Honduras Report

I'm doing great here. The weather is awesome! Cool - enough for a cover of blanket at night. The days are almost 80 degrees. We are busy with getting the ministry wheels turning here again. Allen and vicky were in the states from December until March 4th. So, there is a lot to be done on the compound with the houses and grounds. Then there are the ministry groups that we are getting back into the groove. The old folks home will have a service and refreshments tomorrow. Today we are going to the village and have an event for the children. We'll be visiting an orphanage where the oldest is about 5 and then on Friday Saturday and Sunday we will holding Women's Seminars. Louise and I will share Friday then on Saturday and Sunday I will be doing all the teaching. Louise is doing a lot of teaching during this week while I am helping to serve.

We all pitch in on food preparation and clean up. then we have our own houses to which we retire. Each afternoon we walk to the beach and are amazed at how much it changes each day! The sunsets are georgeous. I think I could live here!!!

Last year, mission teams were cancelled due to the political unrest over the president situation. This year, with a new president in office that everyone is satisfied with, things are very normal here. So, we are expecting a good mission team season. I'm hoping to work down here for about four weeks this summer in July/August. We can take more teams if you know of anyone who wants to go on a mission trip that will be great for young and the old. It is like going on a Vacation with a Purpose!!! Also, if there is anyone you know that are considering to go in to mission ministry Vicky will be holding a school for missionary training for 12 days August 1-12 of which I will be a part of the staff.

OK, well just wanted to let you know what we're about. Allen and Vicky want you to know you are invited to come and visit any time.

Love ya
Debbie

Jesus Takes Back Dominion

For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

For 4,000 years, mankind had been living in a dark, oppressed, hopeless, sin-sick world. Now Jesus was going to take back the dominion that had been transferred to Satan by Adam and Eve. The only hope mankind had was for God to intervene with mercy. His mercy involved sending His only Son... For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son...John 3:16. We must recognize that this was a sacrifice for God as well. He released Jesus, who was God in the flesh, to the world to bring back the authority mankind had lost because of the rebellion of Adam and Eve.

When you look at Jesus’ outline for ministry, He was about to set the devil on his heels. Jesus was going to let everyone know that things were going to change. He did this by teaching and preaching about the Kingdom of God. When Jesus opened their eyes of understanding, they began to see light, hope, joy.

I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. John 12:46 Jesus' purpose was to bring the government of Heaven to the earth. That means that there would be solutions to mental, physical and moral problems. There was an answer and Jesus was proclaiming to everyone that there was going to be a huge change in our outlook on life.

But that wouldn't take place until He made the ultimate sacrifice with His life. Until then, Jesus dedicated His ministry to traveling from village to village speaking on the Kingdom of God.

Why Did Jesus Come to Earth?

For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given (presented as a gift); and the government (empire, to have power as a prince) will be upon His shoulder. Isaiah 9:6

Since the Garden of Eden man has lived in a world of sorrow, heartbreak,
sickness, disease, futility, hopelessness and distress. It had been over 400
years of silence between God’s last prophets in the Old Test and the first
words of John the Baptist in the New Test. “Repent for the kingdom of
heaven is at hand!” (Matt 3:2)

God knew the status of the world and had a plan, in the fullness of time – He had a Son whom He would deliver to the earth in a miraculous event that would set Him apart from the rest of the world which is what we celebrate at this time of year.

Before Jesus would die on the cross, He had a big job to accomplish in three short years. This morning we are going to explore what Jesus’ job
description included.

Read Luke 14:18-19
Jesus defined his ministry as an ongoing essence of GOOD NEWS of the
gospel of the Kingdom of God. It was Jesus’ outline for ministry.

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord (Supreme authority) is upon Me because He has anointed Me to:
ANOINT = smear or rub with oil, to consecrate to an office
1. Preach the gospel to the poor.
PREACH = Announce good news, declare good tidings.
Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit (no hope) for theirs is the Kingdom of God. The word BLESSED = Long duration. It is an adjective that means supremely happy, a condition in which “Congratulations” are in order and special joys.
POOR = to crouch, a beggar as in cringing, the idea of causing to fall

2. Heal the brokenhearted (such a sad word)
HEAL = To be whole physically, cure
BROKENHEARTED = to crush completely, to shatter literally or figuratively, break in pieces

Who are the brokenhearted? Lost child to death, drugs, a bad marriage, a lost dream, “Blessed are those who mourn (grieve, wail) for they shall be comforted (invoke consolation, to call to be near)

3. Proclaim liberty to the captives
PROCLAIM = Herald, as a public cryer, publish
CAPTIVES = Prisoners of War, hands bound, confined, restricted, overwhelmed to inablility to function

4. Proclaim recovery of sight to the blind
RECOVERING of SIGHT = Restoration of sight
SIGHT = Opaque, to envelop with smoke, i.e. to inflate with self-conceit; highminded, be lifted up with pride
John 9:39 And Jesus said, “For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may be made blind.”
Make aware of truth where they were ignorant before. Like taking off the blinders Satan had placed over minds, attitudes and habits.

5. Set at liberty those who are oppressed
OPPRESSED = Crushed by the works of Satan – evil desires, self destruction, fear, anger, lust, pride
LIBERTY = Pardon, deliverance, forgiveness, remission of sin

6. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord!
ACCEPTABLE = approved To announce good news that the Kingdom of God has arrived through the Messiah

For 4,000 years, mankind had been living in a dark, oppressed, hopeless, sin-sick world. Now Jesus was going to take back the dominion that had been transferred to Satan by Adam and Eve. The only hope mankind had was for God to intervene with mercy.

Our Final Days

India is a nation that is FULL of religion. It is the way of life here...Hinduism, Muslim and even some others. Christianity in the past was reported to be only 3-4% in India. But today, the Hindu leaders are shaken by a new report that says 17% are professing Christianity. That disturbs them greatly and is causing persecution among the Christians. But as we know, when Christians are suppressed it seems they get bolder and tell more about Jesus, causing the numbers to increase! Praise God He is working in a very hard place.

I went to villages where the pastors had incredible testimonies. One was a muslim man who was so confused and disturbed in his mind that he just wandered the streets for 4 years. Then one day, he saw a bright light and out of the light a voice said, "Will you trust me?" He didn't know who it was! But a church was very nearby that was holding a worship service and he went in. He then realized it was Jesus who had spoken to him. He is the overseer of several pastors today with a very stable mind and a heart totally for Jesus.

Another Hindu man had a similar experience where he had a vision of Jesus. He hadn't even heard of Jesus and yet Jesus cared enough about him to bring this man to Himself. Visions and dreams are being experienced all over India as well as the Middle East as Jesus is drawing mankind to himself. Another pastor spoke of having a sister-in-law that was a Christian. He was Hindu. He would curse her, treat her badly and even beat her over her faith. The Lord appeared to Him and now not only he but all 7 of his brothers are Christians and serving the Lord!

Let us always consider the power of Jesus and that He will never leave the unsaved alone even if there is no missionary or preacher in the area. God loves mankind soooooo much! So as we prepare to leave this nation, I realize that God will do whatever He needs to do, use those who make themselves available to Him and the heart of a nation will be changed to embrace His love.

Continue to pray for us as we return back to our home land and lives. We must never forget the nations where it is a struggle to be a Christian. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are on the frontlines.

India Journal recapping first 10 days

Today is a day of rest for us. Our friends, David and Shirley have left to return to the US. Bob and I will stay for another week continuing the work we have started last week.

In this last week, we have traveled to a city about 5 hours out of Hyderabad. There, we held a women’s conference, a pastor’s conference, we visited a village in the interior jungle and we were guests and spoke at a betrothal ceremony. Here in India, marriages are still arranged. This couple hasn’t even spoken to each other except for a few words and now they are engaged for 3 weeks. They will be married in December. I had the opportunity to speak about covenant and how a couple must work together.

We returned to Hyderabad where we visited Joyland again and experienced their Christmas program. It was very early for them, but Lata our Host, wanted us to see them get their presents. The children were very excited to see the clothes they were receiving, but they had to give them back until the REAL Christmas party that will be celebrated at the Christmas season. They gave us a great party, though.

While we were busy with many activities here, we forgot that Bob had a birthday, so we celebrated his birthday with a cake at the Christmas party. The children got a big kick out of that!

Bob and David also had a chance to study the carpentry needs at Joyland. We saw that there was thick plywood for seats and desktops on a metal frame. They were very sturdy, but some of the woods pieces had come off. There were many desks that needed repair, so the boys made a list of tools and materials. Shopping here is not like in the USA. It is quite an adventure! But after two days, they had all the supplies they needed to start the class. It was 3 p.m. when they got started which was just when school let out, so they had too much help, but allowed the children to experience hammering, sanding, and screwing. Bob will have to whittle down the interest from 50 to 4 students!!!!

We also traveled 80 kilometers to the future sight of Joyland which will then be called Promise Land. Lata has secured 4 acres where she has already built a beautiful home for widows. It isn’t ready to receive people until a security wall is built around the 4 acres. To do that, we have suggested that Lata purchase a block-making machine where she can get some folks to make the block on the grounds and also sell block for profit. They are seriously considering that, but need money to do that. Once they have the block machine, they will be able to build not only the wall but all the buildings that will make up the campus of Promise Land. We love the atmosphere and the country feel of this property. It is quiet, peaceful, and with the 4 acres they will be a wonderful opportunity to grow their own vegetables and raise some livestock. I’m really excited about their future!

We also had an opportunity to speak to a group of young people (early 20's) who are children's evangelists. They are in training, and are excited about their future as ambassadors of God. So, we all encouraged them in their future influence over young people. They are an awesome group of folks.

Today, is a Muslim holiday. I don’t quite understand, but it has to do with Abraham and a goat. The way the Muslim’s Koran reads, it wasn’t Isaac that was taken to the mountain to be sacrificed, but Ishmael. So for the last several days, there have been thousands of goats corralled along the streets of Hyderabad for Muslim families to buy. Today, they will sacrifice the goat (which was found in the bush to take the place of Ishmael) and slaughter it. Then the families will enjoy a banquet of goat! . . . What a country!

Although it is a “rest day” for us, hopefully Bob will be able to hold workshop class with a couple boys that showed interest and promise for the carpentry work on the desks. So we’ll head over to Joyland this afternoon.

With our friends gone, Bob and I will continue to travel to another city this next week. There we will host another Pastor’s conference then visit villages to give encouragement and inspiration. Continue to pray for us as, once again, we will be on the roads of India.

Arrived in Hyderabad

We arrived in Hyderabad after traveling 27 hours. After a wonderful flight on British Air with no problems with connections we were waiting to receive our luggage in Hyderabad. We waited for 1-1/2 hours. For some reason, the plane baggage door would not open and it took a long while to work through that. Then we had to wait for all our luggage to appear in front of us. Lata and Abraham had been waiting, standing for 4 hours!

We were taken to the home of one of Lata's daughters where they have allowed us to stay while they moved in with Lata. What a wonderful gesture!!! There are us two couples and we each have a bedroom with a bath; a kitchen with microwave. See, it's not all archaic:)

After getting rest, Lata and Abraham came for us to take us out to dinner and shopping. We ate Chinese and it was wonderful since we hadn't eaten for 12 hours! (Sleeping) Then we went shopping for Shirley who needed to get clothing to wear (punjabe). Punjabi's are the pant with the tunic over and come in so many beautiful fabrics, prints or beaded. It was fun for us but the boys suffered just waiting for us to pick the perfect outfits!

Next morning, we were taken to Joyland where the children were waiting with great excitement. They had an assembly with skits, dancing and singing prepared. They honored us with not only garlands, but a gift from the area. They then allowed us to share with the children and the children asked us many questions about our lives and life in America.

Lata's daughter had a wonderful lunch prepared for us to eat there at Joyland while the children ate their lunches in typical Indian style...seated on the floor with big plates eating rice with a vegetable gravy. Meat is a very rare and special occasion, like Christmas.

We hated to leave, but Lata had a schedule. We needed to get back to the house, finish packing for a trip to nearby city (only 3 hours away) where we will host a Women's Conference on Saturday, speak in churches on Sunday, and host a Pastor's Conference on Monday.

Please continue to pray for us. I am now sitting in our hotel ready to start the Women's meeting. It will be blessed time and we're excited to see what God will do in these meetings.

Journey to India

TOMORROW Bob and I will leave for Hyderabad, India. With the home front cared for by friends and family, we will have the freedom to minister to a people whose culture and lives are totally different from ours.

This is Bob's first trip to an Asian country and no matter how much preparation or pictures we look at, it is still a culture shock. This will be my 7th trip and I still consider this nation to be incredibly different from our American lifestyle.

The traffic is unimaginable - people... thousands of people around us all the time, the noise of honking horns and traffic fill our senses. The poor, poor people, many begging. . . children begging. . . . and yet there are the wealthy. Shop after shop that look like sheds line the streat. Animals roaming freely on the main thoroughfares and gods, millions of gods and their shrines everywhere you look.

With that in mind, I would appreciate your prayers and thoughts. We will be there two weeks with a very distinct purpose in mind.

We will be working with Joyland, a children's home of 125 children and school for 350 students. Bob and the husband of a couple traveling with us, Dave, will be evaluating and launching a woodworking shop where the older students or residents of Joyland can learn how to use power tools that we will buy with money collected in America. The goal is for the new carpenters to learn a skill that will enable them to make useful products to sell. With that money, they can help provide economic assistance to Joyland's expenses.

Shirley and I will be visiting women, speaking to groups helping them to see their value as people. We will attempt to help them see that they have a destiny and that they are important to God. There will be a lot of travel involved.

Thank you for your prayers. Keep watching this blog as I will post as often as I can. I will also have video that I will post via YouTube so you can see snippits of our journey. God Bless You All, Debbie