GOD AT WORK

Following are some of the encouraging and even miraculous stories related to us during our visit.  They are clear evidence demonstrating just how powerful the love of our Savior truly is!!

1)  Liliam, one of the volunteers we have helped train in Tegucigalpa, told us about a man in her community who had an alcohol problem.  She invited him to join the Bible study that she was starting and she was surprised when he accepted and started showing up each week.  She said he was participating and was clearly studying and reading scripture through the week.  After the second week, his wife and one of his teenage daughters began attending because of the change they saw in his behavior.  The following week the man's other daughter started attending because her sister told her about it.  Now each week, the entire family is actively participating in the Bible Study.

2)  Anabella said that several weeks after she began presenting the program in the prison, she was told of an incident where several of the student inmates were together studying. An individual that was not in the study barged into the room and said that he had some kind of a problem with one of the other inmates in the class.  He had somehow managed to acquire a gun inside the prison.  He had walked into the chapel challenged the individual and walked right up to him and fired the gun into the man's chest.  The gun misfired! Apparently every man in  the group agreed this was a sign from God that the study of God's word was what had protected them.  Word of this incident had reached the street and people outside were interested in the Bible Study as a result. Someone indicated that the perpetrator was also shocked by the misfire and, while he is still in solitary confinement, he has communicated his desire to study with them when he gets released back into the general population.

3)  Erasmo related that there is a gentleman that he sees frequently - at least once a week - in a group of men that get together  The fellow is a professed atheist and is generally very negative about any theological discussions.  Erasmo has begun using the Train and Multiply Booklets and the group of men have been using them for a portion of their "get togethers."  He said that it has been interesting to see the "athiest" start by challenging what they were talking about and move to listening quietly.  Now he is asking and inquiring about the subject mater.  Erasmo said that the man is still reluctant to surrender his position as an athiest, but that he is there listening, questioning and participating in the discussions and that is a far cry from where he was just three months ago!

GOD IS AT WORK!!  We hope to share more and more stories like this with each visit!

Honduras Revisited With Gary

Our trip to Honduras this month exceeded our expectations in many ways.  

Just since the initial introduction of the train and Multiply Program, Lilliam, at the prison in El Progresso, has seen God at work through the enrollment of four plus leaders, and attendance of fifty to sixty students at the Bible Study based on the program. 

Every inmate in Room is attending the Bible Studies started at El Progreso since June 2014

Two of the leaders got before the group and expressed gratitude to the volunteer team indicating for the first time ever, they are really learning about God, His Plan and are coming to know not just more about Jesus, but really coming to know Jesus. 

Four inmates that lead Bible Studies - Hijos de Paz

They said in the past, people would come in and hold services with and for them, then they would leave and they wouldn't hear from them again. But with the Train and Multiply Program, there is repeated and supportive involvement from the volunteers with the inmates.  They are involved and genuinely committed to the program.

The growth that has already been achieved by the local Honduran team under the guidance of Herasmo Ramirez is so very encouraging.  Herasmo and the others on the team and the inmates themselves expressed their gratitude for us coming to Honduras. We told them we had done very little other than to follow where God sent us and that the achievements were the results of their own commitment to Jesus and His Great Commission.

Herasmo and his parents explained that they were grateful that we were offering continued support and the material.  They told us that after doing prison ministry for over thirty years that for the first time ever, they had a working plan on how to spread the Gospel in the prisons of Honduras.

We are so humbled by what God is doing here and are so grateful that by simply responding positively to His direction that He is achieving such encouraging results. 

Nora Reyes Ramirez and Diane praying with an inmate

The team in Honduras is excited, motivated and anxious to keep the momentum.  While the effects are intentionally focused toward the prisons, the program is also working in neighborhoods where Bible Studies are being initiated by team members.

Me talking to inmate and volunteer following service

Next post I will share some of the stories shared with us that have encouraged us greatly in the work being done in Honduras.  Stay tuned!  

Diane Reflects on Honduras

It is really hard to look back on our recent week in Honduras and summarize it. But I will give it a try!

Gary and I are so blessed to have a small part in what the Lord is doing in Honduras. When we are there, they constantly thank us. We do not feel there is anything to thank us for! We simply said yes to the Lord when He called us to go and serve Him. Then He took it from there. He knew there was going to be a spiritual awakening in Honduras, and specifically the prisons, and we are just a very small part of that taking place. 

We have made many wonderful friends in these last two trips. We look forward to our next trip in February when we can see them again. But that is just part of our joy.

The most exciting part of the trip was witnessing first hand what the Lord, through His persons of peace (the OMS program title for trainers in the Bible) has been doing in the prisons there. Many men and women are coming to saving Faith in Jesus Christ and then learning from the Bible. They are growing in their faith through studying the Word of God in the booklets provided from the program. In both prisons, there was so much excitement about their new faith. It was so gratifying to see it. These people in the prisons in Honduras feel that they have been forgotten and through this program they are finding hope in the Word of God and their new Salvation. They know that they are loved. We pray that when they are released from prison that they will go out into the world and be ambassadors for Christ there too. 

As far as we are concerned, we are getting much more than we give when we visit Honduras. We have been blessed by new Christian friendships that will last for many years. And we have been blessed to witness the mighty work that The Lord is doing in the prisons in Honduras. We pray that we will be able to serve in this way for many years to come. We thank you for your prayers and support. 

In His service,

Diane

Gary and Diane on their way to Latin America!

Honduras bound, Gary and Diane took off this morning!  Please remember to pray for their work there, the reach of their ministry, the persistence of the trainees and those that they will reach!

Preparing for Honduras

We wanted to give you a short update on our ministry as we jump back in after a bit of a summer break.  And invite your prayers as we prepare for another exciting trip.

Early Wednesday Gary and I will be making another trip to Honduras. This is the second phase of training for the Train and Multiply Program. In the time since the first training class, the volunteers have been working hard in their local prisons to start new churches inside the prison walls. The dedicated volunteers are from cities located all around the country of Honduras - Comayagua, LaPaz, Marcala and LaCeiba. The plan for this trip includes visiting some of these prisons.

This phase of training will be held on Saturday and Sunday since the volunteers must work during the week. The dates of the training are September 27 & 28. 

Please pray for safe travels for us and for Dollys Gallinda, the trainer coming from Columbia representing Prison Fellowship International. But most importantly, please pray that the Lord will be present during the training so that His name will be glorified among those who have yet to know him. Please pray for our host family, the Reyes'. They have been working in the prisons in Honduras for many years and now are honored to watch as their son Herasmo takes over leadership of this program that we are partnering in. 

We thank you for your prayers. We are so grateful that The Lord has called us to serve in this way.   Blessings,Gary and Diane.  

How it looks from the middlest...

No story about how Gary and Diane answered the call to missions would be complete without the view from the middle, or the middlest as our family referred to her birth position.  She saw a lot of facial expressions that the rest of us missed.  And more fear and heartbreak.

I remember when Dad started with Kairos.  None of us knew much about it including Mom.  Her reaction was pretty funny when she learned how many cookies she had to make.  But we had fun helping bake that first year. We heard Dad’s stories after the weekend and there were some good stories. But those stories did not touch my firsthand experience seeing transformation during the closing ceremony. Seeing all the guys there and how important my Dad had become to them and them to him was overwhelming.  Dad was looking for them, standing up and craning his neck and they were doing the same as they got settled in this big room.  And then at the end, seeing the love and respect with these men was really moving.  He told us stories of passing out cookies to the cell blocks and them chanting his name. They developed lasting relationships. The same thing happened to Mom when she spent the weekend in the kitchen for Kairos. 

Then the two of them started talking about missions work after retirement.  I have to say that I was leery about their plans out of selfishness.  I wanted them to be around and we saw them so often it would leave such a hole. I remember the weekend before they found out where OMS would send them.  Dad showed me a video of Columbia and the prison and how God was working there. I just got tears in my eyes because I could so clearly see at that moment the providence of God and how he had been working all these thing together. I said, “Dad I know you are going to Columbia.” 

God worked on the selfishness in me too. In January as I was going through cancer treatment, against all odds, God enabled Mom and Dad to be here for my surgery. They left for Costa Rica for language school a few days after. Somehow we all were ok talking on Skype and messaging on Facebook. 

Sometimes we can't see from our perspective what is going on but when we look back God does amazing work.  He is continuing to do that for Mom and Dad and all of us. 

Yes! We're awake! And we're BACK!

Happy end of summer to all of you!

We've been relatively quiet for the last month and a half since my dad's return from Columbia.  Diane and Gary have been enjoying family gatherings and picnics and the national parks of this amazing country, as well as getting accustomed to this long term thing called retirement. And as their blog coordinator, things have finally calmed down for me enough to get back to prodding them to give me material to update all of you!

In the meantime, I thought I'd share my perspective on their journey.  Carrie, my youngest sister, shared a little bit about the beginnings of the transformation in both my mom and dad as they began serving in the prison ministry.  I knew something was different.  All along I knew that he was changing but until I saw it in person at the first closing ceremony for KAIROS, I didn't know just how much.  When the men came into the room, my dad was craning his neck to see his guy.  When they each gave a few words to tell what the weekend had meant to them, my dad was getting choked up.  And when the ceremony was over he had zero hesitation about introducing this man to my mom and me.  Zero.  I saw my Dad being a dad to a bunch of men - many who had never known the love of an earthly father.  That was real change.  And I couldn't have been more proud of him.

SO, when he began telling us that he was earnestly contacting organizations that specialized in retirement missionary service, I wasn't surprised.  Seems the softening of my dad's heart was real and had taken a deep hold.  And I had seen that same thing in the life of my husband, so I knew the deep and pervasive power that God could have on a life.  And I was practically giddy getting to watch this happen in my mom and dad.  REALLY!  Who gets to say that in their life!!!  What a privilege!

I watched them go through training that was hard for both of them.  But I have to say that since those days of watching my dad change, the most dramatic changes since then have been inside of the two of them and in their relationship to each other.   SO if any of you think God is done growing you - THINK AGAIN!

My mom never believed she was smart - which is ridiculous.  She spent over 30 years as a great dental hygienist, learning all manner of process, science and eventually information systems along the way.  So going back into the classrooms was hard for her.  And she has NEVER embraced changed very well.  But this was different.  I got to see my mom be challenged and exceed her own expectations.  And I got to see her thrive in their ministry as she connected to others with her smile and her welcoming spirit.  She is finding a stride that she didn't know she had.  And my dad?  Well, our struggles with flaws have always been painfully similar.  Dad is in his element coordinating and organizing and he connects well to others - which was made him an exceptional technical salesperson and rare in his field.  But his growth has come from ceding to God's plan and timeline and methodology.  He is learning patience and faith and trust in ways I bet he didn't think possible.  So proud of them both - because this is hard stuff.

As they have served together - whether it was in the mountains of Oaxaca or the language school in Costa Rica or in their separation during my dad's last journey to Columbia - they have grown personally together.   These two people who have known each other all of their lives but 15 measly years at their beginnings are changing every day.  They are learning to communicate better, support each other unselfishly, and love each other  more than ever.  Love is patient, love is kind, love is not easily angered.  Those are tall orders without Jesus and even taller when it comes to our closest partners who see our very worst.  But Jesus is teaching these "old dogs" new tricks.  Most of you have known Diane and Gary for a good while.  They will always be like thunder and lightening at times but something has changed and that has been that their marriage and their partnership is honoring God more than ever.

So as they prepare for their next big trip at the end of September, I am asking you to please be praying for their marriage, their health, and whether you can contribute prayerfully and/or financially to the work they are doing to spread the gospel of Jesus to all the nations.  We can't all go - but we can all send.