THANK YOU for your faithful prayers, encouragement, and financial support. This past month has flown by in the blink of an eye!
Pic: Joining forces with Water Ambassadors Canada (WAC) to provide drinking water and the gospel to communities. For more than a year we have been waiting on God for the opportunity to collaborate with WAC. Finally, in the end, God granted us the privilege of serving with WAC to share the gospel, providing access to safe water for 11 communities, and giving hygiene lectures to the children and mothers of the community.Pic: God allowed us to reach each one of the communities even though some communities did not have good access.Pic: In the hygiene talks the group taught at schools on how to avoid illnesses and how to wash before eating and sleeping. They also donated soaps, toothpaste and toothbrushes.Pic: With one of the WAC groups we repaired the game court for AWANA in our local church. The floor of the court was very slippery and some kids had already slipped and gotten hurt playing. The group removed the plain concrete layer and painted the court. Thanks to God, now the court surface is not slippery and looks like new, ready for 150 kids that come every Saturday afternoon!Pic: The Gospel was shared during prayer walks… during the dedications of the wells…during soccer matches…and also in the maternity center to mothers with their newborns.Pic: Preparation for the coffee season. Job continues to contribute technical and administrative assistance to the small farmers’ cooperative. The leadership had a spiritual retreat to pray for the future coffee season and to plan events to share the gospel with small coffee producers. The following month they will be visiting more than 75 producers to help them with their farms and to share the gospel.We are so grateful for the visit of grammy Delma. While Job was busy with the first WAC group, Delma visited us and spent a great time with Adria and Elizabeth May. It was a tremendous joy to be able to have our dear grammy Delma here with us for two weeks! We also want to continue proclaiming the wonders of God and give thanks for another year of Adria’s life as we celebrated her birthday on the 27th. Also, we want to thank God for having finished the U.S. citizenship paperwork for Elizabeth. Next month we will receive her passport so that in the future we will be able to travel as a family.
Praise the Lord:
For the accompaniment of God in the communities with the Canadians. No one was hurt and God’s support was felt in every moment.
For Delma’s visit and the health improvement of Adria. For a healthy, happy baby and for the strength she gives us as a family.
For our faithful supporters who are the instruments that God uses to finance the ministries where we serve.
Pray to the Lord:
For Camp “Connect” that AWANA will host next weekend. We expect more than 180 children and parents. May God use this camp so that new believers, both children and parents, can connect more with God.
For the visit of our friend Fred Jackson. Fred felt the call to adopt the community “El Arrayan.” There are more than 300 people in this squatters community and some live in chronic poverty. Fred will be coming to plan and implement sustainable development projects there.
Spiritual growth in our new believing brothers. That the professions of faith during the repair of wells and other ministries are strengthened by God.
THANK YOU for your continual prayers, encouragement, and financial support. God is using your help to strengthen us each and every day!
VBS in Palmichal. The month of July began with helping a group from Houston hold a VBS in a rural community called Palmichal. Job helped with transportation and translating and Adria also helped some with translating. More than 50 kids accepted Christ! In this particular community they had never had a VBS before, so this was a new experience for them. The group also evangelized house to house, built a roofed eating area at the school, and also offered medical consultations to at least a few hundred people. We were glad to be a help for this group, but even more so the group blessed us as Adria received a medicine to treat her insomnia from the doctor on the team. This has proved to be a tremendous help in helping Adria regain her energy! Also, several of the ladies on the team were able to encourage Adria and remind her what God has told us about trials. Oftentimes we feel that God has deserted us, when the truth is, as Psalms 34 tells us: “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” Overall, the week was nothing short of a revival, both physically and spiritually!Training on Disease Resistant Coffee for Central America. Job has been helping the Hope Coffee ministry the past few months in an effort to plan strategies for their coffee farm. This month he was able to receive some training geared towards preparing for the challenges that climate change brings, specifically for coffee growers in Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The training was given by Texas A&M and was a great guide in learning how to better help the coffee growers here.Playground in Puran by Kids Around the World and TerraMica. This playground is a dream come true for the kids at Puran! It was originally destined for Nicaragua, but due to the political crisis and unsafe conditions there the organizations decided to send their teams to Honduras. Through connections we have with a friend working with TerraMica, Puran was chosen to receive the playground! We are marveled at how God has used different people to bless the community at Puran.School Garden in Puran. These two organizations, Kids Around the World and TerraMica, also know the importance of teaching the kids and wanted to help establish a school garden so that the kids can learn about sustainable agriculture. The school kids joined with members from both of the organizations to put in the tires, haul soil to fill them, and build a fence to keep out wandering dogs and chickens.We are overjoyed as Delma is here visiting us for 2 weeks! Elizabeth might not let grammy go back home! 😉
Praise the Lord:
For these opportunities to join with other believers to advance God’s kingdom!
For Delma’s safe arrival here to visit us!
For the huge improvement in Adria’s health! Thank you SO much for praying!!!
Pray to the Lord:
Peace for the people of Nicaragua. That God be the protector and judge of each one.
For the well repair Job will be helping with in August. They are planning to repair 15 wells in 15 different communities in the southern region. Pray for the group from Water Ambassadors Canada, for God’s protection over them as well as for these communities, that they would hear the gospel.
For us as a family, especially that we would continue learning how to be the parents God is calling us to be.
We are so grateful for your thoughts and prayers this past month! Please continue to lift us and the ministry up in prayer.
Pic: Completion of the Samaritan’s Purse discipleship program. We thank God for the opportunity we had to complete the 12 week program teaching over 200 kids about Jesus. The seed was planted in their lives and 12 kids accepted Jesus into their hearts as well as a father of one of the families there. We praise God for the opportunity that we continue to have of freely sharing the gospel with our neighbors. The AWANA program will continue to follow up on the discipleship of these kids for the rest of the year.Pic: Trip to the southern region to prepare for the arrival of Water Ambassadors Canada (WAC), a North American brigade that will be repairing wells and installing new pumps in the driest area of Honduras. Over 2,000 people will benefit from this project! The communities that were selected to receive these well pumps are communities where a local church there, called Getsemaní, is planting new churches. This project of changing well pumps will be of benefit for this church as it will give them a new opening to strengthen their relations within these communities and to continue sharing the gospel with them.
Pic: Using a GPS to measure ministry land and begin the planning stage of their coffee farm. We are now supporting 4 different ministries in the establishment of their farms to help them reach greater sustainability in the management of their ministry. We provide technical help for these ministries according to the needs of their farms. We also train their workers and share the gospel with those that still do not profess faith in Christ.
Praise the Lord:
For the 12 kids and 1 father that committed their lives to Christ during the Samaritan’s Purse discipleship program!
For a successful planning trip to the southern region before WAC arrives!
For His peace, which passes all understanding!
Pray to the Lord:
For Adria’s health to improve. Her nausea, insomnia, and weakness have been very debilitating this past month. Unfortunately, after several tests were done the cause wasn’t found, other than it could possibly be caused by anxiety and/or adrenal fatigue. She is trying some medication but so far has not found relief. Please keep praying for wisdom if some other tests need to be done or if more time is needed to adjust to the medicine.
For the WAC brigade that will be here July 28 – Aug 7 for well repair work.
For the spiritual growth of the 12 kids and 1 father that accepted Christ.
Thank you for praying with us and helping us serve with all your support!
Thank you all for your continual prayers! We need them. Let us know too how we can pray for you!
Pic: Pouring concrete floor for Martin. One of our neighbors had a problem with his house. The floor of his house was made of dirt and a plague of rats had invaded the subsoil of his house. It was such a problem that occasionally the rats would climb onto his bed. For this, we united with a local church to help donate a concrete floor for him. An entire day of work was necessary to level the floor and remove the rat nests. Martin, the owner of the house, has been a widower now for 1 year and has a daughter. They both feel blessed to have experienced the love of God in this way. Already now they have joined a discipleship group to grow spiritually.
Pic: Repairing wells in the valley of Comayagua with Water Ambassadors Canada. Our Canadian friends came at the beginning of May to identify areas of action in the southern part of Honduras and to repair wells for drinking water for several communities in the valley of Comayagua. This was a time of training and learning for Job to install new water well pumps. It also served to gain access to other communities to proclaim the gospel through tangible actions that demonstrate what God does in the hearts of His children. Over 200 families were benefitted from the repair of these wells!
Pic: Helping Fred Jackson as he begins a new ministry: A Leap of Faith. Job met Fred during his training with Living Water International last November. Since then Fred has experienced a deep growing desire to adopt a Honduran community and to organize community development projects over the long term. Consequently, he came down for a week this past month and Job showed him several possible communities to work with where we have repaired wells in the valley of Comayagua. Fred plans to continue coming to the community he has chosen (Arrayan) the rest of this year to get to know their needs better and define a development strategy for the long term.
Pic: Puran families cultivating. Summer here has finally ended. God has blessed us with abundant rain as the rainy season begins. The families are taking advantage of these rains in their gardens and their production has greatly improved since summer has ended. All the families know that it is the providence of God that makes the soil produce. In Honduras, we have a proverb that says: “Nor do the leaves of the trees move if it is not by the power of God.”
Praise the Lord:
For the privilege that God gives us to be able to help others, through our supporters, organizations, and ministries.
For God’s protection during an outbreak of the H1N1 swine flu that has recently killed 12 people in Honduras.
For our family and supporters that provide us their support and help.
Pray to the Lord:
For Adria’s health to improve. She is currently in the States for a Dr. visit. Please pray for some answers to come of this as she continues to experience extreme exhaustion, fatigue, insomnia, weakness, and nausea.
For spiritual growth of the kids, youth, women, and men that we work with.
For wisdom in making decisions that honor God in our ministry and family.
Sorry this update is a bit late! I (Adria) have been battling some health issues, but I am beginning to feel on the mend now. Please read on to see what has filled our past month!
Pic: Water for Puran. March and April are the driest and hottest months of the year in Honduras. The people that live in Puran receive just 200 liters of non-potable water per week. So to help those in the gardening project, we brought them 1,000 liters of water. At each opportunity such as this, we share the gospel while demonstrating real actions that show them God’s love for them.
Pic: Colbath’s sheep flock. At the Colbath’s farm we have been taking action to prevent the plantation trees from dying, as well as the sheep and cows. Fortunately we have begun to receive the beginning rains of spring and we are so grateful that the pasture grass is being revived!Pic: Helping Mission on the Move. Another children’s home ministry, Mission on the Move, has a large piece of property and they have asked for our technical help in order to take better advantage of the land, as well as to become an example for their community in different ways of cultivating. The plan is to restore the orange orchard as well as establish in the future an orchard of lychee fruit to sell in the local market.Pic: Elizabeth’s dedication. This month we presented Elizabeth May before the church and dedicated her upbringing to God’s path for her life. We are so glad that Job’s dad, Francisco, was able to lead the prayer for the dedication. Elizabeth is already over 2 months old and we glorify God for her good health!
Praise the Lord:
For the health of Elizabeth May. We are thankful to have a baby so healthy and full of life!
For our prayer and financial supporters that encourage us!
For the growth of the ministry that God is allowing us to experience in Awana, the discipleships, agricultural support to different ministries, the worship ministry at church, and the support to coffee growers.
Pray to the Lord:
For Adria’s health to improve, as she has been dealing with some extreme exhaustion, fatigue, and weakness.
For the spiritual growth of those that God is allowing us to disciple.
For wisdom in all our ministry decisions.
Thank you all for your continual support and prayers that keep us going and growing here in Honduras!
It has been awhile since our last update and since then we have become parents! It’s been quite an eye & mind-opening life change. God blessed us with a healthy baby girl and we appreciate your prayers for our continued transition as a family. Read on to see a bit more of what’s kept us busy these past couple months!
Pic: Felix, beginning his garden at Puran. Felix worked for over 12 years in an egg layer farm. Due to long-term exposure of chemicals used at the farm, he contracted an infection from an invasive bacteria that required surgery and during that time he was let go. Now he has begun farming and growing vegetables. We have been supporting him as he begins this work. Currently he is selling his vegetables to a nearby restaurant and this has been generating some income to support his family. We are praying for his salvation as the head of his home.Pic: Awana kids receiving Samaritan’s Purse shoe boxes. For those of you that have filled shoe boxes for Samaritan’s Purse, some of those may have come to Honduras! Job is serving as a volunteer for Samaritan’s Purse, which is working to mobilize the evangelization and discipleship of more than 20,000 kids in our region of Comayagua. Awana started up again in February, along with the new school year here, and we are now using some of the teaching material from Samaritan’s Purse along with the Awana workbooks. This year our numbers doubled and we are serving over 200 kids that come each week! A couple weeks ago Samaritan’s Purse supplied shoe boxes for every Awana kid.Pic: Praying with Carlos Alvarado. What surprised us was the decision to accept Jesus, not made by an Awana kid there, but rather a father of one of the kids! With tears in his eyes, Carlos Alvarado accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior and Job is meeting with him each week for discipleship and Bible study. He is currently separated from his wife and kids and has struggled with both alcoholism and drug addiction. Now he is feeling the joy of being a new creature and for us it is a great joy to see him grow in God. Job feels fortunate to be able to disciple this new brother in Christ.Pic: Job at SEBCAH (Seminario Bíblico Centroamericano de Honduras) Since arriving to Honduras, we have been involved in 2 main branches of work to expand God’s Kingdom: social project ministries and Bible study ministries. Lately we have seen God’s hand greatly increasing our opportunities for Bible study ministries and currently Job is discipling 6 individuals. Because of this, Job has felt the call for a more formal preparation to do these discipleship ministries and in February he began studying at SEBCAH, the same seminary where Adria served with Camino Global her first year in Honduras back in 2014!The most exciting event during these past couple months was the arrival of our little valentine, Elizabeth May! She was born February 13th at 2:39pm, weighing 8 lbs and was 53 cm long. Just 4 years earlier, on Feb 13th, 2014 Adria landed in Honduras for her first year of service here!
Praise God:
For Carlos Alvarado’s salvation! Continue to pray for his new life with Christ!
For the preparation that God is doing in our lives to become better servants!
For a healthy baby girl!
Pray to God:
For the spiritual growth of the 6 individuals Job is discipling.
As more individual discipleship opportunities come along, we are feeling led to become better stewards of our time and resources and make those a larger part of our ministry. Pray for God’s direction as we make decisions in these next few months on which ministries we may need to let go so that we can focus on what God is calling us to do here, to make disciples.
For our continued transition into parenthood, that we would grow and become the parents God calls us to be.
January brought us both joys and challenges. Please read on to see how God is at work through it ALL!
(Pic: The Colbath’s farm has received 4 twins!) After the neighbor’s dogs had killed 7 sheep, the following season of lambing has allowed us to return to where we started. However, there are still dogs that come over from the neighbor’s that threaten the lives of our sheep. The sheep are the head “lawnmowers” of the Colbath’s property and provide meat for their children’s home.(Pic: VBS at our local church.) Every January, during the school year break, our local church holds a VBS program to reach out to the community. This year God allowed us to support this ministry that discipled over 100 kids, from 2 years up to 18 years old. Several parents that came with their kids were also taught God’s word. The seed has been planted in their hearts.(Pic: Awana directors meeting – from left to right: Angel and his wife Elizabeth are the general program directors, Rosibel will direct the “Torches” club, Suyapa will direct the “Little Bears” club, Job will direct the “Flames” club, Yensi will direct the “Sparks” club, and Blanca will help direct the “Little Bears” club. Adria will serve as the program treasurer.) This month we’ve begun planning out the activities for this year’s Awana program. Without a doubt, our desire is to work for the Lord and that the kids that came to VBS can continue their spiritual growth in Awana. This Saturday the entire group of volunteer Awana leaders will be meeting for a training session.(Pic: Mirna and her family harvesting beans.) So many people at Puran have commented that the gardening project has activated them to do more with their land. Mirna is one of those involved in the gardening project and now she is also using their small plot of land to grow beans. Three months later, together with her family they are harvesting the fruit of their work.(Pic: This month we received a visit from representatives of 2 different organizations: Kids Around the World and TerraMica.) Through one of Job’s friends, they heard about our work in Puran and wanted to learn about the work of the local church there and the gardening project. At the end of the meeting they asked for information about the needs of each project in order to improve each one. We prayed together as we said our goodbyes, trusting that God will work through our collaboration.(Pic 6: God heals Miguelito.) Jannet is one of the garden producers in Puran. During one of Job’s visits she showed how her son Miguelito was bleeding from his ears. Jannet also commented that the doctors had seen Miguelito and the medicines they had recommended had not cured the problem after 2 weeks of treatment. During that visit Job prayed for Miguelito’s healing. During the following week’s garden visits Job returned for a visit… Jannet, with much joy, declared that Miguelito had stopped bleeding the following morning after they had prayed!
An Update on the Political Situation
The President-elect (after illegally being reelected) officially took up office on January 27th. Many protests, both peaceful and violent, were carried out the entire week leading up to Inauguration Day. As of now, the unrest has, for the most part, settled down. However, more scandals of corruption have come to light as more than 100 members of congress are being investigated for appropriating public funds that were originally destined for social projects of non-profit organizations.
Praise God:
For the testimony from God’s healing of Miguelito!
For the individual discipleships that Job is developing with 6 young men! Four of these are already Christians. The other two do not profess any faith and are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions.
For the opportunity to continue ministering in Honduras!
Pray to God:
For a natural labor without complications and for a healthy baby.
For spiritual, moral, and economic support for the challenges that we face in each ministry this year.
For more financial support to cover Job’s studies in the Bible seminary. In February, Job will begin studying at the Bible seminary to become better prepared to lead discipleship groups and give teachings. The cost is about $300 per month. Please pray about supporting this essential training for effective ministry!
