My Y2K Trip to Honduras

 

Introduction:  On August 1st 2000, I took a trip to Honduras for 3 weeks to try and find out God's will, and where he would have me to go when I return to Honduras as a missionary.  I went with two other guys.  An aquantince whom I did not know well named Charles Brower, and a good friend of my from Bible school and a missionary to Africa, Abraham White.  This is what happened on the trip.

 

August 1st 2000                Tuesday                 The Arrival

 

We arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras by plane a little after our alotted time and then waited for Abraham and our luggage.  Bro. Abel Bonilla picked us up at the airport, and took us to his school.  There  we passed the time for several hours calling connections and setting up a schedule.  Charles got angry and accused me of trying to "run the show" when I made a few suggestions. He said he had paid good money to come on this trip, and he wanted to do what he came to do.  I told him we should work together and we'd be able to do what we both want to do, only together.  He agreed and calmed down.  After setting up a tentative schedule of both our plans, we went on visitation with the pastor and passed out tracts.  While visiting, I witnessed to a lady that said she was lost and tried to tell her how to get saved when a drunk man came up and began talking to Abe and I.  He interrupted and wouldn't let us finish talking to the women.  Then he bought us two cokes.  After that we couldn't talk to the woman again, and I was concerned about her soul.  I realized that it was just the devil using a drunk to keep her from hearing the truth.  But, at least she got a gospel tract!

 

August 2nd 2000                Wednesday                          A Day of Service

 

We rose at almost 5:30 A.M. and read our bibles and prayed.  After our showers (in super cold water!) we ate breakfast which consisted of eggs and weiners.  After that, we went with the Pastor to his school.  It's called the International Christian School of Tegucigalpa.  There I gave a 10 minute devotional to the students.  I talked about "How to worship God.  There were 4 points:  (1) Bible Reading,  (2) Prayer, (3) Church Attendance, and (4) Singing.  After the devotional we went to talk to another missionary named David Brogan.  He also works with kids with an organization called "Word of Life."  We talked to him about an hour then we went to the University of Tegucigalpa.  We passed out over 6,000 tracts there in less than a six hour period and I was able to give away one Bible to a Vendor woman.  Abraham and I also preached on the street to the passerby's.  We had a good time.  As I was preaching one man walked by me saying, "I love the Devil, I love the Devil."  He was trying to get my goat.  So, I just pointed at him and said in Spanish, "You are the devil!"  He just kept walking and several people around starting laughing.  But, in all actuality, it's not funny to joke about things like that! 

After preaching on the street, we walked up to the Catholic church and went inside and passed out tracts.  We even walked into their most holy place and laid a tract on top of it.  We got caught coming out though, and we were chewed out by a man that was cleaning the church.  He said only the priests were allowed in there.  So, we left him some tracts and then left.

                In the evening we attended a service in a person's house.  There were almost 30 people there and together we all sang songs, took prayer requests, gave testimonies, and prayed.  Pastor Bonilla was the director of the service.  We were there almost two hours, and afterwards we all ate.  They served a food called "Atol."  It was like grits, only it was in jellied form.  They told me that to prepare it, they added milk to the grinded corn, and then let it sit for 3 days.  Then, on the 4th day, it hardens into a jelly like mold.   Suprisingly it wasn't too bad!  Although, I don't know how healthy it was.  After eating we went to the Pastor's house and went to bed.

 

August 3rd 2000                Thursday                              I Must Be About My Father's Business

               

                We got up around 5:45 A.M.  We read our bibles and prayed and then got a nice hot shower.  (Abe fixed the hot water faucet!)  Then we ate breakfast at around 7:30 A.M.  After which we left for the Pastor's school where Abe gave the daily devotional.  He did well, but he really was hard on them.  Then we went to town and passed out tracts.  After that we went to a public school and preached for several hours even though it is illegal to preach in the schools in Honduras.  But, I had a connection who invited us to come.  She said they needed it!  She was the sister of a lady that I met in Milton.  And, she was a teacher there in the school.  She said she wanted us to come so we did.  We visited 8 different classes and gave them the gospel.  After preaching in each class we passed out chick tracts to every teacher and child.  They told us afterwards that there were over 300 kids in the that school! 

After the school, we passed out tracts in the park in downtown Tegucigalpa.   We probably got out over 1000 between the three of us.  The sadest thing was to see all the poor homeless kids on the street.  Most of them were gluesniffers and they were sniffing glue continually.  Then, they would come up to you and beg for money.  It was sad!  All you could do was give them a tract, cause if you gave them money, they'd all mob you. 

                After the park we went into the mall and passed out tracts.  While there we bought what they call a "Liquado."  We would call it a health shake.  It was Banana and Papaya, and boy was it awesome!  I've never tasted anything so good in all my life!  At 3:00 P.M.  the pastor picked us up, and we went to his house.  We rested up a little and then we went out again on door to door visitation.  We got out about 200 more tracts and talked to several people.  I met a man named Dennis, and he was "educated."  He believed in God, but he wanted to talk about his philosophy, and his opinions or beliefs (nevermind what the Bible says.)  He did let me talk to him though and I witnessed for about 20 minutes.  He said he didn't believe that Jesus was his saviour and that he knew he was lost, but didn't care.   Education without salvation is Damnation! 

                After that, I talked to 12 year old Junior Manuel.  He listened for 10-15 minutes but he didn't want to get saved.  He thought you had to get saved in a church.  I did give him a bible though, and he promised to read it.  Also we invited another guy to church who said he'd try to come.  After that we went back to Pastor Bonilla's house and prepared for bed.  Before falling asleep the Pastor brought us some manzanilla tea to drink.  It is heavenly!

 

 

August 4th 2000                  Friday                                    To Paradise and Back!

 

                We arose at 6:00 A.M. and took our showers.  After breakfast, we went to the school again and this time Charles gave the devotional to the kids.  After that, we went to el centro (downtown) again to pass out tracts.  People were everywhere!  We gave out over 3000 tracts easily in a short time.  It was great.  While passing out tracts there, a Roman Catholic man looked at the tract I gave him called "Are Roman Catholics Christians?"  He said rather loudly, "Yes!" and then he gave it back and said he didn't need it.  Later, he came back and said, "Give me one of those.  I'm not as good of a Catholic as I should be.  I'll read it!"  Hopefully he'll read it and get saved and get out of the Catholic church!

                Also downtown, I encountered 5 Lenca Indians from Intibuca, Honduras.  They walked up to me and asked me for bibles.  So, I gave them all I had.  There were only four bibles and five of them, which meant that one didn't get one.  Then they asked me to come to their village of Colomoncagua and visit and bring their people bibles.  Plus, they want a church started there and a Bilingual school for their children.  That sounded like a great opportunity, but I told them I didn't know if I could go.  But, they did write their names down and gave me directions to the place.

                After passing out tracts, we went with Pastor Bonilla to the town of El Paraiso (Paradise in spanish) to hear him preach.  On the way, the Pastor asked us if we wanted to go to Nicaragua because it was so close.  We said, "Sure!"  So, we went to the border and crossed over on foot.  It was beautiful with banana trees and palms everywhere.  And, the people were very friendly!  Afterwards, we went to the church in El Paraiso, and while there, Bro. Bonilla announced to the crowd that I was going to preach to them!  I was shocked!  I was completely unprepared.  But, I did the best I could, and I preached about The Blood!  It went well, and there were two people saved afterwards!  After the service though, I talked to a little 14 year old girl in the church there, and she told me that she was from a village about 20 miles away.  She said that she was the only person in her entire village that was saved.  That was sad!  I began praying about going there.  They need a missionary!

                That night we spent in a hotel.  It cost us 50 lempiras or less than $5 American dollars each.  We went to sleep tired but happy from a fruitful day.

 

 

August 5th 2000                Saturday                              Travel, Service, and Sorrow

 

                We arose at 5:30 A.M.   We left the hotel at 6:30 P.M.  While waiting to leave, I talked with the lady that owned the hotel (Daisy was her name).  She had a nice flower garden, and I was admiring it when she came up and spoke to me.  We talked a while about plants, and I learned that the name for Bouganvilla in spanish is "Napoleon."  That was interesting and good to know, because that's one of my most favorite plants!

                After leaving the hotel, we went to Pastor Pablo's house (whom I preached for the night before) for breakfast.  I think Honduras coffee is the best I've ever had!  It was wonderful.  After breakfast, we went to the other church in El Paraiso that is a missionary church from Bro. Bonilla's.  It sat up on a hill in the poorest part of town.  We passed out tracts there and looked around and then left.  Then we went to the town of Danli and passed out tracts.  They need a church there too!  I began praying about that place also.

                Next we journeyed to the city of Yuscaran.  I wanted to go there and see the sister of the lady in the school.  I knew her from Milton and she said she wanted me to visit her when I got there.  She was very nice, and we talked to her for about an hour.  Afterwards, we passed out tracts in the town of Yuscaran.  It was the most beautiful place I've ever seen.  The whole city was built on the side of a mountain, and surrounded by mountains on all sides.  And, it had a spring that ran down from the mountains to a fountain in the city square.  Pure clean, fresh water for anyone who wanted it!  It was a beautiful place, but it had no gospel witness.  All that was there was a Catholic church.  I had a great burden for that place and I began to pray and see if God wanted me to go there.

                After Yuscaran, we went back to Tegucigalpa and bought some things from the grocery store, (I bought some manzanilla tea.  I love that stuff!) and we passed out tracts.  Then we went back to Bro. Bonilla's house and ate some chicken.  That afternoon, we went and preached to about 15 or 16 kids at what they called the "Kid's club."  The Pastor and his family gathered a bunch of neighborhood kids together and preached the gospel to them.   They do that every week.  Then, that evening we went to a jovenes (teenager) meeitng at another local church there in Tegucigalpa.  It was a great service and an awesome sermon.  Afterward, I talked to the Pastor.  He said that he hadn't been Pastoring there very long, and that the Pastor before him had died of cancer at only 26 years old. I talked to the widowed wife and she told me what happened! How sad! Honduras needs more missionaries!

 

 

August 6th 2000                Sunday                                   Ups and Downs

 

                Today we arose at about 8:00 A.M.  We got ready and ate breakfast at 9:00 A.M.  Abe was sick though.  He had a stomach ache, and felt awful.  He even threw up before we left.  He went with us though and we picked up some folks for church.  The one man showed up that we in several nights before on visitation.  He told us he would come, but in America they always say that, but they never do. But, it was a blessing                 as we were surprised to see that he actually came.  He even took some of his hard earned money to take a taxi to the church!  I gave him a Bible and he was happy to get it.  He also enjoyed the preaching.  I hope he goes back to church again.  His name is Victor Manuel.

                Also at church, I had to give my testimony in spanish.  It went badly.  I wasn't that I couldn't speak spanish, it's just that I said something stupid.  I said I needed an esposo instead of an esposa. (I said I needed a husband instead of a wife.)  I was totally embarrased and caught myself afterwards.  But, it was too late, they were already laughing.   After that Bro. Charles preached in English.  He did pretty good and Bro. Bonilla translated into spanish.  One thing about Bro. Charles though, is that he is very offensive.  We haven't been getting along too well so far on the trip.  He continually is talking and when I try to say something, he cuts me off.  Also, he's kind of bossy.  I hope we can continue to get along, and I hope we don't get into an argument.  I've tried so far to avoid one.

                After church, we went out to eat at Pizza Hut.  It was the Pastor's wife's birthday.  We had a good time, but Abe didn't get to eat anything because he was so sick.  After that we went home and took a much needed Sunday afternoon nap!  Then we went to a different church that evening.  It was Iglesia Bautista de Gracia or in English Grace Baptist Church.   The Pastor's name was Arturo.  The church was located in the poorer side of town and was way up on a steep road.  We had trouble getting the car up the rocky, muddy road, especially since it was raining.   But, we made it and heard a good message.  After that we headed home and went to bed.

 

August 7th 2000                Monday                                  And on The Seventh Day....Rested

 

I was awakened at around 2:30 A.M. by the sound of Abraham vomiting in the bathroom.  He was sick as a dog and up vomiting for the rest of the night.  At 7:00 A.M., I finally got up and asked about our plans for the day.  Bro. Bonilla said we could have a day of rest today.  That was good because we were all tired, especially Abe!  So, we spent some time playing doctor to Abe, and then later that afternoon we ran several errands in town.  We also went to the Pastor's school and in town passed out a few tracts. 

We took advantage of what free time we had and spent it studying.  But, all day long I couldn't get those Indians out of my mind.  I spent part of the day looking at the map and trying to locate where they were.  They were in Colomoncagua in the state of Inticuba.  On the map is was very close to the border of El Salvador.  I prayed more and more about going to see them.  I also prayed about splitting up with Charles.  He was being a real pain, and all he does is complain.  Abe and I were about to go crazy!  But, up held our testimonies and were as nice to him as we could be.

 

 

August 8th 2000                Tuesday                 And on We Go to Comayagua

 

                We got up at 6:00 A.M. and began washing our clothes.  Between the three of us, we had a lot to wash, and it took us until 10:00 A.M. to get them done (their dryer took forever).  Abe was still sick, and we tried to let him rest a little more too before we had to go to our next stop.

                At 11:00 A.M. Bro. Bonilla took us to the American Embassy to meet Bro. Chester Sheren.  He is a missionary that Charles knew.  He was going to let us stay with him for a short time, and he said he'd try every way he could to help us in our endevours.    With Chester, we ran errands in Tegucigalpa all day and then we went to the park and handed out over 1000 tracts called "Mary's commands for Catholics."  It was a good tract, and told them how to get saved, and that Salvation was through Christ, not Mary!

                After that, we went with Chester to his home in Comayagua.  The trip was a tedious one, as we were riding in the back of his pickup.  We had to go over many mountains through the rain, and it was so cold up in the mountains.  We made it though and finally arrived after two or three hours and ate supper at his house and talked.  Chester is from the B.I.M.I. mission board, and has been in Honduras for over 22 years.  He seemed like a nice guy at first, but I noticed that he has a short temper and that he yells at his wife and daughter.  Also, earlier that day I discerned that he didn't have much love for the Honduran people.  He kept calling them a bunch of "gluesniffers" and "gangmembers." 

                That night we went with Chester to his church.  It was prayer night, and we had prayer and then returned to his house to sleep.  Abe was still sick.

 

 

August 9th 2000                Wednesday                          The Trip to Cane

               

                We awoke bright and early at 6:00 A.M. to find we had not water!  So, we read until 7:00 A.M. and then had breakfast.  After that, Bro. Chester and I went to get water.  Then, we returned after filling a 55 gallon drum to the brim.  We had to haul it in buckets after that from the truck to the house.  It was a lot of work. 

Later that day, we went to the village of Cane.  I've wanted to see it for some time, ever since a friend of mine told me that there was a Baptist church there that had been with out a Pastor for three years.  I wanted to know if this was where the Lord wanted me to come back to or not.  In Cane we passed out almost 1000 tracts (the town has only about 2000 people), and visited almost every house in the town!  Then we found the little church there and I asked if I could preach there.  Their eyes all got big and they said they'd love for me too!  But, when Chester found out he got mad!  He told me it was a Southern Baptist church and that I shouldn't preach there because I was an Independent Baptist.  He said it would be wrong to help build their church.  But, I just wanted an opportunity to preach the gospel to those folks!  After being jumped on by Charles and Chester, I bit my tongue and kept from arguing with them.  I asked around to see if there was a hotel, or somewhere where I could stay that night if I preached that evening.  No one knew of one.  So, to make a long story short, I didn't get to preach there.  I could have if Chester would have picked me up that evening, but he didn't want to cooperate.  His loss.  Maybe I'll get to go back there later and preach.

                After leaving Cane, Chester's car broke down on the side of the road and we had to wait three hours til he could get help.  After they fixed it, we were off again, and went to the town of Playacita.  There we visited an orphanage run by an old missionary family named The Smiths.  It was really neat, and the scenery was awesome! 

                After that we went back to Chester's house.  Finally the water was on, and we were able to take our first shower in over 21/2 days!  (Boy did I need it!)   That night before bed, I prayed about the village of Cane and asked God if that's were he wanted me to go.  There is a real need there for a gospel witness, and the people were hungry for preaching!

 

               

August 10th 2000                Thursday                              Trip to La Paz

 

                We arose at around 7:00 A.M. and took a cold shower (Chester did not have hot water).  Also, I was appalled to find how dirty of a house Chester lived in.  It was a pig sty!  Most Hondurans houses were cleaner than his!  But, I kept my mouth shut and did my best to survive.  After breakfast, we went to the city of La Paz to get Chester's car fixed.  We also passed out over 1000 tracts there too, but not without some dissention.   Charles got bossy again and tried to tell us what to do.  I just walked away and took off handing out tracts, and didn't look back.  Abe came with me too.  We got out tracts everywhere.  We even went into a hospital and passed out tracts. 

                After that we went to Bro. Chester's house and ate lunch.  Then we went to downtown Comayagua and passed out another 300 or 400 tracts.  We also bought ourselves some machete's and ordered two money belts so that we could hide our passports and money inside our pants.  Then that evening, we went to the church.  Bro. Smith preached a good message on what happens when a Christian sins.                  1.    They lose fellowship with God  (but not their salvation!)

2.        They contaminate God's temple (their bodies)

3.        They sin against a Holy God

 

After Service we picked up our moneybelts and then went back to Chester's to sleep.  That night Abe and I prayed about going to the Indians.  We wanted to get off by ourselves.  Chester and Charles were trying our patience.  They were calling us "preacher boys" and said we were only "missionary canidates."  Not to mention they were making fun of us because of where we went to Bible school.  Today Chester even  yelled at us for taking to long to get back to the car.  We were only about 5 minutes late.  It was a bad situation.  But, we were not only praying about going to the indians just to get away from them, but we also wanted to find God's will, and see if we could do something for God.  With Charles and Chester, we were hindered from doing what we desired to do.

So, we prayed, and then we Read acts chapter 16 about "The Macedonian call."  The Macedonians said to Paul, "Come over and help us!"  And, this is what those Lenca Indians had asked of me.  They wanted for someone to come to them and preach and teach and give them Bibles.   Well, while reading Acts 16, we had several words jump out.  They were, "immediately they endevourded to go."  So, we decided it was God's will for us to go to them and preach and give them all the bibles we had left.  There were about 15 whole bibles, and 80 New Testaments.  And, boy were they sure heavy to carry!

 

 

August 11th 2000                Friday                                    Stepping Out On Faith!

 

                We woke up at 4:30 A.M. and began our day.  It was a day of living by faith!  We started the day by shaving without a mirror (not by sight!)  Then we left at 5:30 A.M. to go to a place that we've never been, to see people that don't know we are coming, and not knowing whether or not there will be a place to stay when we get there.  Some might have said we were nuts traveling by ourselves in a dangerous county like that, but God provided and blessed us!  We got on the bus and tracted everyone as we went.  The bus left at 6:00 A.M. and arrived in Sigutepeque at about 6:50 A.M.  From there we caught an hour and a half busride to La Esperanza.  There we handed out about 200 tracts.  We ate there also.  But, we both noticed the spiritual oppression there.  They weren't very open or excited about taking tracts.  If anything they were very passive (and some were downright rude!) 

                At 11:00 A.M. we left for Colomoncagua.  The bus ride took a full 5 hours!  It was a long trip!  We went through many mountains on steep gravel roads with hairpin turns.  But, eventually we made it to Colomoncagua.  There we passed out about 50-100 tracts and asked about Santa Domingo where the head Lenca indian that we met was from.  They told us it was over 2 hours away by foot over the mountains, and that the best thing to do was to wait until Sunday, and then all of the Indians would come down for the day to trade goods.  We didn't really want to stay that long, cause our time was precious.  But, we decided we came all this way, if we have to wait, we would.  While walking around the town and passing out tracts, we found one lady who asked us for a bible.  We said we could get her one, and she said, "Okay, where is it?"  I said I'd get it in a minute.  She said, "Now!" So we had to go and get it for her.  She had a big smile on her face too when we gave it to her. And she was very thankful!  Then her grandaughter came out and said, "Wow, a bible!!!"  She was really excited!

                Later we found a place to stay and that night I gave away 2 Bibles and 3 New Testaments at the dinner table.  After witnessing to them, they told me that was the 1st time they had ever heard the gospel!

 

                *Reflexion           Today when we came into Colmoncagua, I met three American Peace Corp volunteers.  They've been there for almost a year, and they'll be there for one more.  Then I remembered when we came into this town, and every other town in Honduras, we saw the Catholic whore church sitting tall in her glory in the center of the town.  She says, "I sit a queen, and am no widow" (Revelation. 18:7).  She sits there with no opposition and deceives and damns thousands with her false religious heresies!

                And, when Abraham's plane flew in on August the 1st, it was full of Mormons.  There must have been 30-40 Mormons that got off in Tegucigalpa.  And, they were greeted by their fellow Mormons at the airport.  If that wasn't bad enough, there were Jehovah Witnesses and Charasmatic churches everywhere.

                What I'm trying to say is that they all got here first.  Satan brought the false religions and liars to Honduras by the thousands!  But, where are the true Bible Believers?  Where is the truth?  Honduras needs more missionaries that will preach the gospel and teach the truth!  Honduras needs to break free from the lies it's been given by wicked men!  God please send more Bible Believing, Independent, Fundamental, gospel preaching Baptist missionaries to Honduras!!!

 

 

August 12th 2000                Saturday                              Surprise in Colomoncauga

 

                Today was a real surprise!  We woke up at around 7:30 A.M.  We planned on passing out tracts all day.  But, when we sat down for breakfast, we met one of the guys we saw in Tegucigalpa.  There he was just sitting at the breakfast table. (How's that for convience?)  He was the one that we didn't get to give the Bible to, and there he was just sitting at the breakfast table.  So, we gave him a bible and when he got it, he hugged it!  He was so happy!  Then came in Jose Oscar Vijil Ramos whom we met in Tegucigalpa.  We were surprised to see him!  He told us to eat breakfast first, and then to go with him.  But he didn't tell us where.  So we ate breakfast, and then asked where he wanted us to go.  He said all the heads of all the aldeas (little towns) around the city were meeting today and he wanted us to go and talk to them.  When we came in the the little office where they were meeting, they were all sitting around and waiting for us!  Then, they sat us down in front of all of them.  They introduced themselves and told us that they were meeting to try to decide on projects that would make their community a better place.  They talked a little while longer, and then I asked them if they had Bibles.  They said no, so I gave them all the Bibles I had, and we had two left over.  Then, I preached the gospel to them, and they said it was the first time they'd ever heard it!  And, they all professed to have trusted Christ right then and there!  All eleven of them!  Then we talked and they said they wanted me to come back and preach to them and work with them!  What an open door!!!

                Then, we left them 70 New Testaments (all we had) and they said they'd distribute them next week at their next meeting.  They said more people would be coming from different aldeas, and they would give them to them.

                After leaving there we walked around the small town of Colomoncagua and gave out tracts to just about every house (About 200).  After that we talked to the Indian chiefs again and they told me of their needs.  They wanted:  more bibles, a guitar, a computer and printer, and for me to come and teach their children English.

                After that we took a hike to the top of a little mountain that they called Picachito.  From there, we could see El Salvador!  And, on the top of the huge mountain was the capital of El Salvador named San Salvador.

                After hiking back, we went to our rooms and got some rest, and prepared to leave tomorrow on the 3:00 A.M. morning bus.  

August 13th 2000                Sunday                                   13 Hours on a Bus!!!

 

                We left a little bit after 3:00 A.M. on a bus bound for La Esperanza.  It cost 35.00 lempiras (cheap!)   We arrived there at about 8:00 A.M., and then caught a bus to San Pedro Sula for 55.00 lempiras.  We arrive in San Pedro Sula at about 1:00 P.M., and then jumped on another bus to San Jose.  This one cost only 50.00 lempiras (a little less than four American dollars).  We arrive at San Jose where Bro. Ronnie Doss has his orphanage at about 3:30 or 4:00 P.M.  The bus dumped us off on the side of the road, and we walked about 10 minutes on the road to San Jose following the instructions I had scribbled on a piece of paper given me from the missionary.  Then we found a foot bridge that was suspended over a river.  We crossed it and walked down a long muddy road and eventually found the missionary, Bro. Ronnie Doss.  He received us with open arms and we had good fellowship.  He was a Pastor in Eufala, Alabama before he came to Honduras as a missionary about 10 years ago.  Since then, he has started about 7 churches, as well as a Bible Institute and an orphanage.  He has about 16 students in the Bible Institute and 130 in the orphanage (both boys and girls).  They are the sweetest kids.  They loved me and wouldn't leave me alone.  Plus, they'd come up to you and hug you, and tell you they liked you.  It made you want to stay in Honduras and never leave!

                After dinner with the missionary, we went to the church and heard Brother Doss preach.  He did great!  He's a Southerner from Tennessee and he speaks really slow and with a Southern accent.  And, when he speaks Spanish, his accent really comes out!  It's funny to hear someone speak Spanish with a Southern accent!  But, he did well, and they understood him.  Then, while he was really preaching, I mean really preaching, a storm came in and it began to rain and thunder.  And, there was lighting too!  And, right when he was going good; the lights went out.  So, we sat and listened to him preach in the dark for about 20 minutes.  Then, when he was ready to give the invitation, the lights came back on.  Perfect timing!!!

 

 

August 14th 2000                Monday                                  Working and Learning are Fun!!!

 

                Today we awoke at about 6:30 A.M. and ate breakfast at 7:30 A.M.  At 8:00 A.M. we went to the Bible Institute.  It is from 8 – 12 A.M. every day except Tuesday and Sunday.  And, there are four classes, each one hour long.  So we listened and I tried to learn how they ran the institute so if I ever start one, maybe I could pattern it after theirs.  They had 4 different teachers and Bro. Ronnie taught the first class.  The classes were 1.  A study in the book of James,  2.  A study in the book of Galatians,  3.  A study verse by verse in the book of Genesis, and 4.  The study of things that happen in the last days. 

                I enjoyed listening and learning and seeing how they do things.  I really enjoyed seeing them take an exam. It was a written test.  The students had to write 4 or 5 verses from the bible by hand that they had memorized.  It was good to see them memorizing scriptures!

                After one of the best lunches we've had the whole trip at Bro. Doss's  house, we went with him to the river to work.  We spent the rest of the day hauling dirt.  It was a blast.  We parked the truck in the river in a shallow part and began shoveling.  They use the dirt and pebbles to make concrete and concrete blocks.  Bro. Doss worked with us all day too, and we learned a lot from him.  He has a lot of wisdom!  After hauling three loads of dirt, we went back to the house and watched a soccer game.  The churches Bro. Doss started have soccer teams and they all play each other.  Bro. Doss's church won 3 to 2.  It was fun to watch them play.  They were good!  And, they were really battling it out!  After dinner, we talked a while and then made plans for tomorrow.  After that, we hit the sack!

 

 

August 15th 2000                Tuesday                 A Trip to the Copan Ruins!

 

                Today we took the 7:00 A.M. bus to see the Copan Ruins.  (They are ancient Mayan Indian Ruins).  They were beautiful!  Our tour guide was named John, and he was of Mayan descent.  He did a wonderful job of telling us about the history and facts of the Mayans.  The Mayans were very intelligent people, and  I could tell they had a lot of demonic influence by what he was saying.  For example, their main God had the number 13 attached to it.  Also, their 13th King was the most wicked and most used by the devil to kill people.  He told us 13 was the sacred Mayan Indian number.  Also, the Sun god (not the son of God) had the number 6 connected with it and it was a flying serpent (sounds like Lucifer to me!)  But the most amazing thing was a big stone that they had carved.  It had four different faces around it on all four sides.  And, the guide said the Archeologists couldn't figure out what it represented.  But I could tell instantly, because I've read my bible!  On the four sides it had the face of a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle just like the bible describes the cheribums in Ezekiel and Revelation!  And Lucifer was the 5th Cherub!  And, there were many more things like that that I could tell were all taught to the Mayans by Satan himself.

                After touring the Ruins, we went and ate at the cafeteria and then walked around some more.  Then, we caught the last bus and went to the city of La Entrada de Copan (The entrance to Copan).  There we had to wait over an hour for the bus because it was running late.  While waiting, Abe went and handed out tracts and accidently found the local whore house!  The door was open, so he went in and handed out tracts anyway.  Boy was he embarrassed when he came out and it dawned on him what that place was!

                Then our bus finally came, and we made our way back to San Jose.  From there we walked  ten minutes in the dark to Bro. Doss' house.  It was very dark and we were praying that we wouldn't get robbed.  And, thank God we didn't.  But, we did get scared by a gun shot not far from us.  And, we took off running to Bro. Doss' after that!

 

 

August 16th 2000 Wednesday                           Our Trip to Florida and Back

 

                We were exhausted from our trip yesterday and slept in a little bit.  So much so that we missed breakfast.  That was okay though because we weren't that hungry.  At 8:00 A.M. we attended one class at the Bible Institute.  Then after class we went with Bro. Doss into town.  He had to take about 25-30 kids to the dentist.  While at the dentist, he told us we could go pass out tracts, which we did.  We got out about 200 there in the town of Florida.  We passed them out in the local Pool Hall, where there were some rough looking characters.  We also distributed them in the Park, and in many different stores.  We even walked into a cigar making factory where about 40 women were working and gave a tract to each one of them.  It smelled to high heaven like tobacco though!

                After leaving Florida, we went back to Bro. Doss' and ate.  Then we went with him to the local blacksmith shop and had them fix and sharpen some hoes.  While in that town we walked around and passed out tracts.  It was one of the poorest towns I've seen in Honduras, with one of the poorest families I've ever seen.  Then we went back to Bro. Doss' and he asked me to preach in one of his churches up on the mountain.  And, he asked Bro. Abe to preach the Wednesday night service in his church that evening, and he'd interpret.  So, I preached at Grace Baptist Church in Spanish for the Pastor (named Uriel) and Abe preached at Bro. Doss' church and afterwards a 16 year old boy accepted the Lord as his Saviour!  This was after the morning service when I preached and we had a muchacho named Luis get saved!  All and all it was a good day with 2 saved!!!

                After preaching, Pastor Uriel took me down the mountain on a motorcycle and I waited for Bro. Doss.  After talking to him quite a while that night, we all went to bed.

 

 

August 17th 2000                Thursday                              Making our Way Back to Comayagua

 

                We awoke at 5:45 A.M, then again at 5:50 A.M, and then again at 6:10 A.M.  It was really hard to get up.  We were exhausted!  But, when we finally did get up, we were off.  After saying goodbye to Bro. Doss, we took off on the 8:00 A.M. bus.  At about 1:30 P.M. we arrived at Siguatepeque.   There we shopped a little bit for souvenirs and I bought two shirts.  Then we ate at a comedor.   It was great food!  We feasted on black beans, rice, butter, tortillas, fried bananas, and chicken!  Me gusta mucho (I liked it a lot!)  After stuffing ourselves, we took the 3:00 P.M. bus to Comayagua.  We arrived at Comayagua at about 3:45 P.M, and then walked 22 minutes to the missionary, Chester Sheren's house.  We were greeted friendly and told them how good God had been to us and they were greatly surprised.  It was good to tell them what had happened, because they were so mean to us when we left.

                After a very light supper (cause we were still full) we went to Bro. Chester's church and heard Bro. Charles Brower preach in Spanish.  He did well.  Then we came back to Chester's house, and went to bed after making plans for tomorrow.  We (or I should say Charles) want to pass out the last of our tracts at several different schools.

 

 

 

August 18th 2000 Friday                                    A Day in Pain!

 

                Today I awoke with a terrible pain in my stomach.  After about an hour on the stool with Montazuma's revenge, and throwing up three times, I felt a little better.  Then after a cold shower, I ate breakfast.  I only ate a few potatoes and then went to bed for a little while.  I finally awoke at 11:00 A.M and then decided I'd go to town with them to pass out tracts.  I handed out about 200, but I was as weak as I could be.  After doing a little souvenir shopping, I took a taxi back to Chester's and left Abe and Charles to pass out more tracts.  They got out about 500.

                At Chester's I slept for several hours and sweated profusely.  I think my fever broke after that and I was able to eat a few potatoes for dinner and keep them down.  Also I took what they call Suerro.  It's a liquid I.V. that you take orally.  It's also called "Oralelectrocil."  It contains Magnesium, Potassium, Sodium,and Calcium.  Plus, it has Dextorse Monohydrate (whatever that is!)   It really tastes good and it works great too!  It makes you feel like a Million Dollars!  The closest thing to it in America is probably Pedialyte.  The good thing about Suerro is that it only costs 18 lempiras or about $1.20 American.  That's for 145 ml or close to 16 ounces.

               

                P.S.  Also today, I got to give a nun a tract!  It was "Are Roman Catholics Christians?"  She took it and then gave me the most sinister grin I've ever seen.  I hope she reads it and gets saved!

 

 

August 19th 2000                Saturday                              Reunited With Bro. Bonilla

 

                Today I awoke at 6:15 A.M. feeling a lot better!  After a shower and a shave, I ate breakfast.  Then we went into Comayagua to buy a few souvenirs.  I didn't find any, but I did find two nice Oscar de la Renta long sleeve shirts.  They cost $150 lempiras each or about $15 American dollars.

Then at about 10:00 A.M we left on a bus to Tegucigalpa.  We arrived there about 3 hours later and tried to call Bro. Bonilla.  But, he wasn't home.  So we got a taxi instead and went downtown to buy souvenirs.  I ended up spending over $100 American dollars on souvenirs.  Then we went back to the bus station to get our bags.  After waiting two hours and trying to get a hold of Bro. Bonilla by phone, we finally decided to take a taxi to his house.  So we paid 50 lempiras and went to Bro. Bonilla's.  Of course he wasn't home though, and we ended up waiting 2 more hours for him to show up.  He finally arrived at about 6:00 P.M. and let us in.

                After fellowshipping and eating a good dinner, I hit the sack.  I still was a little weak and sick, but at least I wasn't puking!

               

                P.S.  We got out about 500 tracts today.

 

 

August 20th 2000                Sunday                                   Going Home

 

                Today was the last day in Honduras.  I didn't want to leave!  But, I knew I must go back to America.  So, I awoke at about 6:30 A.M., and took a nice hot shower (the first one in over a week!)  After that, I changed into my last change of clean clothes and finished packing.  After reading my Bible and eating breakfast, I left with Abe and Charles for the airport.  Bro. Bonilla took us by the church first at 9:30 A.M and there he dropped off his wife and kids.  After that we went to the airport and checked in our bags.  Bro. Bonilla stayed to make sure everything was okay.  Before we could leave, we had to pay what they called "an exit fee" of $25 American dollars.  After paying that, I gave all the money I had to Bro. Bonilla.  I figured he needed it more than I did!  After that we said our goodbyes and let Bro. Bonilla go to church so that he could preach!

                After he left, we went to look for more souvenirs, and I spent $43 American dollars on souvenirs, which I paid for on my credit card.  I bought a beautiful fish shaped cane, and several other trinkets.  Also at the airport, we were able to get out the last of our tracts!!!  We passed out about 200 and that brought to a total of almost 30,000 tracts that we passed out in Honduras!!! That was a blessing.

Then at 12:20 P.M., Charles and I left on Continental Airlines for Houston, Texas.  We had to say goodbye to Abe because he had to wait for his 1:15 P.M flight to Miami on American Airlines.  Our flight was over 3 hours and we made it safely to Houston.  There we went through Customs and glory to God had no problems whatsoever!  After about a five hour layover in Houston, we left on the 9:15 P.M. flight to Pensacola.  Finally we arrived there at 11:15 P.M., and Jim Sims was there to pick us up at the airport.  It was good to get home, but I still miss Honduras.  It wasn't a long enough trip!  It was just long enough to make me want to go back and stay.  I miss it already! 

               

 

Epilogue:

 

                The trip to Honduras was a good one.  God really blessed and took care of us.  He also taught me grace and patience while dealing with Charles.  But, most importantly, God showed me where he wants me to return in Honduras when I finish deputation.  It's the town of Colomoncauga.  And, I'll be happy to go there and work with those Indians.  The sooner the better!

 

                               

 

 

                                THE END