Hey Everyone,
I am sorry I have waited several weeks to report to you on all that God is doing at Destino del Reino. Things have been soooo busy with the end of the year in school, quick trip to the US, etc. etc. but I wanted to let you know that God is faithful and has provided so many things for the upcoming school year and for Destino in general.
We have a 45 foot container arriving in about 9 days and we are overwhelmed with the goodness of God in all that has been provided. A friend in Georgia who had a contact with the education system there, was able to take us to their HUGE warehouse of used school furniture and we got to pick what we wanted FREE — we got great desks for the children (metal), tables, overhead projectors, soooo much. Then we were allowed to go in the curriculum room of a Christian School that had closed and got to take all the books and materials that we wanted for Destino. It was beyond our imagination all that God is providing for the children this year. We were given a gift from the church where Carlos was attending during his 6 weeks in the US that covered the downpayment for all our uniforms, and shoes and half of the books for the school year. AMAZING GOD. Thanks for your prayers. We still need to keep praying for the rest of the debt on the retirement fund and insurance for teachers but God will provide in perfect timing for that as well.
We have all our teachers for the upcoming year. Every single teacher and assistant is coming back next year (Hondurans) and they are thrilled with their work and ministry with the children here. That is so amazing to us. Also, 3 of our American teachers are returning, we have another sure one coming from Augusta, Georgia, and we have a great candidate in the interview process coming from Dallas, Texas. We are sooooo blessed and so excited for the year ahead. We are also praying for a band teacher either from the US or Honduras — we don’t know anyone here that could do that though. Thanks for praying with us that God will prepare the hearts of the teachers for all the ministry they have in front of them this next year.
We have had some real hard times in the midst of all of this blessing though. We have had some complaining parents and children that are ungrateful and it is really hard to see this attitude in people who are being given an incredible gift of free education, meals, clothing shoes, etc. Carlos is going to be talking to the parents next Tuesday about gratefulness. I gave him an illustration to use that I heard years ago:
A very rich man decided to do something good with his money and he picked a neighborhood at random and decided to go from house to house and give them $10,000. The people of course were shocked at such a gift for FREE and thanked him profusely. The next year on the same date, the rich man decided once more to bless those people again and he went from house to house and gave them another $10,000 and again they were both surprised and very grateful. Well, the third year comes around and the people are noticing the date ont he calendar and just waiting with expectation that just maybe the man will come once again with money for them. Sure enough, the man comes and gives them the $10,000 and this time they thank him but with much less enthusiasm because they really had expected him to come anyway. The fourth year comes around and the people are waiting for him, and becoming angry as he is later than the other times when he has come and they have things to do. Sure enough the man shows up and they open the door quickly and grab the money and don’t bother to thank him. The next year, the rich man decides that he will not take the money to them anymore, and the whole neighborhood is furious because they had a right to that money and he did not come this time.
This is the 5th year of the school and what was a wonderful gift to these poor people originally, is starting to seem like their right. Some do not want to have to wait at the highway with their children for the (free) bus every morning, or help in the cafeteria when their turn comes around, etc. Ungratefulness is human and we all have to work on that attitude or it will come natural to us. What was considered in the beginning as a great blessing or privilege, through the years becomes what we think of as a “RIGHT” — I am guilty of this with the Father too — every breath and new day is a gift but I think I have a right and complain when things are not as I want them. We ask you to pray for us as we talk to the parents about their attitudes and show grace to them. This is only maybe five percent of the parents and others are very grateful, but it is so disappointing to handle complaints from people who are receiving so much and don’t remember that. The verse that really has helped me get back on track about my attitude this week was Luke 6:35 — that we are to love without expecting anything in return and we will be sons of the Most High — because he is good to the evil and the UNGRATEFUL.
Whew, that is a hard one – -I would rather be good to an evil man than an ungrateful one but God calls us to do it anyway and we want to have the right attitude.
I am still struggling so much in my heart about losing Ana and also the possibility that some parents may possibly be returning in the next months and demand their children back (they are a brother and sister that I have had since birth and they don’t even know the parents) — please pray for me to surrender COMPLETELY these situations to the Lord — He loves the children more than I could ever love them and He really can be trusted with them, but I have many doubts and fears. I know that this life is just a vapor and if God takes away everything I love and delight in, then He is still God and He is still right and I want to not only surrender out of obedience, but I want to trust His love in all of this. Thanks for praying for me.
Carlos is home and he is praying for the group of men that God sends to him to work with and walk through their struggles with. He has some homework for them to do and if they are willing to do that and still want his help, then he will include them in his accountability group and out of that group of restored men the church will be built. Pray specifically for Trino. he has worked with us for about 5 years – -he is in a huge battle of depression and attacks physically and is desperate for freedom. We will be meeting with him this next week and please be praying with us for his deliverance from bondage. Carlos has already had 3 other men ask if they can be in the group and we see that God is clearly going to do powerful things through Carlos’ own healing. I can never thank the counselors in the US enough for all the tender and devoted love and care they displayed to Carlos. There is not that kind of counseling available in Honduras but in the future years, I believe Carlos will be instrumental in helping many many men in the same way that he has been restored. Thanks for praying regularly for all of this — this is the heart of the whole ministry and God’s plan of redemption — using broken men restored to restore others.
Please pray for Gerardo — a 14 year old boy in a chlidren’s home near me. He had a kidney transplant and now his body is rejecting the kidney and there is nothing more that can be done. he needs a miracle. He loves the Lord Jesus and is a tender hearted young man and we ask for you to pray with us that God will miraculously heal him.
Please pray for more people to want to help us sell some sheets. The man in charge of the fundraiser says if every person would just commit to selling 12 sets, it would be a huge help to Destino. The sheets are easy to sell when people touch them — they are amazing for the price. Thanks for anything you might be able to do.
I have been encouraged this week by my own words — ha ha — the new website is under construction and I got to preview it. Thanks to Zac and Serge for all their hard work, by the way. On the website are old emails of mine from 2001 through present and I have forgotten so much that God has miraculously done at Destino and I am being so blessed by reading my old emails. i don’t keep a journal so this is the next best thing. God called me and He ordained Destino del Reino from the very beginning and He will do what He started and we can rest in that with a full-hearted faith. I needed to be reminded lately because I have felt great wounds from the Father in the last 2 months — disgruntled employees, lots of theft, Ana’s being taken, etc. etc. — and it really shook my faith in a big way but God is faithful and He still loves and understands me and is evidently not finished working in and through me. “He is faithful when we are without faith.” – what a PROMISE!!!! I count on that one.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.
Love in His MIGHTY ENDURING Grace,
Rhonda
