Heart of the King Ministries Newsletter

Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness. Psalm 145:3 NLT

Happy November, the month of thanksgiving! We have a lot to be thankful for, what about you? God is good!

In late August we had several of our missionary friends over for an evening of snacks, games and fellowship. We put the table and benches Gene built to the test and they passed! Gene did a great job building these and there was room for everyone to gather on our carport, in the cool breeze, to eat and play games, laugh and talk. Everyone had a great time relaxing and even making new friends. It’s not often we can get together so this was a special day of sharing ministry happenings and dreams. I think each one left encouraged and thankful to hear the stories of all God is doing in La Esperanza. There is no place, no person, nothing is out of His sight.

In September there are many “special” days of celebration here in Honduras; children’s day, Independence Day and teacher’s day are the three main ones. Children’s day here is as big or bigger than Christmas in the states. There are parties, special school activities, presents, big family meals, games, cake and more; the children are made to feel so loved and special on this day. One missionary friend invited us and a few other missionaries to go to a mountain village where there was an orphanage and a school and help them celebrate.

The village of Wascapusca is about a 45-minute drive up the mountain from the main road, it had been raining so the roads were muddy and messy but we made it. The church was filled with about 60 children when we arrived. A crew of people were preparing food and the Pastor and Youth leader were talking with the children. The church had a covered area where we sat up games and prepared for the day. In the church the children sang songs, the youth leader told a Bible story, we missionaries were introduced and the day’s activities were explained.

The children were so well behaved, they lined up to go play games and stood under the covering in 4 lines as more children came up. The games began, “fill the jar”, “build a tower”, and “pop the balloon”. Each child participated and there was so much laughter and fun for all.

At this time, we decided we had better leave; it was time for the afternoon rain. We quickly gathered our things, helped clean up some and got those riding with us and started out of the village. Not quick enough, the rain started with slick muddy roads, so we went slow. Going down one hill the tires started sliding and we landed in a ditch. After putting rocks in front of the tires, Gene was able to get back on the road and we were off. The paved road was a beautiful sight to see as we completed the last turn. Gene did a great job driving that day, so thankful for his skills, we made it home. The next day we found out the other 6 trucks did not get out, they had to stay the night at the church. Praise God for His guidance in our lives.

Some of the missionary men in our area decided to get together for lunch. They met at the fish restaurant on the lake and had a good time of fellowship. There was lots of discussions, sharing and laughter between the 5 men. This may start something new!

After a summer break our “house church” started meeting again. It is great to get together and start the week in person with worship as we learn and grow in His love.

We continue to work 2 days a week with “Teach Me 2 Love”, a school for special needs children. This is the first school in Honduras for special needs children and the leaders, Jon and Alicia have met with President Juan Orlando Hernandez, president of Honduras, to widen this ministry and give opportunity for all special needs children to attend school and learn. We have been amazed to hear and see the progress made with these children.

The eight children we work with now can sit at the table during class time, write their name, count and learn. They love coming to school and the parents are amazed at their progress. One mother said, “Our whole family can go out, sit down and eat together now”, one grandmother shared that on the bus ride to school her granddaughter was saying “God loves me”. Those around her were amazed, they had never heard the child talk. What powerful words to hear! Here in Honduras special needs children are looked down on and are kept at home. With God’s help, through Jon and Alicia, many of these children will now be able to lead a better life. God cares for all!

With your financial giving, we were able to purchase some items to help some of the children at school. A car seat was purchased for one little girl, she hardly ever sat down and when she did it was not for long. With the car seat attached to a chair, she is fastened in and now sits at the table with the other children. She sits in a stroller during song time and is very content to listen and clap. Her mother is so thankful for the school, she says her daughter comes home happy. We have seen great progress in this child over the past months. Good things are happening! Because of Covid restrictions, there are limits on how many children can meet together. Jon and Alicia have divided the special needs children into 2 groups. There are 8 in our area and 7 or 8 in the city just west of us. There is one child there that suffers with a sever curvature of the spine. Her mother holds her most of the time or she is in a soft bed or hammock because she cannot lay on her back.

Again, with your financial gifts we were able to purchase a small rocker bed she can lay in. It sits low so when the children in her class sit in a circle for reading time, she can join in. The first time she was able to join in the reading circle, Alicia said she laughed out loud and smiled, (she cannot talk), her mother was thrilled to watch her daughter take part in class for the first time in her 12 years. We were also able to purchase a rocker bed for her to use at home so she does not have to be held all the time. Thank you to all who trust us with your financial support! God loves the little children!

We are saddened to report that one of the special needs children passed away; Darcey. She was not part of the group that we work with but Jon and Alicia have worked with her for years. She had many issues including blindness but was a very special little girl. The roads were too bad at the time for any of us to attend the funeral. But when the roads cleared enough in October for passage, we visited the family and the grave site with Jon and Alicia. Jon spoke to the family how special Darcey was and the difference she had made in everyone’s life. Gene spoke very briefly on the love of God and eternal life.

This was a very special visit to a very remote area. In this area, everyone is Catholic and Evangelical missionaries have been run out by force. But because of the special relationship Jon and Alicia have with the family, we were able to talk freely about God and handed out New Testaments and food. On the way home, the truck did get stuck in a ditch for several hours until about 12 Honduran men were able to get it out. We thank God for Darcey and the affect she had on her family. We thank God for the opportunity to visit this family and we thank God that His hand is upon them.

October was birthday month for us, we are so thankful for each year we have and are trusting God for many more. So many of you sent birthday wishes, thank you. One of our good missionary friends here in La Esperanza has a birthday in October also. We enjoy getting together and going out to eat with them occasionally so we went to the next big city and had a steak dinner to celebrate. What would we do without friends? God’s love unites.

COVID is still active here in Honduras. The restrictions are still in place and hospitals are full. Vaccines have been trickling in but the government has plans to have enough vaccines to vaccinate 85% of the population by the end of 2021. Please join us in prayer for those sick and those that have not been infected with COVID, God’s protection is a blessing!

We hope you will pause daily and look around you and be thankful, God is good! We have so much to be thankful for especially when we have the peace of God and joy of knowing Him; for the Lord is great and so worthy of praise.

If the Lord leads you to support our ministry financially, all gifts are tax deductible and should be mailed to:

Heart of the King Ministries
115 Creden Pl
Alabaster, AL. 35007

Checks should be made payable to Heart of the King Ministries.

If you would like to use a credit or debit card or your PayPal account,
PayPal is available on our website at this LINK.

Click this LINK to view all of our Honduras photo galleries (newer photos appear toward the bottom of the individual galleries).

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