). We have almost 50 in Sunday School and it is getting bigger all the time. Once we have the bus, it will explode!! We are still praying about the bus and waiting on God’s timing and so keep praying about that as well.
Please pray for my sister and her husband and family as they start a new position as houseparents at a children’s home near Atlanta. The work is not new to them but the place is and I would ask you to pray that they will adjust well and that their children will adjust quickly too to new schools and church. They are so dear to my heart and I just want to have all my prayer partners pray for them as well!! Thanks.
The kids are doing great — as always. I can’t believe such a cute bunch are living with me. We have so much fun every day and they are so precious and loving. I wish all of you could meet them in person one day. Mirna, Jonathan and Cesar and Blanca’s mom, visited this weekend for parental visitation and she had lost the baby and was very sick for a few weeks. So we won’t be getting that newborn after all. We did get two calls about newborn babies though and I need your prayers for whether God would have us take these new babies into Destino. We would love the opportunity and I know that I heard CLEARLY from God that the main purpose of this ministry is to help those children from the mountain villages of Yoro but I don’t know if I am supposed to help them mainly and can take in a few others along the way from other parts of Honduras or if I am to reserve every space for Yoro children. I need to hear clearly from the Lord on this because I want to only do what He has for me and these new babies are from Siguatepeque and Tegucigalpa. I love the idea of getting to start absolutely fresh with newborns and we do have enough help to do this effectively, but I don’t know about these moms giving the children to us and never coming to visit them and getting to know them — that also is a little different than our usual program. Anyway, just pray and we’ll see what God has to say. Thanks.
Pastor Carlos is doing great as always. He is so full of joy and love and the radiance of the Holy Spirit in him just oozes out of his life. We have had some adjustments recently. We don’t really have conflicts but we have had to do a lot more communicating since we need to learn to work well together. He is used to being self-employed and not reporting to anyone and I usually like for someone else to take over anyway, but have had to be more of an administrator becaus that is the job that God gave me so we are learning to talk more things out and I told him that we need at least a 10-minute meeting every day so I can know what is going on. Thanks for praying. All of this is new to us and we are having growing pains as the ministry grows so fast and every step is new to all of us. Thanks for your prayers for great wisdom and much patience with each other.
Church is growing continually. We have 18 adults that are going through discipleship now and want to be baptized afterwards. We are so excited about the great spiritual growth we are seeing in so many. Thanks for your prayers in all of this.
Continue to pray for Eidy and Cokey — they are my most difficult children by far and I need lots of wisdom and patience. They are adorable and just have had so many struggles in their family and with the death of their mom and so I think the insecurities are causing their troubles and we just need the peace of God to FLOOD Their little lives. Thanks for praying.
I guess I’d better close this before I wear you out but thanks so much for your prayers. Please NEVER quit — it is such a spring of life to me and this ministry and we need your prayers desperately.
I love each of you and love hearing how to be praying for you individually as well.
Love in His INCREDIBLE GRACE,
Rhonda
