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.

Diane tells how God can transform any moment and any place into worship!!

This is just a short story from the beginning of our trip in early March. When we were standing in the line for customs to enter Honduras, we were right behind an obvious group on a missions trip. Obvious because they all had the same shirts on! I had noticed their shirts when we were boarding but we had not spoken. I cannot recall the name of their church. Gary thinks he has a card that they gave us but we cannot find it now. That is really not the best part of the story anyway! 

As we were waiting in this very slow line, we began a conversation with two women who were part of this team. They told us where they were from and what they were going to be doing. We in turn explained what we were going to do in Honduras. They turned out to be a mom and daughter. The daughter was very enthusiastic about their mission and about ours. It was such a God moment there in that customs line! Then the daughter asked if we could pray there in the line. So we did! Well, she did! It was such a blessing to all of us. We felt so close to these women that we had never met before- drawn together as brothers and sisters in Christ on a mission for Him. It made a boring waiting line into a blessing. What a great beginning to a wonderful trip! We know that the Lord is in control of everything, even waiting in those boring customs lines!

Can you go?

Just a thought for today.  All of us are called to go.  It doesn't say therefore, some of you go and make disciples of all the nations.  It just says go.  So how do you go? For this season of my life, my "going" doesn't look the way I wish it did.  So for now, I go when I participate in those that are going.  Like with Gary and Diane.  When I pray.  When I give what I can.  Please consider joining with Gary and Diane and going with them in prayer and financial support.

Matthew 28:16-20New International Version (NIV)

The Great Commission

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Herasmo and Nora - How did these passionate people get involved in prison ministry?

I (Gary) asked both Herasmo and Nora, our Honduran support team, how they got into the prison ministry and/or how they got involved in this program.  It's good stuff  - God stuff. Here's are their stories.

Herasmo's Testimony

From the age of 14 years or earlier, Herasmo Ramirez had worked alongside his mother and father and sisters in their work in the prisons of Honduras.  Both his mother and father were the leaders of the Confraternidad Carcelaria de Honduras (Prison Fellowship) work in Honduras.  He explained that it was almost a family calling if not obligation.  

Approximately a year and a half ago, Herasmo was in a period of testing.  His mother and father had this ministry to the prisons and he participated but it was not his own. One day, when he was really not in a state of prayer, he felt or heard in his mind, Jesus asking, "When I stand before my Father and all the angels and the saints and ask why didn't you serve me, what will you say."  Herasmo said he replied, "Before you, Your Father and the angels I will answer, because Lord, You never gave me the volunteers, the tools and the direction."  

Shortly afterward, he began hearing about the possibility of the Capacitacion y Plantacion program from OMS and that Honduras might possibly be the target country for introducing the program outside of Colombia.  Herasmo feels certain that this program was a direct and specific response from God regarding that conversation and represented God challenging him to serve faithfully.

Nora's Story

Norah recalled that on her first trip into the prisons, she was very frightened - not only of the prisoners themselves, but the whole idea of prisons.  She went in with another group of volunteers and stayed in the background and tried to avoid involvement at first.  One inmate, noting her discomfort, slowly came up to her and he told her, "I can tell you are afraid to be here, but you have nothing to fear, I know that God has brought you here today and will bring you back again and again."

Nora said from that moment on, the fear was gone. She, of course, is very aware of where she is and acts appropriately, but she knows that she is serving God exactly where He wants her. She wants to be there for Him.

Good Q/A while they are in Honduras!

Mom and Dad are in Honduras as I type this and experiencing the realities of this right now.  Maybe reading this will give you some perspective on their posts.  I know it did for me.

Also please check out the link below and please be praying!
Travel warning for Honduras

Why is being an American so

mehow helpful in this situation (ministry and leadership with OMS's Train and Multiply in country)? 

Gary - Most of those we meet and work with in Honduras feel some kind of affinity with the United States. Whether it is mostly through pop culture like movies and television, the abundance of American fast food restaurants or from the abundance of missionary and humanitarian work done in Honduras, I can't tell. But apparently from the time of President John Kennedy and his visit there early in his term, there has been a strong tie.  Historically, Kennedy was working to prevent the spread of communism in Latin America following the events in Cuba. In the city of Tegucigalpa, there is even a neighborhood that is named Colonia de Kennedy.  Apparently, at the time, a great deal of American funds were put into building up our relationship with the Hondurans.

Their cable television services carry American television shows and until very recently, English was taught and spoken in the better schools to the extent that many of the young people that have completed high school are bi-Lingual in Spanish and English.  

As one might expect, since most of their impressions of the United States are based upon television, they have some misconceptions.  I believe one of the many of these is that we have a society that is fairly volatile and violent, just watch all the police and action shows on TV.  Also, they believe that even the average American is quite wealthy. Of course, it is fair to say that the average American is far better off than the average Honduran and the conclusion is valid on that basis.  On the other hand they think that Americans have a lot of disposable income and discretionary spending which of course is not always true but again in comparison to Honduras is probably more accurate than we would like to admit.

Ultimately, our mere presence adds credibility to the program and for us that is good because we are not sure what else we have to offer, we are still learning and if our following where God leads us helps accelerate the program, we are blessed to be a part of it.