Checkerz' Blog

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!

Hola!

Well, I hope you have been reading the daily blogs and enjoying taking this journey with me. Today we had another busy day filled with the presence and joy of the Lord.

We began our day as usual with a group devotion time following breakfast. After that we prepared our backpacks and supplies to head out to our first stop. The first place we visited was a local school. We shared a bible story time, craft time, and soccer time with the kids as we shared Jesus with them. I am amazed at how open the schools have been to allow us to come share the gospel of Jesus with the students. The kids were excited to see us and we had a blast with them! I was also moved by watching the kids clean up by sweeping the floors and picking up trash. They actually cleaned with a smile! I can learn a few things from these young Hondurans.

Our next stop for the day was at another school. However, this was a very special school. The lady I introduced you to in  one of my Facebook posts earlier this week (Doris), who has been doing all the cooking for us this week, started this small school with her husband to educate the kids AND adults in her neighborhood. The school is accredited by the government and meets in a small concrete building with only 3 rooms. Some classes have to meet outside on the sidewalk, but the kids still attend. Doris and her husband Wilman do not get paid to do run the school. She said the Lord laid it on her heart to help educate the people of her community who could not read or write, or do math. Doris is a tremendous woman of God. They have over 60 students.

While at the school, I met a young lady (age 23) who had some severe growth disabilities and bone deficiencies. She was only about 2 feet tall and had to be carried by her mother. This amazing young woman was in the 5th grade and her mother, who was in her 40’s was attending the same school and was in the 4th grade. What a powerful testimony of commitment and perseverance! There were many great stories there. There is a great need to sponsor children to attend. While there is no tuition fees to attend, there are workbooks for the students that are required by the government to be accredited. The books only cost about $50 a year per student, so if you want to help sponsor a child to attend school in Honduras let me know and I will connect you with the local ministry that helps fund the school.

We finished our day of ministry in 2 places. The ladies in our group went to one church and led a women’s conference, and the men in our group went to another church and led a men’s conference. It was a great service as all 5 guys from our mission team each shared for about 12-15 minutes on a particular topic concerning biblical manhood. I had the privilege of teaching on being a godly husband and father. The local men that attended seemed very engaged and responded with many “Amens” while we were sharing. By the way, “Amen” means the same thing in Spanish. (Wink)

Well, I guess a great way to end today’s blog is by sharing a praise report. We began ministry 5 days ago on Sunday. In the last 5 days we have seen 189 people come to faith in Jesus Christ! That would be a good place to shout “hallelujah” regardless of where you are while you are reading this! We have 1 day of ministry left and I am excited that the girls from the orphanage we visited at the beginning of the week will be at the church service tomorrow night! Looking forward to seeing those precious girls again before we leave on Saturday.

Thank you for your continued prayers! May God smile upon you and shower you with His blessings as you remain faithful to Him.

Adios!

-Pastor C

Hola mis hermanos e mis hermanas! (Hello my brothers and sisters!)

Today was another power packed day as we watched God do what he does best…change hearts and lives.

We began our day visiting a local school in Comayagua. Part of our group taught a class on ethics while the rest of us did a “fiesta!” We had a group of 1st graders that we did a skit for, sang some songs, played some games with, and gave out free stuff to. We had a blast sharing the story of Jesus with them in a creative way.

Our second stop was at a feeding ministry that was nestled high on a mountainside overlooking a neighborhood that had over 100 children. Many of the children from this neighborhood would not get a hot meal all week if it were not for this feeding ministry. The thing that moved me the most was that Martha, the lady who cooks, shops for, and oversees the feeding ministry, is a VOLUNTEER and does not get paid! What a great testimony of sacrifice and service for these beautiful children.

After heading home to eat lunch we prepared for the last stop of the day. We visited a village called El Sauce. It took us about 20 minutes of traveling down a very rocky, uneven dirt road to come up a hill and see this village emerge in the mountains seemingly in the middle of “nowhere.” There were kids everywhere and the people stopped and stared out of curiosity as to who these people were that were “invading” their village. As our team of 9, plus 3 interpreters, emerged from the vehicles we were greeted by the local pastor and a few church members. They would accompany us as we went door to door to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Just as we were about to leave the church to evangelize it started pouring rain. We decided to go out and talk to people anyway. We split up into smaller teams of 4-5 and began walking the muddied street and talking with locals. As has been common, the people were very welcoming and friendly. I had the privilege of leading a few people to the Lord as did my other team members. We took turns presenting the gospel at the different homes.

We headed back to the church to get ready for service and we were immediately surrounded by dozens of kids. We had fun with them for a bit teaching them handshakes, giving them candy and coloring books, and trying to understand what they were saying (since most of us do not speak Spanish).

To close out the night, we worshiped with the village church. Gloria form our team shared her testimony after the very vibrant worship. Then I had the honor of preaching the message tonight. It was my first time preaching a full message with an interpreter but Vanessa (my interpreter) did a great job. The people were very engaged and responding a lot while I was preaching (kind of like my RPC church family does back home in Laplace). There were many people who could not fit in the small building so they just stood outside and listened as I preached a message about believing God through your “storms” and biggest life struggles. During the decision time at the end of service 6 people came down front and publically acknowledged that they had surrendered their hearts to Jesus! God showed up and showed out, as I like to say. Our team did a great job connecting with the people of El Sauce, Honduras and I was blessed to be a part of it.

I am not certain of the exact number, but I believe that around 75 people repented of their sins and surrendered their lives to Jesus today across our 3 ministry stops. God is AWESOME!

We are all exhausted, but tomorrow is another full day of ministry. I am meditating on Psalm 23:5 as I close out this day.

Adios!

-Pastor C

Hola!

Well, yesterday was Day 4 of our Honduras Mission Trip. I feel like we have been here much longer because the people of Honduras are so welcoming and treat us like family. I hope you have had an opportunity to read the blog posts for the first 3 days.

I will keep this blog post more brief because we have a full day ahead of us.

After my quiet time and breakfast, we headed out for some more door to door evangelism. We were taken to one of the roughest areas of town that is ridden with drugs and crime. What struck me as amazing was that even though we knew they type of area we were going to, we all had a divine sense of peace about our mission. We spent a few hours in the neighborhood talking with families about Jesus. Many people welcomed into their homes. I met a young man (28) named Raphael who had grown up Catholic but no longer attended church. He pulled out extra chairs for the 4 of us as we sat on his porch and discussed eternity and salvation in Christ alone. He acknowledged that he had simply been religious all his life but that he loved God. He was very well spoken, educated (college degree in engineering), but was struggling to find work in this difficult environment in Honduras. After we conversed for about 30 minutes, Raphael acknowledged that he needed to surrender his life to Jesus and he did! He had a great joy and resolve about him and I believe he is going to be a catalyst for the advancement of the message of Jesus in his area. By the time we left that neighborhood 32 people had surrendered their lives to Jesus! We were in awe of God at work through us. Praise Him for His mighty works!

Our next stop was in a small village at a house church. We brought several suitcases full of clothes to distribute. About 60 people gathered in a small beautiful courtyard pictured below. Patrick shared the gospel with them after we sang a few songs. Some accepted Christ, others were apprehensive. After the message, we distributed clothes to the ones who came. Watching the mothers and children get excited as they sorted through the clothing was a tremendous blessing and once again, I was reminded of how blessed I am.

The next place we headed to was a remote area village to feed the community. About 160 people gathered in a muddy lot and after I shared the gospel of Jesus with them we prayed and asked those who were ready to make Jesus Lord of their life and accept His salvation to come forward. 37 Men, women, and children came forward and acknowledged that they were ready to surrender their lives to Jesus! God is so faithful. After we prayed again, we began distributing a hot meal to everyone who came. A few pics:

I rounded out my day going with Pastor Patrick to a small church where he was going to do a Leadership training. This small church was hungry to learn about how to be better leaders in church, in their cell groups, and in their community. Patrick did an amazing job sharing about leadership. I watched as teenagers, young adults, and us older adults took notes and listened intently. As we prayed at the end, you could sense the power and presence of God in that small concrete building. Today was a great day!

-Pastor C

Hola!
If you are reading this 3rd day of my Honduras Mission Trip blog, I hope you have read the first two days of the journey. If not, that is okay; you can go back and read them after you finish this one. I believe you will enjoy them.

Day 3 started with a Honduran style breakfast at the mission house. The main course was Frijoles (pronounced FREE-HOLAYS) and for us gringos, that’s beans. Yep, beans for breakfast and they were tasty. After breakfast we discussed our agenda for the day and packed our backpacks with what we needed for our day of ministry.

Our first stop was door to door evangelism and was in a very poverty stricken village with no electricity, no running water, and in some cases…no clothes for the children. We went down a long rocky and muddy road before arriving at the village; some of our team had to walk down muddy paths to get to the homes that were farther off the road. The first house we stopped at we met a mother and her two beautiful little daughters.  Their home was a simple cinder block structure with dirt floors and a tin roof. Most of the houses were like that. As Gloria (one of our Celebration team members) shared the message of Jesus with her, I could not help but notice how she fixed her focus on Gloria as she listened. She acknowledged that she wanted to ask Jesus to be her Savior. After praying with her, we gave her a Spanish Bible and thanked her for allowing us to share with her and pray with her. We spent about 2 hours in that village and when we left, 13 people had prayed to receive Christ as their Savior. My heart was filled with joy for those who I will see again in Heaven some day, but yet my heart was still hurting for those who said they were not ready to make that commitment. We are praying that the Lord draws them as they remember our conversations from today.

Next, we headed to a local orphanage. Immediately after arriving we were greeted by several smiling young girls who shared hugs with us as they shouted “Hola!” We brought toys, jewelry, crafts, and LOTS of candy for them. By the time we left, I was already planning my speech to Nicole about adopting 3 little sisters that were at the orphanage. Unfortunately, I later found out that they were not eligible for adoption, but I am thankful that they are in great hands at the orphanage. I will think of them often and look forward to hopefully seeing them again one day.

Our last ministry stop for the day was at the local hospital. We entered the hospital, which had no A/C that I could see or feel, only open windows and 90+ degree heat outside. This hospital was nothing like our hospitals in the United States. I learned that if they need an IV, they have to bring their own tube. They also have to bring their own sheets for the hospital bed, so many were just lying on vinyl mattresses. As we entered the children’s ward I went into one of the rooms that had 7 children ranging in age from 1 month-3 months. I spoke with the mothers and one father about their children and asked if I could pray for them. They were all very thankful and welcoming of the prayers. Most of the children were suffering from pneumonia and respiratory issues and one young mother told me she had been there for 15 days. As I exited the room I was introduced to a 9yr old girl who had been thrown into a fire by her father (He was later killed). This young girl explained that she knew her father was dead now, and then she said that her mother abandoned her at the hospital. This was just one of many tragic stories that we heard. We loved on her for a bit and then it was time for us to leave.

Now, I know you may be thinking that this is a depressing blog and that maybe you wish you hadn’t read it. Let me just say this, I shared all of this with you so you could share this journey with me. I want you to share this journey with me in the hopes that your spirit will be stirred in such a way that you will become involved in missions locally and internationally. In the book of James 1:27 it reads, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” As Christians we all have a God-given mission. We have the greatest gift in the world to share with people and Jesus is looking for those who will step up and BE the church. Will that be you?

I am so thankful to the Lord for Him allowing me to come on this trip and minister to the beautiful people of Honduras. My life will never be the same. I am forever changed for the better and I feel extremely blessed. Guess what? You will too be to if you live on mission where you are, and go on mission where the Lord leads you.

Well, signing off for today. Another full day ahead of us for tomorrow.         -Pastor C

Hola! Yesterday was day 2 in Honduras and I have a lot to share, but I will try to be concise.

When I woke up and grabbed a cup of unbelievably good Honduran coffee, I went outside for quiet time with the Lord. I probably spent the first 15 minutes in awe of God as I just gazed at the beautiful landscape and mountains here in Honduras. I had planned to read several passages but found myself “stuck” in the book of Psalms for my entire time of devotion. The recurring theme God kept showing me was that He will always be there for us and He loves us. This would mean even more to me as we started our day ministering in Comayagua just a few hours later.

We are blessed to be staying in a mission house that is in a gated neighborhood (and by gated, I mean 15ft tall walls with armed guards). We feel safe when we go to bed at night. We have running water (BUT don’t drink or ingest it), bunk beds with mattresses, and the bedrooms have small A/C units. It is difficult for me to lay down in “comfort” each night knowing what is just outside the gates of our neighborhood. I laid awake for quite awhile the last 2 nights thinking of the beautiful people of Honduras, and the living conditions so many of them have to endure. They live with the uncertainty that at any moment, day or night, someone may come into their house uninvited and do unimaginable things. Many live with makeshift mattresses on the floor, no electricity, some without running water, and most without A/C (A luxury I will never take for granted again).

Yet, in spite of all the Hondurans have to endure, the people I have met so far display this profound sense of joy! The smiles are beautiful and the people find laughter and fun in the simplest things. There are no Iphones, Smart Phones, Ipads, laptops, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any electronics in most of their hands, BUT they had joy. They played outside in 95 degree heat with pants and dresses on and laughed in such a way that I had a difficult time holding back tears as I thought how blessed we are in the United States, and yet how much we often take for granted.

Our first stop was at a small church made of cinder blocks and concrete. It had no A/C, just windows open and doors open to allow a breeze to pass through. As we arrived, the word was out that the gringos were here. Kids flocked from all over. We spent a few hours playing soccer (futbol), sharing a bible story about Jesus, and making crafts with them. The oxen stood just outside the church door watching as if they wanted to join us in our activities.

While I was helping with soccer, there was one young girl that grabbed my heart. All the children were precious, but this particular girl stood out to me as God taught me a lesson. Her name is Melissa (pronounced May-Leesa). She was wearing her church sandals and playing soccer. The ball went into a wet muddy area and as she chased after the ball her feet sank into the mud. She was visibly upset but what happened a few seconds later is where God began to speak to me. Melissa took her sandals off and began to run around barefoot playing soccer. Now that may not seem odd to us North Americans who have plush grass soccer fields. However, this area we were playing in was rocks, broken shards of stone, hard dirt and mud. It was 90+ degrees outside so the ground was hot. Melissa kept playing and laughing, but I noticed her wincing some as she stepped on sharp objects while she ran around, but she never stopped having fun playing.

I had brought a white hand towel with me to wipe sweat from my face. The Lord told me to take the towel to Melissa and let her wipe her feet and sandals clean so she could put them back on. At first she refused because the towel was white and too pretty. I persisted and as she wiped her little feet and sandals she looked at me with a sense of amazement that I would allow her to do that. Then she ran off to finish playing soccer. When it was time for us to go, she came to me and said she did not want us to leave yet. As we explained that it was time for us to go, tears filled her eyes and she turned and walked away. I hope to see her again one day. Melissa taught me a valuable lesson: God gives us joy regardless of our circumstances, we just need to focus on appreciating what we have. We have much to be thankful for. Here are a few pics of this beautiful joy-filled girl named Melissa:

We rounded out our day by worshiping with a local church where Pastor Patrick shared a great word. Today was an awesome Day 2 on my first International Mission Trip. I am looking forward to a great week!

Blessings! – Pastor C

Today I woke up with great excitement and anticipation as I prepared to depart for my first International Mission Trip. As I said goodbye to my wife Nicole, who is just as beautiful at 4:30am as she is when she is fully awake and “ready” for the day, I was disappointed that she would not be able to join me on this trip. We were scheduled to go on a mission trip together to Kenya, Africa this November but the trip was rescheduled for next year and she was unable to switch her days off on such short notice. To add to my disappointment, I had to leave my wedding ring at home for safety reasons. For the record, I never take my wedding ring off (not even when getting greasy under the car).

While sitting at Lou is Armstrong Int’l Airport in New Orleans I glanced down at my ring finger and saw the permanent imprint and lighter toned skin that my ring had left on my finger. After 17 years of never removing it, I have this embedded reminder in place of my actual ring. I imagine I will look at it every day while I am in Honduras as a reminder of how blessed I am to be married to such an amazing woman!

When I arrived at the airport at 5am, I was greeted by some familiar faces, and some not so familiar faces. This would be my family for the next 8 days (and forever, since we are jointly part of the family of God). While I am not sure of all that will take place in the coming week, I am certain of this: The Gospel of Jesus will be preached, His love will be shared, lives will be transformed for the glory of God, and we will never be the same as a result. This team of 9 individuals who have devoted themselves to this mission, to share the love of Christ with a hurting people, is living Acts 1:8.

As a pastor and as a friend, I am thankful for Chris & Cindy M, Pastor Patrick E., Gloria, Tony, Carmen, Brittany, and Daniel.

Next stop…Houston,then on to San Pedro Sula, Honduras airport.