Checkerz' Blog

Buenos dias!

After Trish led a great devotion time for our team about faith and believing God to work miracles we headed out to do some “Door to Door” evangelism. I am burdened that this has become almost non-existent in the U.S. and as a pastor I have read all the studies, and heard all the responses as to why they THINK it is ineffective. However, if it WERE ineffective then people would not still fall prey to false teachings like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses by the thousands every year as a result of a faithful Mormon/JW knocking on their door. I know many of you say, “Hurry, turn the TV off and be quiet so they will go away,” but many people answer the door and are led into a false doctrine. We have work to do and I still believe in “Door to Door” evangelism.

Now that I am off of my “soap box,” I want to say that today was amazing. We separated into 3 teams today and began canvassing the area around a small church that our team in September ministered at.

In typical Honduras fashion, we were repeatedly invited into many people’s homes to sit down as we discussed the Lord with them. I had a small team of two today plus a translator. Paige and I (along with our translator Franklin) stopped at our second home where we met Augustine, Norma, and Norma’s small boy named Brian. Norma is only 17. Augustine shared with us that her husband was killed and stuffed in a trash bag. She said that the police knew who killed him but did nothing to the people who did it. Norma (17) shared with us that her baby’s father was murdered last year and her mother died when she was 3 weeks old. Her Godmother Augustine was helping care for her and her baby. Unfortunately, this was not so uncommon here in Honduras. We prayed with them and invited them to the church service our team would be at that evening. The church was just across the field from their home. As we left I could not help but see the great potential this young girl had and how much she desperately needed to know that the Lord had not forgotten about her, so I shared that with her as we departed.

After lunch we went to another village to do door-to-door evangelism. This time I was happy to have my wife Nicole join Paige and I on our team. After we ministered to a few different people who said they were just not ready to accept Jesus yet it was almost time to head back. However, we stopped at one last house and the lady did not want to open the gate because there had been so many robberies and so much violence. After several minutes she decided to invite us in. We shared with Carey and her mother Dalia about Jesus and why He died for us. After explaining to them their need for Jesus, Carey said she wanted to surrender her life to Him. We prayed and invited them to the service tonight as well. This village was too far away to walk but we told them a bus comes through that neighborhood from the church if they needed a ride. After talking with the team I was overwhelmed to hear that 12 people accepted Christ in this village!

That night at the church service my heart was overjoyed as we saw several people at the service that our team ministered to today. Norma, her baby Brian, and her godmother Augustine were there:

And Carey (Far left), Dalia (Next to me), and Carey’s sister (Middle) attended as well:

The church service was amazing. The worship was powerful and I was so overjoyed to be back in this little church. Vanessa translated for me, which was awesome because that was her father’s church.

Once again, the team did an amazing job sharing the Good News of Jesus and loving the people of  Honduras. It was a great day of ministry. Adios!

Hola mis hermanos! After Alex led our devotion time this morning we headed out to a village that was located on the side of a mountain. I remembered coming in this area last September. This was a new village I had not been to before, but it was on the same mountain as another village we ministered in last year. Regardless of the living conditions and poverty, I still am moved by the beauty of Honduras, especially in the mountain villages.

First on the agenda today was door-to-door evangelism. We divided up into 4 teams with 3 team members each (along with an interpreter for each group). Fortunately, we have 4 people on our mission team that speak Spanish with 2 of them actually being from Honduras. That allowed us to have smaller teams and cover more ground. The first house that my team arrived at had a young man (18 years old) named Jason. He was home alone and as I greeted him I asked if we could talk with him briefly about why we had come from the United States. After several minutes, Jason shared that he had a lot of family problems and really was not “ready” to give his life to Jesus. After sharing with him how my biological father had abandoned me when I was born and I didn’t want anything to do with God either, I then told him how God became the Father I never had. Little did I know, Jason was about to tell me that his father died when he was 3 years old. His eyes welled up with tears and after some more dialogue, Jason said He was ready to accept Jesus. Nolvia and Jada were on my team along with our translator Franklin. All of the other teams had great stories as well about people coming to faith in Jesus.

There were also other opportunities to minister to those we met that were already Christians. We met two ladies and the children at the last house we visited. One shared how she was dealing with a lot of sickness and had just prayed earlier for God to help her. She was so overwhelmed that missionaries from the U.S. showed up at her house in the mountains. We prayed for her and the family and as we were leaving, her sister asked if we had a bible she could have. I had one left and we gladly gave it to her. We were all blessed to meet this beautiful family (pictured below). Ten people accepted Jesus in this village while we were there. Praise the Lord!

After lunch we went back to that same village to a place that ministers to those with special needs and disabilities. After Chris shared the Gospel with everyone, we fed about 200 people followed by a fiesta time. Everyone jumped in and found a place to serve. It did not take long for the people to warm up to our team and the place became filled with smiles and laughter.

One of the highlights for me was seeing a family that I met last year in a village I preached in called El Sauce’. Their little daughter Adrise stole our hearts last year. Her father (pictured below in the wheelchair) actually led worship for the service I preached in last September. It was a great and exciting reunion as we rejoiced with each other.

Every day I am here in Honduras I am reminded of Acts 1:8. As a Christian I have the Holy Spirit living in me. According to Acts 1:8 the Holy Spirit gives all Christ followers power to be great witnesses for Jesus in our local towns as well as around the world. Our team has experienced the presence and power of the Holy Spirit this week as we have all been stretched outside of our comfort zones for the advancement of the good news of Jesus Christ…the Gospel. I am so blessed to lead such a great team of people and even more blessed to journey alongside them and learn from them as well. Today truly was a literal “Mountaintop Experience.”

Well, after a great start yesterday we began this day the same way we begin every day by having someone from the team lead a devotion time. Today (Monday) Nolvia led the devotion and reminded us all about the importance of “praying through” things instead of just tossing up random prayers about our circumstances. It was encouraging and challenging at the same time. After devotion time we gathered our things to head to the place that I had been “Anxiously Awaiting.” You may remember me blogging about Homes of Hope, which is a girls’ orphanage, last September. My wife was not able to join me on the Mission Trip last year but she and my daughter Jada are with me this time! After sharing some pictures of the girls at the orphanage last September with my wife we began dialogues about adopting 1 or 2 of them. Unfortunately, the two girls we were praying to adopt became ineligible for adoption. God had answered our prayers, but it wasn’t the answer we wanted. So, here we are in Honduras together and heading over to Homes of Hope! A new addition to the home was Ingrid. She came straight to me and held her arms out for me to pick her up. She was, and still is, suffering severe malnutrition. After I help her for awhile I shared this bundle of joy with my wife Nicole (Pictured below in the middle). Pastor Robert and his wife do a phenomenal job at nursing these children back to proper health when they are placed in the home.

I was so blessed by how the team just jumped right in and began interacting with the girls, many of whom were here last year when I visited the home. It was so great to see Maria Claudia, Dilcia, Julissa, Lizzy, Iris, and little Gabriella who is now 8 months old (She was just a week old when I came last time).

Our visit to Homes of Hope was short and we were on to the next stop. We headed over to the hospital to visit the children’s wing. For several reasons, I did not take pictures there and asked the team to refrain from taking pictures at the hospital as well. This hospital is nothing like the hospitals in the U.S. by any stretch of the imagination. There is no air conditioning which creates very unsanitary conditions, especially in this Honduran heat. The doctors perform surgeries regularly without proper sterilization procedures which leads to LOTS of post-op infections. We saw many children ranging from infants to 8 years old that had various sicknesses and diseases. The team, while emotionally overcome, did great at praying with the children and their parents.

After lunch we headed to a school that I visited last time I was in Honduras. Some of the team taught values & ethics in a 6th grade class (Yes, they allow Christians to come in and teach here). Other team members shared the gospel of Jesus using color coded balloons that they shaped into various things. The 3rd group of team members (which included me) had the honor of sharing the Gospel with students by using a multi-colored soccer ball…followed by a rigorous soccer game. I think I should mention that since my luggage went missing when we arrived at the airport I did not have athletic shoes. So….I played in my flip-flops. Needless to say, it was a disaster waiting to happen. BUT…We had a blast though and the kids apparently did as well.

Our last stop for the day was at the school that is run by Doris and her husband. If you remember from my last trip, Doris was our cook at the mission house who started an accredited school for those who cannot afford school in Comayagua (Yes, all schools cost money here). The school allows children to attend for only the cost of books (About $50 a year). Unfortunately, the roof is desperately in need of repair and will cost about $6,000 to replace properly. Nevertheless, Doris is committed to providing education for all who want it but can’t afford it. Nicole and I are honored to call her friend.

Today was a full day and we look forward to tomorrow. But for now…We REST! Adios Amigos!

We began the day today (Sunday) the way we begin every day of the trip, with one of our team members leading a devotion time. Cindy led today’s devotion and shared a great reminder about how having too many distractions will crowd out the Holy Spirit. She challenged us to eliminate any distractions that would hinder us from hearing from and being used by the Holy Spirit this week. After devotion we headed to a church service in town. The worship leader Josue was nothing short of amazing. One of the best leaders I have ever witnessed. Even though I didn’t know the words in Spanish, I recognized some songs and worshiped along in English. Isn’t it amazing how worship transcends all cultural boundaries. During worship a group of young girls began worshiping through dance and “beautiful” does not even describe what we were witnessing.

One of our team members James shared a powerful testimony of how the power of Jesus changed his life.

After James shared, I had the privilege of preaching the message. I am always humbled and honored to share with the people of Honduras. Pamela did a great job translating and I enjoy working with her. She was one of our primary translators when I was here last September.

After service we went back to the mission house for lunch (Mmmmmmm!) and to plan out the rest of the week. Due to some last minute changes, we ended up visiting another church in a village that evening. As we drove down the rocky dirt road we saw dozens of people walking in the direction of the church. As we turned the corner I saw 80-100 people gathered around something. I though they were all coming to church, but it turned out that they were all watching roosters in a cock-fight. Despite the outside distraction we had a powerful service.

Our RPC worship leader Alex learned a song in Spanish earlier in the day, along with my daughter Jada and Paige. They led 2 worship songs and did an amazing job. In fact, Alex had such an impact on the people that several teenagers asked for a photo with him. LOL.

At the end of service we had a powerful altar time and Alex led a worship song with the church’s worship team. I was truly blessed seeing our team work with the local church. After we arrived back to the mission house we had “Share Time.” During this time the team members share whatever they choose about their experiences from the day and what the Lord is showing them. It’s one of my favorite parts of the trip as I get to see how the Lord is working in and through each person’s life. Well, that pretty much sums up day 2. Tomorrow we get to visit one of my favorite places in Honduras…Homes of Hope (Girl’s orphanage). Until tomorrow (Monday)…Adios!

Well, I haven’t blogged since I was here in Honduras last year (September 2013). We arrived Saturday (May 24th) and and journeyed almost 3 hours to the mission house in Comayagua. As we drove through towns and villages I had a sense of “being home again.” Everything was familiar and I was anticipating even more the opportunity to interact with the great people of Honduras. To make this trip even more amazing, I get to have my wife Nicole and daughter Jada with me this time. Even though this trip consists of an entirely new team (with the exception of our veteran missionaries Chris & Cindy Meilleur), I can already see everyone settling into a “groove” and becoming one big family…a team.

I will be updating daily and sharing all that the Lord is doing in and through this team so check back each day for updates. Please pray for our team and and the people of Honduras that the Lord does great and mighty things during our time here. Until tonight…Adios!