Julia Roberts! Melissa Etheridge! And... MIKE LANE???

Julia Roberts

Melissa Etheridge

Mike Lane

What do these three have in common????  They are all patients of Dr. Robert Bard in New York!   That's right!  How do I know this?  There were framed and signed thank you notes from them hanging on the wall of the examining room!  Now, I don't know if they live in New York or not, but one thing's for sure:  They can afford to stay there more than Mike and I!  That is exactly the reason we flew to New York in the morning, had our appointment with the doctor in the afternoon, and flew back to Texas that night!

We arrived at La Guardia Airport in New York City around 1:00 p.m. and arrived at the doctor's office in Midtown Manhattan around 2:00 p.m.   All it took was about 15 minutes for Mike to have the scan.  Then the doctor told Mike, "I have good news and I have bad news."  Well, I can tell you, that's not exactly what you want to hear when you're dealing with cancer!  You would much rather hear, "I have good news and I have better news!"  But... unfortunately, that wasn't to be the case this time.

The good news:  The diminished blood flow to the tumor was unchanged.  This is good because blood feeds cancer.  The less blood flow you have the slower the growth.  Because of this fact, the doctor told Mike that he would rate it as a "slow growing cancer".

The bad news:  The tumor was bigger... quite a bit bigger.  Six months ago it was 3 x 4 mm.  This exam it measured 14 x 15 mm.


So... the cancer is growing slowly .... but the tumor is quite a bit bigger???  Sounds a bit confusing and like a contradiction, doesn't it?  We thought so too. 


Here's the explanation we were given:

It's possible that, when Mike's PSA was rising while we were in Honduras, that was indicative of the tumor having more blood flow and growing at that time.  When he changed his meds in June back to what he had taken a year ago and his PSA began to go down, the blood flow once again was diminished but the size of the tumor has not had time to subside yet. 

The rest of the bad news:  Dr. Bard needs to see Mike again in 3 months instead of the usual six.  At that time, he will not only have the scan again, but also a "specialized high tech" MRI that he can get only in New York.  Needless to say, that puts a damper on our plans to go home the last of August.  But, as I've said before, our plans and God's plans are sometimes different!  But one thing is certain!  He's always right and His plans are best!

We've prayed about it and talked to our mission director and have decided it would be a better use of God's money to just stay in the U.S. until time for Mike to have his exams rather than spending it running back and forth between Honduras and the States during the next three months.  So, the next week or so will be spent trying to set up appointments with some of our supporting churches that we have not seen for some time.  In the mean time, we are asking people to please continue to remember Mike in your prayers.

On another note, Jason and Arlen Stevens, the missionaries that work with us, returned to Honduras with their new baby and their young son last week.  After landing in Tegucigalpa, and before going to La Esperanza where we all live, they took a trip to Choluteca.  Choluteca is a town located in the south east part of Honduras near the border of Nicaragua.  Arlen's family lives there and they wanted to allow them to see and visit with the children before heading home.  While they were there visiting family, they all received several mosquito bites. 

This is the time of the year when mosquitoes are very bad in Honduras.  I'm sure that most of you know that mosquitoes can carry malaria, but you may not know about another serious illness that they can carry.  It's called dengue fever, also known as break bone fever.   Below is a partial copy of an email that I received a few days ago from the American Embassy in Honduras:

July 14, 2010

To: All American Citizens

From: American Citizen Services Unit, Consular Section

The U.S. Embassy in Honduras informs American citizens residing in or visiting Honduras that the Honduran ministry of Health has recorded over 17,620 cases of classic dengue and 594 of the hemorrhagic type. The disease has already claimed 21 lives in the country this year, 5 more cases are under investigation. The government reported that 85% of the hemorrhagic dengue cases were reported in the capital of Tegucigalpa.

The government has initiated a massive fumigation effort in addition to public education outreach in order to contain the epidemic.  Dengue fever is caused by a virus, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Dengue cannot be spread directly from person to person. There is no vaccine to protect against infection and no treatment to stop an infection. 

What are the classic symptoms of dengue?  The principle symptoms of classic dengue fever are: high fever (starting 3-14 days after bite and lasting less than 7 days); severe headache (especially behind the eyes); joint and muscle pain (especially in the lower back); bone pain (earning the name "break-bone fever"); and rash and mild bleeding (e.g., nose or gums bleed, easy bruising).  Dengue hemorrhagic fever is characterized by symptoms consistent with classic dengue, however, when the fever declines, symptoms including persistent vomiting, severe abdominal pain, and difficulty breathing may develop. More severe symptoms may follow.

What is the treatment for dengue?  There is no medication for treatment of dengue infection. Persons who think they have dengue should use pain relievers with acetaminophen and avoid those containing any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID), such as aspirin.  

Tuesday, during our layover in Washington D.C., we received a phone call informing us that both Jason and Arlen have dengue hemorrhagic fever.  They are "stuck" in Tegucigalpa and staying in a hotel there. They wanted to try to make the three hour trip home because living in the hotel is getting very expensive for them, but the doctor told them they shouldn't be traveling at this time. Also, within the next couple of days, the doctors will be checking the two children for the fever.  Please, remember this precious family in your prayers.

Note:  Usually, mosquitos that carry malaria and dengue are found in more tropical areas where it is very hot and humid.  La Esperanza is located high in the mountains at 5,500 ft.  Even though we do have mosquitoes, our cooler weather helps to guard us from those dangers.

Trust His Heart

Two and a half years ago, at a regular yearly checkup, it was discovered that my husband's PSA had gone up from 1.9 to 3.3.  The doctor promptly ordered a biopsy of his prostate.  As a result of that biopsy, Mike has battled prostate cancer since January of 2008.  The more natural treatment that we felt led to use to fight this battle has seemed to work well for him.  At his last checkup nearly six months ago, the doctor found that one tumor was dead and the other had diminished blood flow and it was more than 50% smaller than when he was diagnosed.  Even though, during treatment, his PSA got as high as 6.9,  in January of this year it was once again below 2. 

With this exciting report ringing in our ears, we were given permission to go back to Honduras with the understanding that Mike would continue his meds.  The doctor also suggested that he add another medicine to his regime.  He was also to get monthly PSA readings and was told to return again in six months for another check up.  But, while in Honduras, certain symptoms began to return and his PSA slowly began to climb.  His last Honduran PSA report, which was taken the first of June, had reached 4.9. 

He realized that the only thing he was doing different was the added medicine.  If we've learned one thing through this experience, it is that people sometimes respond differently to different treatments or meds.  He immediately stopped the new medicine and went back to his old regime and, praise the Lord, when we came back to the States the 6th of July and he had blood drawn for his latest PSA, it had dropped to 3.4!

Tomorrow, at 7:00 a.m., Mike and I will catch a plane at DFW airport and fly to New York City.  We are supposed to arrive at La Guardia airport at  1:15 p.m.  We will grab a  cab and head to 60th Street, right off Park Avenue, in Manhattan.  At 2:30 p.m. he will see Dr. Robert Bard, M.D., PC.   Dr. Bard, who is a leader in clinical imaging and radiology, will examine Mike and tell us the status of his prostate cancer. Dr. Bard uses a 3-D power doppler ultrasound imaging technology which has been shown to accurately differentiate between cancerous and benign cells.  When we leave his office, we will already have the results of the scan.  Then we'll take a taxi back to La Guardia and, at 5:00 p.m., we will catch our return flight and arrive back at DFW around 10:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

We ask for your prayers, that God will have His perfect will in our lives.  Of course, we would love to hear that God has completely healed Him of his cancer and that we can go back to Honduras and our work and the lives we had before January 2008.  I won't lie to you.  That is what I would like to hear in New York!  But sometimes, what we want and what God wants are two different things. 

Years ago, Mike and I both gave our lives to Christ.  We told the Lord  we would be, as Mike likes to put it, "Triple A Christians":  Anything, Anywhere, Anytime!   We meant it then... and we still do!  Whatever it takes to bring honor and glory to His name and cause the lost to accept Him as their personal Savior, that's what we want. 

Please, please don't misunderstand what I'm trying to say.  I'm not trying to sound "holier than thou" or like we're "ultra righteous" or anything like that... because that certainly couldn't be farther from the truth!  In fact, it's really pretty scary to say to the Lord "Whatever it takes" and truly mean it... because only He really knows "what it will take" to accomplish His will. 

But you know what, in February of last year, when it seemed that Mike's treatment was  finally working and we began thinking that we might be going back to Honduras soon, he ended up in ICU for a week with a 75% blocked artery in his heart.  Several times through that episode I thought I was going to lose him.  Even though I was trying to be strong, I began to really question what God was doing in our lives.  But one night, about 2:00 a.m., after a particularly scary episode with his heart, I got in the car to head back to where we were staying in Del Rio.  That night I was really having a difficult time holding myself together and felt as though I was coming apart at the seams.  I started the car, only after I dried my tears and could focus again.  The car radio automatically came on when the car started.  It was tuned to the Christian station to which I had been listening.  At first, I wasn't even paying attention to what was on the radio.  I was too busy asking the Lord, "Why?" .   And then, what was playing on the radio began to penetrate my thoughts.  It was a song I had never heard before... and I've not heard it since, but my son later told me it is a well known song.  It was the chorus of the song that caught my attention.  It spoke to my heart and answered my question.  It went like this:

God is to wise to be mistaken.

God is to good to be unkind.

So when you don't understand,

When you don't see His plan,

When you can't trace His hand

Trust His heart.

That was exacty what I needed to hear!  That was my answer.  And that, my dear friend, is the key to having peace even when it seems that your world is crashing down around you!!  You see, there are still many, many things I don't understand.... and probably will never understand until I get to Heaven.   But, through the years, there is one thing I have definitely learned that I can count on...

 I KNOW that I can ALWAYS

TRUST MY HEAVENLY FATHER'S HEART!

And

I DO!!!

For more information about Dr. Robert Bard and 3-D power doppler ultrasound imaging technology go to WWW.CANCERSCAN.COM

Taking Care of Stateside Business

Even though we are desperately missing our people in Honduras, it is always a blessing and joy to see our family and friends in the States.  Since our arrival at DFW International Airport on July 6, we have not wasted anytime doing the things that need to be done so that we can be free to return home by the last of August. 

During our week here, we've had a chance to get caught up on some much needed rest, visit with our parents and a couple of our sisters, spend some time with our dear friends, Robbie and Julia, and attend Sunday services at the church where Mike and I grew up and received our Biblical foundation.  We've also  made appointments with our doctors, received Mike's latest PSA results, and made our flight reservations to go to New York for Mike's cancer scan.  If his scan goes well and he gets a good report, then we will also try to go visit our children and grandchildren in Washington and Idaho and our dear friend in Canada , Bev, who's husband went to Heaven three months ago.  While in the northwest, we also hope to reschedule a couple of churches with whom we had appointments last time we were here but had to cancel when my dad became gravely ill and nearly died. Then, we hope to make it back south in time to attend the mission camp hosted by the WBF Mission Agency and Minnetonka Youth Camp in Oklahoma and return home to Honduras by the end of August.  And so, as you can see,  our furlough is not a "vacation", as many mistakenly think.  It is a time to take care of necessities so that we may return to Honduras as soon as possible and to the work that God has given us to do!

As some of you may remember, Mike's last PSA, taken a month ago, was 4.9.  This was nearly two and 1/2 points higher than the previous month!  This was not good news for us.  But, since our return to the States last week, Mike has already had blood drawn for his latest monthly PSA test.  We received a call from the doctor's office this morning telling us that his PSA results for July is 3.4!  Although this is 1/10 of a point higher than when he was diagnosed with cancer at 3.3, we are thrilled that, once again, it is going in the right direction.... DOWN!  With this latest PSA in hand, we will fly to New York City next Tuesday, July 20th, for Mike to have his cancer scan with Dr. Bard.

  PLEASE, WE COVET YOUR PRAYERS, that the Great Physician will touch him  and continue to heal his body! Our prayer is that he will receive a good report that the cancer is either still shrinking or... completely gone!  The sooner this "set back" is taken care of, the sooner we can get back to work in Honduras!

Thank you all, once again,  for your interest in us and in the ministry to which God has called us.  We especially appreciate those of you who support the work in Honduras with your faithful prayers and/or financial support.  Each one of you will share in the blessings and rewards of each precious Honduran soul reached for Christ! 

 It's not a suggestion...it's a COMMAND!

We're On Our Way to the U.S.A.

It's so hard to believe that we are headed back to the U.S. tomorrow.    Even though we returned to Honduras last February 25, it seems like it was just yesterday and, really, neither one of us is ready to leave again!  But, if all the appointments with the doctors come out okay, then we hope to return home sometime in August.  Please pray to that end.

God is still answering prayers for us!  As some of you know, we were very concerned about the situation in Ojo de Agua... a situation that could have been disastrous.  (If your not familiar with what I'm talking about see my last two blog posts.)  But, once again, when Satan was doing his best to try to destroy God's work, God took the problem and turned it into a way to help build His work!!  I believe that this was a result of so many prayers going up on our behalf!

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God,

to them who are the called according to [his] purpose."   ~ Romans 8:28

Because of all the people in the community who stood up in our defense, and all the positive things that were said about the church and us,  those who had been thinking about visiting the church decided maybe it was okay to come after all.  For others, it just peaked their curiosity, and they came to see what was going on!  Anyway, our attendance was not hurt at all!  In fact, in my children's class alone, we had 16 visitors!!!  Once again, we thank you all for your prayers and we give God all the glory for the wonderful results!

Yesterday, God answered another major concern and prayer request.  Since Alex can no longer help me with the children's classes I, once again, have been teaching all four classes on Sundays.  I had no one who was willing to teach during the time we are in the U.S.  But yesterday, a sweet young lady that I have known since she was 15 years old, told me that she wanted to teach the children and that she could go every two weeks to the mountains!  Yessinia is a precious Christian with a wonderful testimony and I am thrilled that the children will get to sit under her teaching until we return!  God always supplies our needs if we will just wait on Him and trust Him!

At our main church in La Esperanza, it was a bittersweet service.  My children's class had just finished a Sunday School competition based on attendance, scripture memorization and visitors.  Last night was awards night.  Besides the regular 1st through 3rd place winners, I also acknowledged perfect attendance and those who just missed once during the entire three month long competition.  Each child received a new Bible and some "fun" stuff, too.  But,  when the service was over and it was time to say goodbye, I'm not ashamed to tell you that there were a few tears shed, not just by me, but by some of our sweet people, too.   Even though we hope to return by the end of August, will truly miss them.

I just want to let everyone know that I may not be able to post something every week while we are in the States.  We are normally not in a home that has internet, so I must make time to go to a place that has WiFi.  I will, though, do my best to let everyone know what the doctor says about Mike's cancer as soon as we know something.  In the mean time, we do covet your prayers! 

Thank you all, once again, for taking an interest in what God is doing  here in  Honduras.  May He abundantly bless each of you.  ~ Debbie

..."the Lord stood with me,..."

II Timothy 4:17 "Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and [that] all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion."

I just want to thank all of you who prayed about the situation in Ojo de Agua. Mike left for Ojo de Agua this morning at 5 a.m. was gone most of the day to their community meeting.

He said that it was amazing!  Before ANYTHING negative was ever said, people in the community began to stand up and defend Mike and the church!!! They told of all the things he had done to help meet the needs of, not only individuals, but also the community with several of their projects.  There were those that were not happy but, in the face of so many speaking up on the church's and our behalf, NOT ONE PERSON said anything derogatory!!!  It looks as if the whole silly situation has been put to rest!

II Samuel 23:12 "But he stood in the midst of the ground,  defended it, ... and the LORD wrought a great victory."

God is SO AWESOME and SO GOOD to hear and answer our prayers!!!  Prayer is our most powerful weapon against Satan's attacks!  May God abundantly bless each of you who remembered to pray for us and the church in Ojo de Agua!

Psalms 98:1 "O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory."

There was at least one person to

represent each family from the majority

of the families in the Community.

"But thanks [be] to God, which giveth us the victory

       through our Lord Jesus Christ."           

                                                                                 ~ I Corinthians 15:57

Please, PRAY! Because the Battle Rages On!

Ephesians 6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]."

As some of you may recall, I mentioned several prayer requests in the last blog. One main request was for the situation concerning the church in Ojo de Agua. Any time God's work is moving forward, souls are being saved and people are hearing the truth of God's Word, Satan is mad! And right now, Satan is furious with what is happening in that small Lenca community in the mountains... and he is doing all he can to stop what God is doing there!

Seven years ago we started going to this little community with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the beginning there was little interest in the message of God's love and His free gift of salvation. We were met with suspicion and skepticism. But slowly, with persistence, much prayer and much love, we began to see people opening up and listening. For a long time, we had services with basically one family in their home. But the powerful message and truth of God's Word began to chip slowly away the foundation of Satan's stronghold!

Last Sunday, in (as far as we know) the first and only non-Catholic church in all of San Francisco de Opalaca, 75-80 people gathered together in the Calvary Baptist Church of Ojo de Agua to study and learn the Word of God! God has so blessed His work there and we have seen many accept Christ as their Savior and baptized in the nearby river. Nearly every Sunday we see new faces in the congregation. We have three, very faithful believers, that walk an hour every Sunday from the community of Azaqualpa, just to attend the services there in Ojo de Agua! The people in the church there are excited and growing in the Lord. But, that is exactly why Satan is furious!

Now, you need to understand how things work in these Lenca Indian communities. Each family has their land that they live on and farm and pass down to the next generation. But, if they want to sell some of their land to someone, then the current president of that community, as well as the community's land transfer committee, must give their approval. Once you have received their approval to buy land in their village, then there is a lot of paperwork and signatures required. After all these requirements have been meet and you have all your signed paperwork in order, the land is yours to do with as you wish. When we bought the land in Ojo de Agua to build the church there we, of course, had to fulfill all these requirements.

Our problem is, that the current community president is a very strong Catholic. His priest is not happy about us being there and the fact that he and "the church" is losing some of its power and influence over the people. Because the priest wants us out of there and our church closed down, he's putting a lot of pressure on the current president. The president is claiming that we got the land without going through all the proper procedures and he wants to rescind the permission we received to build the church. He wants to close it down and claim the building for the community!

Tomorrow, there will be a community meeting and some of the people in the church got word to Mike that they thought he probably needed to be there. We are not really sure what the meeting is going to be about or what their plan is, but Mike and some of the men plan on being there. This is why we need our fellow Christians to bombard Heaven with their prayers!

This is not the first time we have had problems with the Catholics in these Lenca villages. We have been told, at different times, in different communities, that if we kept coming and preaching the Gospel, there would be serious consequences. They have threatened to puncture our tires, block the roads or bridges, or do something "more serious". Once, while Mike was receiving cancer treatments in the States, some of our "preacher boys" hiked in to a new area, showed the Jesus film, and gave the plan of salvation. Several people accepted Christ as their Savior that night. The next week, when they returned to hold services, several men with machetes met them on the trail and would not let them pass. But, it is three of those believers from that community of Azaqualpa, that faithfully walk an hour to go to the church in Ojo de Agua, and another hour to return home!

They can try to scare us and threaten us all they want. We come with the authority and power of God on our side and, also, Honduras has a constitutional freedom of religion. It is against the law for anyone to harass or threaten us with harm. If they ever tried to harm us physically they could be thrown into jail. But that fact has never stopped the Catholic priests from stirring up his parishioners and sending them out to make trouble and threaten us or their own people who want to attend our services!

In these strongly Catholic mountain villages where the Lenca live and work, Satan has had free reign for centuries. These people have never been taught God's Word. Their hearts and minds are filled with superstitions, traditions, and the lies of a false doctrine. They are unbelievably poor, most living in mud houses with dirt floors and without running water or electricity. They have no hope of ever being able to better their lives and, because of what they have been taught, very little hope and no assurance of a better after-life. They are not really recognized by their government, nor accepted by mainstream society. Even most missionaries are not interested in working with them because it's a very slow, very difficult ministry with seemingly very little return for your months and years of work. They are, basically, a forgotten and an unreached people.

But, God loves them and He has not forgotten them! He died on the cross because He loves the Lencas as much as He loves you and me! They have a right to hear, and we have the responsibility to tell them the truth of God's Word! In fact, as Christians, we are commanded to go and tell them about God's plan of salvation. We are commanded to tell them that God promises, that if we accept His forgiveness for our sins and accept His free gift of salvation, then we can KNOW that we will go to Heaven when we die! And God also promises that, if we GO and TELL them His message, He will be with us!!! And Mike and I have learned that we can take God's promises "to the bank"!!!

And you see, we love the Lenca people, too! We have claimed for Christ those mountain villages and the precious people who live and work there! We will continue to go and preach the Gospel and teach them God's Word as long as we are physically able. And when we can no longer go, our prayer is that others will have caught the vision and continue to seek them out and tell them of God's love.

We covet your prayers for the meeting on Saturday! Please, pray that the devil and his demons will be rebuked and that God will show Himself strong. Please, pray that Satan's strongholds would be torn down and that these dear people who have lived in spiritual darkness for so long would suddenly begin to see the Son in their eyes!

We are not discouraged or worried about the outcome, because we know that many of you will be praying and Jesus has promised us that "...greater is He (Jesus) that is in you, than he (Satan) that is in the world." ~1 John 4:4  

 And if God said it, I believe it… 
and that settles it!!!

Rubber Boots... for Church???

Most of the women I know would never even consider wearing black rubber boots to church. In fact, I really don't know of even one!  But you know, I've never been a slave to "fashion".  It's not unusual at all for me to wear rubber boots (or what ranchers call "muckers") with my "Sunday-go-to-meetin'" dress during the rainy season!  It's just all part of our life here in Honduras! 


This last Sunday was one of those days. It started raining Saturday afternoon and rained all night. In fact, it was still raining at 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning when we got up to get ready to leave at 7:00 for the services in the mountains. Even though I left the house in a pair of old sandals, I had my "muckers" in a sack and loaded them in the truck along with my Bible and my lessons for the children's classes.                             

We arrived in San Lorenzo a little after 9:00 a.m., and before getting out of the truck, I switched the sandals for the boots.  We have about a 5 minute walk to get to the little adobe house where we hold services, and when it's wet, the slick, sticky red clay collects on your shoes till it's sometime 3 inches thick.  Many of the children in my class just forget shoes altogether during this time of year... and I can't say as I blame them!  For I've been tempted to just forget the shoes, too.  It's so much easier to clean bare feet!

After the service in San Lorenzo, we were off to hold services at Calvary Baptist Church in Ojo de Agua.  After such a long struggle in this area, God has abundantly blessed.  There were about 75 there for services and 37 of those in attendance were in my Sunday School class!  Beginning this week, they will also begin holding a mid-week service.  Clemente, who just got his driver's license, will use Mike's motorcycle to go on Thursdays and handle that service.  How we thank the Lord for those who are willing to help with the different ministries!

We got home around 3:00 p.m. and two hours later, Hotir left again to pick up the people in Quebrada de Lajas so they could join us for the services at New Hope Baptist in La Esperanza.  Our people were blessed by a group of "gringo Christians" from a Baptist church in Arkansas that was here visiting a missionary friend of ours.  They sang for our people and then Mike interpreted a wonderful message about the little boy with five loaves and two fishes,  how God can take something (or someone) that, to the world, seems insignificant and use it (or them) to make a significant difference to the world around them. 

I am so glad that we don't have to be someone "special", or someone rich or super smart or talented before God will use us!  I love what God says to us in I Corinthians 1:28, " And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:"  We just have to be willing to let God use us!

I have mentioned to many people about the problems we have sending and receiving mail here in Honduras.  I just want to give you a quick example of the Honduran postal system.  Mike went to the post office last week to get our mail and he was given four large manila envelopes, indicative of the mail forwarded to us twice a month by our mission office.  The first envelope contained our financial report and cards and letters that were sent to us in the month of May.  The next envelope contained several letters and some birthday cards that had been sent to me for my birthday... last year...in November!  The next manila envelope contained correspondence dated September 2009!  And when we opened the last envelope, we were shocked to find letters and cards (including a "lost" check from my uncle!) that had been mailed to us in August... 2008!!!   And so, we want to send a very late, but heartfelt, "thank you" for all the cards and letters of encouragement and well wishes!!!  And pastors, NOW maybe you understand why you don't always get those "survey questions" back on time!

This Sunday will be our last Sunday here in Honduras for a while.  Tuesday we will fly to the U.S. for Mike to have his 6 months checkup for his cancer.  It's very hard to leave again so soon.  God is working mightily in so many areas right now. We've seen 93 people accept Christ in the last 5 and 1/2 months, the majority of those among the Lenca people!  The church in Ojo de Agua has taken tremendous strides forward and is truly becoming a lighthouse of hope and salvation, not only in that community but, also in the surrounding Lenca communities. 

But when God is moving and blessing abundantly, that is when Satan attacks on every side!  And he is fighting to regain his hold in these Lenca communities that are lost and have so been enslaved to the rituals and traditions of the Catholic church.  He hates for them to hear the truth of God's Word and of the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ... alone.  Mike and I cannot fight Satan and win.  The Honduran believers cannot fight him and win.  Only the power of God and His Word, and the story of the precious blood of Christ that was shed for a lost and dying world, can tear down these strongholds of Satan that have enslaved these dear people for centuries. 

Please, we need prayer warriors right now!  The prayers of God's people are powerful and they are the key to victory over Satan.  Romans 15:30 says, "Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in [your] prayers to God...". 

1.   Please pray that Mike's cancer is still in remission and that he gets a good report from the doctors.  When we were in the States last year, he also dealt with a severe eye infection and was seeing an eye doctor nearly every week the whole time.  He is still having problems with his eye, even though he continues to take the steroids and antibiotics that were given to him. 

2.   The new community leader in Ojo de Agua is accusing us of building the church there without the proper authorization and papers.  We had the approval and permission of the man that was the community leader at the time we began construction, and we had all the papers signed and verified that we were told we needed.  But this new leader in Ojo de Agua is strongly Catholic and is controlled by the Catholic church.  He wants to rescind that permission and take our building from us.  We need your prayers!  Please pray that this will be resolved and that this man would be saved!!

3.   I still need teachers for my children's classes.  Alex, who has been so faithful and such a tremendous blessing, is no longer able to teach.  I have asked different ones to pray about teaching the children but, at the time of this writing, no one has come forward.  I believe these little ones hold the key to reaching Honduras for Christ.  They are the future.  Please pray that God would send just the right person or persons.  (Note:  Arlen Stevens, the wife of the young missionary couple who works with us, has said that she would teach the class at New Hope Baptist when they return to Honduras later this month.  She is a wonderful teacher and always willing to do anything that needs doing.  But, I know that this will be a bit of a hardship for her because they are returning with a new baby.  Please pray for her health and strength if she is able to take on this job.  But, even if she is teaching that class, that still leaves three others in the mountain works without a teacher.) 

4.   Pray for Jason and Arlen Stevens as they return to Honduras with their two small children and once again begin to work among the people here.  Pray for Jason as he continues to learn the Spanish language and for Arlen as she juggles her time between home and her children and the ministry.

5.   Pray that the believers in each of the works would not become discouraged or weary, but rather grow in grace, knowledge and boldness and seek to reach their families, friends and neighbors for Christ.  Pray that they would see their world through the eyes of Jesus, develop a burden for souls and that God would give us pastors, teachers and leaders.

6.   Pray that the students in the Bible Institute would be faithful and grow in knowledge of God's Word and develop Godly wisdom.

7.   That the teens in the Student's Home will develop into Godly witnesses and that they, when they return to their homes and communities, would be soul winners and spiritual leaders.

8.   Mike and I have a difficult decision to make upon our return to the States and we covet your prayers as we try to discern God's perfect will.

9.   And please pray that we might be able to return home quickly!  There is so much that needs to be done... and so little time!

We thank each of you for your support and your prayers, and for the tremendous part that you play in the ministry here!  May God richly bless you!

Maranatha!