On Tuesday morning, we departed
the home of Erasmo and Nora Ramirez at 6:00AM and drove for the entire day,
arriving in La Ceiba after passing through El Progresso and San Pedro Sula and
along the northern coast of Honduras to the city of La Ceiba. We arrived
at approximately 6:00PM. La Ceiba is located on the Caribbean
coast. We stayed at an old Hotel called the Art Deco Motel of La Ceiba
for two nights. In its day, it was probably a grand old hotel, but it has
seen better days although it looked like someone was trying to bring it back,
but the prices were right and the accommodations, although not exceptional, were
okay. We walked out on a pier, ate a late supper and went to bed
exhausted!
Today,
Wednesday, March 7, we departed our hotel and went to see the Prison at La
Ceiba, it was within a short walk from the hotel and in fact was right on
the beach itself. Like most of the visits this week, it was all new
territory for us, and part of the program that began just four months ago when
Pastor Francisco joined our team at the coaching training we gave on our last
visit in November of 2017. La Ceiba was a developing program.
There, the inside leadership has begun the Train and Multiply Program and there
are approximately 25 inmates that are enrolled in the program who will graduate
in approximately 6-8 weeks. There was a great deal of enthusiasm and
wonderful music before some encouragement from Herasmo, Pastor Francisco, and
they even asked me to say a few words to the group. There was probably a
gathering of 45-50 men plus the six of us, in a room not much more than 15x25,
we were all crowded, but we were all there to give thanks to God and to praise
Jesus as we learned what it means to live for him and serve him.
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On
Thursday morning March 8, we checked out of our hotel and arrived at the
prison of El Provenir just outside of La Ceiba by about 9:30AM. Unlike
many of the other prisons, this was in a rural setting in the woods. We drove
off the main road approximately three miles on an almost impassably rocky road, past field after field of Pineapples. Once we knew what we were looking
at, we discovered that much of this region is pineapple producing country.
When we
arrived at the prison, we were greeted by inmate leaders and were taken to the
chapel. The Chapel here was called “Christ Who Breaks the Chains Chapel”
a very fitting name for those in prison. We all had an opportunity to
address the “congregation” and speak a few words of encouragement to them
regarding their situation and their salvation. This was a smaller prison,
and we had only forty or fifty people in the meeting, but they were
enthusiastic and every one of them is enrolled in the sequence training which
includes The Prisoner’s Journey (in Spanish is La Peregrinacion de los
Prisoneres, or LPJ) This Prison Fellowship program brings unbelieving
prisoners into the church or chapel and lasts approximately 6-8 weeks after
which, they are invited to continue with the OMS program, Train & Multiply.
The T&M Program takes new believers from their expression of faith to a
growing, following and serving relationship with Jesus.
After an
additional drive of approximately three hours, we checked in at our hotel and
went to the prison of Tela.
