Hey Praying Friends and Family,
I have some incredible news about what is going on at Destino del Reino. As many of you know, when school is in session (probably in the next couple of months again), we usually have 350 to 400 people in our weekly church service. We have 90 new students and so that means we will have about another 200 in our services soon. It has been a HUGE burden on my heart when I look over the crowd and see hundreds of people, most of whom have received Christ as their Savior, but none who have been discipled and taught to truly walk with the Lord on a daily basis. We also teach Bible classes, memorized scripture, have chapels, etc. for our students from age 5 through the time they graduate from high school and yet so few of them seem to follow the Lord after that and produce the fruit for His kingdom that we have prayed for them. We have not had a pastor for two years and have instead gotten together and read the Bible together for about 40 minutes each week. It has really been an unexpected blessing to all of us as we waited on God to show us who He wanted to lead the congregation. One precious pastor from Yoro came down about 4 times monthly to try to inject some truth from the Word into our congregation but he is so committed up in Yoro with his church and a Christian school there, that it has not been possible to do very much with our people. (That is the background of why the following blessing is so amazing)
My kids were invited to join a new soccer league for all ages and it is led by a Christian coach who played 11 years of professional soccer in Honduras. He has done a great job with 7 of our boys here in the home on their various teams, not only teaching them more skills but praying and leading devotions with them. While I was in the US a few weeks ago, the coach, Irvin, invited my high school boys to go to church with him. When I came home, my boys were telling me how much they liked this church and thought I would like it so the next Sunday, I put all my kids (except the toddlers) in the van and we went together. From the minute I walked got there, I began to make some very positive observations. There were as many men leaders in their church as there are women (maybe even more). The announcements were concerning their various DISCIPLESHIP groups. They talked about a youth activity, and most surprising, since their church has been meeting in the backyard of the head pastor for several years, they asked everyone to be praying for them to find a much bigger place to begin to have their services! They have 5 pastors and quite a few young men and women who are “servants (deacons). I noticed that there were not many there in the congregation of about 50 to 60 who were not leaders. They also announced about the plans that week to take a team to build 3 houses for the poor families who had lost everything in the hurricane. Everything I would want of in a church was here and the preaching was so great from both pastors each week we went.
So I came home and the Lord started prompting me to pray and seek wisdom of the other leaders here at Destino about whether we are to offer Destino del Reino’s facilities to have their church here. I had perfect confirmation and peace from the Lord that this was His plan and offered a few days ago for the leadership group to pray about it. Well, yesterday they came and spent all morning with us, sharing and talking about our goals and desires in how we were to disciple the people of Honduras, etc. and we walked through the buildings and all of us have perfect peace that this is from the Lord and a HUGE blessing for the families of Destino del Reino. They are already praying about how they will begin the discipleship of so many parents of our students, start youth meetings with our teens in the school, etc. etc. They also offered to send some work crews to help us finish off the lodge that we want to use for camps and retreats (which now will be even more useful in discipling small groups of people). They have prayed and prayed about what God wanted to do with this small body of believers who have prepared themselves for leadership and now I feel like God has just taken that powerful, prepared bud of godly leadership and is transplanting it right in the middle of these hundreds of undiscipled people at Destino and that it will flourish into MUCH fruit in the weeks ahead. I cannot even believe what God is doing among us and so thrilled with the way He has prepared these precious pastors and leaders for such a ministry. I shared with them that Destino del Reino is absolutely 100% God’s and that none of us are possessive of it. God is jealous for this place and for His own glory here and that we are all privileged to be used here in this place for His purposes and that we have to remain with our hands open to let Him do whatever He wants and how He wants to minister to the believers He has chosen at Destino del Reino.
Please be praying for all of us as we begin something new here. I feel like such a huge burden has been lifted off of me in knowing there will be people besides me that are praying and trying to minister to these precious people. The three pastors who came yesterday are Christian (head pastor), Pastor Onan, and Irvin. I am not sure of the other two pastors’ names but will let you know so you can be praying for all of these leaders by name.
We are so grateful to see God’s hand that was preparing something we could never have imagined while I was feeling like there was no answer ahead.
This year we have 312 kids in our school and so far they are doing well on their work that is passed to them at the bus stops each Monday to be completed in their homes. Especially be praying for the high schoolers as it is very hard to work in math, physics, biology, chemistry, etc. etc. without a teacher onsite with them. They are struggling. Hopefully the government will let us have in-person school in the next few months so this will be behind us. Thanks for your prayers for the teachers and students to get through these difficult times and that the students will be able to complete their work in their homes.
The foundation for the lodge is completed in a group of men will be coming in the next few weeks to put up the walls, and then we already have the roofers on stand-by to come immediately afterwards to put on the roof (hopefully before the big May rainy season begins). Please pray for us to be able to complete the lodge in the next few months before the end of July.
Thanks for your faithful support and prayers. We still need 14 more school sponsors if anyone is willing to take on one of these students to pray for regularly. I am so thankful for all of you who so willingly signed up to “adopt” a student. They really need the prayer, not only for their school work, but for the family’s needs as they are all from extremely poor homes, and for the salvation and spiritual growth of them and their families.
Love in His amazing grace,
Rhonda
