Good Morning,
Thank you all for your patience and continued support and prayers even when you don’t hear from me often enough. The time has slipped by me and I just realized that I have not updated you on what is happening at Destino del Reino for quite some time.
God has been teaching me a lot of patience during this time of the pandemic, as I am sure He has been teaching all of you. We have still not been able to start in-person classes and will most likely not begin classes during the full school year (February through November in Honduras). The students (and their supportive parents) have surprised me in their dilligence and faithfulness to complete their work each week. They receive packets of school work each week on Monday mornings at their specific bus stops where they were formerly picked up for classes. The teachers work on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to correct the homework from the week before and prepare new lessons for the students to do for the next week. I have missed the students and being with the teachers on a daily basis but am so grateful that the kids are not lagging behind in their education. Thank you for those who support the students financially. Although we do not have in-class attendance, we still pay the teachers’ salaries, materials and books, etc. so we have needed your support during this time.
I am so thankful for our church and the pastors who are leading us. We are meeting back in Siguatepeque on Sundays and just last night we started our weekly Wednesday night service at Destino for the students and parents. Because of Covid restrictions, we cannot have all of the parents and students attending at the same service so they are divided into four groups of about 120 and will come once every four weeks. This is not ideal but they are hearing the Word of God and finally being able to attend at least one worship service each month. We are so thankful for the excellent teaching/preaching and praying that many our students and their parents will come to know Jesus Christ personally this year.
On Monday, I will be taking three of my boys to Bryan College to start the fall semester there. Cesar and Blanca left on Friday to start pre-season training with the soccer teams and I am bringing Franklin back again on Monday for his second semester, and Josue and Carlos will be starting their first semester at Bryan. My heart just might break in leaving 5 of my “babies” behind but at the same time I am overwhelmed with JOY at what God is doing for them in providing this opportunity. I have no idea how God will provide for their college tuition each year but we are taking it one step (semester) at a time and so far He has provided and I believe will provide in miraculous ways each year. Please keep that need in your prayers continually. I know that God told me to send them there and they are worth investing in. They all love Jesus and want to serve Him and the final step of their preparation to do that is to have a good education and career. All five of them have partial scholarships in soccer but that only covers a fraction of the cost. Thanks for your prayers.
I need prayer now to really invest and prepare the 19 kids who are still with me. I have poured so much into the older kids but the others need much attention and I have not been as energetic with them. Thanks for praying for that. I had knee surgery a few weeks back and am trying to recover from that pain before I leave for the US on Monday. I have seen how wonderful all my children are during this recuperation time — they serve me so eagerly and I am so blessed to be loved by them so well.
Thanks for your prayers for Jonathan’s English exam and the ACT exam. Even though he was able to be accepted by Bryan College for this semester, he has decided to stay back one year and work on his English some more and mostly so he can stay with Sammy for another year. Sammy will not start at Bryan until January ’23 and he would have been very lonely without his 5 older brothers this year, if Jonathan had not opted to stay back with him. I am so very thankful for moretime with Jonathan and also for his love for Sammy.
The cabin/lodge is really coming along now. We need flooring (probably will use the engineered wood flooring) and the electrical and bathroom finish work, and beds to be built. We are hoping to have it all done by Christmas. I know that God plans to use the lodge for building disciples for His kingdom and am hoping we can start that work in January. We still need mattresses for the 50 or so beds we are going to be putting in the lodge. It has been suggested that we get some Bed-in-the-Box matttesses and if anyone has any contacts that could donate them or at least give us a good discount, let us know. We will be sending a shipment the last part of October and would like to get everything we need for the lodge on that shipment. Thanks for praying.
Speaking of the shipment, I am sorry that I haven’t updated anyone since telling you that we would be sending the shipment in late June. We have put that off because we wanted to include more supplies for the lodge before we send it. We still need the children’s clothing and shoes, as well as school supplies. We also need probably 60 pillows, 60 sheets (fitted singles) and pillow cases, and maybe 100 towels. If we are able to get the engineered wood flooring at a discount, we will want to ship that as well at the time. If you want to send something to us, you can order on Amazon and send to Rhonda Jackson, c/o Turner Transport, 1494 Wrightsboro Road, Augusta, GA 30901. Thanks so much for your prayers and for any donated items you can help us with.
I personally would ask for prayer for more patience in every situation here at Destino del Reino. I know we keep saying, “when Covid is over. . . ” but we really don’t know what other crises we might face in the days ahead and we can’t just wait until things get better to keep on doing what God has called us to do. Our responsibility here on earth is to share the gospel and make disciples and I want to be diligent in that duty even when conditions are different and harder to endure at time. Thanks for your generous giving and faithful prayers. I am so blessed to have all of you on our “Destino Team” for the glory of God and the furtherance of the gospel in the earth.
In His amazing grace,
Rhonda
P.S. Remember you cannot hit “reply” on this message, but please write and let me know how to be praying for you as well. We are in this together!!
