Below is a copy of my husband's prayer letter for May - August:
May-August 2014
Dear Partners and Co-laborers with God,
“TO EVERY THING THERE IS A SEASON, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
Unless you are very young, we all tend to agree that time seems to pass so quickly for us. Fall is already upon us; a favorite time of year for me, cooling weather, a time of harvest and thanksgiving. While we patiently wait for certain things to pass (like the heat, unless you live in Alaska) and new things to come, one thing is always in season and ready to harvest, that is, souls!
Jesus admonished, “Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; For they are white already to harvest,” (Jn.4:35)
Thank God that we don’t have to wait for Fall to go fishing or hunting for souls! Amen? I recently talked to a young man named Nick on a Walmart parking lot in Texas and was able to lead him to Christ. Several weeks later in train station in Sacramento, California I was privileged to lead a very needy man by the name of Jay to the Lord. Souls are everywhere, waiting for a courageous witness to tell them of a Saviour who died for them! We need to pray as the Apostle Paul requested, “that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.”(Eph. 6:19)
We came back in July for what I had hoped would be a brief visit of two months to visit some of our churches and get my annual exam in for prostate cancer. Thank God the exam went well and is unchanged from last year. Also, a heart stress test revealed no obvious problems, but for Debbie, my wife, this year has certainly held it's challenges. As we reported before, in February she experienced erysipelas, a strep infection that completely covered her face with blisters, accompanied by intense pain that lasted about two months.
When she shows pictures of herself, no one can believe that it is her. Thankfully, it is essentially all healed. However, in July, when we were in Tacoma, Washington, she became ill, passed out and broke her fibula close to the ankle when she fell.A CAT scan revealed several suspicious swollen lymph nodes near her kidneys. The Doctor wants to see her again in three months, soooo….that means she waits here for her leg to heal and, the first of December, will get a follow up CAT scan. Meanwhile, I will be going back to Honduras the first of October.Not what we had planned, but God is still in control!
Pray for Hotir as he ministers and directs in our absence, not only in our main church, but in ALL the works.
The works and workers are still growing in Honduras. I recently encouraged a men’s fellowship among our churches in our department, Intibucáa, and currently have 6 involved. Seven were saved in one of our mountain works, Ojo de Agua. Remember Cecilio, their leader in prayer for continued spiritual growth. He and my associate, Hotir will be going to a conference and taking 10,000 New Testaments to be distributed. Thank you for all you do to help make this ministry possible.
I ask for your prayers that I might return home ASAP and in good health. I miss my Honduras "family" and "kiddos" and the work that God has given us to do.
Also, coming up in December, we will be having our second annual Christian Youth Leadership Conference AND I NEED TO BE THERE! I am in charge of registration and scheduling all competitions.
Last year (which was our first year) we had around 150 young people. Our prayer is that we see many more teens in attendance this year and that they may accept the call of Christ to serve Him full time.
I wanted to do something special for the precious children in my Sunday School class in Honduras... something to remind them that they were loved and very special. Something that would say, "You have value because you were made special by God Almighty"! So, with the help of one of our young men in the church, I transformed their classroom into a castle... a castle belonging to the King of Kings!
I began by searching the internet and downloading all the pictures and examples of castles and castle 'elements' that I thought my work for my idea. My next step was to take photos of each of the walls in the area in which I would be working. Then, I ran the photos off on plain paper. Selecting my favorite elements from the internet examples, I sketched onto the photos what I wanted I wanted to do. Next, I duplicated my sketches on to the wall... and began to paint.
Please join me as we change a 'Classroom' into a 'Castle':
I began the transformation with the entrance to the classroom.
The hallway did not afford much room for taking a photo, but this is outside the classroom looking in.
#1 The first thing was to give our castle a heavy wooden door encased in a stone arch.
#2 Then I began to add the castle wall around the door.
#3 Since I was only doing the one room, I did the wall only around the door to that room.
#4 Torch and tree details. ( The hardest thing was getting the shadows right.)
#5 The first thing they see as they approach their classroom is this "royal decree" from the King of Kings welcoming His children. It says, "Welcome - Children of the King"
Next was to begin the transformation on the inside of the classroom.
This is the inside of the classroom looking toward the entrance. As you can see, this area is still under construction. The area above the door is open to the hall. Eventually, there will be a
drop ceiling in the hall that will provide a small "attic" area. That area will be used to
store mattresses so that we may provide free accommodations for our mountain people to attend
conferences and institute classes. We will be able access that area from the classrooms. Double doors will be added over the classroom door to close off the "attic" from view.
#6 The door...
#7 ...and beginning the surrounding wall.
#8 Details are added.
#9 The finished wall after adding torches and towers...
After working for a week on the project, Obdulio offered to help me. Even though he had never done anything like this before, I gave the back wall sketch to him. Obdulio is our music director and one of our dedicated young preacher boys. He also teaches Sunday School, plays keyboard, guitar and... he likes to draw. So, looking at my sketch, he drew it out on the wall and, after some instruction on mixing the paints and some painting techniques, he completed the back wall on his own. And, as you can see, he did a wonderful job!
The back wall with just a simple louvered window.
#10 Obdulio did a great job drawing and painting the back wall and window.
Greetings in the Name of the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Psalms 2 speaks of the sovereign God
accomplishing His will in spite of man’s best attempt to resist Him. Verse 4 says He sits in the heavens and
laughs at their puny attempts to thwart His purposes. I don’t know about you, but as I see the world
mounting its opposition to God and Christians, it helps to remind myself that we’ve ALREADY WON! We
give thanks NOW for the “victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Cor.15:57). I especially like verse 8,
“Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of
the earth for thy possession.” I know that one day Christ will return and rule all the earth as King, but
even now He has sent us to the far ends of the earth to proclaim the Good News of the saving Gospel and
God is taking possession of hearts and lives and gaining an inheritance among the heathen(all the unsaved)
through the co-labor of God, churches, and missionaries. Thank you so much for your love and faithfulness
to God, to us, and to the unreached of the world.
We thank God for at least 15 more that have accepted Christ and a number of others that have reconfirmed
salvation or recommitted to Christ. I am pleased to see the growth among several of our leaders. Especially
pray for my associate, Hotir, Obdulio, a talented young man who directs music, preaches, and teaches
children in the mountain works, and Cecilio, the leader in the mountain work of Ojo de Agua, who I see as
becoming key to the whole area there, called Opalaca.
This year started with a bang, as we began a Youth Leadership Conference, the first week of the year.
We offered preaching, creative teaching, song leading, music specials, instruments, Christian art, Bible quiz,
Bible memorization and drama. The idea is to develop abilities that can be used in the ministry of the local
church. It went very well with about 150 in attendance. The next one will be the last week of December.
The theme of the conference was 'Champions for Christ!'. A trophy was awarded to the church that best exhibited Christian character throughout the conference and competitions.
There were about 150 teenagers in attendance the first annual Youth Leadership Conference.
Last minute "cramming" for the Bible Quiz Competition.
Bible Quiz playoffs
Choir Competition
A couple of the happy winners.
Two of our own: Victoria and Obdulio
Winners of the Christian character trophy.
EVERYTHING was centered around the Word of God.
Our ONLY reason for this conference is to encourage and train teenagers to use WHATEVER abilities God has given them for His honor and glory.
Our prayer is that these young people will be spiritual leaders in their churches... now AND in the future. We pray these young people will become pastors, teachers, missionaries, leaders and faithful witnesses for Christ.
Also in January, we enjoyed a visit from two young men from Grace Baptist Church of Surrey, B.C.,
Canada (Pastor Steven White) in preparation for a visit next year of a group of their Bible Institute
students."
This was Debbie at the height of her illness.
After cooking and serving students and teachers for a week long intensive Bible Institute the last week of
February, my wife, Debbie became sick with Erysepelas, a disease caused by strep that broke out on her
face. It was very painful and left her very weak. She couldn’t get out of the house except to go to the
Doctor for over a month and a half. Thankfully, she is feeling better, there is little scarring, and most of her
energy has returned, although she still can’t accompany us to the mountain works on Sundays. Keep her in
your prayers. "
Privileged to Be Serving the King, Mike and Debbie Lane
Below is a copy of the latest prayer letter written by my husband and sent to our supporting churches. The ONLY difference is, that I have added photos and a video to give you a better idea of what is going on here. So… here you go!
July 2013
Greetings from the “white unto harvest” fields of Honduras. We arrived in Honduras the first of January
and I can hardly believe we are now already into the month of August. It has been a great year, although
it had a trying and sorrowful beginning for our churches here with the final struggles and home going of
our beloved Leonidas, a deacon in New Hope Baptist in La Esperanza and leader in the mountain church,
Calvary Baptist of Ojo de Agua. The family continues to adapt and remains faithful, and thanks to the
generosity of Liberty Baptist Church, Kingston TN, a home is being built in Ojo de Agua for the family.
It has been a productive year in the winning of souls. I have been privileged to win 15 adults and teens,
some to which we have witnessed for years. Our very traditional Indians in the mountain villages can be
especially tough. Belief and trust in Christ alone for salvation, laying aside Catholic tradition, like works
for salvation, faith in Mary, saints, priests, the church, and the Pope. is very difficult for them. However,
especially in the Calvary Baptist Church in Ojo de Agua, we have seen steady growth, with an average of
50-60 in attendance each week.
Recently, we had a wedding there (the first non-catholic Christian wedding in that county) with over 200 in attendance. I was also able to lead 3 women to Christ after the wedding.
Wedding decorations were streamers, balloons and flowers. The floor was traditionally covered with pine needles and flowers. Our only addition was the unity candles on the front table.
The sign at the front of the church said, "Welcome to the Wedding of the Gómez & Rodriquez Family"
Many who attended the wedding had to stand outside and look in the windows. Some were there more out of curiosity than anything!
Cecilio and Belinda had the VERY FIRST non-catholic wedding EVER performed in the Lenca department (county) of Opalaca.
The following week, five followed in Biblical baptism. At least 23 children and teens have been
saved in the classes in our various works, and recently over 70 received Christ in a Baptist medical-
dental brigade held in Ojo de Agua. They held their services each night in our church building, and since
then, we have seen a change in a number of people.
Another pastor, Florentino, whom we recently helped
in the rebuilding of his motorcycle engine (only $150), has been using it to evangelize in different
communities and has won 17 souls in two village campaigns within the past weeks.
Altogether, in all our
works and evangelism efforts, we have seen at least 125 saved this year. This doesn’t include the other
churches that are now independent or have been turned over to other missionaries. I know the count
would be much higher, to the glory of God!
My husband, Mike, rides his Rokon to Zapotillo for the first time.
In April I had an interesting experience. A “friend of the ministry” (who wishes to remain unnamed) bought two Rokon motorcycles (moto-tractors) for us. They are two-wheeled drive with fat tractor treaded tires on the front and back. We used them to climb to a remote village, Zapotillo, with whom we have worked for 10 years. It physically very hard for me to make the climb. It usually takes about 2 hours of steady climbing. The trail is so steep and the switchbacks are so tight that no vehicle has EVER been able to reach the village, but with the Rokons (and a little help from Salvador and Obdulio), I and my assistant pastor, Hotir, made it.
The result: Four adults and teens accepted Christ and the church was reestablished.
Since then, they have had weekly services, thanks to two of our dedicated young men, Salvador and Obdulio, who walk up there and back each week to hold services, eventually meeting up with us at one of our mountain services to catch a ride back to La Esperanza.
Obdulio and Salvador.
Salvador preaches there every Sunday.
Obdulio leads singing and teaches the children.
The work there has been VERY HARD, with many threats (still going on) and recently, a man with a machete chopped up all the adobe blocks that they were using for seating in the building. Please pray for them and the work in Zapotillo.
Thank you so very much for your faithful prayers and support. We couldn’t do what we do without you.
It seems that, no matter how organized I am, how well I try to plan my time, or even if I get a little ahead of schedule on something, there is always something else that is calling for my attention - something that I should have done yesterday!
Of course, there are some things that can’t wait, like Bible study and lesson planning, as well as developing object lessons, illustrations and competitions to accompany those lessons. Then there is teaching the Sunday School classes, the Youth meetings, church attendance and visitation. These things are essentials and cannot be neglected nor put off. If you are active in your church where you live, you understand the time commitment it takes. However, when you multiply that by four (because that’s how many of our works in which I am involved either teaching or responsible for preparing lessons), it takes a big chunk of your time!
Neither can meal preparation, a clean house and clean clothes be postponed. Even though I have a girl that usually comes 2-3 times a week to dust and mop the tile floors throughout the house, I do everything else. The floors alone take about 3 hours, and we’re talking about someone doing them who is much younger and stronger than I! Washing clothes also takes an extended amount of time. I thank the Lord that I am one of the blessed missionary wives that has a washing machine, but time must be taken to hang them on a clothes line, retrieve them when they are dry, fold them and put them away. (I would imagine that probably 95% of those of you reading this don’t even have a clothes line anymore!).
Food preparation is another time consuming chore. You wouldn’t necessarily think so, but let me share this current observation from someone who recently visited.
This past January, we had a couple of young adults come and spend a month with us. Rachel and Caleb Hamman (brother and sister) come from a family with 11 children. We met their family last year while presenting our ministry at their church in Wasilla, Alaska, where their father was the pastor. We knew that we were to eat lunch with them after church. I had been thinking to myself that, as a pastor’s wife, what a chore it would be to know that when church was over I had to go home and feed 15 people! Having said that, you cannot imagine my shock when, at the conclusion of their service, their father invited the entire church to their home for lunch! Now, grant it, it was not a large church, but I would say there were about 30 or more people there! However, his dear wife and the older girls didn’t seem the least bit concerned. Apparently, this was a regular Sunday occurrence.
Later, Rachel, who likes to cook and, apparently, is usually in the kitchen helping out, informed me that it really wasn’t that big a deal. So, knowing all of this, you can imagine my surprise when, after a couple of weeks with us, she commented to me about the amount of work and time we had to spend in the kitchen to get a meal out for just four people! I guess that, after nearly 16 years here, I really didn’t give much thought anymore to the time consuming things that must be done before eating the food.
We are always telling people who come to visit us on the mission field that they must be flexible! Always expect the unexpected! Things very rarely happen in the timely manner that you would commonly expect, and interruptions to your planned and organized day are the norm; perhaps suddenly you are without electricity for several hours, you have unexpected visitors, you have to go look for a cow that got out of the fence, someone needs a ride to the doctor, etc, etc.
That’s when I have to pull out my “To Do” list and start prioritizing. Usually, the first thing that gets moved to the bottom of the list is correspondence, meaning my email and keeping this site up.
In the last four months there have been SO MANY THINGS that I wanted to write about, but when I finally had time to sit down and DO it, I was so tired I couldn’t even think straight. However … today is the day! I am reclining on the couch and recuperating from the “creeping crud” that I’ve had for nearly a week. My body is weak, but my mind is ... well … it’s about as strong as it’s ever gonna be. (Take that for what it’s worth!) So, I will try to catch you up on a few things.
So, Hang on! Here we go! I’m gonna try to play “Catch Up”!
Our original plan last year had been to be back in Honduras by Christmas, but God gave us an unexpected surprise and blessing. We got to spend Christmas with both our children and all our grandchildren! (It had been seven years since our last Christmas together!) Although the change in schedule jammed some things together and left us huffing and puffing to get things done, it was such a sweet and blessed time that, I would do it again in a heartbeat! So, instead of arriving in Honduras the first week of December, as originally planned, we arrived a month later.
Me with all our grandchildren! Esther, Hannah, Brayden, Dakota Josiah, Abigail and MaKayla
We had just spent nearly six months traveling in the States visiting churches in Alaska and Florida. However, our arrival back home in January did not give us much respite from our hurried schedule because we were immediately in another whirlwind of activity. As a result of our schedule change, we had very little time to get ready for our coming visitors. (Check out my June 11, 2012, article Home Invasion! to see what we always face in our home after spending time in the States.) However, God was gracious, my neighbor was helpful and our guests were forgiving. So, six days after arriving in Honduras, we made the trip to back to the airport in San Pedro Sula to pick up Rachel and Caleb, as well as a pastor and his wife from Canada.
We had met Pastor White and his wife, Monica, a few years back through my very dear friend, Bev. We were privileged to be there when Bev joined their church, Grace Baptist, in Surrey, Canada. We felt an immediate connection with this dear man of God and his precious wife. They were to be with us for four days before going on to the capitol city to be with fellow missionary Jason Tate, and then they would go to El Salvador to visit one other missionary that their church supports. During their time here, I felt our friendship deepen, and who could ever have guessed that they could be such a tremendous blessing in such a short period.
Rachel and Caleb would be staying with us through the month. What fun we had with these young adults! And again, what a blessing they were.
While here, Rachel was a tremendous help to me on several projects. The main one was some mission bulletin boards for our main church. I had been wanting to do this for some time. With her help, that task was finally accomplished!
In their month here, they had such an impact on our young people that, here it is, four months later, and we are still seeing the effects of their visit! Just let me explain.
Both Rachel and Caleb are accomplished musicians and singers. Mike told them that he had a guitar here that Rachel could use, and asked them to be ready to play and sing during their time in Honduras. Before coming though, their sweet church also bought a key board as a gift to our ministry. But it just so happens that the piano is Caleb’s area of expertise, and he was able to make full use of their generous gift while he was here.
Therefore, that first service after their arrival, we had live music and Mike and I joined all our guests singing a special!There was a little twist though.Instead of Rachel playing guitar and Caleb playing keyboard, Pastor White played the keyboard!(Some people can do just about anything!)
Some of our teens admiring the new keyboard.
Our teens were duly impressed by their playing and the instruments, and they had to gather around after church was over.Everyone especially wanted to touch and see the keyboard.It’s not that they had not seen one before, they were just excited that there would be one around permanently!Different ones asked us to find out if Caleb and Rachel would be willing to give guitar and piano lessons while they were here. Both were more than willing to give of their time and talents to our excited young people, although I was a bit dubious as to how much they could really learn in just one month.
Victor and Salvador take guitar lessons from Rachel
Consequently, for several evenings a week during the month January, Mike and I were busy interpreting music classes, usually one of us in the dining room with Caleb and the keyboard students, while the other was busy in the living room with Rachel and the guitar students. The four of us were pleasantly surprised by their eagerness, their commitment and, with several, their natural God-given ability. For Rachel and Caleb’s last Sunday here, our young people did an instrumental special in church. I must tell you, they did surprisingly well, too.
Obdulio with Caleb at the keyboard.
It was a difficult time for all of us when Rachel and Caleb’s time with us was over. Several young people came by the house just to express their gratitude and sorrow at their leaving. They all said that they would miss them and never forget them. Rachel, especially, encouraged them to keep on working and use their talent for God. They promised her that they would.
True to their word, they have continued to practice and work, improving and building upon those things that Rachel and Caleb so patiently and lovingly started with them.This past Sunday, they did a beautiful job on a special!Although I was not there to hear them (for I was at home ill) Mike took the camera and made a video for me.It brought tears to my eyes!What a tribute to, not only the Lord, but to two young people who were willing to spend their money and a month of their lives to make a difference here in Honduras!
- Leonidas -
A real man of God!
On a very sad note, just a short time after the Hammans left, a precious friend and coworker of ours went home to be with the Lord.Leonidas and his wife, Silveria, have been the most faithful of all our families, and Leo has been one of the hardest workers and strongest witnesses we have ever had.Although poor and uneducated, for Leonidas and his sweet wife never learned to read nor write, he was one of the wisest men I have ever known - wise because he loved the Lord with all his heart and did his best to serve God with all that he had and all that he was. He was a bold and outspoken witness, and an encouragement to those struggling in the faith. Often, without embarrassment nor hesitation, and with tears running down his face, he stood up and gave testimony of God’s bountiful blessings and goodness to him and his family. All who have been here to visit remember Leonidas, for this poor, uneducated man had a testimony that touched hearts and made a difference in the lives of all with whom he came in contact.This simple man had a testimony that crossed all borders and language barriers.I cannot tell you how deeply his absence is felt nor how much he is missed.He had no fear of dying, just a fear of leaving his children without his loving, godly guidance.How I praise Jesus for the blessed hope that we have in Him.I ask that you, please, keep in your prayers his dear wife, Silveria, and their children Miguel, Hector, Raul, Cesar, Lillian and Carla.
Raul, Hector, Miguel, Leonidas, Silveria, Carla and Lillian
All the children have accepted Christ, Lillian and Carla doing so within the last month.They know their daddy is in Heaven today walking on streets of gold. Furthermore, they have no doubt that, because they, too, have accepted Christ as their Savior, they will see him again in glory!What a precious comfort it is to know Jesus Christ!
As you can see, since our return from the States, there have been many positive things, as well as several negative and discouraging things. After over 40 years in the ministry, we have certainly learned that, when God is at work, Satan and his cohorts, too, are working!
I will close this article with this one praise item: Since the last of January, we have had 27 souls that have accepted Jesus as their Savior and been born into His family!
This, my dear friend, is the sole reason we live and work in Honduras. What’s more,
Thank God that we don’t have to wait for Fall to go fishing or hunting for souls! Amen? I recently talked to a young man named Nick on a Walmart parking lot in Texas and was able to lead him to Christ. Several weeks later in train station in Sacramento, California I was privileged to lead a very needy man by the name of Jay to the Lord. Souls are everywhere, waiting for a courageous witness to tell them of a Saviour who died for them! We need to pray as the Apostle Paul requested, “that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel.” (Eph. 6:19)
I ask for your prayers that I might return home ASAP and in good health. I miss my Honduras "family" and "kiddos" and the work that God has given us to do. 
