What are you doing this week in Greenwood, Indiana Gary and Diane?

DIANE

This week, April 26 to May 2, Gary and I will be in Indiana at One Mission Society headquarters for a Church Multiplication Facilitator conference. This may sound very dull and boring but it will be anything but that! If it were just ordinary business meetings, I would not be looking forward to it at all! There will be meetings, but they will all be biblical and prayer centered. 

That was the thing that impressed me the most the first time we visited headquarters. This organization is Christ-centered and runs on prayer. The people who work at headquarters are just regular people like you and me - those who love the Lord and want to serve Him with their lives. Before our first visit, I had no contact with them. Gary had spoken on the phone at length to Becca from recruitment. So he had some idea of the heart of this organization. BUT I still had some reservations! So we went just to get to know this organization and its people. 

Located in Greenwood, Indiana, OMS is a large campus in the middle of town. There are many buildings for administration plus housing for people who live on campus. And also homes and apartments to house us for special weeks like the conference we will attend. They make these rooms available to us for a minimal cost. As soon as we entered the headquarters building with its many flags flying out front, representing all the countries that OMS had missionaries working full time, I felt the love of Christ present. Everyone was so friendly and obviously loved their job. As I said before, just ordinary people who love serving the Lord. I knew right then that The Lord had directed us to the right place. We really did no real investigation of agencies. This was truly Gods hand in our lives leading us to them.

So this week we will be doing some training. reviewing Train and Multiply and coaching. But all sessions begin with Bible Study and prayer. So we are refreshed and renewed spiritually during this time. We also get to connect with other CMF 's, people who are doing what we do in other countries. We have fun with skits and other things and are better equipped to do the job that God has called us to do for Him. This is why I am looking forward to this week. It is such a blessing to be a part of this organization.

When we were confirmed to be a part of OMS both Gary and I said we did not feel equipped for this job. When we said that, Paul Cox said, "We at OMS like to say: God does not call the equipped, He equips the called." This week is a part of that equipping process. We are excited to be a part of it. And we know beyond a doubt that we are called!

GARY

As with any enterprise, there is much time required to prepare, plan and train in order to be able to do your best job.  When all the dust settles, of course it is God who makes things happen, but we need to be as prepared as we can so that as His tools we are not hindering or slowing the work..

Next week, we have our annual Church Multiplication Facilitator's Seminar in Greenwood, Indiana, just outside of Indianapolis.  Diane and I will be spending classroom time from 8:00 AM to 5:00PM Monday through noon on Friday, working with the material we routinely use in the activity with which we are involved in Honduras.  We will review the existing material, we will be introduced to new material and hear about uniquely effective methods that have been used with the material.  In addition to the training itself, we will be hearing from each of the CMFs who are working  in countries from around the world.  My roster of attendees indicates that we will have people from every continent except Antarctica who are performing activities just like we are to spread the Gospel, develop strong groups of believers and who will start new churches in the areas and the environments in which they find themselves.

While we are all in these meetings, there is a prayer team of volunteers from OMS that will be praying for all of us, and with each of us at appointed times throughout the week.  They will pray for those specific areas , people and situations that we are encountering in our work in the individual countries, and also for personal and family issues that may be pressuring each of us.  We would ask that as you are able, you will continue to pray for Diane and I , but also for all the OMS volunteers that are able to attend the seminar this year, and for the work of One Mission Society in sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. Diane and I both feel so comforted and inspired by the prayer that is being offered up for us and for the volunteers that are doing the majority of the work in working in the prisons in Honduras.

From Friday Noon until Saturday Afternoon, May 2, we will be attending a training seminar on coaching of the volunteers.  This is good reinforcement of the skills that I used during my working career as a sales manager as well as my selling skills.  While I enjoyed my career selling chemicals, it is great to be selling a much better product now with eternal guarantees!

Our current plans for this summer include a trip to the Dominican Republic to attend the ECC Latin America Regional Coordinator's Conference at Pico Escondido, a Young Life Camp in the interior of the Dominican Republic about 90 miles from Santiago. The purpose of this conference is to encourage the Regional co-ordinator's from each of our partners in Latin America to continue developing and establishing their own independence and support mechanism following up on the ideas and concepts that were introduced at the VAN (Value Added Networking) Conference held in Indiana last summer.  This trip will be approximately 10 days and we will be leaving for the Dominican on Monday, May 11.

"Aren't you afraid?"

Hello family and friends - Gary here.

People often ask us, "Aren't you afraid?"  I am apt to reply, not without thinking, but genuinely comforted by the fact that we are only in the prisons because that is where God has almost irresistibly directed us. I answer, "No" and I feel that way while doing prison ministry both here in Ohio when we are home and while we are in Latin America. 

That said, we are not unaware of the possibility of dangers in the Latin American prisons.  You might have seen a recent post here about the Women Prison in Tamara, Honduras that we visited during our February/March trip.  Just up the street from that prison is the National Penitentiary for Men in Tamara. There was a report of trouble  reported by Catherine Shoichet at CNN in August of 2013. 

"After 15 people were injured and three people were killed after clashes at a National Penitentiary prison in Tamara, Honduras, on Saturday.  Honduras' president said he was sending in troops to take over.  In a written statement, his office said that the government has taken steps to disarm prisoners and instituted other security measures at prisons nationwide.  But they haven't been able to stop the "criminal reign" within prisons," the statement said.

At another prison in San Pedro Sula, it is reported, "Internal control of the prisons has been ceded into the hands of the prisoners themselves" per the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. They claim that the situation has spread through all 24 of the nation's prisons to one degree or another and is one of the most serious problems the country faces.

So..... there are dangers, but our local volunteers are aware of the problems, and had been able to resolve the issue by selecting those prisons where the harvest is ripe and those incarcerated are seeking.  We have not been in either of the two prison mentioned, but we have been at the National  Women's Prison in Tamara.

One of our second tier volunteer leaders and his wife  have experienced a problem in one of the prisons about an hour and a half from Tegucigalpa  where he and his wife were threatened with harm by an inmate if they didn't start bringing him in money for admission to the prison.  Operations at that prison have temporarily been suspended until the issue is resolved.  God will prevail and we must wait upon his timing. 

At the recent KAIROS event at Trumbull Correctional in Warren, OH, I spoke on Christian Action. One of my main points was that no matter what you do, the safest and best place to be is "smack dab in the middle of God's will for your life."  Diane and I think maybe we have identified that place and that is why we do what we do.  I acknowledge that four years ago, I would have thought that anyone that did this was insane, but that transformation is yet another sign of who is in control.

Blessings,

Gary

Baptism - Our Special Surprise!

Hi there blog world!  Diane here.

I wanted to share a little bit about how being there for the baptisms of the persons of peace touched us. We knew nothing about it ahead of time, which seems to be the norm when we are there! We arrived on Friday and immediately went to the women's prison - quite a long day! Saturday we were told that during church on Sunday there would be baptisms. We were trying to figure out how they would do that in the church in downtown Honduras! Little did we know that it would be in Nora and Herasmo's house! They had bought a softside pool and it was set up on the patio next to the house! There was a beautiful church service beforehand, right in the living room. Then the baptisms! The age range was from  about 12 to about 70. It was so very moving and we were honored to be a part of it. Before the baptisms, each person stood in front of the congregation and gave their testimony! So moving! You could just feel the Lord's presence there that day.

Then in typical Latin American fashion, there was a meal afterward! Nora and Herasmo had ordered food and catering dishes and the whole works! There were even balloons for decoration. We were able to help in that a little bit the night before with Pastora Dollys. Everyone ate and fellowshipped and had a wonderful time! They even allowed me to help in serving the food with Luz as the guests formed the food line. I felt honored to be able to help, since they usually will not let us even carry our plates to the sink! This was a huge undertaking, for Nora especially, so she could not do it all! 

It was an amazing time of faith and fellowship. 

Then the next week we visited the home of one of these persons of peace where they all meet every week. They are going through the lessons of the Train and Multiply program. After prayer and the lessons, Pastora Dollys recorded each of their testimonies. Even though my Spanish is not good, I was so moving to see what the Lord  is doing in each of their lives. 

So if you are wondering if the Lord is answering your prayers for this ministry in Honduras, the answer is YES He is! We feel so grateful and humble to be a part of His work there. Thank you all for your prayers and support. That is what makes it all possible. 

In His service,

Diane:)

Gary on Kairos

Some of you may not be familiar with the prison work that Diane are involved with here in the US with a program called KAIROS International.

Twice a year, 40-50 volunteers go into a local prison, in our case to Trumbull Correctional Institution - a medium to high security facility in Warren, OH.  At that facility there are usually between 1500 and 2500 inmates serving time for a variety of crimes up to and including rape and murder. 

Most of these individuals have some sort of background in their families with regard to faith, but the vast majority of them have rejected or drifted as far from a relationship with God as is possible. 

The KAIROS program leads approximately 36 inmates through a series of talks, interaction with one another and introspection to recognize the Love of God and the work of Jesus - to offer them an alternative to the condemnation that they experience each day. 

We introduce them to the concepts of sin, condemnation, repentance and forgiveness .  They are able, sometimes for the first time, to experience forgiveness, both given and received and it makes a significant impact. 

It is a very moving experience as you see 36 convicted felons come to a realization that they can't make it on their own, that they need God and community to carry on their life, and most importantly that they need Jesus Christ. 

They arrive hard, frowning, proud and antagonistic and by the end of the four days, only 36 hours, many have been brought to tears, have forgiven family members, friends, police officers, judges and recognize their own responsibility, having turned to Jesus.  They are encouraged to participate in an ongoing Prayer and Share experience every Thursday night where a few of us volunteers go into the prison and continue the process. They are further encouraged to build a community of believers to help support one another.  All of this to reinforce and help establish them in their new relationship with Jesus. 

At the last event in March, Diane served on the kitchen team where we provide them with home cooked meals for the four days of the event along with all the cookies they could want  

We had a total of 28 of the inmates step up to the "open mike" at the closing ceremony and explain what the program had meant to them.  They explained briefly their history with regard to faith and how the program had brought them back to Christ.

This is a continuing and regular part of our call to serve, even while we are at home in the United States.

"     I was in prison and you visited me."   Matthew 25:36

Gary shares a story of victory in Christ through a changed heart!

This celebratory story appeared in the March 18,2015 Prison Fellowship Prayer Letter from OMS's Every Community for Christ and tells an exciting story of a softened heart.

Gary shared a wondered story of God answering prayer while they were in Honduras. “A chaplain in a woman’s prison received us on our first visit with a great deal of hostility and anger. She repeatedly said, “Palabara, Palabara, Palagara, pero no accion, ” which translates “All talk and no action.” She viewed our Train & Multiply as just another case of people coming into the prison, preaching, leaving with no involvement and no continuing commitment. She agreed to allow us to come five days later, but without any enthusiasm or support. We left a little discouraged, but we all committed to pray about her attitude.

When we returned and began teaching the first lesson from Train & multiply, the story of Noah and the Flood, she and the others in the room were attentive, involved , asking questions, and very positive about the material. When asked at the end of the class how they liked it, the others all answered positively and were excited to continue to study. Then we asked the chaplain, her opinion. Almost in tears, she apologized. She had only recently received her “certification” as a chaplain while she was serving time as an inmate in the prison and was now continuing her time required in prison and serving as a chaplain there. She said she knew well that she had much to learn about the Bible and a relationship with Jesus. She said she had been praying for something that would help her learn more about the Bible and would help her to be a better Chaplain, teacher and counselor. She said she could see that the Train & Multiply Program was an answer to her prayer. We recognized that her change in attitude was an answer to our prayers as well. That was the first lesson for the first time in that prison, and we are looking forward to the program expanding rapidly in the prison.”

Aren’t you glad you prayed for Gary and Diane and for their trip to Honduras?

Continue to pray for that prison, and the other prisons in Honduras  where Train & Multiply is being used to share the Gospel of Jesus.

Pray for the Chaplain as she serves the Lord with a glad heart. Pray the Lord gives her the desire of her heart to learn more of the Bible and to be a better Chaplain.

Pray for the prisoners in that prison to come into a relationship with Jesus and experience the love of Jesus.

Pray for Gary and Diane as they serve the Lord with Prison Fellowship in Colombia and in Honduras.