Daily Journal of Life in Honduras in 2002

January 1^st 2002 Tuesday The Trip Back from San Pedro Sula

                I left San Pedro Sula this morning at around 8:30 A.M.  Before leaving, I ate a wonderful continental breakfast that the motel provided, and then checked my email one last time free of charge at their little computer booth.  After this I drove the back roads to La Esperanza.  It took me a little less than five hours.  (I found out later that there is another way to go, and it only takes about two and half-hours.  So the next time I'll go that way for sure).

                I arrived home at about 1:15, and found Castillo working hard chopping the grass with his machete.  (That's how they mow yards here, and everyone does it that way).  Castillo is a very hard worker, and I'm glad I hired him to work for me.  I don't know what I would have done without him. 

                After unloading my new refrigerator that I bought in San Pedro Sula, and a few other things, Castillo and I went to work in the yard.  Then we went inside and worked on getting the water to flow into the house from the well.  Many of the pipes were rusty and corroded, and this made for quite a problem. (Not to mention some very dirty water when it finally did come through).

                While working on the plumbing of the house, we broke one of the toilet tanks.  (It's the part that sits in the back and on top of the bowl).  I hope they sell just that part here so I don't have to buy a new toilet.  That would be nice.

                In the evening, I went to Bro. Thomas' house to shower and wash some clothes.  I spent the night there as well as their guest bed is much more comfortable than my little air mattress that I sleep on.  Plus their house is not as dusty as mine is, and I sneeze less there. 

                Speaking of Thomas and his wife, they said they were going to Guatemala and wouldn't be back until Friday or Saturday.  They had to leave the country for several days in order to get their passports renewed here in Honduras.  So, I'm trying to look out after their house for them.  I hope they find everything in order when they come back.

                So, that was how I spent my first day of the New Year.  It was nothing spectacular, but at least I am here where I believe that God wants me.  And, even though I get homesick at times, it's good to know that you are in God's will. 

January 2^nd 2002 Wednesday                           Working

                Today was spent working all day long!  I met Castillo here at the house at about 7:45 in the morning.  We started working on the place getting it to look nice as the owner (Harold Priday) was supposed to come today.  When he showed up, a little after nine o'clock, he had the rent agreement contract for me to sign.  It was well written, and we agreed on me paying the rent every first of the month to his bank account at Banco Atlantida (Atlantic Bank).

                We also walked through the house and looked it over.  I showed him all the things I had done to the place and how I was slowly but surely getting the place livable.  We walked upstairs to the attic as well and saw a few mice. I've got to get some traps to get rid of them soon.

                After he left, Castillo and I sweep, mopped, and scrubbed all the floors in the whole house.  It was a long job, as it's such a big house.  Also, it was quite tedious, as there were many varnish stains on the floors that we had to remove with Kerosene.  It took a little elbow grease, but eventually we got them clean.

                In the afternoon, I went to town to buy a few things that the house needed.  I found a new tank for the toilet, and purchased it and installed it.  Thank God it fit!  It would have cost over 1500 lempiras for a new toilet, but the tank itself was only 300.  So, that was a good deal.

At the "Ferreteria" (Hardware store), I also bought a new piece of metal sheeting to fix the big hole in the roof.  Plus, I bought an entire roll of heavy duty, black plastic to line the attic floor with.  Hopefully this will keep the dust from coming through the cracks (and the breeze as well).  I also bought a few other supplies.

                I wanted to visit the little supermarket too, but it had closed by the time I was finally able to get everything I needed.  So, I had no food to eat in the evening except some soup, a can of beans, and a can of corn.  Maybe tomorrow I can get some food.

                In the evening, I unwound in front of a beautiful fire in the fireplace.  It's relaxing to sit in front of a fire and watch its flames rise.  Plus, it's a great place to sit and read a good book.  And, what greater book is there than the Bible?

January 3^rd 2002 Thursday                               Work, Work, and More Work!

                Castillo and I were busy all day working.  We fixed the hole in the metal sheeting in the roof, as well as tacking down a few loose sheets that the wind had blown loose.  I spent most of the rest of the day working on installing the black plastic on the attic floor to keep the dust from falling through the cracks.  It was a long and tedious job, as there isn't much space to crawl around up there.  But, it needed to be done.  In some places I could see straight down into the room below me through a crack about an inch wide.  Also, there is a three-inch gap around the outside of the house where a board is missing.  So, it was good to be able to cover those openings and be able to keep the dust from coming in (as well as little critters and birds too!)

                When I was working in the attic, Castillo came upstairs and said that Harold Priday had come by and left me an envelope, which Castillo handed to me.  It contained the papers that we needed in order to hook up to the city water system here.  So, we went to town as soon as we could to take those papers to the SAANA (the water department here).  They said they would try to come out on Monday to hook up the water.  It would sure be nice to have city water here, as the well still smells like bleach.  I took my first shower today here in the house, and when I got out, I smelled like bleach too!  So, it'll be good to be hooked up to the city water, and be able to take a bleach free shower.

                While in town, I bought a few other little things that the house needed as well.  Among which was a new flexible tube from the waterline to the commode, as the old one was leaking profusely.  Plus, I finally was able to get a few groceries today.  So, now I don't have to live off of soup and beans.

                After running to town, I spent the rest of the day working on putting in that black plastic in the attic.  I still didn't finish, as it is a huge place!  But, I was at least able to get finished over my bedroom and the adjoining office.  I did have a bit of bad luck though, as I stepped through the floor not once, not twice, but three times!  So, tomorrow I'll have to fix the ceilings downstairs.  The wood was weaker than I thought, and Harold Priday said that someday we can put ceiling tiles in the bedrooms downstairs.  The sooner the better as the wood that it has now looks awful.

Even though the house is a "fixer-upper," it has a real beauty about it.  It's comfortable, roomy, and has a lot of character.  I'm really beginning to like this place.  (Especially the four or so acres of property that come with it).  I spoke to Harold Priday yesterday, and he told me he wanted to sell it.  He's asking 50,000 dollars American for it, and that's far less than it's worth.  I wish I had the money, I'd buy the place.  But, I don't!  So, I'm just grateful for the opportunity to be able to rent it.  I don't know how long I'll stay here.  But, I want to be thankful for at least being able to stay here this long.

                In the evening, I went to bed before "Missionary Midnight" (nine o'clock in the evening).  At least that's what Thomas Sweeney calls it.  The life of a missionary is not an easy one, and after a hard day of work, you are ready to go to bed very early.  The sooner the better!

January 4^th 2002 Friday                    And Yet Again, More Work!

                I spent just about the entire day upstairs putting plastic on the floors.  I finished most of the house, and only lack a little more.  But, that I'll save for another day, as I go to Colomoncagua tomorrow.

While working upstairs, I also found some old boards up there as well.  They were very nice Pine boards 1x12x18.  I used them to make a nice wall upstairs on one side of the house.  I only lack some for the other side, and then I can make another bedroom up there.

                Castillo worked hard today outside chopping grass.  I watched him do a section that took him close to 4 hours to finish, that I could have done in less than 30 minutes easy with a Lawnmower.  But, that's how they do it here.

                In the evening, I was bushed!  I was so dead tired, I could hardly move.  Not only that, my whole body ached as I was covered with bruises from crawling around on my stomach up in the attic.  There are some spaces that you have to twist your body into, and it's not that fun, especially when you are balancing yourself across 2 x 4's.  So, I called it an early night, and went to bed around 9:00.  It was a long day, but I was glad to be able to see that I accomplished so much.

January 5^th 2002 Saturday                Returning to Colomoncagua Again and Visiting Santo Domingo               

                I've had quite an interesting day today.  I started my day by going to see Bro. Thomas Sweeney and his wife Rhonda.  There they told me all about their adventures as they went to Nicaragua rather than Guatemala to renew their Visas.  They said they stayed with a missionary family there, and had good fellowship.  They even mentioned me, and the missionaries said they'd heard about me from a church in the states.  How small the world is!  And, how quickly word travels!

                After visiting Thomas, I drove to my friend Hugo Nazar's house to see how he was coming along with the table I asked him to make (I have no furniture whatsoever in this big house, so I look forward to getting some).  He was almost finished with it, and I was surprised how beautiful it turned out.  I had him make it antique "colonial style," according to the plans that I had drawn up on a piece of paper.  He did a wonderful job in crafting it, and it looked like an antique already.  It's made from Pine, and all he lacks is finishing it with Mahogany colored varnish.  (That will make it look even more antique.)  He said it would be ready soon, and I could pick it up on Monday completely finished.  He only charged me 500 lempiras (about 30 dollars) to make it.  In the states, just the wood alone would have cost more than that.

                From there, I traveled to Colomoncagua for the first time in two weeks.  I was surprised to find that the road had been fixed from the Rio Negro (Black River) to the town of Concepcion.  That made for a nice, smooth drive for once.  Upon my arrival in Colo, I looked for Raphael, and asked him to go with me to Santo Domingo (a small town on the outskirts of Colomoncagua) to visit Jose Oscar Vijil Ramos.  He's the one that asked me to come to Colo in the first place, but said he was "too busy" with Politics to talk to me when I came back here in August.  He suggested that I come back in December, but I gave him an extra month to make sure he wasn't busy.  Well, it took about 45 minutes to drive to his house, as the roads were terrible!  I bounced around like a kangaroo on a trampoline as I slowly drove the steep, rocky, mountainous roads with hairpin curves and killer potholes that lead to his far away home.  Finally though, I arrived unharmed in the town of Santo Domingo, and then had to park my car and walk to his house by a small trail through the woods.  There I spoke with him, and was informed that he was attending his Brother's church (Assembly of God) on Sundays.  I also found out that during the elections, he was running for Mayor of Colomoncagua, but only lost by a few votes.   (Now I understand why he was so busy!)

Well, we talked for a while about anything and everything, and the conversation eventually turned towards God and the Bible.  He asked me why I couldn't come and work with the other churches in that area, and a long conversation ensued about different "denominations."  I told him I was a Bible Believer, and a Baptist.  The reason being, because I've studied the other churches doctrines, and most (if not all) of them are wrong in at least one or more of their doctrinal teachings.  He asked me for some examples, so I told him what the 7^th Day Adventists, Assembly of God, Catholics, Holiness, and others believed, and where they were wrong according to the word of God.  He listened and then said, "It's because we don't know the Bible, isn't it?"  "Exactly!" I told him.  Then he asked me to start a church in his house and teach and preach the Bible.  I said "Okay," but several things troubled me.  First, he said before that he was going to go to his Brother's church "siempre" (always).  And, as the Proverbs say, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." 

Secondly, it's such a long drive to that village of Santo Domingo!  But, we'll wait and see.  I told him I'd come back every Saturday, if he is serious.  So, next Saturday I'll return again, and see what happens.  It would be nice to see something started there.

After returning to Colo, I studied Bible with Raphael.  We walked a little ways up mount "Picachito" and studied about "The 7 Judgments" up there.  It was nice to see the view of the town, and feel the nice breeze.

In the evening, Hugo didn't show up for our Bible study.  You've got to wonder if he got saved or not.  I see such a difference between someone like Hugo, and someone like Nelson.  One truly wants to go to church, learn the Bible, and win souls to Jesus Christ (Nelson), yet the other just doesn't care (Hugo).  I've heard preachers say "By their fruits you shall know them."  Maybe they are right.  I just don't want to have to force anything on anyone.  If they want the truth, they should be willing to go out of their way to get it!  This "half-hearted Christianity" is not the way it should be.  A person should choose Christ completely, or not at all.

I believe "Preaching" is what will get the job done.  If a man really preaches, then the Holy Spirit will convict.  And, what is conviction?  It is feeling bad about your sins!  This is what a soul needs before they get saved.  They need to see themselves the way God sees them – lost, hopeless, separated from God, and on their way to Hell!  If that becomes real to them, then they will almost be willing to do anything to get forgiveness.  And when they do get saved, they'll have something to be thankful for, and a reason to stand fast and serve God completely.

So my prayer is, "God give me grace and help me to preach harder and meaner!  But most importantly, God please use it, and convict the sinner and show them their sinful condition and need for a Saviour!"  Amen!

January 6^th 2002 Sunday                   From Colomoncagua to San Marcos to La Esperanza

                I tossed and turned all night long last night, as I was unable to sleep due to the fleas that continually bothered me.  The place that I stay in Colomoncagua is not necessarily the nicest, cleanest place in the world.  And, now I believe I know what they mean when they say, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!"  Next time, I'm taking some bug spray with me, or maybe even a dog collar.  Anything to keep those bugs away!

                After rising early in the morning and reading a bit, I prayed, and then hit the main street in town with tracts.  I passed out over 400 "Why is Mary Crying Tracts" in Spanish to the hundreds of people that come into town to buy and sell on this their day of commerce.  After distributing the tracts, I preached a message about "Salvation" in the town soccer field.  I had about 35 or 40 people come by and stop and listen.  I preached that Salvation is salvation from sin, satan, and hell.  And, I stressed the importance of trusting Christ and him alone, and not your works.  "Salvation is in a person, and not in things!" I cried aloud. My clarity of thought, and sentence structure is getting better each day in Spanish.  Yet, I've come to the conclusion that I need to memorize more scripture in Spanish, and I plan on doing just that, as it will help me in my streetpreaching.

                After preaching, I went to Raphael's house to say goodbye.  His Mom was going to the town of Conception, and asked for a ride, so I gladly took her as it was on the way.  As we drove, we talked about Jackie, (the young seven-year-old girl that came with us).  Raphael told me that she was adopted.  So, I asked his Mom what the deal was, and who her parents were.  She told me that Jackie was Pablo's son (Pablo is Raphael's brother).  But, neither Pablo, nor the girl that Pablo knocked up wanted the child, so Raphael's Mom took her to raise her. That was very noble of her.  But what I can't understand is that both of Jackie's parents live in Colomoncagua, but neither one of them want anything to do with her.  How can someone be so cruel, and so twisted as not to want to be with, much less take care of, their own child.  But, this is how Honduras is.  This is just one of the many stories I've heard like this since being here in Honduras.  So many people don't care about their other family members.  If you can't trust your family, who can you trust?  Well, it seems that so many in Honduras only trust themselves.

                Yesterday, Raphael and I talked a little about this subject as well.  He told me that he thought we were in the last days.  "Why?" I asked him, and he told me because the Bible says that in the last days family will turn on family.  And, he said that Pablo stole some money from his sister to go and buy some "Guarro" (moonshine).  Then, Raphael explained to me how that he couldn't believe that someone could do such a thing, especially to family.  Well, I told him that sin can make anyone do anything, and all we can do is pray for them, and preach to them.  But, oh how much it troubles me to see how selfish people are here in Honduras.  It's not just in Colomoncagua, it's in all parts of Honduras.  Many people are the same way.  They think only about themselves first.  And, family means nothing to them.  It's a crying shame. 

                After dropping Raphael's Mom off in Concepcion, I stopped in the little town of San Marcos to pass out tracts.  I handed out about 200 "Justified by His Blood" tracts, but oh how cold the people were!  And, what got me was how many of them said that they couldn't read.  San Marcos is a small town, and quite isolated, so that's probably why.  Whereas Colomoncagua is a little bigger, and has more schools.  But still, that was a very strange town as so many of the people said they didn't care to hear about God or the Bible when I tried to give them tracts.  God only knows what causes a community to be like that.

                After eating at a "Comedor" in San Marcos, I drove back to La Esperanza, and spent the evening doing some paperwork, and getting ready for my trip to Tegucigalpa soon.  I've got so much to do it's unreal.  I believe that about 60% (or more) of the missionaries time is spent running errands.  The secret is that you have to make sure that while you are running errands, you use that time to evangelize as well.  If you don't, then you'll miss out on many great opportunities to witness to others. 

                And, you must make sure you aren't in a hurry.  It's so easy to get impatient here.  But, patience brings many a blessing.  If they see you in a hurry all the time, they interpret that as you wanting to get away from them.  And, that doesn't help too much when it comes to trying to give them the gospel.  So, I've learned it's always better to talk with them, joke with them, and spend some time with them.  So what if you have things to do!  You'll get them done eventually, but the people are the reason I came here, and their soul is what I'm interested in.  So, I'm doing my best to try to not get in a hurry, so I can give my time to giving them the gospel.

January 7^th 2002 Monday  A Bible Institute?

                Today was freezing cold!  I didn't want to get out of bed as it was so nice and snug under the covers, but I was supposed to meet with Thomas Sweeney in the morning to go to town for some things, so I had to get up.

                At around 7:30, Castillo showed up, and began working on cutting the grass with his machete.  (It still amazes me how they do that).  At 8:00 A.M we went by Thomas' house, but he wasn't there.  His wife said that he had left already and gone to town without us.  So, Castillo and I went by ourselves to run several important errands.  (Which turned out not to be an easy task).  It was a typical day of trying to get something done in Honduras.

                At the water department, we were told that the man who was supposed to come and hook us up to the city water went on vacation, and he won't be back until after the 15^th (Strike One!).  From there we went to the bank to pay the water bill, and were informed that their computer was down.  They wouldn't let us pay it until their computer was running.  (So, Strike Two!).  From there we went to do a few more things, and then at the end of our quest, we went to the local sawmill to get some boards that we needed for the outside of the house.  Well, they didn't have the right kind, nor could they make it for us (Strike Three!).

                So, it turned out to be a rather long day with not much accomplished while running errands.  We did however get a few things done on the house though.  We fixed a leaky water pipe, as well as did some more work on the attic area.  After this, Castillo went to cutting some more grass, and I tried to take a nap.

                In the afternoon, I got quite sick.  And, in the evening I threw up several times.  That's not to mention the several bouts I had with Motazuma's revenge as well.  I tried to go to sleep early, and get some much needed rest, but around 8:00 P.M. Pastor Jacobo showed up at my house with another Pastor here in town, and they wanted to talk to me about starting the Bible Institute that they have been talking about.  They really want to learn more Bible it seems.  So, we went up the road to Thomas' house and talked there.

                We decided to wait until around March (when another Missionary comes who is in charge of trying to start the Institute).  They told me that this other Missionary came here just to start a Bible Institute, and I don't want to get in his way or interfere in any way.  Especially with the way Missionary's don't get along.  I figured it'd be best to wait and meet the guy, and if he wants me to teach there that's fine.  But, I want to know more about him first, and make sure that he believes the same way that I do.

                But before he comes, Jacobo and I made plans to have Bible Studies at my house soon, as he really wants to learn more about the Bible Chart I gave him.  So, I look forward to that. 

It would be wonderful to start a Bible Institute, as this area has several Independent Baptist Churches in it, and each one has four or five guys who want to learn the Bible.  When I moved here, it was to be closer to Colomoncagua and try to start a work there.  But, it seems I've moved closer to other works already started, and they want me to work with them as well.  I'm kind of leary of this, as I do not wish to "build upon another man's foundation."  So, we'll see what happens. 

                I've learned over they past couple of weeks that they call this area "Missionary Alley,"as there are so many Missionaries that live around here.  Thomas and his wife live up the street.  Between them and myself is a "Santidad" missionary named Robert Owens.  Then there is another man named Mike Lane who is coming soon to work in this area.  And of course the "Bible Institute" guy is coming in March or April to work here as well.  But they say that he is only going to stay a year or two at the most, and then he will retire as he is in bad health.   

And, finally, James Foster (the granddaddy of the Missionaries in this area) is coming to visit for a few weeks, but after this, he is going to go back to the states for good.  So, it seems that God put me right in the middle of a bunch of Missionaries.  I don't know why, but I'm trying to focus on Colomoncagua and the areas around it (three hours away from here).  But, who knows.  Most of the Missionaries here are leaving soon it seems, and maybe God has something for me here.  I talked to Thomas Sweeney, and he said that the other missionaries were telling him that there is a need for a church here in the neighborhood in which I live.  This would be a possibility, as I have a huge room that I could use for people to meet in.  But, I need to pray about it first.  All I know is that I need to be faithful preaching the gospel, and doing what I know is right.  And, by so doing, God will lead me and show me what he wants me to do.

Still, something troubles me as I look at the other works that have been started here.  What I can't understand is that in the last 20 years there have been several "Independent Baptist" works started in this area, yet why is it that so many of them in these churches don't know the Bible like they should?  And even more, why are they coming to me to ask me to teach them?  Is it because most of the other Missionaries are gone on furlough, and I'm the only one here qualified to do it, or is it because they really believe that I know the Bible, and want me to teach.  It beats me.  But, I really want them to learn the Bible, and if I get a chance to teach them, that would be great.  However, I feel that I must be careful, as I know how Satan works.  All it would take is for someone from one of the churches here to come to me and want me to start a work with them, and leave his home church.  Then my name would be mud back in the States as I'd be accused as "A People Stealer" and trying to start works off of other Missionaries.  I don't have any intention of doing this.  The truth is that I wish I could go somewhere where no Missionary has ever been, and try to start a work there.  There are so many fewer problems that way.

                But, I will preach and teach whenever I get the opportunity.  All I care about are the people and I want to see them get the truth.  And, if no one else will give it too them, I will.  It looks to me that most of the works started here fell short when it came to teaching.  And, that's what I want to do more than anything else.  I believe that it's important not only to start a work, but to teach those people in that work how to do the same.  Established churches with local Pastors, is what I want to have if and when I have to leave the field.  As they can do so much more here in their own country with their own people than I ever can.  So, please God give me some young men that I can teach, that will go out and preach and get the job done.

January 8^th 2002 Tuesday The Trip to Tegucigalpa

                I left from La Esperanza today at around 6:30 A.M.  I made good time as I arrived in Tegucigalpa around 9:15 A.M.  Once there, I went to Dona Enma's house to get the package my Mom sent to me.  It contained important papers from the eye clinic in Oklahoma who performed my surgery back in November of 2000.  With the papers, I went to get an eye exam here in Tegucigalpa, and was told I had 20/15 vision.  That was a real blessing to hear.

                I also visited my old Language School as well.  They were happy to see me, and I was glad to see them as well.  The first thing they said was, "Where did your stomach go?"  (I've been losing a lot of weight here, and I guess it's pretty noticeable). 

                After running a whole bunch more errands, I spent the evening at Bro. Abel Bonilla's house.  He is still in Australia, but his brother, Ruperto, was there, and let me spend the night.  He also gave me some of the mail I had received in the last two or three weeks.  It was good to hear from the folks back in the states.

                At about 6:00 P.M., however, I got very cold and very sick.  So, I went to bed early and got under several covers.  This didn't keep me warm, so I put on my jacket as well.  After about 4 hours of sleeping, and sweating, I felt as good as new.  I don't know what it was, but maybe it's this crazy weather that they have here.  One day the sun is out and it's hot, and the next day it's cloudy and down in the 30's or 40's. 

January 9^th 2002 Wednesday                Still in Tegucigalpa

                I took Rupert to Bro. Abel's school this morning.    He is watching after the place until Abel gets back.  From there, I drove all over town running yet more errands.  It was nice living in Tegucigalpa, as you had everything you needed nearby.  But now, I have to travel there once a month or so, and then run around like a dead chicken with its head cut off in order to get what I need.  Oh well, such are the ways of the ministry.

                At 1:30 P.M, I went to my lawyer's office, and together we went to the Office of Tourism.  I'm legal in this country until the end of March, and then I must come again and show proof that I am changing at least 1000 dollars a month into lempiras.  Each thousand dollars I change, will give me another month to be allowed to stay in the country.

                We also went downtown, and I picked up my "carnet" (card) for my Honduran Residence.  All I have to do now is show this to people whenever they ask to see my identification.

                After dropping my lawyer off at her office, I went shopping for a few things.  One thing I really needed was a Washing Machine, and I was able to find one at a great price (3000 lempiras).  At Pricesmart (the "Sam's Club" of Honduras) the prices were outrageous.  So, I went to a nickel and dime store and bought a used one.  It works great!

                Also, I went to the Post Office to get my mail.  They told me that I had a package, but it was at the airport.  I asked them why it was at the airport, and they said, "That's just where it is, so go there and get it!" 

I don't understand the Post Office system here in Honduras.  Last time, I had to go to the downtown office for a package, then the time before that, they had it at the office I usually visit.  And, this time, they left it at the airport for me.  I don't understand why packages don't go to the same place every time, but I can't complain.  At least they get to me. 

                Once in the airport, I was directed to the Postal branch building there, and found that I had not only one but two packages.  One was full of Bibles, and the other full of tracts.  So, that turned out to be an extra special blessing.

By this time, it was getting close to the evening, and I began feeling sick again.  So, rather than infect anyone else, I got a hotel, and went to bed early (around 6:00 A.M.)  It's crazy here, as they always ask you if you are a Honduran, or an American.  The reason being is that they have two separate prices for each one.  The Americans have more money, and the Hondurans know it, so they always charge them more.  Well, when they ask me, I say I'm a Honduran Resident, and they usually give me the Honduran price.  Sometimes they even give me a discount on top of that when I tell them I'm a missionary.  But, that's Honduras for you.  The people are very greedy (always wanting money), yet very religious as well.  That works out great for me as a missionary, as they want to help "religion."  However, they don't see that religion can't help them.  So, I try to help them by giving them the gospel, and showing that "Religion" and "Salvation" are two different things.

January 10^th 2002 Thursday                Back To La Esperanza

                After waking up at around 7:00 A.M., I took a nice hot shower.  I don't know where the hotel got such great water pressure from, but the water rocketed out of the showerhead like a waterfall.  It was great!

                At around 8:00 A.M, I checked out of the hotel and ran a few more errands.  Then I went to Pricesmart and spent close to 400 dollars on groceries.  I'm hoping they will last me at least a month (hopefully two), and I won't have to come back to Tegucigalpa anytime soon.  But, when I came out of Pricesmart, I found that someone had stolen two of my magnetic Bible verses off of my car, and had written "God is Love" on the back window in the dust.  Now, I don't know who would do such a thing, but what were they thinking?  Does God love thieves as well?  Does that mean I can do what ever I want to, as long as I remember that God is love?  Well, it made me mad, and I think I got a little bit in the flesh as I called the two security guards over and chewed them out for not watching my car like they should have.  Neither one of them said they saw anything.  "Well, open your eyes next time!" I told them.  I felt a little bit bad about it afterwards, and had to put it under the blood.

                From there, I went to visit my old friend Nelson.  He is something else.  Since getting saved, he has changed a lot, and is witnessing to everything that moves.  He even told me that he is photocopying some of the tracts and booklets I gave him to give to his family in Olancho.  He wants them to be saved as well!  Now that's somebody who really got it! What a blessing!

                We talked for sometime, and I invited Nelson to come and visit me in La Esperanza.  I have a place for him, and his women and child when they come.  He said he would do everything he can to come.  The only problem will be his work schedule, but hopefully he can get a few days off.  Also, he wants me to go to Olancho with him sometime as well.  I've always wanted to go there, as I've been reading about the history of Honduras and how Olancho developed.  It seems in the old days, it was like our old American West.  It was where all the outlaws, bandits, thieves, and such went to get away from the law.  It's also a place where settlers would go to get away from other people, and start a farm and a family.  From what I hear, it's still like it was back then, and when you visit there, it's like going back in time.  I hope I can accompany him there someday.

                In Siguatepeque, I stopped and visited missionary Harold Priday at his home there.  We talked for over an hour, and I really enjoyed the fellowship.  He seems like a great man, and a good missionary.  Plus, he gave me some good advice to help in the ministry.

                Upon my arrival at the house, my neighbors (a big family with about 10 kids) came over and offered to help me unload my car.  This was an unexpected, yet pleasant surprise.  They are Christians, and the kids go to Thomas Sweeney's church, so I feel that I can trust them.

                After unloading all the mountain of groceries I bought, and putting them in their proper place, I hit the sack exhausted and still feeling a little sick.  Hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to rest.

January 11^th 2002 Friday                          Unexpected Problems

                I awoke this morning to find that my kitchen was flooded with over an inch of water!  Last night I broke a pipe trying to put in a new filter for the old, out-dated filter system here.  I planned on fixing it sometime today, but at around 7:00 A.M., I heard Castillo turn the pump on from the well.  He was only going to use it to water the strawberries, but the pressure brings the water into the house as well.  I was still dazed when I heard it, and thought that maybe I was dreaming, so I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.  Then, I remembered the busted pipe, and ran to the kitchen.  Sure enough, it was soaked.  (It's a good thing this house has tile floors and not wood, otherwise it would have been ruined).

                After showing Castillo the kitchen, and the river that ran through it, he told me that there was a leak outside as well.  So, we went to see it, and found that sure enough the pipe going to the pump was busted also.  So, after fixing breakfast, and doing a couple of other odds and ends jobs, I went to town and bought some pipe.  When I got home, I realized I didn't buy everything I needed, so I had to run back to the Hardware Store again.  Then, I had to spend the rest of the day fixing leaks, sopping up wet floors, and trying to get some other things done as well.

                It turned out not to be a very good day.  Not only was I still exhausted from traveling, but I still felt sick as well.  Although my stomach didn't actually hurt, it did feel a little queasy all day, and because of this I worked in slow motion it seemed all day. 

                Also, I killed a mouse today as well. When I found him in the mousetrap, I found myself saying, "Thank you Lord!"  I guess it's pretty bad when you get happy about killing one of God's creatures.  But, those things are such pests.  I've been finding his droppings all over the kitchen, and it's good to know that he's finally gone.  Paul did say, "In all things give thanks."  So, I thanked God for getting rid of that nuisance.

                After finally finishing everything, I tried out my new washer that I bought in Tegucigalpa.  It works great!  All I lack now is a dryer, and I'll be set.  I seem to have everything else I need, as I bought a refrigerator several weeks ago, and an electric stove the day before yesterday.  So thank God, slowly but surely everything is falling in place.  It would be nice to have some more furniture though as a kitchen table and a desk would help a lot.

                Tomorrow I go to Colomoncagua again.  I'm supposed to preach in Jose Oscar Vijil Ramos' house.  We'll see how that goes.  I hope it goes well.

January 12^th 2002 Saturday                Disappointment and Sickness

                Today I left for Colomoncagua at about 6:45 in the morning. I was supposed to meet Raphael in Camasca and he was going to take me to his sister's house to visit.  Well, he didn't show up, so I went looking for him.  I found his sister's house, but she said he didn't come to Camasca.  So, I went ahead and drove on into Colomoncagua.  Once there, I drove to Raphael's house and found him there.  We talked for a while, and I felt awful.  My whole body was weak, and I think it was because I've been pushing myself too hard the last couple of weeks.  They noticed I wasn't feeling too well, and suggested that I take a nap.  Which I did for about 30 minutes.

                At lunchtime, Raphael's Mom made me some Tortillas with beans and cheese.  It was pretty good.  After eating, Raphael and I went to see Jose Oscar Vijil Ramos and see if we could start our first day of services in his house.  When we got to his home, we began talking.  I asked him if he was still attending his brother's church, and he said, "Yes."  Then, I took the next twenty minutes or so to tell him what the purpose of a church is (Evangelize the Sinners, Edify the Saints, and Exalt the Saviour), as well as how a church should operate.  Plus, I told him that it was something that should be started with the idea and desire of something that would be permanent.  He fluttered around a bit and listened, and then said, "That's too much responsibility!  I don't think it would be permanent.  I was just thinking you could come for a little while."  I told him that it's important to plant a church that will be a testimony to the community, and not to start a work that will fail.  He agreed, and said that it would be better if I didn't start a church there at all.  How sad.  I really wanted to, but it became evident that he wasn't serious.  And, I believe that it saved me a lot of time and heartache to make sure up front that he knew what starting a church consisted of.

                Also, he told me that the people talked too much in that area, and he didn't want me coming on a regular basis.  He said they will all talk, and say that I'm bringing him money, and then they will come and want money from him.  Plus, they will say all sorts of things about him.  This is how Honduras is.  It's sad to see a society like this that tells lies and spreads gossip like wildfire.  But, it's even sadder to see a man that says he is a Christian, but it not willing to suffer in order to get the truth.  After spending some time at his home, and talking with him, I came to the conclusion that he doesn't care about "things above," but is only interested in "things below." 

He also began talking about the economy and money, and other things.  Then he begged me to help him go to the United States in order to work, so he could save up some money for his family.  I told him that he didn't need to leave his family and should stay with them, and be happy with what he's got.  But, he didn't like to hear that.  It became clearly evident that all he cared about was money. 

                So, that ended that discussion, and that avenue for starting a church in Santa Domingo.  It is true that a double minded man is unstable in all his ways.  And, Jose Oscar Vijil Ramos is a very unstable man.  Out of one side of his mouth he says he wants to the learn the Bible, but out of the other side, he says he doesn't want to suffer for Christ.  Clearly, all he is looking for is a handout, and the easy road.  So, I went my way and was thankful that God showed me his heart, and taught me what kind of man that he was.

                Also, I wonder if that didn't close the door on Colomoncagua.  He was the one that asked me to come to that place, and I was hoping to be able to start a work there with him, and the other "Patronados."  But, the other men said they were already going to some other church there, and old Jose Oscar decided to continue on going to his brother's church.  So, I'm wondering if God doesn't want me to go somewhere else.

After our visit, I felt so sick, that I dropped Raphael off in Colomoncagua, and drove all the way back home in the evening (3 hours).  Once there I went to bed feeling sick and a little depressed.  How do you reach these people that say one thing, and then say another?  Maybe you can't.  But, I know God's words can.  And, that's what I want to give them.  So, now more than ever I must be faithful in continuing to preach the word, for it will not go out void (Isa. 55:11)!  But, the question is where?  Do I continue on in Colomoncagua?  Or do I try to go somewhere else that I've not been yet?

January 13^th 2002 Sunday                I Can't Stop Working

                Today I felt sick again, so I stayed in bed until about 8:30 A.M.  Then I felt worse laying in bed than I did getting up.  So, I decided to do something in order to keep from being bored.  The next thing I knew, twelve hours had gone by and I had been busy working the whole time on fixing the ceilings in my bathroom, closet, bedroom, and office.  My body didn't really thank me for it afterwards as I felt even worse at the end of the day.  But, when I get something in my head that needs to be done, I can't stop until it's done.  And, that's what I did. 

                The sickness that I've been feeling the last few days is different from most times I've been sick here. I think it's just exhaustion from over exerting myself as I've been working very hard on this house.  And, when I stop to rest, it seems I'm so tired and my body hurts so much that I can't rest.  So, I end up going and working some more.  One of these days it will catch up with me I'm sure. 

                In the evening I went to bed early (around 9:00 P.M.) after making myself some Macaroni and Cheese for dinner.  I'm trying to eat three meals a day now as I have lost a lot of weight.  I've even had to make another notch in my belt in order to keep my pants up.  Before I used to wear Suspenders just because I liked them.  But, now I have to wear them in order to keep my britches from falling down! 

                I am working hard that is for sure.  But, I feel that I can't do much of anything until I have a clean house.  I hate living in a dirty environment.  The cleaner the better!  And, after putting silicone seal in all the cracks in the ceiling, I can tell a big difference in my room.  There is much less dust, as well as no more breeze coming through from the attic.  And, it's even warmer in the evenings as less cold air comes in.  So, little by little I'm getting this house in tiptop shape.  The sooner the better as I have so many other things that I want to do.           

January 14^th 2002 Monday                Working on the House, and a Visit to Hugo's

                I felt much better today, and did some more work on the house.  I put molding up in all the rooms on the South side of the house to cover the cracks.  The silicone seal covered all the cracks in the ceiling, but there were still several cracks all the way around the walls.  Once that was done, I could tell an even better difference in the rooms.  It's almost stuffy now, and you want to open a window to get a breeze.  But, I like it, and it sure is better than having dust blow into the house.

                I also went to visit Hugo Nazar to see if he had finished with my kitchen table that I had him build.  He said it would be done today, but when I went there, I found that he hadn't quite finished it yet.  He had everything ready to go except the legs.  They were newly cut wood (pine) and he said it would be better to let them dry a little more before he put the table together.  I agreed, and we arranged for me to come back next week to pick it up.

                In the evening, I tried my best to catch up on some correspondence that I've been neglecting.  I desperately need some time to get that done!  But, I've been working on the house rather than doing paperwork.  Maybe tomorrow I can get on it, and get caught up on my letter writing.  You have to keep on it, otherwise it sneaks up on you.

                Finally, I have killed a total of 16 mice in this house since last Friday.  I bought several traps in Tegucigalpa, and have been baiting them with cheese.  Sure enough, they have been coming to eat the cheese, and were caught in the traps.  I believe I've finally killed all of them though, as I have yet to see anymore, nor is there any cheese missing on the traps.  So, thank God I believe I'm mouse free!

January 15^th 2002 Tuesday                A Day Spent Visiting with Other Missionaries

                I started my day by writing a few letters to some folks in the U.S.  Then, at around 10:30 I ran to the Post Office to mail them off.  Before going there, I visited Bro. Thomas Sweeney's house and was invited to come to lunch there at 1:30 P.M.  They had invited all of the missionaries here to lunch, and wanted me to meet them.  So, after mailing off my letters, I returned home and got cleaned up a bit in order to get ready for lunch. 

                We had a wonderful meal of Spaghetti and Meatballs, and I was able to meet James Foster, as well as a couple of other missionaries that were here in La Esperanza.  I enjoyed talking to them, and learning from their experience on the field.

                After lunch, I invited Thomas and his wife over to my house to show them around.  They really liked the place, and said that God really blessed me with such a nice place to live.  Afterwards, they invited me to eat dinner with them as well, and we continued talking until about 9:00 P.M. in front of the fireplace.  

January 16^th 2002 Wednesday                A Visit to SANAA and More

                Honduras never ceases to amaze me.  They do things here that you never would dream of in the United States.  And, sometimes you have to wonder why they do it.  For example, today Castillo and I went to the SANAA (the city water department) to see about getting water to the house that I'm renting here in La Esperanza.  Well, when we went there, they looked over the paperwork, and found that it stated that there was over 400,000 square meters of property here.  (I'm only renting a small part, but the owner owns that much land).  Well, they told me that they charge by the square meter, and that it would end up costing over 5000 lempiras to connect the water to the house. But, they said that I could go to the government office here and tell them the problem, and ask them very nicely to change the "official document" to give only the square meters of the house (as the water is only for the house), and then it would be much cheaper.  I was a little leary of this, so I asked the man if he could write me a note to take to the city office telling them what he wanted done.  He said, "I'll do better than that!  I'll call down there right now, and explain it, and ask them to change it!"  He did, and the lady down there said, "Okay!"  So, we went down the road to the city office, and they changed the official document for us.  Then we went back to the Water Department, and they started processing the papers.  Now, I don't understand how they can get away with all that,  nor why they would do such a thing.  You'd think they would want the extra money.  But, I'm sure glad that they did, as it saved me having to pay the extra couple thousand of lempiras.  (Every little bit counts, especially when you are running very low on cash).

                Now all I have to do is buy the pipe to run to the house, and then they will tie it in to the city pipe that runs buy the house.  So hopefully in a few days, I should have city water in my house.  We'll wait and see.

                In the afternoon, I went to visit Jacobo Nazar (one of the Pastor's of an Independent Baptist Church here in La Esperanza), and he asked me to start Bible Studies with him.  He wants to learn the Bible, and I can see the desire in his eyes.  So, we agreed on this Saturday as a time to study "The 7 Baptisms" in the Bible. 

I had planned to go to Colomoncagua this weekend, but my plans were changed as I was flagged down by another Pastor here in town (of The Good Shepherd Independent Baptist Church) and asked to preach his Sunday Morning services as he'll be out of town.  So, it looks like I'll have a busy weekend, and I hope all goes well.

                I've been trying for several months now to start work in Colomoncagua, but I believe that it's a lost cause.  The people just aren't interested in God's words.  They only care about sex, booze, money and soccer.  This is so sad.  I've been praying continually about going to a different area as things in Colo just don't seem to be panning out.  Over the last several days, several people have told me about the need for a good Bible Believing work in "Marcala" about an hour away from here.  The Missionaries I had lunch with a few days ago said that there is no Baptist work there.  Plus, the other Pastor's here said they have been praying for a work to be started there as well.  So, I'm thinking about visiting the place, and seeing firsthand the need.

                Mr. Jim Foster, as well as the other Pastor's here, told me that to start a work in an area, you need to live in that area.  They say that if you don't live there, then when you are gone, the Pentecostals, or other cults will come and steal your people. (They have no shame!)  But, I don't know if that's so or not.  I guess I'll have to learn from experience.           

My hearts desire is to train young men that are from here, and send them out to do the work.  The people will always respond better to a national than a "Gringo."  But as of yet, I've got nobody to do so with. 

                I was hoping that Raphael in Colomoncagua, would be one of those that I was able to send out, but the other day he informed me that he will always go to his "Missionera" church, and has no plans of going to any other (that includes if I get one started there as well).  So, things are starting to look pretty slim in Colomoncagua.

                Looking at it from a practical standpoint, I have several other options.  Some of the other missionaries have wanted to see a work started here where I live (a barrio named "San Carlos"), and said they would help me in any way they could if I tried to do so.  This seems like a good plan, as I live right in the heart of this neighborhood, and have a fairly big house that I could start a work in.

                Then, there is the possibility of trying to start something in Marcala.  This would be better, as I would be a lot farther away from the other missionaries, and would be able to start on a "fresh" field.  But, I don't want to get ahead of God.  I want to make sure that I am following his will.  And, I want him to show me clearly if he wants me to go somewhere else other than Colomoncagua.

                I've been reading the book of Acts, and found that the Apostle Paul was kicked out of several cities before he was able to finally start a work.  So, maybe Colomoncagua was just a learning experience.  But either way, I want to make sure that I'm in God's will, and following him.  So, until God tells me definitively that he doesn't want me going to Colo, I guess I'll continue visiting there.  And, if nothing pans out, I plan on visiting Marcala when I can as well as doing some visitation here with my neighbors in San Carlos.  Who knows.  Something might just spring up out of it.  That's something about planting seeds.  You never know when they will sprout. 

                So, all I can do is plant, pray, preach, and, trust God to do the watering.

January 17^th 2002 Thursday                Trying to Find God's Will

                I believe I heard from the Lord today about what I've been struggling with.  I've been praying about continuing on at Colomoncagua, or going to another area as the people in that village are not interested in the truth.  I've been searching the scriptures and trying to find direction, and today a verse jumped off the page when I was doing my daily Bible reading.  It was Luke 4:43, and it said:

       And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.

                I thought about that, and I have been going around for the last several years on deputation telling the people I am called to Honduras.  But, that doesn't have to mean that I'm called to a certain city in Honduras.  I believe God wants me here, and this is a big place.  So, I'm going to start doing some work in other cities as well.  I still want to try some more in Colomoncagua, but I believe God showed me from this verse, as well as reading the book of Acts, that a missionary is someone who is to take the Gospel to wherever he can, and wherever the door opens.  Paul went all over the place on his journeys, and except for going to Jerusalem (when God told him not to) God blessed him and his travels and allowed him to start some works.  I hope God will use me in the same way, and guide and lead me to those that are really seeking for the truth.

January 18^th 2002 Friday                          A Day of Work

                Castillo and I spent the entire day digging a two-foot deep ditch 150 feet long.  This was a long and tiring process, but this is how things go in Honduras.  The water department charged me 1500 lempiras to be able to connect to the city water.  But, that only gave me the right to do so.  They told me that now I have to go out and hook up the water myself.  You'd think that they would hook it up for that price.  But, this is Honduras and they do things very differently than in the states.

                We still have to dig another 250 feet to the house.  The first 150 feet went from the waterline to the driveway.   Now we have to connect the water from the driveway to the house.  That's another 3 day job!  But, it will be worth it once we get it all done. 

                It's starting to cost a lot to live in this place.  Not only do I pay 2500 lemps for rent and 2000 to Castillo a month for working for me.  I also had to pay that 1500 lemps to water department, plus 420 lempiras for all of the PVC pipe to connect to the house.  But, that's how it goes.  At least I can take out of the rent the things I've done to the place.  And, it looks like with all I've done, I won't be paying rent this month (or next month either)!

January 19^th 2002 Saturday                Bible Study Canceled, and Working Yet Again!

                I woke up early today and read my Bible.  I didn't get a chance to finish the book of Luke, but I hope to do so tomorrow.  At around 7:00 A.M., Castillo showed up and began working on digging the ditch for the water line.  I told him I had things to do today and I couldn't help him.  Well, after running to town, and checking my email, I talked to Pastor Jacobo, and found out that we couldn't study the Bible today like we had planned as "something came up" (that seems to happen a lot here in Honduras), and he was unable to meet with me.  So, I went home, and put on some work clothes and went out to help Castillo.  Finally about five o'clock in the evening we were able to finish with the first 150 feet of pipe.  We tied into the water line, and installed a valve to keep the water from leaking.  Then we covered the pipe with dirt.  Most of it is about 2 feet under, and this is much lower than most of the other people's waterlines.  I had hoped to go three feet, but we were just too tired to work anymore.

Now all we lack is the next 250 feet from the road to the house (Oh joy!).  And, we plan to start on that on Monday.  I told him to look for someone that would come and work for us.  He said he would.  I asked him how much is a fair wage for a day's work, and he said about 50 lempiras (a little more than $3 dollars).  So, I figured I wouldn't go broke if we got another guy to help.  It looks like at the rate we are going, that I might actually have water in about 3 or 4 days.  The sooner the better!

In the evening I studied most of the night getting prepared for preaching in the morning at "La Iglesia Bautista el Buen Pastor (The Good Shepherd Baptist Church) here in town.  I hope that goes well tomorrow.

At around 8:00 P.M. we had a good heavy downpour.  It rained for several hours, and they say that is rare this time of year as we are in the dry season here in Honduras.  But it sure was good as it helped to pack the dirt down that we laid on top of the water pipe.

All in all it was a good day, and I enjoyed it.  It was fun to see the neighbors come by and watch us digging.  They would ask us what we were doing, and we'd chat a while.  Hopefully I can use that as an opportunity to witness to them later.

January 20^th 2002 Sunday                Services at Good Shepherd Baptist Church

                Today I preached the morning service at Good Shepherd Baptist Church.  I preached about "The Love of God."  My three points were: 1.  True love given (God giving his son)  2. True love in action (by dying for us)  3.  True love manifested (on Calvary).  I think it went well.

                After church I went home and did a little reading and got caught up on a few things.  Then at about 4:00 P.M., Yovanni (the Pastor's son of Good Sheperd Baptist) came by the house and we talked for a while.  It was good to see such a young man willing to talk about Spiritual things.  I enjoyed very much our conversation, and was amazed at how bright this kid was. 

                In the evening, I went to church again to hear Bro. Perfecto preach.  He preached an expository message on Psalms chapter 1 and did a good job.  All in all it was a good day, and I enjoyed being able to attend a good church.  I wish I could go there every Sunday and help out, but I've got to see what happens in Colomoncagua first. 

January 21^st 2002 Monday                Reflections of the Honduras People

                The Honduran people remind me of little children in the way that they talk, act, and work.  I find myself chuckling continually when I see how they do things.  Many times they joke around and act silly just like a child.  In their speech, they use a limited vocabulary, and thus it is hard to reach them when you use big words. 

And then, when it comes to working, they remind me of Tom Sawyer, and how he tried to get out of as much of it as possible.  Call it lack of experience, or laziness, I don't know which, but they do things just to get them done so they can have free time to do nothing.  It seems that they are so very immature at times, and lack discipline.  It's not that they can't learn to do a good job.  It's just that they don't know how.  So, quite often I feel like a father to them as I'm constantly making suggestions on how they could do a better job.  And, so many times I see that look on their face that seems to say, "Why didn't I think of that?"   They need a lot of help, and it takes a lot of patience in dealing with these people.

                Take today for example.  I have been designing furniture for my house here, and I had a guy named Hugo Nazar make a table for me.  He lives in the Barrio named "Llano de la Virgen," and said that he has been making furniture for over 20 years.  Well, to look at his shop it looks like he doesn't have too many tools.  And, to look at his work, it looks like he hasn't been making furniture for more than 20 minutes!  After I picked up my table today and took it home, I spent the next four hours redoing it to the specs that I had drawn.  And, I made a few suggestions to him before I left on how to make the next one.  Whenever I explain it to him, he says, "That's a good idea!  Why didn't I think of that?"  I thought he was supposed to be the furniture maker.  But, it seems that I'm the one doing most of the work!  That's okay though, as I feel like I'm helping to teach him how to do it right, and hopefully this will help him in his business in the future.  "Patience is a virtue" they say, and so much the more I am learning this. 

These people need several things:  1. First and foremost the gospel of Jesus Christ, 2. Patience, and 3. An example of how to live the Christian life.   Jaime Foster (the missionary that just retired from here) told me that these people will watch you, and you must show them by your daily living that you are for real, otherwise they won't accept you.  So, that's what I'll try to do.  I hope that I can get a work started, but I want to do it for the right motive.  So many missionaries are only interested in starting works so that they can brag about it in their prayerletters.  I'm not about that.  I just want to start a work that will continue to propogate the gospel, and will help the people while I'm gone.  And most importantly, that should be spiritual help first, and physical help last. 

January 22^nd 2002 Tuesday                Working Too Much Physically and Not Enough Spiritually

                From 8:30 A.M. until about 6:30 P.M., I spent every bit of my time working on trying to finish my taxes.  It seems there is so much to do and so little time.   For the last month or so I've been doing not much else than working here at the house and trying to get it up to par.  There is so much to be done.  Yet, I've realized I've been neglecting the reason I came here (which is to preach the gospel to this people).  And, it is for that reason that I will begin working up a weekly schedule.  At least two times a week I want to do visitation in this neighborhood and see if a work can be started in this area called "San Carlos."  Thomas Sweeney told me the other day that he would be more than happy to go visiting with me, and help in anyway that he can to start a church in this barrio.  His help could prove useful.  I still plan on going to Colomoncagua on the weekends (until God tells me otherwise) and continue preaching and visiting there.  Also, I wish to have a day in which to explore.  How fun it would be just to get into your car and drive off into the mountains on a road you've never been before and take the gospel with you wherever that road ends up!

Plus, I need a day to study as well.  I've got so many things I've been wanting to read, write, and put together, but it seems that there is so little time.  I want to read all of the discipleship courses that I have now (about 15 of them), and take all the good stuff and compile them into one good, solid Bible believing course for new converts.  This will take a while I'm sure, but if completed, it will do not only those reading it some good, but myself as well by taking the time to study the material. 

                Also I want to take all of my notes from Spanish class and compile them into a book.  Not only will I be able to distribute it as a means for others to learn Spanish, but it will be good to review everything a second time.  Then there are the stack of books in Spanish that I have sitting on the mantle.  I want to read them as well, with my Spanish dictionary in hand, in order to learn new words, and get a feel for their literary structure.    Yes, there is so much to do, and so little time!  But, I've learned that you can get so caught up with those little foxes (which spoil the vine), that you forget the most important thing: Preaching the gospel!  So, by God's grace I hope to be able to start a steady and faithful visitation program as well as doing more preaching on the street.  Plus, it would be good as well to get more tracts out in the rural areas as so many people have yet to hear the truth.  The Bible says that tradition makes the word of God of none effect (Mark 7:13), and these people are so eaten up with the Catholic tradition, that it's hard to reach them.  But, I at least need to try.  It would be great to see some saved, and rise out of their tradition, and envelop themselves into the word!   Lord help me to be a faithful witness and please guide and lead me to those that are ready to hear.  Amen.

January 23^rd 2002 Wednesday                Water!

                What a wonderful and tiring day I had today.  Castillo and I begin the day by finishing up with digging the ditch for the waterpipe to the house.  Finally, I have water!  We finished it in a few short hours, and finally I was able to connect to the city water system.  The only problem was when we connected, there was no water coming out!  We thought that it was our fault, and that we had a leak somewhere.  But, I went to a neighbor's house and asked them if they had water and they said "No."  It seems they the city cuts the water here once a week for some reason or another.  But, it finally came on in the evening, and it was good to be able to wash the dishes without having to go outside and turn on the pump.  The pressure was pretty low though, and the water won't come out of the shower hardly at all.  Yet, at least it fills the toilets, and comes out of the sinks.  I guess I'll just have to keep on using the well in order to shower.

                Right before finishing with filling in the ditch with all the dirt that we dug out of it (we tried to put the pipe at least 2 feet down), a big blue Ford tractor pulled up in the yard ready to till the field here.  I went to Don Roberto's the day before yesterday and asked him if I could rent his tractor to plow up the cornfield behind my house, as well as the vegetable garden.  He said he'd send a man out the next day.  Well, he never showed up.  Then he said he'd be here bright and early in the morning.  That turned out to be around 11:00 P.M. in Honduran time.  But, I was glad that he finally did come.  Now I have a place to plant vegetables to help me save on buying groceries.  I plan on planting a whole bunch more than I need in order to give some to the neighbors.  That should be a good way to be able to have an opening to talk to them about the Bible.

                Speaking of the neighbors, a young boy named Jose Mareen Diaz (age 11) came over today and asked if he could help us.  He spent the rest of the day with us, and worked pretty hard.  At around quitting time (5 o'clock, for at six it gets dark here), his two sisters named Kenya and Lupe came over as well.  We sat and talked about several things, and I was able to talk to them about Salvation.  They said they weren't saved, because they had never been baptized, so I explained to them that water isn't what saves a person.  Water is for the body, but the blood of Jesus Christ is what's needed to cleanse the soul.  Then we talked about being "born again," as one of my bumperstickers on my car says, "You must me born again" in Spanish.  Old Jose knew what that meant, and said that he was saved.  But, his sisters didn't understand.  So, I explained it to them again.  Afterwards I gave them all tracts, and a Bible for their house.  I told them I'd like to start a church in this area, and they said they would like to come if I did.  So, I hope that works out.

                I guess it is true what missionary Jim Foster said when he said that you have to live with these people in order to reach them.  So, I want them to see that I'm doing the same things they are, and am just like them.  If they plant, I'll plant.  If they have to dig their own ditches to connect to the city water system, I'll get out there and dig a ditch to connect myself as well.  I don' t want them to see me as a rich American, but as someone that is in the same place that they are.  I guess it helps that I am "Pichicato" (their word for "cheap" or "tight" when it comes to money), and I'd rather do the work myself than pay someone else to do it if I can.  And, when they see you working, it makes them have a higher estimation of you. 

                All in all it was a good day, and I'm looking forward to getting all the planting done so that I can turn all my attention to the Spiritual things.  Castillo can water the plants, and I can devote my time to visitation, soulwinning, and teaching.  So, it seems everything is falling in place.  I pray that God will continue to guide, lead, and direct me.  And, I'll try to do what old Martin Luther once said when asked this question, "What would you do if you knew for sure that the Lord was coming back tomorrow at 12:00 P.M.?"  "I'd be out in the garden picking the potatoes!" he responded.  Why?  Because he wanted the Lord to find him doing what needed to be done when it needed to be done.  I guess that's faithfulness, and that's what I want to have. 

There is a time and a place for everything (Ecc. 3:1,17) the Bible says, and sometimes the hardest thing to do is to find out what time it is, and what to do in that time.  But, I believe if you'll just try to do right, you'll never go wrong.  And, if you'll do your best to get done what you know needs to be done, then God will accept it.  I believe he's looking at your motive.  God is more interested in "quality" than "quantity." 

January 24^th 2002 Thursday                Farming the Fields and Searching for God's Will

                I guess I am officially a farmer now! Castillo and I spent today working on digging out grass and roots.  Plus, we started on making our rows for the vegetables.   I don't know if I'll plant now, or wait a few days, but the sooner the better as we have plenty of water here in the well.  Mareen came over today as well and helped us (he's the 11 year-old neighbor boy that lives next door).  He even took the wheelbarrow up the road to the cow pasture and got us 4 loads of cow manure to put under the beds.

                In the evening, I was so exhausted from the heat from the sun here that I had to turn in early.  Before bed though, I spent some time working on getting a Spanish course together.  I'm going back and putting all my notes from class into a book.  It will be nice once I ever get done with it to have for reference.

                Also, I thought a lot today about God's will.  I've heard people use Romans 12:2 and say, "God has three wills: his good will, his perfect will, and his acceptable will."  But, I don't know if I believe that.  I've seen too many Christians mess up and say, "Oh well, I guess I'll never make the perfect will of God so I guess I'll just have to settle for the acceptable will."  No, I believe God's will is good, acceptable, and perfect.  The secret is finding out what God's will is.  Well, the Bible says it's to give thanks in everything (1 Thess. 5:18), avoid fornication (1 Thess. 4:3),  do right (1 Pet. 2:15), suffer for well doing rather than wrong doing when the time comes (1 Pet. 3:17), etc.

                But, how do you know exactly in every case what is the will of God?  That was what I spent my time thinking about.  How do you know what to do in every second of every hour of every day?  And, how do you know that you didn't make a wrong decision after you did something?  That's was the pensive state I dwelt in most of the day as I pondered these questions and more.  And, I found my self consistently reaching the conclusion that God wants our hearts.  Once he has that, then we will please him.  Ephesians 6:6 says:

Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart;

                That's where it comes from.  And, if you heart is right, and you are walking in the Spirit of God, then you'll do the will of God.  It's very hard to be in God's will if you heart is not right.  So, even though I have questions about where exactly God wants me here, and where exactly to go, I know that if I'm doing right, then God will use it.  He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).  So, I believe it's God's will for me to preach the gospel, and he'll honor it.  I might not know exactly when, where, and to whom, but I do want to be lead of the Spirit, and be spiritual enough to have discernment and know when God is in a thing and when he's not.  I want to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God as Epaphras's desire was for those of the church of Colossians (Col. 4:12).

                I guess it just boils down to doing right.  Bob Jones Sr. once said, "Do right til the stars fall!"  Well, I'd add to that by saying, "And when they do, do right still!" 

                But, sometimes it's hard to know for sure the exact will of God.  It's easy to say that it's to preach the gospel, and live right.  But, how about in other areas as well.  It's God's will that some people be missionaries to a specific place.  Others, it's God's will that they be Pastors.  And others, God wants to be faithful in the work of the church.   God's will is different in each person's life in relation to what he calls them to do.  Paul said that he was called by the will of God to be an apostle (1 Cor. 1:1).  But, after he was called, he ended up going to Jerusalem when God told him not to.  Still God used him to win souls. 

                But, God's will is always the same for every Christian when it comes to getting the gospel out.  He wants all to preach, teach, and spread the message of salvation by grace through faith in the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

So, I guess what I am struggling with is where exactly do you go when God has called you to a place and told you what to do?  Do you just go to one area, or do you do your best to reach as many as you can in as many areas as you can with as much as you can?  I guess that's what God wants.  If he's not willing that any should perish, then we should try to reach as many as we can.  And, Lord willing that's what I want to do here.

                But, more importantly, I want not only to see souls saved, but also taught the Bible as well so that they can win others and train them to do the same.  Sometimes it's so complicated, and other times it's so simple.  Simple is the idea, but the practice can be very trying at times. 

Well, as I plant the seeds in the garden behind the house here and trust God to make them grow, so must it be with the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Plant the seed I will, and trust God to work on the hearts of the hearers.  Then, if that seed springs forth until life eternal, I'll to my best with all the tender care in my power to water, fertilize, and keep the weeds away from that plant.  And, pray that they will bring forth fruit.  For when comes the fruit, comes a time of rejoicing (both physically and spiritually).

January 25^th 2002 Friday                          To San Pedro Sula and Back

                Today I left at around 9:30 A.M. to go to San Pedro Sula (about 110 miles away).  It is a 2 ½ hour trip, and is usually very boring with all the curves on those mountainous roads.  Most of the scenery is bland as well, as it's just pine trees and hills.  But today it was very beautiful as it was a very clear day, and way off in the distance you could see every mountain peak.  It was a beautiful sight, and I wish I had a camera to capture the view.

 My car ran well when I started my journey, but when I started home again, it began acting up.  I don't know exactly what is wrong with it, but it seemed to be losing power, and was sluggish going up steep hills.  I hope the transmission is not going out!

                In San Pedro Sula, I went to two places.  First I stopped at "Pricesmart" where I bought a few things, as well as 50 bags of cow manure for the garden.  Each bag weighs 50 lbs, so I ended up hauling 2500 pounds of dirt back to the house!  It was worth it though, as I believe that the more I can plant, the more money I can save on food.

                From Pricesmart, I went to Larach and Company (the biggest Hardware store here) and got a few things as well.  While there I was able to see the downtown area of San Pedro Sula.  It looked like downtown Tegucigalpa in a way, but had wider streets, and they all ran straight.  Tegucigalpa's streets are much narrower, and climb up and down with all the hills.  San Pedro is a flat plan, and is much easier to get around in.  Still, because of its size, I find myself getting lost there a lot.

                All in all, it was a long day, and most of it was spent traveling.  I did get out a lot of tracts though as I handed them out to anyone and everyone in my path.  Several churches in the states have said they'd like to send me some tracts, so I want to get out all the ones I have here in order to make room for some more. 

                 I hope to go to Colomoncagua tomorrow, but I need to check my car out first, and make sure it's able to make the journey.  It was running very loud when I put it in the garage.  So, I hope all is well with it.  Maybe the Fuel Injectors just need a good cleaning.   Or maybe I need to give it an oil change and clean the sparkplugs.  No matter what, I need to keep it in good shape to get me around in this country.  If I can't figure out the problem myself, I'll take it to Tegucigalpa on Monday or Tuesday and see if they can figure out what is wrong.  Lord please let it be something simple!

January 26^th 2002 Saturday                A Really Messed Up Day!

                This day was a snafu from the get go.  It seemed like everything that could go wrong did!  I started my day out early by trying to change the oil in my car and swapping out the sparkplugs with an extra set I have here.  Well, swapping the sparkplugs went fine, but when I started on the oil change, things went to pieces.  I realized I had no oil filter wrench, so I had to use a screwdriver and a hammer.  Usually that works, but this time it made quite a mess.  And, after several hours of hammering, praying, sweating, and crying, all I had was an oil filter that was in about 3 or 4 pieces.  So, I walked up the road to the other missionary's house here, and asked to borrow his oil filter wrench.  Well, he didn't have one, so I had to go ask another missionary here.  He didn't have one either, but was kind enough to let me borrow his truck to run and get one.  Off I went to get one, and then had to run around town to several different stores before I could find one.

                To make a long story short, when I finally found the wrench, it was almost lunch time.  Then when I got home and got the filter off, and the new one on. It was too late to go to Colomoncagua.  I was looking forward to it too!  But, that's how things go.  

                So, the rest of the day I spent studying Spanish and trying to put all my notes together on my computer.

January 27^th 2002 Sunday                Visiting a New Church and Preaching There

                I visited the New Eden Baptist Church here today.  The Pastor's name is Paulino, and I met him here a while back.  I showed up for the morning service, and found that it was only for children.  They had no service for adults in the morning.  So, I was a little disappointed to say the least.  However, the pastor asked me to come back in the evening service and preach which I did gladly.  I preached on "The Blood," and after the service we had one saved. 

January 28^th 2002 Monday                The Trip to Tegucigalpa and Spending the Night in Carrizal

                I left this morning at about 9:00 A.M. for Tegucigalpa to run a few errands, get some groceries, and see about having my car fixed.  Once there, I checked my email at the Internet café in the mall, as well as going to the Post office to get some of my mail that was sent to my old address.  After that, I went to the Texaco Gas Station to talk to my friend Nelson whom I led to the Lord a while back.  He was happy to see me, and begged me to come and study the bible with him in the evening and spend the night at his house.  I readily agreed, and after running a few more errands, together we drove to his house in Carrizal (a suburb of Tegucigalpa).

                Actually, he doesn't really live in a house. He rents a little room about 12 x 14 feet in size, and this is where he lives with his wife and little girl "Marjorie."  The neighborhood in which he lives is, for lack of a better word, a slum.  It is a pig sty if the truth be known. I've never seen so many people living so close to each other in such run down shacks.  Yet this is how these people live.  The road leading to his "home" was a dirt road with many rocks.  On one side there was the open sewer running down hill.  Most people threw their garbage in it as well, and it smelled simply awful.  Dogs were running all over the place as well and going through all the garbage trying to find something to eat.  The truth is that I've never been in such an unsanitary place in all my life!  But somehow, I found myself enjoying being there, and seeing how these people live.  And, I must say that it increased my burden for these people as well.

                Where Nelson lives is just up the street from the bus station, where continually busses are loading and unloading people.  Not only do the diesel fumes gag you to death, but the constant honking is quite nerve raking as well.  Across the street is a Fire Station, and this is were we were able to park my car safely for the evening (although I did have to pay 20 lempiras for the night watchman to watch the car).  From there, we walked up the road to his house.  Once we arrived at the little alley in which he lived, we had to walk back through a little corridor that leads to his room. We had to duck continually in order to avoid the mountain of clothes that were hanging out to dry on lines in front of us.  I believe there were about 6 or 7 little rooms in this alley like his, and each one had a family in it.  And the thing that got me was that for all these people there was only one bathroom, and one place to get water.  How do people live like that? 

                After talking a little while, his wife made us some dinner, and it was very good.  She cooked red beans, rice, hamburger meat, and potatoes (all mixed together).  Afterwards, I asked them if they had any Manzanilla Tea, as I like a to have some before bed.  They said no, but that we could buy some up the street.  So, we walked up the street and I bought some.  They didn't sell it in packets like in the states.  You had to buy the plant itself after it had been dried out.  So, I bought about two handfuls of the dried "Chamomile."  It smelled wonderful!  We also bought some honey as well. 

After sipping our tea, we began our Bible study.  We read through the whole book of Galatians, and I stopped often and commented on different verses.  They enjoyed the study, and I was thankful to be able to teach them.

Then we decided to turn in for the night.  They had their queen size bed to sleep on, so there they were Nelson, his wife, and his little 3 year old girl all together in their bed, and they put me on a little cot on the other side of the room (about 4 or 5 feet away).  And, we turned in.  Across the corridor, I could hear people singing and laughing, and I thought to myself, "How do they live like this?"  But, before I knew it I was fast asleep!

                All in all it was a fascinating experience.  I can't say that I'd like to live like that every day of my life.  But, I actually enjoyed seeing how they live, and spending time with them.  We take so much for granted in the United States.  If only people there could see how people here live, they'd think twice before they started complaining about the "little things" they have to go through.

January 29^th 2002 Tuesday                Still in Tegucigalpa

                I woke up at around 6 o'clock this morning and went to use the "public" bathroom.  (There was only one for all of the people that live in that alley).  I had to hold my nose the whole time to keep from gagging as the smell was so awful.  And, as I was going, I saw a huge rat poke his head out of the corner and look at me.  Then he turned around and went back to where ever he came from.  I could have sworn he smiled at me!

                After a cup of coffee, I took Nelson to work at his gas station and dropped him off.  From there I went to have my car looked at.  I found out that the only problem was that the muffler had a big hole in it.  This made the car sound very noisy.  I thought something was wrong with the engine as well, as the other day it didn't have much power in climbing hills.  But, the people at the Chevy dealership drove it, and said everything was fine.  Maybe I just got a bad tank of Gasoline.

                It took several hours to install a new muffler and a new tail pipe (as they both had huge cracks in them), but after it was done, the car sounded great.  From there I ran a few more errands before running to "Pricesmart" to buy some groceries for the coming month.  I've tried to limit my grocery shopping to once a month, or once every two months if I can.  This saves me from having to run to Tegucigalpa too often.

                Also, Nelson told me that he plans on going to Olancho the 15 of February for a week, and he asked me to go with him, and meet his family and preach to them. He has quite a burden for them, and wants to see them saved.  And, he's even made copies of some of the tracts and things that I've given him in order to give to his family when he gets there.  So, the plan is that I'll come back to Tegucigalpa on the 14 of February, and then Nelson and his family will ride with me to Olancho where I'll get to meet his parents and preach to them.  I pray they'll get saved.  Also, while we are there, we are going to hunt some iguanas and do some fishing.  That will be a real blessing.

January 30^th 2002 Wednesday                Housework, Reading, Planting Seeds, and Killing Little Critters

                I learned how much I need a wife today.  The Bible says that it's not good for a man to be alone and that he should have a helper, and I'm starting to see why.  Most of my day was spent washing clothes, fixing food, cleaning house, and doing correspondence.  How much more I could have done today if I didn't have to do all the house work as well.  I wanted to go downtown today and pass out tracts and preach on the street, but I have to put that off until tomorrow.  I could do so much more with a good, godly, meek, Bible believing wife.  But, that's God's business, and if he wants me to clean house by myself, I guess I'll add housecleaner to my resume.

                After my chores, I wrote a few letters to send out to some folks that have written me here.  I had hoped to send them off today, but time got away from me.  Plus I needed to finish working in the garden.  In the afternoon, Castillo and I did just that, and began planting all the vegetables in the garden.  It took us several hours to do so, and after we finished, God sent a nice little rain to water them. 

                In the evening, I spent reading a book by a man named Eugene Nida.  He was part of the 1960 Spanish Bible project, and is nothing more than a Bible denying scholar who thinks that he is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice.  From reading his book, I learned a lot about the man and what he believed.  He is the one who propagated the heresy of "Dynamic Equivalence."  In other words, according to him, what a word says isn't what the writer or speaker means.  What it means is determined by something else (usually whatever Mr. Nida wants it to say).  From reading his book, I can see how he influenced those who worked on the 1960 Spanish bible translation.  And, I can now see why it turned out as corrupt as it did. 

                While reading his book in front of the fireplace, I received an extra special surprise as I saw out of the corner of my eye a scorpion crawling across the floor.  It was about 3 inches long, and as ugly as sin.  So, I grabbed my house slipper and beat it's brains out.  Then I threw it on the fire in the fireplace.  That's the third one I've seen since I've been here, and it wouldn't hurt my feeling a bit if I didn't see any more.

January 31^st 2002 Thursday                Running Errands, The Bible Issue, and Getting out Some Tracts

                This was the last day that I had to use my debit check card as it runs out tomorrow.  So, I had to drive an hour away to Siguetepeque in order to use it to take some money out of the bank in order to be able to make it this next month.  Funds are getting quite low, but I'm enjoying living by faith.  I know my God will provide.

                Also today, I ran a few errands here in La Esperanza.  I visited Pastor Ramón Galeano here as well, and talked to him for a while.  He read the book I gave him about the Spanish Bible issue, and he asked me for a copy of the 1909 Spanish Bible so he can compare the two.  He also had a video that was put out by a man named Bruce Martin about the History of the Spanish Bible.  We watched it and it was very good.  The speaker spoke in Spanish, and the video itself was a documentary of Cassiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera (the two men most responsible for translating and revising the Spanish Bible). Not only did it give the history, but it showed some of the places in Europe, in which they lived, pastored,  and preached.  It was very interesting indeed.

                In the evening, I went downtown here in La Esperanza to the park to pass out tracts and preach on the street.  Well, there were not very many people, so I walked all around the park and distributed out about 50 tracts.  I'm going to try to find a better day when there are more people, and then streetpreach.  I don't know how things will continue to go in Colomoncagua, but if things don't work out there, maybe I can use Saturdays as a time to preach on the street here in La Esperanza.

February 1^st 2002 Friday                          Visitation

                I did some visiting today here in the neighborhood where I live, and was able to lead a 15 year old boy from the city of Marcala to the Lord named Israel.  It went like this.  I took him through the plan of salvation not once, not twice, but three times, using different verses every time.  Then I asked him if he wanted to get saved.  He laughed and said, "Well, I guess so."   Right then and there some of your super "soulwinners" would have told him to bow his head and close his eyes and pray after me.  I don't do it that way.  I said, "Look, it's not a game.  It's real and if you don't accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour, you'll die and go to Hell.  Now, it's not an "I guess so" it's a simple yes or no.  Either you want him as your Saviour, or you don't!  Now which is it?"  Well, that made him quit laughing and he looked down on the ground and didn't say much.  Then I took him through it again.  I wanted it to be him that wanted to get saved, and not just me that wanted him to.  So, many of our "Fundamental, Independent, Bible Believing" brethren have it backwards.  They want them to get saved more the person himself wants to get saved, and therefore pressure them to say a little prayer.  Usually this prayer is said by the person just to get the person witnessing to them off their backs.  So, I don't try to pressure them.  I just try my best to preach to them, and show them that they need to be saved.  Then, I wait for them to want it.

                Well, to make a long story short, I preached some more to him, and then there was a long pause.  He looked at the ground and I looked at him.  Finally he looked up and said, "I don't want to go to Hell!"  Then he trusted Christ Jesus and his precious blood to save his soul.  When we were through, he almost started crying and I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was fighting back tears.

                So praise God, another one joins the fold, and the angels in heaven are rejoicing.  And, even though I'm glad that he got "borned again" and is about to embark on a new life in Christ, I felt a little sad as well, as I have no way to follow up on the boy as he lives in Marcala.  I did give him a Bible though, and pray that he'll read it.  He said he would visit me the next time he's in town.  I hope he does, as I sure would like to teach him the Bible.

                In the afternoon, I had to quit visiting because it got so windy, that the dust would blow into my eyes and I couldn't see.  Plus, the temperature dropped, and it became quite chili.  I felt like I was going to freeze to death.  So, I went home and spent some time studying, and working a little bit more on this old house.

                At around 4:00 P.M., an interesting thing happened.  Three boys showed up at my house and said, "When do services start?"  I said, "What?"  They said, "When does your church have services?"  I said, I haven't started one yet, but if God allows I would gladly do so.  They said okay and then went home.  After they left, I could have kicked myself!  I should have said, "At 6:00 P.M.!"  Then, we could have had services, and I could have preached to them.  Sometimes you don't think of the good stuff until afterwards.  So maybe God is using this to tell me it's time to start a church here.  I've been reading through the book of Acts, and found that in Acts 16, Paul went to Macedonia because of the vision he had in the evening of those that called him to come over.  But, when he went there, he only had a handful of converts as most of the people there rejected the gospel.  Then Paul ended up going somewhere else.  I can't help but wonder if this applies to my situation as well.

February 2^nd 2002  Saturday                Back to Colo

                Visiting Colomoncagua went well today.  I went to over 100 houses and passed out tracts to each house.  The sun was very hot there though, and by 2:00 P.M. I was spent.  So, I went to the little room that I rent there and took a nap.  At 4:00 P.M. I visited a few more houses and then went to Raphael's house to study the Bible with him.  We studied "The 7 Resurrections" in the Bible, and had a great time.

                At about 5:30 P.M., I ate dinner at "Elena's comedor" and met some people there to whom I had given a Bible a couple of months back.  They remembered me and said they were still reading it.

                At 7:00 P.M., I went to Hugo's house to visit him.  He didn't seen too interested in studying the Bible, so I witnessed to his brother whose name is something like "Arbana" (I don't remember it exactly).  He was very interested and made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as his Saviour!  So, that was blessing!  Plus I gave him a Bible as well.  Afterwards, I talked with his family for a while and we laughed and joked about many things.

                I also had the privilege of giving a Bible to one Francis Javier who told me that he was the Mayor of the town of Magdelena (about two hours away).  He invited me to visit his city sometime.  Hopefully I can.

February 3^rd 2002 Sunday                Doing as Much Damage for the Cause of Christ as I Possibly Can

                Today was a real blast.  I started my day by reading the last 10 chapters of the book of Acts.  When I finished reading the book, I started thinking about how much trouble old Paul caused everywhere he went.  He definitely would not have "fit in" in this day and age.  So many would have questioned his salvation as he was in and out of prisons, starting riots in cities, and causing dissension among the Jews.  Most Pastors for sure wouldn't have let him preach in their church.  But as I read about what he did, I came to the conclusion that a real missionary is someone who ought to cause problems. He ought to be a troublemaker.  Not on purpose mind you, but if he is really doing what he's supposed to be doing (preaching, witnessing, visitation, etc), people are not going to like him too much.  And, the religious crowd (Pharisees) will hate him just as much as the lost world.  So, with this in mind, I decided I'd try and cause as much trouble as I could today by doing as much as I could for my Saviour Jesus Christ.

                I began my day by passing out over 400 "Are Roman Catholics Christians?" tracts in Spanish to the people in Colomoncagua.  I'm sure that will cause many a person to get a bit angry after they read them, and find out what it says.  Afterwards, I preached to them for about 20 minutes using many different verses, and stressing their need to trust Jesus as their Saviour. 

From Colomoncagua, I drove back to La Esperanza where I passed out about 100 tracts in the central park.  Then I stood up on a little wall that runs around the park, and preached to the people standing in front of the Catholic church.  God had it timed just right, as during the middle of preaching, the church let out.  Hundreds of people came pouring out of the doors, and I preached my guts out to them.   Many looked at me in wonder and amazement.  Others looked at me with resentment and hatred.  Still others looked at me with curiosity wondering who this fool was yelling at them.  After everyone came out, the priest came out as well.  He didn't look at me, but I could tell he was doing his best to try to ignore me.  So, I preached even louder and longer about how it was the "religious priests" that killed Jesus Christ.  And, religion is against the cross, as it is nothing but a false system set up to deceive the people.

Well, after a bit, everyone dispersed (rather quickly it seemed) and I was left almost alone.   I came down and passed out a few more tracts to several more people, then I walked over to a man on a bicycle who was staring at me and listening the whole time.  We talked for a while, and he said he was saved.  He also said what I preached was the truth, and he appreciated me saying it. 

                So, that was my day.  What a blessing it was to me.  Some will probably label me as a "fanatic" because of this, but in comparison to Paul, I am not even close.  I haven't caused a whole town to get in an uproar yet and start beating me.  Nor have I been to jail for the cause of Christ.  And, I've yet to be stoned for preaching the gospel.  So, those that would call me a fanatic, are probably those same Pharisees that rejected the word of God in Paul's day. They just don't want to suffer reproach for the name of Christ, nor do they want people to look down on them.  They love the praise of men, rather than the love God.  And God help me, I don't want to be that way.  Man has nothing to offer me.  Only the favor of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is what I want to win.  Nothing else matters.

February 4^th 2002 Monday                Curtains, Letters, and Errands

                Today I spent writing letters until around 9 or 10 in the morning.  Then I went downtown and mailed them off.  I also checked my email (something I only get to do about once a week).  Then, I went and bought some material to make curtains with to put up in my room.  The only problem was that I don't sew, so I had to find someone to do that for me as well.  It worked out good though as when I went to Hugo's house to pick up the desk I asked him to make for me, I showed the material to his wife, and she said she would gladly doing all the sewing.  It would only cost me about 10 American dollars.  It sounded like a good deal to me as one window is over 7 feet long, and the other around 5 feet.  So I left the material with her, and I'm anxious to see how it turns out.

                After returning home, I spent the rest of the day doing nothing but reading.  I read until about ten o'clock in the evening.  It's so good not to have a television, and to be able to just sit down and read with no distractions! 

February 5^th 2002 Tuesday                Going to San Pedro Sula   

                I drove to San Pedro Sula this morning to get my car fixed.  Something was wrong with the transmission.  The motor sounded great, but when you put it in gear, it sounded awful.  Sure enough, it turned out to be the "Converter" (or at least that's what they called it), whatever that is.  And, they said they couldn't fix it in less than a day.  Thus, I had to spend the night in a hotel in San Pedro and wait for them to call me and tell me what was wrong with it.

February 6^th 2002 Wednesday                Stuck in San Pedro Sula

                I called the GM dealership this morning and they said that it would take much longer than they had thought to fix my truck as it is a 4x4.  They said that it wouldn't be done today at all but possibly tomorrow it would be finished.  So all I can do is wait.

                I walked downtown today and handed out some tracts as well as did a little shopping.  I found a bookstore and bought a few books in Spanish that I plan on reading.  Then I walked down to the central park.  It was beautiful as Carlos Roberto Flores (the last president) spent millions of dollars to "renovate" all the parks in every city of Honduras.  This just happens to be convenient for the Catholic Church as every park in every city of Honduras has a Catholic Church in front of it.

                I walked into the Catholic church as well.  How sad it was to see so many people trusting in Religion rather than Salvation; in a Religious system rather than a Real Saviour.  Plus, it made me mad as I looked around and saw a shrine to Mary.  It said "Sinless mother of God."  What a wicked lie!  Then, I looked above me, and on the four walls were James, Mark, Luke, and Matthew all with a book in their hand.  My first thought was "But where was Paul?"  Roman Catholics always "conveniently" forget him it seems. 

                In the afternoon, I went back to the hotel and did some work on my computer and rested.  I sure hope that

tomorrow my car will be fixed and I'll be able to go home.  But if not, I guess I'll make the most of it.

February 7^th 2002 Thursday                Still in San Pedro Sula

                I went to the GM dealership today, and was shown what was wrong with my car.  It seems that many bushings had broken inside the Transmission.  It still worked, but if I had continued driving it, it would have eventually messed up the entire transmission.  So praise God, I was able to get here in order to get it fixed.  It's just the grace of God that it didn't break down on the way here!

                They informed me that it would take all day tomorrow to put the transmission back together.  But, hopefully they said that they would be able to finish it by about three or four in the afternoon.  I hope so. I sure don't want to stay here another day.

February 8^th 2002 Friday                          Yet another Night in San Pedro Sula   

                I had to spend another night in San Pedro again.  They fixed everything they said they would on my car, but when they test drove it, they found that the engine mount supports were loose and that caused the engine to rise up when you push the gas, and then slam back down after you take off.  It was not a good thing!  And they recommended fixing it before driving on the mountainous roads that I tread so often.  So, I decided to have it fixed as well.  They said that maybe it will be done tomorrow by twelve in the afternoon.  We'll see.

This should be wearing me out, and making me depressed, angry, and discouraged.  But I find myself anything but. I guess I'm beginning to look at things the way my Lord and Saviour did.  Instead of looking at the problem itself, I find myself looking on the other side of the suffering to the blessing.  And, as I think about this situation, I am thinking ahead to how nice it will be to have my car finally fixed and in good running condition.  That will make it all worthwhile!

While I was waiting for the car, I went to a department store here today and bought a tape player/ recorder/ radio/ CD combination in order to copy tapes of Preaching and Singing for other people.  While I was there, the Lord gave me some instruction and a rather interesting illustration.   It went like this.

I looked at all the "new" radios with all the "fancy" extras and the "special" paint jobs.  They were beautiful, but they were expensive.  And, there were many different kinds to choose from.  But all I wanted was a simple one that would get the job done.  So I took some time and looked at each one.  They were all way too expensive, and had too many options.  All I wanted was one that would serve my needs, and wouldn't cost too much.

Finally, back in the corner, I found one that looked very old and like it'd been used.  It was missing the box, and had several small scratches in it.  Also it had been marked down.  Yet, it had everything I was looking for.  So I asked the clerk to hook it up, and show me that it worked.  Sure enough it did!  The only problem was that it was a little dirty, and had sticky stuff on it from the various stickers pasted and removed from it.  It also lacked the battery cover on the back, plus the remote control for it didn't function.  And, even though the left speaker did work, it couldn't be connected to stay on the side like the right speaker. 

Well what did I do?  I asked them if they would give me a discount on it, as no one else would want to buy it in that condition.  They were asking 1800 lempiras and said that they had just marked it down.  I offered them 1500 and no more.  They said they'd have to ask their boss.  When he came out, an amazing thing happened.  He told me he'd sell it to me for 1300!  What a thing!  So, I bought it.  And as I walked away, I thought about my new little radio.  It wasn't as "sharp," or "pretty" as the other ones.  It wasn't perfect, and didn't look as fancy as its fellow devices.  But it worked!  And, even though no one else might have wanted it, I did and could find some value in it!

What a spiritual lesson I perceived from this.  Thank God that my Saviour Jesus Christ doesn't look at the outside, but on the inside!  To him, nothing is without value!  And he didn't ask to give less for me when he died on the cross, he gave his all for me!  Not only that, now that I'm saved, I can work for him.  And, I don't have to be "good looking" to please him; all I need is to do what he made me to do!  What a blessing!

During the day I also began to look at the people here in Honduras and think about how they look at others.  I thought about the four different looks I've seen while being here.  First there is the look of Lust.  I've seen so many guys here about break their necks looking at the girls as they walk by.  You can see in their eyes, by the way they are looking, that their intentions are not "honorable."  How evil is this look of concupiscence.

 Then there is the look of Filthy Lucre.  So many here look at others with this look of wantonness.  All they want is money.  You see it in those that beg on the street corner.  You see it in the bus drivers as they drive down the road and scan the shoulder for anyone that is wanting to get on the bus.  The more passenger's the more $!  You see it in the street vendors who pitch their goods with their fast talk and betty eyes.  All they want is money.  To them, a person is nothing but a bank from which you can get a withdrawal.

Then there is the look of love.  I haven't see it too much here, but that's how I look at them.  At least I try to.  I want so much to help these people, and see them saved.  But, oh how hard that is.  All you can do is preach to them, and when you do, all you get in return is the look of the Lost.  May more Honduran people get saved, and change their gaze to the look of Love for Christ and for the souls of others!

February 9^th 2002 Saturday                The Trip Home                     

                Finally they finished with my car!  After 4 days of waiting, I have a car that is as good as new!  It runs great, and is very quiet now.  I can hardly tell when it's running.  So, thank God it was worth the wait!   

                During my day today, I received two complements about how I speak Spanish.  As I went to pick up my car from the Chevy dealership, one of the saleswomen asked me where in Honduras I was from.  I said, "What?"   She asked me what part of Honduras I came from, and I had to tell her that I was from the U.S.  She couldn't believe it.  She said she thought I was a Honduran because of my accent.  I guess I'm learning to speak the same way they do. 

                Then, on the trip back to La Esperanza I stopped at a little tourist attraction called the "Caves of Taulabe" to take a tour.  It was a very small cave, but went back a long ways (over 8 km), and my guide took me in as far as I could go.  The cave was discovered in 1969 he told me, and was uncovered when they were using dynamite to blast the mountains out of the way to run the highway through there.  As I left, my guide told me that I "spoke excellent Spanish."  If only he knew the truth!  I may have the pronunciation down, but I lack a lot when it comes to vocabulary.

                I've learned that most people in Honduras are not very well educated, and because of this, they don't use too many big words.  I guess the average vocabulary of the typical Honduran is about 1000 words (at the most) and they probably only use 500 of those in daily speaking.  So, I guess I've learned enough to communicate with them, and be able to understand them.  Once in a great while there are words that they will say, that I don't understand, but when I ask what it means, they are very good to tell me.

                However, when I begin reading books, I see that it is an entirely different ballgame.  There are so many new words I've never seen before as I read Spanish literature.  They say that there are over 6 million words in the Spanish language, and I'm starting to believe it.  Every time I pick up a book in Spanish, I have to have my dictionary handy to figure out what the word means.  And, there are many words I don't know.  On each page, I'd say there are an average 5 to 10 words that I have to look up.  But, at least I'm trying to learn them. 

                Then there are the words that they make up that are not in the dictionary.  I have quite a few words that I can't find in any dictionary.  So, all I can do is try to find a root word (if there is one) and the meaning of it, then try to get an idea from the context what is meant.

I've learned that Spanish is a complex language and that you can express yourself in more ways than one by using it.  English is such a simple language, and you can say things easily and to the point with out beating around the bush.  (I like that!)  But in Spanish, you can say things in so many different ways, using so many different words.  It's definetly more complex. 

After arriving home, I tackled Homer's "Oddessy" in Spanish before going to bed.  All I made it through was the introduction, and I spent more time looking up unfamiliar words than I did actually reading the intro.  It's a lot of work, but the more I read in Spanish, the more I can understand these people, and communicate with them.

February 10^th 2002 Sunday                Cleaning, Mowing, and Enjoying My Plants

                Today was spent washing clothes and mowing the yard.  It was a pretty awful day, as since I didn't get to go to Colomoncagua this weekend, I wanted to visit a church here.  Well, that didn't happen as the electricity went out in the morning, and my alarm didn't go off. When I finally did wake up it was after 10:00 A.M.  I couldn't believe I slept in that late!  So, I ate breakfast and then spent sometime outdoors doing odds and end things that needed to be done.

                While working outside, I found that my garden was starting to spring up.  I was so pleased to find that cauliflower, lettuce, squash and cucumbers were already about ½ inch high.  And, I was very surprised to find that the green beans were almost 2 inches high!  Plants can grow fast in 5 days it seems.  Also, I was so happy to find that my strawberry plants have several nice plump juicy little green strawberries on them.  Just a matter of time, and I'll be eating them! 

                The Lemon tree is full of yellow lemons as well, and as soon as I can, I plan to make some lemonade.  Also, the blackberry bushes have started bearing, and I found a couple of juicy black ones today.  That was an added bonus.

                All in all, I'm really enjoying living here.  I'm enjoying the "fruits" of the labor of another, as Harold Priday (the owner of the house) is the one who planted the lemons, and strawberries, and blackberries years ago.  And, how wonderful it is to be able to harvest from what he has done.  He also planted Pear, Mango, and Guayaba trees here as well.  And, I hope that they will produce this year as I trimmed them back pretty good to help them grow.  We'll see. 

                I see so many spiritual lessons here when I work with plants.  But ultimately I find my gaze always falling upon my God and Saviour as he is the one that not only made all of this, but allows it to grow.  It is true what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6:

I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

In my case, Harold Priday may have planted, and I may be watering, but it is God who is giving the increase.  To him be the glory!

February 11^th 2002  Monday                Planting Flowers, Fixing House, and Visiting With Thomas

                I went to town today and bought a few things, as well as checked my email and went to the Post Office.  After arriving home, I spent the rest of the day working outside.  Castillo and I fixed the side of the house that was missing the boards under the overhang.  We replaced them all, but with much difficulty as the boards were quite thin, and trying to get a screw in them was not easy to say the least.  After this we planted some flower seeds (specifically Baby's Breath, Daisy, and Larkspur).  I hope they grow well.

                In the afternoon (around 4:30 P.M.) Thomas Sweeney showed up here and we "shot the breeze" for a while.  I haven't seen him in close to two weeks as he is very busy traveling to different villages doing "Brigades" both Medical and Evangelical.  He feels like his calling is to help other missionaries and local pastors and he plans these trips with them to help them in spreading the gospel.  He said that he wants to help me start a church here in this neighborhood as well.  He offered in helping me do weekly visitation here, and we talked about how we could do that, and when we could set up a schedule to visit.  Hopefully we can begin soon. 

February 12^th 2002  Tuesday                To Santa Rosa de Copan, Hotbed of Mayan Civilization

                Leaving early this morning, I drove to missionary Ronnie Doss' to pick up some Bibles.  I reached his home and orphanage at Santa Rosa de Copan at around noon (after my close to five hour journey).  Upon my arrival,  I was invited into his home for lunch, and I feasted on some good home-cooked "Southern style" cooking. 

After talking with Bro. Doss for some time, I was told that the Bibles I went there to pick up had not come yet, but were expected later that afternoon to be on the container that had been shipped down from the states.  So, rather than sit around and wait, I drove the hour and a half up the road to see the ancient Mayan Indian Ruins of Copan that were close by. 

I actually saw them in 2000 when I came here, but I wasn't able to see the museum that was close by.  And, this trip I was able to do just that.  It was very interesting, and the exhibits I saw keep leading my thoughts back to the Bible.  As I looked at all the relics and ancient statutes, I saw many things that convinced me even the more that Satan was the mastermind behind their paganistic religious rituals.  Over and over I could see the star of Remphan, and other cultic symbols.  Plus, they had many frog statutes (types of unclean spirits in Rev. 16:13), many snakes (A type of Satan.  Rev. 20:2), a dragon that flies in the sky (Rev. 12:7-9), and even a 10 headed creature that was part bird, part lion, and part something else.  Not only that, you could see by their ritualistic human sacrifices, sun worship (instead of son worship), and other pagan practices that they were consumed with Satanism, the occult, and witchcraft.

After leaving the museum, I thought a lot about the Mayans, and the Spanish that conquered and eventually destroyed them.  From my standpoint, all that happened was that one paganistic religion (Mayan) was conquered by another (Roman Catholicism).  And, the people faired no better than they did before.  If they truth be known, they turned out even worse.  Please God, help me to reach these pagans!

February 13^th 2002  Wednesday                Finally Getting the Bibles and Heading Back Home

                Today I left Copan bright and early to go to Bro. Doss' orphanage.  Sure enough the Bibles had come, and I was able to take them with me.  I was a little discouraged though, as one box had been opened and three Bibles were missing.  But, I didn't say anything.  Maybe whoever took them, needed them more than I did.  But, how sad that they would steal them, rather than ask for them.

As I drove back home, I began thinking more about the Mayan Indian people, and the Spaniards and how I could reach the Hondurans with the light of the glorious gospel.  I've been reading a book by the apostate Eugene Nida (who worked on the translating committee of the 1960 Spanish Bible) called "Message and Mission."  In it, he discusses the "dynamic equivalence theory," which states that the words themselves don't carry the meaning, the meaning is in "the message."  Well, regardless of what he thinks, God said to hold fast to His words (2 Tim. 1:13), for they will never pass away (Matt. 24:35), and it's God's words that will judge a man in the last day (John 12:48).  It's not the message, it's God's w-o-r-d-s!!!

Anyway,  Mr. "Egghead" Nida did say one thing that made sense.  He said that people who have lived in one area for a long period of time without any outside influence are harder to be won to the gospel as tradition has a very strong influence on them.  That made sense.  And, what Mr. Nida didn't know was that is exactly what the Bible says in Mark 7:13.  Jesus said that "tradition" makes the word of God of none effect.  Too bad that Nida didn't know where the scripture was.  But, even if he did, he probably would not have quoted the words, but only the message.

Pondering these things in my heart, I came to the conclusion that the reason the Spaniards did so well here in Honduras in spreading Catholicism, is because they didn't preach the gospel.  With the gospel comes a new life, and a new way of living.  But, the Spanish didn't preach for the Mayans to "repent" and turn from their idols and wicked ways to the living God (Ezek. 14:6, Acts 17:30, 1 Thes. 1:9).  Instead, they just replaced the idols that the Mayans used, with "Catholic" idols with Catholic names.  Thus, the Mayans never really changed religions, they just changed names.

But, Nida did continue on in his book by saying something profound.  He said that it is easier to win people to the gospel in an area where new people are always coming in, and have not let tradition creep into their realm.

I heard and took heed to this, and can attest to it, as I've seen this to be true here.  In Colomoncagua, tradition is very strong.  I tried to start a work there, and yeah would like to see one still.  But, the people were very cold, as they are steeped very highly in their "religion," and religious beliefs.  Yet, here in my neighborhood where I live, there are many new houses being built, and many people that haven't lived here more than 8 or 9 years.  I'm beginning to see as well how much easier it is to reach them, as they are more apt to listen. 

                So, as God continues to allow me the opportunity, I will continue to preach to my neighbors here, and hopefully God will send his angels to keep the evil demon of "tradition" and his twin brother "religion" at bay.  For as John Bunyan put it in his work "Pilgrim's Progress," these two giants, whom he calls Pagan and Pope, have devoured many a poor soul, and damned millions to the lake of fire.  May these Giants be seen for what they really are, demonic legions from the underworld, sent by Satan himself to deceive the masses, and keep them in darkness.

February 14^th 2002  Thursday                The Trip To Tegus and One Soul Won!

                Today was the big day.  I left for Tegucigalpa to run a few errands and then to Nelson's house to spend the night, as tomorrow we are going to Olancho, which is said to be the most dangerous part of Honduras.

                I thank God for Nelson Corrales!  Since winning him to the Lord in November, he has been witnessing to everyone in his path!  And, he has been bringing people to his house when I come there for me to witness to.  Today was no exception.  He invited two of his friends to come by tonight (Walter and Carlos) and I was able to preach to them. Walter claimed to be saved already, but Carlos said he wasn't, so for the next hour or more I witnessed to Carlos Alvarado.  After much conversation, and much hesitation, he finally got saved!  It was hard for him though, as he was hung up on works, and like Nelson before he got saved, thought you had to go to church to get saved.  But with enough studying of the scriptures, he finally saw the light!

                During witnessing to him, I jokingly pulled my gun on him (unloaded of course) and said, "What if I pulled the trigger right now?  Where would you go?"  "To Hell!" he replied.  So, I put it away and finished witnessing to him.  Old Nelson ate this up.  He was laughing (so was Walter), and he enjoyed listening.  Plus, he looked up every verse as well as he loves studying the Bible.

                In the evening, I spent the night at Nelson's again, something I hate to do as the place is so dirty, but he wanted me too, and in a weird sort of a way, I actually enjoy it.  However, sleep was something I didn't get too much of, as the sound of rats running around kept me awake all night.  Nelson bought several boxes of powdered milk for his daughter today, and when he came home he put them on the shelf.  And all night long, all I could hear was those rats eating through the cardboard box.  In the morning, I noticed that they had eaten all of the powdered milk (which was expensive by the way).  Yet, it didn't seem to bother Nelson or Zenia his "women." 

February 15^th 2002 Friday                The Trip to Olancho, Juticalpa, and Guanko.

                We left Tegus bright and early this morning to go to Olancho.  Nelson, Zenia, their child, and I are going to spend a week with his family there.  I'm looking forward to this as they say that this is the most dangerous part of Honduras. They say that everyone carries a pistol in that place.  I can't wait to go there!

                After driving several hours, we arrived in a big city named Juticalpa.  There we stopped and had lunch.  After which, we went to the huge central park area and passed out over 600 tracts.  Plus, I preached on the street for over 20 minutes.  Nelson loved it! 

                From there, we drove to where his mother lives, or at least we tried to.  We ended up getting lost and came to a town 50 km out of our way.  After asking for directions, we got our bearings and were back on track.  We even picked up an army guy going our way, and gave him a ride.  He helped us to find the road we needed to go down.

                At around two o'clock in the afternoon, we finally arrived in the little community of Guanko, where most of Nelson's family lives.

                What we found was probably the poorest village I've seen yet.  But to me, this is real Honduras.  The houses were mud shacks (some were adobe), and no one had electricity in their house.  Cars were rarely seen, and when one came down the road, every head turned in the village.  There was a big river that ran by the pueblo (little town), and many children were continually bathing in it.  I thought about how the Indians used to live in the U.S. years ago and that's what these people, and this place, reminded me of.  (They say there are two types of Indians in this area: Pech and Payan).

                In the afternoon, I went swimming with some of the Natives in the river.  There is no mixed bathing (they have more sense than most Americans do).  The women bathed up the river, and the men down the river.  But, the little kids bathed naked.  I was the only one there swimming with my knees covered and wearing a T-shirt.  I must have looked as odd to them as they were to me.

February 16^th 2002 Saturday                Preaching in "Dangerous" Olancho

                I was awakened this morning by a chicken that ran across my bed.  I slept in Nelson's "adopted father's" house (Nelson's father died when he was a boy), and not only was if full of kids, but full of animals as well.  Being tired as I could be, and not wanting to wake up, I decided to get up anyway as the sound of chickens and their little chicks running around the bed would not permit me any further sleep.

                After breakfast (red beans and rice), Nelson, four other people, and myself went fishing in the river.  Here they use spear guns, and a cast net to catch fish.  And, we caught a mess of them (at least 20 or 30).

                We also had to do some work on my car, as the back left brake was making funny noises.  When we took the tire off, we found that a piece had broken off.  So with a file, we fixed it the best we could and put it back together.  It seems to work fine now.  I pray it doesn't break again.

                At seven in the evening, we had services here and I preached.  We invited people to come, and I was surprised to see over 60 people show up (in a village of several hundred).  However, there is a church here in the village already, and of course it is Pentecostal.  Some of the people from that church came to hear me preach, and when they sang songs, they clapped and danced.  Nelson didn't clap at all (nor did I).  He told me that this was "carnal" and they shouldn't do that.  (How much discernment he has!)  I preached a message on "the Blood of Jesus Christ," and it went well.

                Before preaching, I said, "Many people here in Olancho carry guns.  I too have one!"  Then I pulled out my little .22 pistol that I bought to hunt Iguanas with.  I said, "I only use this pistol for three things.  First, to hunt Iguanas.  Secondly, on little children that speak while I'm preaching.  And, third on those who don't accept Jesus Christ as their Personal Saviour!  It got very quiet.  I told them I was only joking, and they loosened up a bit.  Then I moved on. 

Later, Nelson told me that the people here aren't used to preachers carrying guns.  But, they loved the preaching and hearing the words of God.  After it was over, they didn't want to leave, and they hung around for a while.  And, old Nelson ran to each one of them and gave them tracts.

February 17^th 2002 Sunday                Trip to Carbunal and a Visit to the Church in Guanko

                Today we went to the village of Carbunal, just a hop skip and a jump away on the other side of the mountain.  There we passed out over 100 tracts and met the 3 Christian people in the whole village.  There are only three, and everyone else is lost.  Plus, there is no church in the town (only a Catholic one).  The Christians asked us to have services there on Tuesday at four in the afternoon.  So we will return there to do just that.  They will invite the village people, and hopefully they will get saved.      

                Nelson is coming along well and really is growing in the Lord.  Today he was passing out tracts like a mad man!  Before he'd shake hands with anyone, he'd put a tract in their hand.  When we'd drive down the road, he'd tell me to stop so he could give those walking a tract.  He has a real burden for the people it seems.

                Also he said that sometimes he feels "embarrassed" passing out tracts, but when he lived here before, he wasn't ashamed to walk around drunk.  Thinking about that made him want to pass out more tracts he said.

                We also talked today about starting churches.  He wants a church started here.  He is that concerned for the people.  But, he doesn't understand yet about how to start one.  He said, "Let's just get a man from here and make him pastor!"  I told him it takes time to train a man to be a pastor.  You can't just put in a novice. 

                I told him that I'd like to train him, and teach him the Bible, and he said he'd like that.  "Maybe some day I'll be a Pastor," he said.  I hope so.

I also heard him say today in talking to someone else that I was his pastor.  That threw me for a loop.  I guess he really does trust me, and want to learn more Bible.  I pray that I can teach him.

                In the evening, we visited the "Interdenominational" church here.  The Pastor is named Javier, and yesterday he told us that we could use his church to hold services.  However, when the time came, he chickened out and said it would be better to meet at someone else's house (so we did), that of Lydia Cuba.  Services at his church were okay, but the singing lasted longer than the preaching.  And, it seemed that women controlled the church as the women did most of the singing and songleading.

                After church, Nelson and I went down to the river.  There we had a Bible study, and I taught him about "Pentecostals" and warned him about their doctrines.  "They are carnal!" I told him, and he understood it. 

Then we talked about "Baptism" and how it's a testimony of salvation.  It's a figure, and it is to show not only the world, but also other believers in Christ that you have already accepted Christ Jesus as your Saviour.  I told him it'd be good for him to be baptized in water, and now was especially a great time as here it would be a testimony to his family.  But, I didn't want to force him.  Hopefully, he'll want to himself.    

Afterwards, I read John 17 to him, and taught him how to pray.  Then we had prayer and went back to the house to sleep after a very long day.

Nelson and his wife and child are sleeping at this mother's house (or rather I should say "shack"), while I'm staying at Nelson's adopted father's house named Adalberto.

February 18^th 2002 Monday                Fear in Guanko and a Visit to Jimasque

                I learned today that some of the people here in Guanko are afraid of me.  The Pentecostal preacher said that it's not good for a preacher to carry a gun.  And, because I have a pistol, they look down on me.  They call me "a bad pastor."  Yet the Pentecostal preacher here gets drunk from time to time, and it is a well know fact that he is always looking at the woman here.  (Yesterday I saw him down by the river watching the women bathe).  But, those who follow him think he's a "good Pastor."  Woe unto them that call good evil and evil good!

                But, I made up my mind when I came here, that I'd be just like they are to reach them.  And, just about every man I've seen here carries a pistol.  So, a pistol I have.

                They say that to carry a rifle is okay, but to carry a pistol is not because "they are only used to kill people." But, I didn't buy a pistol to kill people.  I wanted to shoot an iguana with it! 

                It all turned out for the better though, as the Charismatics are leaving me alone, and the lost people here respect me and listen to me.  They can see I'm a real man, and not a Pentecostal sissy faker.  How ironic things turned out.  People in Tegucigalpa and La Esperanza fear the people here in Olancho because they carry guns.  They told me this place is "dangerous."  Yet, when I came here, I'm not afraid in the least bit, in fact the people ended up being afraid of me.  I can't help but chuckle.

                Early in the morning today, Nelson, his brother, and I went up in the mountain to cut "leña" (firewood).  We carried it back on our shoulders for his mother, so that she could cook us breakfast.   I learned a valuable lesson while carry back this huge massive log I cut down with my machete.  If you carry it on one shoulder only, it begins hurting, but if you take over both shoulders (like a cross) the pain is less.  How much easier it is to take the yoke completely than half heartedly.

                In the afternoon, Nelson and I went to the village of Jimasque (about 2 miles away) to pass out tracts.  We also met some people that Nelson knew, and at the house of one "Juana" we were invited to have services in the evening.  At 6:00 P.M., we returned to find over 20 people there waiting to listen.  So, I started by singing hymns.  None of them knew any of them, but they listened and quickly picked them up.  Then Nelson gave his testimony, and did a wonderful job!  I never knew just how big a sinner he was, as he was into drugs, drinking, and more.

                Afterwards, I preached to the people about "Jesus Christ our Substitute."  I didn't see anyone get saved, but at least the seed was planted.  To close the service, I sang "At Calvary" in Spanish.  Then we went back to Guanko where I hit the sack exhausted from a very long week.  Tomorrow is the last day here, and I still have to preach one more time in Carbunal.  I pray we see some souls saved there.

February 19^th 2002 Tuesday                Preaching and Preaching Again

                I am having a wonderful time in this place, and I hate to have to leave.  I've never met more down to earth people in all my life.  They are honest, direct and to the point, and very nice, moral folks.  I'll miss them so.  Little five-year-old Christian who always comes and hugs me will be hard to leave.  And, who can forget little Dennis, Emanuel, Fyro, and Hubert.  How cute my little swimming buddies are.  And how much I enjoy going down to the river with them.  Then there is young 11 year old Ever.  How I'll miss him.  I felt so bad when I invited him to go to church with me in Carbunal and hear me preach, and then couldn't take him.  Nelson's adopted father (Adalberto Cubas) said, "If he goes, I'm not going!"  So, I had to do the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.  I had to tell Ever he couldn't come.  He almost started crying.  But, when I returned from preaching, he gave me a 5 pound bag of red beans to take home with me and a hug.  Oh, how can I leave here?  How can I leave these people that I love so much?

                At four in the afternoon, we traveled to the village of Carbunal de Montaña and I was surprised to find over 40 people (half of them children) there waiting to hear me preach.  Before I preached, I taught them how to sing hymns, as many of them had never heard them before.

                After preaching a simple gospel message, I asked them to raise their hands if they accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour today.  Several did, but I didn't count hands.  Who knows if they did or not.  I'm not interested in numbers.  I have a hard enough time just being faithful.  And, I tried my best to do so today.

                After going back to Guanko, I was ready to turn in, when someone asked me to preach at their house one more time before I go.  So at 8:00 P.M., we had another service.  About 40 people showed up and I preached on "Obedience."  Afterwards, an old man asked me to read Amos 8:11, which I did.  And, it is true that there is a famine in this land, not only physically (as there was a lack of rain here last year, and the people are hurting for food), but spiritually as well.  Oh how can I leave this place and these people who want to hear the truth?

February 20^th 2002 Wednesday                Leaving Olancho and Thinking About What Happened There

                All good things must come to an end.  And, I guess this was no exception.  How much I love Olancho, and the people there.  And oh how great the need in this area for good sound Bible preaching.  Even though I didn't want to leave, at least I can look back on it and know that some good came out of the trip.  We passed out almost a thousand tracts this last week, and I was able to get out over 50 whole Bibles to the people in Guanko.  What a great time I had, not only spiritually, but physically as well (with fishing, hiking, hunting, horseback riding and more). 

                If it had not been for Nelson Corrales inviting me to come here, none of this would be possible.  But, more importantly, if it had not been for Jesus Christ who saved old Nelson Corrales, I would never have been able to come to Olancho to this village and preach the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

                As I talked with the people in Guanko, and spent time with Nelson, I gradually realized what had happened.  It was a typical story.   A hometown boy becomes bored in his small town, and wants the city life.  And, this is what Nelson did almost seven years ago, as he left Guanko to go to the big city of Tegucigalpa.  There he worked as a policeman for several years, and later became a security guard.  And it was there that he met Zenia and had a child named Margorie. 

                But, it was also there that he met a "crazy missionary" and a "bad pastor" named Robert Breaker that began witnessing to him, and telling him about his need for salvation.  And, praise be to God almighty which liveth and reigneth for ever and ever, he trusted Christ Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.  Now he is born again!  His life has changed!  And, now his is trying to reach others with the same gospel message that not only changed his life, but gave him the greatest gift of all – eternal life.

                How blessed I feel to have a small part in this picture.  And, how great it is to see that God is still in the saving business.  It was good enough almost 2000 years ago to save a dirty old sinner like Paul, and it still works today! 

                And, how wonderful it is to know that Romans 8:28 is still in the book.  I went to Guanko with a pistol in my pocket and a Bible under my arm, not knowing what would befall me there.  Deep down I was hoping that maybe I'd be shot and get to go home early to that "haven of rest."  But God had other plans.  And looking back on it, all I can say is that it was the grace of God that took care of me, and watched after me.  Still I find myself wondering if  I should have carried a firearm rather than just my sword (the book).  I wonder if those "Pentecostals" which were offended would have come to listen and would have heard the truth.  Maybe I was in the wrong for having a pistol.  But, the laws of this land say that it's all right.  And, I legally obtained the gun and have the papers for it. But, as I look back, I think maybe it turned out for the better.  As not only did those carnal Charismatics leave me alone.  Those that really wanted the word came to hear it.  They weren't looking at the messenger, they were really seeking the message.  They were hungry for the word of God.  If I am never able to return to Guanko (and I hope I can), at least I know I gave them the most important thing this world has to offer – The words of a living God!

February 21^st 2002 Thursday                The Day After

                I thought about Olancho all day, and missed the place a lot.  How hungry those people were for the truth!  Returning back here to La Esperanza, I thought about how different things were.  So many here are so steeped in tradition, that they don't have a desire for God's words.  They just listen to their priest or their church, and follow them without even thinking that they could be lying to them.  And, when you give them a Bible, they don't read it.  They just put in on the shelf and worship it like an idol, but never open it to see what God has to say.  How sad.

                I did a little studying and house cleaning today as well.  While I was studying, I looked on the Honduran map, and tried to find Guanko, Carbunal, and Jimasque.  They were not even there they were so small.  That made me even more give praise to God, as I never would have made it to those places without Nelson.  It's always good to have a native with you, as they can get you into places you can't go yourself.

                After coming home last night, I set up my new bed that I bought yesterday in Tegucigalpa before leaving.  It is the "Olympia" brand, and is a nice comfortable bed.  Finally, I can rest better, and don't have to sleep on that old air mattress on top of my luggage!

                In the afternoon, I went to town and ran some errands, as well as visited Pastor Jacobo here.  He wants me to teach on the 7 Baptisms in his church as soon as I can, as they are having a baptism soon.  So, I need to study up for that.

                In the evening, I went to bed early still exhausted from my week long trip to Olancho.  It was good to be there, and I really did enjoy being in a place with no electricity or water.  I had to bathe in the river, and to brush my teeth, I had to use the little bit of Listerine that I took with me.  It might have been "the Great Tribulation" to your typical American, but I actually enjoyed it.  And, I ate and drank the same things they did.  It's a wonder I didn't get sick.  That's just another thing I can praise God for.

February 22^nd 2002  Friday                A Visit from a Native Pastor

                I spent all day working it seemed.  I sweep all the floors (something that must be done at least twice a week in this old dusty house), and then mopped them with soap, water, and Pinesol.  How nice the house smelled afterwards!

                At about eleven o'clock in the morning Pastor Ramon Galeano from the Good Shepherd Baptist Church here stopped by and visited me with this wife.  How surprised and thrilled I was to have visitors.  So often it gets kind of lonely in this old house, and it's good when someone comes by to see how you are doing.

                Pastor Ramon and I talked for quite a while.  He gave me a lot of good advice.  I told him I was praying about starting a church in this neighborhood, and that I thought about using this old house to do it.  As a national Pastor, he told me that would not be a good idea.  He said the people would come only to see my house, and if they knew where I lived, he said they would always be here visiting me.  It would be better, he said, to find another place.  Well it just so happens that in the field behind my house is the "Baptist Campground" and they have meetings there quite often during the week as groups from all over Honduras come there for special events.  But, most Sunday's they don't have services there.   Ramon suggested that I ask to rent it, or use it for free if I can to start a church.  That is a good idea.

                He also suggested that I take a national with me when I go on visitation.  Most people only come to a church to see the Gringo he told me, and after the Gringo is gone, and a national Pastor takes over the church, he said that many people leave.  At least that is what happened when he became Pastor of his church here.  So, I'm praying for God to send me someone like Nelson here in La Esperanza that I can teach the Bible to, and go visiting with.  What a blessing that would be.

                Ramon also told me that he respected me, as most Missionaries that come or have come to this area are doing nothing.  He told me that they are only here for vacation as far as he was concerned.  He said I was different and trying to do something for God, and he could tell it.  What a blessing!  Plus, he asked me to take him to Siguatepeque on Sunday afternoon to help him as they are starting a new work there, and he'll be preaching the service.  I don't know what will come of this, but I don't want to do like some Missionaries I've seen here and try to budge my way in to take over the work so that I can say that I started a church.  No, I just want to help them to start it in anyway I can, and driving the Pastor there would be a good start.  How much pressure some Missionaries have, as those supporting them are looking for results.  And, how great the temptation is to write to your supporting churches and say, "I started this work, or I did this," when in actuality it was a National Pastor that did all the work. 

I've seen many a Missionary do just this, and I don't want to do it that way.  I just want to wait on God, and trust him to allow me to start a work here.  And, like Ramon said, "If you'll just be faithful preaching and teaching the word, the work will build itself."  Amen to that!  How much wisdom old Ramon has.

February 23^rd 2002 Saturday                A Dreary Day and A Day of Study

                My entire day was spent studying and working on the computer.  I saved all my files on Zip drives and then started on writing a new book about "Missions."  I hope I can complete it soon, and post it on my website.

                By the end of the day, my neck hurt from looking at a computer screen all day, so I went outside and piddled with the Garden a bit.  I had planned on going Streetpreaching, but it rained off and on all day long.  Plus the wind was blowing so hard, you could hardly think!  It was one of those days when it was better to just stay inside.

February 24^th 2002 Sunday                A Cold Sunday                  

                It was freezing cold this morning!  A cold front must have come through yesterday as the wind was blowing continually, and this morning the temperature was so cold that I could hardly feel my fingers when I got up to cook breakfast.  But, after throwing a few logs on the fire, the house warmed up a bit.

                At around 9 o'clock I went and visited Pastor Jacobo Nazar's church.  It's not my favorite church as they don't have a Sunday School service.  Instead they sing and then get together in groups and "share" and "give their opinions" about different verses.  This is something with doesn't settle too well with me!  It's better for the pastor to teach the words of God verse by verse!  But anyway, Jacobo asked me to be the head of one of these groups, and in my group, we didn't get opinions, we studied what God said about it!

                At 11:45 A.M., I left and headed up to Pastor Ramon Galeano's church (the people here call him Moncho).  I had lunch at his house (chicken soup) and then at around 12:30 P.M., he and several people from his church, and I all drove to Siguatepeque to hold services there.  Moncho preached about "another gospel" and he preached and said several things that I preached in his church here a while back.  I think I'm having an influence on this man, as he is listening and understanding.  Of all the Pastor's here, he's my favorite as he actually has a love for God's words, preaching, and souls.  The others I wonder about.

                In the evening, I was asked to preach at Ramon's church, and I preached on "What the Bible says about Sin."  I thought it went over well.  And, afterwards I was invited to eat with a family in the church.  While at their house, they told me to come out back.  So I did.  When we got to the back door, they opened the door, and all you could hear was black African Jungle music (Rock and Roll and Rap) blaring out of someone's radio.  I asked who it was playing their music so loud, and they said it was another "Christian" that went to the other Baptist church here in town.  What an awful testimony!  So I suggested we started singing hymns (which we did) and the louder we sang, the less you could here this Satanic music.  Eventually, this "brother" turned his music down, and eventually off.  I guess he got under conviction.  But, it didn't last long.  When we quit, he turned his stereo up again, and that evil music began filling the air once more.  What a shame!

February 25^th 2002 Monday                A Day of Errands

                I didn't get much done today as I spent most of the day running errands.  I even had to drive an hour away to Siguatepeque to withdraw some money from the bank.  Then when I did make it home, I tried to study a bit, but most of my time was consumed with cleaning up this old house.  Tomorrow I have to go to San Pedro Sula to get my car fixed again.  I sure hope I don't have to stay there as long as last time (four days). 

February 26^th 2002 Tuesday                The Trip to San Pedro Sula

                I left La Esperanza at 4:30 in the morning and actually made good time by arriving in San Pedro Sula a little after 7:00 A.M.  I arrived to find that the Chevy dealership did not open until 7:30, and ended up waiting about 20 minutes for them to take my car in and fix it.  While I was waiting a young boy came by who remembered me from the last time I was there and talked with me for a while.  I witnessed to him for a short time, and was able to give him a brand new Bible.  He was very grateful.

                After they took my car in, I went to the hotel that I usually stay at there, and afterwards took a taxi to Larach and Compania (the biggest hardware store here), as I needed to get a few things.  Then, I took a taxi all over San Pedro Sula the next 4 hours visiting all the "Christian bookstores" there.  I did find a few books that were useful so I bought them.  But, most of what they sold was just Charismatic junk.  Also, I felt very out of place in several of the stores, as they had what sounded to me like Rock 'n Roll blaring very loud.  They claimed it was "Christian" as the lyrics talked about "Religious" things.  But, as far as I was concerned it was secular, carnal music, and I was glad to get out of there. 

I also looked for Bibles, and I asked if they had any 1909 Spanish Bibles.  Only 1 of the 6 bookstores I visited did.  When I asked why they don't sell the 1909, they said they didn't sell it any more, as that they were only selling the "newer" Bibles.  What a shame!

                I also found the United Bible Society here in San Pedro, and found that they sold the 1909's.   So now I know where to go in both San Pedro and Tegucigalpa to get Bibles.

                The taxi man also took me to visit a "Catholic" bookstore (by accident) and I looked around there.  At the counter, they had some free tracts, so I took one.  It was an anti-Mormon tract, and actually had some good information in it.  But, of course it was pro-Catholic.

                After driving all over San Pedro, my taxi driver took me back to my hotel, and then charged me a ton of money for driving me all over the city.  He insisted that I pay by the hour rather by the location.  But, when I got my calculator out, I found that it was cheaper by location, rather than by hour.  Well, this infuriated him even the more.  Finally, we agreed on a price, and I let him go (or he let me go.  I don't know which).  Never again will I keep one taxi driver for several hours.  I'll take a different taxi each time.

February 27^th 2002  Wednesday                A Day in San Pedro Sula

                I left the hotel at about 7:30 A.M. and went to see about my car at the Chevy dealership.  I was happy to find that it was all ready to go.  (This time I didn't have to wait 4 days like the last time).  They said that there was nothing wrong with the transmission.  The noise I heard was the loose bolts that hold the truck to the frame.  But, they tightened them.  (All this off road, all terrain driving has really taken a toll on my car).  Along with a few other things, they also fixed the part on the brake that broke in Olancho. 

                Before leaving the car dealership, a young lady that worked there, came up and talked to me.  She said that the young boy I gave a Bible to yesterday showed it to her, and she said that was "sweet" of me to give it too him.  I asked her is she had one, and she said that all she had was a "Book of Mormon" and a "Catholic Bible."  So, I had the privilege of being able to give here a Bible as well.  She was very thankful.

                I spent the rest of the day going to Sears, Ace Hardware, and more trying to find some things I needed.  I also hit a few furniture stores just to see what they had.  Their prices were unreal.  So, I used it as an opportunity to give out tracts.  I really started enjoying myself.  If the place looked expensive from the outside, I stopped just to give a tract to the "snootie" salesperson (and there were a lot of them).  They didn't like me too well, but I sure did like giving them tracts.

                San Pedro Sula is the biggest, richest and cleanest city in Honduras.  Because of this, there is more money there, and more "upperclass" people.  The "lowerclass" Hondurans don't like it there as there are so many "Gringos" there as well.  So, I was happy to be able to get out some tracts.  And, oh how different the reaction was there in comparison to La Esperanza.  They would accept them, but what a look on their face when they took it.  They looked like they didn't want it, but were taking it just to be nice.  It was just like being back in the United States.

                Then in the afternoon, I drove on back to La Esperanza.  After the 3 hour drive, I arrived home to find Castillo working (as always).  He does a good job for me, and I'm glad I hired him.

February 28^th 2002  Thursday                A Day Spent Working, and Problems With Another Missionary

                This morning a rather strange and confusing situation incurred when Missionary Harold Priday (the owner of the house I'm renting) came by with some buckets full of paint for the roof here at the house.  He told me that he wanted the roof painted soon, and to find someone to do it, and he'd pay the labour.  "No problem!" I told him.

                But, while we were talking, he told me that I owed him 500 lempiras for dog food (Two hundred and fifty for the last month and two hundred and fifty for this month).  "Wait a minute!" I blurted out.  I told him that when I moved in here, I remember him telling me that he wanted to keep his dog here, and that he would pay for, and bring the food every month for him to eat.  But, today he told me that we had agreed I would pay for the dog food.  Well, that was news to me.  I don't like dogs too much, and I would have told him to take the dog with him, rather than pay for the dumb animal.  So, I told him as nicely as I could that I did not say I would pay for the dog, and that if it came down to it, I'd rather the dog go than have to pay for its food.  Well, that didn't go over well, and he was a little sour.  I hope he's not too upset.

                But that got me thinking, so I asked Castillo later, as I wanted to make sure that I wasn't mistaken, about it.  And he said that old Harold told him the last time he brought the dog food, that that dog was his dog, and that he was bringing the food for it.  So, I don't feel bad about it anymore.  I hate it when things like that happen, but I guess they do, and always will.  But, I don't want to pay close to 30 bucks for some pooch that ain't mine, especially if I don't like the thing to begin with!  So, Harold told me to think about what I wanted to do with the dog, and let him know the next time I come.  I can keep the dog, and if I do I have to pay for its food (which blows my mind would cost 15 dollars a bag).  Or I can ask him to get rid of it, and he will either sell it or find a new home for it.  If the truth be know, I'd like to get rid of the thing, but Castillo said it's best to have a watchdog as it keeps the neighbors from trying to break into your house.  So, maybe it's best to keep him.  I just hate to pay for something that I don't want.  Especially if it's someone else's dog.  If it was my own dog, I wouldn't mind.  But, for someone else's dog?  

Well, the rest of the day was spent working.  I planted some more seeds in the garden in place of those that died in the cold front that came through here a while back.  Plus, I worked on the inside of the house as well.  Then Castillo and I planted a couple of Orange trees and a few flowers.  Around 3:00 P.M., I starting feeling bad, and had to come inside to rest.  I hope I'm not coming down with something!

March 1^st 2002 Friday    A Day of Errands

                Today I spent running errands in the morning.  I didn't feel too well all day, but that was no excuse to not go to town.  I had to check my email, buy a few things, and go to the Post Office.

After coming home, I spent the rest of the afternoon studying and writing.  I also spent most of the rest of the afternoon and evening printing up Spanish materials on my printer.  I was out of commission for several weeks, as my printer wouldn't print anymore.  But, I received a package today with the printhead that I needed for the printer and was able to get started again in printing valuable Bible Materials. 

I also spent some time using my new Rubber stamp to put my address on over 6000 tracts.  I hope I get a response as I am continually passing out tracts here.  It would be good to hear that they are getting read.

March 2^nd 2002 Saturday                Trip to Colomoncagua and Beyond

                I have always thought of Colomoncagua as my "Macedonia" as this is where the people asked me to come.  But, as time moves on, I see that less and less the people are interested there.  As I read the New Testament, I see what happened to Paul in Macedonia.  When he went there, he didn't have many converts, and later moved on to a different place.  But as I continue reading, I find that Paul passed through Macedonia many times after this.  And, he had several more converts there it looks like to me (1 Thes. 4:10).  So, today I drove to Colomoncagua, and when I got there, I got the brush off from Raphael who said he needed to "study" for school and do a lot of homework.  So, rather than stay around unwanted, I hopped in the car and took off to El Salvador to take the gospel message across the border.  As I crossed into this other country, the verse came to my mind "for I do pass through Macedonia." (1 Cor. 16:5).  And today, I drove to my Macedonia and straight through it to take the gospel to others.  I did indeed pass through my Macedonia to go to El Salvador to tell them about the Salvador (Saviour).

                 The last time I went to El Salvador, I turned left where the road forked and went to San Fernando.  This time I took a right and went the other way to the city of Torola.  It was a dreadful place.  The roads were nice in the town itself, but many of the houses were nothing by ruins.  They had trees, shrubs, and weeds growing through them, and the place was very poverty-stricken.  I asked why the town looked like this, and the people said it was because of the war.  (I guess back in the 1980's).  So, I did the only thing I knew to do, which was pass out tracts to everyone I could find.  After walking over the whole town and getting tracts to everyone I could see, I thought about going back to Colo.  But, as I was leaving, I turned left at the spur of the moment and followed the long mountainous roads to the little town called San Diego.

Once there I passed out some more tracts and spoke with the people.  How nice these Salvadorian people seemed to me.  As I talked with them, they told me there was a little community a little further down the road called San Diegito. So, I traveled on and got out some tracts there as well.  When I came near to the town I saw that on the horizon, the mountains stopped.  I could actually see sky on the other side instead of more mountains.   This intrigued me and I was filled with the desire to try to get to the other side of the mountain (not only to get out more tracts, but to get out of blasted these mountains!)  How wonderful it would be, the thought overtook me, to be able to see more than just a few miles away to the next mountain.  If I could just get over that next ridge, maybe I could actually see plains and fields, and not feel so smothered by all these huge rocky ridges everywhere. 

Driven on by curiosity, I pressed on, but the road became so rocky and so steep that my truck couldn't climb up and over it any more.  So, I ended up having to turn back.  How sad this was to me as I am getting so sick of mountains.  Oh how I long to see more valleys and flat ground!  But, I did enjoy being able to at least see someplace I've never been before and take the gospel there.

As I read more about Missionaries, I see that each one has his own personal gift or gifts as well as his own specific ministries.  From this I want to learn how to be the best Missionary that I can be, and take all that I learn from them and work on practicing and perfecting it in my life as well.  Not only do I want to preach in a church building, but on the street corner as well (as Paul says in Acts 20:20).  Not only should I teach in a church service, but house to house as well.  Not only am I to help people physically, but most importantly spiritually with the gospel.  And, the more I study, the more I see that there is not only a responsibility that we missionaries have, but a balance as well.  I want to have that right balance of Streetpreaching, Visitation, Bible Preaching and Teaching, Studying, and Exploration as a Missionary. 

Today I was able to do something I don't get to do often, and that was explore a different area, and I really enjoyed it.  I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to get the word out (in tract form) to those areas that probably have never been touched.  And hopefully, I'll be able to reach more dark and hidden places like that with the gospel light.

March 3^rd 2002 Sunday   From Colomoncagua back to La Esperanza

                I passed out over 200 tracts in Colomoncagua this morning, and had a wonderful time preaching on the street in Colomoncagua.   I preached a message entitled "You are already condemned!"  I guess it didn't go over too well, but at least the people heard the message.  Afterwards I passed out some more tracts and 2 Bibles.

                After leaving Colo, I was driving along nicely when all of a sudden I turned the corner in the little village of Concepcion to find that there was a tree in the middle of the road.  I looked and there was one man with a machete cutting and hacking away as fast as he could, trying to get it moved so that if any cars came, they could pass by.  Well, I was the only car, so I jumped out, and pulled out my machete as well, and went to cutting.  I said, "You don't mind if I help do you?"   And, I was greeted with a hearty and glad welcome and invitation to do just that.  After cutting several minutes through a log about 10 inches in diameter, finally the log broke in two, and we were able to move it.  After the road was cleared, I gave everyone there tracts and then was on my way again. 

                A couple of hours later, I was back in La Esperanza again, and found a ton of people all over the place in the park there.  So, I parked my car and went to passing out more tracts.  Then I stood up on the wall there, and "let 'er rip" again.  I preached as loud and as hard as I could, and noticed that the crowd started to thin.  Many people started walking away, but I did have a few on bicycles standing by listening.  When I got almost finished, a fight broke out over by the Pulperia (little store) and as I turned to look, I saw two girls pushing and shoving one another.

                By this time, everyone's attention had turned from me and the preaching, to the two girls, so I quit preaching and starting passing out tracts again.  Then I went up to the two girls and said, "Here, you two need this!"  They took it, but were still angry with one another.  So, after passing out a few more tracts I went home.  What an exciting couple of days I had!  There is never a dull moment in this country!

March 4^th 2002 Monday                  Going to Hondutel to Try to Get a Petition for a Phone Line

                Well, I was wrong.  Today was full of dull moments as I left the house early this morning (around 7:30) to go to Hondutel to try to put in a petition for a phone line.  I visited there last Friday, and they told me to come back on Monday at 8:00 A.M. in the morning.  Well, I did just that today, and was very surprised to see a huge line there waiting already.  So, I joined the line and waited over an hour.  After about another 20 minutes, someone came around and said that more than likely, the boss wasn't coming to work today, so everyone could go home.  Well, half of the people left, but many stayed in line.  In fact, those that stayed went up to the door, and I was able to go with them and get close to the front of the line.  After waiting another 5 minutes or so, I was almost ready to leave when someone yelled, "Here comes the boss!"  And, it was a mad scatter as people were running from all over to get back in line.  I stayed where I was, and they got behind me.  Then the next thing I new, a man came by handing out pieces of paper with numbers on them, and he said that there were only enough telephone lines for each number.  Then he said it wouldn't be until the afternoon (around 2:00 P.M.), before they could get us, for everyone to come back then.  Well some people left.  But, I was a little leary.  So, I went and had breakfast and then came back.  This is Honduras, and I've learned that they will say one thing, and do another.  So, fearful of losing my chance I stuck around there and waited rather than go home.  I wanted to make sure I go on the list.

                Nothing happened, so I walked around for about an hour and then came back.  I asked what was going on, and they said they were on number 8 right now and to come back later.  So, I walked around a little more and then came back.  They said they were on number 20, but they were going to close for lunch.  Well, I had number 35, so I figured I'd wait in the car for an hour until lunch was over.  Sure enough, at one o'clock I went up to ask, and was ushered in with no problems.  I guess the rest of the people didn't come back until around 2:00.  But, I was happy to finally get my "solicitud" (as they call it) in.  Now, I supposedly have to do this one more time when the people come from Tegucigalpa to give out phone line numbers.  What a blessing! (sarcasm)  I sure hope it goes more smoothly as most of my day was shot just waiting and waiting and waiting.

                After finally getting done at Hondutel, I went to the market downtown to buy some fruit and get out some tracts.  I bought a few Cantaloupe, and some cucumbers as well.  As I was leaving I saw the most beautiful head of broccoli.  I asked how much it was, and was told it was only 5 lempiras.  That's less than 33 cents.  I bought it, and when I got home I ate about half of the thing raw before going to bed.  Oh how I love broccoli!

March 5^th 2002 Tuesday                 Visit to Marcala

                Today I deemed an "Exploratory Day."  I want to, from time to time, just jump in my car and go somewhere I haven't been before and take the gospel with me.  So today I drove to Marcala (about an hour and 15 minutes from here) in the department of La Paz, to scope the place out and see what it was like.  After arriving there, I walked around the central park area, and passed out several hundred tracts.  I was even able to get on several busses there and give a tract to every passenger.  Then, I walked around the town for an hour or so, checking the place out.  Mancho (Pastor Ramon Galeano in La Esperanza) told me that there is no Bible believing work in this town, and I wanted to go there and see it.  From what I saw, I would be inclined to agree with him.  I saw one church there (only one) and it was a 7^th Day Adventists church.  Also, I talked to one man there who said he was "Interdenominational." He told me that there is no Baptist Church in that town at all.  What a need there is in Marcala for the gospel.

                As I drove the long winding mountainous roads back to La Esperanza, I had much time to think about many different things.  As my thoughts drifted to all different subjects, I thought for a good bit about the Spainards who first "conquered" this land.  As I drove, all I could see was mountains, cliffs, trees, rocks, and more mountains.  How tiring it became after a while.  And, I thought about how tired the Spanish must have been as they traveled days, weeks, months, and sometimes even years just to cross these mountains.  How trying and boring it must have been.  But, the driving force that kept them going was their curiosity of what lay beyond the next mountain.  Explorers they were, and exploring was what they did.  Yet how sad that they came to this strange new land with nothing to offer these "backwards" people.  All they came with was sickness, disease, and a false religion.  Many Indians died without hope when their immune systems could not fight the diseases of the "white man."  And many more died and went to a Christless hell in the years afterwards while following this European religion that the Spaniards forced upon the people.  How sad. 

                It's my desire to explore as well like the ancient "Conquistadors" of old.  But, I don't want to take sickness and religion to the people.  I want to take the remedy for sin and the way of salvation to as many as I can before the Lord should come.  I pray that I can do so.

But as I drove on, I began to wonder if I am doing the best I can in trying to reach these people.  The thought struck me that I've been in this country now for almost 6 months, and I have yet to get a church started.  It's not because I haven't been trying.  I have been passing out tracts, preaching on the streets, and more.  But, so far nothing.  My Dad says my ministry is clear as day to him, and it is that I'm an evangelist.  This may be so, but Paul was too, yet he started churches wherever he went.  This is my desire as well.  But how come I haven't been able to do so yet?

I also thought about how different Missions was back in Paul's time compared to now.  Paul had no pressure from "Mission Boards" and "Supporting Churches" to try to get a work started.  He didn't worry if people would stop supporting him if they didn't see any results.  He just went on preaching and teaching like he always did, and God blessed.  That's what I want to do.  I don't want to get so caught up on "results" that I'm tempted to compromise to please my supporting churches like so many other Missionaries I've met.  I just want to do right, and come what may.  But, oh how you feel the pressure sometimes.  You begin thinking, "What will so and so think if...?"  or "What if I don't get a church started soon?  Will my churches keep on supporting me?"  And so on.  But, I'm convinced that this is just satan whispering in my ear.  I believe if I stay faithful, then God will be pleased (whether a church is started soon or not).  So, this is what I want to do.  I'd rather please God than man.  And, I know that He will take care of me no matter what.

                But sometimes it's not easy, as all some churches and pastors are interested in are "bragging rights."  They want to be able to say, "We support so and so and he has started over 30 churches in such and such a country!"  That sounds good, but they didn't tell the rest of the story.  Many missionaries I've seen that started a bunch of churches have turned them over to others (usually native Pastors) and they end up closing down, or going Pentecostal.  But, they never tell their supporting churches about this (as it would look bad).  I don't want to just start churches.  I want to start sound Bible believing churches that will last.  Thus, I've made up my mind that I'm not going to compromise, but take as much time as I need to in order to get a good church started that is rooted and grounded in the word.  God help me!

March 6^th 2002 Wednesday                           La Esperanza?

While I mowed the yard early this morning and worked inside the house this afternoon, I thought about what on earth I'm doing here in La Esperanza.  When I moved here back in December, it was to be closer to Colomoncagua.  But now that things fell through there, I'm wondering if I shouldn't move back to Tegucigalpa to be closer to Nelson.  There are too many Missionaries here it seems to me.   And, if this keeps up, we might just get in each other's way.  As a matter of fact, it looks like that is about to happen.

I had planned on trying to start a work here in my neighborhood, but last night I talked to Missionary Mike Lane who came back here in the end of February from Furlough, and he told me that he was wanting to start a church in my neighborhood here as well.  How heartbroken I felt.  I don't want to try to build upon another man's foundation, or interfere in where he is going to be working.   So, now I've got to rethink some things. 

We were supposed to talk more about it this afternoon, but he was busy with some things, so we didn't get too.  But, the more I think about it, the more I want to and am ready to just go off and go to someplace that has no Missionaries and has never gotten the gospel.  I keep wondering, "Why did God put me here with all these other missionaries?" (or could it be that I put myself here?). 

It just seems that La Esperanza is a hot bed of Missionary Activity, and from a human standpoint, I'm thinking it'd be best to get away from other people's works so I can go and start one myself.  But, is this what God wants?  Maybe God is using this as a testing ground.  Maybe he'll teach me something from all this.  Or maybe it's an opportunity to learn from these Missionaries that are already here.  Well, I'll just have to wait and see.

                But the more I think about it, the more I'm ready to move.  I'll miss this old house, and the yard, and the garden (etc).  But, it doesn't mean much to me.  It's just an old house, and it's not even mine.  If I owned the place, I can see that it would be hard to move.  But when you're renting, it just doesn't mean as much to you.

                Anyway, I'd  much rather do what God wants me to do, and be where he wants me to be.  And, if he told me to move tomorrow, I'd gladly do it.  I'm willing.  So, now I guess I'll just stay here for the time being and wait on God.  I plan on using my time here wisely by studying, and preparing for when I do get a work started.  There is so much to do as I'm constantly preparing sermons, and teaching material.  Plus, I want to starting doing an exhaustive study of Paul's epistles in Spanish and write notes that will help me to teach them.  I need to have material ready for when the time comes.  If this is a training ground, then I want to get all the training I can get.  And, I believe it's a good opportunity to study and prepare for the future. 

So we will see what the future holds.  Maybe I'll be moving soon.  Then again, maybe I'll be here a little while longer.  Only God knows.  And, I want to continue on being faithful with Streetpreaching, tract distribution, and visitation, while still keeping my ears open for direction, and my eyes stayed upon the fields that are white unto harvest.

March 7^th 2002 Thursday                Errand Day and More

Most of my day was spent running errands again.  I went to the Post Office and then to the Internet place in order to check my email.  After that I ran to Hugo's house to see if he finished my curtain rods yet.  He wasn't home, as usual.  So, I went back home and did some work outside.  Then I made up my mind that I would hang my curtains myself.  So, looked around to see what I had that I could use.  I found some boards and some extra PVC, so I used them.  I cut the PVC pipe to the size of the windows, and drilled holes in the wood I found.  Then I screwed the wood into the wall, and stuck the pipe in it.  It worked great.  Finally I am able to have some privacy with out anyone being able to look in.

In the afternoon, two guys came over to look at the roof and give me a price on painting it.  They said that they would do it for 4000 lempiras (close to 250 dollars).  I don't know if old Harold Priday will go for that, but we'll wait and see.

In the evening, a young girl and her little brother came over to the house asking for some food.  They said that their father had died two years ago, and it was just them, another child and their mother.  Well, I gave them a five pound bag of beans and some soup.  1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction..."  Even though I didn't visit them (they visited me), I was glad to be able to help the fatherless and widowed. 

March 8^th 2002 Friday    Visiting With Other Missionaries and Thinking About What to Do

                I spent most of my day working on and off on my computer scanning discipleship books and putting them in my computer.  There are 15 of them, and I was only able to get to #4.  But, once I finish them, I'll be able to print them and use them as often as I want.  I plan to give them to Nelson and get him started on them as soon as possible.

                At around ten in the morning, I got bored looking at the computer screen, so I went up the street and invited Missionary Thomas Sweeney and his wife Rhonda over for lunch.  They enthusiastically agreed, and came over at around 1:00 P.M.  I fixed them my patented Nachos, and they were great!  They brought some beans over, and that made them taste even better!

                The rest of the day I spent reading and yet again doing some more work on these discipleship courses.  I sure hope to finish them soon.

                At around 6:00 P.M. I went over to Thomas and Rhonda's house to meet another Missionary they have there (yes, another one!), named Herbert Prince.  He works at a Cancer clinic in Tegucigalpa, but he is planning on moving here to start some kind of Bible school.  He was nice, and it was good to meet him.

                At Thomas' house, we all sat around the round table and played a game of cards.  They called it "Hand and Foot" and it was pretty fun.  It reminded me of Pinochle.  After playing I went home and started up a fire before going to bed.

                All day I've been thinking more about moving back to Tegucigalpa and being closer to Nelson, and maybe even starting a church with him, and his family.  I spoke to Thomas about it, and he said he'd hate to see me go.  "Sure there are a lot of missionaries around here, but they are all each doing their own thing.  There is plenty of room for you here," he said.  I guess there is.  But, I want to be where God wants me, and I pray that He would show me.  Until he does, I'm just going to keep on traveling around to different areas with the gospel, and asking God to show me where he wants me to stay.  I guess I'm a pilgrim and a sojourner here, just like old Abraham was in the wilderness. 

March 9^th 2002 Saturday                                Nothing But the Blood!

I learned something today when I cut my finger with my machete while working outside.  I had just sharpened it yesterday, and I forgot that I did so.  And when I unsheathed it, I had my thumb on the blade. As the shiney, silvery machete rose from its darkened slumber, it separated my flesh with a clean, deep, straight cut.  As the blood began to pour out and the pain came, I just sat there and watched that thick, rich, red blood drip onto the ground.  I watched it in awe with the same curiosity that Adam and Eve must have had as they looked at that strange, foreign liquid for the first time spill out of those two lambs that God killed for their sins. 

As I stared at that "life of the flesh," I began to think about some things.  "That is what bought my soul, and purchased my salvation," I thought.  "Well, not that blood right there, as I have sinful blood.  But, that liquid from a sinless Saviour is what paid my sin debt!"  As I ran into the house to get a band-aid, I looked at that blood some more as it continually dripped into the sink with each throb of pain.  Then, it was like a light bulb went off in my brain.  "I get it!  I get it!!!"  I began to holler.  "I understand!  I understand!  Now I see why God demands blood for sin.  Because it hurts!  When we sin, it hurts God, and when we shed blood it hurts us.  So, God is just letting us see how he feels."   What a valuable lesson I learned!

Well, my finger hurt for a while, and as it did, I thought about how many times I'd hurt my Saviour Jesus Christ with my sins.  And, as I thought, the more I appreciated the pain and suffering that Jesus went through.  I about had a shouting fit the more I thought about what Jesus did for me as he suffered in my place for my sins.  It hurt him immensely, I'm sure!  But, the pain I feel is nothing compared to what he went through.  Thank God he had sinless blood, and thank God he went through the pain to shed it for an old sinner like me.  Thank God for the blood!!! 

March 10^th 2002 Sunday                   The Trip to Siguatepeque

                I've been moping and groping around and praying that God would give me something to do here.  I tried to get something started in Colomoncagua, but that fell through as the people just weren't interested.  Then, I went to Olancho where I found people interested, but so far away, that I can't start a work there.  Then, I thought about trying to start a church in my neighborhood, but had to rethink things as Missionary Mike Lane told me that he wanted to do that.  So, I'm wondering what to do and where.   I want so much to start a work here, but until then, I just want something to do.  And, I don't want to step on anyone's toes, or get in their way, as there are already several Baptist Missionaries in this area.  My desire is to just go off somewhere and start a work just God and me.

                As I thought about these things over the last several days, I began to get down in the dumps and wonder if I'll ever get to start a work here.  As satan turned the screws down tighter, I began to wonder if I'd ever have anything to do here at all.  I remember my Pastor telling us in Bible School that he used to pray, "God, give me something to do!"  He said that he never should have prayed that as now he has more to do than he can handle!  But, that's what I want, something to do.  So, I began to pray, "God, please give me something to do!"

                Well, God answered my prayer as this morning I was awakened by the sound of Rambo (the watchdog) barking outside.  When I woke up to see what was going on, I found Missionary Mike Lane had come over to tell me that Pastor Ramon Galeano was sick, and needed me to fill in for him at Siguatepeque.  So, I was as happy as I could be, and spent the next two or three hours preparing a sermon. 

                At 12:30, I arrived at the Pastor's house, and found that his voice was completely gone, and his head was throbbing with pain.  He asked me to take his wife, daughter, and five other people from the church with me to the house in which they are meeting in Siguatepeque, so I gladly did so.  We loaded up and were on our way by 12:45.  Halfway to Siguatepeque, George (one of the young men from the church) got car sick, and threw up in my truck.  Immediately we pulled over to let him out.  As he got out of the truck, he blew chunks all over again as he hurled all over the side of the road spueing everywhere.

                "What a blessing!" was my first thought.  But, after cleaning it all up, we were on our way again laughing about the whole thing.  We even coined a nickname for old George – Saint Vomit of La Esperanza.  Maybe some of the Catholic people here will begin praying to him.  (I hope not!)

                In Siguatepeque, we found the largest crowd yet that had come to hear the message.  Over 22 people showed up (including ourselves) as compared to 15 last week (as I was told).  It looks like they might be able to start a work there, and it's a blessing that it's a native pastor who is starting it.

                After singing a few hymns, I preached for about 45 minutes on "Our Service for Christ."  After closing the message, we had some refreshments, and then were on our way again back to La Esperanza.

                Despite "the vomit incident" we all had a good time, and I was thankful to have the opportunity to preach.

March 11^th 2002 Monday                  Getting the Car Washed

                I arose bright and early this morning in order to be the first one in line to get my car washed.  I wanted to get it cleaned not only on the outside, but inside as well.  They did a wonderful job, but it took them over two hours to clean the thing.  To me that was way too long.  But, I'm learning that's the Honduran way.  Thomas Sweeney says that the Honduran motto is: "We may not be good, but we're slow!"  Anyway, I was able to talk to and witness to the people that were there waiting, and I really enjoyed that.

                After coming back home, I found Daniel working on the roof.  I told Harold Priday about him, and that he goes to Ramon Galeano's church, and Harold said to hire him to paint the roof.  He has a lot of experience as he was a painter in the U.S. for a while.  So, he's going to be working on trying to get the entire roof painted.  I hope to be able to help him if I get a chance.  But, I have so much I need to do.  I need to go to San Pedro one day and get some supplies.  I also have to go to Teguicgalpa and see Nelson, as well as ask my lawyer about my license plates and when they'll come in.  Plus, I'd like to go to La Ceiba to get some very old Spanish Bibles.  So much to do, so little time it seems.

                This afternoon, I got an extra special blessing, as I was attacked by a swarm of bees out in the field as I was trimming the fruit trees.  My neighbors must have laughed their heads off as they saw me running through the fields screaming at the top of my lungs, with my arms waving hysterically, and tearing off my clothes.  When I got to the house, I found that I had been bitten on my bottom lip, and it swelled up to about twice its usual size.  I couldn't eat, I couldn't drink, and I could hardly talk.  So, I called it a day and went to bed early. 

March 12^th 2002 Tuesday                 Showers of Blessings!

                I heard the power go out last night before I went to bed, but I didn't think much of it.  As I awoke this morning, I found that the power was still out.  I was hoping it would come back on soon, but it didn't.  So, I broke out the generator (boy I'm glad that I bought that thing), and planned on hooking it up in order to keep the food in the fridge cold.  Oh happy day when I found that I had no oil for the thing, and no gasoline either.  So, I ran into town and spent my last bit of cash on gas and oil.  Then I came home and started her up.  She worked great and the refrigerator cooled off quickly.

                While I was waiting, I decided to eat a little breakfast.  I looked in the fridge and found some bacon, but it had thawed out, and was very watery.  It didn't smell bad, so I threw some bacon on the frying pan.  It cooked it up a funny yellow color in the pan, but it sure did taste good.  I didn't ask any questions, I just ate it, and enjoyed it.  I hope I don't get sick.

                After breakfast I had to run into town to check my email, and see if I had any money in the bank, as I'm broke as can be.  There I found that I indeed had a little money in the bank, so I decided to go into Siguatepeque and withdraw some.  Bro. Thomas Sweeney asked to go with me, so together we drove the hour to Siguat (as the people call it here). After going to the bank, we did a little shopping, and also visited the to two biggest Christian bookstores there.  I found a lot of good books, and was happy to be able to buy them.  I never knew that they had translated any of Scofield's stuff, and I was enthusiastic to find a few of his books in Spanish.

                As we drove back to La Esperanza, we talked about a lot of different things.  Toward the end of our journey, our conversation turned toward starting a work in the neighborhood of Tejar (where I live).  Thomas told me that I should start visiting there, and get going trying to get a work started.  I told him that I was waiting to see what Bro. Mike Lane was going to do, as I didn't want to get in his way.  He said that Mike hasn't done anything yet, and had his hands so full with the "Baptist Camp" that it was doubtful that he would be able to anytime soon.  So he encouraged me to try to start a work, and not worry about what anyone else thought about it.  "If there is a need, then do it!" he told me.  So, I'm seriously considering getting out and trying to start a church here in my neighborhood.  Hopefully I'll be able to do just that.

March 13^th 2002 Wednesday                Trip to San Pedro Sula

                I drove to San Pedro today to get some supplies.  On the way there, I saw something I'll never forget.  Three school boys (about seven or eight years old) were all riding on top of a 10 speed bicycle down hill at about 25 mph.  I could hardly believe what I was seeing.  They couldn't even reach the ground, much less the pedals, but they were riding along well with perfect balance.  It was certainly a site to remember.

                In San Pedro, I had another problem as my serpentine belt came off of the motor of my car.  Thank God I was close to the Chevy dealership there, so I drove up the road and asked them to fix it.  We looked at it, and they said it was about an inch too long, and recommended I buy a new one.  Well, I have one at home, so I told them I'd just put it on when I got home, and I'd use the one on it until then. 

                My friend there named Javier said that wouldn't be a wise idea, and he gave me the spare belt from his truck as a "loner belt" to take with me back to La Esperanza until I put my other one on.  That was very nice of him, and I sure appreciated it.  I'll take his belt back to him the next time I go back to San Pedro Sula.

                After getting all my groceries, I went to El Progreso to see the ever popular Wood Carving Shop there.  At the shop, I had a wonderful opportunity to witness to a man who starting talking to me.  He asked me what the Bible Sticker on my car meant when it said, "Ye must be born again."  I gladly explained it to him.  Then he said, "What's that other one mean about 'Except you repent ye shall all likewise perish'".  I explained that to him as well.  He listened, but I don't know if he understood.  I gave him several tracts as he had to leave quickly.  I hope he gets saved.

March 14^th 2002 Thursday                Working at the House Again

                How quickly this week has gone by.  I can hardly believe that tomorrow will be Friday.  Time is going too fast!  I need to find a way to slow it down, as it just keeps speeding by.

                Most of my morning was spent working outside with Castillo and Daniel (a brother from the church here who is painting the roof).  First thing in the morning, I changed belts on my car.  After that, Castillo and I planted some fruit trees that I bought yesterday.  We planted bananas, Marinon (like a Mango), Nancy (which has little yellow applelike fruit), and a Cinnamon tree (called Canela in Spanish).  While we were working, I had a great opportunity to witness to Castillo.  Working with plants sure opens a lot of opportunites to witness, as there are so many spiritual lessons that you can learn from them.  As we planted, trimmed, moved, pruned and fertilized trees and plants, I was able to talk to him about spiritual things.  We talked about why there are thorns and how Adam's fall into sin brought them about.  We talked about how plants are alive, but not like we are.  Plants grow, but don't have blood, don't think, and don't have a soul.  We talked about how plants are like people, and how they must be taken care of otherwise they will die (or at least become diseased, infested, or stagnant).  We talked about so many things, and I just kept trying to make a spiritual application on each one, and turn the conversation to the Bible. 

As we worked, we were interrupted, as a huge Brahma Bull barged into the yard through the open gate.  I had to run and chase him out.  What a blessing!  I guess in his eyes the grass was greener on the other side of the fence, so he decided to wander on into the yard.  Well, we got rid of him as soon as we could.

                I also spoke with Daniel a lot today as well.        He told me that he wants to help a church in serving the Lord.  He went to three years of Bible Institute here, but doesn't feel called to preach.  He just wants to be a help.  I told him I needed all the help I can get, and if I'm able to start a church in this neighborhood, he is more than welcome to come and help here!  He said he'd pray about it.

In the afternoon, I went to the hardware store and bought some light fixtures, lightbulbs, switches, and wire in order to install some lights on the outside of this house.  At night time it's pitch black, and I can't see a thing.  So, Castillo and I spent the rest of the day doing "Electrical" work.  Neither one of us knew anything about it, but we did the best we could, and we actually got everything to work.  All I lack is putting light in the garage.  I hope to start a church there if I'm able.  I plan to start visiting as soon as I can, but first I want to go see Nelson again.

March 15^th 2002 Friday                    The Visit to Nelson's

                I left around 9 o'clock this morning to go to Tegucigalpa and see Nelson.  I arrived there at around noon, and found him working at the gas station.  He was ecstatic to see me and asked me where I'd been.  We figured it out, and we hadn't seen each other in almost three weeks (way too long!).

As we visited, Nelson told me that he went to the Catholic church up the road last Sunday.  "You did what?" I asked him.  He said, that he went to Suyapa (the biggest Catholic church in Honduras) just to visit.  I was starting to get worried, so I asked him why he went there.  He said because he wanted to give them all tracts.  Then he told me that he gave "Why is Mary Crying" tracts to everyone in the place, including the priest!  I about lost it!  I didn't know whether to shout, laugh, or ball him out.  What zeal this boy has!  Well, I had to tell him about the time that Abraham White and I did the same thing, in the same church back in 2000.  We gave out the tract "Are Roman Catholics Christians?"  So, old Suyapa and her cronies have gotten the message twice now. 

Yep, as a new convert, old Nelson is coming along quite well.  I like that.  Plus, he is really getting a burden for souls.  He witnesses to everyone, and every time I see him, he always asks me for some more tracts to pass out.  He also told me that he witnessed to an old policeman friend of his, and gave him a gospel tract a while back.  Then, a week later, the poor fellow died in a car wreck.  Nelson told me that the guy died and went to Hell, but at least he felt good about being about to present the gospel to him before he kicked the bucket.  He said, "Can you imagine if I didn't witness to that guy, how bad I would feel right now?" 

                After doing some shopping around town, I went back to the gas station at around 6:00 P.M., and picked Nelson up and took him home.  There we talked and had dinner (pork chops, beans, and rice).  As we were talking, Nelson pulled out his Bible and said, "Guess what I found in the Psalms about idols."  Then he turned to Psalms 115 and began reading it.  Afterwards he said, "Those Catholics are wicked aren't they? All they do is worship dumb idols!"  Yep, I think he's getting it.  He's not only witnessing, but learning the Bible as well.

                After dinner, we looked at some more "Anti-Catholic" verses in the Bible for about an hour or more.  Nelson was eating it up, and would get mad if I read the verse.  He wanted to read it himself as he wanted to see it with his own two eyes.  He can't read too well, but I willingly let him read, as I hope it helps him to learn how to read better.

                Later in the evening, Nelson told me that on Sundays, he has two guys come over to his house, and they read the Bible together.  He wants me to be able to come and teach and preach to them.  What a blessing!

March 16^th 2002 Saturday                Leaving Tegus

                Last night I spent the night in a room across the alley from Nelson's as his brother was visiting from Olancho, and they had no room for me.  So, I spent the night in a room by myself in a much cleaner place than Nelson's.  However, my old buddy Mr. Mouse came back again.  I heard him scrounging around, so I got up, flipped the light on, and looked right at him.  He looked at me, and then I just said, "God, please help, and keep him away from me!"  Then I flipped the lights off and went back to sleep.  I guess God answered my prayers as I didn't hear anything else after that.  I guess ole Mickey went to sleep as well.

                In the morning, I woke up at around 6 o'clock and had a cup of coffee before taking Nelson to work.  On the way there, I told Nelson that I wanted to come here once a week if I can and teach Bible to him.  I'd like to start a work in La Esperanza on Sundays if I can, and then come here one day to teach and preach.  He smiled really big, and said, "I was hoping you'd come here!"

                So we made plans for next Thursday for me to come back.  Nelson works a weird schedule as a security guard, as one week he works all nights from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M., then the next week he works all days from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M.   So, we decided I would come on Thursdays and teach him Bible in the evenings as the gas station closes at nine in the evening, and we could study Bible all night long.  Then, I could spend the night in my truck.

                When he works days, I will come on Thursday nights to his house, and we'll invite those other two guys over, and I'll preach and teach some more.  I hope this works out.  It will be hard on me, as it's a three hour drive from La Esperanza to Tegucigalpa.  But, it is definitely worth it as far as I'm concerned.  This is why I'm here!

                At around noon today, I drove back home to La Esperanza, and found that Daniel had completely finished painting the roof.  I was as surprised as I could be.  What looked like at least a two week job, he finished in just six days.  He did a good job too, and I was very happy with his work.  He also said he'd like to learn more about the Bible. I told him that he knows where I live, and to come over any time and we'll have a Bible study.  We'll wait and see if he does.  So many here have said that they want to study the Bible, but when I suggest a day, or a time, they always have some lame excuse.

March 17^th 2002 Sunday                   A Day of Catching Up

                Today was nothing spectacular.  I spent most of my time trying to get caught up with my correspondence.  I wrote a ton of letters and I plan to mail them tomorrow.  I also had to wash some clothes this morning, and it was good that I did, as the water was cut off for the rest of the day.

I also did some cooking today, and made a wonderful dish of Fettuccine for supper.  I used a lot of garlic, butter, and olive oil.  It was fabulous!  I'll have to make it more often.

March 18^th 2002 Monday                  Reading, Writing, and Preparing Material to Give Away

                I spent most of the day finishing my correspondence.  I had to write a lot of people, as well as do some work on putting together addresses for my Mission Board to send my prayerletter too.  The list they had before had over 200 addresses on it, and they are only supposed to send it to 100 or less.  So, it took me several hours to whittle down my list to less than a hundred people.  The other hundred or so, my dad said he'd send my prayerletter to.  So, That will be a blessing.

                I also printed up almost 50 booklets to give away entitled "Como puedo Yo Tener Vida Eterna?"  (How can You have eternal life?).  I plan on going out tomorrow all day and visiting my neighborhood here and give them away.

                In the evening I finished reading a book entitled "Babylon Mystery Religion" by Ralph Wilson.  I highly recommend anyone who can to get this book.  It explains how the Roman Catholic Church is nothing but Pagan practices done "in the name of Christianity."  It was like Alexander Hislop's book entitled "The Two Babylons" only much simpler to understand.

                I'm reading a lot lately.  I'm so glad to be here and have time read.  It is so nice not to have a television, as all it does is steal your time, and feed you full of a steady diet of worldliness.  I'm glad I took my T.V. outside a few years back and shot the blasted thing.  (I put two bullets in it).  Now, I am actually learning things by reading, and I can actually decide what goes into my brain and what doesn't!  With the boob tube, you get whatever they want you to have (most of the time it's wicked).

March 19^th 2002 Tuesday                Visitation in my Neighborhood of "El Tejar"

                Today was the big day!  I've been planning to do this for a while, and today I finally got everything together to be able to go out and visit my neighbors.  I spent from nine in the morning till 4:30 in the afternoon going house to house here.  I was able to get out all of the booklets I printed up yesterday, as well as pass out tracts to every house.  I also invited everyone I visited to come to my house on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 P.M. for "oculto" (services).  I plan on having church in the garage here at the house.  I hope some people show up!  I need to buy a few chairs from San Pedro Sula when I go tomorrow, and spend some time cleaning out the garage.  It is a huge place, and will make a great place to start a church.

                On visitation today, I thought for sure I was going to be able to win a young lady to the Lord.  As I talked to her, she said she was from San Pedro Sula, and just visiting here.  After shooting the breeze with her, I told her about the Lord, and she said, "I've heard a lot about people saying you have to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.  How does one do that?"  Well, I took her through it, and showed her Acts 16:30,31, Ephesians 2:8,9, Romans 3:25 and a plethora of other verses.         She listened intently, but when I asked her if she wanted to get saved, she said, "Oh, maybe later.  I was just curious how one got saved.  Maybe I'll visit your church and get saved there."  Then that was the end of the discussion.  I wanted so much for her to trust Christ Jesus as her Saviour, but you can't make anyone get saved.  They have to want to get saved themselves.

                By the end of the day, I had passed out 30 Bibles.  I was glad to give them to people that don't have one.  Since I don't have too many, I limited my giving to one Bible per house.  I'd love to give one to every person, but there just wouldn't be enough.

                Some have said that it is wrong to go and give away Bibles.  They say that if you give them away, the people don't appreciate them, and won't read them.  They've got to want one bad enough to buy it themselves, and then they'll read it.  Well, I don't know about that.  I'm afraid that if they do buy one, they'll get a hold of a corrupt one, and that will make the problem even worse.  My goal is just to give them access to God's words.  That is my job.  Whether they read it or not, is between them and God.  But at least I can stand before my God and Saviour knowing that I did my best to give them the truth!  To me it is better to make sure they have the right Bible in their houses and have access to it, than to have no Bible and when they want one, to go and get a perversion.  I firmly believe that by putting a Bible into each house, everyone in that house will have access to the truth if they are seeking for it.

March 20^th 2002 Wednesday                Going to San Pedro Sula

                I got a late start this morning, and wasn't able to leave for San Pedro Sula until about nine in the morning.  After arriving there, I went to the Chevy dealership to take the belt back to Javier, and to get an oil change.  I found that Javier wasn't there today, as he was sick, so I left the belt and the car for them to work on, and headed off in a taxi to several Christian bookstores there.  I found some great books at the Baptist Bookstore and bought them.  Plus, I went to several other places as well running errands.

After coming back to the Chevy dealership, I found my car all done, but about had a heart attack when I saw the price they charged me.  I'll never go there again for an oil change!  Not only were they expensive, they were slow as well. By the time they were done with everything, it was so late in the evening that I couldn't drive back home.  So, I had to get a hotel for the night. 

I had planned on buying some Bibles today, but I just didn't get the chance as the United Bible Society closed at 4:30 P.M.  Bibles here are expensive.  They cost about seven dollars a piece.   But the more you buy the better the price they give you.  In Tegucigalpa, they told me that if I bought 100 Bibles, they would give me a 30% discount.  Thus, instead of being about 700 dollars it would be about 500 something.  Well, I guess I'll have to save up some money to buy as many as I can, thus saving money in the long run.  They are so much cheaper in the states, and cost only about 4 bucks apiece there.

March 21^st 2002 Thursday                Trip Home from San Pedro, and off to Tegus Again

                I left bright and early this morning from San Pedro in order to come home to La Esperanza.  When I arrived here at around 10:00 A.M., Castillo told me that "The Giant" had come by to visit me two times yesterday.  (That's what Castillo calls old Thomas Sweeney because he is a very big man).  So, I went to his house first thing to see what was up.  Thomas asked me to get him a few things from Tegus, as I'm going there tonight and will return tomorrow.  He is helping another Missionary here build a Bible Institute, and they are working hard at construction and have no time to go themselves.  I agreed, as I'm more than willing to help, and where I'm going is not far from the store where they get their stuff.

                In the afternoon, I spent some time cleaning up the house, as well as preparing for the trip to Tegus tonight.  My plan is to go to Tegucigalpa once a week and teach Bible to Nelson.  This week, he is working nights, so I will go there and teach him all night long (or until one of us gets tired), and then will sleep in my car.  After that, tomorrow I'll run a few errands and then come home.  It will be a lot of traveling, but it will be worth it.  The rest of the week I'll have to do visitation here in La Esperanza, and prepare for preaching on Sundays.

March 22^nd 2002 Friday                    A Day with Nelson, a Surprise, and Heading Back to La Esperanza

                Things went well last night, as I taught Nelson for about two hours.  I explained to him the difference between "milk" and "meat" as it applies to the word of God, and told him that what he was learning from the discipleship courses I'm giving him are "milk."  Then, I told him that he needed to have a little meat as well.  So, we  started studying the "7 Mysteries in the Bible."  We got through the first two, and I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open, so we called it quits at around 11:30 P.M.  I slept in my car that night, but didn't rest well, as I was constantly awakened by Misquitos buzzing around my head.

                When I arrived in Tegus last night, Nelson told me that he had moved, and is now living in a different place, as the other one was not in a nice neighborhood, and was not very clean.  I wanted to see the place, so I drove him home this morning, and found that they had a much bigger room to live in and it was situated in a pretty good place.  While there, Nelson's "women" cooked us breakfast and we all talked for a while.

                After breakfast, I ran into town and ran a few errands.  I took Nelson with me, and while we were going down the road, we decided to stop at "La Armeria" (the Armory), as I needed to buy some .22 bullets.  While there, we rented a Beretta pistol and I bought thirty 9mm rounds for us to shoot at the firing range there.  I told Nelson, "Let's have a contest and see who is the better shooter!"  Well, I won!  At twenty meters I got 6 out of 15 in the black, and all the others but two in the circle.  Nelson didn't even get one in the black, only one in the circle, and one on the paper.  (And he's supposed to be a security guard?)  Anyway, we had a great time, and afterwards went and bought 20 plastic chairs to use for services on Sunday in La Esperanza.

                While at the Mall, I got a pleasant surprise while checking my email in the internet café.  I found that my friends from Monterrey, Mexico (the ones I visited in August right before coming here to Honduras) are in San Pedro Sula, and want to come down and see me and stay with me this Sunday for services as well.  I tried calling the number they gave me several times, but they weren't there.  I did reach them later in the evening though, after driving back to La Esperanza, and gave them directions on how to get to my house.  I'm looking forward to seeing them!

                In the evening, I spent about an hour cleaning out the garage here in preparation for Sunday.  It was a mess! 

It was so dry and dusty in there that it was like a desert.  I'll bet you could have planted cactus in there, and they would have grown!  I tried to use the water hose to dampen the floor while I swept it out.  The dust was so thick, it was like watering sawdust.  But, eventually it began to soak in, and I was able to sweep all the sand, rocks, dust, and dirt out.   The chairs look good in the garage, and I'm looking forward to seeing if anyone shows up.  All I lack now is a pulpit.  I've got to make one out of wood myself I guess, but until then, I'll try to find something that will work.

March 23^rd 2002 Saturday                Visit From Friends

                I expected my friends to come in at about noon today, but they didn't get here until about three in the afternoon.  Bro. Park came with his wife and two kids.  And, Pastor Raul Reyes came with another Pastor from here in Honduras named Homero Romero.  So, it ended up being a house full.  But, we managed, and were able to get set up for them.

                After unloading their stuff, we all went together to visit Pastor Jacobo and Pastor Ramon Galeano.  Tomorrow will be a busy day, as my friends will be presenting their material about the Spanish Bible and their 1602 project at Jacobo's church in the morning, and Ramon's church in the evening.  Plus, in the afternoon, we will have service here at my house at 2:00 P.M. 

                In the evening, we went into the center of town here in La Esperanza and ate dinner at a place called "Opaluca's."  It was very good.

March 24^th 2002 Sunday                   First Day of Service

                We opened a can of worms today, and had a great time doing it!  It's great to be a Bible Believer and take a stand with the few who are willing to suffer to defend that blessed out book!  And, today I was able to do just that, and by so doing, I just might have made some enemies as well.  But, everyone needs some good enemies.

                My friends from Mexico and I started our morning by going to Bro. Jacobo's church to present the 1602 Textus Receptus project (a project to use the Textus Receptus, the King James, and the 1602 Spanish Bible, as well as those before it, to purify the many corrupt versions of the Bible in Spanish).  There we found several "Gringo's" in the service as Missionary Mike Lane and his family, Thomas Sweeney and his wife, Herbert Prince, and two other "Gringos" were all present for the service.  There were almost more Gringos than nationals there.

                Pastor Raul Reyes from Mexico presented a message about "How the New Bibles Affect the Deity of Christ."  We used several different versions to compare from (1909, 1960, and 1602 TR), and the people in the church were startled to see how the new versions of the Spanish Bible (the 1909 and 1960 included) took out "God," "the Lord," and more.  It was a real eye opener to many of them.  And, all of them accepted it, and saw the need for a Bible that was pure that followed the Textus Receptus and the King James.  The only problem was that several of the "Missionaries" got mad afterwards.   Thomas Sweeney got a little irate and said, "Well I guess we should all learn Greek then, so we can know whether or not we have God's words or not, and then we can read the originals in church." I said, "Nope, but we do need to study the issue so that "scholars" don't pull the wool over our eyes."  I further stated, "There are no "originals" but there are copies of copies of copies of the originals that God preserved in the Textus Receptus manuscripts, and eventually purified for us in the infallible King James Bible.  That's why the King James is God's perfect word.  It came from the manuscripts that God purified and preserved."  He didn't understand, and walked off in a huff.

Herbert Prince (another Baptist missionary), came up to me as well and wanted to talk about "The Greek."  "Which Greek?" I asked him flatly.  He couldn't answer.  Then he told me that the King James Bible wasn't infallible, and was only a "reliable translation," but like all translations, it wasn't perfect, and had errors in it.  "Show me one!" I told him.  He couldn't.  Then he started in on how that if I believed that the KJV was perfect, that was just my opinion, and I got that from my teacher just like he got his opinions from his teachers.  I responded, "If that is so, I should just pack up and go back home to the states and go fishing and forget about the ministry.  Either I have God's preserved, perfect words or I don't."  God said that he not only inspired them, but he'd preserve them as well. And, I believe I've got them in the KJV!  He didn't seem too convinced, as four years of "Greek" in college had made him to believe otherwise.

The problem is that in the Spanish language, there is no translation that is perfect like the English King James Bible in English, and this is the issue.  Well, old Herb got a little angry and began starting in on the old line: "whichever Greek text you like the best is where your Bible comes from."  I soon discerned that he believed that man was the final authority as, according to him, only "scholars" could decide what was scripture and what was not.  But thank God that Ps. 12:6,7 is still in the book, and God not only inspired his word, but preserved it, purified it and perfected it for us as well.

Old Mike Lane listened to the message as well, and as we talked afterwards, I found that he was King James all the way.  But, he still hadn't made up his mind about the Spanish Bible yet.  He said he was waiting for the revision that came from the Trinitarian Bible Society to see if it was closer to the KJV.  I told him I had a copy and it was still corrupt.   "Oh," he said with a frown, and then walked off.

After leaving, Jacobo thanked us for coming, and said he enjoyed us presenting the facts.  "All I want are the pure words of God, and all of them," he said.  It looks like he is after the truth as well.

At 2:00 P.M., I had services here at my house in the garage.  I was surprised to see how many folks showed up for our first Sunday.  I believe in total there were about 42 people.  The service went very well, and I preached a message entitled, "Ye must be born again!"  Afterwards, 2 people trusted Christ Jesus as their Saviour.

At 6:30 P.M., we all went to Ramon Galeano's church, where Raul Reyes spoke again about the Spanish Bible. He told about the project once again, and how they are trying to purify the Spanish Bible using the right Greek Text (the Textus Receptus) in comparison to the wrong Greek texts, which came from men who messed with and changed the Textus Receptus according to their own opinions (like Origen, Griesbach, Westcott and Hort, Tishendorf, etc).  Pastor Ramon was very interested and so where many people in the church.

Afterwards, we came home and I was surprised to find out that Bro. Park, and Bro. Reyes wanted to give me 1000 New Testaments of the 1602 TR as well as 10,000 gospel booklets and several boxes of tracts.  What a blessing!  God has been too good to me.  Not only do I have the right God, I have the right gospel, and now the right Bible as well.  What can stand in my way?   Well, from my experience it looks like satan will, and if I don't miss my guess, he'll probably use "the brethren" to try to mess things up.  But, no matter what happens, at least I know that I'm doing my best to take the purest words of God to the Honduran people and give them the gospel of Jesus Christ.  And the Lord Jesus Christ alone is all I need to accomplish this task.  Let man do what they will, but me and God are a majority, and I'd rather have him on my side, than someone that doesn't believe his words, much less want to keep them.

March 25^th 2002 Monday                  The Trip to Nicaragua

This morning I left for Nicaragua with Pastor Raul Reyes and Pastor Homero Romero.  We drove five hours to the border and then had to leave the truck there at the police station, as it cost too much to pay duty to drive across.  After paying a small fee to leave Honduras, we took some taxi bicycles to the other side of the river in order to cross by foot.  The bicycles had three wheels, an umbrella above, and a bench in the front with storage space underneath.  We carried with us a box full of tracts, as well as a box full of New Testaments.

On the other side, we had to pay to enter Nicaragua, and then we jumped on a van that was going to a place called Chinendega (or something like that).  It was more than a two-hour trip, and we were all packed into this van like sardines.  It was most uncomfortable!  Not only was there not enough room for everyone, but the weather was hot.  I mean hot!  That had to be the hottest country I'd ever been in, as everyone on the bus (myself include) were sweating like pigs.  But, after awhile the breeze began to cool us off, and it was almost pleasant.

As we drove along in the van, I watched the scenery go by, and thought about how poor this country looked. I also counted three volcanoes along the way, each one alive and active with smoking coming out of the top.  I asked Homero how many volcano's there were in Nicaragua, and he said, "Forty-five!"  "I sure wouldn't want to live in this country with those things everywhere!" I thought.

After we arrived in Chinendega, we hopped a bus to Leon, in order to visit a brother there that Homero knew, (Bro. Pablo) and give him the boxes of New Testaments and tracts.  This bus trip took only about 40 minutes, and was much more pleasant.

Upon our arrival in Leon, we found a town that to me looked much richer than most in Honduras.  Outside of the cities in Nicaragua, it looked much poorer than in Honduras, but the cities there looked much richer than those of Honduras. Plus, the road going to the cites were worse than the highways in Honduras, but the roads in the city of Leon were very nicely constructed from cobblestone and brick.

As we drove in a taxi to the brother's house, I looked out the window.  There was something different about this place, but I couldn't put my finger on it.  As we drove, I continually noticed that everyone had the same furniture.  Every house had the same rocking chairs and the same mirrors inside.  It was weird.  But, as we drove, Homero told me Nicaragua used to be a Communist country, and it was only since 1991 that they changed.  Then it dawned on me.  The reason that everything was the same, was that Communism forced everyone to live on the same level with the same things.  How different was this place compared to Honduras.

After visiting the brother's house, we found he was not home, so we went downtown to the central park area to make a phone call, and then to go and eat some dinner.  There we found a festival going on, and the place was packed with people!  It was some kind of Catholic carnival that was in honor of Easter.  They had women dressed in white, the virgin Mary paraded down the street, paintings on the pavement, and much more.  How sad it was to see such traditionalism and religion.

After watching this for some time, we went up the street by the oldest Catholic church in all of Central America.  It was huge!  And, it had on the top of it a "Mary" with a halo above her head all light up in lights.  Also, the building itself had statues of men on all corners holding the roof up.  It was beautiful as far as architecture goes, but ugly in the sight of God.

We ate dinner at a Lebanese restaurant, and had a great time talking with the owner.  For more than 20 minutes, he told us the history of Lebanon, and it followed word for word with the Bible.  He even told us about David, Jacob, Abraham, Joshua, etc.  He knew all that stuff.  And, he explained about how the Catholics control the place, and try to keep in check the militant Muslims there.  It was very interesting.

After supper, we went back to see Bro. Pablo, and had a good talk with him, and gave him the Bibles and tracts.  He was very excited to get them, and wanted us to stay longer to be able to help him.  But, we have to leave tomorrow, as Pastor Reyes is supposed to preach on Thursday night at a church in San Pedro Sula.

March 26^th 2002 Tuesday                 Coming Back to Honduras

                After sleeping very well from being so tired (the heat taps your energy more than anything else), we left Bro. Pablo's house at about 6:00 A.M.  We took a collective taxi (which is nothing more than an old army truck with seats in the back), and it was an interesting experience.  There is a young boy who rides on a ladder on the back, and when they stop to let people in, as soon as you put your foot on the step, the driver takes off!  You think your going to fall, but the boy gives you a good shove so you go forward instead of back.  I watched him shove everyone in the same way as we stopped to pick people up.

                After the long bus ride to the border on two different busses (which took about 2 and a half-hours), we had to go to the customs office again and pay to leave Nicaragua.  We decided we'd walk this time to Honduras, rather than go by bicycle, as the bike driver charged us a lot the last time.

                On the other side, Raul and Homero had to pay to enter Honduras, but as a resident of Honduras, I was allowed to enter free without charge.

                After we picked up Homero's suburban, we were on our way again.  It was about noon when we left the border, and we didn't make it home to La Esperanza until about six o'clock in the evening.  It was a long, exhausting trip to Nicaragua, and we only stayed for a short time, but I'm glad I went.  I was able to see how those folks live there, and that made me appreciate even more Honduras and the people here.

March 27^th 2002 Wednesday                Spending Time with Bro. Park and His Family

                I slept in a little bit today as I was completely exhausted!  Last week I went to San Pedro, and then to Tegucigalpa.  I was hoping to rest from those trips but then my friends from Mexico came.  Then on Sunday afternoon I had to preach here at the house, while going to Sunday Morning Services at Jacobo's church and Sunday Evening Services at Ramon's.  If that wasn't enough, then I went to Nicaragua the next day.  So, I was quite tired from being on the go so much, and I enjoyed being able to rest for a little bit.

                After breakfast, I took bro. Park and his wife and kids with me into town to run some errands.  They wanted to buy some vegetables, water, and other things as well.  While there in the downtown area, I had to take a bicycle in to get it fixed, as Sunday before church I ran over the neighbor's bike.  We were going through the neighborhood one more time to visit the folks, and we used a loudspeaker to announce our services.  As we drove down one road, we saw that it didn't go all the way through, so we had to back all the way out.  As I was backing up, I didn't see the bicycle that some kid had left in the road, and I smashed it good with that old, heavy truck.  After talking to his father, I told him that I'd be happy to fix it, so I loaded it up into the car and we went on our way. 

                Downtown, I found a bicycle repair shop, and when I walked in, a young boy looked at me funny and said, "That's my bike!"  I thought he was joking and Bro. Park did too.  But he wasn't.  It was his bike.  What are the odds of running over the bike of a kid that works at a bicycle shop?  Anyway, I told him to buy all the parts it needed, and give me the receipts and I'd pay for it.  He did, and I gave him an extra fifty lempiras to compensate him for it as well.

                In the evening, I enjoyed talking to Bro. Park, and gleaning some of his 43 years of experience in the ministry.  He's been through a lot, and seen a lot and it was a blessing to just sit there in front of the fireplace while we were cooking beans and just listen to him talk.  He's a really good brother, and am enjoying our fellowship together. 

March 28^th 2002 Thursday                The Trip to Tegucigalpa

                I left today around 8:00 A.M. to go to Teguicgalpa.  Bro. Park and his wife said they wanted to visit there, and meet Nelson.  So, I readily invited them to come along.  Together we arrived in Tegus at around 11:30, and then headed to the gas station to visit Nelson.  He is still coming along well.  He told me about his continuing adventures in witnessing, and how he witnessed to a Charismatic women preacher.  He said that after he showed her some verses in the Bible that say that a woman can't preach, she didn't know what to say, and was dumbfounded by what the scriptures said!  But, she didn't do much about it.

                Nelson also told me about how he had given some tracts and bibles to some people, but later he found them drinking beer.  So, he took the Bibles and the tracts away from them, as he said they weren't really serious, and then gave them to someone else who really wanted them.  What a blessing!  He's starting to see that some people are interested and some are not.  And, he's got enough sense to realize that those who love their sins, aren't interested in finding the truth.  They are only interested in enjoying their sinful pleasures.

                After visiting with Nelson, we traveled into the downtown area and did a little shopping.  And, who did we see?  Why Thomas Sweeney and his wife!  What are the odds of seeing them in a town of 1 million people?  But, there they were.  They seemed nice, but they also were kind of stand offish, and acted like they were in a hurry.  Maybe they are still mad about the Spanish Bible issue.  Who knows?

Before we parted company, they introduced me to another missionary who was with them named Robert Baker.  What a name!  He's working in Olancho and is supported by Bro. Raul Reyes church.  What are the odds of meeting him as well?  I guess it had to be God.

                In the evening, we had Bible study with Nelson.  I asked Bro. Park to take him through Manuscript Evidence, Church History, and the difference between the local church and the "Bible Societies," and explain that there are two texts from which the Bible comes from.  One is a corrupt Roman Catholic text, and the other the pure text that God bore witness to.  Then we explained to him about the Spanish Bible issue, and the 1602 TR project.  Nelson was appalled to find that both the 1909 and 1960 changed, omitted, and added words to the Bible for no reason what so ever.  Not only that, they attacked the deity of Christ as well!  So, we gave him a copy of the 1602 Textus Receptus revision, and he was happy to receive it.  "We'll only be studying from it from now on!" I told him.

                After leaving Nelson's house, we thought about getting a hotel.  Nelson wanted me to spend the night at his place, while the Park's stayed at a hotel.  But, I told him that would not be a good idea, and it'd be better to save them money by driving the three hours back home tonight.  We did so, and arrived back at the house around 11:00 in the evening.

March 29^th 2002 Friday                    The Trip That Was Not Meant to Be

                I asked the Parks if they wanted to go to El Salvador today, and they said, "Sure!"  So, we packed up into my car, and headed that way.  We also wanted to visit old Raphael in Colomoncagua as well.  But, we didn't quite make it as the brakes went out on my car halfway to Colomoncagua.  So, we turned around and headed back home.  I drove very slowly as I didn't want to go off of a cliff on those steep mountainous roads.  So I creeped along and used my lower gears and parking brake to assist me.

                The farther we got toward home, the better the brakes worked.  Eventually, they worked perfectly, and I had no more problems whatsoever.  I don't know what the problem was, but Bro. Park said that maybe God was protecting us from something bad that could have befallen us if we'd had gone on further to the border.   Maybe so.  We'll just have to wait and see when we get to heaven. 

                In the afternoon and evening, we talked awhile and had some good fellowship.  We also enjoyed some good Mexican food, as his wife is a wonderful cook.  After shooting the breeze some more, we decided to hit the sack.  The plan is to do some visiting tomorrow around the neighborhood and invite some more people to come to church on Sunday.  I hope they show up. 

March 30^th 2002 Saturday                Rest, Relaxation, and Visitation

                Today we spent most of the morning resting.  We had a great time of fellowship as well.  Then, in the afternoon, we went and did some more visiting.  We left at around 1:30 P.M. and visited until about five in the evening.

                Bro. Park and I met a young couple who were a good prospect.  They were interested in helping they said.  We'll wait and see if they show up tomorrow.

                Also, Bro. Park's wife led a lady to the Lord today that lives next door.  Her name is Mercedes, and she's the mother of the young girl that keeps coming over here asking for food.  We also found out that she's pregnant and due any time.

March 31^st 2002 Sunday                   Another Day of Services

                Well, Sunday came around again.  How fast this week has gone by!  I guess it's because I have friends here.  When I'm by myself, the time just drags on and on.

                This was Easter weekend, and there were many people out in the central park area of town, so we drove into town, and I preached on the street corner again in front of the Catholic church.  Bro. Park and his wife helped me, and passed out tracts while I was preaching.  I thought I might have some problems, as I saw a police man standing next to me.  But, it turned out that he just wanted to listen to what I was saying, and he didn't bother me one bit.

Services at my house went well today.  We had 41 show up.  But they were mostly children and women.  We did have one man though, and a young boy about 17 years old who showed up.  So, that was a blessing.  I just wish more men where interested in the things of God, and would come to the services.

I preached a message on "El Evangelio" (the gospel), and I used a text from 2 Timothy that talked about Jesus destroying death and raising again by the gospel.  I told them it's only the gospel that can save their soul, and only Jesus Christ for the gospel is about him (1 Cor. 15:1-4).  They listened, but the children became a little restless, and were moving around a bit.  We'll wait and see what happens next week, and if anyone returns.  I like the kids, but I need help with them, and someone who can work with the little ones apart, so that the older ones can listen to the message without distraction.

In the evening, I took Bro. Park and his family to Ramon Galeano's church, and we enjoyed hearing him preach from Ephesians chapter 1.  Afterwards, we had coffee and fried bananas at his house, and joked and laughed with him for more than an hour.  

April 1^st 2002 Monday                  The Last Full Day at Home With My Guests.

                We spent most of the day getting some rest and relaxation.  I studied a bit while Bro. Park and his wife packed for tomorrow.  We plan on going together to San Pedro Sula, as I hope to get my brakes fixed.  It's better to travel together, as if something goes wrong they can help me out.  Also, they are going there anyway to meet brother Homero Romero.

                This afternoon, we decided to wash our cars, as there was enough dust on them to plant beans in.  So, we gave them a real good cleaning both inside and out.  Afterwards, we went downtown in the evening to eat at Opalaca's Restaurant one more time. 

                In the evening, we talked some more, and I enjoyed listening to Bro. Park explain how they smuggled the Bibles and New Testaments across the border of Mexico.  They said that once they made it to the border of Guatemala, the lady in charge tried to charge them an outrageous amount of money to permit the Bibles to enter Guatemala.  They said she was very rude and probably an atheist by the way she spoke.  So, rather than pay the huge sum of money, they asked Homero what to do.  He said he knew someone who might be able to help them, and sure enough, after talking to some people, they agreed to move the Bibles for them.  They loaded all the boxes of Bibles up in their truck, and drove them across the river and unloaded them on the other side.  Then Bro. Park picked them up on the other side of the border after paying just for his truck, and nothing more.  Not only did they save a lot of money, but they got the Bibles through, and made friends to help them the next time they bring some more down!

April 2^nd 2002 Tuesday                 Leaving for San Pedro Sula

                We left this morning bright and early to go to San Pedro Sula.  Bro. Park and his family followed me in their truck, and I led the way.  They said it'd be better to go together just in case I had problems with my brakes again.  Thank God I didn't though, and we made it safely to San Pedro.  Once there, we called Bro. Homero to come and get us, but we couldn't reach him.  So, we left a message, and decided to head to the Chevy dealership to get my brakes checked. 

At the Chevy dealership, they did me dirty.  They drove the truck around and then came back and said, "It looks fine to me!"  I said, "How do you know?  Why can't you take the tires off and check the brakes?"  They said, that they didn't need to, as they could tell if they needed anything by test driving it.  Well, I was a little skeptic.  I asked him why they would go out, and he said it was probably just because they became too hot, and that's why they failed.  That didn't satisfy my curiosity, so I asked Homero when we saw him.  He said he'd check them out to see if there is a problem.  He's a great mechanic.  So we drove to his house, and worked on them there.  Sure enough, we found that the back brakes were very loose, and the front brakes were shot.  So we went into town and bought some new ones and put them on ourselves. 

                In the afternoon, we went looking at some different houses for rent, as Homero is looking for a new place to live.  Where he lives now, he feels a little out of place.  The houses are way too close together and the people are very loud and crude.  Also, Bro. Park is looking for a place to stay the next couple of weeks, as he wants to visit Nicaragua and Puerto Cortes as well. 

                In the evening, I spent the night at the house of one of the members of Homero's church.  Actually, the house belongs to one of the sons of the members.  It is very big and very beautiful.  To me it was a mansion.  The owner lives in the states, and doesn't come back much to live here, as he owns his own construction company.  Anyway, I was able to sleep well, and actually get some rest.

April 3^rd 2002 Wednesday                Back Home to La Esperanza

                After waking up at around 7:30, I read my Bible and had prayer.  Then I showered and got ready to go home.  I couldn't leave however, as Bro. Park had the keys, so I waited until he came out with them.  We talked for a little while more, and reminisced about our time together.  Then, at a little passed nine o'clock I left and headed to Pricesmart to buy a few things before heading home.  Before I left, that old voice came back to my mind that said, "If you want to be a missionary, you need to give to missions!"  So, I gave Bro. Park a couple of thousand of lempiras.  He wouldn't take it though, so I had to insist.  Eventually he accepted, but only on one condition: that he give it to Bro. Homero.  "That would be fine!" I said.  And, I was not only able to be a blessing to Bro. Park, but to Bro. Homero as well, as we had a giving chain going on.

                After visiting Pricesmart and buying some necessities (having company really drains your supplies), I was on my way again back to La Esperanza.  Once there, I unloaded everything, and then laid down to take a nap after a very long week!

                When I woke up, I went outside and found a pleasant surprise as many of my Golden Wax bean plants were producing beans.  I picked a handful of those, and then picked about 15 red, juicy radishes as well.  They tasted wonderful.  Also, I noticed I have a huge zucchini growing as well, that is almost ready to be picked.  If things keep up the way they're going, I'll be eating a lot of vegetables this summer.

                So all went well with my friends visiting me here.  Not only did I enjoy the fellowship, but was able to learn some things from Bro. Park and his many years of experience in the ministry.  Also, I was blessed to have been given 13 boxes of New Testaments (1602 TR's!), 5 boxes of booklet tracts entitled "Como Puedo Yo Tener Vida Eterna" (How can I have Eternal Life?), 400 gospel tract tapes with the plan of salvation set to music (for those who can't read), and three boxes of regular tracts.

April 4^th 2002 Thursday                               Home Again Home Again...

                It is good to be at home again by myself and back in the swing of things.  I used most of the day just trying to catch up with the house cleaning and getting things back to normal.  I also spent some time preparing for my trip to Tegucigalpa this evening.

                At around 4:00 P.M., Bro. Thomas Sweeney with another Missionary stopped by to chat.  They said that they "just wanted to see how I was doing."  So, I invited them in, and we talked a while.  They seemed nice, and not angry about the Bible issue.  In fact, they never even brought it up.  But still there was a very strange manner about them.  I think they are just skeptical, and to win them, I'll just have to be their friend.  Before they left, I gave them some of the vegetables that came out of the garden, and told them they are more than welcome to some more the next time they come by.

                A little bit after 5:00 P.M., I packed up and headed to Tegucigalpa to see Nelson and have our weekly Bible Study.  I arrived there at around 8:00 P.M.  Nelson said that his "women" wasn't coming with supper, so I had to drive up the road to Burger King to get us something to eat.  After the gas station closed down, we began to talk.  Nelson told me that he's having problems with his women.  He told her that he wanted to get married, and that they should, but she doesn't want to.  So, I counseled him from the scriptures about that.  Then we talked about another problem he was having.  It seemed that his women hired another girl to work for them, and she has the hots for Nelson.  "That's not a good situation!" I told him.  He agreed.  He also told me that he's been witnessing to her, but she won't respond.  So I counseled him to do the only thing I knew to do.  I told him to fire the girl, as they couldn't afford to pay her anyway.  He said he would.

                After talking, a man walked up to us and introduced himself. Nelson told me that he had talked with him before, and that he was coming this evening as he wanted to meet me and talk with me as well.  He was an older man, about 54, and said his name was Santos.  We pulled up another chair, and then sat and talked a while.  Or maybe I should say that he talked awhile.  Both Nelson and I listened patiently as this man spoke on and on and on about absolutely nothing.  I prayed most of the time, and asked God to get rid of this weirdo.  Eventually, he began telling us about all the dreams and visions he'd had.  Well, that flipped a light switch on upstairs.  "He's a Charismatic!" I thought.  So, I listened as he started talking about tongues as well.  Eventually, I decided I'd have to start in, so I turned him to Joel, which he loved quoting from, to show him that "the last days" refers to the tribulation, and those who will see visions and dream dreams are the Jews.  "Are you a Jew?" I asked him.  He couldn't answer.  Then I ran him to 1 Cor. 1:22 and 1 Cor. 14:22 to show him that "Tongues" are for a sign, and the Jews seek after a sign.  He didn't like that too much.  Then I went through the whole chapter of 1 Cor. Fourteen with him as well as Acts chapter 2 to show him that tongues are always a written, spoken language in the scriptures and not jibberish or garble that no one can understand.  The "unknown tongue" in 1 Corinthians 14 is a language that is unknown to the church, and I showed him that.  Well, he suddenly felt led to go to the house, and I was glad to see him go!  By the time he finally left, we had wasted over 2 hours listening to this demon possessed Pepsicostal talk our ears off about "his experiences" and "his feelings."  It cost us our time to study the Bible together, and both I and Nelson were glad to see him leave.  Before he left, I asked him what church he went to, and he said he went to "Church of God," and that they had a women preacher there.  It figures. 

                After the man left, I told Nelson that we needed to study about Tongues, Pentecostalism, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and more.  He agreed, so we studied all of those subjects and more to see what the Bible had to say about them.  Afterwards, I told him that Satan sent that man just to try to mess old Nelson up.  Then I told him, "Those Charismatics are only interested in what they feel or what they think.  They aren't interested in sound doctrine, or in what the Bible says!"   He agreed, and said, "I'm only interested in what the Bible says!"  Amen to that.  After a few more minutes, I went to my truck to go to sleep.  By this time it was already past midnight, and I was exhausted.  But I slept like a baby.

 April 5^th 2002 Friday                    Leaving Tegucigalpa?

                I tried to leave Teguicgalpa early this morning, but that didn't seem to work out.  I had a lot of things I wanted to do, and I figured I could get them done quickly.  But that all changed when I went to see my lawyer first thing.  I told them about my problem of having expired paperwork for permission to drive in this country, and they said they'd try to do everything they could to get it fixed.  "Come back later this afternoon!" they told me.  So, I left and ran a few errands.  When I came back, they said my "dispensa" finally came through, and I could go and pick up my license plates as soon as I wanted to.  But, then they changed their minds, and said I should wait until next week to come back and get them.  "But what about my expired paperwork that grants me permission to drive?"  Well, they suggested I just keep it, and pray that I don't get pulled over by a policeman until next week.  "Okay," I said, and then left.

                From there, I went to Bro. Abel Bonilla's house, as he emailed me and said that I had a package that came for me.  The notice was at his house, so I went there.  He wasn't home.  So I drove to his office and found him there.  He told me that I had to go all the way back to his house in order to get the notice, and then I could go to the airport and pick up my package.  So, I drove all the way back to his house, and then on to the airport.  By this time it was almost four in the afternoon, and I still had a three-hour drive ahead of me to go home.  But, I did the best I could, and after picking up the package of several hundred gospel tracts, I was on my way to La Esperanza.

                After arriving home at around 7:30 P.M., I found Castillo already there, and he stopped me to tell me, "Tengo mucho pena" (I have much pain, or as we say in English "I feel really bad").  Then he told me that his cow had broken loose from where he keeps him tied, and had entered into my garden and eaten some of the plants.  I just laughed.  "Well, we'll just have to grow some more then!" I told him.  But he felt really bad about it, and told me he'd do all he can to make it good.  "That's fine," I said, and then went inside the house to get ready for bed.

April 6^th 2002 Saturday                                Visit from Moncho

                I had a pleasant surprise today as Bro. Ramon Galeano (the people here call him Moncho) came by to visit me.  He wanted to get some tracts from me in order to give away, as his church does visitation every Saturday afternoon at four o'clock, and they are completely out of material.  I gladly gave him a box of booklet tracts, as well as another box of small tracts, the which he appreciated very much.

                He also told me that yesterday a man came to his house asking him to help him.  "What do you need?" he asked.  The man said, "We have about 25 people meeting in a house to read the scriptures, and we have been doing this for some time.  We want to start ourselves as a church now, and we want to be Baptist.  Can you come and help us do so?"  Wow!  What a open door!

                After relating this story to me, old brother Ramon said, "I've got too much responsibility, and don't want to do that, so I thought I'd ask you if you wanted to."  I looked him in the eyes and quickly responded by asking him, "You don't want the responsibility, or you just can't handle the responsibility?"  He said, "Oh, uh, well, I want it, yeah sure, but I just can't handle it right now, as too much is going on."  "I thought so," I responded.  "You want it, but you just can't do it now."  "Yeah, that's it," he said.  "Well, I'd be more than happy to help them out!" I told him.

                Now we'll just have to wait and see what happens.  The man is supposed to come back on Monday, and if he does, Ramon will send him to me.  Ramon said that he is from a village named "Magdelena" and it's a little further down the road from Colomoncagua (almost to El Salvador).  I told Ramon that I didn't want to drive there (as gas prices went sky high here since the Middle East crisis and driving to Colomoncagua before put a lot of wear and tear on my car) but I was more than willing to take the bus out there once a week to have services, and then come back the next day.  We'll see what happens.  I hope the man shows up.

                Before leaving, Ramon asked me about the Bible Issue in Spanish.  So I began explaining to him about the different versions in Spanish and where they came from.  The next thing you know, I was teaching him manuscript evidence, the history of the modern perversions, and the differences between the true text (Textus Receptus) and the Alexandrian text (corrupt Catholic text).  He listened intently.

                As we were talking, he told me, "I'm the kind of man that believes what I believe because I have seen it for myself.  I don't just believe it because someone told it to me."  "Amen!" I told him, and agreed.  "We cannot go by hearsay, we need to study things out for ourselves," I told him.  But later I was able to throw his own words back at him when he made the statement, "There are mistakes in the King James Bible as well."   I quickly retorted, "Show me one!"  Then he said, "Well Jamie Foster (the missionary who taught him and just retired) said there were."   "Well have you ever seen any?" I asked him.  "No," he responded.   "Then how come you're taking his word for it, and you haven't studied it for yourself?  Remember what you said earlier about how you don't believe what people say until you study it for yourself?"   He blushed a little bit and then said, "Your right.  I'll study it."  Well, of course he can't, as he doesn't know English.  But, at least he realized that those who say something without proof are just full of bologna. 

                After studying several verses in several different Spanish Bibles, I took him to Isaiah 14:12 with 2 Peter 1:19.  Every Spanish Bible says that Jesus Christ is Lucifer according to these verses.  They only one that doesn't is the 1602 Textus Receptus edition.  He was blown away.  He didn't know what to say. Then I told him, "That's why we need a purified Bible in Spanish, as there is not a perfect Bible in Spanish (until the 1602 TR came out)."  He didn't respond, but just stared at the verses in disbelief.

                I also showed him some places in the 1960 that were way off, and where they read with the corrupt Roman Catholic manuscripts.  Then I showed him were the 1909 was right in these places.  Then I showed him where the 1909 reads with the Critical Greek text, and where the 1602 read with the Textus Receptus.  He listened and understood.  It will be interesting to see what he does now that he knows that the 1960 Spanish Bible that he uses reads along with the Roman Catholic Greek text that came from Origen.

                Before he left, I told him that the three most important things to me are 1.  Salvation, 2. The Scriptures, and 3.  Sanctification.  But oh how very few there are that have any of these.  So many today are preaching another gospel, and doing it from another bible.  What does this produce?  No sanctification!  This is why we are in such a mess in the day in which we live.

April 7^th 2002 Sunday                   Services

                I woke up early this morning to prepare a sermon for services this afternoon.  After preparing a message, I went downtown and passed out tracts in the park.  I also talked to the police there and asked them if I could get in the jail one day to pass out tracts.  They said to come back tomorrow at 7:30 A.M., and they'd let me.

                Not too many people showed up for services today. Only about 9 or 10 people, and then only children.  So, I asked Yovanni (Ramon's son)  to preach the message. He did a wonderful job, and preached an excellent message about Blind Bartimaeus.

                In the evening, I spent most of my time studying Greek, and getting material together to prove that the 1960 and 1909 Spanish Bibles both come from the corrupt Greek texts.  So far I've got a pretty good list.  If anyone is ever interested, I'll be more than happy to show them.

April 8^th 2002 Monday                  The Trip into Town and Bible Study with Ramon

                I had a very interesting experience today when I went to the jail to pass out tracts.  I arrived a little bit early, and ended up waiting for over 30 minutes before being allowed to enter.  As I waited, I thought about how great it'd be to give tracts to all the prisoners, and be able to talk to them about the Lord.  But when I was called to go inside, I found over 30 policeman lined up in four rows on the basketball court, and the man who led me in told me to give a tract to each one of them!  So I did.  They thanked me and took them gladly.  Then I told them who I was and where I lived, and that they were invited to visit on Sunday at 2:00 P.M. for services. 

                As I was being ushered out, I asked the policeman, "But, what about the prisoners?  Can I give them one too?"  He agreed, and then took me back inside to see the prisoners.  There were only seven of them.  Four of them were in a room watching Television.  They weren't in handcuffs, nor were they behind bars.  The other three were locked up in a cell that reeked of urine.  I gave them all a tract as well, and then was on my way.

                After visiting the Post Office across the street, I went to see Bro. Ramon Galeano who asked me to come by and visit him today.  While I was there, he began asking me questions about the Bible, and an argument ensued.  The three main issues that he brought up were:  Salvation in the Old Testament, The Body of Christ (the Church), and Double Married Preachers.  These were the same exact three things that people always brought up in the states as well.  I thought once I finished deputation and came here, I wouldn't have to mess with those topics, but I guess I was wrong.

                First he started by telling me that "people are saved the same in the Old Testament as well as in the new."  I replied, "That is the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard!"  Then I showed him several places in the Bible to prove that that simply was not the case.  "People in the Old Testament had their sins remitted, but in the New Testament, their sins are redeemed.  In the Old Testament, when a man died, he went to Abraham's bosom, but in the New Testament a believer that dies goes directly to heaven.  In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came and went from a man (i.e. Samson, Saul, etc).  But in the New Testament, a believer in Christ is sealed with the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13).  Not only that, Abraham was given God's righteousness when he believed, but wasn't justified until he offered up Issac.  However a believer today is both justified and given Christ's righteousness the moment he believes!"  On and on I went with examples such as this to show that salvation was different in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.  I even showed him verses to prove that salvation is different in the Tribulation and the Millennium compared to us in the Church Age today.  Well, he didn't agree, and stuck with his original saying.  We did agree, however, that salvation is always by God's grace, and always by blood (in O.T. the blood of a lamb, in the N.T., the blood of the Lamb).

                Next, he started in on "The Church."  He asked me if I believed in a "universal church."  So, I explained to him about that.  I told him I believe there is a difference between the church as an organization (a local church), and as an organism (the body of Christ of all believers).  He didn't see it that way, and I soon discovered that he is a Baptist Brider.  He said that all local churches are a body of Christ, and the term "Christ's body" only applies to the local church. I asked him, "How many bodies does Christ have?"  He didn't understand.  So I told him that if he was correct, and every local church is a body of Christ, then Christ has many bodies (over 5 in La Esperanza alone!).  But the Bible says its only one body (1 Cor. 12:13, Col. 1:18, etc), made up of all believers in Christ Jesus.  Well, that blew his mind.  He couldn't get that either, nor could he believe it when I show it to him in the scriptures.

                Finally he asked me about double married preachers and divorce.  So I told him what the Bible said about it.   He, like so many others, thinks that "husband of one wife" means one wife in your lifetime, and no more.  "But what if your wife dies?  Can you remarry?"  He couldn't answer.  Nor had he thought about that it either. 

                Before I left, I told him, "What you believe is only Baptist Tradition, and not found in the word of God.  The Missionary that trained you believes the same thing, and it's because he doesn't believe the Bible.  You need to make sure you're following the Bible, and not man!"  Well, that didn't go over very well, but we did agree to remain friends.  As far as salvation goes for us today (in the Church Age), we believe exactly the same (through faith in the blood), and we agreed upon that.

                So what a day!  It seems that the more time I spend here, the more people I make mad.  Not only are the other Missionaries against me, but now it seems that the Local Pastors are starting to dislike me as well.  But, I've made up my mind to stand for and preach the truth no matter what someone else thinks about it.  What God said is what I believe.  Let the whole world stand against truth and God, and I'll stand alone for my Saviour with my Bible in my hand!  Truth is all that matters, and is the only thing worth suffering for.

April 9^th 2002 Tuesday                 The Wind Bloweth Where it Listeth!

                I spent most of today catching up on correspondence.  It piles up quickly, and if you don't keep up on it, you'll get behind.  I also had to wash the clothes and a few other household chores as well.  And, I spent a lot of time in study. 

                At around ten in the morning, an interesting thing happened here.  As I was writing a letter, I heard the wind pick up outside, and just keep on getting louder and louder.  It sounded almost like a freight train it howled so hard, so I ran outside to see what was going on.  When I looked outside, the sun was shining and it was a nice pleasant day.  However, I noticed Castillo looking at something.  So, I ran around the patio to see what he was staring at, and there was a beautiful little tornado whirling around and around about 25 feet from where we were standing.  I'd never seen anything like it.  Nor do I know what you'd call it.  It was more like a twister, but what caused it, I have no idea.  It sure was pretty to watch though. As the wind howled more and more, it spun tighter and tighter.  It eventually grabbed some of the hay that we had piled on the ground, and sent it flying up into the air, whirling around and around.  After about 3 or 4 minutes, it turned back towards us and passing by, blew some of my clothes off of the clothes line where they were drying.  Then it circled around the house and disappeared.  It was weird!

                After it was gone, Castillo asked me "What causes that kind of thing to happen?"  I answered, "I guess it's just God warning you about something!"  He laughed.  But, we decided it must just be the weather and the wind.  It's been very hot the last couple of days, in comparison to cold the days before.  Maybe the temperature and the wind patterns here caused such as that.  Whatever it was, it was sure fun to watch!

April 10^th 2002 Wednesday                The Rain Cometh Down!

                I did some studying this morning, and afterwards I went to visit my neighbors and invite them to Bible Study this Sunday.  While visiting, I met one of Castillo's daughters and her husband.  Her name was Suyapa and his Jesus.  They said they'd come to services.  We shall wait and see.

                I quit visiting at one thirty, as the sun always wears me out here.  I don't know if it's because we are higher than any another city in Honduras, and thus closer to the sun, or if it's just that we are located close to the equator.  Either way, the sun here is hot!  And, after visiting several hours, I'm tapped.  I'm completely spent, and have to go to the house to rest and get some fluids in me.

                It was a good thing that I went home when I did, as today we finally received some rain!  After I made it home, the heavens opened up and let loose a soaker!  It was wonderful!  There was even thunder that echoed off of the mountains and through the valleys.  How lovely it was to hear thunder once again.

April 11^th 2002 Thursday                               Heading to Tegus

                I spent this morning studying and preparing over 14 packages to mail to the United States, Peru, Chile, and Guatemala about the Spanish Bible Issue.  I packed each one full of good material about the different Spanish Bibles, and also sent each recipient a copy of the 1602 TR New Testament for their perusal.  We'll wait and see what comes of it.  I just want people to get the truth.

I had planned on leaving today for Tegucigalpa at around 11:30, but my plans were set back a while as Thomas Sweeney stopped by to visit.  He didn't seem too angry, so he must have cooled off and forgotten about what he said to me at the church.  Also, he was very talkative.  He told me that his wife had just left for the states, and that he'll be by himself for a while.  Then he told me that he was going to join up with missionary Herbert Prince (the other Baptist) and they were going to work together from now on.

                He also said he wanted for me to go with him sometime riding around in the back woods of Honduras and pass out tracts.  "That'd be fun!" I told him.  But we'll wait and see if we end up doing such as that.  I'm still trying to stay away from the other Missionaries, when it comes to working with them.

April 12^th 2002 Friday                    Spending the Day Trying to Get My License Plates

                I arrived in Teguicalpa yesterday around three in the afternoon. There I found Nelson working at the gas station, and I talked with him for a little while.  I told him I had some errands I needed to run and do, but I would return at around 5:00 P.M. when he gets off of work.

                After five, I drove Nelson to his woman's parent's house, and there I was able to meet Zenia's parents.  I also had a wonderful opportunity to witness to Zenia'a dad named Geronimo.  He listened for over 35 minutes as I told him "The Old, Old Story." When I finished, I asked him the famous question, "What will you do with Jesus?"  Sadly, he chose to reject Him.

                Afterwards, we went back to Nelson's house, where I sat down at the table and talked to Nelson and Zenia about why they needed to get married.  Nelson said he wanted to, but it seemed that Zenia didn't.  So we read Ephesians chapter 5, and I showed them what Christ Jesus did for his church, and what they needed to do if they wanted to please God.  Then we ran through several more scriptures.  Zenia finally agreed to marry Nelson, but it seemed like a half-hearted commitment.  We'll just have to wait and see what happens. 

                After sleeping fairly awful in the evening, I awoke this morning to find that Marjorie (Nelson's daughter) was sick.  Zenia took her to the doctor first thing, as she was sneezing, and had what sounded like a very bad chest cold.

                After breakfast, I took Nelson with me to my lawyer's office.  My lawyer was supposed to help me get my License plates today, but we found out some very terrible news after visiting 4 different Aduana offices.  At the last one, we learned that because my "permiso" had expired, I would have to pay a "multa" or fine of over 6000 lempiras.  (That's around 400 American dollars).  Well, needless to say, I wasn't too happy with my lawyer, as I showed them the paper a while back, and told them it was expired.  They said, "Oh, just wait a little while longer, and then we'll have your dispensa, and with it, you won't need the permisio."  Boy were they wrong!

                Also, we were told that I must go to Puerto Cortes (4 hours away) in order to get my license plates and introduce my vehicle here in Honduras.  So first thing next Monday I'll be heading up to Puerto Cortes in the hopes of getting all of this taken care of.  I pray that God will intervene somehow, and the fine will be much less!

                In the afternoon, I was able to obtain my National Honduran Driver's license from the office of Transportation.  It went very smoothly, and rather quickly.  I was surprised!  Also, I received the wrong kind of license I found out later.  There are two kinds here in Honduras.  One is called "Pesada" and the other is called "Liviana" (or something like that).  The "Liviana" is only for small cars and pickups.  But, the "Pesada" license allows you to drive a semi, a bus, a van, a truck, or a regular car.  Well, according to my American license, I'm not permitted to drive a semi or a bus.  But, here, because of Nelson's help, I have permission to do so.  The funny thing, however, is that I have no idea how to drive a semi truck or a huge school bus.  But, I guess if I ever need too, I have permission to do so. 

April 13^th 2002 Saturday                                Spending Time Working

                They say that a Woman's work is never done.  I believe they are probably right, as I am not only doing the work of the ministry, but the work of a wife as well.   I not only am busy with the work of the Lord, but constantly must do my laundry, clean the house, and cook for myself.  I'm really am learning a healthy respect for what a woman does, as it is a lot of work. 

                After cleaning house today, and cooking, I went into town to visit Hugo.  He is supposed to be making a bookshelf for me, but so for I've yet to see it.  I understand though, as he said his wife has been terribly sick lately, and he is taking care of her.   Well, Hugo said to come back not this Monday, but the next and he should have my bookshelf finished.  I hope so.

                In the evening, I spent some time working on my computer and preparing for tomorrow.  I also was able to read some more of Clarence Larkin's book entitled, "Rightly Diving the Truth."  How wonderful a book it is.

April 14^th 2002 Sunday   A Strange Day

Today went by very quickly, and was full of surprises.  I started out by doing a little bit of studying in my office.  Then, I made a tape of me preaching for Nelson to listen to.  After this, I prepared for services at 2:00 P.M. here at the house.  At 1:30 P.M., over 8 or 9 kids showed up, and I waited with them until a little after two to see if anyone else would come.  Sure enough they did.  All in total I had over 16 kids and one adult.  After singing some hymns, I started preaching, but didn't finish as a young girl came running over and interrupted me.  She said that my neighbor Mercedes was ready to have her baby, and that she asked me to take her to the hospital.  So, I closed the service as quickly as possible, and then ran over to pick her up.  As we were driving, she told me that her labour pains were less than 15 minutes apart, so I knew the baby was getting close.

                At the hospital, I helped her check in.  Then I asked her if there was anything else I could do for her.  She said, "No."  So I left.

                As I was leaving, I began thinking a lot about how different the lives of two people can be.  When I checked Mercedes in, I heard them ask for her age.  She said, "Twenty seven."  "That's how old I am!" I thought.  And, as I looked at that poor, old, wrinkled Indian woman (who looked at least forty rather than 27), who smiled back at me with her snaggletoothed smile, I thought to myself how blessed I've been in this life.  Surely the wages of sin can be seen upon one's face.  And this poor women has seen a lot of it, as her face tells the whole story.  She is the same age as I am, yet has led a much different life.  She has had a much harder life, with her husband dying and leaving her with three kids.  She wasn't raised in a good home, nor was she able to attend a good school.  And most of her life was spent just trying to scrap to make a living.  Yet look at me.  I'm happy, well feed, and blessed to have been raised right, and educated well.  Oh how different we are.  

                After arriving home, Missionary Mike Lane came over to the house to invite me to come to his Baptist Camp for a "Christian Film."  I was quite leary of this, but I went anyway.  I endured the thing until I could take no more, and then I left.  It was awful!  And, I was appauled to see that it showed drinking, smoking, cussing, and more.  Not to mention that it showed a man with his shirt off (nudity).  But, it was produced by Franklin Graham (Billy Graham's son) so "it was alright."  Yeah right!  It was as wicked as Hell! 

This is a trend I've seen a lot of lately.  Christianity is trying to mix itself with the world.  It used to be that preachers preached against "Movies."  Now they are going to them, and even staring in them.  How awful of a testimony this is.  A Christian is supposed to be separated from the world.  But, in the day in which we live, Christians are teaching that one must become worldly in order to reach the world.  Well, I might not be the smartest man in the world, but I know you don't have to get into the hog's pen in order to reach the hogs.  They can hear you just as well on the other side of the fence.  If you crawl over to where they are, you'll become just as filthy as they are.  And to me, this is exactly what has happened with "Christianity" today.

After leaving the campground, I went back to the hospital to see if Mercedes had her baby yet.  They told me that she hadn't, so I left her some food and then went back home.  I plan on visiting her one more time tomorrow before leaving for Puerto Cortes. 

April 15^th 2002 Monday                Traveling to Puerto Cortes

                I started out my morning by visiting Mercedes in the hospital.  There I found that she had her baby at around nine o'clock last night.  It was a boy! 

                I asked when she could check out, and she didn't know.  So, I asked the nurse and she said she had to remain a few more hours before she could leave.  Well, I had to leave for Puerto Cortes as soon as possible, so I left her some money to take a taxi to her home, and then said goodbye. 

                Once in Puerto Cortes, I looked for Bro. Luis Martel (an agent there, and a Christian brother) to ask him to help me finally finish my paperwork for my car.  He told me that there was one catch.  I lacked one more important thing, and could only obtain it in San Pedro Sula.  It was my RTN card and the number that goes along with it.  So, I drove back to San Pedro only to find that the offices (as well as the bank) were closed for some kind of Federal Holiday. 

                Tomorrow I plan to go early to see if I be the first in line to get my card.

April 16^th 2002 Tuesday From San Pedro to Cortes and Back

                After waking up early, I took a taxi to the office of "Matriculation" in order to obtain my RTN card.  I was told they are supposed to charge you a 200 Lempira fee.  But, they didn't ask me for anything. 

                As soon as I received my card, I drove the hour back to Puerto Cortes to finish the rest of my paperwork.  Everything went smoothly, except for the 7000 lempira fine they charged me.  There was no way out of it, and without paying the fine, I could not introduce my car into this country.  So there was no way around it.

                Once I paid the fine, and we obtained all the necessary signatures that we needed, I was on my way again to San Pedro Sula.  Tomorrow I must go back to the office of "Matricula" in the hopes of getting my license plates.

April 17^th 2002 Wednesday                Almost!

                What a day!  I started my day by parking my car in line for the "Revisors" to come by and check at the License plate Office.  I arrived early at around 7:30, and then found that I was jipped by the man whom I paid the other day.  He was supposed to reserve me a place in line, but he took my 100 lempiras that I paid him and ran with it.  I never saw him again.  I'll never do that again!

Well, after waiting an hour or so, a woman came along and told me that I was parked in the wrong place, and the line was "over there."  I looked, and the last car in line was parked three blocks away.  So, I had to move all the way to the end of the line.  Because of this, I had to wait over six hours before they finally were able to come to my car.  I was miserable!  It was awful!  But I've learned that sometimes God allows times like this, and he even uses them for a purpose.  I believe he used this "blessing" today as well, as I began talking to the man in the car in front of me.  He is from Honduras, but lives in America.  And, he is a Christian.  We talked for a while, and realized that we knew some of the same missionaries and pastors.  Plus, he knows Bro. Homero Romero as well.  What a small world!  I left him my address and asked him to give it to his brother, an Independent Baptist Pastor in San Pedro.  Maybe I'll get to meet another pastor here in Honduras from all of this.

                After the inspector checked my car, I went inside the office to show my paper work.  They informed me that they had no "placas" (metal plates) there, and I would have to go to Tegucigalpa to obtain them.  So the bad news just kept on coming. 

As I was leaving the office, a man tried to stop me and get some money out of me.  He said I owed him money for him helping me this morning.  Well, I never told him I needed his help and I thought that he was just being friendly.  But, it turns out that he wanted some cash.  I didn't give him any, and walked away.  He kept whistling and yelling at me, but I never looked back.  I just ran on to the car and then pulled off as quickly as I could.

                From San Pedro Sula, I drove directly to La Ceiba.  I called a man there the other day at the Bible Society and asked him to reserve a few copies of a reprint of the original 1602 Spanish Bible.  It turns out that I was given some more back news, as they said that they were no longer available.  It seems that I bought the last one the last time I came here.

April 18^th 2002 Thursday                 Exhaustion!

                How quickly this week has gone by.  What started out on Monday to be a simple visit to Puerto Cortes to obtain some papers, turned into a four day ordeal.  And, how exhausted I am from it.  Today I drove home from La Ceiba after taking a dip in the Gulf of Mexico.  How great it was to be able to go swimming again.  I really enjoyed it.

                Upon my arrival at home, I found a note on the dryer from Castillo telling me that the man from Magdelena had come to visit me.  His name is Elias Marquez, and he is the man that is interested in starting a church.  I plan on visiting him on Tuesday by bus.  I hope all goes well.

                Tonight, I was supposed to go and visit Nelson.  But, I was way too tired.  I didn't make it home until after four o'clock, and I usually leave at around five to go and see Nelson.  But, I was spent from the last several days of running around.  So, after unloading a few groceries, I went to bed at around seven in the evening.  I plan on visiting Nelson tomorrow, as I have to go to Teguicalpa anyway to obtain my license plates.

April 19^th 2002 Friday    Finally I Have My Plates!!!

                I left bright and early to go to Tegucigalpa.  Once there, I went directly to my lawyer's office to give them a few papers.  After that, I went to the Office of Matriculation to get my license plates.  There I got the run around again, and had to go to several different offices for several more papers.  Then I had to walk five blocks down the road to pay over 700 lempiras in order to obtain my plates.  After walking back to the Office, I stood in line and waited once more.  When my turn came, I was told to go to yet one more office and they would tell me what to do there.  So off I went.  At this office, I saw a counter and about 15 people waiting in line to approach it.  As I looked behind the counter, I saw shelves full of license plates.  "This is it!" I thought, "I'm finally going to get my plates!"  When I came to the counter, I was told to wait.  The man next to me had come for his plates as well, and they told him to come back Monday.  I thought "Oh no!  God please don't let me have to wait until Monday!" 

                I waited for what seemed like eternity, and then finally a man came in and put some papers on the clerk's desk.  I could see the name on them, and it was mine.  "I'm close!"  I thought.  Then the clerk moved the papers aside and started working on some others.  "Oh no!  Not this again!" I said in my head.  

                Finally, I saw the clerk pick up my papers.  Then he called in a loud voice, "Robert Breaker?"  I replied as loudly as I could, "Yo estoy aqui! (I am here!)."  Then, he came over with a book and had me sign my name.  After this he went away looking for my plates.  When he brought them back, I felt a sigh or relief come from inside of me.  Finally, after more than 6 months of waiting, I have my license plates!!!

                The funny thing was that when I went to put them on, they wouldn't fit!  I had to drill a whole in them in order to put them on, as the holes they had on them where too far apart. 

April 20^th 2002 Saturday                The Day With Nelson and Zenia

                Last night I had a wonderful time studying the Bible with Nelson.  He is eating it up, and really enjoys learning more about God's word.  At around midnight, I had to call it quits as I was completely exhausted.

                Awaking this morning at a little after six, I waited for Nelson to get off of work.  After he had changed clothes, we headed to the bank to get some money.  Then we went to Nelson's house for breakfast.

                Nelson told me that they had decided to move again.  This time is was a bigger place and much nicer they said.  So after breakfast, I took them with me to see the place.  It was a little bigger, and was in a much quieter neighborhood.  The only problem was that it costs 1000 lempiras a month.  (Nelson only makes 2000 a month).  But, they assured me that they could afford it.

                Nelson wants me to come there and start a church.  It certainly is big enough, as we could fit at least about 15-20 people in the living room.  Also, Zenia wants to start a Pulperia (a small store) there as well.  She wants to sell her "Carreta" (small wagon in which people use to sell things on the streets) and use the money from it to start this small business in her house.  I told her that would be a splendid idea.

                Nelson and I talked with her earlier about how a woman should be a keeper at home, and not out working by herself all the time, especially when she has a child to raise.  She agreed and asked if she could work at home.  I suggested that would be much better.

                Also, Zenia is coming along very well in how she dresses.  Before she used to wear short shorts and a very loose fitting tank top.  But, today she had on a dress and a blouse.  She seems to be coming along as well.  I just hope that Nelson and Zenia will get married soon!  The sooner the better.

April 21^st 2002 Sunday   An Exhausting Sunday

                I slept in as late as I could today as I am still exhausted from this entire last week.  I've been to La Ceiba, Puerto Cortes, San Pedro Sula, and Tegucigalpa (all major cities in Honduras) last week, and traveling to these places wore me out!

                After picking some radishes from the garden and a few Zucchinis this morning, I started working on preparing a message for today.  I also washed some clothes and began cleaning house.  When you're gone for so long, it seems everything piles up at once.

                At around 11:30 in the morning, I was interrupted by the local Pentecostal "Goon Squad" who came by to visit me.  There were three of them, and one of them was a Pastor that I met while at the Hospital with Mercedes.  He had two other young men with him, and they said they just wanted to come by and visit me.  "That's fine," I said, and invited them in.

                They began talking with me, and telling me who they were and what they are doing.  I believe that said their organization was "Corazones a Honduras" (Hearts to Honduras), or something like that.  They also said that they were "Interdenominational" and wanted me to work with them.  "What a minute boys!" I said.  Then I gave them all my Doctrinal Statement and began telling them what I believed.  Before it was over, they decided they needed to go home to the house.  Before I began talking, they invited me to preach for them that evening in their church.  But, after I was done, they left in a hurry and never said anything else about it.  Well, that's just the way those Charismatics are.  They just can't stand sound doctrine. 

                I invited them to come back anytime they liked.  We'll just have to see if they show up.  If they do, I'll fill 'em full of some gospel buckshot once again, and give them some more truth.  It'll be interesting to see if they can take it. 

                Bible Study went well this afternoon.  As usual it was only kids who showed up.  There were thirteen of them.  We played soccer for about 20 minutes before services, and then we studied about "The first and the last Adam."  After services, we played some more soccer and then they went home.  I don't know what will come of this ministry.  My desire is to reach adults.  But, as long as the children keep coming, I'll continue teaching them the Bible.  And, I'll enjoy playing soccer with them as well!

April 22^nd 2002 Monday                  Errands and Getting Ready for Tomorrow            

                I spent most of my day either working or running errands.  To start my day, I did my daily Bible reading.  When I was done, I went outside and planted some cantaloupe, watermelon, and papaya seeds.  Castillo helped me by digging the holes, and then I filled them in with good, rich, black dirt.  I hope they grow well.

                At around eleven o'clock I ran into town and checked my email.  I also bought a few things that I needed.  After buying some kerosene to burn these big piles of Zancate (hay), I headed back home.  The rest of my day was spent studying and printing materials to take with me tomorrow to Magdelena.  I hope all goes well there.

April 23^rd 2002 Tuesday                 The Trip To Magdelena

                "Wow!"  That's about all I can say, so I'll say it again, "Wow!!!"  God is sure good, and it amazes me how he works things out.  I stand in awe of how he brings people together and causes things to come to pass.  Today, everything that happened had to be God from start to finish.

                I started out my day by taking the shuttle bus from out in front of my house to downtown.  It cost three lempiras.  Once downtown, I went to the bus terminal and found the bus headed to Magdelena.  As I waited for it to leave, I asked if anyone on the bus knew Elias Marquez (the man I was going to visit).  One man said he did, and that he was in town today and would riding this bus to go back home.  Sure enough, in a few minutes he boarded the bus, and the man said, "That's him right there!"

                Bro. Elias and I talked almost the whole way four and a half hour trip to Magdelena.  He told me that he used to be a "Santidad" (Holiness) preacher. But, he realized they were wrong.  He said it bothered them that they were going Pentecostal, and he didn't believe that was correct.  He also told me that they asked him to step down from his church so that he could go and start another one somewhere else.  He said he would, but then they never gave him another pastorate anywhere.  In fact, they kept telling him they would, but continued to completely ignore him.  From what I understood, Elias was put out with not only the "hierarchy" of this denomination, but with their teachings as well.  He said, "They don't believe or teach anything!"  Then he went on telling me how that he had started a prayer service over a year ago.  Now over 30 people are coming to it, and they have decided they want to form themselves as a Baptist Church.  I asked him, "Why Baptist?"  He replied, "Because they actually teach the Bible and doctrine!"  What a blessing!

                When we arrived in Magdelena we did some visiting, and I met some of the people he has that are meeting with him.  They all said the same thing, "We need to learn doctrine!"  Wow!

                In the evening, we had services and I preached a message entitled, "What is a Christian?"  I had only four points:  A Christians is someone who is Saved, Sanctified, Separated (from the world), and Soon to leave at the Rapture.  They said they really enjoyed the message and learned a whole lot.  They also want me to come back every Tuesday night and teach them Bible.  Also, they want me to help them start an Independent Baptist Church there too!  What a blessing!  That had to be God!

                So I plan on taking the bus there every week on Tuesday and teaching them doctrine.  Also, I want to explain to them how they can organize themselves into a Baptist Church.  Elias said he wanted my Mission to have the church.  I reminded him of his past experiences with "denominations," "hierarchy's," etc.  Then I told him, "God is the one who's in charge of each Local church.  He is your head and not man.  If you try to put yourself under man again, you'll have the same problems, and you'll end up hindering the work of the Holy Spirit.  You must obey God, and his leading rather than man!"

                I don't know who is more excited about this, me or the people in Magdelena.   They sure have a desire to learn the word.  I pray that God will give me grace, wisdom, and understanding in order to see this work started on the right foundation.

April 24^th 2002 Wednesday                           Sick as a Dog!

                The bus to Magdelena leaves at 10:30 A.M., every morning from La Esperanza.  It arrives there at about 4:30 P.M.  But then to go back to La Esperanza, the bus leaves at midnight.  I was bushed when Elias woke me up and told me the bus was coming down the road.  But I woke up anyway and put my shirt on and hat.  Then I walked outside in the pitchblack, darkness to catch the bus home.

                I slept most of the way on the bus, but that's not an easy task as the bus is constantly turning sharp corners on those mountainous roads.  Not to mention that every so often they turn the lights on in order for boarding passengers to see their way to their seats.  But, I did the best I could to try to get some rest.  I felt sick after about an hour as my stomach hurt and I felt as though I was going to hurl last nights dinner.  But, I endured til the end of this very tiring bus trip.

                At four in the morning, the bus arrived in La Esperanza.  As I gathered my things, I thought about what I was going to do.  The bus from the center of town that goes by my house doesn't leave until six.  So if I were to go by bus, I'd have to wait another two hours.  So, I decided I'd just walk home as it was only about 3 or 4 miles.

                I arrived home at a little after five.  Castillo was there to greet me, and asked how everything went.  "Fine," I said, "but I feel awful!"  Then I went inside.  After a cold shower, I went to bed still feeling queasy.

                I slept most of the day, except for getting up every couple of hours to use the restroom.  Old Montezuma returned again, and I battled him most of the day.

                For breakfast I had a watermelon liquado, hoping that it would clean me out.  Then for lunch I had a banana, carrot, and bran liquado, hoping that this would get rid of what ever was in my stomach and give me strength to do some things today.

                In the afternoon, I spent my time working on the computer, studying, and printing up materials to give away. 

April 25^th 2002 Thursday                               Going to Visit Nelson

                I left La Esperanza today around nine in the morning.  That put me in Teguigalpa around noon.  I went to see Nelson at the gas station first thing, and always he was happy to see me.  I told him I needed to run some errands today, so I left him there and told him I'd come back and pick him up after he finished his shift.

                After finishing running all over Tegucigalpa trying to finish with everything I need to do, I went and picked up Nelson and took him home.  I was surprised to find that Zenia had already started selling things there at the house, and had opened her "Pulperia."  She still lacked a lot of things though, as most of what she was selling was only candy and ice cream.  When she is able to open completely, she'll be selling eggs, milk, refreshments, soap, etc.  It'll be like a very small grocery store.

                Once we had finished eating dinner, we had a bible study.  We studied about the 5^th Mystery in the Bible (The Mystery of Iniquity about the Antichrist and the tribulation).  They ate it up, and really enjoyed learning more about what's going to take place in the future.

                After our study, I crashed and went to bed still feeling a little queasy from my trip to Magdelena Tuesday.

April 26^th 2002 Friday                    Leaving Tegucigalpa

                I left Nelson's house bright and early in order to go and finish doing what needed to be done while in Tegucigalpa.  After finally finishing with my errands, I went to the barber shop for a hair cut, and then I headed home.

April 27^th 2002 Saturday                                A Day to Catch Up

                I started out my day by doing my daily Bible reading.  Always this is the most important thing, and if I forget, the day usually turns out lousy.  It's always best to read God's word before you start your day!

                After reading, I went outside and began working in the garden.  God has been very good, and I've gotten a ton of Zucchinis.  The squash seems to be coming along well, and it looks like I'll be harvesting it soon.  The English peas are growing very nicely, and I love to eat them raw straight off the plant.  They are so sweet!  The tomatoes are beginning to flower, and there are even two or three little ones about the size of a ping-pong balls on one of the plants.  The radishes are just about gone.  I harvested most of them about a week or two ago.  But, there still are some gleanings that I look forward to picking and eating as well.  The broccoli and cauliflower are doing great.  The plants themselves are nice and healthy.  And, they are such a beautiful shade of green.  I look forward to harvesting them as well.

                After piddling in the garden, I went inside and did some work on my computer.  I still haven't finished those booklets that Thomas Sweeney gave me.  I've been going through and typing them on my computer so that I can print them and distribute them.  Also, I've added much more to them as well.  There are 16 booklets in the discipleship course, and I've only finished to number 10.  I hope to get the other 6 done soon.

                In the afternoon, my head began spinning, and I felt very dizzy.  I don't know why, so I tried to lay down.  That helped a little, but I couldn't rest, so I got up.  When I did, I almost fell over.  I don't know what's happening to me.  I've been eating very healthy lately.  I have a watermelon and carrot liquado every morning for breakfast, and then eat mostly vegetables (from the garden) for lunch and dinner.  But, what ever it was that made me dizzy passed, and after a few hours, I felt as good as new.

April 28^th 2002 Sunday                   The Kids Show Up After All

                I spent the morning hours preparing for my Bible Study with the kids.  At around 1:30 P.M., I got a little worried, as they usually show up early.  I waited until two o'clock and they still hadn't showed up.  So, I went inside the house and figured that they weren't going to come today.

                At around 2:15, Rambo the dog began barking, so I went outside to see who it was.  Sure enough, there came the kids.  Better late than never I guess.  There were 13 of them, and we started by playing soccer.  We didn't play very long though, as the sun was so very hot. 

                At around 2:45, we went inside the garage and began studying the Bible.  Last week I told them about Adam and Eve.  This week I spoke to them about Cain and Abel.  I showed them how Abel was trusting the blood, and Cain was trusting in his good works to save him.  Then I explained how God won't accept a man's works.  It's faith that he's looking for (Hebrews 11).

                After services, the kids wanted to play dodge ball, so we played for a while.  Then before they all went home, I gave them a New Testament and told them to write their names in it, and read it often.  I hope they do.

April 29^th 2002 Monday                  Running Errands in Town Again

                I spent some time in town this morning running errands.  I paid the rent, checked my email, visited the Post Office and more.  I also visited Bro. Ramon Galeano as well.  I asked him last week for a copy of his church's constitution.  He told me he'd have to find it, and that I should come back on Wednesday.  Well, I did, and sure enough he had it ready for me.  After making copies of it, I took it home and began reading it.  It's pretty good, and I am planning to use it in the church in Magdalena.  I just need to make a few corrections first, and maybe change and add a few things.

                In the afternoon, I spent some time working in the garden, as well as in the house.  I tried to get the shower and toilet fixed on the other side of the house for Castillo.  I want him to be comfortable, and be able to use them when he needs to.

                In the evening, I spent my time trying to prepare for the big day tomorrow.  I'm off once again to Magdalena to teach Bible.  I just dread that long bus trip!

April 30^th 2002 Tuesday                 Off to Magdalena

                I left the house at around 8:30 A.M., and walked across the open field to the bus stop.  The "Urbano" bus is supposed to come by there every 30 minutes, but I waited over and hour and it never showed up.  So, I decided to walk the 45 minutes into town in order to catch my bus to Magdalena.

                The bus left at eleven o'clock, and on the way I finished reading Clarence Larkin's book, "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth."  At around 11:30 A.M, a tire blew on the bus and we had to stop and change it.  I watched in admiration as two boys about 14 or 15 changed that tire as fast as they could.  You could tell they'd done it before.

                After we took off again, I was very uncomfortable as I had to sit in the back of the bus with two other guys in the seat next to me.  The one closest to me was a police man, and he kept falling asleep and leaning on me.  I had to keep pushing him off of me, and usually he'd wake up when I did.

                Finally, at about 3:30 P.M., the bus arrived in Magdalena.  How wonderful it was to get out of that Sardine Can and out into the open air!  After meeting with Elias Marquez, we went and visited the Alcalde (or Mayor) of Magdalena named Francis Xavier.  I was surprised he remembered me, but he sure did.  I met him once in Colomoncagua, and I gave him a Bible.  He remembered that too.

                Services in the evening went well.  I taught on "How to win a soul to Christ Jesus," and we went through a whole list of verses.  Then I taught on "The Baptist Distinctives."

                After services, I went back to Elias' house and relaxed in the hammock.  We talked for several hours, and had a good time.  At around 11:00 P.M., I went to sleep, but it was not very satisfying nor restful as I had to wake up an hour later to get on the bus to go back home.

May 1^st 2002 Wednesday                           Back Home!

                My bus arrived in La Esperanza at around four in the morning.  As soon as it arrived, I grabbed my bag and took off walking down the road to my house.  All I could think of was my nice, warm bed.  After over fifty minutes of walking, I arrived at home to find Castillo already working outside.  He woke up early he said so that he could go outside and burn the huge piles of hay that he'd cut with his machete.  (In the early morning hours, there is no wind, and it's a good time to burn).  I spoke with him a little bit, and then went inside and hit the sack.  I didn't wake up until about 10:30 A.M.

                Most of the rest of the day was spent studying.  I did go outside a few times though.  I picked and ate a few blackberries from the bush outside.  There are a ton of them, and every day there are more and more ripe ones.  I also picked my first yellow squash from out of the garden.  I cooked it up with some Zucchini, and it was simply wonderful!  Zucchini doesn't have much of a taste, but that yellow squash is great! (Especially with a little salt and butter!)

May 2^nd 2002 Thursday                Traveling to Tegucigalpa and Receiving Wonderful News!

                I left the house rather late and arrived at the Gas station where Nelson works at about eight thirty in the evening.  When I pulled up, Nelson ran to the truck to great me.  We talked for a bit, and then he told me, "Guess what?  I won three people to the Lord!"  I began getting excited, and a huge smile came across my face.  My first thought was, "He's got it!  Now he's really going to get busy for the Lord!"   But, I wanted to make sure he did it the right way, so I asked him, "And how did you win them to the Lord?"  He then explained that he talked to them for quite some time on several occasions about their sins and death and hell, which follow after.  Then he invited all three of them to his house one night.  There he took them through a list of scriptures that I had given him about salvation.  Then he told them they needed to trust the blood of Jesus Christ to save them and nothing else!  And, then he said that did just that.  Wow!  I about lost it, I was so excited!

                After he told me about it, I had to run up and buy us dinner as Nelson's woman was sick and wasn't able to bring us supper tonight.  As I drove off, I was shouting and hollering the whole way, "Hallelujah! Praise you Jesus!  God is Good!  Amen! Etc!"  When I got to the restaurant, it was still with me.  When I went inside the bathroom, I looked in each stall to make sure no one was in there, and when I found it empty, I had a hoot and holler fest by my lonesome!  I just kept on shouting and praising God as I thought about how good he has been to me to give me a spiritual son in the Lord that is winning souls!  Amen and amen!!!

                When I returned to the gas station, Nelson and I ate dinner, and then studied the last two of the seven mysteries in the Bible.  Before I went to my sleeping bag in my truck to turn in, I thought about how I used to get excited when I went surfing.  I'd yell and scream for excitement when I'd catch a good wave.  But, that was only for a short time, and only lasted a short while.  But, when someone wins a soul to Jesus Christ, it's far better.  Not only does it last longer, but it makes you want to shout louder as it is something that is eternal.  What a blessing!  If I'm shouting this loud down here, I wonder how loud the angels are shouting in heaven!

May 3^rd 2002 Friday    A Day in Tegucigalpa with Nelson

                What started out as a rather awful day turned into a blessing after all.  I spent most of the day trying to run errands and get some odds and ends things that I needed from town.  First I found out that I was completely broke (except for the 3000 lempiras I had in my pocket), and there were many things I needed to buy today.  So, I decided to use a credit card to buy some important Spanish books that I've been needing to buy for some time.  When I tried to pay, the card was denied.  I didn't know what to do, so I went to the internet café to call the Visa company in the United States and see what the deal was (you can call the U.S. for 2 lempiras a minute via internet).  There I talked to a woman who told me that there was no problem with the card, and that she would activate it A.S.A.P.  That she did, and I was on my way to completing my errands.  Unfortunately, I ran into about 15 more problems all day long.  However, things did turn around, as I finally finished my business and was able to leave Tegucigalpa around three in the afternoon bound for home.

May 4^th 2002 Saturday                The Kids Come Back and Bring Some Visitors

                I spent a lot of time studying today, but that was hard to do as the power went off at around eleven in the morning.  If that weren't bad enough, I was also without water most of the day.

                At two o'clock in the afternoon about 15 kids showed up.  I told them we should start at three, but they must have forgotten and grown accustomed to our usual two o'clock meeting time.  So at two we began by playing a game of soccer.  Several new kids showed up today as well.  Two of them were twins.  So it was good to see that these kids are inviting others to come as well.

                At around 2:30 P.M., we had services and studied from the book of Genesis about Noah and the flood.  They listened and enjoyed themselves.  After services we played some more, and then we noticed some more kids coming down the road.  They joined us, and said, "We thought that you said services started at three o'clock!"  That was what I said, so I didn't know what else to do but hold services again.  So, at a little past three, we all went into the garage again and studied about Enoch.

                How wonderful it was to teach these kids hymns as well.  Most of them didn't know them, but as I would sing, they would follow along or at least try to.  After a short period of time, they began picking them up.  And, how it stirs my soul to hear them sing "The Lily of the Valley" in Spanish, as well as several other famous English Hymns in their language.

May 5^th 2002 Sunday   No Power and No Water Again!

                Today was a rather awful day.  I awoke to find that there was still no power nor water.  Thank God I bought a generator before I left the states, otherwise all of my groceries in the refrigerator would have gone bad. 

                After several hours, I began to get hungry.  So, I hauled out the old woodburning/charcoal stove that I bought in South Carolina before coming here and fired it up.  It worked great!  It took a while to set the wood on fire, and then I had to wait for the wood to catch the charcoal on fire.  But when the charcoal finally did light, it burned very hot, and cooked up breakfast very quickly. 

                After breakfast, I cleaned the house and swept the floors.  Then I went outside for a time to check on the garden.  The yellow squash are growing like crazy and every day it seems that I'm picking at least two or three of them. 

                At around two in the afternoon, the power finally came back on, and I went back in the house to try to study some more.  I didn't study long when I heard Rambo announcing that someone was coming.  I ran outside to see who it was, and found that Missionary Mike Lane had come by to visit me.  He said he wanted to listen to me preach today to the kids.  Well, I regretfully informed him that we changed services to Saturday.  "That's okay," he said.  And, we went inside and talked a bit. 

                Before he left, I loaded his wagon (so to speak) by giving him some squash, Zucchini, radishes, and more from the garden.  He was very appreciative.

May 6^th 2002 Monday                Studying and Visiting the Other Missionaries

                I spent most of the day studying and trying to finish the church constitution for the church in Madgelena.  However, I didn't quit finish, and it looks like it just might take me much longer than I thought. 

                In the afternoon, I went to visit Hugo Nazar to see if he had finished my bookcase that I asked him to make.  He sure had, and I took it home and spent the next hour or so unpacking books and setting them in order in the bookcase.  I'm having him make one more bookcase as well, and with the two, that should be enough room for all of my books.  How great it will finally be to unpack the rest of my stuff.

                At around four thirty in the afternoon, Missionary Mike Lane came by and invited me for dinner at his house at 5:30 P.M.  I cleaned up a bit, and then headed over.  Before I left, I picked a whole lot of blackberries from off of the bush here, and took them to them as a gift.  They were very pleased.

                For dinner they had invited the other Missionary's as well.  So there we all were, myself, Mike Lane, Thomas Sweeney, Herbert Prince, and old Rich.   Tom and Rich's wives both went back to the states for a week or two, so they were "single" like me for a time.  They had been going to Mike's house just about every night for dinner, as Mike's wife is very nice, and wanted to make sure they were feed well.

                After dinner, we sat and talked about anything and everything.  They told me about how they are all working together to help one another.  And, informed me of all the projects they are involved with.   They are drilling wells for people in different areas so that they can have access to water.  Also, they are busy traveling to different areas building church buildings.  And, Herbert Prince is active in building a Bible Institute here in La Esperanza.

                It was good to have some fellowship with other Americans, but I was a little disappointed, as there was not too much spiritual conversation.  Oh how I am starving for some good spiritual fellowship!

                At 7:30 P.M., I dismissed myself and told them I must needs go to the house and finish my studying and preparing of a message for tomorrow.  They understood, and wished me well.

May 7^th 2002 Tuesday Off to Magdalena

                I left the house at around 8:45 A.M., and found that the bus that goes downtown had just left.  So I walked the hour into town with my backpack and a box full of Bibles.  Once in town, I hopped on the bus and started reading a book, while waiting for the bus to leave at a half past ten.

                In Magdelena, I found Elias Marquez at his house.  He informed me that he was sick, and had been to the doctor earlier today with kidney problems.  They gave him a bunch of pills, and he was taking them regularly.  But, he invited me in, and I relaxed in the hammock for a bit.  As we talked, Elias told me that he spoke with the Mayor of the city again, and he told them they could use the city warehouse as a place to meet for services.  The only catch was that we'd have to pay 300 lempiras every month (about 20 dollars).  I asked Elias, "Can you afford that?"  He assured me that they could.

                Elias also asked me to stay more often on Wednesday's and teach him the Bible all day on Wednesday.  So, after I get some material prepared, it looks like I'll be going to Magdelena on Tuesdays and staying on Wednesdays as well. 

                In the evening, I taught on Eternal Security.  I went through a list of over 20 or 30 verses.  The people listened, and afterwards they asked me a ton of questions, as most of them are from a Santidad background (Holiness Church), and they teach that a Christian can lose their salvation.  The questions ranged from, "Well what about Hebrews 6:4-6" to "But, what if a Christian quits going to church?  Is he still saved?"  I answered all of their questions with Bible and showed them that for us today Salvation is only by grace through faith in the precious shed blood of Jesus Christ!  And when one trusts Christ, he is a son, he's sealed til the day of redemption, and he's in Christ (in his body), and Christ is in him.

                I believe they understood, but it seems like it will take some time to get them over the false teachings they received from their Santidad church.  I don't know if the people are saved or not, but Elias appears to be, as he was agreeing with everything I said, and even interrupted me on several occasions to make what I said more clear to the people that they could understand that it's faith without works.  No works for salvation, no works to stay saved.  Salvation is not of works!!!  "Work because you are saved (Eph. 2:10), not to get saved (Eph. 2:8,9)," I told them.

May 8^th 2002 Wednesday                           Coming Home to La Esperanza

                At midnight the bus came by Elias' house bound for La Esperanza.  I flagged it down, and boarded.  It was very full.  Almost too full!  Elias' two daughters (one 12 and the other 17) boarded the bus as well, as they were headed to Olancho .  They both go to school there.

                As we rode along, I became sleepy, but I can't get much sleep on the bus, as it is constantly turning horse shoe-shaped curves continually.  As you sit in your seat, your body goes to the right, then back to the left.  Constantly you are swaying back and forth, and for this reason I can't fall asleep easily.  It doesn't seem to bother the natives though, as they were all snoring away.  Here I was in an isle seat.  On the left of me, a man was sleeping, and he fell over on me across the isle.  Then the man on my right fell asleep on my shoulder.  Then Elias' daughter fell asleep in front of me, and her head fell down no my pack back on my lap.  So, I was surrounded and couldn't move.  I can officially say that I now know what I sardine feels like!  Anyway, I just sat there and watched the trees go by.  I prayed for a while, and then began getting sleepy myself.  After a while, I guess I dozed off, because I don't remember much after that.  All I remember was seeing the lights of the town of La Esperanza down below the road, and that made me glad to finally be home.

                As I walked the hour back to my house, I found 20 lempiras in my pocket all folded up.  And, I didn't know where it came from.  All I can figure is that someone must have slipped it into my pocket as an offering at the church.  That was nice of them!

May 9^th 2002 Thursday                               A Day of Study!

                All day long I spent working on trying to finish the church constitution for the church in Magdelena.  I must have spent over 14 hours on it, and I was only able to complete about half of it.  I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to finish it.  That is if I can.  It is a lot of work, and especially when it's in Spanish.

                While I was working, I cooked beans all day, and every now and then I'd stop working to rest my eyes and go stir the beans.  They were the red beans that I was given from the folks in Olancho, and they turned out to be very good!

May 10^th 2002 Friday                    More Study!

                I spent most of today studying as well, although I felt a little sick.  I finally finished the format for the church constitution in Magdelena.  It took me more than 30 hours to finally finish everything, and even then I have to give it to some someone to read in Spanish so that can check it for errors.

                I also went to town today to mail some letters at the Post Office and buy a few little things.  After that, I went home and studied until past two o'clock in the morning!

May 11^th 2002 Saturday                                Time With My Kids

                The kids showed up today very early!  Instead of coming at two, they arrived at 1:30.  We had a good time playing soccer, and I invited them to come around the house and help me pick some blackberries from the bush.  There were way too many, and I couldn't eat them all, and they gladly helped!

                Afterwards we studied about the tower of Babel, and I taught them about how man wants to work his way to heaven (i.e. build him a tower to get him there by his own works), but how that leaves God out.  You must come through Christ alone or not at all.  It went very well, but the kids were a little restless today, and I about lost my voice trying to yell at them to get them calmed down.

                In the evening I spent the rest of my time studying and preparing for tomorrow when I go and see Nelson.

May 12^th 2002 Sunday                   Going to See Nelson

                Well, today was supposed to be our first official services at Nelson's house.  However, when I arrived there, I was informed that Zenia's grandmother had died, and they had to go and visit the family today in Choluteca.  They asked if I wanted to go with them, and I said, "Sure!  Let's go!"  So off we went to visit Zenia's family.  When we arrived, I was introduced to Zenia's bothers and sisters.  I also saw her mom and Dad again.  They were friendly, but when I talked to them about the Lord, they clammed up on me a bit. 

                For lunch I had the delightful opportunity to try Goat's meat.  It was awful!  Not only was it very tough, but it smelled bad, had almost too rich of a taste, and it still had the goat's hair in it.  So needles to say, I only had one or two bites and no more.

                In the afternoon, we decided to drive down and see the Pacific Ocean.  It was only an hour away from where we were, so off we went to visit the island of Amapala.  It was a beautiful island, and looked almost like a huge volcano.  But, we didn't have time to take the "lancha"  (launch boat) out to it.  Maybe next time I'll have the chance to do so.

May 13^th 2002 Monday                  Mandados (Errands)

                Murphy's law is not only viable in the United States, but is here as well.  In fact, I think that it is much grander here, as things always seem to go wrong.  After I left Nelson's house this morning, I had to run to town to do some "mandados" (errands).  When I tried to go to the bank and withdraw some money on my credit card, they wouldn't let me do it.  I told them that it had already been authorized, and all they needed to do was call the certain phone number on the back of the card, and everything would be fine.  Well, they said that they couldn't call the number, and I would have to go to the office downtown in order to ask if I could use their phone.  "That's ridiculous!"  I told them, and I left.

                On the back of my card, there was a number that said, "To call collect from without the United States call this number..."  So I tried to call that number, but the operator told me "that number does not accept collect calls."  So I was stuck.  I didn't know what to do, so I had to drive to the Internet café in order to try to call the 1 800 number of the back of the card.  The internet café collects two lempiras a minute to call the U.S., and by this time I was down to my last 39 lempiras.  Surely the phone call couldn't be any longer than 19 minutes. 

                When I called the number, they put me on hold for 5 minutes.  Then when they picked up, they told me to hold some more.  Finally, I was able to talk to a real person, and they cleared up everything for me.  They even told me, "You didn't have to call this number by paying for it, the bank is supposed to do that!"  I replied, "But this is Honduras, the banks do what they want!"

                As I drove home to La Esperanza (by this time it was about three in the afternoon), I passed my friend Homero Romero heading the other way.  We both stopped and chatted for a while.  He told me that he had come all the way from San Pedro Sula to visit me today (three hours away), but I wasn't home.  I apologized, and told him my new schedule, and why I wasn't able to make it home any sooner.  He understood.

May 14^th 2002 Tuesday                 Off to Magdalena

                I spent most of last night, and a lot of this morning preparing for teaching tonight in Magdalena.  At around a quarter til nine, Castillo told me that the bus was out in front of the house, and that if I was going, I needed to go now!  So, I grabbed everything, and locked up the house as quickly as I could, then I was on my way.

                I made the bus, but only by chasing it a quarter of a mile or more screaming for it to stop.  Finally it did, and I was able to ride into town.

                At a half past ten, my bus left for Magdelena on its oh so tiring four hour journey!  I try to make the most of my time on these trips, so I always carry along a book with me to read.  By the time the bus arrived in Magdalena, I had finished a little more than half of Clarence Larkin's book on "Daniel."  It is very good, and I am looking forward to completing it.

                At Elias Marquez's house, I relaxed a bit in his hammock.  Then at around 6:45 P.M., we went to the church where I taught on "Baptism."  I also was able to take a box of bibles with me to give to the people in the services.  I gave away 18 Bibles.

May 15^th 2002 Wednesday                 A Day to Relax

                When I left Magdalena on the midnight bus, I didn't have to use the bathroom.  But on the way to La Esperanza, I felt the urge.  I had to go very badly, but had to hold it in until two hours later when the bus finally stopped at a café so that the people could buy coffee if they wanted it.

                At four in the morning, the bus finally arrived in La Esperanza, and after exiting, I walked the hour home to my house in the moonlight.  I had planned to go to San Pedro Sula today to have my transmission checked (as it is making noises again like before), but when I arrived at the house, all I could think of was going to sleep!  So I hit the sack and didn't wake up until after eleven.

                The rest of the day was spent running errands here in La Esperanza.  I also picked up my other set of bookshelves from Hugo, and spent most of the evening finally unpacking the rest of my books and stacking them neatly on the shelves.  Slowly but surely I'm coming along with the house here, and I hope to have everything done soon.

                In the evening, we had a wonderful rain that lasted more than several hours.  It was long in coming, but well needed as there are cracks in the ground here in the yard about two inches wide.  The more rain the better!

May 16^th 2002 Thursday                               On the Road Again!

                I left La Esperanza this morning at about nine in the morning bound for San Pedro Sula.  There I took my car directly to the Chevy dealership as it was running very rough, and I thought the transmission was going out again.  It turns out that it was just a fuel problem, and they will have to keep it a few days to fix it.

                In San Pedro Sula, I called my friend Homero Romero, and he took me shopping all day.  I had to find some hymnals for the church in Magdalena.  The cheapest we could find was 125 lempiras each one.  But, that was too much, as Jacobo in La Esperanza told me that a friend of his could get them for 90 lempiras apiece.  So we looked a few more places, and finally found a Christian bookstore that sold them for 84 lempiras each.  I quickly took advantage of the great price and ordered 30 of them.  They should be in next week.

                In the evening, I had a great dinner with Homero Romero and his family and enjoyed his company and conversation.

May 17^th 2002 Friday                    Heading Home

                I left San Pedro at around noon on a bus headed for La Esperanza.  I had to leave my car at the Chevy dealership, as they still needed some more time to find and fix the problem.  The bus arrived at La Esperanza around 5:30 P.M., and when we entered the town, down came a pouring rain.  After walking in the rain to the bus station, I secured a taxi, and was on my way home tired, a little wet, and ready for some rest.

                It amazes me that in a country of six million or more people that you can be on a bus you've never been before and hear someone say, "Hola Roberto, Como Estas?" (Hello Robert, how are you?).  I turned to see who it was, and it was the Charismatic guy who visited my house a few weeks back.  He remembered me and wanted to say "Hello!"  He even sat next to me the whole trip to La Esperanza, but he didn't talk much.

                At home I went to bed tired as a dog, and feeling very sick at my stomach.  I hope to feel better tomorrow.

May 18^th 2002 Saturday                The Kids Are Bad Today

                As always the kids showed up today.  But they showed up earlier than they ever have.  About four or five of them showed up at around one o'clock.  They played soccer with me a little while, and then they asked to go and get some blackberries from the bush.  I said, "Okay."  But, when they started picking them, they pulled bags out of their pockets and began picking as many as they could and filling their bags.

                "What do you think your doing?" I asked them.  They said, "Oh, we are just picking some blackberries!" they responded in a non-chanant manner.  But, in reality they were taking all my blackberries.  Well, I let them have them.  I knew I couldn't eat them all.  But, I sure would have liked to have had some.

                After about 10 minutes, some other kids came along and were very mad that these other kids had picked all the blackberries.  They became a little upset, and the name calling ensued.  "You are all a bunch of dogs!"  they began proclaiming.  Then they got mad and left.  The rest of the kids (about 15 of them ) stayed.  When I asked them why the others left, they said that they were mad because they didn't get any blackberries.  So, for those that hadn't left, I made them give me their bags so that I could give them to those who didn't get any.  (What a mess!).

                If that wasn't bad enough, then when I started preaching, some of the kids got up and left and went outside to play soccer.  They just couldn't wait until I finished.  Then those that stayed weren't paying much attention, and were looking at the others who were playing.  So, I had to wrap things up quickly as those outside would not come in.

                After services, we played all sorts of games.  I taught the kids how to play "Duck, Duck, Goose," and they taught me how to play "Da un Rollo" or (something like that).  We all held hands in a line, and the kids ran in a circle and wrapped themselves around me as I stood still.  Then they ran back the other way to unwind as they were chanting some kind of nursery rhyme.  It was a lot of fun.  They taught me several other games as well.

May 19^th 2002 Sunday   Heading to Tegus

                I left La Esperanza on the twelve o'clock bus bound for Tegucigalpa.  My car is still in the shop in San Pedro Sula, which means that I must depend on the buses here in Honduras for my transportation.  But oh how I hate the bus!  Not only do they play wicked music all day long, but they are uncomfortable, slow, and dirty. 

                My bus arrived in Tegucigalpa a few minutes before four.  There I found that Nelson had found a new job. (He quit his old one, as he wanted to have Sundays free for church services).  He now works in a warehouse loading and unloading trucks, airplanes, etc.  However, he found out that he still has to work one Sunday every month.  (That's better than nothing).

                Nelson also informed me that he visited all of his neighbors and invited them to services in his house, but no one wanted to come.  Some of them were not interested in church at all, while the majority of them were Pentecostals, and were attending services at the newly started Pentecostal church next door to Nelson, or the Assembly of God church on the street behind Nelson's house.  They told Nelson that he should go to their church instead of them going to his church.  However, Nelson told them right when he showed them from the scriptures why their church and their teachings were wrong (i.e. about Tongues, women preachers, etc).  He has really grown, and is really zealous for the Lord.

                Before Nelson, Zenia, and I had bible study in the evening (studying about the 7 Baptisms), I talked with Lacho (Nelson's brother) for almost an hour about salvation.  Last week he asked me about how to be saved.  I gave him a few verses and then left it at that (planting the seed).  Then I told him, "Next week we'll have a Bible Study about what the Bible says about how to get saved."  He agreed, and when we started, I began with verses about Hell and Judgment.  I wanted him to see why he needed to be saved.  Then I asked him, "Are you a sinner?"  He replied, "No."  So, I had to take him through some more verses and then tell him that he was.  I said, "Not only are you a sinner, you just lied when you said you weren't, because the Bible says all are sinners!"  He agreed, and realized his lost condition.  Afterwards I took him through the plan of salvation from Generation to Resolution (Gen. – Rev.) and showed him what Jesus Christ did for him on the cross of Calvary.  He heard, understood, but rejected the free gift of eternal life.  When I asked him if he was willing to trust Jesus Christ as his saviour, he replied "Not right now."  Then Nelson said, "Are you going to accept Jesus Christ as your saviour or not?"  Lacho replied "No."  How sad that he chose to reject so great a salvation.  But, that is his prerogative.  All we can do is pray and hope that he will change his mind, and put his faith and trust solely and completely in the blood of Jesus Christ!

May 20^th 2002 Monday  Heading Home

                I took the nine o'clock express bus this morning heading home for La Esperanza.  On the way I read a book about Honduras Colloquialisms.  It is very interesting, and is like a dictionary of words that are only used in Honduras.  Some of the words I knew or had heard before, but the majority of them were new to me.

                After arriving home, I spent some time working outside with Castillo preparing beds to plant vegetables in.  We worked for a little while, but found so many roots, that we had to quit.  The soil has been tilled once, but it still is full of old roots, and will not work well for planting until we find a way to get rid of all the roots. 

                In the evening, I studied and worked on translating a good English book into Spanish.  It is called "The Tale of Three Cities" and is about the three main cities responsible for giving "modern scholarship" their manuscripts for the Bible.  The cities are Rome (who always adds to the word of God), Alexandria (who always subtracts from the word of God), and Antioch (where Christ's disciples were first named Christians, and where the right manuscripts come from).  I hope to finish this booklet soon, as there are so many that need to know the truth about the Bible Issue. 

May 21^st 2002 Tuesday Off to Magdalena

                I left for Magdalena on the ten thirty bus.  As we drove all over the winding, twisting, rocky roads, I tried my best to do some studying.  This was indeed no easy task as not only was it difficult to read on the bumpy ride, but the bus was over filled, and I was sandwiched between several people.  However, I was able to look over 202 verses in my Spanish Bible and compare them with others on a data sheet listing different verses in different versions, and how they differ.  What I discovered in this study was that the 1602 TR Spanish Bible that I'm using was better than all the rest of the other Spanish Bibles according to the verses they had listed.  This strengthened my faith in it even more.

At a little past three in the afternoon, I arrived in Magdalena and found Elias working in his back yard putting up a fence to keep the chickens from running free.  He told me that two had already been run over the day before, and he didn't want to see anymore go to waste.  So he was constructing a very large pin with a high wire fence.  Hopefully that will keep them from escaping.

                After changing out of his work clothes and into something more casual, Bro. Elias and I went to meet a man who hadn't been to church lately.  Several days ago, he had an accident and something heavy fell on his shoulder.  So Elias wanted us to visit him and make sure he was all right.   On the way to his house we walked and walked over mountains, valleys, and rocky areas.  We crossed several creeks and many a pasture full of big Brahma bulls.  It was so quiet and peaceful in this area, and I enjoyed hearing the birds singing and feeling the cool breeze wisp through the valleys. 

                Finally, after about 30 minutes of walking, we arrived at the man's house and spoke with him for awhile.  It seems a log fell on his shoulder and pectoral muscle.  He was still bruised and in pain, but other than that, he seemed okay.  The doctor said that nothing was broken and prescribed a month's rest to recuperate.

                As I was introduced to the man, I found that his last name was "Del Cid."  This is a very Spanish name and dates back to the 13 or 14^th century with mister "El Cid" himself.  He was the one that defeated the Moors and helped to push them out of Spain.  But, it cost him his life in the process. 

                How interesting it was to me to think that this man was a link to the same El Cid that I have read about.  And how awesome to think that this same "El Cid" had descendants come from his loins that not only live in Spain today, but have even traveled to this part of the world as colonists and continued on with the family name.

                In the evening, I taught at the church about the Holy Spirit and his works.  I spoke for over an hour and a half and explained how the Holy Spirit convicts a man of sin, righteousness, and judgment (although he uses a man's conscience to do it).  Then I explained how the Holy Spirit is active in the new birth, and seals, sanctifies, and regenerates a man after he trusts Christ Jesus as his Saviour.  Plus I taught them that the Holy Spirit is our Comforter, Guide, and Teacher who always bears witness of Christ and not himself.

                Elias also spoke to me today about teaching an English course here in Magdalena.  Elias told me that there was a black man from the coast who was teaching English to kids here four times a month and was charging them 300 lempiras a month or 75 lempiras a class (about 5 American dollars).  Elias said that if I wanted to, he would promote it, and visit the people and recruit students. " It's fine with me," I told him.  It's not the money that interests me.  It's the opportunity to be a good witness and testimony to others in the community.  If they do pay me, I guess I'll just use it to buy Bibles, or maybe to help the church here.

May 22^nd 2002 Wednesday                           Another Bus Trip

                Today I left for San Pedro Sula on the bus to see about my car.  Oh how slow these buses are!  It usually takes about two hours and forty-five minutes to arrive in San Pedro.  But, the bus trip was an agonizing four and a half hours!

                Once in San Pedro, I took a taxi to the Chevrolet dealership and found that my car was ready.  After paying for the work they had done, I called Bro. Homero Romero and asked him if I could spend the night at his house.  He readily agreed, and I was able to get a very good night's rest.

May 23^rd 2002 Thursday                                               How Do You Find a Filing Cabinet in Honduras?

I had hoped to leave San Pedro Sula early today, but I had some errands to run, and I needed Homero's help to show me where several stores were that I needed to visit.  One thing I really needed was a filing cabinet.  We traveled to over five different stores and didn't find anything.  Everyone thought that they knew a store that had what I needed, but when we went there, they didn't have it.  Finally, after several hours of looking, we encountered an Ace Hardware store in the Mall, and were able to find a nice, two-drawer, wooden model.  It cost an arm and a leg (about 60 American dollars), but I bought it anyway, as I'm tired of having all my important papers lying on the floor.

After we loaded up my new filing cabinet, we drove to the Christian bookstore where I paid for the 30 brand new "Baptist Hymnals" for the church in Magdalena which I had ordered.  They are very nice, and I hope they will last for some time.

At around lunch time I dropped Homero off at his house, and then I headed to Pricesmart to buy some groceries before heading home.  Not only did I buy a bunch of food to last me a while, but also I purchased twenty five bags of cow manure as well to use in my garden. 

May 24^th 2002 Friday                                    The Rainy Season is Upon Us

                The rainy season is finally here, and it has started raining just about every day.  How great it is to finally have some rain!  The ground behind the house was so dry that it had cracks in it two inches wide about two feet deep!  But, how wonderful it was to finally receive some much needed rain.  Because of it, the grass has turned a beautiful shade of green, and the plants have started blossoming and producing much better than before. 

                Most of today I spent studying.  For more than 14 hours I spent reading and collating material for this Tuesday at Magdalena.  I'll be teaching about the Bible, and I want to have as much information as I can.  So I am gathering as many different sources as I can, putting them in my computer.  Not only will I be able to use this information in Magdalena, but in starting churches in other places as well.

May 25^th 2002 Saturday                                The Kids Come Back After All

                All of the kids showed up again today.  Not only that, there were a few new faces.  I don't remember their names as there are so many, but I do remember their faces.  And, it's always a blessing to see new faces at the services. 

                Before the kids arrived, I cranked up the lawn mower and began mowing the yard.  While I was working, some of them walked up, and asked me what I was doing.  "I'm mowing the lawn!" I told them.  Some of them asked me how the lawn mower worked, as it was the first time they had ever seen one.  I showed them, and then told them to be very careful as that machine was not a toy.  Then I asked the kids, "Who wants to pick some flowers?"  They all responded in unison, "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!"  Then we began picking the wild Crochus flowers that grow in the yard here.  After a heavy rain, they practically spring up over night.  And boy are they beautiful with their pink color with purple streaks.  The kids really enjoyed picking them and making themselves bouquets.

                Afterwards, we played soccer for about 20 minutes before starting our lessons.  I enjoy playing hard, as the harder we play, the more tired the kids become, and are thus more attentive when I'm teaching.  It's better that they get rid of all their energy before the lesson. 

                In the services I taught about Lot and his wife.  I used the text that says, "Remember Lot's wife" and told them why they should remember her – because she loved the world more than she loved God, and that's something that we should not do!  The kids listened, but is was hard to preach today, as the rain starting coming down rather briskly, and I had to yell to be heard over the noise of it hitting upon the metal roof. 

May 26^th 2002 Sunday                   Study!

                I spent most of my time studying.  There is so much to do, and so little time.  I am putting all of my teaching notes on my computer so that I can print and use them whenever I need them.  This is a long and tedious process.  Today I worked at it for over 14 hours!  I also did my laundry in between breaks.  Then I went outside and did a little work in the afternoon for about an hour.  In the evening it rained a very hard rain, and how wonderful it was to sit back and relax and listen to it pound on the tin roof of the house.   

May 27^th 2002 Monday                 Running Errands and Studying

                I spent a majority of my day running all over La Esperanza trying to run some errands.  I had hoped to finish quickly, as I needed to study more.  However, time (as it always does) seemed to slip away from me.

                In the afternoon, I tried to check my email, but the computer at the Vimeco Internet Company was very slow.  So, unfortunately I was unable to read more than a few emails and send a few in return.

                Vimeco also makes copies.  They cost .35 centavos (cents) apiece.  I figured it out, and that's less than three cents a copy.  It seemed like a good deal to me, so I had thirty copies each made of several booklets about the Spanish Bible to give to the people in Magdalena.  All I lack is my book about the History of the Spanish Bible.  Then I'll be able to give them that one as well.

May 28^th 2002 Tuesday                                 Driving to Magdalena

                I went back to Vimeco today and had them print up 30 copies of my Spanish Bible History book.  Then I drove the 66 miles over the rocky, twisting, mountain roads to Magdalena.  I arrived there at a little past 3:30, and found Elias with is brother working on putting up a carport.  I asked them what they were doing and they said, "We are building a carport for your car!"  I didn't know what to say.  That was very nice of them, and I could hardly believe they'd go to all that trouble for me.  They used six logs as pillars, and then used some smaller logs to join the two sides.  On top of that they placed adobe tile (which so many use here).  When they had finished, it was a nice little carport that kept the car completely dry.  The only problem was that it rained in the evening, and my car bogged down in the mud as I tried to enter it.  So, needless to say, I wasn't able to use the new carport as my car was stuck in the mud.  It was far enough out of the road, however, so we left it until tomorrow.

                In the evening, not too many people showed up for church, as there was a very hard down pour, and many people live far away.  If fact it rained all night long.

May 29^th 2002 Wednesday                 A Day in Magdelena

                I awoke this morning and had to go out and dig my car out of the mud.  It took a little while, but after about 30 minutes, and several attempts, we finally freed my vehicle from the suctiony grasp of the black, liquid dirt.  Afterwards, we ate breakfast, and then visited a few people.

                I have been asked to teach English here in Magdelena, and people are willing to pay me to do so.  Elias is very much enthusiastic with this idea, and he wants me to do so.  Today he took me to the school here in Magdelena to talk with the principal about the idea.  She loved the idea, and took me into each class to speak to them about when we can start, where, and how much it would cost.  I was told that a black man came from the northern coast and taught for a short time.  This man charged 300 lempiras a month to teach English.  This only included one class each week.  Thus, he charged 75 lempiras a class or about five American dollars a class.  I told them that if they were really interested, I'd only collect 50 lempiras a class or about three American dollars.  I hate to charge them, but if I give classes for free, then everyone and their grandmother will come, and there will not be room enough for everyone, nor will they learn anything.  They can feel as if they can come and go as they please, and this would be utter confusion.  So Elias convinced me that to actually be able to teach them, find those that are really interested and willing to pay.  Then, they will learn because they are willing to, and are paying for the classes. 

                I understand where he is coming from, and to an extent I agree with him.  So many have come to this country and given these people something for nothing.  They when they receive it, it's not worth much as it was something they obtained for nothing.  It did not cost them anything; thus it had no value.  So hopefully we can get some students that are really interested and will appreciate the classes.  I'll use the money that pay me to make handouts, pay my fare to the town of Magdelena, and maybe even do some other special things as well.

                I would really like to be able to buy a King James Bible for each student so that we can use that as our textbook.  What a great way to learn English!  I sure hope I can find some here in this country.  If not, I'll have to ask people in the states to send me some.

                In the afternoon, Elias and I studied the church constitution.  Specifically, we studied about the doctrinal statement and looked up the verses in each paragraph.  When I put the constitution and doctrinal statement together, I tried to make it as thorough as possible so that in the future, if the Lord tarries, they will have everything they need right there in their constitution and won't get mixed up with false doctrine.  I not only put over 26 different articles about different theological topics, but an average of over 10 or 11 verses (sometimes more) under each subject as well.

May 30^th 2002 Thursday                               Back Home Again!

                How great it was to finally be home again after being gone for so long.  I left Magdelena at five in the morning with Elias and his 6 or 7 year old son Ever (who had an ingrown tooth that was hurting him so bad that all day yesterday he cried).  We arrived in La Esperanza a little before eight o'clock.  I dropped Elias off close to the doctor's office, and then I headed for home.

                At home I was able to take a much needed shower after going two days in Magdelena without one. (Elias still doesn't have a shower in his home, although he is working on it).  Then, I hit the sack exhausted, and feeling a little bit sick.  I tried to sleep, but was unable to do so.  Instead, I just lay in bed and enjoyed the peace and quiet. 

                Later in the day, I went outside and worked with Castillo in the garden.  We planted all of the corn I had.  In total, we covered an area about 100 feet square.  Then we planted many of the other seeds that I had (green peppers, beets, collard greens, perfection peas, etc.).  With all the rain we are getting now in the rainy season, in several months I should receive a big harvest.  Much of it I plan on giving away to friends and neighbors.  But, I also want to sell some of it too.  We'll see if I'm able, as I could stand to make a pretty penny on these vegetables according to Castillo.

                I also took about 4 squash, 4 kohlrabi, and several Zucchini up the road to missionary Mike Lane's house.  He wasn't home, so I left it with the neighbors to give to him.  I also gave about the same amount of vegetables to my neighbors that live next door, as they are always very friendly and talk to me whenever they have the chance.

May 31^st 2002 Friday                    A Day of Errands

                Today I rested, or at least tried to.  Most of my time was spent traveling to different stores in La Esperanza and trying to find much needed items.  This is no easy task as even the most common of items are very hard to find.  Take deodorant for example, I looked everywhere to find it.  I use Right Guard, but here they don't sell that brand.  The closest to it is a brand named "Hombre" which is basically the same thing (it contains no aluminum).  However, it is very hard to find a store that sells this brand.  Finally, after much effort, I was able to obtain some.  But, most of my day was shot after looking just about everywhere for this one little item.

June 1^st 2002 Saturday                                Exposition And Time With My Kids

                Wow!  It's hard to believe that June has already come.  Everything around me points to the fact that it has arrived.  The birds are always out, the grass is so green and beautiful, and the June bugs have even showed up here.  But, how quickly time has flown by!  It is so hard to believe that it is June already!

                We have planted most of the corn and beans that I had wanted to.  Now I want to plant several more types of "verduras" (vegetables).  How nice it will be in a few months when I am able to eat whatever kind of vegetable I desire by just walking out back behind the house and picking them!

                Today was the annual "Exposicion" here in La Esperanza.  It was a day when many people showed off their produce, their art, or any other type of craft that they wanted the public to see.  It was big ordeal, and they had all types of clothes, pottery, and fruits and vegetables.  I walked around for several hours and found a few things that I couldn't live without.

                At a little past noon, I went home to prepare for my weekly Bible study with the kids.  Or at least I tried to.  Mike Lane showed up at around one o'clock and talked with me for over 30 minutes.  By the time he left, I had very little time left to prepare a lesson for the children.  But, I did the best I could, and taught about Lot, and how he was taken captive by the Kings of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Tidal the king of the nations (Gen. 14:1).  I told them that Lot ran to the world, and the world took him captive.  It's the same today.  If you run to the world, you will be bound up in sin with no way out.  Then I explained to them about how Abraham rescued Lot, and Jesus Christ wants to rescue them from the captivity of sin if they will only come to him and trust him as their saviour through faith in his precious blood!  They listened, and I think they understood.

                After preaching to the kids, we played some more "futbol" (soccer).  I really enjoyed it, as the kids were really getting into it.  We played for about 20 minutes.  Then the children wanted to play more games, and eat some more blackberries.  I was tired, and wanted to study, but I waited for them to leave.  Finally they did, but it sure took them awhile.  They didn't want to go.  They kept hugging me, and telling me that they didn't want to leave.  But, finally I was able to coax them into going home.  I believe that there were about 22 kids today in total.

June 2^nd 2002 Sunday                   June Already?

                Today I left for Tegus around six this morning.  I was feeling very exhausted and a little sick.  On the way, all I could think about was how pressured I've been lately.  There is always somewhere I have to be, and I'm always on the run.  Today was no different.  I was supposed to go to Olancho with Nelson as soon as I arrived at his house so that I could baptize him there.  However, when I reached his house, I was feeling very bad.  I had a bit of a temperature, and felt like I needed to lie down.  I was willing to go to Olancho, but wished I didn't have to go.  At Nelson's, I found Nelson was gone (he went to buy some eggs), and only Zenia was there.  So I waited outside.  After about twenty minutes, Nelson showed up.  By this time it was already a half past nine.  Nelson said, "Do you want to go to Olancho today?  It's already rather late."  "Sure," I replied.  "I'll go if you want me to."  Nelson was ready to go, but Zenia couldn't go with us.  So we decided it would be better to wait until next week to go, and then we could spend a day or two more there.

                After having a Bible Study with Nelson, I headed to the Mall to check my email.  After that, I felt too bad to drive home, so I rented a hotel room for the night and turned in early feeling exhausted, sick, and downright miserable.  Before I was able to go to my room, a drunk stopped me and started talking to me.  I gave him a tract, and he told me he was a "Christian."  Well, we talked for some time, and he sobered up a bit to listen.  Then he really became interested, and told me that he wanted to go to his room to shower and clean himself up a bit, in order to speak with me some more.  However, he never returned.  My guess is that he probably passed out in his room.  After several hours, I went to the lobby to inquire about him, and they said he was in the bar – drinking.  What a shame!  And what a wicked device of the devil is that "satanic brew" which keeps a man in bondage to it and sin.

June 3^rd 2002 Monday                 Some Errands to Do in Tegucigalpa

                I woke up this morning feeling much better.  I felt as though I actually rested for the first time in a long while.  At around eight o'clock (after a nice warm shower in my room), I left the hotel and ran some errands.  After finding everything I needed, I visited the Christian Bookstore that I like to go to often.  There I received a wonderful surprise.  I was told that I was their "Customer of the Month!"  They told me that because I have been buying so many books from them, that they choose me to be their special customer that month, and as a reward, I was given a free book of my choosing.  That was a real blessing.  Also, I bought several copies of "Foxes Book of Martyrs" and "Babylon Mystery Religion," to give away to several Christians that I know.

                On the way home, I began feeling much better, but still felt rushed knowing that tomorrow I go to Magdelena once again.  The days, weeks, and months are just flying by here, and it seems there is no time to get things done.  There is so much studying I need to do.  Yet, there is just not enough time in the week it seems.  So, I guess I'll just have to continue doing the best I can, and not worry about anything else. 

June 4^th 2002 Tuesday                                 Off to Magdelena

                I left for Magdelena a little late today, as I spent quite a bit of time at the Copy Shop trying to make some copies of a booklet I translated about the history of the Bible and where it came from.  At about eleven thirty, I loaded my truck, and headed out to Magdelena.  All day I was feeling awful and wished I didn't have to go.  I made up my mind that I'd only stay for one day, and then come home tomorrow so that I can rest, or at least try to.

                Once in Magdelena, I told Elias that I was sick and that I couldn't stay all day tomorrow.  I told him we should study now, so that we don't waste anytime, and that is exactly what we did as we studied the all famous verse in the Bible – 2 Peter 3:8.  Also, we learned about "Dispensations."

                In the evening, I finished my lesson about the Spanish Bible, and told them about why the 1602 TR is the right Bible in Spanish, and no other is.  They were very impressed, and said they would only use that one, and no other.

June 5^th 2002 Wednesday                 What a Day!

                I left Magdelena today at five in the morning.  I was completely exhausted, and ready to rest as soon as I made it home.  However, I could not rest as there was too much to do.  I had clothes to wash, messages and teaching material to prepare, and a few odds and ends jobs to accomplish as well.  If that weren't bad enough, I also had to go to town to withdraw some money, check my email, and pay my rent.  Then I had to go and look for Thomas Sweeney to see if he could help me move my new desk that I had Hugo make for me.  We went together to Hugo's house, and found that the desk was not quite finished.  So, that was a wasted trip.

                In the evening, I left for San Pedro Sula at around five in the afternoon.  I arrived there at around eight in the evening, and immediately checked myself into a hotel to relax. 

June 6^th 2002 Thursday                               A Day in San Pedro

                I pulled up at Bro. Homero's house at about seven in the morning and knocked on his door.  There was no answer, so I went to my car and waited.  I knew they were home, as their car was there, but I decided to wait, as I knew he would shortly pull his car out of the driveway (as he does every morning).  After about 30 minutes of waiting, Bro. Homero opened his garage door and saw me.  He asked, "What are you doing here?"  I replied, "I'm here to fix the tie rods on my car!"  He remembered, and before we started working on the car, we had a good breakfast.

                After working all day long, we finally fixed the car.  Two tie rods were shot.  On one of them the rubber seal had broken in half, and all the grease had come out.  So, it was worth the drive and the effort to replace them.

                In the evening, I was asked to preach a message in the Thursday night services at Homero's home.  There were about 20 something people that showed up, and I preached a message about "What is a Christian?"

                After preaching for more than an hour, we loaded the van up and took everyone home.  Then Bro. Homero took me to Pizza Hut to eat dinner.  There a surprising thing happened.  I met old Gustavo Andino (my old Spanish teacher from Tegucigalpa).  He told me that he was there for a conference from his church, and all of them were there at Pizza Hut eating.  It was good to see him again.

                In the evening, I went to bed exhausted.  I so much desire about a week to rest.  It seems that I keep going and going so much that there is hardly ever anytime to rest.  Nor does there look like there will be in the future.  Bro. Homero asked me to come back next week and teach about the Spanish Bible Issue, so next Thursday I'll be traveling again.  God give me grace!  And please God, give me some rest!

June 7^th 2002 Friday                    Trying to Leave San Pedro Sula

                Today was a disaster.  All I wanted to do was go home and rest.  However, this was not a possibility as I had to have my car washed, greased, and the oil changed.  Not only that, I had to run a few more errands in San Pedro while I was there.  What should have only taken a few hours turned out to be more than a six hour ordeal!

                In America it is so easy to do things.  If you need something, you just run to Walmart, and they have everything you need.  However in Honduras it is very different.  Here there are many different stores, and to find what you need, you almost have to visit every one of them before you find the only one that sells the thing you need.

                Today for example, we searched for an oil filter for my car.  This was no easy task. We had to stop at over six different parts stores before we could find one.  Nobody had one because it was for an American car, and most cars in Honduras are Japanese.  So, needless to say, we were just about to pull our hair out when we stopped at one last place.  Sure enough they had what we needed and, praise be to God, we were able to buy the oil filter and install it.

                By the time everything was finished, it was after four in the afternoon.  My day was shot and I was so exhausted that all I could think about was my nice warm bed.  I left San Pedro a little after five and arrived home a little before eight.  After eating a quick dinner of Clam Chowder, I hit the sack completely exhausted from such a long week.

June 8^th 2002 Saturday                                The Trip to "La Cueva De Dos Leones" (The Cave of Two Lions)

                My kids came early today and they all came with their sack lunches like I told them.  Once all had arrived, we all started out together walking down the road that leads to the Cave of Two Lions.  Most of the kids had been there before and I was the only one who hadn't been there.  Once we arrived, we found a small little cave full of water with two lions carved into the entrance of it.  On the top it said, "Viva Dios y La Fraternidad" (Live God and Fraternity), and it had a date on it that looked like it said 1937.

                After we had lunch, some of the kids became a little restless and ended up leaving the group.  I tried to preach to them about "Melchisidec" but the kids were very non-attentive to say the least.  I had to yell and shout and scream, but they still keep talking with each other and weren't listening.  Every week it seems the kids are less and less behaved.  I don't know what I'm going to do.

                As we walked down the mountain, we took a side trail that lead to the school where most of the children attend.  Each one had to show me their classroom and tell me information about what goes on at the school.  It seems that there is a teacher's strike going on now, and the kids have been out of school for a week or more.  But, according to them, school should start again on Monday.

                When we arrived back to my house, the kids wanted to play soccer.  So we played for about twenty minutes.  Then we were rained out and had to go into the garage and wait for the downpour to stop.  As we waited, I told the kids "Cuentos" or "Campfire stories."  In this the children were very intrigued.  After the rain stopped we played some more and then the kids went home.  How glad I was to see them go!  It's not that I don't like them.  I love this kids!  It's just that they wear me out so much.  It sure would be great to have someone to help me with these kids!

June 9^th 2002 Sunday                   And Off to Olancho

                I left home at around seven in the morning bound for Tegucigalpa to pick up Nelson and Zenia and drive to Olancho.  After the three hour drive, I arrived in Tegus to find Nelson and Zenia were not quite ready, so I had to wait for them to bathe and pack.  Lacho (Nelson's brother) and his "woman" Yohanna were also there, and asked to go with me.  "Okay," I told them, and at eleven o'clock we all loaded up in the truck and headed for Olancho.

                At a little after three in the afternoon, we arrived in Guanko and everyone came out to greet us.  What a blessing it was to be back in this place.  Christian, Dennis, Ever, and more ran to me and hugged me. 

                In the evening, I was asked to preach again.  It was in the same place as last time.  And, I preached a message entitled "What is a Christian?"  It was the hardest message I have every preached in my life.  I called them every name I could think of, and even surprised myself by using some words I didn't even know.  But, it had to be done.  So many people in that village are nothing more than religious hypocrites.  They are Phariseical Charismaniacs.  And, because I love them, I told them the truth.  It was very quiet during the message.  And, even quieter afterwards.  But, they received the truth.

                After the message, some people talked with me for some time asking me about if a Christian could go to Hell.  I had to explain to them about "once saved always saved."  Further, I explained to them that salvation is a free gift that you can not earn, nor can you keep it by your works.  It is the gift of God! 

                I ended my evening by telling scary stories to a group of children who were seated around me in a circle.  They really enjoyed listening.

June 10^th 2002 Monday                 Baptism Service

                Today was the big day!  We told everyone yesterday to come down to the river at nine o'clock this morning to witness the baptism of Nelson and Zenia.  I was surprised to see that over fifty people showed up!  Before the baptism, I preached a message about "What is Baptism?"  I took them through many verses and showed them that baptism doesn't save anyone.  It's the blood that saves!  Also, I explained to them that what were about to do today was to give to them a testimony.  Nelson and Zenia by this were preaching to them that they have already accepted Jesus Christ, and are showing themselves identified with his death, burial, and resurrection.  

                After preaching, we went down into the river (which was a little dirty by the way), and I baptized Zenia first, and then Nelson.  Afterwards we had prayer and I sent everyone home. 

                As we walked up to the village, several people wanted me to preach another message.   I was not prepared to do so, yet at their request I was more than happy to oblige myself.  I preached a very short message entitled, "Where are my sins?"  After which I distributed tracts to as many people as I could.

                At noon we had to leave, as Lacho needed to work tonight at six thirty.  I didn't want to go, as I love this little town of Guanko and the people there.  How sad I was to leave.  But it was a fruitful trip, and the people were able to witness Nelson's baptism.

                While we were leaving the river, Lacho told me that he was now ready to get saved soon.  I asked him, "When?"  "Cualquier dia" (Whatever Day), he responded.  "How about today?" I asked him.  He said, "Any day but today!"   From this I deduced that he was definitely not ready to get saved.  He's just running his mouth.

June 11^th 2002 Tuesday                 A Day of Rest?

                I had hoped to rest today, as I am completely exhausted from all of this running around.  In the last week, I went to Magdelena, Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, and Olancho.  That's a lot of traveling, and it covered an area of more than 1000 miles.  Because of that, I had hoped to take the entire day to do nothing more than just rest and relax.  However, that was exactly what I didn't do as I spent most of the day working outside.

                I started the day by going through the garden and picking all of the vegetables that were ready to eat.  Then I had to pull out all of the plants that were moldy, putrefied, or infested with fungus.  Because of these heavy rains we've gotten lately, many of my plants died.  The Cauliflower completely turned into mush, and became a home for the bugs. 

                Every one of my tomato plants died with some strange disease.  I don't remember the name of it, but Castillo told me what it was.  So I had to pull all of the tomato plants out of the garden and burn them.  Thank God there are still many plants that are okay.  However, I sure was looking forward to eating some tomatoes.

                I also mowed the yard today.  It took me over 3 hours with the push mower, and it tired me out!  But, the yard does look much nicer.

June 12^th 2002 Wednesday                           Trying to Rest Yet Again!

                I had hoped to rest today.  However, I had so many things to do in town that such a luxury was not possible.  After running all over La Esperanza, I finally made it home at one thirty in the afternoon completely spent, and only having one of the errands taken care of that I needed to do.

                At Vimeco (the Internet store), I was able to check my email.  Also, I had them make copies of three little booklets about the Bible Issue to give away tomorrow.  They should be done with them tomorrow and I will go and pick them up.  Each page costs .35 centavos (or about three cents each).  That's a very good price, and I am able to publish many booklets at a low cost.

                In the evening I went to bed early still exhausted from last week, and I slept like a baby.

June 13^th 2002 Thursday                               Off to San Pedro, Again!

                I spent most of my morning studying.  At eleven I went to Vimeco to pay for and pick up the booklets that they copied for me.  Then I was about to leave for San Pedro when I decided to stop by the Post Office before leaving.  To my surprise, I found that there were eleven boxes there for me to pick up!  Big Bertha (my nickname for the lady who works at the Post Office) was more than happy to give them to me, but not without a price.  She charged me 300 lempiras as some kind of fee in order to receive my boxes.  I still don't know what the fee was for, as they were paid for in the States, however, in Honduras it is best not to ask questions or cause a ruckus.  So I paid her and loaded up my boxes.

                When I arrived home, I opened the packages to find that I had 200 Spanish Bibles and three boxes of tracts each one with over 2000 tracts in it.  What a blessing this was to receive.  Now I can get busy putting this material out here in Honduras.

                At noon I left for San Pedro and arrived there a little past four.  What usually is about a three hour drive turned into a much longer one as a hard heavy rain began pouring down on the other side of Sigutepeque.  It rained almost the whole way from then on.  It wasn't just a light rain, but was a rain that fell so hard, you could barely see out of your windshield with the wipers going full blast.  Many had pulled over to the side of the road to try to wait it out.  I decided to press on, which is what I did, but with much caution.  In San Pedro the tempest ceased.

                Evening Services went well at Bro. Homero Romero's house.  Not too many people showed up as the rain followed me to San Pedro, and began falling toward the evening hours.  However, those that did attend heard me preach for over an hour about the Spanish Bible Issue.  We studied the Origin of the Bible, different Spanish Bible Translations, and those responsible for those translations.  I wished I had more time, as there is so much information on this subject, however I did the best I could in the short time available, and I believe they followed what I was saying.

June 14^th 2002 Friday                    Taxes?

                I arose this morning after having slept very well all night long.  The sound of the rain helped me to fall asleep, and relaxed me all through the night.  After breakfast, Homero and I went to the Internet place to check our email.  There I found that I had to still pay my taxes.  They were due the 15^th of April, however, I am allowed until the 15^th of June to file them with no hassle.   The time was growing to a close, and today I had to call the United States to my tax agent (Ms. Meachum), and take care of all of the paperwork.  It turns out I didn't end up having to pay anything.  In fact, I'll be getting a refund!  What a blessing.

                In the evening it rained so hard that the yard began to flood.  Hopefully it will dry up tomorrow.

June 15^th 2002 Saturday                                The Kids

                I spent some time this morning in town.  I had to go and check my email, as well as have several copies made of some Bible Study helps that Mike Lane gave me.  While I was at Vimeco, I was able to give a bible to Esau and Xavier (two of the employees there).  I've been forming a friendship with them as I go there quite often, and told them I would give them a Bible the next time I came in.  That would have been the last time that I visited there.  However I forgot to bring my Bibles with me.  They didn't forget however, and asked me where their Bibles were.  So this time I made sure I brought them one.  They were very appreciative.

                After checking my email, I drove to Hugo's house to see if my new desk was finished which I asked him to make.  The last several times I went to his house he said it wasn't finished, but to come back in a day or two.  I'm learning that "a day or two" in Honduras means a week or two.  As Thomas Sweeney jokingly said, "It's a law in Honduras that they can't give you anything that you paid for until you have visited the store and bothered them to get it done at least three times."  I'm starting to believe that it's not a joke!

                However, Hugo had finally finished with my desk, and I was able to take it home and set up my computer system in my brand new pine "secretary."  It is my own design and has two shelves on top and a fold-out drawer in the front in which my computer, scanner, and printer all fit perfectly.

                In the afternoon, the kids showed up early again (at 1:30 P.M.).  I taught on "The Jews" and "Where the Muslims came from."  They listened, but not well as their attention span is short.  I am constantly having to tell them to be quiet or to turn around and listen to me.  Every week it seems they get worse!  But, I do enjoy working with them.  I also like it when they surprise me.  Today for example, several of the kids did what I asked them to.  I told them they needed to memorize Bible verses to say in services.  If they would quote their verse, they could choose the hymn that we will sing.  Today I had three of them who quoted their verses without flaw!  One of the verses was Hebrews 9:22 (a good one about the blood!).  So I was happy about that.

June 16^th 2002 Sunday                   A Really Bad Day

                Yesterday I parked my car in the yard as I always do.  However, now that we have had so much rain, the yard is a swamp and my car sunk into the mud a little bit.  I tried to move it, but it was of no avail, as the car was stuck and would not move in the wet, slippery soil.

                In the evening, I tried to move the car again and I was actually able to free it from the mud and park it in another spot (thinking it would be drier there and it wouldn't sink down).  Unfortunately, I parked it in a worse place than before and once again I was stuck.

                This morning I spent several hours trying to get the car out of the mud, but to no avail.  After a while some kids saw me struggling, and they came over to help.  There were eight of them and they ranged from ages 8 to 12.  They pushed and pushed, but were unable to loose the car from the grasps of the slimy soil. 

                A few minutes later, my neighbor's kids showed up (five of them) and they too helped to push.  With these 13 kids pushing, we finally were able to free the truck!  Afterwards, I gave them all chick tracts and thanked them for their help.

                To make a long story short, I wasn't able to go to Tegucigalpa today as usual because by the time we got the truck out of the mud, it was way too late.  So, I took advantage of the situation and spent the rest of the day studying for Tuesday and Wednesday night services in Magdelena.

June 17^th 2002 Monday                  A Day of Preparation

                I studied practically all day long.  In the afternoon, I went into town to run a few errands and check my email.  I also ran a few errands.  In the evening, I spent quite a bit of time preparing for tomorrow when I go to Magdelena.

June 18^th 2002 Tuesday                 Off to Magdelena Again

                I missed the "Urbano" bus that goes by my house to the down town area, so I had to walk the hour into town again.  There I checked my email one last time and sent off a few important emails.

                At 10:40 A.M. the bus left La Esperanza, and I was surprised to find several people on the bus from the church in Magdalena.  They were heading back home while I was heading there to teach them Bible.

                When we arrived in Magdelena, I was invited to go and spend some time with the Argueta family (a family from the church).  They were very nice, and took very good care of me.  There I ate lunch with them; which consisted of beans, eggs, sausage, and tortillas.  They also had two little "terrors" named Griselda and Tania who didn't leave me alone the whole time I was there.  Griselda was five and Tania was 8 or 9.  They were cute little girls, but oh so energetic and loud!  I did enjoy playing with them though.

                In the evening, I taught about the doctrine of the Church or "The bride of Christ."  Not very many people showed up unfortunately. However, those who did were what I call "the faithful few."

                Also I learned today that the spelling of "Magdelena" is incorrect.  It is Magdalena.

June 19^th 2002 Wednesday                English Classes Started!

                I woke up this morning to the sound of drums pounding away.  They were beating: bum bada, bum bada, bum bum bum" over and over again.  When I went outside to see what it was, I found over one hundred children all lined up in a row.  Some of the girls were dressed up in beautiful dresses, while some of the boys were arrayed in their uniforms. I inquired to what the revelry was about, and was informed that today was the "soccer day" when area schools gathered together to compete against each other.

I spent the night last night at the Argueta's house with the evil "Argueta sisters" (Griselda and Tania).  The Argueta's are a very nice family who run a business in their home.  It is called a "Pulperia" or small nickel and dime store.  They also sell sodas and snacks.  They went out of their way to see that my needs were taken care of.  In fact, they even gave me a very nice pair of pants from off the rack and told me that those were mine.  What a blessing.

                At around ten in the morning, Elias Marquez showed up and told me that the people wanted to receive classes today in English.  I tried to put it off until next week, but the people demanded classes today.  So at three in the afternoon I started teaching classes in English.  I had 10 students total.  Each student will pay me 200 lempiras a month or 50 lempiras a class (about three dollars a class).  The classes started off great as I taught an introduction course entitled, "The history of languages" and "The history of English and the English Language."  They really enjoyed learning more about England and their culture.

                In the evening I taught Bible again and this time many people showed up.  In fact we had almost a full house.  Many said that they didn't come yesterday because it was raining.  I told them, "If you can't afford an umbrella, see me after service and I'll buy you one!  You need to come to church!"  That was a swift rebuke, but it needed to be said as so many use the rain as an excuse not to come to services.

                I taught on "Basic divisions in the Bible."  I had hoped to teach more about dispensations and such, but did not have time to cover them.  Our study included "rightly dividing the word of truth."  I showed them the basic divisions in the Bible.  We started with the Old Testament and New Testament.  Then we dissected both the Old and New Testament and I showed them how the Old Testament  is divided into "Before the Law," "Under the Law," and "the ministry of John the Baptist and Jesus."  Then I taught them the major divisions in the New Testament which are: "The Church Age," "The Tribulation," and "The millennium."  We had a great study and I really believe they are starting to understand the Bible.

June 20^th 2002 Thursday                               A Visit from Guests

                I arrived home today at around five in the morning.  The bus arrived at four.  And after my hour walk home, I took a quick shower and then hit the sack.  After waking up at around ten in the morning, I began studying for next week's lessons.  As I began studying, Harold Priday drove up to check on the house and to see how I was doing.  He said that his daughter had been very seriously ill the last two months vomiting blood.  The doctors didn't think she'd live, but she pulled through. 

                Bro. Priday was impressed with the yard and was happy to see that we were fixing his place up.  He also said he wanted to start painting inside the house next.  It will be nice to have these old dirty, dusty walls cleaned and painted.

                After Priday left, I tried to study some more.  However, I didn't study long until I felt fatigue set in.  So tired I was that I could hardly stay awake, so I took about a two hour nap. 

                I awoke a little after noon when Pastor Jacobo came over to visit me.  He has a week long teaching session going on at the Baptist campground behind my house.  He invited me to come over for supper.  I politely declined as I have so much study I desire to do.  But, the offer was extended for breakfast tomorrow as well.

                Jacobo also asked me for some Bibles.  He has eight men then he is training the Bible to, and he wanted to give them all a 1909 Spanish Bible (in place of the corrupt 1960).  I was happy to give them to him.

                In the evening I ran into town to the Internet shop to check my email.  How tiring this is.  Not only is the internet service very slow, but there were many messages.  Thus it took several hours.  At least the price is cheap to

use the Internet (two dollars an hour).  I hope that they will install a phone line here at the house soon so that I can check my email from here.  I visited "Hondutel" (the phone company) and they said that when the people come from Tegucigalpa, they will begin installing the lines.  I asked, "When are they coming?"  They did not know.  This is Honduras.

June 21^st 2002 Friday                    Trying to Study

                I had planned to take all day long to study for next week.  However, this was exactly not what I was able to do.  At eight this morning, I decided to take Jacobo up on his offer for breakfast.  When I walked over to the campground, I found that no one was there except the 8 men who were there to study the bible and Hermano (Brother) Gotier (one of the men from Jacobo's church).  They informed me that they had already eaten breakfast.  "Okay," I said.  And as I started to leave, but Bro. Gotier asked me to teach a morning lesson to the men.  I accepted and walked back home to get my Bible and a message. 

                I preached yet again "What is a Christian?"  The men where farm folks from way out in the mountains.  They were sort of slow in their thinking and were slow in their reading.   But what a blessing to see their enthusiasm and zeal for the Lord.  They really wanted to learn, and were asking very good questions. 

                Right before I finished preaching, Jacobo showed up and joined in.  Afterwards, he told me more about these guys, and how they accepted the Lord a few months back and wanted to learn more about the Bible.  Thus, they used the campground as a way to teach them.  They brought these eight men out on a bus for a whole week to teach them Bible.  Then in September, they will bring them back for another week to teach them some more.  It sounded like a great thing what they were doing, and I was glad to hear about it, and be a part of it.

                The rest of the day I was unable to study as I had to do "housework."  Not only did I have to wash clothes, towels, sheets, etc.  I had to clean the entire house, rearrange some furniture, file many papers, and finish my correspondence.  Oh how wonderful it'd be to have a wife to take care of some of this stuff so I can find more time to study!  But, God knows and I'm just trusting in him.

June 22^nd 2002 Saturday                                Not Too Many Kids Show Up

                This morning I did get some studying done, but not as much as I'd liked.  At nine o'clock I had to run to the Post Office.  There I received a package of Gospel Signs that I've been waiting for that will help me in Street preaching.  From there I traveled to Vimeco to check my email.  However, I learned that Saturday is the "big day" for Vimeco as they give computer classes all day long.  Every computer was occupied, thus I was unable to check my email.

                In the afternoon, only nine kids showed up.  I was a little discouraged that more didn't come.  However, it was a blessing to teach those who did come and not have any distractions.  We also played "tug of war" and jump rope today as well.  As they would jump rope they would chant: "Osito, Osito toque el suelo, osito osito hacerlo bueno..."  (Little bear, little bear, touch the floor, little bear, little bear do it well!). 

                Today I also began pondering some things.  My ministry here is beginning to turn into a teaching ministry.  I'm teaching bible two nights a week in Magdalena and then teaching English there in the afternoon.  Then I travel to Tegus on Sundays to teach Bible to Nelson.  Not to mention that I'm teaching the kids on Saturdays.  But my heart's desire is to PREACH!  I find myself constantly wanting to be an Evangelist.  Many times I catch myself dreaming about going back to the States and just traveling the rest of my life and preaching in a different church each Sunday and Wednesday.  Oh how I'd love to do just that.  However, it seems that God has other plans.  I guess he wants me here teaching these people Bible.  I understand how important this is, as no one else is doing it, nor will do it.  But, how much more I love to preach.  Maybe God will "give me the desires of my heart" as the Bible says, one day.  But, until then, I'll just be faithful in little and try to enjoy teaching sound biblical doctrine to the Honduran people.

June 23^rd 2002 Sunday                   The Trip to Tegus and Passing out Tracts

                I did not want to get out of bed this morning!  I am so tired, and so overworked that some times I feel like I just need to rest for a whole week to recuperate.  Today was no exception.  I awoke at five, and then reset my alarm until six.  I decided I'd sleep an extra hour as I didn't get to bed last night until after midnight.  At six thirty, I left for Tegus and I arrived there three hours later.  In "Carrizal" I found Nelson, Zenia, Lacho, and Johanna all there at the house.

                The longer I live the more I learn how much of a sacrifice it is to be a missionary.  There are times when there are real blessings.  Then there are times when you find yourself in situations you don't want to be in, in places you probably wouldn't go (if not for the sake of the gospel), and with people you usually wouldn't associate.  It is in these times that you must learn to adapt to the environment around you.  You may not like it, but you must learn to live with it.  Take today for example.  I felt very bad, but I went to Nelson's anyway.  I pulled the car up to their dirty little house in the slums (more like two rooms with a concrete division). Immediately as I opened the truck door, my nostrils filled with the smell of garbage, sewage, and food all at the same time.  When I walked up the hill to Nelson's house, the neighbor kids were playing barefoot in the dusty, dirty road.  To my left, the dogs were feasting on yesterday's trash that someone had thrown out the night before.  To the right, people were sitting on the porch of their house in their rags, and they smiled at me as I walked by with their snaggletoothed grin.

                As I approached Nelson's house, I found that it was filthy as usual, and swarming with "moscas," (flies).  There must have been hundreds of them flying all over the place.  Always in my mind as I travel from La Esperanza to Carrizal, I always say to myself when I walk through this neighborhood, "Back to Lodibar!  Time to visit Mepheboseth!"  But, I have learned to put up with this filth, for Nelson's sake.

                After a breakfast of red beans, rice, and scrambled eggs with tortillas, I told Nelson I wanted to go downtown today and pass out tracts.  "I want you to go with me and help me too!"  I told him.  He smiled really big and said he would love too.   Zenia came too with Marjorie (their little girl), and we took the taxi downtown to the central park.  There we passed out over 1300 tracts!  What a blessing it was to see Nelson get excited about giving tracts to everyone.  He kept saying to me, "I'm winning, I'm winning!"  To the which I asked him, "What are you talking about?"  He said, "I'm giving away more tracts that you are!  I'm winning!"  I let him win, as I enjoyed watching his zeal for the Lord.  It really is worth all the flies, rats, garbage, and filth when you see a Nelson get saved and have a desire to serve the Lord.

                As we were distributing the gospel literature, I was amazed to see how many people had shirts on that said, "Jesus, mi mejor amigo"  (Jesus, my best friend).   So many were wearing this shirt without shame, but were smoking, or drinking, or cussing.  "What a shame to our Lord and Saviour," I thought.  Oh how many religious people there are in this country who just worship the name, and not the one named (Jesus).  They claim to be Christian, but oh how few truly are so.

                Another thing caught my attention as we continued with our mission of tract distribution.  Almost every Honduran would take a tract.  And, almost all of them would start reading them immediately (that is if they knew how to read).  But, as I was walking and giving away tracts, I stumbled upon a group of old ladies from the United States.  There must have been 50 of them all walking to together, and they seemed to be in a hurry to go somewhere.  I offered everyone of them a tract, and none of them took one.  Later I met some other Americans, and tried to give them tracts.  They too rejected them.  What a contrast in comparison between Honduras (a poor country) and America (a rich country).  I guess when people have money, they think they don't need God.

                Finally, I was very perturbed to say the least as I viewed another group of Americans.  They apparently claimed to be "Christians" as they had the Bible verse in English which said, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  However, I was a bit disappointed and angry to see that each one of them was wearing very short shorts.  How awful of a testimony that gives to true Christians who are trying to do right.  I thought to myself, "Did God give you strength to dress like that?  Is that what he wants you to do?"  Oh so often modern day "Christianity" adopts the ways of the heathen, and then praises God for their sins.  The more I see this the more I can not shut up.  The Bible says, "Cry aloud and spare not!"  And, all I can say is that they just better hope I don't go back to the United States anytime soon.  Because just about all the worldliness, wickedness, and evil that I see here comes directly from the old U. S. of A.   I'm just dying to get a chance to preach to "my fellow Americans" and tell them what I think of their wicked, selfish ways.  They do not realize that they are not only destroying there own country, but many others all over the world as well (like Honduras).  God, please come back soon and get us out of this mess!!!

June 24^th 2002 Monday                  The Trip Home

                After teaching Nelson about the "7 Judgments" in the Bible, I slept at his house last night.  I really don't like how dirty that place is, but they are offended if I don't stay with them.  At least they are nice enough to give me their room while they sleep on the mattress on the floor.  Yet, oh how I hate to be around such a dirty environment.  I guess that's just the price you pay for being a missionary and trying to reach the people.  I'm learning that the more time I spend with them, the less these things bother me.  And, in a way I'm glad to be able to partake of their sufferings.  By coming down to their level, they accept me, and are willing to listen.  Unlike some missionaries I've met (who would never spend anytime with the locals, much less spend the night at their house or eat with them when they can get a hotel and take out food), I'm finding that spending time with the people here is giving me more open doors to witness.  Also, it is helping me to learn the street Spanish that I desire to learn more of.

                After leaving Nelson's I ran a ton of errands all day long in Tegucigalpa.  My quests brought me to downtown Tegus to look for a book about "English."  As I am teaching English now, I needed to find some material that will help me to do so.  And, thank God, I was able to purchase several grammar books that will help me in this regard.

                While I was walking downtown, I wandered into the National Library of Honduras.  I had been wanting to visit there for some time, however, the last time I tried to go there, it was closed for reconstruction.  It is an old beautiful building built many years past.  The wooden pillars were gorgeous, and it looked as though each of them had been hewn and fabricated from one single, huge log.  I estimate it must have taken at least a month or two on each log to construct the beautiful pattern of the pillar.  It was very interesting.  However, when I went to see their books, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.  Their library was a joke!  They had many huge rooms, but their book shelves consisted of only a few hundred books.  I was saddened to see such a poor interest in this country for literature and books.

                In the evening, I drove home to La Esperanza completely spent.  On top of that, my entire body had chills.  I hope I'm not coming down with anything, as tomorrow I must go to Magdalena again.  Oh how quickly time goes by here!

June 25^th 2002 Tuesday                 Off to Magdalena Again

                I awoke this morning feeling completely exhausted, and very sick.  My head ached, my throat hurt, and I was very unrested as I barely slept at all last night.  This was no excuse, however, to not go to Magdalena.

                After breakfast, I burned my garbage outside in the burn pit.  As I was burning the big card board boxes that my groceries were packed in from Pricesmart, my neighbor saw me and came over to ask for them.  She kept saying, "Que linda, Que buena la caja" (How pretty and how good is the box!).  I thought to myself, "How sad to see someone that is so poor that they get excited about receiving a cardboard box to keep their clothes in."  I gladly gave her the boxes, and said if I had anymore, I'd give her those too.  She was very appreciative.

                At a little past eleven, I left the house and headed to Vimeco to check my email.  The line was slow again, and I was only able to check two emails and send none in return in a twenty minute period.  How slow is the telephone connection here!

As I was leaving La Esperanza, I met Elias on the way.  I stopped and picked him up.  "You're supposed to be in Magdalena!" I said.  He told me that he was coming back from San Pedro Sula, and the bus came late.  He missed the bus, and was hoping that he'd get a ride with someone.  So it worked out for the best that I was sick today and drove instead of taking the bus.

                Once we arrived at Elias' house, I went straight to bed and slept for over two hours.  How weak, tired, and sick I felt.  But, I made up my mind that I was going to teach tonight no matter what.  At seven I taught about "Holy Living" and how a Christian should live clean and right, not to get saved, but because he is saved.  I knocked everything I could think of: women in pants, short hair, no television, no smoking, drinking, fornicating, etc.  I enjoyed myself even if they didn't.

                After services, I drove the 20 minutes up the road to the last village on this side of the Honduran border to the Clinic there.  It is a clinic that was instituted by the University of Cincinnati several years ago, and there are always Americans there on staff.  Elias' brother works there as the security guard, and he let us in.  After parking the car, I went inside and found five Americans all huddled around the boob tube watching some wicked T.V. show.  But, the doctor was a Honduran who spoke to me in Spanish the entire time.  He started by asking me, "What seems to be the problem?"  I told him that my entire body hurt, I was weak, and had a fever.  I told him I thought I had Bronchitis, and that I wanted to make sure that it was not so.  He checked me out and found the problem.  What it was I have no idea, but it had something to do with an infection in my throat.  He gave me some antibiotics to take for ten days and assured me that I'd be better soon.  He also took a look at the rash that I've had on my foot ever since I came here back in August of last year.  He gave me some Anti-fungal cream for that.  When it was all over, he didn't charge me a dime.  He said he wanted to help my ministry, and the people of Magdalena, as that was his hometown.  What a blessing!

June 26^th 2002 Wednesday                A Day of Teaching

                I awoke this morning feeling a little bit better after taking what the doctor prescribed me last night.  After a breakfast of hot cornflakes (That is how they make them here.  They heat the milk before they put the cornflakes in. Oh how I hate it!  I like our American way better!  Cold milk tastes so good!), I studied for my English class in the afternoon, and my Bible class in the evening. 

                In the English class, I taught about "Phonics," something that was never taught to me as a boy, and something I had to teach myself from several books I obtained here.  This is the foundation of English, and the students had a time with it.  In Spanish every vowel is pronounced the same all the time.  It never changes, but remains constant.  However in English, there are over 20 different sounds for the vowels alone (according to one book I bought).  And, this not only confused, but infuriated my students as they were unable to pronounce some of the sounds.  For example, the letter A has three sounds.  They are "a" like in the word "game."  "A" as in the word "father."  And "a" as in the word "man" or "hand."  The first two they understood, and were able to mimic as these sounds existed in their language.  But the third "a" sound was foreign to them, and they had great difficulty in learning how to pronounce it.

                In the evening, I taught about "Salvation throughout the Entire Bible," and I showed them how it differed in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament.  I showed them out of the Old Testament how that at times, the Holy Spirit came and went on a fellow (like Saul) Yet, on another man, it came and never left (like David).  Other times, a man received the righteousness of God by faith, yet he did not receive the Holy Spirit.  And, there were works involved and necessary for him to be justified (take Abraham for example).   Further I explained how a man's sins were only "remitted" in the Old Testament, but are "Redeemed" by Christ himself in the New Testament.  (How complicated the Bible becomes when one can not "rightly divide" it).  Then I showed them that for us today salvation is by Grace through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ without works!  We are justified, redeemed, sealed with the Holy Spirit, and given God's righteousness all at the same time.  What a wonderful gift is our salvation!

                I've been trying to preach to them about salvation in the hopes that if there are any who are not saved, they will see their lost condition and come to the saving knowledge of the truth.  (I just don't want anyone to join the church who is not saved).  I also taught them that it's always the grace of God that anyone is saved!  And, that God has always demanded blood for sin!  In the Old Testament it was the blood of a lamb.  But in the New Testament, it is the blood of THE LAMB!  Thank God for Jesus Christ and his precious shed blood!  And thank God my salvation is paid for and my sacrifice is made.  What a blessing that I don't have to take a sheep to a Tabernacle somewhere and cut its throat for my sins like they did in the Old Testament (there was some effort involved in that).  Praise be to the Lord Jesus Christ himself, that he took care of the dirty work, and that he invites all men to come to him to be cleansed!  Thank you Jesus for you wonderful salvation!

June 27^th 2002 Thursday                               Heading Back Home to La Esperanza

                I left Magdalena at six this morning with to other men from the church who asked me if they could ride with me.  We drove the three hours in my car, and I dropped them off at the bus station in La Esperanza.  After heading home, I studied a little bit, and then turned in.  I was not only tired, but still a little sick.  A good long nap really helped me to recuperate.

                In the afternoon, I studied for a while, and tried to prepare my teaching material for English classes in Magdalena.  I spent some time thinking today as well.  How sad it is that we live in such a wicked and ungodly world.  Sometimes we don't think about how wicked it really is, but this world is growing more vile each day.  And it seems that Christians are growing more and more passive towards it.  If fact, I've seen Christians actually slowly moving closer to the world and its teachings.  God help true Christians to get out of the world and stay out!

The longer I live, the more my convictions grow stronger.  And I believe this is rightly so.  I can't help but get angry when I see people who name the name of Christ do some of the things that "used to be wrong."  I've made up my mind that if the Bible says it, then I'm going to preach it!  Regardless of what others think about it or me, I'm going to take a stand for truth, and I'm going be "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" if need be.  I'm going to do my best not only to "preach against everything" (and I mean everything), but I'm going to do what most pastors I've seen don't.  I'm going to live what I'm preaching.  God help me, and God give me grace!

June 28^th 2002 Friday                    A Visit from Mike Lane

                I had hoped to finally finish with all my English material today.  However, I needed to check my email first, so I drove into town to do so.  How awfully slow the connection was there!  I spent over an hour and a half to try to check my emails.  I was only able to check a few of the 23 messages I had.  What a thing!

                In the afternoon, I began studying.  Then Bro. Mike Lane came over.  He talked with me for some time about the Bible, and wanted to know what I believed about some things.  I was more than happy to tell him!

                After he left, I was able to put in a good few hours of study.  I put together a lot of material that will help me in teaching English in Magdalena.  Now all I lack is being able to prepare my lessons for Bible teaching.  I hope I can finish that tomorrow.

June 29^th 2002 Saturday                                The Bird!

                This morning I found a baby bird upstairs in the attic.  It's mother apparently had entered from outside and made it a nest.  The bird had left the nest and was trapped upstairs between two rafters and was screaming at the top of its lungs.  I grabbed a flashlight and went upstairs to find out what all the racket was about.  It turned out to be a little blue wren.  It was a pretty thing.  So I put it in a box and figured I'd show it to the kids when they showed up.  At 1:30, they arrived.  And sure enough, they enjoyed looking at the little bird.  They also loved holding it, and passing it around one to the other. 

Services went well, and I taught the kids about Jacob and Esau.  I showed them what God said about Esau in Heb. 12:16, and how he hated him as well (Mal. 1:3, and Rom. 9:13) because he loved the things of the world (pottage) more than his own family and the promises of God.  I believe it went over well.  The kids were actually well behaved today.  There were 15 of them in all.  They only problem was when Michael got up rather suddenly and ran outside.  I thought, "Not again!  This kids are always running outside while I'm preaching."  I got a little mad and thought about scolding him, but I held my peace.  It turned out that he only went outside to vomit, as he was feeling rather sick today. 

                After our Bible class, we took our little wren outside and tried to teach it to fly.  I threw it up in the air as high as I could, and it would flap its little wings and flutter down slowly.  Once it landed, all the kids would run over to pick it up and bring it to me so that I could throw it up again.  Each time it flew a little farther and a little better.  After most of the kids went home, I gave it to one of the young boys that comes each week.  He assured me that he would take care of it, and continue teaching it how to fly.  I hope he does.

June 30^th 2002 Sunday                   Disaster on the Road to Tegucigalpa!

                I left for Tegus this morning at six thirty to go and visit Nelson and teach him Bible.  However, I didn't make any further than the other side of Siguatepeque when my car broke down.  I didn't know what to do, so I popped the hood and began piddling around with the motor.  I checked everything I know to check.  But, the car just wouldn't start.  Then I checked the spark plug wires.  The connections were all dirty, so I scraped them with my knife, (trying to clean them).  Afterwards, the car started right up.  But, when I tried to put it in drive, it died once more, and then never started up again.  "Great!" I thought.  "Now what to do?"

                I decided I'd hitch a ride into Siguatepeque and see if I could find a mechanic that could help me.  After two tries, a car stopped and picked me up.  They were a nice family from Tegucigalpa, and they talked to me the whole way into town.  Once in Siguatepeque, I went to the gas station and began asking around if they knew of anyone that could help me.  I continually received the same answer, "Nobody works on Sundays!" 

                I did find a young man nice enough to help me and take me to visit three different mechanics.  Unfortunately, none of them were home.  However, in the last house we found several teenagers that claimed they could fix the problem.  They came with me and we took the bus out to my car.  It became quickly apparent that these young boys didn't know a thing about cars.  They tried everything that I had just tried, but afterwards the car still didn't work.  They finally told me that it was the spark plugs that needed to be changed.  I replied, "But they are brand new!  They were installed less that two months ago!"  But, they insisted that that was the problem.  So they sent one of the boys back to Siguatepeque to try and find someone who could help me tow my car back into town.  While I waited with the other two boys, I had the opportunity to lead one to the Lord.  His name was Luis and I took him through the plan of salvation right there on the side of the road.

                After witnessing to these boys, a car stopped and a man got out and asked me if he could help.  I told him the problem, and he said he knew a very good mechanic in Siguatepeque that could help me.  He insisted that I go with him, so I did.

                In Siguatepeque, we found that his mechanic friend was not home.  So we drove around looking for him, or for someone who would know were he was.  Unfortunately, he was out of town.  But, praise be to God, we found a young man who worked for him who said he'd come out and tow the car to his garage.  The man who picked me up took me back to my car, and then bid me farewell.  Before he left, I gave him four or five different tracts and had a great opportunity to witness to him also.

                With his little Japanese Mazda pickup, the young man pulled my big Chevrolet Suburban all the way to Siguatepeque.  Once we arrived, we secured my vehicle in the garage and then I asked the boy to take me to a hotel to spend the night.  By this time it was already four in the afternoon, and over seven hours had gone by since the car broke down.

July 1^st 2002 Monday                  Working on the Truck and Traveling to San Pedro

                I awoke early this morning and then took a taxi from my hotel to the mechanic's shop.  There I waited until a little after seven thirty when he showed up.  The mechanic began working immediately, and dismantled the fuel injection carburetor.  The mechanic thought that the fuel injectors were the problem, and he told me I'd have to take them into San Pedro and buy new ones.  So several minutes later I found myself on a bus heading into San Pedro.

                Once I arrived in San Pedro, I took a taxi to the Chevy dealership to ask my friend Javier what he thought was wrong with my truck.  He had an entirely different diagnosis.  He said, "It is very rare that the fuel injectors go bad on your truck.  I think it's probably your fuel pump in the gas tank."  When I asked him if they had that part, he said they didn't.  But, they were nice enough to take one off of an old junker they had there, so that I could try it and see if that was the problem.

                The only other thing I knew to do was call Homero Romero and ask him for his advice too.  This is what I did.  And, Bro. Homero not only was willing to give me advice, he even offered to drive me the two hours back to Siguatepeque.  When we arrived at the mechanics, Bro. Homero looked the car over.  The fuel injectors were spraying out gas, thus he deduced that the problem was not with the fuel pump.  From there he traced the current down, and then found that no current was going from the distributor to the spark plug wires.  Thus we took the distributor off and found that the rotor was shot.  That was the only thing wrong with the car, and the only piece that we needed.  However, they do not sell that piece anywhere but in San Pedro or in Tegucigalpa.  So, before I knew it, I found myself traveling back to San Pedro with Bro. Homero so that I could buy the part I needed.

July 2^nd 2002 Tuesday                 Busses, Taxi's, and Automobiles

                I awoke rather early this morning and was able to take a shower for the first time in two days.  What a blessing that was!  Then at seven o'clock Bro. Homero had to go to a church member's house to make a phone call to Bro. Donate in Guatemala.  He took me with him, and we talked to him about the Spanish Bible conference in Mexico.  We planned to all drive together to Bro. Donate's in Guatemala, and from there we will drive two vans to Mexico.  I am really looking forward to this trip, as I've never driven through Guatemala.  Also, I'll be able to see more of Mexico.

                After breakfast, Bro. Homero took me to the parts store.  The first store didn't have the rotor I needed, but the second one did.  It cost 65 lempiras or about four American dollars.  Then Bro. Homero took me to the bus station to put me on a bus to Siguatepeque.  What a mess that was!  There are so many things I don't understand in this country, and I continually find myself asking, "Why do they do things this way?"   For example, I went to the bus station, and they said every seat on the bus was taken.  I asked them, "Well couldn't I get on this bus and stand in the aisle?"  They told me that this was "forbidden" by law.  However, if I would walk two blocks down the street, they would pick me up and I could ride on the bus in the aisle if I liked.  "What?" I replied.  "Why can't I get on the bus here?  Why do I have to walk two blocks down the street?"  They informed me that at times the police come to inspect the busses before they leave to make sure that everyone has a seat on the bus.  No one is allowed to stand on the bus.  But, if I were to enter the bus after it left, that was okay as long as the police didn't see me.  What a thing!

                After I arrived in Siguatepeque, I took a taxi to the mechanic's shop.  He was not there, so I had to wait at a
"Pulperia" across the street.  After about thirty minutes he showed up and I told him I had the part.  "Good!" he said, and then he went right to work.  After we put the rotor in and mounted the distributor, the car started right up!  That was the whole problem all along.  However, the electricity began leaking from one of the wires and was jumping a half of an inch to another place.  I've never seen anything like that before as the spark was jumping to the plastic and traveling down to the engine.  I asked the mechanic, "So what do we do know?"  His reply was, "TAPE!"  And, with a little electrical tape at the base of the stem, we fixed the electrical problem.  After the mechanic taped it up, he looked at me and said, "We are artists here!  We not only fix the problem, but we do it creatively!"  I laughed. 

                After we tried the truck out and made sure it ran right, I spoke to the mechanic about the Lord.  He told me he had just gotten saved this last Saturday, and that he was trying to do right and live for the Lord.  I questioned him about it, and it seemed to be genuine.  So, I gave him a bible and several tracts and gospel literature.  He was very thankful and listened to me tell him about how to live the Christian life.

                As I drove home to Siguatepeque I thought about the last few days.  I ended up losing three days because of this ordeal.  But, what a blessing to see one saved, and be able to reach others with gospel tracts that I might not have reached before.  And, I patiently endured the ordeal waiting on the Lord to supply every need.  He did.

                I thought about Job, and how everything he went through was just a test of his character and to see if he would "charge God foolishly" or would "curse God."  Both God and Satan were watching in heaven, and if Job had done wrong, then Satan would have turned to God and said, "Ha, I told you so!"  Sometimes I wonder if that's not what happens in our lives as well.  I wonder if there times when the devil goes to God and says, "Make Robert Breaker's car break down and see if he'll get angry and mad and sin!" And I wonder if the Lord doesn't say, "I'll take that bet!  Because I know he won't !"  If this be the case, then what I do is very important. I must not only go through the ordeal with the right attitude and the right heart in order to shut the devil's mouth, but I must also give thanks in everything for this too makes the devil even madder!  So, these last three days I've taken comfort in the fact that I patiently waited on the Lord and trusted in him to take care of everything.  And many times, I've said, "Praise you Jesus.  Thank you Jesus!"  Boy, I bet that made the old devil froth at the mouth!

July 3^rd 2002 Wednesday                           Good Things Happen in Magdalena

                I left the house very early this morning as I had a ton of things to do.  First I went to the Post Office and mailed a letter.  Then I went to the bank and paid my rent.  After checking my email one last time, I walked to the bus station and entered the bus headed for Magdalena.

                Once I arrived at Bro. Elias' house, they asked me, "What happened?  We were expecting you yesterday!"  Then I recounted the story to them about how my car broke down, and I lost three days in trying to fix it.  They understood, and were glad that I was able to come today.

                Classes in English went well.  I taught about the "Definite" and "Indefinite Articles."  We learned about "the" in the singular and plural (it's always the same).  Plus, we learned about "a" vs "an" and when to use each one.

                In the evening, no one showed up for services at the church.  I guess since I was unable to come the day before, that the people thought I wouldn't be coming today either.  So, we walked up to Elias' house.  On our way we encountered Licandro Argueta (one who comes to services).  He walked with us up to Elias' house and there we had dinner.  Before we began eating, I began talking to Licandro.  He told me that he was a "Pentecostal."  Then he told me how much he liked Benny Hinn, and Kathryn Kuhlman, and that whole crowd.  I told him, "Those are very wicked, carnal people who are teaching a mixture of false doctrine!"  We was shocked.  So I took him through the scriptures and showed him that there once existed the gift of healing, but this was only given to the Apostles.  And they lost these gifts.  (This is easily proven by 2 Tim. 4:20, when Paul left a man sick in Miletum, and 1 Tim. 5:23 when Paul recommended that someone use medicine for their sickness.  Why didn't Paul just heal them if he had the power?  It was because he lost this gift).

                Then we studied verses about salvation.  Many of the people that attend the services here have a "Santidad" (Holiness) background.  The "Santidad" church teaches salvation by faith and works.  In other words they say that a man can lose his salvation.  This has been a real hindrance to me, and I've been doing my best to show them the truth.  I've been teaching them over and over again that salvation is by faith (in the blood) without works (Eph. 2:8,9; Gal. 2:16; Rom. 4:5, etc).  They slowly are understanding, but I doubt if very many of them are saved, as they are still holding onto their works. 

                Licandro asked me several questions about this and I was more than happy to answer them.  I showed him works come after salvation not for salvation.  In other words, a man doesn't work to get saved, he works because he is saved.  He must trust Jesus Christ and his shed blood in order to be saved, and then afterwards his works in service for Christ will come because he is saved and wants to live for the Lord.  Licandro understood this and said it made sense to him.  Then I asked him, "When did you trust the blood of Jesus Christ to save your soul and nothing else?"  He said, "Six years ago."  I asked him to explain it to me, and after he gave me his testimony, it sounded to me that he was trusting in this works and something he did to save him rather than the blood of Jesus Christ alone.  Thus I ran him through every verse I could think of and finished with Romans 3;25 and Romans 10:17.  Then I asked him again, "When did you trust the blood of Jesus Christ alone without works to save you?"  He stopped, looked a little puzzled, and then said, "Right now!"  "And when did you get saved?" I asked him.  He smiled really big and said, "Tuesday, July 3^rd, 2002!" 

                It is very hard to straighten these people out on works vs. faith.  So many think that "faith without works is dead."  They believe faith can save you, but then you have to work to stay saved.  God help me to continue preaching the truth!  And may the Holy Spirit of God open their eyes to the truth that they may see that it's faith without works that saves a man and keeps him saved for ever!

                After Licandro trusted the blood of Jesus Christ to save his soul, I went through many more verses with him.  Specifically we studied about "Tongues."  I showed him Acts chapter 2 that tongues are always a written spoken language.  Then we read 1 Corintians 14 and I showed him that "an unknown tongue" was a language that was "unknown" to the church.  Thus if a man came into a church service speaking in tongues (for example English or Spanish or German), then he must keep his mouth shut if the church cannot understand his language.  However, he is permitted to speak only if he has an interpreter.  How simple is the Bible if one will only read it!

                After dinner, Licandro and I walked down the hill to the town square in Magdalena.  He, like myself, was headed to La Esperanza on the bus and we figured we'd ride together.  As we walked, Licandro told me that he talked to a Pentecostal preacher the other day who asked him, "How are things going at the church where you are visiting?"  Licandro said, "Oh great!  We have a Baptist preacher who comes and is teaching us doctrine!"  Immediately the Pentecostal preacher said, "You better be careful!   Those Baptists are dangerous!  They teach too much Bible!"  Licandro responded, "What?"  The preacher continued, "Yeah, those Baptists teach too much doctrine!  That's a bad thing!  Because they teach a man is saved by faith without works.  That's not very good, because if there is no works involved, then how can we control the people?  We have to tell them they have to continue on in their works to stay saved, otherwise we can't control them and keep them coming to our church!"

                When Licandro told me that, the blood in my veins began to boil.  That wicked, ungodly, egg-sucking, liberal hireling will have a lot to give account for on the day of Judgment!  (For him it'll probably be the Great White Throne Judgment).  I told Licandro, "That is just as bad as the Catholics.  They teach that there is no salvation outside of their church, and the people are afraid that if they don't go to it, they will not make it to heaven!  That's a wicked lie and all they want to do is control the people.  I don't want to control anyone!  All I'm here for is to preach the gospel so that men will get saved!  Then I'm going to preach and teach the Bible in the hopes that people will surrender their lives to the control of God almighty!"   Licandro saw the difference, and I believe he'll turn out all right as I continue teaching him sound doctrine.

July 4^th 2002 Thursday                               Independence Day

                Today is Independence Day in America.  Oh how I miss going to see the fireworks in the evening every year.  I remember how wonderful it was to stand out on the pier at the house there in Florida and see the firework displays in both Milton, Pensacola, and Gulf Breeze all at the same time.  Oh how I wish I could see them one more time!  But, I am not my own.  I am bought with a price, and therefore must put down my desires for those of my Saviour and King Jesus Christ!

                After arriving home this morning a little after five o'clock, I took a shower and went to bed still exhausted from the agonizing bus trip.  At a little after ten, I was awakened by Bro. Ramon Galeano who came to visit me.  He is a good brother, and though we don't see eye to eye on everything, I really like him as he has a burden for the lost and continually wants to reach them with the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.   As is his usual reason for visiting, he came to ask me if I had anymore gospel booklets that I could give to him to pass out on Saturdays.  There at his church they have been doing visitation on Saturdays and they have visited over a thousand homes already and put one of these in each house.  They only lack a couple "colonias" (housing divisions) as they are trying to reach every house in La Esperanza with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

                Ramon said, "I'll gladly pay for them, I just want the people to get the truth and get saved!"  Now that's someone who wants to see people saved!  I told him that he didn't owe me a dime.  I don't want his money, I want to be able to distribute gospel material in any form I can, and especially the more to those who will get them out!  So I gave him a box of over 1000 gospel booklets and a box of New Testaments.  I'm glad to see this material in the hands of someone who is actually doing something for the Lord Jesus Christ.

                The rest of my day was spent mowing the yard and running errands.  Bro. Mike Lane came by in the evening and returned some books that I let him borrow.  I'm really learning to like him, and am glad to have made his acquaintance here on the mission field.

July 5^th 2002 Friday                    Car Trouble Again?

                I had hoped to leave my house early this morning to run into town to run some errands.  However, my car wouldn't start so I ended up walking into town.  About half way on the road to town, I caught the "Urbano" bus and for four lempiras I rode into town in comfort.

                I checked my email today at Vimeco and then paid my light bill.  Or at least I tried to.  When I went to the bank they told me that I could not pay the bill as their computer was down.  So, I walked around town for a while and then at noon I went back to the bank.  Finally their computer worked and I was able to pay the bill.

                After coming home, I had to spend the rest of the day working on cleaning the house, washing clothes, and mowing the yard.

July 6^th 2002 Saturday                                The Kids

                I slept in a bit this morning as I was feeling a little exhausted.  After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, I went outside to work a little.  Then I went inside to study for the kids.  At a little after twelve noon, Mr. Harold Priday came over to visit with me.   After he left, I had 15 kids show up today for services.  I taught about "Isaac the Man who Pacified Wrath."  It went well, and the children enjoyed it.  They also told me that they wanted to give me a gift for Father's Day.  I was overwhelmed!  How nice of these kids to think about me and want to do something for me.  We'll wait and see if they will.

July 7^th 2002 Sunday                   Visiting Nelson

                I left for Tegucigalpa today on the seven o'clock bus.  It arrived in Tegucigalpa at close to ten.  Once there, I walked the hill up to Nelson's house and talked to Zenia.  She told me that Nelson had finally found a job!  Then she gave me directions on how to get there so I could go and visit Nelson.  It turned out that he found work with a security company named "Esprin."  Unfortunately, they put him to work as a security guard in front of one of the richest Catholic churches in Tegucigalpa.  When I visited him, we talked for a while and he told me how he hated working for "the Great Whore!"  But, it did not stop him from continuing on for the Lord.  As I waited there at the Catholic church for his shift to be over, I watched him tract cars in the parking lot with gospel literature when they came for the mass (mess!).   This church has five masses every Sunday, and for each one the church is full.  But this didn't bother Nelson, as he continually kept giving out tracts to the "Cat lickers" as they came for their religious services.

                In between masses, Nelson introduced me to the young man that the priests are training to take over their job.  He was a young man named Saul, about 20 years old.  He told me that the Catholic Church is nothing but a business, and it's all about money.  "You're exactly right," I told him.  Then I began asking him some questions that he could not answer (i.e.  Are you saved?, do you have eternal life?, When you die, where will your soul go? etc).  Then I witnessed to him for over thirty minutes.  Next Monday I am supposed to meet with him and have the opportunity to show him what the Bible says about Roman Catholicism.  I hope he will get saved, and get out of that false cult!

                After Nelson's shift, we passed out about 500 gospel tracts and then went back to his house to study the Bible.  I taught Nelson and Zenia both about the 7 Resurrections in the Bible.  They were very attentive.

July 8^th 2002 Monday                  Going Home

                I left Tegucigalpa on the 7:30 bus headed to La Esperanza.  What is a three hour drive in my car turned out to be a four and a half hour ride on the bus.  Not only was it very slow, but the universal joints wore out as well.  It was no big deal to the bus driver and his helper, as they changed them right there on the side of the road, while we waited.

                Once I arrived at home, I took a taxi to the house.  On the way I talked to the taxi driver about the Lord.  It never fails to amaze me how honestly these people speak to preachers.  They still have their "priest" mentality that makes them that you are supposed to confess everything to a "man of the cloth."  Thus, the taxi driver kept telling me about his escapades with various women and how that was the greatest besetting sin in his life (even though he was a married man).  I told him he needed to get saved!  Then I preached to him about how to be born again.  When we arrived at the house, I gave him a Bible, a booklet tract about salvation, and a cassette tape with hymns.  I hope he gets saved.  He told me that he would come back on Saturday to bring his little girl to services here.  I hope he does.

                In the evening I went and visited Bro. Mike Lane up the street.  He had visitors (a pastor and his wife, as well as another man and his wife), and was about to excuse myself when they asked me to stay for dinner.  It was good to have fellowship with Americans once again. 

July 9^th 2002 Tuesday                 Feeling Sick, Again!

                I left for Magdalena on the first bus.  Usually there are two busses that go there.  One leaves at 10:30 A.M., while the other leaves at 11:00 A.M.  We arrived very early in Magdalena at a few minutes before two in the afternoon.  I went and took a nap as I'm feeling a little bit sick again.  After waking up, I spent some time studying and preparing for teaching in the evening service.  We the time finally rolled around, I taught about "the Seven Sevens" in the Bible.

July 10^th 2002 Wednesday                Mowing the Yard and Classes

                I woke up this morning a little after six.  I found that Elias had already left to go door to door and sell medicine and vitamins (which he does for a living).  This left me at home alone with his wife and their kids.  I wished to keep my testimony, so I went outside and worked cutting the grass with Elias' machete.   I trimmed a lot of trees, and finished cutting the grass several hours later.  After I was done, Elias came back, and I felt comfortable enough to go back in the house.  Elias was very grateful for my help in mowing his yard.

                In the afternoon there were very few who showed up to English classes as a very hard rain fell and this "tormenta" (storm) made it difficult for the students to come to class.

                At seven, we had only about 7 people come for services.  But, I taught them anyway about "The 7 Resurrections" in the Bible. 

July 11^th 2002 Thursday                               A Very, Very Long Day!

                At 12:30 A.M., Elias and I entered the bus to La Esperanza.  When we boarded, we found that there were no seats left and we had to ride standing up the three and a half hours into town.  When we arrived in La Esperanza, we climbed on board the bus headed to San Pedro Sula.  Three and a half hours later we were at Bro. Homero Romero's house.  He fed us breakfast, and then we went to the Mexican Embassy to see if we could get a Visa for Bro. Elias to travel to Mexico with us the end of this month.  They told us that they could not give it to us there, and that we would have to go to Tegucigalpa to do so.  Thus, it turned out to be a wasted trip.  At two in the afternoon we boarded the last bus headed to La Esperanza and arrived there sometime after six.  Both Elias and I were very tired, and couldn't wait to get back to my house to rest.  After a quick dinner of Nachos, we had a quick Bible study and then hit the sack.  Tomorrow Elias will go back to Magdalena by bus and I'll try to rest a bit as I'm still feeling sick.

July 12^th 2002 Friday                    Comfort in Affliction

                Today I awoke feeling very sick.  My throat hurt and I was running a fever.  But, I had determined that I would walk into town with Elias and put him on the bus.  Also, I told him I wanted to help him start his own nursery growing vegetable plants.  So, I bought him a machete, some fertilizer, a pump to use to fertilize the plants, and several bags full of Tomato and Green Pepper seeds.  He assured me that he would be willing to do the work.  His brother will allow him to use some land by the place in which we are meeting.  I hope he can make some money at it, and grow a lot of vegetables.

                As we walked down the road to town, I preached to Elias about the need to preach salvation by faith in the blood.  So many nowadays forget about the blood, or else ignore it on purpose.  But the gospel is bloody, the bible is bloody, and my salvation is bloody!  Not only did Jesus shed his blood so that I could be saved, but then he washed me in his blood when I trusted him as my Saviour!  It's all got to do with the blood.  Elias listened and understood.  Then I asked him when he was saved.  He said it was the first night that I preached in services for them about the Blood.  He said that was when he realized and understood that he had been trusting in his own righteousness and works, rather than in Christ's righteousness and shed blood.  That was a real blessing to hear!

                After buying the things for Elias (it only cost me about 1200 lempiras), I put him on a bus and then I went to check my email. This took almost two hours.  After the which, I went home feeling cold, queasy, and feverish.  I hope that I can feel better soon.  But, hearing about Elias and how he got saved, makes all the trials, heartaches, and sicknesses worthwhile!

                I also saw Mr. Scott McCracken in town today.  He told me that his father died last week.  How sad.

July 13^th 2002 Saturday                                My Birthday!

                Today I was sick all day long.  I was congested, had a light cough, and felt awful!  But that didn't keep me from having fun with the kids when they came.  They brought food and candy with them today to celebrate my birthday.  Some of the girls made tacos filled with potatoes and other things (boy were they good!).  And they had me wait on the other side of the house as they prepared everything in the garage.  When they called me in, they had confetti that they dropped on my head.  All in all, I had a great time with them. 

July 14^th 2002 Sunday                   The Weaker Vessel

                They say that the way to win a battle is by attacking the weakest flank.  Most of the time this will assure an almost certain victory.  If this be the case, and the battle plan that works most efficiently, then you can bet your life that Satan will use this plan as well.  The Bible says that the woman is the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7), and you can bet that Satan will try to use her against her "man."  This is exactly what has happened in the case of Nelson.

When I arrived in Tegucigalpa today, I went directly to Nelson's house.  After lunch, we went to his work to study the Bible.  As we were sitting and talking he began telling me about his "woman troubles."  He says that Zenia is always arguing with him, and now it seems that Zenia does not want to get married.  She did before, but now she is dead set against it.  She keeps telling Nelson that they are "poor" and don't have any money!  And, I guess this is why she doesn't want to get married.  What a shame!

I counseled Nelson by giving him the only advice I could. I told him that the most important thing was that he put God first.  And, he must stop living in fornication!  Marriage is the honorable thing to do!  But, if she doesn't want to marry him, then he can not live in fornication with her.  He agreed!  Next, I told him he needed to think about his daughter Marjorie.  She needs a father, and needs to be raised in the nuture and admonition of the Lord.  He agreed with this also.  So it looks like Nelson has a lot of praying to do.  I told him to preach to her and pray and fast that she would get right.  But, whatever you do, you can't continue on in sin and expect God to bless you. 

What a mess when people sin!  They get themselves in such awful predicaments that they usually can't get out of easily.  I pray that it will be different with Nelson.  I told him, "You reap what you sow!  And the only thing you can do now is sow and pray, and ask for God's direction and grace." 

July 15^th 2002 Monday                  Heading Home

                The Catholic "lay priest" that was supposed to study the Bible with me today never showed up.  I guess he wasn't as interested as he let on before.  So I left a Bible with Nelson and some "anti-Catholic" tracts to give to him.  I hope he reads them and gets out of that evil religious system.

                After checking my email, I took a taxi to the bus station.  From there, I took the 11:20 bus home.  It arrived a little past three in the afternoon. 

                At home I spent some time working in the house and doing a few "odds and ends jobs."  It'll be good not to have to go to Magdalena tomorrow and actually be able to rest a bit.  Bro. Homero Romero is supposed to come over and help me fix my truck as it still won't start.  I hope he comes.

July 16^th 2002 Tuesday                 A Day of Rest and Relaxation

                Bro. Homero didn't show up today, so I took advantage of the opportunity to just rest!  How good it was to just relax and not have to worry about traveling somewhere.  I finally was able to spend some time doing absolutely nothing.  This didn't last too long though, as I got bored and began looking for things to do.  Eventually, I made up my mind I would mow the yard.  I finished half of it before a heavy rain came.  It felt good to work again!

                After a shower, I rested some more.  Oh how I dread having to go back to Magdalena tomorrow!  Another long bus trip!  Then I have to return the very next day in order to take Elias to the Mexican Embassy in Tegucigalpa to see if we can get permission for him to go with us to Monterrey for the Bible Conference.  I hope we can!

July 17^th 2002 Wednesday                A Short Visit to Magdalena

                I left early this morning for Magdalena to teach English in the afternoon, and Bible in the evening.  I arrived early (at 2:00 P.M.), and then proceeded to study for English classes at five.  At four we left Elias' house to walk into town and see the man at the copy shop.  He came on the bus with me and told me that he made some copies of an English book for me to use in teaching.   They were a big help!

                Of course no one showed up at five o'clock as they were supposed to.  They showed up on "Honduran Time" (which was about thirty minutes late).  And we had classes from 5:30 – 6:30 P.M.

                At seven we had about ten people show up for services, and I preached a message entitled "The Gospel." 

July 18^th 2002 Thursday                               To Tegucigalpa to See About a Visa

                I left with Bro. Elias and Jose Argueta on the midnight bus for La Esperanza.  We arrived there a little before four in the morning.  Then we hopped on board the bus bound for Tegucigalpa in the hopes of getting a Visa for these two guys to travel.  On the way to the Mexican Embassy, we met a taxi driver who was a Christian.  We told him why were going to the embassy, and he said he would pray for us.  Then right then and there he pulled the car over and turned it off.  Then he started praying in a loud voice!  He asked God to help us get the paperwork that we needed, and to get the visas. 

                Well, I guess the taxi driver wasn't right with God or something, as the Visas were rejected.  They gave us the run around and told us to have our friends in Mexico make a petition for a Visa there, and then mail it to us here.  So, I emailed Bro. Reyes in Mexico and asked him to do so.  I seriously doubt that we can do so, as time is too short now!

                At one o'clock, we took the bus back to La Esperanza, and I went home and hit the sack after an exhausting day.

July 19^th 2002 Friday                    A Day of Work

                I spent half of the day studying and preparing for tomorrow with the kids, and Sunday with Nelson.  I also spent the rest of the day outside mowing the yard.  It took several hours with my push mower, but it sure looked so much better after it was done! 

                In the evening, I went to bed early feeling sick again.  Oh how I hate feeling sick!

July 20^th 2002 Saturday                                The Kids Again

                I started my day by washing clothes.  Then I studied a bit and waited for the kids to show up.  They came late today, but at least they came.  We played soccer for a little while until it started raining.  Afterwards we went inside and studied about Jacob and how he deceived his father into thinking he was Esau so that he could get the blessing that belonged to his brother. 

After our Bible study, we played some more.  The children didn't go home until well past 4:30 P.M. as it started raining rather heavily, and they didn't want to walk in the rain.  So, we played castle, and we pretended that we were servants to the King and Queen.  We set up a king (Guido) and a Queen (Lija), and we did what they said.  It was a lot of fun.

                Before the kids finally left, they got made because I wouldn't let them see the inside of my car.  When they asked, I told them, "No!"  Well, that made them even more upset and they said that they wouldn't come back next week.  "Oh well!" I responded.  Then I said rather sarcastically, "I guess I'll just have to cry an ocean of tears!"   Then they laughed and said, "No, we'll come back next week!  We'll always come back!"  I could tell they were just testing me to see what they could and couldn't get away with.

July 21^st 2002 Sunday                   Off to Tegus Again!

                I left on the eleven o'clock morning bus for Tegucigalpa.  I went to Nelson's house first upon my arrival and found that he was not home.  So, I took a taxi to his workplace.  There I found Nelson talking to the Catholic guy about the Lord and sharing gospel tracts with several other of his fellow workers.  What a blessing it is to see that he's still witnessing for the Lord!

                After Nelson got off work, we asked Saul (the Catholic boy who the priests are training to be a priest) to go with us to study the Bible at Nelson's house.  He readily agreed, and upon our arrival there, we began studying what the Bible had to say about "The Great Whore!"  Saul listened attentively, and then afterwards made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Saviour by grace through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ plus nothing and minus nothing!  What a blessing!

                Afterwards, Nelson and I studied some verses about "Prayer."  Then before we turned in, Nelson asked me how to deal with these people that are always talking about "Tongues" and "Healing."  He said that he has run into a lot of them lately, and he wants to be able to show them from the Bible where they are wrong.  So we studied that for a while before we turned in for the night.

                Nelson also told me that Zenia says that she now wants to get married.  However, she keeps changing her mind.  One day she wants too, and then the next day she does not.  What a mess!  Nelson only lacks one more paper (his birth certificate) in order to marry Zenia.  Oh how I pray that he'll get that paper and that Zenia will make up her mind!

July 22^nd 2002 Monday                  Leaving Tegucigalpa

                I started my day early this morning as Nelson was supposed to be at work at five in the morning.  Of course he is always on what I call "Honduran time," as he is a Honduran, and he didn't get to work until a little after six.  I accompanied him there, and then afterwards I left Nelson so I could do a few errands.  I had to check my email, and then I did some shopping in Tegucigalpa.  At one in the afternoon I took the express bus back to La Esperanza.   It arrived at four thirty, and from there I went to Vimeco to pick up the copies I had them made of several books that I want to pass out here.  After that I spent the rest of the day studying, and getting ready for my trip to Magdalena tomorrow.  It seems I'm always traveling!  In a way I like it, but in a way I sure want about a month to just rest and stay in one place and not go anywhere!!!  That would really be nice!

July 23^rd 2002 Tuesday                 And It's Off to Magdalena Again

                The bus trip from La Esperanza to Magdalena was an interesting one to say the least.  It was so full that I could not find a seat.  I had to sit on a toolbox in the front of the bus the whole way to Magdalena.   As we traveled, an awful smell filled the bus.  Everyone began gagging and gasping for air.  The bus driver pulled over to see what this horrid odor was that was coming from the back of the bus.  It turned out that a young Indian girl about three years old had thrown up and it was all over the floor, on people, and on her.  Everyone piled out of the bus as quickly as possible to be able to breathe some fresh air, and then they washed the little girl in the stream by the side of the road.  After the vomit of the floor of the bus was swept out (by pine tree branches), they cleaned it with Azistin (a cleaning agent) and then we were on our way again.  It never ceases to amaze me how they do things in this country.

July 24^th 2002 Wednesday                Lunatic!

                Before English classes I met a young lady named "Day."  She was a very disturbed individual to say the least!  I believe she was mentally retarded, and she kept chasing me and asking me for a kiss.  She kept saying, "Gringo Bonito!" (handsome whiteman!)  Well, the people watching thought this was funny and kept egging her on.  They kept telling her to come after me.  So I did the only thing I could do – I ran for my life!!!  Eventually she left (thank God!), and we started classes.

Not too many showed up for English classes today.  There were only four students, and I taught them about Possessive Pronouns, Interrogatives, and more.   In the evening service we had about ten show up and I preached on "Who Are You Going to Serve?  In the evening I caught the midnight bus home.  It was so very awful as it was full already, and I had to stand in the aisle the whole four hours home.

July 25^th 2002 Thursday                               Off to Visit Nelson One Last Time

                I left on the one o'clock bus for Tegucigalpa today.  I went to see Nelson as I'm leaving for Mexico next Tuesday and I wanted to make sure I say him again.  I went to his work, and found him working hard.  While there, I spoke with several men about the Lord.

                In the evening, Nelson and I went to the Mall to pass out tracts.  I told Nelson that we needed permission to do so, and he said, "Then let's go get permission then!"  Together we walked into the Mall office, and walked up to the receptionist's desk.  I didn't say anything.  I wanted to see what Nelson would do.  He said to the lady behind the desk there, "We want permission to pass out gospel tracts about Jesus Christ!"  The lady behind the counter was a bit startled!  She responded, "Um, okay!"  Then she went and asked her supervisor if we could have permission.  Sure enough, the boss came in and said, "No problem, just give us your names, and we'll type up your permission right here!"  And, that's exactly what they did.  Then we went inside the huge Mall, and passed out as many tracts as we could!  What a blessing! 

Nelson is really putting me to shame it seems!  There are times that it appears to me that he has more boldness than I do!  I'm glad though!  What a blessing it is to see his zeal for the Lord.

July 26^th 2002 Friday                    Traveling Home to La Esperanza

                At five in the morning I left with Nelson from his house and we traveled to his work.  There I had the wonderful opportunity to witness to one of his fellow "security guards."  He seemed very interested in the Tribulation and the Antichrist.  He was supposed to go home, but he sat there for an hour listening to me preach to him and tell him about what the Bible said would come to pass in the latter days.  He does not claim to be saved, but I witnessed to him as well and told him about his need to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.  He said, "I need to get saved I know, but not right now!"  Then he went home.

                Afterwards, I did some shopping and ran some errands, and then I took the one o'clock bus home to La Esperanza.  I didn't arrive until after three, and then I talked with Castillo in the cornfield for a while.  The corn I planted is growing very well!  The sweet corn is already producing a ton of corncobs!  I've already eaten a couple and wish I didn't have go to Mexico so that I could stay here and eat some more! 

                The rest of my crops are growing very well also.  I have more English peas than I know what to do with!  My collard greens are coming along beautifully, as well as the beets, cabbage, spinach, and carrots.  Maybe when I return from Mexico I'll be able to harvest my vegetables.

July 27^th 2002 Saturday                                The Last Day with the Kids

                Today was my last day with the kids until I return from Mexico.  They were really excited about it, and even brought a few new faces with them.  There were over twenty in all who came.  When they showed up, I feed them ham and bread, and then we had a Bible study about Jacob.  I showed them how Jacob deceived his father, and how God allowed him to be deceived by Laban for his sin.  I told them, "What goes around comes around!"  And you can't ever get away with sin.  You reap what you sow!

                The kids also brought some homemade soup for us to eat as well.  We feasted very well on Patasti, Celery, Squash, Green bean, and Chicken soup.  It was very, very good!

                After the children left, Thomas Sweeny came by with a couple of strong men from the Bible Institute and they helped me to move my car into the garage.  It still won't start, so I thought I'd lock it up in the garage until I return from my trip to Mexico.  I'm sure it will be safe in there until then.

                In the evening I tried to pack for the trip to Mexico.  But, I was so exhausted, that I didn't have much of a chance to do so.  My how time has flown by!  I go to Magdalena tomorrow, and then return early Monday morning.  Then the next day I have to take a bus to San Pedro to see Homero Romero.  And then the next day we will take his van and drive the three or four days to Monterrey!   I'm always traveling it seems!

July 28^th 2002 Sunday                   The First and Last Sunday in Magdalena

                I went to Magdalena today as I have to leave on Tuesday for San Pedro.  Then on Wednesday I leave for Mexico with Missionary Homero Romero.  Upon my arrival in Magdalena I encountered Bro. Elias Marquez and gave him a box containing tracts, Bibles, New Testaments, and several booklets and Bible Study material.  He was very thankful.  In the evening, I attended the services and I told Elias that I wanted to hear him preach.  He thought that I would be preaching, but after I insisted, he obliged and preached a message from 1 Samuel 22:1-4.  He did a wonderful job and I was surprised to see that he could actually preach!  That was a real blessing!

                I returned home on the midnight bus after saying goodbye to Elias and encouraging them to stand firm in the faith until I returned to them again.  I pray all goes well.

July 29^th 2002 Monday                  Packing?

                I tried to spend my day packing and getting ready to go to Mexico.  However, this wasn't an easy task as I arrived home at a little after five in the morning exhausted from my trip to Magdalena.  After sleeping until eight o'clock, I began doing some work on my computer and then trying to straighten things up a bit in an effort to get ready to leave.  At eleven o'clock I walked into town to mail some letters at the Post Office and then went and checked my email the last time.  After coming home I cleaned house until I was interrupted by Bro. Ramon Galeano who came by asking for some more gospel tracts and booklets to pass out.  I gave him 24 Spanish 1909 Bibles, 44 Spanish 1602 TR New Testaments, a box of "Como puedo yo tener vida eterna?" booklet tracts, and two bags full of regular gospel tracts.  I'm glad to be able to give this material to him, as I know he will get it out here in La Esperanza.

                In the evening, I cleaned the house and tried my best to finish packing.  I have so much to do and so little time it seems!  It took me forever to get everything situated and I didn't finish rearranging things until well after ten in the evening.  Tomorrow I'm off to San Pedro and then to Mexico!  I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen in this adventure!

July 30^th 2002 Tuesday                 Instant in Season and Out

                I left La Esperanza on the 8:20 bus to San Pedro Sula.  I arrived at Bro. Homero Romero's house in San Pedro Sula at a just before twelve o'clock.  There his wife informed me that he was working up the street, so I went there to see him. He was installing a new power meter for a brother in the church (there is nothing these Mexican's can't do).  He was also working across the street installing the same for another person.  When I arrived, we went back to his house to eat lunch, after which we ran into town to buy a few things.  Bro. Homero needed a few more pieces in order to finish his job, and I wanted to buy some coffee, Manzanilla (Chamomile) tea, and jelly for some folks back in the states.

                In the afternoon Bro. Homero asked me to preach a message at the meeting in Cerro Verde at seven o'clock.  I was very unprepared, but the Bible tells us to be "instant in season, out of season!"  So, I prepared a message as quickly as I could.  My message was entitled, "Por que el Papa Papón no es me amigo!" (Why the Dumb Pope is not my friend!)  My points were: Because he was 1.  A Liar, 2.  A Blasphemer, 3. A Murderer, and 4.  A Hypocrite.  I believe it went well.  The people listened and enjoyed the message.

                Afterwards, a man named Julio came up to me and talked to me about the message.  He was the owner of the house in which we were meeting and he told me that he agreed with everything I said.  Then he went on talking to me, and then told me, "I'm not saved yet, but at least I know the Pope is the antichrist!" 

                Well, at least he knew that much, but for the next hour I took Julio through the scriptures and showed him his need to be saved.  He just smiled and listened but wouldn't do anything about his lost condition.  His wife and mother in law were both saved, and were the ones who allowed us to meet in Julio's house.  And Julio liked listening to the preaching and messages.  But he just didn't want to get saved.  I even read him Luke 16 about the rich man in Hell.  Then I took him to Rev. 20:11-15, and showed him about the judgment and the lake of fire.  Afterwards, I showed him Christ crucified, and stressed the need to trust the shed blood of Jesus Christ and nothing else.  He just grinned and didn't say anything.  Then I asked him, "What is hindering you from trusting Christ Jesus right now as your personal Saviour?"  He looked at the floor and said, "I just want to wait and listen, and think on it some more."

So that was the end of our discussion.  I do hope that he gets saved.  He said he will continue coming to services and listening to Bro. Homero preach.  I hope he will, and that he sees Christ crucified, and it so grieve his heart knowing that he died for him, that he come to Christ and come before it is too late!

July 31^st 2002 Wednesday                Traveling to Guatemala

                I awoke this morning at around eight o'clock.  We were supposed to leave at around eleven, but we didn't leave San Pedro Sula until noon.  There were seven other people from Bro. Homero's church who came with us.  Plus Bro. Homero's wife and three kids.  That made 13 in all including myself.  We all piled into his Chevy van (three on the tree, 1981 model), and we arrived in Guatemala City at around eight in the evening.   God protected us the whole trip and we had no problems.  However, the very instant that we arrived at our destination, a tire blew out!  God had his hand on that tire the whole way and didn't let it blow until we were about 50 feet from our destination!  What a great God!

                In Guatemala City, we went to Missionary Carlos Donate's church and found him there.  The name of the church is Iglesia Bautista Efata.  Bro. Homero and his family, as well as myself, spent the night at Bro. Donate's house while the rest of the folks stayed at the church. 

                I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Bro. Donate, and we talked about a lot of things.  He is a good brother.  Plus, he is a Bible Believer!  He takes a stand for the pure words of God in Spanish!  And he'll be at the Conference in Mexico.

August 1^st 2002 Thursday                Going to Mexico

                We left Guatemala city at nine in the morning after fixing the flat tire on the van.  After driving for over seven hours we finally arrived at the border of Mexico.  There we had to go through Immigration and present our passports.  We also were told that we had to pay 195 pesos (or 20 dollars) in order to enter this country.  But by the time we made it to Tapachula, all the banks were closed.  So hopefully we will be able to pay the fee tomorrow.

                There at the border, we dropped Hermana (sister), Sagrario and Mercedes off with their family, who were there waiting for them.  We brought them that far so they could spend time with their family.  They won't be coming to the conference, but Bro. Homero will pick them up again when he drives back.

                In Tapachula we stopped and ate Tacos at a wonderful restaurant.  I ordered "Gringas" which were actually tacos with cheese and pork inside.  It was pretty good.

                I was surprised to see how much richer Guatemala is than Honduras (and cleaner too!).  But, Mexico is even nicer than them both!

                In the evening, we arrived at a Hotel in the town of Arriaga, at a little past eleven in the evening, and went to bed exhausted!

August 2^nd 2002 Friday                    Traveling in Mexico

                We left Arriaga at eight thirty in the morning and traveled all day long in Mexico.  It was a long trip and I continually drifted off to sleep.  At four in the afternoon we arrived in Veracruz, Mexico.  We went around the city in order to save time.  It was good to be able to see the Gulf of Mexico again from the high mountain road!

                At eleven o'clock in the evening we stopped at a little town called Nautla in the state of Veracruz and rented a hotel.  It was good to rest, but we joked and said that they beds were made of "piedras" (rocks).  They were very hard!  In fact, they were made of nothing more than concrete and had a small mattress on top of that.  But, I rested just the same as I was exhausted!

August 3^rd 2002 Saturday                Still in Mexico

                At nine in the morning we left our hotel and traveled north.  At a little past three in the afternoon, we arrived in Tampico, Mexico.  There, Bro. Homero said he wanted to go to the "playa" (beach).  So we went to the beaches there and went swimming.  (How great it was to go swimming again!)

Before we left, I saw a bar fight!  Two young teenagers (probably drunk as a skunk), began duking it out there on the beach in front of a bar.  They were really going at it, and giving each other some hard blows!  How stupid is this kind of behavior!  Neither of them "won," and after it was over, they hugged each other and apologized.           

                At nine o'clock we arrived at Bro. Sylvestre Vasquez's house in Tampico.  He was not home so we went to his church.  He was not there either, so we went up the street and ordered some tacos from a street vendor there.  They were wonderful!  Mexicans are some of the best cooks in the world!

                Afterwards, we headed back to Bro. Vasquez's house and found him home.  He told us we could spend the night at the church, and then drove there while we followed behind him in Bro. Homero's van. 

                Bro. Vasquez is a Bible Believer as well, and is for the 1602 TR project.  He will be coming to the conference in Monterrey as well, and he is very adamant about having God's pure words in Spanish!  Bro. Carlos Ruiz was also there visiting (a native Mexican and a Missionary to Chiapas).  He too is a 1602 man, and I enjoyed sitting and listening to these three men talk about how much they have suffered for Christ when it comes to the "Spanish Bible Issue."  What a blessing it was to see that they are willing to suffer in order to have God's pure words!

August 4^th 2002 Sunday                   At Bro. Vasquez's Church

                We stayed at Bro. Sylvestre's church for Sunday morning service.  I was asked to speak for 15 minutes and give a testimony about what God is doing in Honduras in my ministry.  Bro. Homero also spoke, and then we listened to Bro. Carlos Ruiz preach a wonderful message about "7 Stories of the Christian Building."  In the message he preached about "Patience" and quoted Hebrews 10:36.  He said, "You need Patience!"  Well, it just so happens that my girl back in the states in named "Patience!"  I was the only one in the congregation shouting "Amen!"

                At two in the afternoon we left Tampico headed for Monterrey.  What was supposed to be a seven hour journey turned into a nightmare as once we entered the outskirts of Monterrey (at around ten in the evening), we encountered the worst traffic jam I've ever seen!  It took us more than two hours to arrive at Bro. Jacinto de Leon's house to spend the night.  I was asleep by that time, and when we arrived, some of the other brothers there told me that I was supposed to preach at three in the morning on the radio!  I didn't know whether to laugh or cry!  No one told me anything about that, and this was the first I had heard of it.  Not only was I unprepared, but I was so exhausted that all I could think about was sleeping!!!  But, I was more than willing to preach.  I studied, and prepared an outline, and then I waited.  After a few minutes I drifted off into "never never land," and when Bro. Raul Reyes came at three in the morning, I was so dead to the world that they couldn't wake me up, so he had to preach on the radio himself.

August 5^th 2002 Monday                  The First Day of the Conference

                I slept in until eight in the morning today.  After waking up, I prepared a message from the Conference as I was asked to preach one of the sessions.  In the afternoon. I went with Bro. Homero and the folks from Honduras to one of the big grocery stores here in Monterrey.  When we entered into the store it reminded me of "Walmart."  I was overcome with the feeling of "being home!" or at least "being back in civilization."  However, the more I walked around and looked at all the "junk" that they sold, I heard English "Rock 'n Roll" music being played in the stores loud speakers, and I saw posters of Rock Stars and Movie Stars everywhere.  Right there in that "Vanity Fair" of worldliness, I bowed my head and prayed, "Dear God, thank you for calling me to Honduras!  This place is nothing but the world!  And, all they sell is junk that the world says you need to have!  But, in reality you don't need all that stuff!  It's just something else to waste your money on!"  And how relieved I was to think that I didn't need all that the world said I needed.  I made it through a whole year on the mission field, and I didn't have a lot.  All I had was God, his words, and a few material possessions to help me live (a fridge, a small stove, and running water).  Everything else is a luxury if the truth be known!

                The conference started at seven in the evening, and it was good to see some of the same brothers from last year's conference here again.  I also met Bro. Phil Stringer, who will be preaching the conference.  He seems like a good brother, and he brought a wonderful message about the Inspiration of the Scriptures!

August 6^th 2002 Tuesday                 The Conference

                The conference commenced at nine in the morning.  Bro. Bob Adams preached first.  Afterwards we heard from a man named Bro. Wall, a missionary to Mexico, who preached a wonderful message about those who say that the corrupt 1960 Spanish Bible is better than the King James in English (What a wicked lie!).  Also, he proved that those who say that "Jesus quoted the Septuagint when he walked amongst us on this earth" were nothing but liars and deceivers.  Afterwards Bro. William Park preached a great message too!

                Then I was called to the platform to preach.  I preached a message from Matthew 6:5,6 about the Pharisees.  It seems that in the Spanish world there are two groups that are pro 1960.  They are the Jack Hyles crowd, and the BBF (Bible Baptist Fellowship) crowd.  I applied my text to them and made them the Pharisees (Hylesites) and the Saducees (BBFers).  Then I preached against "groupism."  Afterwards I showed how there are also the disciples of Christ in these verses!  And I said, "We need to be Christ's disciples, on his side, and not care about what the Pharisees think of us!!!" 

                My main points were that the Pharisees were wrong on Salvation, the Scriptures, and Sanctification.  And, I applied that the Hylesites who are you "super soulwinning crowd" that say that salvation is a "prayer" or a "1,2,3 pray with me" gospel.  I preached hard on the blood, and salvation by faith in it alone.  And, I showed how those "Pharisees" who say you can be saved by "just saying a prayer" are teaching false doctrine, and are doing what they do just to get a "name in their Bible," so that they can brag about how "spiritual" they are and "how many souls they've won!" It's only for "the praise of men" that they supposedly win souls.  However in reality, they are only interested in getting someone to say a prayer so that they can get a name in order to brag about what they did, and are not interested in preaching the gospel correctly (by what Christ did, not what you can do!).

                Then I attacked the liberal BBF crowd who has no standards whatsoever, as a majority now allow "rock music" in their churches.   Not to mention their "new Bibles," short hair and pants on women, worldly clothes and styles, etc.  "They are your Pharisees!"  I said.  They aren't clean on the inside, and it shows on their outside!

                After I preached, Bro. Stringer preached and said that what I said about Salvation "needed to be said!"  He too wonders about this crowd that have hundreds saved, and yet their churches aren't any bigger.  And, where are the ones who supposedly got saved?  In the same place they were before! Doing the same things they did before, and there is no change in their lives.

                He also told a story about a certain "Youth Camp" that claims to have 600 souls saved every year.  He said that he didn't know how they did it this year, as there were only 468 people present.  Yet they claimed 600 "decisions" after it was over.  Things like that really make me mad!  It's all about "numbers" nowadays as Bro. Stringer said.  I'm not interested in numbers.  I'm just interested in somebody getting saved, and having a changed life! 

August 7^th 2002 Wednesday                Listening to Some Good Preaching

                Today we heard from Bro. Park, Bro. Donate, and more.  In the afternoon, brother Stringer brought a message that was incredible!  He preached about the Waldeneses and their history and strong stand for the pure words of God.  He also told about all the persecution that they suffered from the Roman Catholic church for their stand on the Bible and the gospel.  It was a tremendous message, and really showed us how much we have it made in comparison, and how little we have actually gone through for the truth!

                In the evening, Bro. Stringer showed how the Roman Catholic Church is involved in working with the Bible Societies to not only produce "new versions of the Bible," but also to translate them as well. 

August 8^th 2002 Thursday                The Last Day of the Conference

                Today was tremendous!  Bro. Park preached a great message in the morning and showed how corrupt the 1960 Spanish Bible is and how it changes the pure words of God.  Afterwards, we heard from Bro. Donate and he showed how the new Bibles not only affect doctrine, but affect "holiness" in our churches today!  He also played an example of a popular "Christian" rap song in Guatemala (Contempary Christian Music)," and he showed how it used the 1960 Spanish Bible as it's basis for it's vocabulary.  It was pure "demonic" music, and you not only couldn't understand most of the words, but there was no way you could have thought it was "Christian" as it sounded just like the world (if not worse!)

                Afterwards, Bro. Stringer preached a wonderful message about some of the "gods" of Modern Scholarship – Wescott and Hort.  He proved without a doubt (from documented evidence), that these men where nothing by demon possessed infidels who produced their Greek New Testament text under the direction of Satanic spirits in order to destroy the pure words of God!  What a great message!

                In the evening Bro. Stringer told about how his church and Bible Institute (Landmark Baptist College) was split by a bunch of wicked people who are for the corrupt 1960 Spanish Bible.  He told how many of the teachers  lied, and manipulated many of the students to entice them to leave with them (even though by American law they were forbidden to leave, as it would affect their visas). 

He also told about some of the "lies" that these ungodly people used in order to split the church and Spanish ministry.  They started out saying, "The 1960 Spanish Bible is the King James in Spanish!" Then they told their students that "the 1960 Spanish Bible is better than the King James Bible."  If that wasn't bad enough, then they said something that took the cake!  They said, "Jesus quoted from the Septuagint."  They are deceivers that are deceived and being deceived!

August 9^th 2002 Friday                    Resting                 

                Today I finally was able to rest.  I slept in today until about nine in the morning.  Afterwards I spent most of the day studying and preparing messages for the Youth Camp next week.  In the evening, I went to Bro. Raul Reyes church for prayermeeting.  We prayed for two hours!

August 10^th 2002 Saturday                Going to America

                Bro. Homero Romero, the folks from Honduras, and I left this morning at around eight o'clock headed for Laredo, Texas.  I had some car parts that I needed to buy for my car as well as a few other things to get from Walmart. 

                At the border, Bro. Homero and the Honduran family got out of the car (as they didn't have a visa to enter into the U.S.), and I crossed in the U.S. alone.  How good it was to finally be home!  I was overcome with all sorts of emotions.  Part of me was happy to be back in my native land, yet part of me was sad to leave the Spanish-speaking people.

The first thing I did was go to Wendy's and eat a hamburger.  I savoured every bit of it!  Afterwards, I went to Walmart and spent over four hundred dollars buying some things that are impossible to get in Honduras.  Then I drove to Autozone and bought some parts from my Suburban down in Honduras (over 200 dollars worth).  

                In the evening, I picked up brother Homero and the Honduran family, and we drove the three hours back to Monterrey, Mexico. 

August 11^th 2002 Sunday                   Preaching!!!

                At three in the morning, Bro. Juan came and picked me up to take me to the radio station downtown.  We arrived there at a little before four, and at twenty past four, I began preaching.  I was given thirty minutes to preach about salvation, and I preached as hard as I could on the subject.  We had about 9 phone calls afterwards.  What a blessing it was to preach on the radio.  I really enjoyed it!  Afterwards, they said that this station went all over Mexico, the southern United States, and even to Cuba!

                At eleven o'clock, I preached the morning service at Bro. Raul Reyes' church.  I preached the message, "Some Definitions of Sin."  I really enjoyed preaching in such a great atmosphere in a place where people enjoy listening to the words of God.

August 12^th 2002 Monday  Youth Camp                     

                Today we left at around eleven-thirty in the morning heading to the Mount Carmel youth camp.  I rode with Bro. Raul Reyes and we arrived there at a little past two.  Upon our arrival we jumped right in and began working hard at cleaning the place up, and preparing things for when the kids showed up.

                After about thirty minutes, the bus with everyone's luggage pulled up, and we went to work unloading it.  A little while later, the bus with all the kids pulled into the driveway, and all the "jovenes" (young people) began pouring out!  I believe there is something like 60 teenagers in all that will be here for the camp.

                In the evening, I preached a message about being "Champions For Christ!" as that is the camp theme this year. 

August 13^th 2002 Tuesday The Second Day of Camp

                Today was a very long day!  I preached in the morning on the subject of  "What Hurts the Lord Jesus Christ?"  It went well, and we had three people come forward and surrender their lives to the Lord's service (one boy and two girls).

                In the afternoon, I went down to the river with the boys and went swimming.  How nice and cool was the water!  It felt great as the climate here is so very hot!  We even found an old rope hanging from a tree, and I taught some of the young men how to use it to swing out into the water.  We all had a good time doing that.

                I preached about "How to win in the Christian Life" in the evening service.  I was amazed how good God has been by giving me power in my preaching.  I continually depend on him, and trust him, as I lack so much (knowledge of Spanish, etc).  Yet God is faithful, and has been using me here.

August 14^th 2002 Wednesday                The Third Day of Camp

                I didn't sleep well last night. I awoke at two-thirty in the morning with nightmares.  They were so bad, that I got out of bed and went and prayed and read my Bible.  I didn't know what else to do, and that helped me.

                 In the morning, I preached a message entitled, "Seven Characteristics of a Spiritual Man."  I tried to show these young people how important it is to be spiritual and walk in the Spirit instead of the flesh.  So many today fall by the wayside as they are only living for what the flesh wants, rather than what God wants.

                In the evening, I preached on "Obedience" and showed how God has a plan or a line of accountability.  The children are to obey their parents.  The wives are to obey their husbands, and the husbands are to obey God!  I showed them how awesome of a responsibility the wife has nowadays, as she not only is supposed to obey her husband in everything, and by so doing show him how he's supposed to obey God, but she is also to be an example to other women, the angels, and her children in how to be an obedient Chrisitian.

August 15^th 2002 Thursday                The Last Day of Camp!

                I preached the morning service with a message about "Jonah."  I struggled through it, as I was so tired!  In the afternoon, we played soccer.  It was a lot of fun, but I wore out fast in this very hot sun!

                In the evening, God blessed, as I preached a message about "Noah, Daniel, and Job, Three Men Who Overcame."  I showed how Noah overcame the world, Job overcame the flesh, and Daniel overcame the devil.

August 16^th 2002 Friday                    Traveling Back to Monterrey

                Today we left the Camp at around 11:30 P.M., and drove the two hours back to Monterrey.  I slept the whole trip as I was so very exhausted!  In Monterrey, we went to Pastor Raul Reyes' house and waited for the bus full of kids to show up at the church (across the street).  Once everyone arrived, we unloaded all the luggage and took everyone home. Then, I went with Missionary Doyle Johnson back to his house to rest!

                In the evening, we had prayer meeting.  It lasted two hours.  I was so exhausted that I almost fell asleep several times, but it was good to see a church that was full of prayer warriors.

August 17^th 2002 Saturday                A Day of Visitation and Shopping for Books

                I went to Visitation this morning at ten o'clock at Bro. Raul Reyes' church.  I was very happy to see over thirty people show up.  They come every Saturday, and they all go to the same neighborhood and two by two visit each house.  What a blessing it was to be part of this.  Bro. Carlos Ruiz lead someone to the Lord with the 1602 Spanish TR New Testament that I gave him!

                Afterwards, Bro. Juan Lozano took me downtown to several Christian bookstores to find some good Spanish Christian books.  Bro. Raul Reyes gave me an offering of $100 American dollars, and I used almost all of that to buy some books that are almost impossible to get in Honduras.

                In the evening, I went to the Youth meeting at the church.  I really enjoyed this.  One of the brothers preached a very good message, and afterwards we played volleyball and ping-pong.

August 18^th 2002 Sunday                   Last Day in Monterrey

                I went to church this morning and heard Bro. Carlos Ruiz preach.  He did a wonderful job, and preached a tremendous message about how we are supposed to stay in the yoke that God has put us in and keep on plowing! 

                In the afternoon, I went streetpreaching with some of the young men in the church.  We preached on the street in the open air market.  I preached second and they gave me a microphone and an amplifier to magnify my voice.  I enjoyed preaching to the passerbys for almost an hour.

                At five thirty in the evening, Bro. Doyle Johnson and his wife took me to Escobeda (I don't know if that is the correct spelling) so that I could preach in the new church that they are starting there.  I preached a message entitled, "What is a Christian?"  

                Afterwards, we left Monterrey and drove all night long to Austin, Texas.

August 19^th 2002 Monday  In the United States!

                We arrived this morning at Bro. Johnson's house in Austin at about four-thirty in the morning.  They showed me to my room, and after a nice hot shower, I turned in exhausted from a long trip.  After I woke up in the morning, Bro. Johnson took me to eat breakfast with his son-in-law Josh Tomson.  We talked for quit a while and he informed me that he was active in a Spanish ministry in his church.

                In the afternoon, I went with the two of them out "running errands" and doing a few important things.  Then in the evening we had supper at Bro. Josh's house.  How great it was to eat fried okra again!

August 20^th 2002 Tuesday Flying to Washington!

                Today I left on the seven o'clock morning plane from Austin, Texas to Denver, Colorado. When I entered the airport, my bags were checked and they took out all of my stuff and then put it back in looking for bombs or knives, or whatever.  The security is very tight now after September 11^th, and I was shocked at how thorough it was.  As I went through the security check to the gates, they made me even take my shoes off and then ran them through the scanner!  How awful this "Terrorism" thing is becoming. (Not for the Terrorists, but for us!)

                From Denver, I flew to Seattle, Washington and deboarded my plane.  I met Missionary Abraham White there.  He was visiting his wife's family, and he decided to stop by the airport and spend some time with me.  We had a good chat, and I really enjoyed talking with him.

                At a little past one o'clock in the afternoon, I landed at the Walla Walla, Washington airport, and found that Patience and her mother were there waiting to pick me up.  How good it was to see her again.  I really enjoyed spending time with her after not seeing her for more than a year, but it was a little awkward at first.

We went to her house where I met the family, and learned a lot about the Brt's.  They are a fun loving family, and I enjoyed talking with them.  I was just so tired, that I didn't say too much.

                In the evening, I was able to hear Bro. Sam Gipp at her church.  He is a real blessing, and the message was a real encouragement.

August 21^st 2002 Wednesday                A Day With Patience

                I couldn't sleep well last night, so I awoke this morning at six thirty.  Today I spent working and just hanging out and relaxing a bit.  How long has been my trip from Honduras to here, that I am almost dead to the world!  But, I did enjoy driving around the little town of Touchet with Patience and seeing where she grew up. 

                In the afternoon, we had a talk and we both spoke a little bit about our worries.  However, there are many more things we need to talk about.  I was able to talk to her Dad today, and tell him what my plans and desires were, but I still haven't had a chance to talk with Patience as much as I'd liked.

                In the evening, Bro. Gipp preached again, and I enjoyed hearing another great message.

August 22^nd 2002 Thursday                Agony!

                I spent all night long praying and crying.  I could not sleep as I was a bit preoccupied with how things were going with Patience.  I wrote her a poem, but I did it in haste and I tried to show the relationship between Christ and the church.  However, I erred in my haste!  As I made myself a type of Christ and her a type of the church,  I told her that Christ loved a nobody like me!  Well, I wasn't thinking.  So I guess it came across that she thought that I figured she was a nobody to me.  I did not mean that at all!  Nor did I think that at all!  So, I learned a very valuable lesson from all of this.  I learned that to Christ I am valuable and worth something to Him.  And she is very valuable, in fact, she is worth more than rubies (Prov. 31:10).  Oh how I wish I could have known that before, and told her how much she is worth to me!  But, once a wrong word is spoken, it's hard to take it back.

                In the afternoon we walked down the streets of Touchet and talked all day long.  I told her of my love for her, and how I wanted to nurture and cherish her.  However, she talked to me from her heart and told me that she couldn't go to Wyoming with me to meet my parents.  She said that she just didn't feel anything for me.  She said that what scared her more than anything, is that she felt nothing.  Oh how my heart broke!

                I learned a very valuable lesson in all of this that helped me and strengthened me in my relationship with Christ.  He loved me, even when I didn't love Him!  And, when I rejected Him, His love was still offered to me!  It's not what she does that determines my character, and attitude.  It's how I feel for her that makes the difference.  I still love her, and want to show her that I do.  But, I can do no more than this.  If she loves me not, then there is nothing more that I can do but continue on for the cause of Christ and the cross.  My love will always be extended.  Now I only hope and pray that it will be accepted.

                I also learned about the difference between the law and grace.  I started out this relationship by telling her what the Bible said about Marriage, and we decided that we needed to follow the law to the letter.  However, you can follow the law, but not have love.  You must first love the Lawgiver before you can love His words.  That taught me the difference between the law and grace.  Before Jesus died on the cross, many followed the law, but they didn't love it.  It was a burden to them, and an agonizing chore.  But when Jesus died, and we see his love and grace, that makes us want to serve him even the more!!!  His love for me is what makes me want to obey Him.  And, I must show her my love for her before I even think about asking her to do the same for me.

                The greatest thing I learned today is that you can have a lot of answers but with no actions, it will not help you.  In other words, "knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth."  I have studied this thing called marriage for so long, that the more I study it, the more it blows my mind and it makes me think about more things I'd never thought of before.  After a while it becomes so complicated that it becomes sorrowful (he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow).  And I've learned that charity (sacrificial giving) really fills in the gaps and keeps you from having to think about all the "rules."   What a blessing.

                In the evening I went to Patient's house to eat with her family.  We ate the beans that I brought from Honduras and they were very good!  I also talked with Patient's Dad and enjoyed our conversation.  He's a great guy, and we got along very well.  In fact, so well that he even gave me a .22 pistol!

                After dinner Patience, her father and mother, Pastor Paulson, and I went to play tennis together.  It was a lot of fun, and I really enjoyed it a lot!  So even though today might have been one of the most agonizing of my life, it ended on a rather happy note, as I enjoyed playing a game of tennis, and I learning so much about myself, and my relationship with Christ Jesus.

August 23^rd 2002  Friday                    Leaving Touchet

                I left Touchet today on the bus.  Before leaving, the Brt family and I went to the river and went shooting. How fun it was to shoot my new pistol and to fire several other wonderful weapons (Patience's .22 Magnum, a SKS, a shotgun, etc.) 

                At around 12:00 P.M., Bro. Aero called and asked me to run up and make a few laps in the combine with him.  I did, and enjoyed talking with him.  He is a great young man, and I was able to receive a few words of encouragement from him.

                When I went back to the church, I ate a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwich with the Pastor and Patience's parents.  Afterwards, I had Patience sit down, and I spoke with her.  It took everything I could to keep from crying as I love that girl so much!  But, I told her that I felt she didn't really give me much of a chance.  Oh how tired I was, and how exhausted.  For that reason I became a Calvinist for the last several days.  I did nothing, thinking it would all work out if it was God's will.  However, I've learned that was my problem, I should have done something. 

                Before I came up there, Bro. Paulson said she was ready and willing to go to Honduras and be a help meet for me.  But from what she said, she put it all on the line when I got off the plane.  She said that she told God, "if I feel something when he gets off the plane, then that will prove God's will."  Well, she felt nothing, and that's why the last few days it's been very weird as she has been very awkward and nervous around me.  For that reason, I felt awkward around her too.  But, I told her that she needed to at least give me a chance.  You can't make up your mind about someone from how you feel the first time you see them!  You have to get to know them, and that takes time! 

I'm also to blame.  When I showed up at the airport and saw her, my heart skipped a beat.  I was so overwhelmed to see her, that I did what most men do, I hid my emotions.  Rather than say what was on my heart, I looked everywhere but at her, in the effort of thinking I was putting this flesh down.  Well, maybe she felt uncomfortable around me because of that.  Oh that I could go back and do it all over again!  Oh that I had one more opportunity to do things differently!

As we drove to the bus station, I asked Patience what will become of us.  She said she did not know.  She did not tell me that this was the end, nor did she tell me this was the beginning.  She just said she would pray about it, and would let me know.  Her words were, "I learned more about who Patience is this week."  So I told her, "When you find out who she is, will you please let me know!"

My heart breaks so much to leave her.  I've never felt like this before.  I remember a pastor giving me advice on deputation about this stuff.  He told me, "the one you are supposed to spend the rest of your life with is the one in which you can't live without!"  That's how I feel.  I feel like I'd rather die than go on without her!  Oh how my heart breaks for her!

                Looking back, I see that I did everything wrong.  I came to see her too soon.  I came when there were too many other people there (Sam Gipp, Bro. Paulson's family, etc).  I came when I was tired and this affected my judgment.  If only I had waited to come and see her!  Or if only she would have come to Honduras to see me    In hindsight, this has been the most strange week of my life.  It seems that I went to Touchet for the love of one, but I gained everyone's favor except hers.  Her parents are great!  Her pastor is great!  Her friends and family are great and I love them all!  But she is the greatest of all!  Why could I not win her?  Why was I so stupid to hold my emotions in?  How could everyone there like me but her?

                I miss her so much!  Maybe it's like everyone told me, and all she needs is some time to think about things.  But, I don't want her to think about the bad things.  I want to give her something good to think about.  I want to go back and do this all over.  I want to do it right!  I want to be rested, and at ease and give her all my attention!  All I want is one more chance.  I don't know if I can go back to Honduras like this.  I can't leave this chapter of my life unclosed.  I love that girl more than anyone I've ever loved in this life (except my Saviour Jesus Christ!).  And the funny thing is that even though she brushed me off, I love her still, and yea even the more. 

August 24^th 2002 Saturday                Home Comings

                I arrived in Casper, Wyoming at nine in the evening.  How wonderful it was to see my father again after so long and be comforted by him after all that I'd gone through the last couple of days.  The bus trip was miserable, and I didn't get much rest.  My thoughts were continually on Patience, and I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, nor could I get comfortable.

                I also thought about where things went wrong.  And, I keep dwelling on all the things I didn't do.  First, I wasn't prepared to see her at the airport.  I thought her pastor was going to pick me up.  But, he didn't.  So I wasn't able to get any flowers, nor get a haircut and get cleaned up.  I was ashamed when she saw me there tired, dirty, and feeling really awful.  Second, she was so beautiful, that I didn't want to get in the flesh.  So, I didn't look at her much, thinking by doing so, I was putting the flesh down.  I just didn't want this relationship to be founded on the flesh!  Relationships started in the flesh, end in the flesh!  Next, I kept putting off talking to her, thinking I needed to get some rest first.  Well, I never did get much rest.  I should have talked with her first, and asked her how she was feeling and what was going on.

                Anyway, it was good to hear my father's voice again and listen to his comforting words of wisdom.  He taught me a lot that helped me to feel better.   Yet, I'm still in agony.

August 25^th 2002 Sunday                   Off to Church

                I was finally able to rest a little bit last night.  That helped a lot, but as soon as I woke up, I began thinking about things and my heart began to wax heavy.  I guess I'm just too hard on myself.

                Dad really helped me by showing me that I needed to put all my regrets and "could of beens" and "should of beens" aside, and quit dwelling on them, as that will only get me down and hinder the work of the ministry.  He showed me one verse that really comforted me a lot!  It was Hebrews 9:14.  It says:

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from DEAD WORKS to SERVE the living God?

                That helped me so much!  He taught me that the blood of Jesus Christ not only washes us from our sins, but also cleanses our conscience from all of our regrets and dead works.   How powerful is that precious blood of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!!!   So many dead works I left there in Touchet, and there was so much I wanted to do for her!  (I wanted to start my trip by showing up at her house with flowers, a box of chocolates, and a golden necklace!  But, the way things worked out, I was unable to do so.  Things just whizzed by so fast, that I didn't get a chance to do all that I had wanted to.  Better said, All that she deserved!!!).

But, through His blood, I can purge my conscience and quit feeling bad about all the things I wanted to do, but didn't have a chance to.  I can get "peace through the blood of his cross" that will help me to press on, even though it hurts me to know that I wasn't able to show her my love and everything she deserves.  And now I can get back on track serving him who loved me enough to do so much for me! 

                Today we went to Platte Valley Baptist Church here in Casper, Wyoming.  I wanted to visit with the Pastor and see how he was doing.  However, when I walked up to the front door, one of the members (Clyde) asked me, "So are you come here to be our Pastor?"  I was shocked.  And then he told me about how Pastor Robertson had resigned and moved back to South Carolina.  What a shame that was to hear.  I really liked that man, and was looking forward to having some fellowship with him.  I hope the church won't die, as it is now very small and they are looking for a Pastor.

 August 26^th 2002 Monday                Working on the Pipe

                Today Dad and I went up to Squaw Creek on the other side of the mountain.  We have a pipe that comes from there and goes all the way around the mountain to our pond.  It's an oversized siphon, which draws the water down to the canyon behind our house.  When the water is running, it fills the pond.  But, unfortunately, the water was not running.  So we spent the day following the pipe and checking for leaks and clogs.  We also replaced many joints that were bad and fastened them with metal clasps.

                After working all day, we still were unable to get any water.  Maybe we can try it again tomorrow.

August 27^th 2002 Tuesday A Trip to Town

                Dad and I went into town today to get some things.  I also was finally able to get a much needed haircut.  It felt so good to finally feel clean, after being gone so long in Honduras and Mexico with shaggy hair.  We also went to a gun shop, and found a holster for my little .22 pistol.   The man called it a "Regan Getter" because it had RG on the side of it.  The man said that was the same brand of pistol that Hinckley used to shoot Reagan (just a different caliber).  I thought that was funny.  That was the first time I've laughed in sometime.

                After we returned from town, we walked the mile or so over the mountain back up to Squaw Creek and tried to get the pipe flowing again.  Unfortunately, we were unable to do so.  I did get to shoot a snake though as we walked back home.  With my new pistol, I placed my first shot right between his eyes!

August 28^th 2002 Wednesday                Taking Down the Fence

                Today the fence around our big garden fell down.  So we spent the day working on taking up the old rotting logs and chicken wire, which served as a deterrent for the animals to come in and eat our plants.

                As we worked, my thoughts continually were thinking about things I've been through last week.  My thoughts went back to Patience, and how much I wish that things there could have worked out.  I'm so lonely, and need a companion, especially in Honduras.  But, then my thoughts began to think that maybe it all worked out for the best.  Maybe she couldn't have taken life on a foreign mission field.  Maybe it would have been too much for her, and that's why God didn't let it all fall in place. 

                But all I wanted to do was take care of her.  She had a bad shoulder that had been dislocated years before, and all I wanted to do was give her a massage and help her feel better.  She also had a bad knee from a Basketball injury and said that she couldn't walk at times.  And, all I wanted to do was help her get around in those times.  But, I guess she didn't want me to do that.

                After thinking some more, I saw my selfishness.  I saw that I thought I was the only one who could do all that for her, or maybe even the only one who was willing to.  But, I realized that even though I might not have the chance to take care of her, there was one who could do a much better job of it than I ever could or would.  That's the Lord Jesus Christ!  So, I finally put it all in God's hands.  I prayed, "God, you can take much better care of her than I ever could, so into your hands I commend her!  Please protect her and take care of her!  Amen."  That helped to ease some of the pain in my heart, as I know God is a much better protector and provider than I'll ever be.

                I was comforted a little more in the evening when I called my friend Abraham White on the telephone and talked with him.  It was good to hear from him again.  And he had some really good advice for me, and encouraged me to press on in serving the Lord (with or without a companion and helper). 

August 29^th 2002 Thursday                You Reap What You Sow!

                Today we went to the dump to throw away all the wire we collected from the old fence around the garden.  As my Dad and I drove along, I began thinking about some things that happened a few days ago.  After I arrived here in Wyoming, I got an email from an old friend.  Her name is Joy Robertson, and she is a Missionary's daughter in Chile.  She wrote to me for over a year as a friend, but was also communicating with me about the possibility of marriage.  I thought about it, and gave her a chance I guess.  I even went to see her in Corpus Christi, Texas before I went to Honduras last year.  When I saw her, I realized I didn't feel anything for her, and for that reason I didn't want to marry her. Well, to make a long story short, I wrote her a few weeks before I started writing to Patience, ending her hopes of marriage by telling her that I didn't have any feelings for her whatsoever, and that I didn't think it was God's will for me to marry her.  That was the end of it, and I didn't hear from her much after that.

However, when she wrote to me here via email a few days ago, she emailed just as a friend to ask how I was doing.  I returned her email and told her everything that had happened in Washington.  She replied by saying, "I know exactly how you feel!"  That hit like a lead balloon!!!   God showed me that what I had done to her (didn't give her a chance because I wasn't attracted to her) was the same thing that happened to me in Washington! 

Patience determined God's will upon my appearance, and how she felt for me.  When she was not attracted to me, she told me so and decided I wasn't the one for her.  Oh how it hurt to make that correlation!   Now I saw that what Patience did to me was the exact same thing I did to Joy!  I guess God was just showing me that what goes around comes around, and what you do to others, might be done to you too!

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do.  You've got to be attracted to someone before you marry them, but at the same time, you've got to be willing to marry whomsoever that the Lord's will is whether you like them or not.  Willingness is the key.  What if Joy was God's will for me, and I blew it because my flesh didn't like her?  Or, what if Patience was God's will for me, and her flesh decided she didn't want me?  How hard it is to determine God's will sometimes!  Yet I can actually see some things now that I was blinded to before.  Joy told me, "Love is a decision.  It's not an emotion or a feeling.  I choose who I love and who I don't."  Is that really so?  Maybe first impressions aren't everything.  Maybe you have to really get to know somebody before you can fall in love with them.  But, is Patience willing to do that for me?  Would I be willing to do that for Joy?

I thought about how this whole love thing applies to me and my Saviour Jesus Christ.  He loved me enough to die for my sins on that old rugged cross.  When I came to him to be saved, I wasn't attracted to him at first!  In fact, his visage was marred more than any man!  He was beaten, bloody, naked, and completely shameful in his appearance.  But, it wasn't what he looked like on the cross that made me love him.  It was what he did for me that made me love him!  When I got that connection, then his appearance (no matter how awful it was), became glorious to me! 

I've learned that Love is more than just a feeling, it's an action!  And Jesus Christ did it all for me!  He showed his love, by coming all the way to earth for me, and then dying for me!  That's what I tried to do for Patience.  I went all the way up there, and tried to give myself for her.  But, it didn't work out.  Now the only thing I can do is press on, and hope that someday she'll forget the outward appearance and think back on what Bro. Breaker did for her.  We shall wait and see. 

August 30^th 2002 Friday                    Out of God's Will?

                I've thought a lot today about whether or not I'm in God's will here in Wyoming.  When I spoke with Patience the last time, she told me, "I don't know anymore if it's God's will for you and I to get together."  I remember telling her, "Then if it's not, I'm out of God's will by coming up here and seeing you!"  That scared me a lot.  I know that I'm supposed to be in Honduras.  That's where God wants me, and that's where I want to be.  But, I'm in Wyoming now.

                I went to Washington to get a wife to help me in my ministry, but she didn't want me.  So, I came here to Wyoming alone.  Now I look back on it, and I think that maybe this is my Rome.  The apostle Paul went to Jerusalem out of God's will.  And, then he ended up in Rome because of his actions.  Maybe I went to Washington out of God's will, and then ended up here in Wyoming because of it.  Yet, I read in the book of Acts that God used Paul in Rome, and even though he wasn't in God's perfect will, God still loved him and gave him some fruit.  Maybe God will to use me here until I get back to Honduras.

                But, am I really out of God's will?  Dad says, "No!"  He said that I did what I should have.  A wife would be a wonderful help in the ministry, and I tried to get one.  Thus, I did the right thing.  Yet sometimes I wonder.

In the evening, I received a phone call from a Bro. Paul Morten from Wisconsin.  He was seeking information about which Bible is Spanish is the right one.  He was given a copy of my book about "The History of the Spanish Bible," and he called me to ask me some questions.  I answered his questions and told him about the 1602 TR Spanish Bible and the history of it.  He asked a lot of questions about the 1865 Bible as well.  I told him, "Although it's better than the 1909 and 1960, it still has problems. (Like calling Jesus Christ 'Lucifer' in 2 Peter 1:19)."  He was appalled to find that out, as he wanted the perfect Bible in Spanish!  I told him that the 1602 TR is the best and I would send him a copy of it in the mail.

                Later in the evening, I received another phone call from my good friend Bro. Abe Nazario in New York.  We talked for almost two hours.  It is a real encouragement to have friends that care about you, and want to help you out when you're hurting.  I'm still not over Patience, and I don't know if I ever will be.  But, it does help to hear from friends and how they too have gone through some of the same things.

August 31^st 2002 Saturday                Working On the Road

                Dad and I spent most of the day weedeating along both sides of our long driveway up to the house.  I used the DR Trimmer, while Dad used the regular weedeater.  We worked for about five hours in the hot sun.  When we finished, the road looked wonderful. 

                It was good to work again, but my thoughts were continually deceiving me.  They would think back to Washington and all the dead works I left there.  I had to fight them all day, and keep pleading the blood.  The more I think about these things, the more my heart hurts.  Oh to be able to quit thinking!

                I've found the only thing that helps is reading the Bible, pleading the blood, confessing my sins and asking God to fill me with the Holy Spirit, and battling the thoughts of this sinful flesh by quoting scripture.

September 1^st 2002 Sunday                Going to Church

We left at nine thirty this morning for Platte Valley Baptist Church.  There we heard Mr. Bob Ross (not the Predestinated Failure) teach Sunday School and preach a good message about "Hell."  There were only seven people in the services (including my parents and myself). 

In the afternoon, I tried to take a nap.  This was not easy, as I have yet to have slept well since coming here to Wyoming.  When I lay down to sleep, my thoughts continually try to trick me into thinking about things I could have done better in Washington.  I fight them, but it's not easy.  For this reason, sleep will not come to me quickly.  And when I do fall asleep, I am very unrestful during the night.

I don't know if I'm getting better or worse, but my heart still aches immensely!  How good it would be to forget the past, and get some real rest!  Yet I wonder if this can be.

September 2^nd 2002 Monday                Working on My Prayerletter

                I spent most of my day writing my Prayerletter and printing Spanish Bible material to mail to some friends.  It was a long day, and I sat in a daze during most of it.  I didn't feel sick physically, just emotionally.  I've still got a hole in my heart that goes down all the way to China.  It is filling up slowly, however, and it will be good when it finally does.

                In the evening, I had a talk with my father and he said some things that helped me put all of what has happened the last few weeks behind me.  I've got to press on and forget about the past!  The sooner the better!

September 3^rd 2002 Tuesday                       Figuring Some Things Out

                Dad, Gloria, and I worked all day long trimming trees, and hauling off branches. I worked with the chainsaw cutting many limbs.  It was good to work again.

                As I labored, I thought about many things.  Patience's Pastor told me that I wooed Patience with my poetry and I won her heart while in Honduras.  I showed her I was a type of Christ and tried to give her my love.  But when I showed up, "I treated her like she was a lost person and I had come to save her."  He said, "That was a slap in the face to her, and that is why things didn't work out."  I affirmed that I did not look at her as lost in anyway.  I was just trying to follow the type of Christ and the church.  Yet all of my explaining didn't help the situation.  For this Patience wrote me off.   (I guess I won her with my POETRY and lost her with my PRESENCE).

                However, the more I think about this "Type thing" the more I wonder.  Before two people come together to get married, isn't that the type?  Isn't she a type of a lost soul that needs Christ?  And isn't the man a type of her Saviour?

                Most of the day I spent thinking about this, and what a woman needs to be saved from.  Spiritually Christ Jesus saves her soul from Hell.  I got that much down.  That's easy.  But a sinful man?   How is he her saviour?  I came to the conclusion that he saves her from many things.  He saves her from loneliness, despair, deception, working a secular job, and more.  He also gives her a purpose in this life and gives her children.  How far we have gotten away from the type that Christ set up.  Most women nowadays don't look at a man as their Saviour who has come to take them away and be their protector and provider.  No, most women look at a man and say to themselves, "If I like him, then I'll go with him, if I don't then I won't."  They are looking on the outside rather than the inside of a man.  They are looking at his appearance rather than what he can do for them. How carnal!  I think it's because women nowadays watch too many Soap Operas, or read too many Romance Novels.  Most women want a perfect man.  The sad thing is that a perfect man does not exist.  Only Jesus Christ is perfect!

                Yet, the more I think on these lines, the more I realize that a woman needs to know she can trust a man before she marries him.  Trust is the key.  A woman will never marry a man unless she trusts him.  A lost soul is a type of the woman who needs to trust Christ as her Saviour.  To be his bride, she must trust him to be saved!  Yet in the relationship between a man and woman in regards to the subject of matrimony, how does a woman trust the man?  Better still, How does a man win a woman's trust?  When I saw what Christ did for me on the cross, I wasn't attracted to his outside.  I loved what he did for me.  I saw him as my Saviour!  I trusted him when I saw that I couldn't save myself.

But nowadays I see that the problem is that women don't look at their potential husbands in this way.  They look at him as a sex object, or something they can get pleasure looking at, rather than a man who will save them from a world of trouble.  I guess it all boils down to Titus 2:4,5.  The older Christian woman are supposed to teach the younger women what they are supposed to be, and how they are to look at their husbands.   It appears to me that someone has forgotten to do their job!  For I have found that there are so few good, godly Christian young ladies in this day and age.  No wonder God said that a virtuous woman has a price that is far above rubies!

                Woman nowadays are taught from an early age to go to college, get a career, do their own thing, and not to let the "evil, domineering men" control them in any way.  This is so sad!  This is so anti-biblical.  The Bible clearly states that the woman was made FOR THE MAN.  I'm convinced that a woman can never truly be happy unless she is a wife, and then a mother.  For it is for this purpose that she was created by God.   God, please lift up some more godly women in these last days who will teach the younger women what they are supposed to be!  And more importantly, help me as the type of the bride of Christ to be what I should be to you, oh Lord! 

September 4^th 2002 Wednesday                 Going To Town And Pondering Thoughts

Dad and I went to town today.  We bought some necessities, and picked up the parts from the Chevy dealership for my car in Honduras.  I still need to fix my Suburban when I get back.  It's been out of service for quite some time now.

As we went to town, I thought about all of this "Marriage" stuff again.  I've almost come to the conclusion that to tie the knot, one must be mentally sick!  When you think about it, Marriage is for life!  That's a long time.  And you don't know what will happen to a person in the next 20, 30, 40, or 50 years.  They might get fat, grow ugly, change their minds, or lose their love for you, leave you, etc.  I've come to the conclusion that Marriage is the greatest gamble in this life.

However, I've also concluded that Marriage is probably one of the greatest blessings in this life.  What a great joy to have someone as a companion and friend to take away your loneliness.  What a help to a man is a godly wife who will cook his dinner, wash his clothes, meet his needs, etc.  What an awesome thing is a man who will provide for, protect, and give purpose to his wife as he gives her stability in this life and shows her he loves her.  Yes, Marriage is important!  But the question is "To whom is it important?"

Most people want to get married for selfish reasons.  They marry because they want to get something rather than give.  Some want security, others companionship to take away their loneliness.  Some want protection, while others want their needs met.  I've come to the unchanging conclusion that most people marry only for themselves.  It's what they want out of Marriage that makes them marry.  Maybe that's why there are so many divorces today, because so many feel unhappy in their married lives because they don't get what they want, rather than looking at marriage as a union in which both parties give expecting nothing in return.

I look at my heart and I ask, "Why do you want to get married?"  The only answer I can find is, "Because I want to take care of a woman and protect her and provide for her!"  I in no way think of myself as unselfish, or noble.  But, I do look at women as creatures in need of a protector.   If only women would look at themselves as God does.  And see their need for a man who will love, cherish, and nourish them.

I believe the reason that old Robert Breaker has yet to tie the knot (he's struck out 4 times!), is because we live in a day and age when this present evil world teaches women that they don't need that.  They can take care of themselves and do what they want, when they want, how they want, for they are their own person!  Yet, what saith the scriptures?  Clearly, the woman was made for the man, and the man was to protect that weaker vessel.  How far this world has come from the Book to the teachings of Beelzebub.

It all goes back to Genesis.  In the garden of Eden, Satan came to Eve and told her she needed to be wise and needed to try something new (the fruit).  He planted the seed that has blossomed today in this "feminist" movement.  But what did God say in the same book.  He told her to be under her husband's authority so that he could protect her and watch after her.  How is it that we have come so far from what the book says until now?  Could it be that Robert Breaker will never get married?  Could it be that the Book has ruined him?  How can a man have a Biblical marriage in this day and age when it's so hard to find a Biblical women?

Patience was a rare breed.  She believed everything I did about the Bible.  She wanted to be a Biblical woman and a Biblical wife.  The only trouble was that she just didn't want to be that with me.  Could there be another in this world like her?  I know not.  I must trust God and wait and see.  But in 28 years of my miserable existence, I've yet to find another.  And deep down in my heart I know that I probably never will.  I've got to come to peace with this fact, but Lord knows it's not easy.

September 5^th 2002 Thursday                    Wise as a Serpent?

I walked to Squaw Creek today and fixed the pipe.  When I returned to the pond, water was flowing freely.  As I sat and watched the pond slowly rise, I saw several water snakes swimming around and eating minnows.  I freed my pistol and shot two out of three.  It felt so good to kill something that is a type of Satan.   How much I loathe the Devil!

As I sat on the bank, I thought about how Satan has been working for almost 6000 years to overthrow what God said.  And in this day and age, he has almost completely accomplished his task.  As I thought about these things, I realized how he works.  He is not only interested in damning souls to hell on an individual basis, he is interested in destroying families, nations, and nationalities.

As god of this world, his plan is to set up governments that teach "antibiblical views."  When this is achieved, he can infect individuals, who in turn will start families that are against the Bible.  These families will have children whose parents never teach them the Bible.  And they will go off to "government schools" to be indoctrinated with even more of Satan's teachings.  This is exactly what is happening.  Satan has destroyed the family, the young people, the nation, and yea even the church by making Christians adopt "governmental laws" instead of the law of God. 

Being in Honduras for only a year, I was shocked upon my return to the United States.  How awful things had become in just one year.  Sodomites are everywhere!  "Christians" are liberal and wicked as sin!  People are so selfish and rude! 

All this and more has made witnessing in America a burdensome chore.  Passing out tracts has become a rather difficult task!  I've found that people don't take them like they used to.  They just don't want to hear about the things of the Bible and God. 

I must admit, Satan did his job well.  He destroyed the youth, which destroyed the family.  This in turn made a one time "Christian nation" into a country full of atheists, liberals, and devils.  Truly America is a nation of divorce, bastards, abortion, and adultery.   It is run by atheists who buy into "Communist" teachings. 

Where does this leave the church?  Either they can rally forth and preach against this world, or they can continue in ignorance and deceive themselves into thinking that everything is all right.  Sadly, that's what they are doing.  God please wake them up and help them see that the devil is pulling the rug out from under them, and very shortly they will find themselves on their backs in the dirt with Satan's troopers yielding weapons over them!  Preaching the gospel is no longer "freedom of speech."  It is quickly becoming a crime against humanity.   Yet the gospel is the only hope this "Devil-run society" has.

September 6^th 2002 Friday                          Working on Prayerletters

                I spent all day working on writing and rewriting my July and August Prayerletters.  I stayed up until eleven in the evening printing.  It was a lot of work, but I was glad to get these Prayerletter finished.

September 7^th 2002 Saturday                     Resting

                I rested today, and did some work outside.  Nothing spectacular happened.  I worked on a few documents that I'm trying to finish before I return to Honduras.  Mostly, my day was spent with "paperwork."

September 8^th 2002 Sunday                        Working on My Website

                I worked all day on my Website.  It took some time to get everything prepared exactly the way I wanted it.  I have no phone line in Honduras, so I had to make sure I fixed it the way I wanted it before I go back.  There is still much more I wish to do, but I feel I accomplished much today.

September 9^th 2002 Monday                        Bringing Water

                At a half past one in the afternoon, I walked back to Squaw Creek with a rake, a chainsaw, some clippers, and a bag full of joints for the black water tube.  My mission was to move the plastic pipe from one spring (which was very low) to another about 30 feet away on the other side of a small canyon.  It took me about four hours of work, but eventually I connected the pipe to a much bigger source of water.  Now the water pours into the pond about twice as fast.

September 10^th 2002 Tuesday                       Working and Pondering Types

                Dad and Gloria went to town today and left me here with my grandmother Lucy.  I went outside and cut down a few dead pine trees, and worked a little on trimming the choke cherry trees on the sides of the driveway to our house. 

                As I worked, I began thinking about the types of Christ and the Church.  I came to the conclusion that there are three types of Christ and the church. 

Type #1 Christ and the Church (His bride)

                        When I went to Washington, I was trying to make myself Christ, and her His bride (a Christian). I tried to show how good he was to me, when I didn't deserve it, and that's what I wanted to do to her. Then I saw my error. It made her feel like I was saying she didn't deserve me. Now I see why it didn't work out! 

                I also learned that this type is only after you are saved, and not before. 

Type #2 Christ and the church before they are saved.

 

Then the whole "lost thing" came out, and Bro. Paulson (her Pastor) showed me that there's a type of Christ and the church before they are saved.  The woman before she is married is a type of a lost sinner that needs to come to Christ and be saved.  Then this got me thinking. How does Christ win his bride? Doesn't she become his bride by trust? And that's why a sinner needs to trust Christ to be saved. But how does a man win a woman's trust? I trusted Christ after hearing his words. But his words showed me what he did. So, the words are important. But, his words weren't "sweet words," they were Preaching!  And that preaching cut me when I first understood it. After I accepted it, I was very happy that I heard and accepted, and I was thankful for what he said.

But I've learned that a woman wants "sweet talk." She doesn't like to be preached to.  I remember Hosea 2:14 where God tells him that he will "speak comfortably" to his woman (Isreal).  That must be how you win a wife;  with "comforting" words.  Ruth 2:13 also affirmed to me this truth.

Type # 3 Christ and His bride before the Wedding (the espoused bride).

 

Here's what Dad taught me.  He told me about the "espousal."  When a man trusts Christ, Paul said that he espoused them to Christ as a chaste bride.  In God's eyes, we are as good as married, however we are still waiting for the rapture when we will have the marriage supper. 

Dad told me that by her words, Patience espoused herself to me when she said she'd marry me and go with me to Honduras. To Dad, this meant she accepted me as her husband. Then he says, that when I went up there to see her in Washington, that was the type of the rapture.  Then he adds, "Can you imagine if Christ showed up at the rapture and found his bride, and she said, 'Oh it's you. Well, we don't want to go with you. Bye!'"  That's preposterous! Yet in type, that's what happened.

                So I've come to the conclusion that we both blew our types.  I'm not a good type of Christ.  I could not win her trust.  I did not speak comfortably to her.  Nor was she a good type of the bride of Christ, as she rejected me at my coming.  So I guess I'll just have to move on and forget about all this, and thank God for at least showing me some things that I needed to learn.  And, I'm going to continue working on my type in case there's ever another bride for Bro. Breaker, and "another rapture."  Yet it still hurts, and it's hard to let her go. 

September 11^th 2002 Wednesday                 Anniversary of the New York Disaster

                It is exactly one year after the twin towers of the World Trade Center were destroyed.  And everyone in America seems to be "crying" about it while they "remember the past" in tears.  This makes me a little bit angry to see! It appears that America has become an effeminate nation, full of "bawlers" and "weepers." 

                My grandmother told me that when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the nation didn't weep.  They got mad!  And when December 7^th rolled around the next year, everyone didn't "cry" about it and make it into a national holiday.  Instead they worked even harder to show those "evil Japs" that they couldn't defeat the Greatest Nation on Earth!  My how times have changed!

It used to be that Americans would get angry at some things.  Now they only cry.  Not only that, they don't band together against anything anymore.  They pride themselves on being "tolerant" of everything.  In one side of their mouth they talk about the "poor dead" and cry and mourn for them whom the Muslims killed (according to their religion that's how they go to "paradise").  Yet out of the other side of their mouth, they defend the Muslims, and the Islamic religion that incited the violence and killed those people!  How hypocritical is America! It's a nation full of bleeding hearts who want to feel sorry for everybody, and not talk bad about anybody! 

                I feel very sorry for those who died in those buildings.  But the truth be known, I feel more sorry for Americans that defend a "faith" or "religion" that incites that kind of violence and encourages it's followers to participate in that kind of horrendous act.  Only Jesus Christ will fix the problems of this nation, for he does not teach nor advocate violence and murder.  He is "life" and peace to all who come unto Him!  But until this nation is willing to repent and come to him, I fear things will only get worse.

September 12^th 2002 Thursday                    Cleaning, Packing,  and Thinking              

                We worked all day cleaning the house and packing for our trip home to Florida.   While working, my old analytical mind began turning over things in my mind.  I began thinking about how a man is supposed to win a woman's trust.  How badly I wished to win that of young Miss Patience Brt.  Yet I made of mess of things!

                I think I figured it out though, as I thought about the old raccoon I used to feed back home when I was younger.  He was not tamed, and he was very scared of me.  I used to go out every night with food in my hand and try to feed him.  He would not come and eat out of my hand at first, but every night he drew closer and closer.  Eventually, he would hear my comforting voice and would come right up to me.  As I extended my hand, he would come and snatch some food out of it, and then back away and eat it.  Slowly he would come up again and take some more getting bolder and closer each time.  It was not long later that he was not spooked anymore and he began to trust me enough to come and eat out of my hand without running away.

                Not long after, he would sit in my lap, and let me feed him.  How cute he was!  He looked so soft and cuddly, and I longed to pet him.  The first time I tried, he jumped back and hissed at me.  Then I waited for him to come again and eat from my hand.  As he ate, I touched his head.  He hated it at first, but each time I tried, he endured it.  Eventually he grew accustomed to my touch, and allowed me to pet him. 

                I thought about this and realized that this must be how a man is supposed to win a woman.  The man is supposed to provide for her and protect her.  But for her to see that this is indeed his intention, he must win her slowly by his soft words, outstretched arm, and patient attentiveness.   Eventually, she will see that he means her no harm, and will grow to depend on him for what she needs.  This I've learned is how a man win's a woman's trust.

                Sadly this is not what I did in Washington.  It's so awful that I had to learn this lesson at the expense of losing the only girl I've ever loved.  Even though I didn't get Patience, I learned patience and that has helped me in my Christian life.

September 13^th 2002 Friday                          Packing Some More!

                Most of today was spent packing.  We didn't finish until late in the evening.

September 14^th 2002 Saturday                     Leaving Wyoming!

                At a few minutes after eight thirty, our potential buyer (Carl) came to look at the house with two of his sons (Douglas and Dean).  We showed them the house and even walked up to Squaw Creek to see the dam I built and pipe that drains water into our pond.

                In the afternoon, we finally finished packing and turning off all the electricity and water in the house.  After barring the doors and windows, we left Casper, Wyoming at five past three in the afternoon.    We drove until we reached Ft. Collins, Colorado and spent the night there in a Motel Six.

September 15^th 2002 Sunday                        The Poem

                We started out early this morning, as my grandmother did not sleep well last night.  There was a disturbance, and at three in the morning, there were a bunch of rowdy black people downstairs causing a disturbance.  The Police arrived later and detained some with "disturbing the peace." 

                At five in the morning, we left the Motel Six and journeyed all day long until we stopped in Childress, Texas.

As we drove in the car today I was miserable and very discouraged with each mile that we traveled farther south away from Wyoming and the state of Washington.  As we journeyed, I thought about how awful a type of Christ I was when I went up to Touchet.  I was so tired, and this affected my judgment.  When I arrived, I was expecting a warm reception, yet I did not receive one.  Because of this, I wasn't as pleasant as I should have been.  Then things went by so fast, that I didn't have time to gather myself or my thoughts and I ended up "preaching" rather than speaking "comforting" words and being myself.  It hurt me even the more to see that I was hurting her and pushing her away.  I knew nothing else to do but leave as it seemed the more I tried to do, the more I did the wrong thing, and backfired.

                When we arrived at our motel in the evening, I sat down and wrote a poem about my relationship with Patience and how I ruined what probably could have been one of the greatest things in my life.   I made such a mess there!  I just wasn't myself.  I guess I was so tired from being on the mission field for a year, that I just wasn't what I should have been when I went to see her.  I still blame myself.  If I'd known then what I know now, I can't help but wonder if things would be different somehow.  Yet we live in a real world, and sometimes there are no second chances (even though we wish it there were).  Thus, I wrote the following poem as I thought about it:

The Campfire

By Robert Breaker III

Once I tried to start a fire that I hoped would burn for all eternity,

However I found that my fire starting abilities were not what they should be.

Starting a fire was an easy task, or so I had been told,

But it had been quite some time for me, if the truth be known.

As I was alone in the forest in a place so dark and damp,

I searched for something I could use to start a fire in my camp.

Newspaper I found not, nor gasoline, nor oil

With just two sticks, a couple of logs, and a little effort I did toil

Upon these tables I wrote my heart, and did the best I could,

Eventually I found that my poetry lit the wood.

The fired burned small at first and I fanned it once or twice,

Before I knew it, it began to catch and I thought, "Boy, this is nice!"

As the fire grew, so did my confidence, and I began to be proud,

"Look at how great this fire is!" I yelled out loud!

"For ever it will burn and glow, forever it shall be,

Why it is lit so well, nothing can make it cease!"

Yet the more it burned, the less I did to help it grow and burn,

In fact, I threw some sand on it, and a little water in turn.

Then I began to doze, in front of this small flame I fell asleep,

Thinking all the time that when I awoke this "little" fire would still keep.

When I awoke I saw my folly, and misery set in,

For my fire had gone out and all was so very dim.

As I walked away, I began to weep, wail, and pout,

For I saw the truth of the matter was that I put the fire out!

Many days since that time, I've thought about this fire,

I've longed to return and see if there was a spark amidst the mire.

    But the truth be known, it cannot be for the fire has long since passed away,

And I'm reminded of my carelessness each and every day.

Yet a lesson I have learned that will help me much if ever again I should try,

I've found that fire is something that must be continually stoked, or else it will die!

September 16^th 2002 Monday                        Driving!

                Today we drove from Childress, Texas to Monroe, Louisiana and spent the night.  I continued thinking about things all day long and dwelt in the land of despair.  My mind continued its constant bombardment of accusing thoughts as I continually thought about how "evil" and "wicked" of a sinner I am.  My heart would say things like, "Some type of Christ you are, Robert Breaker!" or "You're not worth shooting!"  Then I would have to pray and ask God to wash me in the blood.

                Half way through the day, some light shined through from heaven and began to realize a few things.  When I finally awoke from this nightmare called "self-inflicted sorrow," I came to the realization that my problem was that I was looking for joy in another and thinking it could only come from her, when I had no real joy in myself to begin with.  I was looking forward to the day when I could get married, thinking that this is the only thing that would make me happy.  Yet it took all that happened in Touchet for me to learn that true happiness only comes from Jesus Christ, and your service for him.  If you aren't happy in Him, you'll never be happy no matter what happens. 

Like my Pastor told me, "The true test of character is how you react to adversity!" My reaction to how she looked at me was not right.  Rather than be happy and joyful no matter what happened, I allowed myself to become discouraged, and it showed.  This also affected how I treated her in return.  How awful is my character and how much work must be done on my part to strengthen it!  God please help me!

September 17^th 2002 Tuesday                       Home Again!

                We left Monroe at seven thirty in the morning.  We arrived home in Milton, Florida at three thirty in the afternoon.  How good it was to finally get home! 

September 18^th 2002 Wednesday                 A Little Cleanup

We spent all day working!  The house was a mess.  The yard looks awful with fallen tree limbs everywhere, and very tall grass.  So I spent most of the day trimming fruit trees and rose bushes and cleaning up a bit outside while Dad and Gloria worked on vacuuming inside the house and wetdusting.

September 19^th 2002 Thursday                    The Blowout!

                Tonight was the BI-annual "Bad Attitude Baptist Blowout" at my home church.  How great it was to hear good, old fashioned, hymns sung and hard, mean preaching against sin, the flesh, and the devil!

                The messages where aimed just at me it seemed.  They were exactly what I needed to hear.  Bro. Nathan Bemis preached on "Are you a Happy Camper?"  That message was really needed, as I've been down in the dumps every now and again thinking about things that have befallen me.  (Or rather things I've brought upon myself).

September 20^th 2002 Friday                          Good Preaching

                What great preaching I've heard today.  It was right to me, and I needed it!  It was also wonderful to see old friends and have some good Christian fellowship!  I've been starved for this, and it has been a real pick-me-up to see old schoolmates, familiar faces, and fellow church members!

September 21^st 2002 Saturday                     Great Service and Running Out of Gas!

                Bro. Bill Grady preached an awesome message this evening about "Four Women who are Chasing Preachers!"  He drew his text from the book of Proverbs, and preached about "Wisdom" and "Understanding."  He taught that these two sisters were good women, and every man should have them both!  Then he showed us the "strange woman" (otherwise known as the "wicked woman") and instructed us to stay away from her.  Then he ended with the "virtuous woman" and explained how she is the most important one!  He also showed how important her role is in keeping the wicked woman away from her husband and helping him to gain the first two.

                Bro. Nathan Bemis preached next on the subject of "The Inner Circle."  He showed how there are five circles around Jesus Christ.  The first circle is that of the 500 (1 Cor. 15:6) and that is the Circle of Faith.  Then he continued with the Circle of the 70 (Luke 10:1) and he called that the Circle of Service.  He stated that the next circle was the Circle of the 12 (Mk. 4:10).  This was the Circle of Fellowship.  The fourth was the Circle of Three (Mk. 5:37), and he showed how this was the Circle of Privilege.  The Last one was the circle of one (John 21:20) and this he called the Circle of Love.  He said each of us is in one of these circles.  He further encouraged us to not be happy in the circles farther out, but to press inward to the circle of Love so we will be closer to our Lord and Saviour!

                After services, I went to Shoney's to eat with some friends.  One of them sat me down and talked with me about this whole "Marriage" thing.  From his experience he instructed me that if I ever do get married to remember that "Self Denial" is the key to the marriage relationship.  He told me that he found that he has his own will and wants and desires, while his wife has hers as well.  He taught me that the way he taught his wife to be willing to sacrifice her wishes and her will to him was to show her that he too was willing to give up some things and do without for her.  I heeded his instruction and look forward to the opportunity to put his advice into effect someday if the Lord will.

                As I drove home from the restaurant, my car ran out of gas just before the bridge across Escambia Bay.  I guess I should have been angry or mad.  But I quietly and patiently waited and prayed for the Lord to send me someone to help me.  After waiting about twenty minutes, I locked the car up and walked two miles up the road to find a gas station.  To my chagrin, the only two filling stations at that exit were closed.  As I walked back to the car I began praying and singing.  This cheered me up a bit and with uplifted spirit I waited at the car singing and praising God.       

                Not much later, a man stopped and asked if I needed help.   By this time it was past midnight and I readily accepted.  His name was Rob and he was smoking cigarettes continually.  But I had the chance to witness to Rob and tell him about the Lord.

                After we returned to my car and filled it with two gallons of fuel, I thanked Rob and gave him a gospel tract.  Then I drove to the gas station that I had passed and filled my tank.  After paying for the gas, I tried the key and found that the car would not start, as the battery was too low from leaving my "Hazard Lights" on for so long. 

                Thus, I went inside the gas station and asked for some help to jumpstart my car.  This opened a wonderful opportunity to witness to the black man there and tell him about my Lord and Saviour.  After my car started I thanked him and gave him a tract.

                I finally arrived home at two thirty in the morning happy and thankful that I was able to witness to some men that I otherwise might never have met.

September 22^nd 2002 Sunday                        Spanish Bible Conference

                I left at a half past ten in the morning to the destination of Haines City, Florida and the Spanish Bible Conference they are holding there.  I arrived at six in the evening, and found a wonderful church with a good spirit and a friendly attitude.  The Conference started at seven with joyful and hearty singing.  The guest preacher that evening was Humberto Gomez, who preached a wonderful message entitled "Digging a Well."  He explained how important it is to keep on digging even when you don't find water, and applied this to us as Christians and our service for Christ.  He said, "We need to keep on for the Lord even if we don't see results!"

September 23rd 2002 Monday                        The Bible Conference Continues

                This has been one of the longest days of my life, but quite possibly one of the most instructive.  From nine thirty in the morning until nine at night we spent in services learning more about such subjects as "The History of Spain,"  "The History of the Spanish Bible,"  "The 1865 Mora and Pratt Bible," the 1602 Valera Textus Receptus edition," and more. 

                In the Spanish speaking world, there is no perfect Bible as we have in the English King James.  There are many different Spanish Bible versions and each one has either erroneous readings, additions, subtractions, attacks on the deity of Christ, or changes from the Textus Receptus to "Critical Text" readings.  But there is no "perfect" Spanish Bible.  For this cause Landmark Baptist Church here in Haines City has called this Conference.  Their desire is to work on giving the Spanish Speaking world the pure words of God!  They invited many different groups from the "Fundamental Independent Baptist" crowd who are either working on a project to do the same, or are interested in the proposal. 

                Present in the conference were Pastor Ernest Sigrest and Jeff McCardle (who are now printing the 1865 Spanish Bible of Mora and Pratt), Thomas Gilmer (representative of the Trinitarian Bible Society), Raul Reyes and Carlos Donates (from the 1602 TR project), and many more. 

                The purpose of the conference was to bring many Bible Believing Independent Baptist groups together to talk about the Spanish Bible Issue and to see what each group is doing to give the "pure words of God" to the Spanish Speaking people.  Their desire is to see a "standard" Bible in the Spanish Speaking world that is perfect and without error and that reads along with the King James Bible and the Textus Receptus.  Their hope is that just maybe these groups can work together to produce a Standard Bible in the Spanish Language. My prayer is that they will and that all Spanish speakers will be able to have one true final authority in their tongue. 

                We heard from each of these groups, and the spirit was superb as each group with a kind, considerate attitude invited suggestions and considered criticism from others.   

                We also heard from Bro. Thomas Gilmer who had a similar story about the Bible in Portugese.  Over twenty years ago, he began working on a similar project as the old Portugese Bible (from the Textus Receptus) was quickly being replaced with "newer versions" based on the Catholic, biased texts of "scholars" and "humanists."  (Oddly enough it was around the year 1960, the same year that the corrupt version of Eugene Nida and the American Bible Society was produced in Spanish). 

Bro. Gilmer spent much time working on purifying the old Portugese Bible to read more in line with the "Received Texts" and the KJB.  When he finished, the Trinitarian Bible Society began printing it.  Eventually it saturated the Portugese speaking world (which did not read the Bible much because of their Catholic upbringing), and became accepted by Christians as the Word of God in that tongue!  Not to long ago, a national news anchor in Brazil recorded himself reading that Bible.  Now Brazilians are buying these tapes by the millions to hear the pure words of God in their language.  What a blessing to hear!  Maybe God will do the same in the Spanish language!

                My friend Justin Evan showed up today at the conference as well.  He is a missionary to Spain and is still on deputation.  It was a blessing to have fellowship with him.

                Finally, on the wall in the church's hotel where I stayed the night, I found framed on the wall one of the pages of John Wesley's diary.  How interesting this was to read, and how different it was from my "journal."  It amazed me how he wrote of the most remedial things but spoke of what joy and happiness he obtained from doing them knowing that they were done for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.  Old Bro. Wesley had the victory!  Would to God I could be like him!

September 24^th 2002 Tuesday                       The Last Day of the Bible Conference

                Today was simply amazing!  We started again at nine-thirty, and heard some great messages until noon.  After lunch, all of the men from the Conference met in an upstairs room of the old Polk Hotel in downtown Haines City, Florida.  For the next two hours they spoke about their concerns and desires to give the pure words of God to the Spanish speaking world.  By the end of the meeting, they agreed to work together to accomplish this task!

                We were also informed that if they do, then upon the completion of this Spanish text, the Trinitarian Bible society will print it as well as several other organizations.  This would be a great blessing in taking the pure words of God to the Spanish people.

September 25^th 2002 Wednesday                 Leaving Haines City and Studying My Ancestry

                I left at a little past eight o'clock.  I arrived in Tallahassee at a few minutes before two.  There I went to the Florida State Archives to look up information about my fourth great grandfather named Lewis Frederick Breaker.  What I found was some very exciting and informative information.  He was a member of the Baptist church in Camden, South Carolina and moved from there to dwell in Key West, Florida in the late 1820's.  In Key West, he bought the "Montgomery House" from a Mr. Pardon Greene for the price of 350 dollars.  Then he eventually became the Justice of the Peace in that place and helped to start the Baptist Church there of which his son was to be the pastor after his death.   How interesting it is to learn more about my family history.

September 26^th 2002 Thursday                    One more Day in Tallahassee

                I spent last night at the Econo Lodge in Tallahassee.  This morning I went back to the State Archives and learned a great deal more about my family history.  I found Lewis Frederick's father was Mr. George Braker.  He came from Germany according to his tombstone in S.C. (which I've never seen), yet he was a Loyalist during the American Revolution and went to the Bahamas in 1781 or 1782.

Unfortunately, it does not appear that he was saved, but his son Lewis Frederick Breaker was a Baptist preacher who had a son (my third great grandfather) who became a Baptist minister in South Carolina.  His name is Jacob Manly Cantey Breaker and it was in his church in Columbia, South Carolina that South Carolina seceded from the Union.  Long live the South!

This just keep getting more interesting as the time goes by.

September 27^th 2002 Friday                          A Day of Study

                I arrived home yesterday at five in the evening.  This morning I spent studying some of the information I received from the library. 

September 28^th 2002 Saturday                     Packing

                I packed a lot of books and clothes in several big plastic containers to ship down to Honduras.  There is a church in Alabama that will put them on a container going down to another missionary there.  I left so much here when I left last year, that I'm glad I can take all of the rest of my stuff with me.

September 29^th 2002 Sunday                        Church!

                Sunday night service was the best!  Dr. Ruckman preached on "Discouragement" and how to overcome it.  That was a message that I definitely needed!

September 30^th 2002 Monday                        Meeting With My Mission Board

                I had a ten o'clock appointment with my Mission Board this morning.  I wanted to speak with them and get some counsel and some advice.  I'm still feeling bad about not getting married and all that, and I wanted to ask them about it.  Bro. Richmond (the mission board director) was very cool!  He told me, "If God called you to Honduras, then get back over there!"  That was good advice!

                Afterwards, I went to a shoe store in Pensacola to buy some new shoes.  There I heard a woman speaking in a rather strange language to her little grand daughter.  I approached the woman and said, "Excuse me ma'am, but what language are you speaking?"  She replied, "Greek!"  "Wow!" I thought.  Then I tried using a little of what I learned in 3 years of Greek class at the Pensacola Bible Institute.  I greeted her with, "Agathos 'amera" (good day).  She responded with something I'd never heard before and then keep on spitting out this "foreign tongue."  I picked up a few words, but was reminded how wonderful it was to not have to deal with that awful language anymore.  I can read it, and if there is a word I don't know, then I can look it up. But praise God that He didn't call me to Greece!

October 1^st 2002 Tuesday                 A Day of Rest

                I relaxed a bit today and did some paperwork.  I'm getting anxious about going back to Honduras.  I thought about that all day.  I just hope I can keep from getting discouraged as much while I'm there.  This trip back to the states has really encouraged me, and perked me up.  It's been good to be around family and friends.  But what of me when I return to Honduras alone.

October 2^nd 2002 Wednesday                           The "Saved Surfer Dude?"

                Most of my morning I worked on writing letters and catching up on my correspondence.  In the afternoon, I visited the Post Office and mailed all of my packages and then drove to the "Innerlight Surf Shop" up the road.  It had been a long time since I'd been in a Surf Shop, and was filled with mixed emotions.  I remember my "surfing" days and being around that stuff brought back a few unwanted memories.  But I did get a blessing when a young man named John Smith struck up a conversation with me.  He said he was an employee of the store and when he saw the gospel tract in my pocket, he asked for one and then began talking about the Lord.  He said he was saved, and was trying to live for God and tell others about Jesus.  Then he went on to tell me that he'd just finished reading Revelation chapter 21 about "home" (heaven).  He also told me that he was looking forward to the rapture of the church and had several dreams about it.  I spoke with him some more about the subject and how the Lord had called me to Honduras to preach the gospel there.  He was "stoked" as surfers say, and said he'd pray for me on a regular basis.

October 3^rd 2002 Thursday                Working on Preparing to Return To Honduras

                I spent all day working on correspondence and packing.  I also called Honduras and spoke with Zenia's Mom.  She said that Nelson and Zenia have moved to another place, and he is working at another job.  She said they are waiting for me to return and looking forward to seeing me again. 

                I bought my plane ticket today also.  I cost $337 dollars.  That was the best price I could find.  I leave on the 22^nd of this month.  This gives me time to visit my Mom when she comes down from Oklahoma and to visit some friends in Panama City before I leave.

October 4^th 2002 Friday                    Boxes Away!

                Bro. Robert Warren came over today to pick up a few boxes that I needed sent to Honduras.  There were four big plastic ones and four cardboard boxes full of Bibles.  He'll be shipping it to Honduras on a container with food for Missionary Ronnie Doss and his orphanage there.  I will pick up my boxes when it arrives from him.  Three of the boxes of Bibles are for Bro. Santos Ortiz in La Ceiba.  I await the chance to visit with him when I drive there to give them to him.

October 5^th 2002 Saturday                Packing

                I spent most of my day packing and preparing things to take with me to Honduras.  I also had to pack for my trip tomorrow to Panama City, Florida.  I'll be traveling there to spend some time with my brother in Christ and fellow Pensacola Bible Institute graduate of '98, Travis Dempsey.  Then I will be traveling to a little tourist town called "Seaside" in Creighton Beach to visit my mother and sister on vacation.

October 6^th 2002 Sunday                   Facing the Spanish Bible Issue Yet Again                  

                I went to my home church this morning (Bible Baptist) and heard Bro. Brian Donovan preach a good Sunday School lesson from 1^st Peter.  Right before the regular morning service at eleven o'clock I was cornered by Bro. Jeff McCardle, who asked to speak with me about the Spanish Bible Issue.  He talked with me for more than 30 minutes and we discussed some very important matters.

                We both agree that the Spanish Bible Issue is so very complicated.  It reminds me so much of the Bible in English before we received our "Authorized" King James.  There were many "translations" in English, but God only had one that he chose to use (The KJV).  There was the Bishops' Bible, the Matthew's Bible, the Tyndale Bible, etc.  But God only chose one as the infallible authority, and that was the wonderful King James!

                In the Spanish world, I see a correlation that makes me think we are nearer to the pre 1611 times than we realize.  There is the original Valera of 1602, and then there is the 1865, the 1909, the 1960, and more.  Not to mention all of the ones before 1602 such as the Reina 1569 "Biblia del Oso", the Enzinas of 1543, the Valdes of 1557, the Ferrera, etc.  But which of these did God choose to use in the last 400 years?  This is the question that many are asking when it comes to this issue. 

                Most "Independent, Fundamental" Baptist Missionaries use the 1960 Reina-Valera.  But more and more are starting to wake up to the fact that it is corrupt and is nothing more than an English RSV in the Spanish Language.  They also are realizing the 1909 is not much better, and that there is a real need for a "Standard Bible" in the Castellan tongue.  Yet where is this standard, and how do we go about finding it? 

                Many have said, "There is no perfect Bible in the Spanish tongue!"  This I'm inclined to agree with, as I continue to study this issue.  There are many "reliable translations" (should I sink to use such a "scholarly" term?) in Spanish, but no perfect one like our blessed King James in English. 

                But then there are others like McCardle who openly claim that there never will be, and that we should all stand behind the 1865 which, according to him, is the original 1602 Valera Bible with a few corrections made from the KJV, and the best complete Bible in Spanish.  Yet even he admits it has some problems and that it should be revised in a very few places.  Well, if it's not perfect, then why settle for second best?  Should we not strive for perfection?

                Then we have others who state that we should have a King James Bible in Spanish.  I'm a King James Bible Believer, and have no problem there, but how far do you go with the KJV in Spanish.  After talking with McCardle, he got me thinking.  So many have begun revising the Spanish Bible with the King James, but they only go so far.  They change some words to match the KJV and then leave the rest.  But once this is done, someone can always come along later and say, "Well, you didn't do a good enough job, and we are going to do it over and better!"  Doesn't this just add to the problem by more and more people producing more "revisions?"

                Then there is the McVey Bible.  Bro. Jonathan Richmond gave me a copy of his New Testament today at church and I looked through it. It is what it claims to be: nothing but the KING JAMES BIBLE word for word translated into the Spanish language.  It too has some problems though, as it is not in good Spanish. 

Many old English words in the KJV have other meanings than we think of today.  For example "suffer" in Matthew five, spoken by the Lord himself, means "to allow."  But to translate "sufrir" in Spanish, as McVey did, you have a mess on your hands as a Castellan speaker will think that Jesus is asking John to go through some physical pain in his body!  So how far do you go with all of this?

                McCardle wants to defend the 1865, and he wants others to do the same, and by thus doing make it the "Standard Spanish Bible" in the Castellan world.  In a way I applaud him, as his motive is one of wanting all of us to have the same text that we can take to the world so that there is less confusion.  But, what about the 1602 TR New Testament put out by the guys in Monterrey, Mexico.  It is much, much better than the New Testament of the 1865, as it reads even closer to the King James.  (Plus it doesn't give Jesus Christ the same name given to Lucifer in Isaiah 14).  So why settle for less than the best?  Especially in something as important as the eternal words of the Living God!

                After our discussion, McCardle asked the question, "Do we want the Valera in Spanish corrected slightly with the KJV or do we want the KJV in Spanish that will read like the Valera Bible?"  This really got me thinking.  The truth is that you can't have them both.  There must be a balance, but where do you draw the line?  If you don't go all the way KJV, then someone will come after you to try to make it "even closer to the King James."  But if you change the Valera (even ever so slightly) with the King James, then others will try to do the same, and follow your example claiming you "didn't do a good enough job!"

You must defend the Valera Bible in Spanish, but it must be corrected where it omits words that are not in the Textus Receptus and the KJB.  Also, it must not honor Satan by making a reference to Christ apply to him. 

                It sounds so simple, but yet so complicated.  I am of the persuasion that we should defend the original 1602, and only change it where it needs it (2 Ped. 1:19 for sure!), and add those words that are missing that we find in the KJV and the TR.  (This is basically what the people in Monterrey did!). 

                Yet, McCardle brought up a rather interesting point as well.  He showed me where the 1602 TR has a few words changed from the original 1602 to match the King James.  This to me is not a problem.  However, McCardle stressed the point that to do such as this, you must also change that word in all other places it appears as not to destroy your cross references!  Just one more problem in which we have to address.

                I still am using the 1602 TR in the New Testament (because the Old Testament is not yet done) and I feel it's the purest New Spanish Testament to date, and the 1909 in the old Testament (because it's available, and it's closer to the KJV than the 1865 in my studies), as I feel that in good conscience I cannot use a Bible that calls my Lord and Saviour Lucifer.

October 7^th 2002 Monday  In Panama City

                Last night I went to church with Travis Dempsey to Bible Believers Baptist Church.  Bro. Greg Rhineheart preached a great message out of Ecclesiastes which helped me a lot.  Afterwards we went out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant called "Little Fiesta."  It was good to speak Spanish again.

                This morning, I drove to Seaside beach to see my Mom who was down visiting from Oklahoma.  I also saw my sister again.

                In the evening, I went for a walk with my sister.  I tried to get along with her, but this was not an easy task, as she is really angry at times.  She is going through "counseling" and all she could talk about was "Dysfunctional Families" and how we came from one. 

                As we walked along the beach, I began asking her many questions.  I love my sister, and want to have a brother and sister relationship.  I believe she wants this too.  However, I don't know how to get to know someone without asking them questions about what they like, what they don't like, etc.  This didn't go over too well, as she got mad at me again and began calling me a "Control Freak" and telling me how she wouldn't "Play my little games." 

                I did however begin to understand my sister (and women in general) better after I asked her one question.  I said, "K.K., what's the most important thing in this world to you?"  Her reply was only one word: "ME!"

                This made me think.  If all anyone really cares about is themselves, then they will always push others away, and not care about, nor be willing to do things for others.  The key to life, and happiness is "self-denial," for only this will make you a better person.  Thank God my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ didn't say, "Lord, not you, nor your will, but ME and MINE!" 

                I've learned that I'm who I am by the grace of God (I'm not much, and it took a lot of God's grace to make me what I am today).  But, I have also learned that if I ever do find the right woman in this life, she'll be one who looks at me as more important than herself.  She will definitely not be a woman who thinks she is the most important thing in the world!  And when she finds me, I want to be like Christ and show her (like I've tried to in the past, and failed oh so miserably) that I'm not interested in Me, but in her.  God help me always to put others first!

October 8^th 2002 Tuesday Another Day in Paradise

                I slept in this morning and it felt so wonderful to be able to do so.  Mom and I went out on the two-man kayak out in the gulf.  How great it was to be in the water again!  And how great the sun felt as it shined its warm rays upon me.

                My sister also came out on her plastic float and began snorkeling the bottom for shells, and marine life.  I too went to the bottom on several occasions.  However, I swallowed a little too much water on my last trip up, and saturated my lungs with the liquid of the salty sea.  This made for a rather unpleasant evening as my throat began aching and my sinus' starting acting up.

                I spent the rest of the day reading the Bible and trying to figure some things out.  One thing that continues to baffle me is why God put Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon together in the Bible in the order that he did.  These are two books that are so opposite in nature that it stifles my faculties to grasp why they are put remotely close to one another.  As I read these two books, I saw that one dealt with how vain and empty this is this life.  I can relate, as at times everything seems so worthless and fake.  Yet there are other times when I can identify with that flutter of the emotions of love that Solomon so freely speaks!  But my how opposite are these two sentiments.  One is a man that hates life, and realizes that nothing can satisfy, while the other is the same man that has nothing to live for but a spouse, a mate, the love of his life of which without her he'd have nothing to live for.  How is it that a vessel of flesh (which is the epitome of vanity) can make a man go crazy and yet give him a want to live at the same time? 

Strangely, I'm starting to identify with this man who had 1000 loves go bad.  I too realize with him that all that really matters in this life, is to "Fear God and keep His commandments!"

October 9^th 2002 Wednesday                Getting Sick In Paradise

                I awoke this morning feeling awful.  My sinuses were running, and my throat hurt.   I relaxed most of the morning and enjoyed not having anything to do.

                Toward the afternoon, Mom suggested we travel down to the "Outlet Mall" and shop for clothes.  This we did, and Mom bought me four new pairs of Dockers pants and a nice windbreaker jacket.  After this, we went to the local "Thrift Store" and I found the most interesting book of Poems.  On page 371, I found a wonderful poem that spoke to me about some of the things I've been through the last couple of months.  The poem is entitled, "Love Song," by Elinor Wylie, and goes like this:

       LOVE SONG

Had I concealed my love

And you so loved me longer,

Since all the wise reprove

Confession of that hunger

In any human creature,

It had not been in my nature.

I could not so insult

The beauty of that spirit

Who like a thunderbolt

Has broken me, or near it;

To love I have been candid,

Honest, and open-handed.

Although I love you well

And shall for ever love you,

I set that archangel

The depths of heaven above you;

And I shall lose you, keeping

His word, and no more weeping.

In the evening, Mom and I went out to eat at a place called "The Spicy Noodle." I had a very good Lasagna, while Mom ordered the Seafood Alfredo.  They also brought us the best dip I've ever had in my entire life.  It was Olive oil mixed with thyme, rosemary, basil, garlic, pepper, salt and more.  How good it was to sop this delightful sauce with the Italian bread and let it's contents burst upon my tongue!

October 10^th 2002 Thursday                Travel and Thought!

                This morning I slept in again and awoke feeling a little better.  In the afternoon, I enjoyed riding my bike around the brick streets of Seaside.  How beautiful is this little village of a mixture of Victorian style homes and English Beach-style décor.  I thoroughly enjoyed looking at these lovely pastel colored dwelling places in this paradise of snow-white sand and lanky oaks.  As I pedaled down one street, I happened upon a fig tree, and ate a delightfully ripe, sweet fig.  Oh how I love figs!

                I also thought about some things again today.  About a week ago I bought a dozen roses on the internet and had them sent to Patience's residence with a note saying, "Dear Patience, you are precious and deserve the best.  For you I am praying."  Then I signed it, "Your little brother in Christ, Robert Breaker."  I didn't expect anything to come of it, I just wanted to do something nice for her.  I wanted her to know how it feels to receive flowers and a kind word.  How much it continues to hurt me that I didn't do my best to show her what she deserves when I was with her.  I wanted to be able to go back to Honduras with that chapter of my life closed and knowing that I at least did something right.  Well, this too turned out to be a disaster, as I found out from her pastor that she was out of town when the flowers arrived, and did not get them until a week later.  By then I'm sure they were dead. 

                Looking back it seemed as though I could do nothing right!  Not even in closing could I make a sweet parting with a dozen roses.  This too backfired in my face.  Could this be God closing the door completely, and showing me without a doubt that it was not his will? If so, then so be it.  At least I know that I tried, and I can live with myself knowing that I did something for her, even though it didn't accomplish what I'd wished and was in bad timing.

October 11^th 2002 Friday                          Going Back to Panama City

                I rose this morning still feeling a bit under the weather.  My chest hurt, and my breathing was queasy.  Yet, I had to go back to Panama City and see Travis again.  I said my good-byes to my mother and hugged her tight.  Sadness overwhelmed me as she told me, "This just might be the last time we see each other!"  I understood what she meant as nothing is certain when you are a missionary in a third world country.  It may be that I return to Honduras, and the Lord sees fit to take me home to heaven there.  At least I'll go home to glory knowing I was where God told me to be, doing what he told me to do!

                At a little past two in the afternoon, I drove from Seaside Beach to Panama City.  I stopped at all the Antique shops and Pawnshops along the way.  Oh how I miss these stores in Honduras!

                In the evening, I enjoyed fellowshipping with Travis and his wife Jessica.  He and I played chess, and I actually won a few games (but not even as many as he!).  Afterwards, we ate a wonderful dinner of mashed potatoes, chicken, and string beans.

October 12^th 2002 Saturday                Heading Home!

                All last night I could hardly breathe.  I thought I had bronchitis or pneumonia as I was constantly coughing up phlegm.  The air-conditioning didn't help much either, as I had cold chills running down my arms and legs continually.  Yet, when I awoke up this morning I felt much better (although not completely well).

                After a shower, some French toast, and a good cup of coffee, I gathered my composure and strengthened myself to take on the day.  Travis and I played a few more Chess games, and then I was on the road again making my way back home to Milton, Florida, in the hopes of resting, and relaxing to get over this dreaded sickness.

As I journeyed, I could not help myself from stopping at every Flea Market along both sides of the road.  I sure miss places like this in Honduras!

                Before crossing the toll bridge from Gulf Breeze to Garcon Point, I stopped at Walmart and did a little shopping.  As I stood at the check out line, I began looking around me and everything began to change.  I began to look at things through the eyes of understanding and received instruction.  As I looked around, nothing seemed real anymore.  Everything I saw became so vain to me and useless.  The magazines, and T.V. were only to appeal to the eyes and the lust of the flesh.  The clothes were only for the touch and for men to "look good" in the eyes of others.  Candy and food were for sale by the droves. But for what?  To appeal to the tastes of this wicked, vile flesh.  The perfumes were elegantly displayed in their small curved bottles at costly prices.  But why?  Simple, to make this sweaty, smelly old skin have an odor that is "pleasant" to others. 

                Then there are the music tapes and stereos that are so shiny and sleek.  For what are these instruments made?  To tickle your ears with your favorite sounds and melodies.  We must not forget the fine bedding, towels, and pillows sold on the back aisles.  Why do they offer these luxurious commodities of linen, silk, and cotton?  They are to caress you and make you feel comfortable in your "sleeping environment" as you touch their smooth surfaces.

                By the time I took it all in, I was about ready to puke!  Vanity of vanity, all is vanity.  I've come to the conclusion that Walmart is all about the flesh, and catering to it's needs, whims, and desires! 

I know that it is true that we are flesh and must live in the flesh, but oh how I hate this vile body of sin!  And oh how great t'will be when this "corruption" shall see "incorruption" and this "mortality" shall put on "immortality!"  Even so, come Lord Jesus!!!

October 13^th 2002 Sunday                To Church

About a year ago, I came to the conclusion that the Christian life is a balancing act.  You have to have a balance, or else you'll fall off the line.  The line is the word of God.  "Line upon line, precept upon precept," the Good Book says.  And if you are balanced atop of a thin wire high above the stable ground, you must keep your eyes on this line, else you slip and plunder to your death.  It is the same with the life of a Christian.  I've seen many a child of God fall off on one side or the other because they have taken their eyes off of the word.  Some fall to the right, and into what some might label as "Legalism," into which they judge all others according to what they themselves do, rather than what God says.  (Eventually, these all become prideful, Pharisees).

Then there are those who fall off toward the left into "Liberalism" and continue living according to how they "feel" is right, rather than what God said is right!  These two are so far away the one from the other.  Yet, on the line is where God wants us!

Many times I see myself on this line.  Forward is the victorious Christian life.  To the left is the flesh, which is constantly trying to allure me to look on it, and take my gaze off the cable.  To the right is "Vain Spirituality," which is trying to lure me to jump into it.  But when I plunge into it, I find I've fallen into "the abyss of Pride." This is a hard pit to free one's self from.  For the way out of this pit is not up.  It is down on your knees confessing your sins and asking God to humble you. 

How hard it is to live as a Christian sometimes.  Many times I want to look at the flesh and fall over unto it.  Then I want to go the opposite extreme and become so "spiritual" that I turn my back on the flesh completely and forget that it even exists.  However I've found this is an impossibility as the very stench of this vile body reminds me that I'm a dreadful human being and sinner. 

The only true happiness I've found in this life is staying on the line, and pressing forward with my eyes upon it, following its straight path without any glances to the side.  Balance is not easy at times, but I've found the more I look upon that line, the better my balance becomes. 

October 14^th 2002 Monday                To Town                                

                I went to town today and bought a few needed items for my return to Honduras.  I also went to the dentist and had two cavities filled. 

                When I arrived home, I found that my father had bought me a new laptop computer.  It is a Hewlett Packard Notebook, and it is very powerful.  It is top of the line, and I am very grateful for such a wonderful machine that will be a big help in the ministry in Honduras.

October 15^th 2002 Tuesday                Working on the Laptop Computer

                Most of my day was spent working on my new computer with my Dad and installing software programs.  As we worked, I thought about going back to Honduras.  Part of me wants too, and part of me doesn't.  I've learned some things about myself lately.  I've learned I do better around others.  But when I'm by myself, I don't do so well.  How great it would be to have a fellow laborer in Honduras to give me encouragement and companionship to continue on in the fray. 

However, I've found that I've gotten used to being by myself.   There is something about being alone that is almost relaxing.  Just being able to not have to speak to anyone else, or be distracted by them, and to spend your time in thought.  I enjoy just sitting and reasoning about things.  Thinking about the "why's" and the "how's" of it all helps me to understand the meaning behind the motive of men's actions, as well as brings to my remembrance past experiences of days gone by and the recognition of certain truths. 

I have so much more to learn.  Some people say they have all the answers.  I've learned I don't even have all of the questions!  Everyday I find that there is more and more that I've yet to have even thought about in this life.  Everyday is a new class in the lesson of life.  I have a good teacher (Mr. Holy Spirit), and I'm enjoying soaking up all that he gives me.

October 16^th 2002 Wednesday                Church and Fishing!

                We spent the morning using the new computer.  In the afternoon, I took a much needed nap, and tried to rest a bit.  I'm still feeling a little sick, and am trying to get over this cough.

                In the evening, I went to church and met my old friend Mark Gregory there.  We prayed together, and afterwards I went to his house for some fellowship.  He invited me to go fishing with him and several other people from church.  I agreed, and together we went to Alabama Point and fished well into the evening.  I caught a big red fish.  It was beautiful.  It looked like it must have been about 21 inches long!

October 17^th 2002 Thursday                Pondering my return to Honduras

Time is growing near to return to Honduras.  I've been thinking a lot about this.  Part of me is ready to go back to my home and get busy doing what God called me to do.  Yet part of me wants to stay in the U.S. close to my church, friends, family, and more.  I'm in a twixt between two.  Whether to stay in the States or to depart and go to Honduras which is far better for Nelson and Elias Marquez.  There is so much to do in Honduras and I'm needed there to continue the work that the Lord has allowed me to start.

October 18^th 2002 Friday                          Computer

                The new Hewlett Packard computer that Dad bought me went on the brink today.  The speakers went out and it didn't work right.  Today Dad and Gloria took it back to Sam's and exchanged it for a new one.  This one worked great and we stayed up late working on it and putting on new programs.

October 19^th 2002 Saturday                Computer work!

                Almost the entire day was spent working on my new computer.  I put all of my personal documents, books, articles, and more from my old lap top onto the new one.  I stayed up until one in the morning.

October 20^th 2002 Sunday                Church, Fish, and a Chess Game

                Church was good today.  Bro. Donovan preached on "Go Fishing."  It was a much needed message for me, as that's exactly what I intend to do as soon as I get back to Honduras.

                In the evening, Mark Gregory asked me to come over to his house to eat the redfish I caught the other night.  I readily accepted.  It was the best fish I think I've ever tasted!

                Afterwards we played chess, and Mark beat me two times in a row!  I've got to learn how to play chess better.  I love the game, and enjoy playing, but my strategies leave much to be desired. 

                Before leaving, Mark told me something that really helped me a lot.  I've been struggling a lot about whether or not I should have come back to America.  I came back to get married, and at the time, it seemed like the thing to do.  But now looking back (after it didn't work out), I realize that I came the America too soon.

I came home for a wife, but now as I look back, I think that I came too soon, expecting too much from her, not knowing her well enough, and not being what I should have been.  For this, the devil has been brow beating me continually, and I've been feeling like I'm out of God's will.  Yet, when Mark and I talked about this, he told me, "You would have been a fool not to come!  She wanted to marry you, and you did the right thing in coming."  That helped a lot.  It's good to have close friends that will pick you up and help you get over some things.

Whether I should have come back or not, I know not.  All I know is that God taught me so many things that will help me in the future.  For this I am truly thankful.

October 21^st 2002 Monday                   Shopping and Packing

                All day was spent traveling over Gulf Breeze, Pensacola, and Pace looking for a specific program for my computer.  It is a word processor called "Accent" and it's the best program I've seen for typing in Spanish.  Unfortunately we were unable to find this program in any store and I had to settle for another Multilingual Typing program. 

                In the evening, I packed my bags for my trip tomorrow.  I have two bags to go under the plane, my surfboard, and my carry-on bag with my computer and Bible.  I hope all of my luggage makes it safely.

October 22^nd 2002 Tuesday                Back To Honduras

                Today was the big day.  It's hard to believe that it's finally come.  I was ready and willing to go back to Honduras when I was in Wyoming.  Looking back I think it would have been easier to leave then.  But, God saw what I needed and gave it to me in the form of good preaching at the Blowout in September, the constant advice of other Christians at home in Pensacola, and a little rest and relaxation.  My time in the U.S. has been a real encouragement to me, and the lessons learned will stick with me till the day I die.  I wouldn't trade them for the world.  

                The longer I stayed in the United States, the less I wanted to leave and go back to Honduras.  Good Christian fellowship is always a blessing.  However, I know that Honduras is where God wants me to be, and it is there that I must return.  God's will is always more important than mine.

                During my time in the states, I learned so many things.  From Patience I learned so much about my relationship with Christ Jesus and the type of Christ and the Church.  Romans 5:3 and 4 say that "Patience worketh experience."  This is truly something thing that I've gained from all of this that will help me future relationships to come. 

                Perhaps the greatest of all lessons that I learned was that to be truly happy, one must delight himself in the Lord.  How discouraged I was in Honduras, and how I wore myself out so much serving the Lord.  I was looking for happiness in another rather than in Christ Jesus.  Because of this, I went to Washington looking for rest and love.  Yet what I found was that my rest is in the Lord, and His love is far greater than any other that one can find in this life!  How good it was to be afflicted in order to learn such a valuable lesson.

                As my flight landed at San Pedro Sula International Airport, I was reminded that I was back in Honduras.  One of the things that I remember about this country is that everyone uses the bathroom wherever he or she wishes.  It's not uncommon to see someone peeing on the side of the road as you are driving.  In fact, this is something that I missed in the United States.  As I was driving there, I kept thinking, "You know, I haven't seen anyone using the bathroom on the side of the roads here!"  But as I landed in Honduras, I knew I was back in a third world country and out of civilization as from my window seat I beheld a man peeing on the runway.  I burst with laughter as I thought to myself, "Yep, I'm back in Honduras!"

                At the airport, I had no trouble leaving customs.  One of the workers asked me what was in my bags, and I told her, "Just Bibles and books, because I'm a Missionary here."  She responded, "Okay!  Then go ahead!"  That's how it's always been.  They usually respect Missionaries.

                Outside the terminal, I found Homero Romero waiting to pick me up.  He laughed a bit when he saw that I had three bags with me and my nine-foot surfboard.  But we managed to get them all in his Chevy Suburban.

                In the evening, I went with Homero to Cerro Verde (Green Hill) for services in someone's house.  A man preached, and I was so tired that I could hardly stay awake. 

                I spent the night at Homero's house and slept like a baby.

October 23^rd 2002 Wednesday                Home to La Esperanza

                Homero drove me the three hours to La Esperanza today with all of my stuff.  Before we left I bought some groceries and a few necessities.  When we arrived at the house, I found everything in disarray.  The house was filthy, the yard was grown over, and the water pipe was broken to the house.  Homero and I put a quick patch on it and were able to take our showers in the evening.

                Homero also looked at my car and tried to fix it.  He couldn't find the problem, so we put it off until tomorrow as the day was beginning to fade away.     

October 24^th 2002 Thursday                Fixing the Car and Other Things

                I awoke at around seven this morning.  How good it was to sleep in my own bed again.  When I went into the kitchen, I found Homero already at it working on the car.  He finished putting the carburetor together and asked me to help him install it.  When we found that wasn't the problem (as the car wouldn't start), we then replaced the distributor and rotor.  This too did not help.  Finally, we decided to change the fuel pump.  This was no easy task, as it is located inside the gas tank.  It took us more than an hour to lower the gas tank and take the old fuel pump out.  After we replaced it with a new one, we found that the carburetor fuel injectors were spraying gas out much better than they had before.  But the car still would not start.

                After racking our brains and trying to figure out what it could be, Homero asked if I had checked the fuses.  "Of course," I responded.  Yet he wanted to try them again.  The first one that he pulled out was bad.  It had burned in two, and someone had rigged a piece of wire around it to make it work.  This wire was loose and it didn't make a good connection.  Thus the car would not start, as this was the ignition fuse.  When we replaced the fuse, the car started right up!  Praise be to God!

                Still, I wonder who would have done such a thing as to wrap a useless fuse in wire.  Maybe it was the mechanic I took it to in Sigutepeque.  I definitely won't go to him anymore!

                After Homero left to go back to San Pedro Sula, I drove into town in La Esperanza and picked up my mail.  There was a lot of it, as it had been stacking up over the last couple of months.  Then I went and bought some parts to fix the water leak, the shower, the light fixtures in the garage, and more. 

                In the afternoon, I spent the rest of the day, and into the night fixing what was wrong in the house.  I also fixed the busted water pipe.

October 25^th 2002 Friday                          Working and Water Problems

                This morning I awoke and began working again on the house.  I put many screws in the ceiling in the guest bedroom and bathroom.  They are pine boards nailed to the rafters that overlap each other.  In between where they met were many cracks that let dust and air through.  By screwing the together, I was able to close most of those cracks, and make the rooms more airtight.

                After eating lunch, I began washing my dishes.  Suddenly, the water began to change color as it came out of the sink.  It changed from clear to red-orange to gray.  I shut it off and ran outside to check where I had fixed the pipe.  It was holding together nicely.  Then I checked the well.  It was completely empty!  Down on the bottom, all I could see was gray mud.  It looked awful.  When I turned off the pump to allow the city water to come in, I found that I had no city water.  Castillo told me that they had cut it off.  Thus, I was without water all day long.

                The rest of the day I spent cleaning house and unpacking.  I also worked outside a little and mowed a section of the yard.  While cutting the grass, I killed a three-foot long snake.

October 26^th 2002 Saturday                Working on the Car and the Kids Come Again

                I spent this morning cleaning the garage.  I had Castillo do most of it while I changed the sparkplugs and the oil in my car.  We also took down some of the old shelving that Don Harold Priday had put up years ago.  It went all the way to the ceiling in the garage, and no one could reach that high.  I used the boards to make a work bench in the back of the garage.  Eventually, I need to buy a vise, and a bench grinder. 

                After lunch, I decided to take a shower.  I had the wonderful privilege of bathing in a bucket of distilled water.  It was cold, but it did the job.  I hope we can get the water connected soon, as it is taking a long time for my well to fill back up again.  Castillo said the city water department wants me to give them my paper work again, because "they lost it!"  Until I show it to them, they will not reconnect my water.  What a thing!  Unfortunately, I don't have them.  Harold Priday does, and we are going to try to contact him and ask him to come and present them to the department.  I sure hope we can get this taken care of soon, as water is a necessity.

At a half past one, the kids came today.  I was so unprepared for them, as I was thinking it was still Friday.  Yet they saw me driving down the road the other day when I went into town, and they knew I was back.  This to them meant that it was time to start services again.  This we did. 

                When they arrived, they showered me with flower petals and chanted, "Hello, Robert!" in Spanish.  They also gave me a bag of Ciruelas Amarillas (Yellow Plums), where were very good. 

                While we sang hymns, the children asked me, "Por que no tengas una ofrenda?"  (Why don't you take up an offering?).  I hadn't thought about it, and it didn't seem too important.  I'm not after their money.  But, they insisted we start taking up one, and we could use the money for festivals, outings, or just to buy food, candy, or coke  from time to time.  This sounded like an excellent idea to me, so we took up our first offering.  It was only three Lempiras, but it was good to see the kids were willing to give.

Even though I wasn't ready with something to teach the kids, I preached a message off of the top of my head from John chapter 10 about "The Door!"  I showed them that Jesus is the only way to enter heaven, and those trying to get in any other way are nothing but thieves and liars. 

                After service, I gave them all some of the things I brought them back from the U.S.  I gave each of them a pencil, and a blow up beach ball and Frisbee.  They were very thankful.

                Before they left, they asked me about my "novia" (fiancée).  I had to tell them that things didn't work out there and that we are no longer together.  They said, "Mentira!" (A Lie!).  They didn't believe me, but I had to assure them that it was so.  They just couldn't believe it. 

                In the evening it rained a gulley washer.  How beautiful the sound of falling rain was upon the tin roof.  I enjoyed just relaxing and listening to its pitter and patter. 

October 27^th 2002 Sunday                Relapse!

                When I left the United States, I was still a little bit sick.  Since I've been here in Honduras I've had a cough and stopped up sinuses.  But this didn't stop me from doing what had to be done.  I worked on unpacking, cleaning house, cleaning the yard, etc.  Everyday I felt worse and worse.  Today it all hit me at once.  I felt so bad when I awoke this morning that I couldn't bring myself to get out of bed.  Most of the day I spent resting.

                I wanted to go to church this morning at Bro. Ramon's, but my body would not let me.  I was so weak, I could not do much more than shower (in a bucket), eat lunch, and go back to sleep to rest and overcome this dreaded illness. 

October 28^th 2002 Monday                Feeling Better

                I awoke this morning feeling much better, but I still had trouble breathing.  I had a slight cough, but that did not deter me from doing what needed to be done.  I spent most of my day writing letters and catching up on my correspondence.  I also went into town and bought some more bottled water to bathe with and wash dishes. (I'm still having to bathe in a bucket.  The city water is coming to the house now, but it doesn't have enough pressure to come out of the showers).

                In the afternoon, my studying was interrupted by a visit from Thomas Sweeney.  His wife had just left for the U.S., and he was "home alone."  We talked for a while about anything and everything.  It was good to fellowship with him, and to glean some of his wisdom.  He is a really great guy, and I'm glad to count him as a friend.

                Tomorrow I plan to go to Tegucigalpa and see Nelson.  I hope I can find him, as I was told by Zenia's mother (when I called from the U.S.), that he had moved to another place and found another job.

October 29^th 2002 Tuesday                Off to Tegucigalpa

                I started out rather late this morning, as there was fog every where and I had to wait till it lifted before I could drive over the pass and out of the mountains.  About halfway, my brakes began to give out.  I don't know what happened, but they just didn't work as well as they did before.  So, I continued driving, but in lower gears as my braking capacity was greatly hindered.  When I arrived at a gas station, I filled up the brake fluid and they seemed to work better, but not as well as they had before.  I'll have to check them and see what the problem is.

                I arrived in Tegucigalpa a little after three.  I went to the Mall first and checked my email.  Afterwards I called Nelson's mother-in-law and asked where Nelson could be found.  She informed me that he now works at the "Hospital Escuela" as a security guard.  That was just up the road, so I decided to go see him.  It turns out that he had just left, and I would have to wait until tomorrow when he comes back to work to speak with him.

October 30^th 2002 Wednesday                Still in Tegus

                Last night I spent in the Hotel Alameda.  It was good to be in a quiet environment where I could rest and relax.  At eight this morning I went to see my old friend Nelson.  He was very happy to see me.  He even told me that he was at the airport on the 22^nd here in Tegucigalpa all day waiting for me to show up.  I guess there was a misunderstanding, as I called his mother-in-law and told her to tell him I would be returning the 22^nd.  But I didn't tell her I'd be coming to Tegucigalpa, nor that I needed someone to pick me up.  Yet it was good to hear that Nelson cared enough about me to want to come and get me.

                As we talked, Nelson informed me that he'd been working in this present job for about a month now.  They pay him 2400 Lempiras a month (roughly 150 American dollars).  At his other job at Texaco, he made 2000, and at the Catholic church, he was only making 1800, so I rejoiced with him to hear God's blessings and to see him doing better physically.

                Nelson is also doing better spiritually.  The first thing he said was, "When are we going to start studying the Bible again?"  He really enjoys it.  But the thing that thrilled my soul more than anything else was to hear that he was preaching on the street by himself now.  He told me about his trip to "Danli," and how he took a bus there with many tracts, and boldly stood up with his Bible and began proclaiming the words of God to the masses around him.  That really thrilled my soul.  Nelson the "Street preacher."  I've been praying for that!

October 31^st 2002 Thursday                Halloween Day

                Today is "all Hollow's Eve," but for whom is it Hallow?  Such a wicked Holiday and oh how I loathe it.  In the U.S., we have taken the customs of the heathen and taught them to our children.  With "Trick or Treating" and more, Americans are learning the ways of the pagan Celtic Druids and their vile manners.  Even here Honduras I see the people trying to mimic what America does.  It's sad.

                Most of today I spent studying and working on catching up on my correspondence.  I also did some work inside the house trying to get it up to par.  It is so dusty and dirty it is unreal.  It seems the more you clean it, the dirtier it gets!

November 1^st 2002 Friday                First Day of November

                This is the first of November.  My how times flies!  It seems like just yesterday when I left for Mexico, but that was back in August.  How quickly time has passed me by.

                Today I sat down and worked my plan.  My father always taught me, "Plan your work and work your plan!"                So I spent this morning deciding on what I'm going to do here.  I have several ideas but I've yet to get a set schedule together. This Sunday I plan on going to Magdalena and see how things are going there.  I may start going there every Sunday depending upon what Nelson does.  I had been going to Tegucigalpa on Sunday's, but now that Nelson is unable to start a church in his house, I might as well spend my Sunday's in the church in Magdalena.

                Saturday's are always for the children's ministry, so that is set aside for them.  Then I'll have to pick a day during the week to go see Nelson.  I'm thinking Wednesday would be good.  This would give me a Sunday and Wednesday schedule like back home in the U.S.  That would work out nicely.

                I've decided I was wearing myself out before here in Honduras traveling so much, and I'm thinking of later on down the line going to Magdalena one week and having the Pastor come here to my house once a week for Bible Studies.  We will see if that opportunity will present itself.

                I also want to set aside a day for exploration where I can go somewhere I've never been before and pass out tracts and/or preach on the street, as well as a day for visitation here in my neighborhood.  There is so much I'd like to do, but so little time.  I sure could use a helper here, as there is so much I'd like to do when it comes to preparing books, discipleship courses, and more.  There just isn't enough time to do it all it seems!  But, I want to at least do as much as I can, the best I can, without wearing myself out and getting discouraged again.  Right now I'm riding high on the horse and in good spirits.  But I fear that once I get back into the swing of things, I'll get tired again.  I hope not!

November 2^nd 2002 Saturday                Another Day with the Kids

                I arose rather late this morning as I feel I'm becoming sick again.  A sneezing fit has come upon me and my chest is becoming queasy again.  Yet this is life on the mission field.

                During my day I went outside and tightened my back brakes on my Suburban, cleaned the garage, brought firewood into the house, and more. 

The well finally raised to the very top today, and I was able to pull out two big 5 gallon buckets that had floated up all the way from the bottom (at least 35 feet).  Castillo dropped one of the buckets down there several months back, but where the other one came from, I don't know.  It must have been there before I came.  The water is still muddy though, and I poured several gallons of bleach into it to clean it up some.  I hope the mud will settle eventually, and I'll be able to use the well again to bathe.

                The children came again today early as usual.  Today was Lina's birthday.  She is eleven. They have a rather strange custom here for one's birthday.  They throw flour and/or an egg on one's head for kicks.  This I think would correspond to our custom of "birthday spankings."  (I'd take a spanking any day over a egg cracked on my head!)  I told the children they could not use any of my eggs, as I didn't like the idea and I didn't want the poor girl to get messy and smell like sulfur the rest of the day.  But, one of the youngster's came prepared with a bag of flour and everyone grabbed a handful and pelted her with this "white powder."  I too must confess that I joined the revelry and joined in on the action.  When we finished, Lina looked like a Japanese snow queen!  It was a lot of fun.

                During services I preached about Salvation.  I showed them a chart with "God, sin, and You," written in big letters.  I told them that no one could get to God for sin was in the way.  Then I showed them Christ Jesus – who knew no sin – that became sin for them.  Then I showed them that Christ is the only way to God, as he is our mediator who died in our place for our sins. 

                At the end of service I asked if anyone was not yet saved.  They all claimed to be except for one.  I asked him if he'd like to get saved, but he smiled and said, "Nope!"  I guess he just needs to hear the gospel again. 

                Next week the children want to go to a place on the other side of the mountain to have services.  They say it's two hours by foot, and they twisted my arm into allowing them to go in my car.  We will drive there and hold services and eat food.  I hope all goes well.

                After the children left, I had a young man named Jesus show up who brought his younger brother.  He asked if he could start coming to services.  I readily said, "You bet!"  He said, he'd begin coming next week.

                You really know you are learning to live with the little things and take life on the mission field by how you react (or don't react) to things the way you used to.  For example, before I went to bed, I went to the bathroom and saw a scorpion in the bathtub.  About a year ago, that would have bothered me.  But now it's just one of those things that you almost expect.  It's really no big deal.  I killed it and then flushed down the commode.   The best I can gather, it's about the same as cockroaches back home.  Yet scorpions can sting, and cockroaches cannot!  I guess anywhere you go, you'll always have to deal with something like that.

November 3^rd 2002 Sunday                Off to Magdalena?

                Things don't always seem to go right here, or at least the way I think they should.  Take today for instance, I woke up feeling sick again, and had cold chills all over my body.  But, I made up my mind I was going go to Magdalena no matter what.  So at noon, I loaded my car and drove into town and turned onto the dirt road that goes over the mountains to Magdalena.  I hadn't gone more than five miles when my brakes began to give out again.  I thought I'd fixed them, but I guess I had not.  So not knowing what else to do, I had to turn back for home as my car would not have made it over those steep mountainous roads.

                As I drove home I began to pray and ask God what was going on.  I feel like I haven't accomplished much since I've been back here.  I saw Nelson, and set up a schedule with him every week for studying the Bible.  That is good.  I also have the children's ministry going again and that's a blessing.  But for some reason I haven't been able to get to Magdalena yet.  I was looking forward to going today for their Sunday services, but this did not work out.  I guess I'll have to go tomorrow on the bus.  I hope I'll feel up to it. 

November 4^th 2002 Monday                The Trip to Magdalena       

                The bus trip was as long as ever.  I left at a quarter past ten in the morning and arrived at three in the afternoon.  The bus trip was rather delightful ,however, as I read a wonderful book entitled "The Holy War," by John Bunyan.  It was very interesting and I enjoyed reading about the town of Mansoul which was inhabited by Diabolus, but by constant attack from "Conscience and Conviction" upon the ear gate, the city finally surrendered and allowed the Prince to enter as the Lord and ruler of the city.  I have not yet finished the book, but am looking forward to doing so.

                Upon my arrival in Magdalena, I went to Elias Marquez's house and found him hard at work plastering the walls in the new room of his house.  They build with adobe blocks here, and then use concrete over that to make a smooth finish.  I watched Elias and he taught me how they do it.  They use Calcium, fine sand, and concrete for the final coat, and smooth it out with a trowel, a long level board, and a sponge.  The wall must be wet before they put this last coat on or else it will not stick.

                As Elias worked, we talked about things.  I asked him how his family and children were, and he told about his two daughters in school far away.  Then I asked him about the church and how it was going.  He got an embarrassed look on his face and in a discouraged tone said, "The people just won't come anymore."  Then he went on to explain to me how that in my absence a "Santidad" (Holiness, Pentecostal, Charismatic, whatever you want to call 'em, they are all the same), had come into the town and began visiting everyone on a regular basis and telling them that I was there to start "a work of Satan" in their village, and that they should not listen to me.  He also criticized "Baptist doctrine" and told the people they should come to a church that doesn't teach that (his church).

                That saddened my heart immensely to hear.  For several months I taught those people the truth about salvation, eternal security, the Bible, doctrine, rightly dividing the word, and more.  But it seems they were sucked into the other church because a majority of them have family that goes there.  Elias continued by telling me that he still wanted to start a work, and that he wanted to be pastor, but he didn't think that he could convince the people otherwise, and he told me it'd probably be better if I went to a place where people actually wanted a church.  He affirmed that he still wanted me to teach him Bible, and said he would come to my house to study. 

                How sad it is to see the work that I tried so hard to start, crumble beneath my eyes.  But God knows what he's doing.  I have peace and happiness in at least knowing that two people where saved from my efforts.  All I can do now is press on and pray and seek another place where there is an open door.  I must still return once more to Magdalena to retrieve the things I had bought for the ministry there (a Coleman lantern, a chalkboard, hymn books, etc.)

November 5^th 2002 Tuesday                       Home Again

                I arrived home at five in the morning from my agonizing long bus trip from Magdalena.  As soon as I entered the door, I dropped my luggage and went straight to bed.  I rested until about eleven o'clock and then I spent some time working on correspondence.  After this I walked up the street and visited with missionary Mike Lane for a while.  We talked about a little of everything.  How good it is to have such nice neighbors!

November 6^th 2002 Wednesday                 New Brakes!!!

                I went into town today and ran many errands.  After paying the light bill, I went up the street to have my brakes fixed.  Mike Lane told me about a man in La Esperanza who had done some work for a friend of his.  He said he did a good job.  So I traveled to his shop to find him.  Mike said, "He's the only man I've seen here with blue eyes!"  Sure enough, his eyes were as blue as the sky.  For the next three hours, this man worked on my brakes. 

                He did a wonderful job, and I watched him the whole time.  The original brakes he did not have in stock, but he had kits of brake pads of every shape and size.  I told him of my problem and how quickly my brakes go out here in Honduras from all of the mountains.  "No problem!" he said.  And then he found a set of brake pads that were thicker than the original GMC parts.  By the time he had finished, he put an equivalent of double brake pads on both of the front wheels.  This made me happy, as maybe they'll last me longer.

As he worked, he chatted with me.  How interesting it was to learn more about the Honduran mentality.  He told me that he had three wives.  This, I told him, "Is not right according to the Bible.  A man should only have one wife, and anything else is adultery!"  He just laughed.  How sad this was to see.

While we talked, another man came in and jumped into the conversation.  He asked me, "Are you married?"  I told him, "No."  He replied, "You need to marry you a Honduran woman, as Latino women are the best kind.  They have a pure heart when it comes to love..."  And on and on he went.  After his brakes were replaced he left and offered me a hand of fellowship and a hearty, "Good to meet you!"  I thanked him for his kind conversation and advice.  However, I did not tell him that it's not my desire to marry a Honduran woman as she is not of my race and culture.  My hearts desire is for someone like myself with the same background so that we can go through things together and experience the same new things. 

                After the conversation wound down, my stomach began to ache immensely.  I had eaten nothing for breakfast so I figured maybe some food would do me some good.  I bought an orange for one Lempira in the park, but this only made matters worse.  Less than ten minutes later I threw it up.

                When I arrived home, I felt awful.  I went to sleep and didn't wake up until late in the evening.

November 7^th 2002 Thursday                    Sick Again.

                Once again I was sick all day.  My stomach hurt and I had "the runs."  I tried to take it easy, but the more I tried to rest, the worse I felt, so I tried to do something.  I began cleaning house and working a little bit in the kitchen. 

                I had planned to go and visit Nelson today in Tegucigalpa, but I felt too bad to do so.  I'm hoping tomorrow I'll feel better.

November 8^th 2002 Friday                          Even Sicker

                Sleep did not come easy last night as "Rambo" the watchdog kept barking all through the evening.  Every time I'd drift off to sleep, I'd hear him start up again.  When I awoke this morning, I felt like a ton of bricks.  My body had no energy whatsoever.  My chest hurt as well as my throat, and I had cold chills all over my body.  Today was the first really cold morning we've had here, and I wonder if that added to it.  However most of the day I spent resting and trying to feel better. 

                As I rested I thought about my service for the Lord and why I was here on the Mission field.  I know God called me here, and there is no shadow of a doubt in my mind of that.  The thing I'm struggling with is what to do as a Missionary.  I find as my only two examples the Lord Jesus Christ and the apostle Paul.  To me these were the two greatest Missionaries ever.  But what did they do?  Christ Jesus went to Israel and worked there his entire ministry.  Although he never traveled abroad, he did travel to towns and villages within no more than a two hundred mile radius.  His ministry consisted of preaching to the people about their sin and teaching them the ways of righteousness.  But more importantly, He made disciples.  Then he left and went home to heaven and told them to carry on doing the same that he had done.

Paul did a lot of the same thing that our Lord Jesus did, however he traveled greater distances.  He continued the work of preaching and teaching, but he also started local churches everywhere he went.  This has been my desire.  I want to start churches.  But so far the one work I had started fell through.  Now I'm trying to figure out what to do.

The children's ministry is fine, I'm enjoying these kids, but I cannot start a church with them.  At least I'm able to teach them and plant the seed.  Maybe in years to come that will do them some good.   The work with Nelson is going well.  I am glad to have won him to the Lord, and am thankful for the opportunity to disciple him.  I only wish I had about 12 more like him to start a church with.

Oh how my heart longs to have a church started here in Honduras.  My desire is not to Pastor, but to teach and to as many as I can so that they will go and do likewise.  Yet for the time being, I'll be happy with my "Timothy," Nelson, and continue on disciplining him.

I've also been thinking about moving as well.  Where I live I am exactly in the middle of Magdalena and Tegucigalpa.  I moved here so that I'd be the same distance from each work.  But now that the ministry in Magdalena has ended, I wonder if I shouldn't move closer to Tegucigalpa.  Or better still, I wonder if I shouldn't go somewhere else.  Bro. Ortiz told me that there is no work in the town of Trujillo on the Northern coast of Honduras.  I've always wanted to visit there and see the place.  My Dad told me about Paul and his "Missionary Journeys."  He suggested that I make some as well.  I'm seriously considering this.  Trujillo is much closer to Olancho as well, and maybe I could start a work in the village of Guanko where Nelson came from.  I would sure enjoy that.

I've decided to travel more and see Honduras and get out tracts, gospel pamphlets, and Bibles everywhere I go.  That's the only way I know of to do it as a Missionary, and to look for open doors.  Shortly, I must travel to La Ceiba and take a few boxes of Bibles to Santos Ortiz there.  Maybe I can travel to Trujillo in that time and see the place.  That would be a blessing.

November 9^th 2002 Saturday                     El Paterique             

                I awoke this morning feeling much better than yesterday.  Yet my head still hurt a little.  I worked all morning washing clothes and trying to get the car fixed for the kids coming today.  I cleaned it out and made room for them all so that we could go to El Paterique.  It is a place on the other side of the mountain with many open fields and streams and rocks.  However, my car wouldn't start and tried everything I knew to fix it.  It turned out that the connection to the battery terminal had broken loose and is practically unfixable.  So, I'll have to get that fixed in Tegucigalpa when I go there.

                The children where crushed when they arrived and I had to tell them my car wouldn't start.  They wanted so badly to ride in my car to El Paterique.  However, when I asked them what they wanted to do, they said they wanted to go anyway by foot.  So off we went.

                We walked up and over a steep forest road what seemed like at least two miles before we came to a flat plain on the other side of the mountain.  As we walked up hill, I thought on this little path we took.  The road itself  continually climbed in altitude until the very end.  The road in general was very steep, but every now and again we would reach the top of a hill and go down a few hundred feet before climbing again more steeply.  My mind thought about how hard it was to go up hill and how easy it was to go down again.  This rings true with life.  So many are going "down hill" spiritually, because it's easy to go that way.  So few want to make the effort it takes to stay walking on the high road that leads up, up, up!  I also learned that the higher you climb, the more you feel like resting.  But you can't stop and rest all the time like most people do, or you'll never make it to the top.  Sadly, too many "Christians" are resting nowadays rather than walking up to that spiritual plain with God.

                On the way up the mountain, the kids told me, "You're our Father, and we are your children.  You are Padre Roberto!"  This gave me mixed emotions.  I knew they were only joking, but I didn't know quite how to take it.  I like that they look at me as a father figure, but I don't want to be looked at as a "Father" in a spiritual sense as that's what the Catholic priests tell the people to call them. 

                As we walked along, the young kids would come up and hold my hand.  On the way there and back, I must have held five different hands.  Carla, Castillo's four year old daughter, grabbed my hand and said, "Da me la mano y eres amigo, da mi la otra y tu eres idiota!" (Translated: Give me your hand and we are friends, Give me the other and you're an idiot).  That was just too funny!  Children say the craziest things.

                When we arrived in El Paterique, we had a sack lunch and then studied the Bible.  I taught them about "Sheep and the Good Shepherd" from John 10.  It is beginning to be a trying experience as each week it seems that the children are more and more energetic.  It's harder and harder to keep their attention as well.  And when I do get their attention, their little minds are thinking differently than I am.  For instance, I told them about how the shepherd left the ninety and nine for the love of one lost sheep to bring him back to the fold.  I tried to explain what compassion Christ has to care about one little sheep.  But the kids only laughed and said, "What an idiot!  He lost the 99 sheep for one little one!"  Then I had to explain that he didn't lose them, he must have had them in a pen or something.

                After our studies, the children went to a small waterfall to wash their hands, and found a (culebre) a snake hiding in the rocks.  They all flocked to run over and look at it.  Then we stopped and ate a few wild blackberries from a bush nearby before walking back to my house and playing a brief game of soccer.

November 10^th 2002 Sunday                        Off to See Nelson

                Bright and early I left for Tegucigalpa to find Nelson and study the Bible with him.  When I arrived in Tegucigalpa I immediately went to the hospital where he works, and was told he was not working the day shift, but rather the night shift.  After traveling to the Mall to check my email, I returned in the evening and found Nelson was not there either.  A bit perturbed, I went to The Hotel Alameda to spend the night.

November 11^th 2002 Monday                        Where in the World is Nelson Corrales?

                The battery in my car had gone bad several days ago, and I had to use a small "jump start" unit to start it.  First thing this morning I went to have it fixed at the LTH office.  After they checked it, they said it was no good and I had to buy another one.  It cost me 1400 Lempiras or about 80 American dollars. This one was less than a year old, but my guarantee wouldn't replace it for free.  I did get a discount on a new one, however.

                After running a few more quick errands, I went to the hospital to find Nelson.  The other guards saw me and told me the news, "Nelson did not come into work today!"  I responded, "Well, where is he?"  No one knew.  So I decided the best thing to do was to head back home.  This I did, wondering what happened to Nelson.  I hope I can find him next week.  He has no phone, neither do I so calling him is out of the question.  All I know to do is drive to Tegus and look for him.

November 12^th 2002 Tuesday                Working All Day Long

                Most of my day was spent working either on my computer or on this old house.  I'm working room by room on the ceilings and using screws to tighten the hug pine planks that run the width of the house.  They make a great ceiling, but they were nailed up years ago, and the nails are coming loose.  For this reason, there are many small, open cracks.  This allows dust to fall through from above and makes for a dirty house. 

                I also worked at copying CD's today on my new computer.  I have so much stuff here in Honduras that I'm looking for ways to condense some of it.  I have plans to put many of my books on computer to make my bookshelf smaller.  This will of course be a tremendous task, but would help me to be able to carry my library with me. 

November 13^th 2002 Wednesday                 Off To Magdalena           

                Leaving at eight in the morning, I arrived in Magdalena a little after eleven in the morning.  Elias Marquez was not home, but his wife and children were and they gave me the chalkboard, Coleman lantern, songbooks, and other things I had loaned them to use for the church.  When I left, Elias' wife said, "Thank you so much for coming here and teaching us the Bible. I'm sorry the people don't want to start a church, but at least we enjoyed you're coming and we learned a whole lot from you."  That made it all worthwhile.  What a shame that things didn't work out there and I was unable to see a work started.  But I count it a blessing to know that two people were saved through my efforts and I was able to teach someone the Bible and they were appreciative.

                On the way home, I decided I'd stop in the little town of Concepcion and go door to door and give out tracts.  It was not the biggest town I've seen, and after an hour I was finished.  I gave out about 100 gospel booklets entitled, "How Can I have Eternal Life."  

                From Concepcion, I did "Drive By's" on the way back home.  Whomsoever I passed on the street, I stopped and called them over to give them a gospel booklet or tracts.  I must have tracted more than 50 people that way.  They were more than willing to come and no one turned me down.  I told them all, "Read this as it is very important for you!"  They were very appreciative.

                In the evening I visited Thomas Sweeney.  He was busy working on his computer editing audio tapes for the radio.  We talked for a little bit, and then I asked him to show me how his editing equipment works.  He took me through it from the beginning and showed me the ropes.  First, he takes a regular cassette recorder out with another missionary, and they tape interviews with other Christians.  After this, Thomas takes the cassette home and plugs it into a device that converts the cassette tape into a digital file and saves it on his computer.  With a program called "Cool Edit 2," he is then able to take out any hisses, pops, or undesired noises.  He can also edit the tape down to thirty minutes to fit into the time allotted.   It was all quite interesting.

                Thomas also told me that he could take preaching tapes and turn them into mp3 files and burn them to a CD.  This got me thinking.  How great it would be to take all of my preaching tapes and put them on CD's.  This would sure help me to save room, as I have hundreds of old preaching tapes.  Maybe someday God will allow me to do so.

November 14^th 2002 Thursday                    To Santa Rosa de Copan and Littering

                This was one of those days when I wanted to stay in bed.  I awoke this morning with no energy whatsoever, a headache, and cold chills.  Yet I wanted to go to see Missionary Ronnie Doss and see if my boxes had arrived yet in the container from the states. 

                I left at eight in the morning and arrived at his orphanage four and a half hours later.  It was only 180 miles, but the mountains slowed me down.  Upon my arrival, I showed up just in time for lunch, and ate biscuits, beans, carrots, and sauerkraut with Bro Doss and his wife.

                Unfortunately, my boxes had not come.  The container was in Puerto Cortes, but Bro. Doss told me they always have a hard time getting them through Aduana (Customs).  He said it might even take another two weeks before they are cleared to leave the Shipyard compound.

                Driving home, I thought about what a wasted trip this was.  I drove all that way for nothing and it cost me about 70 dollars to do so.  Thus, I made up my mind I'd do something to make it worthwhile.  Several weeks ago someone sent me about 400 gospel tracts that I didn't think were very good.  I didn't like how the plan of salvation was presented, nor the closing of the tract.  However, they did have some good verses in them.  I couldn't bring myself to throw them away, so I decided I'd "litter" them along the highways as I went home. 

As I drove along, I'd throw one out every mile or so.  When I'd see someone walking down the street, I'd honk or yell, and then toss them one out the window.  I was starting to get good at it after a while, and I could judge the wind and back draft of the car and judge where the tract would land.  Eventually, I was able to make a tract fly out the window and float through the air and land almost at the feet of those walking down the road.  Out of my rear view mirror I saw only 7 people that picked them up.  But I know that more people did, as I saw them running for them before I lost sight of them going around the curves.  Yes, I had a delightful time littering the highways of Honduras with gospel tracts!  Heaven only knows what came of it.

November 15^th 2002 Friday                Chess!

                I felt awful this morning too.  I actually went to bed yesterday at six in the evening as I was so tired from driving almost ten hours.  This morning I slept in a little and awoke with chills all over my body.  I don't know if it's the cool weather we are getting here or what, but I've been very weak and cold lately.  I feel like my body is just not what it should be.  Still, I press on.

                At seven thirty in the morning, a couple of kids from my children's ministry came by asking me for some plastic cups.  They said they had a special day at school, and needed them for their classmates.  I readily gave them to them.  Then I asked them if they were coming this afternoon for services.  They looked shocked.  "What?  Today is Friday!" they proclaimed.  I didn't believe them and had to look at the calendar to make sure.  They were right.  I'm not only weak physically, but mentally as well it seems.

                In the evening, Thomas Sweeney came by and we went to a little restaurant named "Pollo Indio" (Indian Chicken) for dinner.  I took along my Chess Set and we played a game after dinner.  I am the world's worst Chess player! 

                As we played, the people from the table next to us came over and challenged the winner.  This of course was Thomas, and we sat and talked while a man named "Hector" played against him.  Hector is a doctor here in La Esperanza and loves the game of Chess.  In fact he even started a chess club in his office.  Every Saturday and Sunday at three in the afternoon, about fourteen young people come and compete.  He invited us to join them when we have the chance.  I might just take him up on that.

November 16^th 2002 Saturday                     Where Did All the Children Go?

                Things don't seem to be going well here in Honduras.  First the work in Magdalena went bust, then I couldn't find Nelson when I went to find him in Tegucigalpa.  And today most of the children didn't come to services.  Only four showed up!

                I don't know what's going on, but it seems like things are starting to fall apart.  I thought about this much today and about what to do.  Part of me wants to go to Trujillo and get a fresh start.  Another part of me wants to stay here another year in this house in La Esperanza and continue working like before to see if anything comes of it.

                On thing is for sure, I'm wishing I had someone to help me here.  There is so much I'd like to do.  I have so many Bibles and tracts now that I almost can't get them all out.  Someone here to help me do visitation, pass out tracts, and evangelize new areas would be a real blessing.

                All I know to do is keep on trying.  I plan to go to Tegucigalpa again looking for Nelson.  I hope I find him.  If I don't I've picked a few places that have a lot of people, and I plan on going there to pass out tracts.  There is also a housing development about 20 minutes outside of Tegus with hundreds and hundreds of homes built for the poor people after hurricane Mitch.  I've been wanting to visit this area and saturate it with tracts.  Maybe I'll get that opportunity this week.  In a way it's good that the work in Magdalena went bad.  Now I have more time to do other things.

November 17^th 2002 Sunday                An Awful Day - Weather wise!

                This was by far the most dreary day of my remembrance.  The wind began howling early this morning with gusts up to 45 miles per hour.  When I looked outside, it appeared as though a hurricane was coming.  The wind was tearing through the trees and bushes and almost bending them in half.  It was very overcast outside and a light drizzle began falling off and on.  The worst was the temperature.  It was cold! 

                Yes, it seems winter is on it's way here in La Esperanza again.  I hate it!  Cold is something that doesn't set well with me.  The more I think about it, the more I'd rather be on the Northern Coast close to the water in a climate I'm more accustomed to living in.  But, all I can do is wait on God and seek his direction.  Now it seems the door might be closing on this part of the country.  I will pray and wait and see if a door opens elsewhere.  Until then, I'll spend my time wisely in study and preparation for future "Missionary journeys."

November 18^th 2002 Monday                Study!

                The internet doesn't work well here after a heavy rain storm, a windy day, or in bad weather.  I don't know why.  Today I made a trip into town to check my email and found that this was one of those days when it wasn't functioning.  I drove to the Post Office next, and got some more bad news.  There was no mail for me.

                After driving home, I spent my day studying.  I'm still working on those discipleship courses and lack several to be done.  I finished about three of them, and I lack five more.

                I also received a blessing from my daily Bible reading today.  I found that David's greatest sin in God's eyes was not his adultery with Bathsheba (although that was wicked).  God allowed David to reap what he sowed from that sin, and he reaped four sheep for a sheep.  But, in 2 Samuel 24, I read where David did something so wicked and awful that God took the life of 70,000 innocent men over it.  What was this wicked and vile sin?  Nothing special, it was just that David wanted to number the people of Israel.  What a thing!  We look at sins from man's eyes and we would put sins on different levels thinking some sins are worse than others (like adultery and murder).  But God looks at things differently than we do.  David's sin of adultery was a sin of the flesh.  God did not like it, but he allowed it, and let David pay for it.  But when David numbered Israel, that was something else.  That was a heart sin, because David wanted "bragging rights" about how many people he had in his church! (I mean nation).  His sin was the sin of pride!  And this sin cost thousands of innocent people their lives!

                Would to God this crowd that thinks about "numbers" all the time would get a hold of this truth.  I've never seen so many Christians nowadays who want to "brag" about their church, and how many they have in Sunday School, and how many they had saved, and how many they had baptized!  They had better watch out!  Or they will fall into pride just like David did!  God is looking for quality (motive) and not quantity!

November 19^th 2002 Tuesday                Working on Discipleship

                Life on the mission field is not easy.  Sometimes I enjoy it, and sometimes I hate it!  Oh how I'd love to be home fishing for red fish or flounder.  But, this is where God put me, and I'll have to learn to live with it.  It's not all fun and games though.  Today I felt really awful.  I have been really weak lately, and my right arm hurts at times.  It doesn't hurt as in pain as much as a cold chill that runs through it from time to time.  It feels like what my Mom used to call "Growing pains" when I was a kid.  Maybe it's just the cold weather we are starting to have here.  

                I worked all day long on my computer copying discipleship courses into a book format for me to use with new converts.  When I am finished, I can print them up as I need them.  They are some very good material.  I only lack two more now of being finished.

                In the evening I ate some of the black beans I planted here in the spring.  I planted about three pounds, and when I was in the states Castillo harvested them for me.  It turned out to be about 7 pounds that he had in a bag for me.  They are very good!  It just takes a long time to pick through them and pull all the chaff, dirt, and bugs out of them before you cook them.  But they are the best black beans I think I've ever eaten.  I cooked them on an open fire in the chimney and let them boil for several hours.  It was more like a black bean soup when I was done.  It was simply wonderful!  I'm looking forward to eating the rest of them.

November 20^th 2002 Wednesday                 Off to Tegus

                I left for Tegucigalpa today to find Nelson. When I arrived at his work place, I was informed he worked the night shift today.  So I ran some errands most of the day.  At five in the evening, I went to the Children's cancer center.  Missionary Herbert Prince is the director there, and he told me that if I ever needed a place to stay when I was in Tegucigalpa, I could stay there for an "offering."  Bro. Thomas Sweeney stays there when he needs to and gives anywhere from 50 to 100 Lempiras.  I have been staying at the Hotel Alameda and this cost me 739 Lempiras a night!  So I gave them 100 Lempiras (almost seven dollars) for a donation.  The rooms were very nice.  They had two beds, and a shower with warm water, a toilet, and a sink.  I believe I'll stay there every time I need to spend the night in Tegucigalpa.

                At six o'clock I went to visit Nelson at the Hospital Escuela where he is a security guard.  He was happy to see me as usual.  When I saw him I asked him, "¿Qué Tal? (How are you?)  He replied, "Poco bien" (Not too good!)  I asked him why and he told me that he's having problems with his woman Zenia again.  She is worse than ever!  She fights with him all the time, and doesn't want to do things correctly.  She dresses awfully and it seems all she cares about is Nelson's paycheck.  And now she is saying that she doesn't want to get married.

                Nelson said, "Robert, I don't want to live in fornication with this woman any more!  I want to do right.  I want to separate myself from this woman and study the Bible with you and do something for the Lord!"  That was a pretty good sign to me that he got saved.  But, I still had to think about their little girl Margorie.  I asked him, "But what about your daughter?  Who is going to teach her the Bible and how to get saved?"  He looked down at the floor and said, "I don't know.  Maybe I can in a few years.  But right now I want to study the Bible and do something for God!" 

                So, I'm in a twixt between two.  I want Nelson to do right and live for God, but I also want to see his little girl brought up right, and Zenia to straighten up.  I told Nelson, "It seems to me that you are in a no win situation.  You leave Zenia, then she and your daughter will never hear the truth.  But if you stay with her, you'll be living in fornication and this is not right!"  Then I told him to spend some time in prayer and fasting and seek God's will on what to do.

                Nelson also told me that he wants to move back to Olancho and go back to work planting beans and corn.  He also wants to start a church in his village.  This is only two hours drive from Trujillo where I'm praying about going.  He also told me about the villages outside of where he lives.  The only way to reach them is by horse.  He told me about one called "Aguas Blancas" (White Waters).  It takes four hours by horse to get there and the people don't have any electricity.  They are very isolated, and live there in their own little Indian community.  How great it would be to have Nelson take me to places like this so we could evangelize them.

                After talking we took a tour of the hospital.  It was the filthiest place I think I've ever been!  I had to put my handkerchief over my nose to keep from gagging as we walked through.  There was vomit and blood on the floor in several places that no one had bothered to clean up, and it looked like it's been there a while.

Nelson told me, "Many people die in this place!"   The joke there is "It's better to die than go to the Hospital Escuela!"  But we did pass out over a hundred tracts to the many people laying on cardboard boxes in and around the building.  These are people from all over Honduras who come to have some kind of treatment.  Most are poor farm people and cannot afford a hotel, so they sleep on cardboard boxes on the floor. 

November 21^st 2002 Thursday                    A Day of Preaching and Passing out Tracts!

                I slept well last night in the Cancer center, except for being awakened on several occasions at the sound of young children puking.  I think they are undergoing Chemotherapy treatment, and this makes them very sick.

                In the morning I picked up Nelson from work, and we went to Valle de Angeles, a tourist town 22 km outside of Tegucigalpa.  We passed out tracts there and then drove back into Tegus to eat breakfast at Burger King. 

Nelson told me the most wonderful news!  Last Wednesday he led another person to the Lord! His name was Jose. This makes four now that Nelson has won.  I asked him to tell me how he won him, and he told me that he spent some time showing him scriptures about sin, judgment, hell, and the blood.  Then the man trusted the blood of Jesus Christ to save his soul!  What a blessing!

                After lunch, we went to U.N.A.H, (Universidad Nacional Autonama de Honduras), or the National Autonomous University of Honduras, and passed out several thousand tracts in two and a half hours.  I street preached as well. I met several people I had met before while I was passing out tracts and they stopped to chat.  I also met a man named Ernest Lopez.  He said he was a Christian, but would like me to start correspondence courses with him to teach him the Bible.  I gave him my address, and look forward to hearing from him.

                 Afterwards, we went to several other places so that I could buy some groceries.  I also bought a dryer for my clothes, as I have much laundry to do, and the cold weather in La Esperanza makes it hard to dry my clothes on the line.

                I also checked my email today and found that Bro. Robert Warren had flown down from the states to help Bro. Doss in his orphanage with some welding jobs.  My Dad gave him some things for me, and said that he would like to go around with me and meet some other pastors and missionaries.  So rather than drive home in the afternoon, I drove the seven hours to Bro. Ronnie's orphanage to see Bro. Warren.

November 22^nd 2002 Friday                Running Errands In San Pedro Sula           

                Today marks a whole month without shaving.  I feel like "Grizzly Adams."  My beard has filled out nicely in the last four weeks, but it is so very itchy and quite annoying at times.  Yet, I want to make sure the water from the well is completely clean before I shave.  I don't want to get sick.  It's better to look bad than to feel bad as far as I'm concerned!

                I arrived in Santa Rosa de Copan last night at a few minutes before seven.  There I met Bro. Doss, Bro. Warren, Bro. Roy from Pastor Stan Vespie's church in Wartburg, Tennessee, and Bro. Robert Lunsford from Milton.  Each of these men came down to help in a specific project for the orphanage.  Bro. Roy is working on designing a water filtration system.  It will use sand to filter water and there will be, I think, 5 big tanks that will filter the water.  I saw two of them they had there.  They looked like huge, oversized oil filters to me.

                Bro. Warren has a ministry to help missionaries in any way he can.  He shipped my stuff to me here in Honduras, and he ships containers to Bro. Doss on a regular basis.  He also is a welder, and did some welding work on Bro. Doss' dump truck.  He will also be fixing the new bridge that has lately been built over the river to the orphanage.  In January, he will return with three other men who have volunteered to do the welding needed to widen the bridge.

                Bro. Warren needed me to take him to San Pedro Sula today to see if we could find a place that rents Welding units, scaffolding, and more.  I did the only thing I knew to do, and I went to Homero Romero.  He knows where just about everything is in San Pedro Sula.  By the end of the day, we found the machines, and where they rent them.  We met several other people who could look for more machines as we need four in total, and we obtained all the quotes we needed to know how much it would take to do the job.

                I also found out what happened to Bro. Homero when he had his accident.  He was using a hand-held grinder working at a church member's house, and the grinding wheel split and flew off.  It hit him right in the neck!  It's only the grace of God that it didn't hit the juggler vain as it went in pretty deep!  He was in the hospital for five days afterwards, and lost a lot of blood.  It happened the day after he picked me up at the airport. 

                In the evening, I spent the night at the orphanage after driving Bro. Warren back.  They had services at seven, and Bro. Lunsford preached a very good message.

November 23^rd 2002 Saturday                     The Kids Ministry?

                I left the orphanage at four thirty this morning.  I wanted to make sure I made it home in time for the kids to come.  At one o'clock, I had three show up, but no more came.  They were all Castillo's kids too.  I asked them if the other kids were coming, and they said, "I don't think so."  I asked them, "Well, why not?"  They replied, "They are going to Doña Kathy's now!"  

Kathy Owen is the Santidad Missionary's wife who lives up the street.  She is very Charismatic, and goes out of her way to give the children candy, and presents.  They also are very liberal.  They just had a "Rock Concert" at their church.

They are also the directors of the Santidad Organization here and know the Pastor in Magdalena that destroyed my work there.  So it seems the Santidad people are destroying everything I've tried to start here. 

                Lina, Castillo's ten-year-old daughter asked me, "If we go to Kathy's services, it's the same as coming here, right?"  I told her, "Nope!  They teach works for salvation, and the Bible teaches it's by grace through faith!"  She didn't understand.  I asked her how one gets saved, and she didn't know either, so I took her through the plan of salvation.  Then I asked her, "When did you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour?"  She said, "Oh, the other Sunday, I guess."  I tried to explain it to her again, but it seemed her attention span had drifted into some other dimension.  I gave her several tracts to read and told her to come back every Saturday if she really wanted to learn the Bible.  She said she would.  I hope so.

                It looks like the two works I have started in this area are falling apart.  It's all because of the Devil's false religious system.  These "Santidad" people don't know any doctrine, and don't teach much.  But, they sure know how to win the people.  They win them with presents, sweet words, and "rock concerts."  If you woo to the flesh, then you'll get the flesh.  But my desire is to preach and make spiritual converts that love God and want to serve him, and not carnal, fleshly, religious people.

                So will I be able to continue a work here in La Esperanza, or the surrounding area?  Yesterday, Jacobo asked me to go with him and Thomas to a new work they have started in a little village outside of town and take the people New Testaments and Bibles.  Maybe something can happen there.

                I'm still praying about Trujillo.  Yesterday, we went to a junk yard, and I asked the man, "Where does all this old metal come from?"  He replied, "We buy it from all over, but the latest shipment came from Trujillo.  Then, we were driving along, and I looked up and saw a bus that said, "Trujillo Express."  Plus, I saw several other things that said, Trujillo on them.  Maybe God is trying to tell me something. 

                As I left this morning bright and early bound for La Esperanza, I loaded up my four boxes of personal things and the boxes of Bibles that came in on the latest container from Bro. Doss.  The Bibles are for Bro. Santos Ortiz in La Ceiba, and as soon as I can I want to take them to him.  Then I'd like to visit Trujillo as see if there is an open door there.  I pray God will direct my path.

November 24^th 2002 Sunday                Church, Chess, and Chatting with a Lost Man

                This morning I visited Ramon Galeano's church downtown.  They were having a "Rescue the Family" revival and my old friend Abel Bonilla was the guest speaker.  How good it was to see him again.  After services I went to eat with Abel and Ramon's family.  We had a good time of fellowship.

                At three in the afternoon, I took Yovanni, Ramon's 18 year old son, and went to find the good Doctor Hector and his Chess club.  We found his office, but he told us that unfortunately none of the members would be coming today, as this was the "graduation day" for many school children.  Yovanni and I played three games ourselves and then left.  We had two stalemates, and then he won the final game.  I am still lousy at Chess.

                After playing Chess, I witnessed to a man from San Pedro Sula who was having his shoes shined.  He told me about how he'd lived a hard life and how his "woman" had been shot and killed by gangs.  He also showed me where he had been shot in the leg several years ago, and almost died as the gangs beat him up.  We talked about how to be saved, and he said he was saved once, but then he fell away (Typical Charismatic answer).  I explained the plan of salvation, but he said, "I appreciate you telling me all this, and I'd like to serve God, but maybe some other time.  I've got things to do right now.  Bye!"  And that ended the discussion.

                In the evening I went to Jacobo's church and heard him preach a good message on David and Bathsheeba and why "fornication" is such an evil sin.  He also informed me that our trip to El Zapatio had to be postponed to another day.

November 25^th 2002 Monday                Copying Valuable CD's

                This morning I went to check my email first thing.  I arrived at the Internet shop before anyone else, so that I could have a high speed connection and finish checking my email quickly.

                On the way home, I stopped and visited Missionary Mike Lane.  We talked for a while, and he gave me 11 music CD's of hymns that are in order of the hymns in the hymnbook.  This is a great tool for when you are starting a church, and have no piano, or music of any kind.  He loaned them to me and said I could copy them, if I would only make him a copy of each on as well.  This sounded like a good deal to me, so I took them home and copied each disk on the computer my Dad bought me in the states.  It has a CD writer that has been a great help to me here. 

                Bro. Lane also lent me four other CD's of Christian Library stuff.  I copied them too.  As I worked, I read a book I bought at a Flea Market before I left the states called "Aesop's Fables."  It was very interesting.  There were a lot of good lessons in each fable.

                In the evening, I cleaned my office and purged as many books as I could.  I've found that I have way too much in my library and I would really like to get rid of some of it.  But, for future reference it may be needed, and I don't want to throw things out too hastily.

November 26^th 2002 Tuesday                Running Errands

                Early this morning I stopped by to see Mike Lane and give him back his CD's.  He was sick, so I didn't stay long.  Afterwards I went to visit Ramon Galeano and ask him if he would be so kind as to show me where Hugo Vasquez lived.  This man is the "Diputado de Congresso" (whatever that is?) here in La Esperanza, and I was told that he would give me a gun permit to carry my gun with me in the car wherever I go.  Together we found the man's house, but he was not at home. 

                Afterwards we went to visit Daniel Pineda (a brother from church, and also the man who painted the roof of my house), and I talked to him for a bit.  His dog just had 8 puppies (pure German Shepherds) and I've been wanting to see them.  I've wanted a German Shepherd for some time, as they are supposed to be the most intelligent of dogs.  The puppies were just born several weeks ago, and in several weeks more Daniel is planning on selling them.  I told him to let me see one then, and I might buy one.

                All afternoon, and evening I spent finishing up the discipleship courses.  It was good to finally have them done so I can move on to something else. 

November 27^th 2002 Wednesday                 Good News from Nelson!

                This was a rather interesting day.  At seven this morning I went to visit Diputado de Congresso  (which I learned means an elected Congressman), Hugo Vasquez and ask him about obtaining a gun permit to carry my pistol with me wherever I go.  He told me that they were not giving any out until next June, and that I could take my pistol with me wherever I went as long as I had the "Constancia" (Official Document) from the Police, and the purchase receipt with me at all times. 

                Afterwards I came home and printed up the last of my discipleship courses to give to Nelson to read.  At nine-thirty I left for Tegucigalpa to see him, and I received even more wonderful news.  He led another soul to Christ last Friday!  Her name was Gloria and she is from the "departamento" (state) of Colon here in Honduras.  This is also where Trujillo is located!  Nelson is really doing a fine job and growing as a Christian!

                As I talked with Nelson I had several construction workers call to me and ask me to give them tracts.  I gladly walked over and handed one to every worker (about 15).  I also tracted the hospital staff leaving from their daily shift.  As I handed one lady a tract, I spoke with her for a while and received what was to me probably the greatest complement I've ever received here.  She asked me, "Are you from Spain?"  I guess my accent made her think that, or maybe it's the beard.  But at least they don't think of me as a "Gringo" or an "American."  I guess I can fool them.

                At the Mall I picked up my new clothes dryer and then I ran to my lawyers office to pick up two more "M-Bags" full of Bibles from the BEAMS organization.

                Before driving home, Nelson scolded me and said, "When are we going to study the Bible?"  I told him I was going to Trujillo this week to check the place out, and when I returned, we would study all night long.  I want to take him through 1 Thessalonians verse by verse.  I don't know who is looking forward to it more, him or me.  But, I wanted him to finish his discipleship courses first.  I gave him numbers eight through sixteen, and told him to finish them before I returned.

                Nelson is very excited about moving.  He wants to even move to Trujillo with me, and live with me and have me teach him Bible, then he wants to move to Olancho and have me help him start a work there.  That would be a blessing.  Until then, all I know to do is go and visit the place and pray.  Maybe God will open the doors.

November 28^th 2002 Thursday                    Thanksgiving Day!

                This entire morning I spent packing and preparing to leave for San Pedro Sula to preach for Bro. Homero Romero in his evening services.  Before I left La Esperanza at one thirty in the afternoon, I stopped by the Post Office to see if any mail had come for me.  I found several letters in my box, and one of them was from a good friend and fellow P.B.I graduate.  When I read his letter, my heart sank.  He accused me of "abominating" and "slandering" the young lady in Washington in my August-September prayer letter.  He further stated that I was just "playboying around" in my time in the U.S. and that I was on a "two month vacation."   This really hurt!  I was just starting to put the past behind me, and moving on with my life.  Then his letter comes telling me how wicked I am.

                I prayed most of the way to San Pedro Sula, and I earnestly searched my heart to see if I had "slandered" anyone.  As soon as I arrived in San Pedro, I went straight to the internet shop, and looked up my prayer letter on my website.  I saw no "slander" nor "abomination" there.  In fact, I called her "a wonderful young woman," "a Jewel," and "a true Bible Believer."  How can this be slander?  Still his letter bothered me, and discouraged me immensely.

                In the evening services, I preached about the history of "Thanksgiving" from a Christian's perspective.  Thanksgiving Day was made a holiday in Honduras in 1999, but few Hondurans know the history of this American day of celebration, and what it signifies.  Bro. Homero asked me to explain to them why we remember this wonderful day.  To help them fully understand, I started with Cain and Abel, and showed how there are only two classes of people in this world: Religious (and Lost), Righteous (saved).  I showed them the history of the world and how the religious always persecute and even kill the righteous.  Then, I told them about the Puritans who fled from England to find freedom to worship God in a new land.

                Afterwards, we ate turkey and dressing.  It was fixed a little bit differently than I'm used to in the states, but it was good.

November 29^th 2002 Friday                The Trip to Trujillo

                Bro. Homero took me to see a vehicle that a brother in the church has for sale.  It is a '79 Land rover in fairly good condition.  The motor is gasoline, and is in superb shape.  However the car needs some work.  It lacks new tires, brakes, and a few other minor things.  The brother wants to sell it for 800 American dollars.  This year of car is a collector's item, and fixed up would sell for more than three times that.  And being a 4 x 4, it's worth even more.  They want me to buy it, but I don't know.  Bro. Homero owes me $500 American dollars.  Maybe I should buy the thing, and have him fix it up for me using the money he owes me.  It would be a great car to take me out to the mountains in Olancho or Trujillo.  I'll have to pray about it.

                At ten in the morning, I left San Pedro Sula.  I arrived in La Ceiba three and a half hours later.  Straightway, I went to Pastor Perfecto's house to call Missionary Santos Ortiz to deliver the Bibles that came for him in the last container from the states.  He came right over and was happy to see me.  He even gave me a big hug!

                He was in a bit of a hurry, but asked me to preach for him tomorrow or Sunday.  Before I could even think about it, he said, "See you at Piedras Amarillas at three o'clock tomorrow!"  Then he left.  So, I guess I'll be preaching there tomorrow.

                Once I arrived in Trujillo (a two hour trip from La Cieba), I began passing out tracts.  It is a beautiful city that sits in the mountains on a beautiful bay.  The site was founded by Christopher Columbus in 1502, and organized as a city by a Spaniard named Juan de Medina in 1522.  It is an old city, but the people seemed very friendly.  I asked for directions to a hotel, and they were more than willing to show me where to go.

                In the evening, I spent the night in the hotel Christopher Columbus.  It was very nice, but a bit too expensive (600 Lempiras).

November 30^th 2002 Saturday                Seeing Trujillo and Preaching in Piedras Amarillas

                Trujillo is a town of lustful looks, dirty hearts, and wicked minds.  Worldly music is blaring in every restaurant, store, and business.  Yet in this beach town community, I did find some people who claimed to be Christians.  I passed out tracts everywhere I went, and I found several people reading their Bibles.  When I asked them where they went to church, the answer was always the same, "I go to the Pentecostal Church!"  How sad.

                I also visited the Museum in Trujillo.  It had many interesting items, and I enjoyed seeing what it had to offer.  One thing that was quite interesting was the leg bone of a giant that is enclosed in a glass case there.  They found it somewhere in Honduras, and it was verified to be human by scientists in New Orleans, United States.

                In the afternoon, I drove to Piedras Amarillas and waited for Bro. Ortiz to show up.  As I waited, I met several people whom I remembered from my trip here in 1998.  They came up to me and asked me, "Are you Robert?"  I replied, "Yes I am!"  They were surprised to see me.  They said, "You have really fattened up, and changed a lot!  The beard is quite long too!"  (How blunt these Hondurans are!  I kinda like it myself!).

                In a few minutes Bro. Ortiz showed up, and we went visiting.  Afterwards we went to a school graduation party and someone's house and then we had service there that evening.  I preached on "Why Do You Look At The Spots?"  My points were: 1. Why do you look at the spots in yourself?  Many look at the stains or spots on themselves and how bad they are instead of looking at the blood of Jesus Christ that washes us from them.  2.  Why do you look at the spots in the church?  How many churches today are full of people who are always criticizing others and pointing out their faults instead of looking at the good in the church.  And finally, 3.  Why do you look at the spots in your spouse?  There are too many divorces nowadays, and it's because instead of the spouse looking for the good in their mate, they concentrate on the evil.  This only makes them hate their other half, and eventually leads to them leaving.  I think it went over well.

                Bro. Ortiz is a blessing!  I spent the night at the church, and he talked to me about many a things.  He also told me about a lady in Trujillo that he knows who wanted him to come and start a church there back in 1998.  He's going to give me her address.  He also said he and his church would help me with visitation if that's where God wants me to go.  Praise the Lord!

December 1^st 2002 Sunday                From Piedras Amarillas to Sastre and Back Again

                Perfecto came by and visited me this morning.  He asked me to preach the 15^th Anniversary service of their church on Thursday night.  I said, "I will be glad to do so!" 

                Sunday morning I preached in Bro. Ortiz's church in Piedras Amarillas on the topic of "What is a Christian?"  After services, I spent time with the children teaching them how to play "Paper, Rock, Scissors."  They caught on quickly.

                In the afternoon, we traveled to Bro. Ortiz's church in Sastre (an aldea outside of Sonaguera), and I preached a message entitled, "You are guilty!"  My points were: 1.  You are guilty of breaking the law, 2.  You are guilty of murdering Jesus Christ, 3.  You are guilty of murdering yourself! (The wages of sin is death).

                In the evening we went back to Piedras Amarillas to the missions apartment.  We ate dinner with some of the people of the church.  I thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship.  I also enjoyed listening to Bro. Ortiz and soaking up some of his immense wisdom.

December 2^nd 2002 Monday                Back to Trujillo

                I left Piedras this morning at a half past seven and arrived in Trujillo a quarter past nine.  I visited and passed out tracts all day (even though it rained most of the day). During my visits, I met several very interesting people.  One was Emilar Chacón, who told me he admired my zeal for the Lord and he wanted to pass out tracts like I was doing.  We talked for about an hour, and he bought me a coke.  He gave me his address and asked for mine, as he wants to keep in touch with me if I end up moving to Trujillo.

                I also met several other people who claimed to be Christians, but went to the "Charismatic" church.  There are very many of them here in Trujillo, as well as Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists, and Jehovah Witnesses.  This place is full of cults, but to my knowledge, not one good independent Bible Believing Baptist church.  (Although there are two dead liberal Baptist churches here).

                In the afternoon, I drove out of town towards the Northwest to visit the "Garifuna" (Black people) villages there.  It was a long drive, and the roads were horrible and muddy, but I arrived in the town of Santa Fe about thirty minutes later.  The town was nothing but pure Negroes!  I really liked it.  I asked one of them, "Where can a man find public access to the beach around here?"  He replied, "Anywhere, man!"  So, I stopped in front of a hut on the beach and walked out to the water.  There were houses everywhere on the beach, and the people live like one big family. 

As I walked to the water, a young 13 year old black boy came up to me and spoke with me.  I talked to him about the Lord, and then gave him a gospel tract.  He was very friendly.

In the evening, I spent the night at the "Hotel Gringo" owned by Peggy Brinkley.  It was much cheaper than the Christopher Columbus (499 Lempiras).  She started this hotel many years ago and comes from Pennsylvania.  I read her life story in an article put out by "Honduras This Week," and it was quite interesting. 

I'm starting to have mixed feelings about Trujillo.  Part of me likes this place and wants to come here to live, and part of me doesn't.  There are just so many cults here, that it would not be easy to start a work.  However, I'd be working in Olancho too, and that place is wide open.  I just don't know.  I'm going to have to continue praying that God would definitely give me more direction.

December 3^rd 2002 Tuesday                Visiting Puerto Castilla

                To be a Missionary today is not the same as in the days of old.  Before, Missionary's went forth to take the gospel to the lost people whom had never heard.  Now, Missionary's take the gospel to lost "religious" people.  It seems the whole world has been "evangelized" not by the gospel, but by religion.  Catholics, Pentecostals, "Charismaniacs," "Morons" (Mormons), etc., have all brought the name of Jesus Christ, Bibles, churches, teaching, etc.  But they have not brought the people the most important thing – The Gospel of Grace through Faith in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ!

                To be a Missionary nowadays doesn't mean you go and carry the gospel to someone who's never heard.  Now, to be a Missionary, you must first preach against "religion" and teach a person what's wrong with their church, their religious beliefs, and their pride before you can give them the gospel and tell them how to get saved.  It's almost like a deprogramming session, as they have been so crammed full of tradition that you have to do everything you can to get that out of them, before you can get the truth into them.  This is so sad!  Satan has done his job well.

                Today I decided to drive the 20 minutes to the other side of the bay to see Puerto Castilla.  I had heard that my old friend Arturo Palau from Puerto Cortes has been visiting there and trying to start a work.  I visited this town, and found the church, but no one was there.  I passed out tracts in this area, and found a young man reading a tract that I had given him yesterday in Trujillo.  What a blessing it was to see that they are being read!

                I also visited the Naval Base located at the end of the Peninsula.  I asked the guard at the gate if I could enter and preach to the soldiers and give them all gospel tracts.  He told me to wait and he would go and ask his captain.  After waiting thirty minutes, I was given access to the Base.  They told me, "The men are eating right now, but afterwards, you can have them for twenty minutes."  Then they lead me into the Officers dining hall and told me to sit down.  I did, and then they said, "What would you like with your soup?"  I responded, "Anything is fine with me!"  Then they brought me chicken soup, tortillas, and beans and rice.  I could hardly believe that they would feed me lunch!  But, they willingly did so, and it was very good!

                After lunch, I preached to 45 young Navy men about: "The Difference Between Religion and Salvation."  Then I gave each one the Gospel booklet, "Como Puedo Yo Tener Vida Eterna?"  They said I could come back each week and preach if I end up moving to Trujillo.

                Afterwards, I asked if I could take a tour of their little base.  They said, "Sure!"  Then they took me around and showed me the facilities.  The main building was a hospital used during World War II.  They had recently renovated it, and it was very nice.  From there, we went to the dock and I saw the Royal Honduran Navy.  It consisted of only a few ships, but they let me on each one to give out tracts to all the soldiers.  It was a lot of fun!

                In the evening, I went back to Trujillo and spent the night in the worst hotel I've ever seen!  It was called the Hotel Truijillo. It cost only 150 Lempiras a night, but my room was awful!  The door had a crack in it about an half an inch wide and people could see in.  The light in the bathroom burnt out when I tried to turn it on with a loud "Pop!"  The bed leaned downhill to the right, and I almost fell out of bed on several occasions.  By I went to sleep happy and content in knowing that I did something for my Lord and Saviour today!

December 4^th 2002 Wednesday                 Trujillo to Limon and Back Again

                I awoke this morning to Reggae music blaring across the street.  Someone must have been working on their car too, as I continually heard it revving up.  It was probably a diesel as it was very loud.

                When I got out of bed, I took the first hot shower I've had in six days.  What a blessing that was!  Then I loaded up everything in my car and prepared to leave.  Before I headed off, I called a phone number of a house for rent at 250 dollars a month.  They told me that I could see it today, and gave me directions.  I went to the house, and a young boy went with me to give me directions and open the gate.  It was a nice little home with two bedrooms and one bath, but the driveway left much to be desired.  It was grown over with brush, and was full of potholes.  Plus, it was very steep going downhill toward the house.  When we left, I almost didn't make it out with the mud and the rocks.  I had to back up way down the hill, and then get a running start at it.  It's only by the grace of God I was able to get out!

                After I dropped the boy off, I drove to the town of Limon.  It's the last town on the coast before you arrive at "the Mosquito Coast."  When I entered the town I saw "Bible Baptist Church."  I stopped and asked if the Pastor was there, but was told that he had gone into town for supplies. 

From there I drove to the beach and found the most beautiful surf I've ever seen in Honduras.  I was so ecstatic, that I parked my car next to the cemetery, grabbed my long board and paddled out into some of the nicest, thickest little two foot swells I've seen in some time. 

                As I'd catch a wave, I'd hoot and holler.  This must have drawn the attention of the natives, and before I knew it, a crowd of young black boys had gathered on the beach to watch me surf.  Fearing for my car, I got out and walked up to them.  They all gathered around me and began talking to me and touching me and my surfboard.  I felt like I was in "The Endless Summer" in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.  I talked with them for a while, and they asked me if I could teach them how to surf!  "Sure!" I said.  But then a big, black boy showed up and told them all they needed to go home. 

                Shortly hereafter a policeman walked up and told me that it wasn't safe to park your car just anywhere in this place, as it was a "problem area."  He recommended I park my car in front of the police station up the street.  I did just that, and then passed out some more tracts. 

                I drove back to Trujillo in the afternoon (a 45 minute drive over dirt roads). When I arrived, I decided to look for another hotel.  I encountered "The Kiwi House" on the beach between Puerto Castilla and Trujillo.  It was a great deal at only 100 Lempiras a night. 

                The owner was a lady from New Zealand who moved here to start a Hotel and Bar.  In the evening she cooked Stir-fry.  It was a good meal for only 65 Lempiras.  The only problem was that the Bar and the Restaurant are in the same place.  And it just so happened I was eating during "Happy Hour."  Around me were many people who were drinking and smoking.  One man even rolled up a joint behind me and began smoking marijuana!

                Although I didn't like the atmosphere, the food was good, and the room was nice and clean.  It even had hot water!

December 5^th 2002 Thursday                    Back To La Ceiba

                I left Trujillo very early in the morning and drove to La Ceiba to look for Bro. Perfecto.  When I went to his church, I was informed that he was working and wouldn't be back until noon.  So, I went to the Mall to check my email and eat.

                At a half past twelve, I arrived at Perfecto's house and found him home eating lunch.  He asked me if I'd like to see some of the other works they had started, and I responded, "You bet!"  So off we went to see some of the other works.  First we went to see "Iglesia Bautista Independiente Nueva Vida" (New Life Independent Baptist Church).  It was a big church, and was very beautiful. It was not quite finished, but there were several brothers there putting on the finishing touches.  I asked them, "How many people do you have coming, and who is the pastor here?"  What I was told made me a little mad, and sick to my stomach.  They responded, "Well, there is no pastor yet, we are praying for one, and we don't have any people either.  When we are done, then we'll get a pastor and the people!"  This really disturbs me. 

Perfecto told me this church cost $16,000 American dollars to build (not to mention the $10,000 that the property cost them), and they don't have any people, nor a pastor!  Talk about getting your cart before your horse!  I just don't believe in buying property and then building a church house without having a work started first.  I believe that's the wrong way to do things!  But, that is how the Missionary that is helping Perfecto wants to do it.  I wonder though, what will happen if they can't start a work there?  Will they sell the building?  What about all the churches in the states who sent money for the thing?  It just seems to me that it doesn't seem right to use American money to build a church when you don't have any people to come to it.

                Afterwards we went to see "Iglesia Bautista Independiente Emanuel" (Emanuel Independent Baptist Church) of which Sergio is Pastor.  I met him back in 1998 in Puerto Cortes, and I really like him.  He's a real blessing.  They have over 80 people that come to this church.  That was a blessing to hear.

                At four in the evening, we went to the bus station and picked up some brothers and sisters that came from Puerto Cortes for the special services.  We took the ladies to one house and sat and talked with the family there who offered to put them up for the evening.  As we waited, Bro. Perfecto brought me some "Garifuna" food that one of the ladies was preparing.  It is called "Casabe" (Kaw-Saw-Bay).  It was made from ground up Yucca (a root) with flour, and salt.  It tasted almost like a potato chip.  It was very good.

                As we drove back to the church, I asked Bro. Perfect about some of the people in the church that I remembered when I was there.  When I asked him about my buddy Omar, he gave me some bad news.  He said that he died of AIDS several months ago.  This really got me.  I remembered the young man from my visit here in 1998.  He took me to his house up on the hill where he lives.  He was such a sweet guy, and always had a smile.  How sad to hear that he's passed away.  They said he was sure of his salvation before he went.  I hope so.  And Dario told me later that he said to tell me "Hello" if they ever saw me again. 

                In the evening, I preached at Perfectos' church for their 15^th Anniversary services.  I preached a rather hard message entitled, "What Every Church Needs."  I told them they needed 1.  More of God,  2.  More Spiritual People, 3.  More Suffering (as that is what stablishes, settles, and strengthens you according to 1 Peter 5:10), and 4. More Separation from the world.  I guess it went well.  Bro. Dario (my friend there) said, "You really put on the Pepper!" (That's an expression they use when you preach hard).

                In the evening, Dario took me to see where his brother Will lives.  It was a long ways out of town, but it was good to see Will again and his wife.  Afterwards, the church put me up at the Hotel Emperador.  It was a nice place, but had no hot water.

December 6^th 2002 Friday                 Surgery!

                I left La Ceiba at eight in the morning and arrived home in La Esperanza at a little before two in the afternoon.  Upon my arrival, I went straight to bed to rest a bit, as the sun along the coast is very hot and gave me a bit of sunburn. 

                When I woke up, I ate a little.  Then I operated on my ingrown toenails.  A friend gave me a few syringes, some Xylocaine, Hydrocortisone, and more so that I could fix my painful problem.  I spent several hours working on it, and my what a bloody mess I made of it!  Thanks to the Xylocaine, I didn't feel anything, but it was quite messy when I finished. 

                One of my toenails grew so deep, that a piece of skin had grown over it, and made a flap that jutted out over the nail.  I had to cut this off first thing, and this was very bloody indeed.  Then I had to cut the fold of the corner to get to the ingrown nail and pull it out with pliers.

                The other toe didn't look that bad, but it was almost worse.  I deadened it, and then cut the nail straight down to the quick.  Then I used my clamping pliers to pull it out.  I was surprised how great a chunk of nail and skin came out with it!  It left a rather big hole, but I crammed if full of Hydrocortisone and moved on. 

                The best part of the whole thing was using the needle to deaden the toe.  I put the needle in everywhere, as I didn't want to feel a thing.  The needle reads from 20 to 100 (100 being the fullest).  I think I put two needles worth in both toes and I didn't feel a thing when I went to work.  (The Xylocaine was 1.5 % solution.)

How odd it was to put a needle into your own skin and not feel it. It was quite a strange thing to pull it out and see a drop of blood come out.  Then when I inserted it into another area, the fluid would come out of the other hole in place of the blood.  It was very strange.  On one occasion, I pulled the needle out too quickly, after having inserted too much and it spewed blood and liquid in my face.  I laughed, wiped my face, and then got back to work. 

I guess I missed my calling in life. Maybe I should have been a doctor!  Then again, operating on your own self is one thing, but doing it on someone else is quite another.  I don't know if I could it for a living, but at least it's good to know I can do surgery on myself if I ever need to.

December 7^th 2002 Saturday                Thanksgiving Dinner

                The other Missionaries here in La Esperanza set today aside for us to eat Thanksgiving dinner.  We all had our own priorities and this was the only day we could work it out so that everyone could make it.  The dinner was at Thomas Sweeney's house and we started at four o'clock in the afternoon.  The food was simply superb, and it was good to have fellowship with other Christians.

                After eating, we had a devotional.  Bro. Rich did the preaching from Psalms 46.  This was an interesting chapter and all I could think of was Trujillo as he read a description of "mountains going into the sea."  His text was "Be still and know that I am God!"  He preached a good message about how we Missionaries get so occupied doing things, that we forget why and for whom we are doing them.  Sometime we need to stop and be still and spend some time with God!  This was an excellent message.

                As he preached he also commented on what each Missionary is doing here.  Bro. Herbert Prince is building a Bible Institute just outside of La Esperanza.  Bro. Mike Lane is director of the Baptist Camp here behind my house.  Bro. Rich is a help to Missionaries, and does what ever they need him to do.  Thomas Sweeney is active in Medical Brigades, Discipleship, and showing Christian Movies.  And then he got to me, he said, "And Brother Breaker, he just, um, well he just travels around and preaches."  That made me feel good.  I might not be doing what all the others are, but at least I know I'm doing what I'm supposed to, and I want to continue preaching as that's what God called me to do.

                In the evening I went home stuffed full of turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and more.  It was a good day of food, fellowship and fun.

                The children came again today as well.  There were 9 total.

December 8^th 2002 Sunday                Visit From the Kids

                I tried to relax today.  I'm still tired from my trip to Trujillo, and I wanted to get some rest.  I spent the day studying some too, until there came a knock at my door around two in the afternoon.  When I went to see who it was, I found Lina, and three other girls from my Children's ministry.  They brought me a plate of food from Francisco's graduation party today (Francisco is Castillo's son).  The food was French fries, tortillas, beans, chicken, and a vegetable salad.  It was really good!

                In the evening, I read some from "Chess for Dummies!" that Bro. Sweeney let me barrow.   I sure would like to increase my Chess playing abilities.  And this book is teaching me a lot.

December 9^th 2002 Monday                Running Into Town

                First thing this morning I worked on fixing a few small things on my car.  The door handle had broken, and needed a screw to hold it in.  Also the Fuse panel had fallen off, and I had to tack it up. 

                Afterwards, I asked Castillo to wash my car while I took a shower.  He did a wonderful job, and the car looked like new when he was finished.

                I also spent some time writing letters and preparing some CD's of Clip Art to give to the Local Internet shop.  They are always making documents, books, folders, or cards for people, and I wanted to help them, so I copied 5 CD's of Clip Art to give to them.  In the afternoon, I drove there and gave it to them.  They were very appreciative.

                I also withdrew some money today and paid the light bill.  The Electricity for last month cost me 160 Lempiras.  While I was in the bank I looked down behind the counter and saw a piece of paper with all of the names of the towns of branches of that bank.  The first one that caught my eye was Trujillo.  All of the others were written in lowercase, but for some reason, this was the only one written in all capital letters.  Is God still trying to show me something? 

                Afterwards I bought a 50-pound bag of dog food for Rambo and then went home to study for my session with Nelson.

December 10^th 2002 Tuesday                Study, A Visit, and Reflections

                I spent my morning writing my new commentary on 1 and 2 Thessalonians.  I almost finished chapter one when I heard a noise outside and found that Missionary Harold Priday came by to visit me.  We talked for a while, and he gave me some good advice.  "This is a hard field," he told me,  "You just have to keep on trying," he continued, "and trust God that your efforts are not in vain."  And he encouraged me by telling me about some of the things he'd been through in over 30 years here in Honduras, and how God worked it all out for His glory. 

                I told him about Trujillo, and Olancho, and he said, "Well, if that's where God wants you, then you've got to go!  Just do what God tells you to!"  Amen!  That's good counsel!  I will continue praying and asking God to show me for certain if that's where he wants me.

                The rest of the day I spent studying for tomorrow when I go to visit Nelson.  I also had to continually battle with bitterness and discouragement as I thought about some of the things that have happened the last month.  I thought about "the letter" my friend sent me from the states accusing me of "slander" and such, and that got me down a bit.  Plus, I began worrying about my supporting churches in the states. 

I'm getting feedback from some people telling me that many people were angry with me for coming back to the states to get married.  But, when I was on deputation, they kept telling me, "You need to get married before you go to the Mission Field.  You need a wife.  You really need a helper on the field! Etc."

                The majority of churches I visited were of this mindset.  Only a few told me that they wouldn't support me because I was a "single" Missionary (I guess they wouldn't have supported Paul either).  But they wished me the best, and said they'd pray for me.

But when I went back to the U.S. to get married, then suddenly I found myself attacked on all sides for "leaving the field."  They think that once I went to Honduras that I shouldn't have left whether it was to get married or not!  What happened to all those who said I needed a wife and a helper on the field?  The saints are fickle.  It seems I can't win for losing.  

Then there are others who said I got out of God's will.  But I thought God's will was in Gen 2:18 when "... the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone..."  How can I do any good, when to be a single man is not good? 

My own Pastor taught us in Bible Institute that your wife comes before your ministry.  This is why I went to the states to get married, but when I spoke to him he called me "Brother Love Affair" and scolded me a bit for coming back.  That didn't make me feel too good.

My Mission Board Handbook suggests that the missionary shouldn't come back to the states before a year, and when I went to the states, it had been a year already.  So I didn't feel like I did anything wrong.  But, it seems that some in the states are itching to point their finger at me and accuse me of turning my back on the ministry I have here and God. 

All I know is that I want to serve the Lord and I believe he wants me here in Honduras to do just that.  I am persuaded God will take care of me here whether there are many churches supporting me or only a few.  I want to do right, and God knows it.  And it seems the harder I try to serve the Lord here, the more need I have for a wife.  But, I've decided that I'm going to put God first, and wait on God for a wife. 

God sees all things, and I firmly believe in his time he'll supply all my need according to his riches in glory.  Until then, I'm going to serve him, and forget about women, what my supporting churches think, and my needs, and avert all my efforts to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ! 

Still it would be good to have someone to go through things like this with.  What a blessing it'd be to have someone to comfort you when so many seem to be against you.  But at least I can joy in knowing that the Lord Jesus Christ is with me always, and he'll never leave me nor forsake me!

December 11^th 2002  Wednesday                                Going to Tegucigalpa to Visit Nelson

                Today I left La Esperanza at nine in the morning.  I arrived in Tegucigalpa three hours later.  I went directly to the Hospital Escuela and searched for Nelson.  He was working hard as usual, and we talked for some time.  I told him about Trujillo, and my time there, and he was very excited.  He told me that he had planned to go to Olancho the 24^th of this month, and asked me to go with him.  I readily agreed, and it's our desire to preach in as many villages and towns as we can while we are there, and give out Bibles and tracts.

                After arranging to meet Nelson at six in the evening, when his shift ended, I left to run some errands.  The first thing I did was go to the cybernet café to check my email and my bank account.  Nine hundred and sixty dollars was deposited on Monday.  This made me feel a lot better.  It's good to know there are still many faithful ones who are willing to help me spread the gospel here.

                From there I parked my car at the GM dealership and took a taxi into downtown Comayagüela to find Valvoline oil for my car.  As I walked from Parts store to Parts store, I saw the most awful thing I think I've ever seen here in Honduras.  An old woman (probably in her late 50's) was walking down the street with next to nothing but a few rags loosely tied around her waist, and no shirt on.  You could see everything, but it didn't seem to bother her.  She looked like she was on drugs, and was wobbling as she walked, oblivious to the fact that anyone else was around her.  How sad a site this was to see, and my heart broke for the poor lady. 

                I also saw many other "weirdoes" (as the world would call them) walking around.  One in particular was a black man (Garifuna) with dread locks who was standing in the street by himself carrying on a rather heated discussion with nobody.  I guess he knew to whom he was speaking, but there was no one else there.  All I caught as I tried to listen to the man was something about "an old blue shirt."

                After I finally found Vavoline oil in the shop "Auto Repuestos," I took a taxi to the Post Office to mail a package of New Testaments and other books to a man in Argentina who contacted me via email requesting them.  As we drove along, I witnessed to the taxi driver, and gave him a tract.

                In the evening, I went back to the Hospital a little early and waited for Nelson to get off work.  As I waited, I witnessed to a man from Danli, who's last name was "Rico."  I took him through the entire plan of salvation and then asked him if he wished to be saved.  He said, "Oh, I've always believed that!  I've always been saved!  Plus, I was baptized, and I went to church, etc."  I tried to explain it again, as it appeared he just wasn't getting it, but his answer was always the same.  Finally, I started to get a little angry, so I said, "Are you telling me you were born saved?  Did you come out of your Momma's belly, and then get saved right then?  How could you always have believed and always have been saved?"  He had no answer, and then he began to think.  He would not respond, but it seemed my "rude" and "brash" comment sobered him up a bit.  He asked me for more tracts, and told me he would study the issue more.

                At six o'clock, Nelson and I drove to his little apartment in "Carrizal."  I parked in front of the complex, and Nelson told me to keep an eye on my car as there are many "ladrones" (thieves) there.   To be safe, I moved the car to where I could keep a constant watch on it from Nelson's second story window of the room that he rents.

Zenia fixed us a rather good dinner of beans, rice, eggs, chicken, and a hot dog.  After eating, we studied the Bible.  This was our first night to start studying verse by verse from Paul's epistles in order of when they were written.  After an hour and a half, I only made it through the first six verses of 1 Thessalonians.  Some might think that I'm being too "thorough."  But, I just want to give Nelson as much Bible as I can.

                At nine o'clock (Missionary midnight), I drove to the Cancer center to spend the night.  When I turned the corner to the driveway, I saw Thomas Sweeney pull up to the gate right before me.  He had just come from preaching a Mission's conference in a church not far away.  He let me in, and showed me what room I could stay in.

                Thomas and I talked for several hours.  I asked him for his advice about what happened after I came back here, and how it seems some people are "pointing their fingers" at me for doing wrong in their eyes for leaving the field to get married.  Then I told him about the infamous letter that I received from a man whom I count a friend accusing me of slander and such.  Thomas gave me some good advice, as he too has gone through some of the same things.

                The thing I'll never forget was when he taught me the difference between "shame" and "conviction."  "Shame," says he, "is when someone makes you feel bad for not living up to their standards.  But conviction is when your conscience convicts you of something you know you did wrong."  He continued by explaining that shame comes from "accusations" from others who think you didn't or don't do what they think you ought.  But conviction is when you know deep down that you didn't do right.  That helped a lot. 

                My friend's letter made me feel much shame, and I had to spend several days praying and searching my heart to see if I was actually guilty of his charges.  But my conscience did not convict me of any intentional aggression or evil on my part. I finally came to the conclusion that I didn't do what he thought I should have, nor did I live up to his standards, and it was for this reason he was mad.  But what people think should not determine what I do or don't do.  I've got to spend my time doing the best I can and trying to please God, for it is only what he thinks that matters, and not what men think about me.  What a great lesson, and what a blessing Thomas was to help me see this.

December 12^th 2002 Thursday                Coming Home

                I left the cancer center around eight this morning.  When I was there, I met a man who is a teacher in the Bible Institute in La Esperanza that Herbert Prince is building.  He showed me all the notes he has of every book in the Bible, as he too likes to teach the Bible verse by verse.  He said he'd give me all the material I desired.  I asked him for all of it, and he said he'd begin copying it for me.  How great it'd be to have this material.

                Upon driving home, I changed the oil in my car.  As I pulled over the burn pit to be able to reach under the car easier, I looked under the tire and found that I had half smashed a scorpion.  He was violently snapping his claws and twisting in death throws.  I hate those things, and believe every one of them ought to just die!

December 13^th 2002 Friday                The Brigade

                This was the big day.  Bro. Thomas Sweeney, Pastor Jacobo, Bro. Rich, myself and about seven other people left at eleven thirty to travel to San Lorenzo for an "Evangelist Campaign," otherwise known as a "Brigade."  We arrived there two hours later, and helped Thomas' wife Rhonda set up her medical center to check all the sick people, and distribute medicine.  Bro. Thomas wore a clown wig, and a red nose and went around spreading cheer.  There was gift-giving to the kids for Christmas, a puppet show, tract distribution, and more.  I was asked to preach, so I preached on "The one Mediator between God and men – Christ Jesus."  I used three children as an illustration and I made the one on my left God, the one in the middle Jesus, and the one on my right a "vile, wicked sinner."  I explained how the only way to get to God is by trusting Christ Jesus as your Saviour.  I further emphasized how your good works, baptism, church attendance, priest, etc., could not save you as it completely ignores the man in the middle.

                While they were setting up the projector to show a Christian Evangelical Film, I played soccer with the kids.  All they had was a tennis ball, so I quickly taught them how to throw it back and forth like a baseball.  From there I invented a new game:  Base Soccer.   We chose teams and then I told them the rules were that you played just like soccer, only you used your hands and you had to throw the ball down field to a team mate and that you could go no more than two steps with the ball.  The object was to throw the ball through the two sticks (goal) that were only about a foot wide.  Our team won 5 to 4.  It was a lot of fun!

                After they showed their film (which did a really good job of presenting the gospel), we loaded up and headed back to La Esperanza.  It was a long ways home, and I tried to fall asleep as it was growing late.  However this proved to be a futile attempt as the roads were so bad that I was constantly being bumped around the truck as we hit pothole after pothole.

December 14^th 2002 Saturday                Learning from Kids,  And Three Saved!

                It amazes me how much a person can learn from a child.  Today they taught me how to make Potato Salad.  Several of the children came early, and together we peeled potatoes and cooked them over an open fire in the fireplace.  While we were waiting for the water to boil, more children came.  There were 15 in total.  As we were cooking, the children taught me new words, and told me, "Sometimes you don't pronounced such and such a word right.  Here is how it's said..."  Then they taught me how to correctly pronounce it.  (Example:  Trash Can in Spanish is "Basuero."  I was always saying Bass-wero.  But the right way to say it is: Bass-ew-where-oh).

                While Lina and Tania mixed the potatoes, hard boiled eggs, and mayonnaise, I sang hymns with the children as we all sat around the table.  Finally the food came, and they were very excited.  I didn't have any plates, so we had to use Tupperware bowls.  Some children used the bowl, while other ones used the lids for plates.  I didn't have enough silverware either, but they had no problem with using their hands.

                After we cleaned up the table, I had the children put their chairs together and we studied Christ's words to Martha in John 11:25,26.  I've found it very hard to deal with children, as I never know what they are thinking.  Especially when it comes to the plan of salvation, I don't try to push anything on them, as anyone can get a child to "raise their hand" or "say a little prayer." I've found that you have to take it easy with them, because you never can tell if they are serious or not. 

                But today I had three children tell me they wanted to get saved.  I could hardly believe it.  I drilled them very good beforehand to make sure they understood.  Then I preached on Hell for a while, and showed them a picture of it that my Pastor had painted.  Then I asked them "Are you sinners?"  They all replied in the affirmative.  I continued, "And when you die, where will you go?"  "To Hell!" They quickly responded.  "Do you want to go there?" I asked.  They all replied, "No!"  Ana even added, "I'm afraid!"  Then I asked them, "How is the only way to get saved?"  They looked at me and said, "Hmmmm, I don't know."  Then Ana blurted out, "Oh yeah!  I think I remember.  It's through the blood, right?"  I said, "It sure is!"  Then I took them through it step by step.  Three of them accepted Christ Jesus as their Saviour through faith in the precious blood!  One was the 13 year-old boy that came before who when I asked him then if he was saved, he replied "Nope!" 

                Some of the other children came over too and listened and said they wanted to get saved, but when I began witnessing to them, they got bored, and lost interest and went to play.  So I believe the three who made a profession where genuine. 

                It was almost too easy.  I thought about what Jesus said afterwards when he used the words "Child like faith."  Children will believe just about anything you tell them.  That's why it's important to me that they hear the truth at an early age.  I'm thankful for the opportunity God has given me to work with them, and now it seems I'm finally starting to see some fruit.  Albeit, it has been quite a trying experience at times.

December 15^th 2002  Sunday                Hymns

                Nothing particularly interesting happened this fair, bright and sunny day.  I felt sick this morning, so I stayed in bed.  In the afternoon I felt a little better and got up to eat lunch.  As I was preparing my food, Lina and Ana showed up and asked me to teach them some Christmas Hymns.  We sang "Silent Night" and "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" in Spanish.  They had never heard them before and were eager to learn.

                After they left I spent the rest of the day just trying to recuperate from my illness.  I also continued reading Cipriano de Valera's Book, "Two Tracts: One of the Pope and the Mass..."  It's an old "Protestant" book written nearly 500 years ago in Old Spanish.  Plus it is very long. (Over 600 pages).  But I enjoy his fervor for the truth.  And, I really like it when he calls the Pope an "AnteChristo."

December 16^th 2002 Monday                Correspondence

                Most of my time during the morning hours was spent in writing letters to those who have written to me.  I also studied for a little while for my time with Nelson on Wednesday night.  In the afternoon, I journeyed into town to run some errands.  I went to the Post Office and mailed off all of the letters I'd written, and found that someone else had written me too.  How great it is to receive mail!

                From there I went to the Internet shop to check my email.  Or at least I tried to.  I sat in front of the computer for 20 minutes waiting for the "Compuserve" page to show up.  It never did.  The computer was so slow that I was unable to get anything.  I'll have to wait until Wednesday when I go to Tegus to check my emails.

                In the evening I ate the last of the Black beans I had planted here.  They were very good, and I enjoyed them immensely.

December 17^th 2002 Tuesday                "Pensando"  (Thinking)

                I spent much time in prayer and thinking about what to do and where to go.  I'm really praying about Trujillo, but I don't know for sure if that's where God wants me.  I guess it all hinges on what Nelson is going to do.  Tomorrow I will go to see him, and ask him of his plans.  If he wants to live with me, I'll stay here for another month or so, and teach him the Bible.  If not, and he wishes to move to Olancho, I will pray about moving to Trujillo, and then commute to spend several days a week with him there. 

                I would love to work in Olancho.  That place is so open to the gospel.  But I don't want to get ahead of God.  I want to make sure God wants me there.  I believe that the door is closing on this place, and I will have to go somewhere else eventually.  Plus, there are so many other Missionaries here.

                God please show me what to do, when to do it, and where!

December 18^th 2002 Wednesday                 Traveling to Tegucigalpa

                I arrived in Tegucigalpa around two in the afternoon.  I really was in no hurry.  I went straightway to see Nelson, and spoke with him.  He said that now Zenia wants to get married and do right.  I hope so.

                After passing out some tracts at the hospital, I left Nelson and went to the Cancer center to get the key for the evening.  Then I went out to eat at "Tre Fratelli's" Italian restaurant.  The food is sensational.  I took a plate to Nelson on my way back to the Cancer center and talked with him some more.  He is very excited about our trip to Olancho.  He wants to move there and live.  His "adopted" father has some land he can give him, and he heard about a program called PLAN Honduras which would build him a house, and get him started with materials he needs to start farming.  This would be great.

                In the evening, I went to the cancer center and read my Bible.  I couldn't put it down.  I read and read late into the night from 2 Chronicles, about Solomon and his kingdom.  Oh, how I wish I could have lived during that time just to see what Solomon's Ivory throne, overlaid with gold, looked like with the six steps with lions on each one on both sides. 

December 19^th 2002 Thursday                    Errands and Bible Study

                I had much to do in Tegucigalpa.  I had to get a haircut, go to the bank and withdraw money, take my "Constancia" to the Office of Tourism, and more.  And after four hours, I still did not complete all that I had written on my list.

                At the Barber Shop, I saw a woman giving a man a "Pedicure."  I'd heard about such, but it was a strange sight to see.  Talk about being pampered!  The lady was seated, and bending over the man's foot fixed intently upon her work of cleaning his nails, washing every crevasse and cranny between his toes, and scrubbing the bottom of his feet with soap and water.  The man didn't seem to mind.  He just sat there and read a magazine while she slaved away.  To me, it seemed like it would be a humbling experience to wash another's feet.  Now I think I understand why Peter didn't want to have the Lord wash his feet at first.

                After I finished all my "mandados" (errands) I went to Nelson's house to study the Bible.  He put it off until today, as he works hard in the evening, and has no time to study with me then.  He asked me to talk to him and Zenia and preach to them hard and tell it to them straight what they need to do to grow as Christians.  He is mad at Zenia at times, for she names the name of Christ, but doesn't seem to act like it.  So, I let them both have it.  I told her that she needs to do better.  She needs to read her Bible, be nicer to Nelson, wear clothes that are decent and don't show parts of her body that others should not see, etc.  Nelson was happy, and was smiling when I spoke to her.  Then I started in on Nelson.  I told him he needed to be a better Father figure, treat Zenia better, read his Bible and study with her more, etc.  Then I showed them both what the Bible had to say about Fornication.

                I said, "You two have been living together in sin for a long time now.  When are you finally going to get married, and live an honorable and holy life in the sight of God and others?"  They said they wanted to, and assured me that as soon as they got their papers they would.  They also said they wished me to do the ceremony.

                Afterwards we studied 1 Thessalonians again and almost finished chapter one.  Zenia actually paid attention, unlike before, and looked up all the verses.  I think things are starting to come together, and I can see the Lord working in their lives.  But they still have much more learning and growing to go.     

December 20^th 2002 Friday                Pondering Laodicea, Phariseeism, and Worldly Christians

                Today I rested.  As I did so, I thought about the wicked "Laodicean" church.  God said that she makes him "Puke!"  (What a great title this would make for a sermon to preach in a liberal church: "You make God puke!") 

I also thought about why God was so angry with her.  It seems it was because she wanted to do everything her way instead of God's way.  She said, "I am rich, increased with goods, etc.  And have need of nothing."  Yet in God's eyes, she was so blind she couldn't see that she was poor spiritually. She needed something all right, or rather someone and that was the Lord Jesus Christ!

                Perhaps the saddest verse in the Bible is Revelation 3:20.  In this verse, the Lord Jesus Christ is speaking to his bride, the church, and he tells her that he's not even inside with her, but outside, knocking on the door, earnestly desiring to come in and fellowship with her.  But she has closed him out.  She not only has left her first love, rejected his words, and allowed tradition to dictate what she should do rather than the Holy Spirit, but has stolen Christ's authority in not yielding herself to him.  In fact, everything she does, she does without him, for he is without the door.  She has defrauded her mate, who loved her enough to die for her.  How sad this is to think about.

                The older I get, the more I see "Laodicea" in this day and age.  It seems so many churches are following "programs" or "tradition" rather than the Bible.  They are going to "Soulwinning Conferences" to learn new gimmicks and techniques to try to get "decisions for Christ," rather than spending time in prayer and Bible study so that they can be spiritual and allow God to use them.  Satan has convinced the church that the "old time way" doesn't work anymore.  By her listening to him rather that God, the "Athenian spirit" has crept into the church and whispered vain words into her ear that she must continually try something else.  So she does.  She turns to "Culture," "Tolerance," "Psychology," "Liberty," "Fraternity," "Tradition," "Sharing," "Caring," "Coping," "Counseling," etc.  Anything but the Bible it seems.

I can't find the exact words to describe the spirit of Laodicea.  But the best I could do would be to say:  She always puts herself ahead of God, and everything she does, she does without consulting him first.  This sounds like Jezebel to me.  I'm reminded of what evangelist Sam Gipp said at the Blowout a few years ago.  It was something to the effect of, "Maybe God is coming in the rapture not just to take his church out because he loves her, but also because she is such a miserable example and an awful testimony to the world that to leave her here would make Him look bad!"

Truly we are in the last days, and Laodicea is the last church period.  I'm glad to know that it can't go on much longer.  For I am convinced that the longer the Lord tarries, the more churchy the world will become and the more worldly the church will grow.   You would think all Christians would believe the same way, and want to follow Christ in piety and sobriety.  However this is not the case.  So often, many who claim to be saved want only what the world has to offer (increased with goods...).  This is Laodicea.

In my thinking, I believe there will come a time (or maybe it's already come) when a true Christian that loves the Lord and wants to live a pure and holy life will not only be persecuted for it by the world, but by other "Christians" as well.  If the Lord tarries, we will soon see who the true Christians really are, for the world is becoming so vile and wicked, that I can't see how a saved person can indulge himself in it without the Holy Spirit inside of him convicting him of  his sin.

All I know is that I want to take my stand "outside the camp" of those who prize tradition higher than the word of God.  I'd rather be "outside the door" with my Saviour than inside a church that wants to do things her way rather than God's way.  I'm a Bible Believer.  I'm also an "Anti-Traditionalist," for it was the Pharisees who place tradition higher than the word of God.  And I've learned that "tradition" makes the word of God of none effect (Mark 7:13).  To live as a Christian nowadays, one must not only preach against the world, the flesh, and sin, but against apostasy in the body of Christ.  And when one if faithful in so doing, he'll find he only has one friend on his side, and that's the one they kicked out first – The Lord Jesus Christ!

December 21^st 2002 Saturday                     Cursed Children

                The children came today: nineteen of them to be exact.  They are so rowdy at times that it's hard to get a word in edgewise.  They came and they listened, but not well.  It seems to me that the only reason they come is because they want to try to get something out of me. 

I had a bunch of stuffed animals given to me from Bro. Thomas Sweeney, and I wanted to give them to the children.  However, I found that giving can not always be a good thing.  For the more you give someone, the more they begin to expect it, and the more they will want in turn.

                I've seen "Missionaries" try to start works by giving people things.  I've learned that if you give stuff away, you'll always draw a crowd.  The "Santidad" Missionary up the street has been working on my kids, and giving them stuff.  Now they think I should give them things too, as I'm a Missionary also.  I call this "Welfare Christianity" and I'm not fond of it in the least bit, for I've seen the fruits of this false type of "evangelization."  It causes da