Since the beginning of this journey to Honduras, we have been praying specifically for the Garifuna and the community God would have us in. We have been praying about specific people to come into our lives to open doors into Garifuna communities. The Lord has been faithful to put
"persons of peace" in our path to do this! (read this great article about persons of peace)
In the first months of our time in Siguatepeque, we were exploring
different churches to attend. On one Sunday at a church we had begun
attending regularly, we met Yuly, a Garifuna woman who was also
searching out a church to attend. She was new in town and was excited to
meet us and learn of our heart for her people. As we spoke with her we
learned that she had been raised in a Christian home, had a strong
faith, and that God was obviously leading her and she was obeying His
direction for her life. We learned that she had pursued a career as an
interpreter and teacher of second languages. She has a fluency in her
native language (Garifuna), Spanish, French, Italian, and English. For
about 8 years she had interpreted for short-term mission teams coming to
Honduras to minister. We also learned that she felt God told her to
come to Siguatepeque. After this introduction, unfortunately, we lost
touch with her as she moved on to attend other churches. We weren't sure
what to think of this encounter since Garifuna in this part of the
country, especially committed Christians, are few and far between. We
knew God had a purpose for us meeting her, but we didn't know to what
extent... yet.
About 2 months later we found ourselves attending another church. A few Sundays after our first attendance, we walked into the church and there was Yuly talking with others. We began talking with her and eventually invited her to attend a home fellowship group that we were a part of every week. From that point on, we shared much of our life together, prayed with each other, and spent time learning about one another and our hearts for the Lord. She mentioned one week during our home group that the Lord had used us to change her perspective on her own people and was praying about what that meant for her. Wow! That is our prayer! But just a few months after our reunion (May), we learned Yuly was having financial problems (she didn't have a full-time job, only part-time work teaching language). We tried to help her as much as we could. After much prayer and counseling together, she decided it would be best to move back to her home town of La Ceiba (north coast) to live with her mother until she could become financially stable again. We helped her pack up her things and said our goodbyes. It was sad to see her go, but we felt confident that God had allowed our friendship and connected us together for a purpose.
In early August we received a phone call from Yuly. After much prayer over the summer, Yuly said to us that she felt the Lord wanted her to work with us. She didn't know what that would look like, but was just being obedient to the Lord putting this on her heart and prompting her to call us to share the news. We responded to Yuly telling her what we had been praying for and felt that it may be her that is our "person of peace". We came to find out as well that Yuly was born in Santa Fe, the largest and oldest established Garifuna community in Honduras, just minutes from Trujillo. Since this phone call we have exchanged emails back and forth and have decided that Yuly will move to Trujillo with us to help us minister there! We desire to encourage and empower Garifuna to reach Garifuna. This is such a huge answer to prayer for us! We are so blessed to have Yuly as a part of our team in Honduras, and we're excited to see how God will open doors through her and how He will use her for the Kingdom.
Please pray for Yuly and all the details of this partnership to fall into place!
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| Yuly, our Garifuna friend. |
About 2 months later we found ourselves attending another church. A few Sundays after our first attendance, we walked into the church and there was Yuly talking with others. We began talking with her and eventually invited her to attend a home fellowship group that we were a part of every week. From that point on, we shared much of our life together, prayed with each other, and spent time learning about one another and our hearts for the Lord. She mentioned one week during our home group that the Lord had used us to change her perspective on her own people and was praying about what that meant for her. Wow! That is our prayer! But just a few months after our reunion (May), we learned Yuly was having financial problems (she didn't have a full-time job, only part-time work teaching language). We tried to help her as much as we could. After much prayer and counseling together, she decided it would be best to move back to her home town of La Ceiba (north coast) to live with her mother until she could become financially stable again. We helped her pack up her things and said our goodbyes. It was sad to see her go, but we felt confident that God had allowed our friendship and connected us together for a purpose.
In early August we received a phone call from Yuly. After much prayer over the summer, Yuly said to us that she felt the Lord wanted her to work with us. She didn't know what that would look like, but was just being obedient to the Lord putting this on her heart and prompting her to call us to share the news. We responded to Yuly telling her what we had been praying for and felt that it may be her that is our "person of peace". We came to find out as well that Yuly was born in Santa Fe, the largest and oldest established Garifuna community in Honduras, just minutes from Trujillo. Since this phone call we have exchanged emails back and forth and have decided that Yuly will move to Trujillo with us to help us minister there! We desire to encourage and empower Garifuna to reach Garifuna. This is such a huge answer to prayer for us! We are so blessed to have Yuly as a part of our team in Honduras, and we're excited to see how God will open doors through her and how He will use her for the Kingdom.
Please pray for Yuly and all the details of this partnership to fall into place!
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