Yearly Archives: 2020

“Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18

We have always celebrated Thanksgiving in November with family and friends and a big meal of turkey, dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn, rolls and more… then a long nap.  The next day, for many, is a day off from work so time to relax, shop, put up Christmas decorations or just sleep.  Do we stop to really be thankful or do we just roll through the day focusing on eating and relaxing? Over and over in the Bible we are instructed to be thankful; in good times or bad, happy or sad, rich or poor we can and should be thankful to God for all His goodness.

We had a different Thanksgiving this year.  We hadn’t planned anything but were going to get a rotisserie chicken & make some sides. On Wednesday morning, the day before Thanksgiving, we received a call to go to Tegucigalpa to get our residency card, residency cards are proof of our living here in Honduras. Our cards expired in April but due to COVID restrictions all government offices have been closed since late March. We really wanted our residency cards before flying back to the states for Christmas so we were thankful for the call.  We got up and left at 5 am to make our 9:00 appointment, the office was not very busy so we got in and out in about an hour and a half-PTL!

Tegucigalpa has a Walmart so we stopped to pick up a few things we needed then went for lunch. We decided on having Thanksgiving lunch at Burger King, yes an American burger sounded scrumptious and it was!   God is good; He gave us “a taste of home” on Thanksgiving to remind us that with a thankful heart the early rise and long trip was worth it.

With the 2 hurricanes coming through Honduras, the country was riddled with much damage, bridges down, roads washed out, houses filled with mud or collapsed and more people out of work. Missionaries moved into action planning how to help, gathering supplies and food to distribute and contacting churches in the hardest hit areas to make arrangements to help. 

The COVID restrictions were dropped so that everyone could move about freely to help. Our area, La Esperanza, is in the mountains and there was not much damage to houses but some roads were washed away and the pot holes are much worse. We did hear that some houses further up in the mountains were overtaken with mud slides but thankfully no one was hurt.

We, Heart of the King Ministries, were able to purchase 200 pounds of beans to send with our missionary friends who co-pastor a church here in La Esperanza. Their sister church was in one of the hardest hit areas where 40 families were displaced by the flooding and mud. On their return we learned these families were staying in the local church or on the streets until the water could recede.

We decided to purchase hygiene supplies, beans, rice and other supplies for their next trip back. Everything was divided up into 40 bags, one per family. As we talked more with them we discovered they needed pressure washers and buckets for the clean-up process.

Because of your generous support, we were able to purchase 1 pressure washer and 6-5 gallon buckets to send also.  The pressure washer will be used a lot in the next few months and we plan to use it any time the need arises. It is such a blessing to be able to help others when disasters happen, God has us here for the support of His people and those who He wants to join His family. Each bag of food had a scripture verse and encouraging word, we pray people’s hearts were turned to give thanks to God.

For some it will be weeks before they can return home and the homes will be clean but mostly empty.  All furniture and processions were drenched, filled with mud and are now molding. Join us in prayer that this will be a new beginning for them and that they will look to God to supply their needs.  

We continued working with the mayor’s office packing food for distribution to those they serve, the elderly and poorest of the poor. It is a blessing to be a part of a city that cares for their people.

Gene continues working on-line teaching the Bible class at South West School. This year he is teaching on “Who is God? And why is He important in my life” This is a private, Christian bi-lingual school, one of the best around. It is rising up young people who will become leaders, business owners and influencers here in Honduras. We were contacted by the school director and asked if we could find help for one of their students whose family had fallen on hard times, losing jobs due to COVID shut downs. We prayed over this and decided that we wanted to help. With approval of our board, Heart of the King Ministries plans to assist this student in his education until his parents can return to their jobs or find new ones. Your prayers for this family and so many others facing layoffs and business shut downs are appreciated.

We thank you for your support and your trust in us, as we reach out to help those around us. The needs are great but our God is greater!