More Than 7,000 Miles of Blessings!

      Since August 14, we have traveled more than 7,000 miles and changed time zones seven times. We started out in Texas and Oklahoma where they had three digit temperatures and a heat index of 115. One week later, we arrived in Chula Vista, California, where it was overcast and the temperature was a chilly 64 F. Since then, we have been through a variety of temperature and climate changes, from the hot, shimmering 108 degree heat of the desert  around Las Vegas,  to a hard hammering rain in Oregon.   Later, in South Dakota, we shivered our way through a bone chilling temperature of 33! While spending a few days in Lowell,  Michigan, one night there came a

The storm  in Lowell uprooted trees
and broke large limbs.

sudden  storm  with high damaging winds that broke large limbs, uprooted trees and knocked out the electricity for about twelve hours. (In that storm, a large tree limb landed on the back of our car but, praise the Lord, caused no damage!)   And because  we sometimes cross at least three states in a single day, we have seen the temperature change as much as 30 degrees during one day’s travel! (That sometimes makes it a little difficult to know how to dress when we get up in the mornings!)   

The Sequoia National Forest
Can you find the car?

    We’ve enjoyed every type of scenery imaginable, from the Mojave Desert with nothing but miles of rocky sand, sagebrush and cactus, to the deep blue cool-ness of the Pacific Ocean.  We took one  day  to  stop and admire the breathtaking views of the Grand Canyon. In the magnificent Sequoia National Forest, where “normal trees” are dwarfed by those huge giants, we took a quick break from our travels to see the  largest  tree in the world 

A view of Mt. Ranier from
Tacoma, Washington

(by volume),  called  the General Sherman. In the lush, green beauty of  Washington State, where we lived for 14 years, we once again marveled at the towering splendor of Mt. Rainer. Then we had the pleasure of enjoying the serene beauty Canada, as well as the magnificent and rugged peaks of the Grand Tetons!

The Grand Teton Mountains
in Wyoming

         

       Please do not think that we are just on one long,  leisurely  vacation, though.   Actually, the contrary is true. So that our time here in the U.S. is not wasted, Mike does a great job of keeping our calendar full. It is very unusual if a Sunday service or a Wednesday night goes by and we are not scheduled to be somewhere presenting our ministry of Honduras. Thus far, we have visited dozens of churches and pastors, each time setting up our mission display, showing our DVD about what God is doing in Honduras, giving our testimony of God’s calling and enabling in our lives, answering many questions and, usually, Mike also preaches. During our time in  each one of these churches, we  are

Pastor Andy Coté interned
with us for 9 months in
Honduras. He now pastors
a Spanish church
in Las Vegas, NV.

meeting scores of our “spiritual family”. We are developing many new  friendships, too.
  

     Thus far, we have truly felt God's hand upon us. Everywhere we have gone, the Lord’s people have been such a tremendous encouragement and blessing to us. Many times, their love and generosity is just overwhelming! I pray that, to some extent, God has used us to be an encouragement to many of them as well.   

 

     Between appointments, we have been able to visit with several of our precious friends and past co-workers from our time when Mike was a stateside pastor. We also had the opportunity to join our son, Brandon*, and his sweet family in Oregon while they took a short vacation break from their ministry responsibilities at

Abigail, Josiah, Hannah and Esther
Our daughter's children

Faith Baptist in Tacoma, Washington.  Later, we were able to spend  nearly a week with our daughter,  Kristy*,  and her husband and four children who live in Idaho. We’ve even had the opportunity to have a few quick visits with other, more distant family members,* some of which we had not seen for many years!   It’s been quite a journey, full of beauty, adventure, fun, fellowship and many, many blessings… and we still have another month of travel before we are  done!         ***(See more photos of family and friends at the end of this article.)

Our dear friend from Medford, OR,
Pastor/Evangelist Mike Gass

       We have truly seen the Lord’s leading during this entire “unplanned” trip! I say “unplanned” because this trip was NOT something which Mike and I had contemplated.  It was our intention to return to Honduras immediately after Mike’s check up.  However, from the very beginning, it was obviously in God’s plan that we take this trip! And, although we are both older now and the long trips tend to bother our backs at times and we tire more quickly, we honestly do love even this part of being a missionary!   

We led Bev and her husband, Murray,
to the Lord while in Del Rio, TX. Murray
is now in Heaven. While we were in
Surrey, British Columbia, where she
lives, Bev joined Pastor White's
church, Grace Baptist.

       Generally, Mike seems to be feeling well. Being in such sweet churches and having the opportunity to “rub shoulders” with such faithful men of God, just seems to energize him!  He loves sharing with them how God has blessed their mission dollars and given us souls and raised up churches and new mission works in Honduras and among the Lenca! He loves preaching the Word, and encouraging fellow believers to “stretch” their faith and to trust the Lord with their resources, their futures… their very lives. Our continual prayer is that, not only will God use us to lead sinners to repentance and salvation, but also, that He would use us to challenge those who name the Name of Christ, to look beyond themselves, to the lost world around them. Our prayer is that others would answer the call of God. That they would seek to 

“make a difference” in this world… not just “make a living”!!

Gerry and Virginia Koistinen,
now living in Michigan,
were faithful members of
our church in Tacoma
for MANY years.

      For the last two weeks, while visiting several of our supporting churches in the surrounding area, we have been staying in a beautiful mission apartment provided by Faith Baptist Church of Dearborn Heights, Michigan. What a tremendous blessing this has been for us! Being in one place for a while has given us a chance to catch our breath, rest a little and take care of a few things. Mike has used our time here to make some phone calls to pastors and set up a few more appointments, including the appointment with his doctor in New York where, on the 9th of November, he will have another scan and an MRI.

     While Mike has been working, I certainly have not been sitting here just twiddling my thumbs! Would you like to know what I have been doing?  Well…  Just let me tell you!

This is NOT me!
But it's what I feel like doing!!!

     Since we have been on the road, I have gotten so far behind in answering my email and writing articles for our weblog that I am just about ready to pull out my hair! I have been trying and trying (unsuccessfully, I might add) to get some stubborn and infuriating computer problems straightened out so that I can concentrate on getting our communication caught up. Just because I do a lot of work on the computer, certainly doesn’t mean I understand them!! I have a program that is supposed to download and save all my emails so that I can read and answer them while working off line. Then, when I get somewhere that has internet service, I just log on, and it automatically sends out my replies and gets the latest email. It works great… WHEN IT WORKS! But… a little over a month ago, disaster hit!!!  Suddenly,  none of my email was downloading…. and... it wouldn’t send any out, either! 

YESSSS!!!

 I worked and worked and tried everything I knew to get it up and running. Finally, after a couple of weeks, I figured out what I could do to make it once again download my email!! I was so proud of myself that I nearly broke my arm patting myself on the back!!!  

     However...      my proud moment was certainly short lived!

It’s true!!  It was downloading my email… but, all of a sudden, I realized it was downloading every single one of them....

TWO to TWELVE times!!

Because of this, at one point earlier this week, I had

OVER 2,200 EMAILS IN MY INBOX!!!

     I know what you’re thinking! You’re thinking, “Well, Debbie. You shouldn’t have been so proud of yourself! Didn’t you know that ‘Pride [goeth] before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.’ (Proverbs 16:18)?” YES! YES! I KNOW!    

 But…..

  

IT WASN’T SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE THIS!!!

      At first, when we left Texas, I had this wonderful idea that I could do much of my work in the car! Actually, it was a great plan! I was going work off line while we traveled down the road from place to place, keeping up with my weblog and email - then, when we were somewhere that had the internet, I could send out my email and post my article onto the web site. We bought an adaptor to plug into the cigarette lighter and a doubler so I could use the computer while the Tom Tom (our GPS) was also in use. However, after the second doubler burned up, we decided that this system may not work too well. We are still trying, though, and we'll see if doubler #3 lasts! I don’t know if this particular device really is made of a better, more heavy duty quality or not. We haven’t had much of a chance to try it out. I guess we’ll find out when we hit the road once again tomorrow. Oh, yes… and then there was one more “blip” in my plan! I didn't consider that, many times, I wouldn't be able to see the monitor because the glare from the sun! Anyway, it all sounded like a good idea at the time! 

You know the old saying, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry!” Well, so much for all my “good ideas”! I would certainly appreciate your prayers for, not only enlightenment, but also for patience in this matter!!!

Contruction continues on the
New Hope Baptist Church of La Esperanza

      We do thank the Lord, though, that things are going well for our dear people in Honduras. Usually Hotir, or sometimes another of our workers, calls nearly every week and keeps us updated on the happenings there. Recorded below is some of the news that we have received from home:

Jason and Arlen Stevens

      First of all, Arlen and Jason, the young couple we work with that had contracted Dengue Fever, have completely recovered and are happy to be at home in La Esperanza and back to working in the ministry there. Thank you to everyone who faithfully prayed for them! Please continue to remember them in your prayers as Jason works on learning the Spanish language while also directing the many ministries scattered in the surrounding areas.  Pray, also, for Arlen, as she juggles to balance her time between caring for their two boys, their home, and the ministry that God has given her. We are so very thankful and blessed to be working with this precious couple.

     In spite of the continual heavy rains and the slick, muddy and sometimes dangerous roads, our workers have faithfully been braving the elements each week to minister and take the Gospel to the Lenca Indians in the mountains. Because of their burden and commitment to Christ, each and everyone of the works and missions are on-going. The services in La Esperanza, Naranjitos and Ojo de Agua have been well attended and continue to go forward. In San Lorenzo, Zapotillo and Rodéo, there is still a struggle. But, we praise the Lord for the small faithful core group of believers in each of these areas. A good number of people from Quebrada de Lajas continues to join the services at New Hope Baptist Church in La Esperanza. 

Jacobo

Yessinia

      Yessinia and Jacobo are still faithfully teaching my children's classes in each of our mountain works, and they are doing a fantastic job! In fact, Yessinia called me a couple of weeks ago to let me know that six of the children in Naranjitos accepted the Lord as their personal Savior!!! I praise the Lord for these two precious young adults that are willing to be used of God! I dearly love them and I’m so proud of them!

Hotir is a young man of
wisdom and character
beyond his years!

    Hotir is doing a fine job of overseeing all of the building projects. Under his direction, the work to complete the construction on our main church building in La Esperanza continues to move forward. However, Hotir really needs your prayers. He is beginning to have some health problems, possibly related to the heavy load of responsibility that this godly young man has been carrying since Mike was diagnosed with cancer in January of 2008. For one so young (he is 23 years old), he has shouldered a large burden and kept a schedule that very few older and more experienced men could handle. He needs all of our prayers… for health, strength, protection, stamina and godly wisdom.

    In addition, some of our  church members and Bible Institute students, joining with the missionary that our main Honduran church in La Esperanza supports, have helped to open up a new area about an hour away.  For, possibly, the very first time, the community of Marcala now has had at least three services where the true Gospel of Christ is being preached! Please pray for this beginning work in this new community, that hearts would be open and receptive to the Word of God and the message of salvation by grace through faith!

     We are so proud of the burden that our people have for the lost of Honduras! PLEASE, pray that God would put a hedge of protection about them. That He would guard them against Satan’s snares, and that their love and commitment to the cause of Christ would continue to grow. How we thank the Lord for all the faithful workers He has given us!!

     We have received calls from several of our dear people in Honduras assuring us of their prayers on our behalf, and telling us that they love us, miss us, and to please hurry home! We, too, miss them, more than they will ever know,  and we are anxious to return home. However, before we can leave the States and head home, we have a couple more thousand miles to cover, several more churches to visit and Mike will have to get a good report on his cancer.

     We ask for your prayers as we continue on our journey, that God will protect and give us traveling mercies, that He will use us and help us to be a blessing to those with whom we come in contact.  Also pray that if it is God's will, that my husband would be healed of his cancer. In the mean time, we will continue on this latest adventure that the Lord has given us, and we will wait for our Heavenly Father to reveal to us the rest of HIS plan for our lives!

 MORE PHOTOS FORYOUR ENJOYMENT

Dakota, our grandson,
and Brandon, our son.

Our granddaughter, MaKayla, and our
daughter-in-law, Kathy.

HOW WONDERFUL IT WAS TO SEE ALL

OUR LITTLE

"MONKEYS."

(and the BIG ONES, too!)

Cosmin and Kristy, our daughter,
and their family.

My Aunt Retha, my cousin's husband,
 Dan, and my cousin, Judy
live in Klamath Falls, OR.
I had not seen Judy and Dan
in over 30 years!

Stacy is Mike's cousin that
lives in Arizona.  We had never
met her husband, Rus, nor their
three beautiful children.  And...
I STILL didn't get a photo of Rus! :( 

How wonderful it was to meet Bev's family when
we were in Surrey, British Columbia!  Eh, Bev?
I love you, Sweetie!

Our sweet friends,
James and Kathy Tate,
now live in California.  They were
both a GREAT help in our
Christian School in Tacoma.

One of my dearest friends from
Texas, Ruthie, now lives in
Michigan with her new husband,
Doug.

TRUE FRIENDS

 ARE A  TREASURE

FROM GOD!

We have had the opportunity to visit with many dear friends we had not seen in years!

  

Stan and Patty Phillips
live in Michigan, too. They
are dear "old" freinds from our
Bible college days.  They have
faithfully supported us as
missionaries for many years.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ < ~~~~~~ > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FAITHFUL PASTORS AND FRIENDS

Mike is seen here with a precious new friend
of ours.  We had heard MANY good
reports about Pastor Steve White and
his sweet wife.  Our friend, Bev,
is a member of their church in
B.C., Canada.

Faithful pastor and long time friends
from Washinton, Roy and Nancy Delia,
now have a church in Oregon.