You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Psalms 139:16 NLT
God has created all of us with a purpose and a direction for our life. He wants us to live the abundant life that He has promised. Thank you, Lord.
The new year of 2026 started off very cold. Thankfully we don’t have snow here but we are high in the mountains and cold is cold. We are thankful God prepared a nice “warm” block house for us so with long sleeve clothes and thick socks the days were comfortable and with a couple of blankets the nights were not bad. After 8 years in Honduras, we still are amazed that God had everything planned for us to come here to minister. God loves us so much! Even now in March it is still pretty cool but our trips to the other cities down the mountain makes us thankful for the cool weather here in La Esperanza.
Church (Amor Que Redime)
Our church is full of love for each other and our community. Pastor Jon taught a series on the purpose of church and we now are going to study the parables Jesus taught. We have a monthly celebration of birthdays with a beautiful cake and fun time of fellowship for all. School here in Honduras starts in February so we had a ‘back to school’ celebration for our church kids and the neighborhood kids. There were about 25 children. They listened tentatively to the sermon then received a gift bag of school supplies.
Youth Ministry (Club Aslan)
We praise God for this youth club that our friends Kelly & Steve (Team Solheim) operate each Saturday afternoon and we are thankful for all of the volunteers who work hard each week preparing lessons and games. I’m sure for many of these kids these are the only Bible based lessons they hear. Several of the students that have graduated 9th grade return to the club to participate and help, I believe it’s because of the love and appreciation they feel each week. Join with us as we pray for these students and volunteers. To God be the glory.
Ministry Opportunities
Our friend, and fellow missionary, Ruth now lives in Marcala, about 30 minutes away. Her grandson Andres just turned 4 so several of us got together to celebrate with him. Ruth prepared a nice lunch and we sat around sharing life together.
She also had a team from Georgia come down and we were asked to join with them. We drove to Ciprés de Opatora, a village about an hour from the main road in Marcala. The team shared the gospel, gave away clothes and school supplies. The ladies from the community had prepared rice with vegetables for lunch, it was very good. The Patronato, community leader (like a mayor), walked us around to see where the students were taught.
The kindergarten meets in a room in an old house; there were no desks or tables. Grades 1-6 meet in the community center with parents as teachers with only a few desks made by the fathers for the students. There was no electricity in this building.
Later Ruth talked with the Patronato by phone and got a list of items needed to run electricity to the community center and a request for white boards. These items were purchased last week and should be installed soon. We are checking into helping them with enough desks for all students. This is just one school where the parents see the need for an education and are striving to help their children have a better life.
Life in Honduras
Recently we had a problem with our toilet not flushing. What amess! We tried everything to clear this up but had no success. The next step was to call our landlord. He came over to check things out and told us that the toilet was cemented to the floor and we would have to break loose to check the pipes. Of course, the toilet broke into pieces while being removed. After removing the toilet, they discovered that some of the cement anchoring the toilet to the floor had broken loose and was blocking the pipes. Modern marvels (toilets) don’t always work well with Honduran construction techniques.
Needless to say, we are thankful for two bathrooms and that our toilet is replaced and now installed correctly using a flange and ring (US method) not cemented to the floor. During this time, we realized that our septic tank was full of water. The neighbor had left his outside water running which flowed down and filled our tank. The landlord took this opportunity to dig a ditch and connect the house to the city septic line on the street. Problems solved.
Also, about the same time, we had an issue with our water pump. our friend Danoy, who has help us many times before with many things, came over to look at the situation. He discovered that the bladder in the pressure tank had a leak and was full of water. This will cause the pump to behave very erratically. We replaced the bladder and all was working well again. Praise God for friends who know how to fix things.
Speaking of Danoy, his daughter is one of the students at Teach Me 2 Love. They lived in a shack of a house and decided to build a stronger, warmer house to live in. We, Heart of the King Ministries (You) and others have pitched in to help them. Since he does not have a steady job, but works construction as the opportunity avails, this has been a long process. He is building this block house by himself; the house has 2 bedrooms, a small bathroom, living and kitchen area. We pray for this family; they are believers and ask for prayer.
In February we celebrated Valentines Day by going out with friends to a local restaurant who had a saxophone player come in for live entertainment. Since Gene and I both played the saxophone in a high school band, we were interested.
It was a Saturday night and we were exhausted but went anyway. We had a relaxing time of fellowship with friends and soulful music. We praise God for these times to just be.
Prison Ministry
The Prison Ministry is going great! This year we go every week on Tuesdays and recently they have been set up and ready for us as soon as we arrive. There are now just over 300 prisoners so they are building an addition to the prison. The men that attend really listen to every word, we see smiles, tears and joy as we speak the truth of God’s word.
It is totally new news to them when they hear that they are loved by God, that God wants them to have an abundant life and that when they ask for forgiveness they become a son of God. May God continue to touch these men and the guards there at the prison.
Hospital Ministry
On Thursdays we go with our friend Sharon to the children’s ward in the local hospital. There we pray for the children and talk with the parents about God. We have seen God’s hand of mercy on many who were in motorcycle accidents; their lives spared with minor injuries.
We have seen miracles in the children as they sleep and wake up refreshed, we watched as the mothers prayed with us and shed tears for their children. May God’s healing power hover over this ward as many come to know the saving healing grace of God.
Special Needs School (Teach Me to Love Academy)
This school has some of the most awesome kids! Thank you, Jon & Alicia, for starting and teaching at this school. It is clear to see that God truly chose you and laid out a path to touch so many lives.
We are grateful to help in a small way and watch God work with these families. The children are learning their ABC’s, doing math and they love sliding and swinging. These children are living a normal life with people that loved them…and that is what life is all about, loving each other.
Our lives
We stay pretty busy doing what we love; helping others, teaching men, praying for the sick and loving others! We are thankful for the life God planned for us even before we were born! Day by day, He put our lives together and led us to Honduras. To God be the glory great things He has done and is doing.
We love and appreciate each of you,
Gene & Robin Willis
Heart of the King Ministries
La Esperanza, Honduras
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.
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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).