DTS Outreach Week 7,: La Ceiba, Honduras

La Ceiba Week 7
What can I say?  Our team has been on outreach for the past seven weeks now.  We have seen and done some amazing things here.  Actually the truth is, God has done everything.  He has provided everything we need and worked miracles through us.  He gave us strength on the days we felt weak, healing on the days we were sick, energy when the kids needed to be loved, and patience when we feel overwhelmed.  God doesn’t have to prove that he is anything, but he has proven to be faithful time and time again.  With God, all things are possible and we have seen him do some pretty impossible things.
This has been our last full week of ministry here in La Ceiba and definitely not an easy week.  Every member of our team including the leaders and Bruce have been sick this week.  A bad cough has swept over each of us, more severe for some of us.  Jaimie went to the clinic on Monday to get checked out.  We received news that she has bronchitis or pneumonia; they did not take an x-ray so we can’t be sure, either way it’s serious.  Most of the week she did not have the energy to do anything and was prohibited from participating in children’s ministry.  That was tough because each of us thoroughly enjoy children’s ministry.  Most everyone else was healthy enough to participate with an occasional person staying back to rest.
Since this is Jaimie writing the blog, I truly don’t know all of what happened this week.  I apologize for that but have gathered information from those who have participated in the ministries.  Monday morning, the team went to the church to work on the building.  To start, they sanded part of the walls as they are in need of a new coat of paint very soon.  Unfortunately, they did not get the opportunity to return to finish the painting job.  With everything they do, they give 100% and as I stayed back to go the doctor, I did my part by praying for them.  Sometimes, all we can do is pray.  We pray for prosperity, the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance, God to move mightily in people’s lives, health, energy, and joy.  God answers each and every request.  There have been times that we feel God is not answering us, but sometimes that is because he has not answered them in the way we wanted him to.  We go through trials because God is showing us the way he has for us.  Times do come where our schedule is changed because God wants to use us in a different way.
Tuesday through Thursday we did a mixture of children’s ministry and house visits.  Children’s ministry has been a challenge this week.  The reason for this is that the culture is different here than in the other places we’ve been and therefore, the church is also run differently.  It is not uncommon to find that many people talk during the church service; in fact this is the normal.  Children’s ministry is just the same.  They do not sit still and pay attention very long and it is not just the “little ones” who get restless.  All feel the need to move around or talk to their neighbor.  While it is a hard part of culture to understand, we must accept it as truth and act accordingly to help the children to the best of our ability even through our feelings of unworthiness or incapability.
Pierce and Yuli had the opportunity to fulfill an appointment that only God could have set up.  They visited the TV station down here for an interview.  This station is partnered with one channel in the United States as well.  Only Pierce was interviewed.  Time ran out before Yuli had the opportunity to be interviewed but she took pictures and was there to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide Pierce’s thoughts and words.
House visits was enjoyable as I was able to participate very minimally with the rest of the team.  Not being able to hold the little children was so very hard for me because the children capture my heart in an instant.  God continued to give me the strength to overcome and a joy to be faithful during the times I did participate.  We have received no word of healings in the past few weeks but that does not mean that God is not moving.  There have been many times that he has chosen to move within us during the times we did not want to participate in ministry.  On the days we did not want to spend time in intercession because we simply wanted to go to bed seemed to be the nights that God would speak to us the most.  In all things, keep a good attitude and do those very things you don’t want to as though you were doing them for God and not for men.  Colossians 3:23 reminds us of that and so we correct our attitude and he continues to be faithful. 

RESUMEN DE LA SEMANA 7 por Yuli
Día 1: domingo 6 de diciembre.
Empezamos el día con devocional de Pierce después desayunamos. A las 8 fuimos a la iglesia y tuvimos ministerio con niños enfocado en misiones. Después almorzamos y tuvimos un tiempo libre. Cenamos y fuimos al servicio en la noche enfocado también en misiones. Después regresamos a casa y compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 2: lunes 7 de diciembre.
Empezamos el día desayunando después fuimos a la iglesia a hacer trabajitos en la mañana. Almorzamos y fuimos a visitar y a evangelizar casa por casa con algunas hermanas de la iglesia. Regresamos a casa. Cenamos y después tuvimos devocional por Manolo seguimos con adoración por Eliza y por ultimo intercesión dirigida por Manolo. Luego compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 3: martes 8 de diciembre.
Empezamos el día con el devocional por Yuli después desayunamos. En la mañana tuvimos ministerio con los niños de la iglesia. Bruce Pierce y Yuli fueron a la radio después regresaron a la casa. Cenamos y después tuvimos intercesión dirigida por Jaimie. Compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día. 

Día 4: miércoles 9 de diciembre.
Empezamos el día con el devocional por Jaimie después desayunamos. En la mañana tuvimos ministerio con los niños de la iglesia. Almorzamos y después fuimos a visitar y evangelizar casa por casa con algunas hermanas de la iglesia. Cenamos y fuimos al servicio de la noche. Regresamos a casa y compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 5: jueves 10 de diciembre.
Empezamos el día con el devocional por Eliza después desayunamos. En la mañana tuvimos ministerio con los niños de la iglesia. Almorzamos y después fuimos a visitar y evangelizar casa por casa con algunas hermanas de la iglesia. Después tuvimos adoración por Eliza y Compartimos altas y bajas. Cenamos y así termino el día

Día 6: viernes 11 de diciembre.
Empezamos el día con el devocional por Heidi después desayunamos. En la mañana tuvimos evangelismo en el parque de la Ceiba. Regresamos a casa a la 1 de la tarde. Almorzamos y en la tarde tuvimos adoración dirigida por Eliza e intercesión en la playa dirigida por Pierce. Cenamos y fuimos al servicio de la iglesia y ministramos. Regresamos a casa y compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día.

DTS Outreach Week 6: La Ceiba, Honduras

It took all day, but we arrived in La Ceiba safely.  Thankfully, God saved Heidi and Jaimie from serious injuries when a rock was thrown through their window on the bus.  The window completely shattered within seconds after the rock flew through.  They were hit with glass in the face and along their arms.  Thankfully they came out with only a few tiny scratches on their arms.  We were only 10 minutes from arriving at our destination in La Ceiba.  God watches over us no matter where we are or what situation we are in.

Our first few mornings we spent painting the outside of the pastor’s house.  Before beginning to actually paint, we had to peel away the old paint that was loose at the bottom of the wall and sweep the entire house to rid it of cobwebs and dust.  Monday went well after we fixed the little mess we got ourselves into.  Different people were told different things and we started painting with two different shades of paint.  They were quite close so it was an easy fix and we are all glad that the mistake was caught early in the process.  Many of us stayed on level ground while others were willing to go up the old, rickety wooden ladder to reach the very top of the wall where the rollers would not reach.  That person also painted behind the caged windows so the wall was completely painted one color.

There was no children’s ministry this week but we participated in several services.  Almost every night of the week, something is going on in the church.  People always seem to be gathering to corporately worship the great God we serve.  Worship here is very lively.  Along the coast, the people are descendants of the African slaves that were brought over years ago.  It has been a joy for us to participate in lively worship with them.  To sum it up, they fell their freedom to worship.  Hands go up all around the room, people keep beat to the drums by clapping their hands, people join hands to show they are not alone, shouts of praise and joy ring to the heavens and people sway as the Holy Spirit moves freely inside them.

We prepared for a youth conference which took place on Saturday.  Thursday afternoon we helped make center pieces for the tables.  Friday night we helped in the service as usual, but afterwards was when the real work started.  We were at the church until 11pm setting up and decorating for the conference which took place on Saturday.  During the conference, Yuli and Jaimie had the opportunity to preach.  Their topics were “Changing a generation through a life of dedication” by Yuli, and “Changing a generation through a life of service” by Jaimie.  The stories of Daniel and Joseph were both very helpful to their topics.  God truly speaks to people as they prepare to speak.  Those that deliver the message always seem to receive more than most of the people receive.  God works in mysterious ways.  We were there from 8am until a little after 6pm.  We were all so extremely tired and many of us were sick.  We decided not to wait an hour for the evening service to start and just went home.

“Being a leader is an opportunity to serve and not boast about a title or what you have.”  Manolo reminded us of this while at the conference on Saturday.  While he may not have been trying to come up with a great quote, it is 100% true.  While the coast is a big tourist attraction and the scenery reminds us of being back home in the States, we are here as missionaries to serve and not boast about what we could do while here.

Please keep our team in your prayers.  I’d like to share some of our specific prayers with you all.  We all need health prayers.  Many of us are getting sick with colds, bronchitis, headaches, twisted ankles etc.  As a team, we have been praying for each other for physical healing and also for the strength to finish what we have started.  We want to stay unified as one under the name of Jesus.  Prayers are greatly appreciated also as we think about coming home to our friends and family.  We all want smooth transitions back into our own cultures.  God Bless!

RESUMEN DE LA SEMANA 6

Día 1: domingo 29 de noviembre.

Viajamos todo el día desde las 3:30 am hasta las 8:30 pm. Cenamos nos ubicaron y si termino el día.

Día 2: lunes 30 de noviembre.

El día empezó con el devocional dado por Manolo y después desayunamos a las 8:00 am. En la mañana pintaron las paredes de la casa del pastor Nino. Almorzamos y tuvimos tiempo de adoración dirigida por Jaimie y luego tiempo de Intercesión dirigida por Eliza. Parte de la tarde fue libre después cenamos y así termino el día.

Día 3: martes 1 de diciembre.

 El día empezó con el devocional dado por Yuli y después desayunamos a las 8:00 am. En la Mañana se siguió pintando las paredes de la casa del pastor Nino. Almorzamos y tuvimos tiempo de adoración dirigido por Jaimie y luego tiempo de intercesión dirigido por Yuli. Parte de la tarde fue libre después cenamos y fuimos al servicio allí nos presentaron e hicimos un drama. Regresamos y tuvimos tiempo de compartir altas y bajas del día y así termino nuestro día.

Día 4: miércoles 2 de diciembre.

El día empezó con el devocional dado por Jaimie y después desayunamos a las 8:00 am.  Después en la mañana fuimos hacer evangelismo en el parque de la ceiba. Regresamos y almorzamos. En la tarde tuvimos intercesión dirigida por Heidi y el resto de la tarde fue libre. Cenamos y fuimos al servicio en la noche donde ministramos y dirigimos. Regresamos y compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 5: viernes 3 de diciembre.

El día empezó con el devocional dado por Eliza y después desayunamos a las 8:00 am. Tuvimos adoración dirigida por Jaimie y Se termino de pintar la parte que faltaba de la casa del pastor Nino en la mañana. A medio día almorzamos y luego en la tarde ayudamos a hacer los adornos para el congreso del sábado. Cenamos y fuimos a la iglesia donde compartimos la dirección del servició con el equipo que venía del Salvador. Después del Servicio adornamos y así termino el día.

Día 6: Sábado 9 de Diciembre.

Empezamos el día con devocional dado Haidi después desayunamos. Estuvimos todo el día en el congreso donde Jaimie y Yuli dieron plenarias y todos estuvimos sirviendo en el congreso. En la noche compartimos altar y bajas. Después regresamos a la casa y así termino el día.

DTS Outreach Week 5: San Miguel Chicaj, Guatemala

Week 5:  Sam Miguel Chicaj

Heaven Meets Earth

Our week in San Miguel Chicaj was very short.  For some it felt even shorter because they were unable to participate with the team due to an illness.  We all learned different things.  Jaimie learned how to overcome frustration through prayer for her team.  Even though she was unable to participate in house visits for two days, she learned just how important her prayers still are over those her team is encountering.  Prayer also empowers her teammates giving them the strength they need to continue praying over others.  Yuli has learned the importance of patience.  As she stayed back one day, she learned to simply wait for God’s perfect timing even when we want to do things our way.  All of us learned about flexibility.  We had the opportunity to work with another YWAM team who were from Juarez, Mexico all week.  Sharing our times of ministry, getting to know new people, and learning other ministry styles has been wonderful.  Sharing a kitchen for two teams would not be possible so we helped out the other team who already had a meal plan.  This suited both teams perfectly.

First day of ministry began with putting fresh paint on walls.  One of the buildings rented by the San Miguel Chicaj YWAM base still had its old school label pasted on the front of it.  The paint previously used to paint these signs was oil based and we had new paint that was water based.  To begin, all that oil had to be scraped off so the new paint would stick.  Then an entire new coat of paint was put on over the wall.  Several of the Guatemalan men looked at Jaimie weird because girls don’t usually paint and especially don’t climb a ladder.  I guess they got to see something new as well because she didn’t mind what other people thought about it.

Visiting radio stations has become a routine for us in Guatemala.  There is a saying, “Third time’s a charm” is actually quite true.  Everyone came back saying that it went better than the first two.  I think we just needed some experience which we all have received quite a bit by now.

Most of the other ministries we partook in were quite routine.  Evangelism in the park is the same set up but with different people God wants to encounter.  We do dramas to draw a crowd and give testimonies with the gospel message.  Afterwards, we all go out in small groups to talk with the people.  I have yet to see a person come up to me so we have made the habit of going out to the people.  Many of us learn things about the Holy Spirit and how he works during these times.  Some of us see someone who God highlights but we don’t know why.  As we begin talking with them, the Holy Spirit reveals more about the situation and then lovingly pushes you out of your comfort zone with an action.  The Holy Spirit can move in the other person but most often, he wants to use us as his tools.  For this reason, we have learned to be comfortable in stepping outside our comfort zones.

Family is a huge part of the Central American culture.  It is important that we take the opportunities given us to go out into the community and visit families.  Not one person on earth could say their life is perfect.  We all need prayer for one thing or another and the people here are very eager to receive prayer.  While I know of no miracles occurring this week, many felt the Holy Spirit’s presence heavily during these times.  I believe they are being healed, we just didn’t have the opportunity to see the change.  On the other hand, we did receive word that Delila, one of our cooks in Yulmacap and Barillas, has been healed.  Delila had a cyst which required surgery.  We all felt the Holy Spirit present and working before we said goodbye to her, but didn’t receive word of her healing until after her next doctor appointment.  She joyfully contacted us to share the wonderful news.

God is at work all around us.  All one must do is simply be obedient and open their eyes to see just how mightily God is moving.  The joy we have found is that God does not work from afar; he works through us.  Each time we obey his call to action, we bring God’s heavenly kingdom down to earth.  Heaven truly can touch earth and the meeting point is you and I.

RESUMEN DE LA SEMANA 5

Día 1: domingo 22 de Noviembre

Empezamos el día con desayuno luego empacamos el microbús y después empezamos nuestro camino a San Miguel. Llegando a la base del lugar kathy y Daniel nos dieron orientación sobre varias cosas. En la noche tuvimos servicio y después cena y conocimos al equipo de Paso Juárez. Fuimos a ministrar a una Iglesia en la noche y así termino el día

Día 2: lunes 23 de Noviembre

El día empezó a las 8 am con desayuno. Después unos pintaron la pared de enfrente de la casa donde estábamos hospedados mientras que otros limpiaban la casa por dentro. A medio día almorzamos y luego salimos para el hospital de Salamá a visitar y orar por los enfermos después también fuimos a evangelizar al parque y fue un trabajo compartido con la otra EDE del paso Juárez. Tuvimos cena y luego tuvimos intercesión dirigida por Manolo. Después recibimos el devocional dado por Eliza. Compartimos nuestras altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 3: martes 24  de Noviembre

El día empezó a las 8 am con desayunó. Después tuvimos adoración dirigida por Yuli e intercesión dirigida por Jaimie. Fuimos a Evangelismo Personal y algunos casa por casa. A medio día almorzamos y luego salimos a la cárcel de Salamá a visitar y evangelizar a los presos. Cenamos y en la noche fuimos a Evangelizar. Tuvimos el devocional por Heidi. Compartimos nuestras altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 4: miércoles 25 de Noviembre

El día empezó a las 7am con el desayuno. Después nos dirigimos a la aldea donde hicimos el ministerio compartiendo también con la otra EDE del paso Juárez. Estando en la aldea se empezó a repartir casa por casa los nuevos testamentos en Rabinal achi.  Almorzamos y en la tarde ministramos en la iglesia Nathareno en esa aldea. Regresamos a San Miguel Chicaj y cenamos.  Después en la casa tuvimos servicio de adoración donde ministramos. Después tuvimos el devocional por Pierce. Compartimos nuestras altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 5: jueves 26 de Noviembre

El día empezó con el desayuno a las 8 am. Luego tuvimos ministerio en la Radio. Después a medio día almorzamos. A las 2 pm salimos a otra aldea donde se fue a evangelizar casa por casa y después cena. Luego hubo un servicio donde se ministro igual compartiendo con la otra EDE. Después regresamos a la casa compartimos un tiempo con Kathy y su equipo donde se despidieron. Después compartimos altas y bajas y así termino el día.

Día 6: viernes 27 de Noviembre

Empezamos el día empacando el microbús. Después tuvimos desayuno a las 8 am. Después nos despedimos de la otra EDE del paso Juárez. Luego salimos con rumbo a la base. Almorzamos y llegamos a las 3 pm. Tuvimos intercesión dirigida por Pierce. Tuvimos tiempo libre. Cenamos y así termino el día.