Prison Ministry
During the first couple of months this quarter, activities went as expected. Sharon and I taught the men on the first Thursday of the month, Sharon and Robin would teach the women on a different day. All was as planned until late in May. While turning in the paperwork for the first Thursday in June, we were told that the prison would be closing by the end of the year and the inmates would all be moved to other facilities. Wow, that was a surprise. Well, we were in for a bigger surprise.
The next day Sharon went to speak with the women inmates and give Bibles to those who didn’t have one, she found out that the prison would be closing the next week and we could no longer visit because of the activity of moving everyone and shutting down. Wow, that was a bigger surprise. Actually, they had already started moving some of the inmates. Over the next couple of weeks, we learned that Alma, the social services worker that we worked through, would be moving to the local prison in the city of Marcala about 20 miles away from La Esperanza. She told us that we were welcomed to visit the Marcala prison. That is something we are talking about and trying to investigate to see what steps we need to follow. We also found out that the women inmates were being sent to Marcala. For the men inmates, they were being divided into several groups. In the La Esperanza prison, we had all inmates, from the smallest to the largest crimes. Now they would be separated by the severity of their crimes and other considerations. “High security” inmates would go to a maximum-security prison in Tamara, close to the capitol of Tegucigalpa. The remaining inmates would be sent to other local prisons in the country. This has thrown some twists into our prison ministry but with the guidance of the Lord, we will find our way through this situation to stay in His perfect will, where we always want to be. Please pray for direct and open doors as we seek God’s direction.
Flannelgraph
Stories in flannelgraph are not something you hear about much anymore. But during it’s time, it was the thing to use for telling Bible stories. Some of you may not even know what I am talking about. You may be thinking; Bible stories, don’t you just read a book or show a video and have a short discussion afterwards? What Is this flannelgraph stuff? Many years ago, when we were still living in the states, Robin’s mother & brothers bought us one of those large Betty Lukens flannelgraph sets.
I mean it was big, and covered every story in the Bible, even the ones most people have never heard. We would take individual stories from the set on the mission trips we took and the kids always enjoyed seeing the stories come alive. Knowing that the flannelgraph was just setting in a box in the states was heartbreaking. We wanted to put it to use but because of the size, weight and difficulty to ship it to Honduras, we had never gotten around to getting it down here. We finally shipped it down last Christmas. Since the kids in Peru loved the stories, we knew the Honduran kids would also love the stories in flannel.
Living here and working with ministries that work with children, we decided to bring the flannel graph down and donate it to Team Solheim. They work with middle school kids and have several workers that teach youth at their church. We and other missionaries have access to this material also.
The saying “A picture is worth a thousand words is truth!” The Easter story was told this year using flannelgraph and it was a hit!
Hospital Ministry
Along with our missionary friend Sharon (Intibucá Amor en Obras), we continue our visits to the local hospital. This is a great time to give the kids a distraction and some fun while they must spend time in the hospital. Most importantly is praying with them and the families to show them that God loves them and has not forgotten about them. We have seen the mothers cry as we pray with their child and have been able to minister to them as well. An encouraging word and prayer goes a long way when you are hurting.
Amor Que Redime – Church
It has been a good second quarter of the year in our new church building! We celebrated Resurrection Sunday with worship and a special message by Pastor Jon followed by an egg hunt for the kids. Also, we have had a baby dedication, celebrated Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, birthdays and of course had great services worshiping God and hearing the word. Pastor Jon and Alicia went to the states mid-June for a couple of months. They will be visiting churches, family and enjoying some great vacation time with their kids. The church services are on hold during the summer but while they are gone outreach activities will continue. We are a church that loves and gives to the community!
Anglican Church in La Esperanza
Our missionary friends here in La Esperanza, Steve and Raquel, are Anglican pastors and have started construction on their church building. After many months and many miles of walking the area in search of the right location, they selected and purchased property last year. This year the full financial support was obtained for the project and the construction of a building was started in March. The building is almost finished now and service should begin soon. We congratulate them on staying firm and committed to the call of God.
La Ceiba – Whitefields Missions – https://www.whitefieldsmissions.net/
We spent the week of May 3 until May 10 in La Ceiba helping our friends Allen and Vicky (Whitefields missions) as they hosted a team from the states. The team actually was like three teams because they split into a group for construction, a medical group and a ministry group to work with kids. The medical team held 4 clinics and served 646 people with medicine, gave out 180 pairs of reading glasses, and distributed 118 Bibles. Fifty-four people who came to the clinics reported healings, and the team witnessed 165 salvations. The ministry team ministered to hundreds of kids in the area, hosting Bible Clubs and assisted in teaching English in the local school. The construction team was able to put on a roof for a family as well as finish the wall for a new room in their house. The work that Whitefields and their teams accomplish is amazing and could only be completed with the guidance and help from the Lord. We feel very honored to have the opportunity to assist them when we can.
Sharing with others
When we are in the states, we purchase school supplies when we find them on sale. We kind-of over bought last year but God had a plan. We distributed school supplies to 2 schools and our church kids. The sister of our friend teaches children at her church but did not have any supplies for coloring pages or other crafts. So, we gathered a few supplies: paper, crayons, pens, pencils etc. that we had and gave to her. She has put them to good use and these children are being blessed. Also because of your giving, we were able to supply paint sets and funds to install fans for a school. This school is in a region that is very hot and they only had one fan but really needed more to help cool the one room school hosting 40 children. They had 2 more large wall fans donated by others but the school was not wired for them. We were able to send the funds to rewire the building. Thank for your giving so the we can bless other!
We do have and distribute Bibles and tracts. Each time we go to the hospital we take tracts. Gene gives one to each of the children’s parents and to others in the hallways. They are received with smiles and sometimes the children ask for the tracts and begin reading them. God’s word never fails and is an encouragement to many. We took some Bibles to our church to distribute to anyone that didn’t have one, several received a new Bible. Also, we gave a Children’s Bible to a little boy whose mother had gone through a threatening situation. She is a believer but this frightening situation caused her to fear. The mother and son are safe and were encouraged to read the Bible and trust God in all situations.
Team Solheim – https://www.teamsolheim.org
Working with Team Solheim has been such a blessing as we have watched this ministry grow and blossom. Kelly & Steve’s dream was to reach young people with the gospel and God has directed them in an awesome way. Soon after they moved to La Esperanza, they began teaching English in a remote public school. As they got to know the students, teachers and principle they were able to start Club Aslan meeting each Saturday afternoon at the school.
We assisted them as we could but not knowing the language or customs very well, we were mostly helping hands, so we all prayed for helpers to join the team who could talk with and encourage the children to work hard and draw close to God. This year that happened! A Honduran lady that is a friend of Kelly’s and a phycologist joined Team Solheim. Her job ended and she saw this as a great opportunity for herself. She assists Kelly in planning the club, preparing lessons & activities and she works with the school talking with troubled kids one day a week. She is a strong believer, a leader and has brought on other Honduran youth to assist in the club. The Word and moral lessons are being taught weekly and the kids are having so much fun! We praise God for allowing us to be a part of this great ministry.
At Club Aslan Kelly & Steve strive to show the kids they have many different options for their future. This quarter the kids were chefs making pancakes, gardeners planting green beans, artist instructed by a professional artist, they learned about hygiene acting as beautician & barbers styling each other’s hair-no cutting, trimming their own nails, hearing how to properly brush their teeth, wash their face and clean their shoes. They participated in an Easter egg hunt where they exchanged the eggs for prize bags learning that Jesus exchanged His life for our salvation. They also made special cards for Mother & Father’s Day. They really enjoy game time, a new board game is introduced occasionally and added to the game selection. Of course there is always a soccer game at the end of the day!
Oh yes, a young lady from another part of Honduras has participated in club several times and talked with Kelly & Steve about starting a Club Aslan in her area. What a blessing! These clubs can have great impact on young kids and we are praying for this ministry to continue to spread across Honduras.
TeachMe2Love Academy – https://worldim.com/missionary/283
This has been a great year at Teach Me 2 Love (TM2L) Academy. Throughout the year the kids have enjoyed so many different activities and have grown so much in spirit and physical size. The school has been in operation for about 8 years and this year was the first graduating class from the school. The school works under the authority of the Honduran Education department which has rules that when the students reach the age of 21, they are no longer allowed to attend the classes. At TM2L Academy, 2 of the students reached that age. We celebrated their achievement; they had been a part of the school for most of the 8 years learning so much and were a big help with the younger children.
The last day of school was a fun day. There were cupcakes, gifts to the graduates and photos, the actual graduation was the next night. It was a wonderful occasion at a local church. Along with the graduation, all of the students would receive their certificates for completion for the year and of course many family members all filled the church building. It was an official ceremony as required by the education department. The nation anthem was sung with the Honduran flag and all of the required declarations and official verbiage was read aloud. Then the certificates and diplomas were presented.
These diplomas were not just a piece of paper but official acknowledgment from the Honduran Education department that these 2 graduates had attended and completed a documented program of further learning. It is very unusual for a special needs person to obtain and hold this type of documentation in this country. Special needs children have not been acknowledged or given opportunities to attend school or advance in the past. Praise God this seems to be changing.
Living in Honduras
Living in Honduras is always filled with many things to be amazed at, have caution of and be entertained with. These things just make you happy to live here.
This is an example of one of the things to be amazed and cautioned about. Imagine waking up one morning and find horses or cows wondering around the street in front of your house. These are not just escapees from nearby pastures. Many horses and cows are allowed to graze the sides of roads and fields. Usually, they are tied to a rope on the side of the road. The rope is just the right length to prevent them from entering the road. Other times there will be a person or persons sort of pushing them along from place to place. Yes, and many times they are just escapees or they are being moved to another pasture. No matter what the reason, we live almost in the center of our little town and you see these animals in the streets a lot. We have seen groups of 10 or 20 cows being herded through the main street in town. The cars and people just do whatever is needed to avoid them. You never know what you may see.
Another interesting fact. There are several levels of transportation in Honduras. First there is walking. Many people walk everywhere they go. Next there are bicycles. It is like walking but much faster and requires a different level of balance. The next group are buses and taxis. The Honduran transportation backbone is the bus. There are many large buses like the Greyhound and others in the states.
But here we also have busitos (small buses). Many of these busitos are actual just passenger vans like in the states. Here instead of your family having a family van, the van is used for public transportation. There are busitos that operate in cities and towns to every nook and cranny in Honduras. You will see busitos in the most remote areas and you will see busitos (15 passenger vans) packed with 25 people going to or coming from the nearest town. Also included in the busito category are pickup trucks. It is not unusual to see 10 or 12 people standing in the back of a pickup truck holding onto custom installed rails and each other. There are thousands of busitos (probably tens of thousands) in Honduras. Cars and motorcycles are the final category. Motorcycles are everywhere in Honduras. They are a cheaper means of transportation. But there is a major problem here. Traffic laws are few and far between. Actually, there are standard traffic laws like in the states but they are not enforced. Because of this the motorcycles drive unbelievable crazy and there are many accidents. In the past week here in our little town we have had 3 deaths from 2 motorcycle accidents and many injuries from accidents. Driving here is a challenge.
Quinceañera
We had the opportunity to celebrate the quinceañera, (15th birthday) of our Honduran sobrina (niece), Sara. We have known Sara since we have been in Honduras and consider her and her family our family. The 15th birthday is very special in Hispanic culture; it marks a girl’s transition from childhood to womanhood and Sara is a beautiful and very special young woman. We were able to carry Sara out to a nice restaurant to celebrate with her. Keep her in your prayers as she will be making major decisions for her future very soon.
Visit to the States
We normally visit the states twice a year for 2 to 3 weeks each trip. We have just completed our summer trip for this year. This trip we visited family in Georgia and Alabama as we do every trip and got some rest. We also try to visit our home church in Colorado every 2 years on one of our state side trips. We wish we had the time and opportunity to visit all of our friends and supporters in the states but everyone is so spread out and live in so many different states and cities it is not possible for us to travel around and visit everyone. We do love and appreciate each of you and pray that God blesses and meets your every need. We feel God sent us to Honduras so we send a big hug and thanks to each of you, our friends.
We know God has a plan for each of the ministries we work with and we can see them prospering and growing. We praise God that the people we work with are helping many have hope and a brighter future.
We love you,
Gene & Robin
Heart of the King Ministries
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 may appear toward the bottom of the individual galleries).