Hey Prayer Partners,
I am so thankful you are all “out there” somewhere praying for me faithfully. Sometimes it is really hard to keep going in the faith that is required to keep moving forward when humanly it seems impossible. There are a lot of situations going on right now that have made me just want to quit but I know that with God ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!!!
We had a meeting with Dr. Melvin from Tegucigalpa this week about the papers required to start a university. It was Overwhelming, to say the least. He talked and explained point-by-point all that is required to get approval and I was trying my hardest to follow him. He was talking so fast and I was trying so hard to keep up with his Spanish, as well as his legal terminology, etc. I was in a constant spiritual battle the whole time — in my mind, I was hearing “just give it up, Rhonda. The kids will just have to finish at high school and you can find another way to educate the ones that live in your home” ” You don’t have to keep on doing this when there will never be enough money.” etc. etc. BUT, I know that God has given me the task of preparing leaders and missionaries for His Kingdom work and they are not nearly done once they graduate from high school. So I am convinced in my heart that the university is necessary and God will provide, even though my mind is trying to talk me out of this. Please pray for me to keep walking in faith for each step of the way. I was terrified when we first thought of having a school and that was just kindergarten and first grade. God has provided all the way through high school faithfully, so there is no reason to doubt His provision and leading at this next step. I just need to let him STRETCH my faith!!! One part scared me especially — there is a requirement that when we get all the papers together for the approval, we have to show a bank account with enough money to get through six months of everything needed in the university. I know that God provides only one month of teachers’ salaries at a time, so how do I convince a board of directors that He WILL provide even though our accounts don’t show it??? But, we will wait until that final step to see what He provides for us and He will do it in His timing and in His way!!! Thanks for your prayers. Dr. Melvin is a precious believer in God’s power and he was so encouraging. He really caught the vision of educating and preparing the poorest of the poor here in Honduras and seems very excited to be part of this plan. We have to pay him $1,200 to start out the process. It will be about $8,000 for each major that we provide in the university so we will probably start off with just two areas of study and increase that the next year. The $8,000 is just the preparation of all the paperwork. So much to consider but God is God and we will just keep walking and trusting.
Another hard thing that is going on right now is that I have let two of my teenage girls go. One left last week and is living with her parents in Siguatepeque. Even though there was no other option with the rebellion and theft, etc., it is still breaking my heart. Another one is leaving on Thursday after her graduation from 9th grade. She has been a huge trial since she came 13 years ago but I have tried and tried up to this point to lead her into obedience in Christ. She will be returning to live with her father and stepmother in Jocon (a really horrible place) but I know that if she wants to follow Christ truly, He will provide a way for her to continue her education there, etc. Please pray for both of these girls to truly surrender their entire lives to Christ and to come to true repentance. Also pray for me and the others as it is hard for us to lose those that we have loved for so long.
Great news — we have almost completed the gymnasium. It looks beautiful and we will have two graduations in the building this week. We have only finished completely the auditorium and we still will be working on the bathrooms and kitchen and a few offices during the next month. We are so excited to start church in the gym in another month or so. God has been so faithful to provide the funds to finish up this incredible building to be used for classes as well as church. Thanks for all your gifts and your prayers to see this finished.
Thanks for praying for the funds we need at this time of the year for all the new books, uniforms, shoes, and teachers’ end-of-the-year bonuses. It always stresses me out but I know that this is NOT MY BURDEN — God will provide in His timing. Please pray for me to not lose my peace during the hard times. I am so fretful at times and it is sin to worry. Thanks for remembering me in this time and also praying for the funds we need to cover everything.
There is a chance that the university will not be able to open until the following September (2017) and that is also a big concern to me and I need to trust God in this area as well. I am concerned that many of the graduates will just find something else to do (i.e. work for just a tiny bit of money) and be satisfied without completing their career preparation. I have to leave that in God’s capable and wise hands and quit fretting over that as well. Thanks for all your prayers.
Pray for our groups that are coming this summer. We have teen girls’ sports camp and children’s day camp from June 27 through July 1st; teen boys’ camp July 4th through July 8th and a medical and evangelical group going into three villages from July 16-23. Thanks for your prayers for much fruit during this time and for safety and wisdom for all of us involved in leadership.
Also thanks for your prayers as I begin the scheduling of classes next year — that is always a huge chore and takes a lot more brains than I have!!! We also need to hire three new teachers. Regretfully, I had to discontinue the employment of three teachers this year and need to find a new first grade teacher, and two high school teachers in the areas of Espanol and the sciences. Please pray for us to find teachers who are capable of not only teaching the courses but also have the desire and ability to disciple these future leaders of the Kingdom of Christ.
We praise God that we have a new American teacher coming this fall to teach English. Her name is Yvonne and she is coming from Fairfield Baptist Church in Houston. She has 25 years of teaching experience. Of course, we will miss Jenna Murphy (who served 5 years at Destino) but we thank God for always providing new Americans to teach our students English with a good accent so that they will be able to use it in ministry in the future work that God calls them to.
Thanks for your prayers — you probably don’t know just how much I am counting on them!!!
Love and grace to each of you,
Rhonda
PS Remember you cannot hit “reply” to respond to this message. You can write me at rhondadestino@yahoo.com
