What has God got for us?!

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

–1 Corinthians 2:9

 

Since our move to La Ceiba we have been connected with the most amazing people and have learned so much about the Garifuna. As we have explored different areas of ministry, we have had the privilege to have worked on several different projects ranging from evangelism to community development to theological education. Through all of this, one main theme has emerged about our future ministry: USE THEM ALL! We are excited to share about that here...

Garifuna Community Transformation

In this month of April we have begun working on what we call Garifuna Community Transformation (Ámuñedagua Garinagu in Garifuna). What is that exactly? Here it is in a nutshell:

Our mission is to discover and put in place methods of transforming Garifuna communities in five key areas: Spiritual, Physical, Social, Economic and Educational. We want to empower the local church to meet the needs of the communities around them and to seek the cooperation of local government, the business community, and to teach families and communities to serve each other through the biblical example of Jesus Christ. We desire that Garifuna communities be a living example of Christ and be a catalyst to transforming the nation of Honduras and beyond. 

The way we do this is by beginning community based projects targeted at meeting a need within the community. These projects are determined by community leadership (and/or suggestions on our observations and research). Some communities we want to work in are less developed than others, so the range of need is diverse and totally dependent on the community (some may have sanitation, water, and hygiene as a need and others may have this in place already). 

In order for this to succeed, it is important that we are only involved in projects and programs that can ultimately be turned over to the local community. We will examine all of our projects to ensure that there is a corresponding exit strategy. It is crucial to this ministry God has given us that we not create a dependency on outside help, but that we encourage and actively foster a dependence on God and interdependence on each other as fellow members of a community.

Sounds nice, but what does this look like realistically? 

The little girls love Kirsten and the attention
she gives them.

We have selected a community called Sambo Creek and have started work there. We have decided to work along side another missionary who has been working on various community projects within Sambo Creek and help him develop these projects further. He has a similar vision as ours and our desires for the outcome of the community are almost identical. So it was a logical starting place to make this community our "pilot project" and build upon the foundation that is already there. One of our end-goals is to make what we do reproducible and to teach other leaders, lay-leaders, and co-workers in the community to serve other Garifuna communities. We've dreamed of taking local teams from Sambo Creek to remote Garifuna villages to bring help, both physically and spiritually. A major part of transformation is serving others.

The first areas we are working in is the school system and education. While we were on our discovery trip to Roatán a few weeks ago, we visited the Garifuna village of Punta Gorda. In this town we met a young Garifuna teacher in the public school there. She started a school program in February where she teaches the kids the Garifuna language and cultural history. Her main textbooks are the Bible and several other books from a Garifuna church association we are connected to already. The schools in Honduras are wide open and encourage Bible-based education. This teacher uses Bible verses for her students to memorize in Garifuna as a way to teach them their own language and to "hide the Word in their hearts."

"Noche de Niños" is a weekly get together we are involved in
in Sambo Creek. Pastor Alex leads the group (standing) and then
it breaks out in song and dance as the kids (and adults) worship
together with drums, tamborines, turtle shells, and whatever else
makes music!

Most children in Sambo Creek come from homes of abuse of some kind. These kids need a biblical example of what is true and right. We are helping a local pastor grow a Saturday Bible and English class held in his home into the local public school. Our plan is to duplicate the Punta Gorda program and try to implement it in the Sambo Creek public school. We believe that once the heart and mind is transformed through a real relationship with Jesus, only then will real transformation take place. This needs to start with the youth as they are more open to the Gospel and are willing for change to happen considering most of their circumstances. There are many other projects we will be working on as well, but for now we are focusing on this one in particular.

 

 

 

In the right place at the right time

Running to rescue the fisherman.
The red circle shows where he and the
boat were sinking.

We wanted to share this story as an illustration of what God is doing... On Tuesday this last week we were meeting with the missionary we are working with in Sambo Creek, and Kirsten and I were walking down a narrow road that went along the beach to visit someone in the community. We arrived at their house and began visiting on their front porch which opens up to the beach. It was a windy day, so we were all commenting on the dugouts (traditional carved wood canoes Garifuna use for fishing) that had raised sails to harness the wind to get around the wild, wind-tossed ocean. One dugout was only about 40 yards off shore inside the breakers. The wind was blowing directly on-shore so

Dragging the boat ashore.

this canoe wasn't going anywhere, but being sloshed around by waves. The old wooden boat couldn't take the wind anymore and the mast snapped! As the sail quickly filled with water, it weighed the boat down and it began to sink. As all this happened in a matter of seconds, we all rushed out onto the beach running and swimming out to the sole fisherman piloting the boat. By now he was holding onto his boat trying to stay afloat. We managed to get him, his boat and belongings (which were floating away into the ocean) all on shore and continued to help him unravel the mess of wood poles, ropes and fishing line.

Helping the fisherman (center)
untangle the mess.

As our introduction into the community we were in the right place at the right time. Had we not been, this sole Garifuna fisherman may have lost his boat, his livelihood, or his life. The love of God was shown to this man in a very real way. As I (Corey) was attending Bible study with the community church plant Wednesday night, this story was being shared among the group. Already, God has opened doors (in the strangest of ways) to be a part of this little community. We thank God for His perfect timing and providence!

School has begun!

The boys sporting their new uniforms.

A lot has happened in the last few months, including a new change for our boys. Gavin and Garret started attending a local school just this week! It's called Heaven's Door Christian School, a bilingual school located in La Ceiba. They have about half of their classes in Spanish and the other half in English, and each morning is begun with a devotional in their classrooms. They really love the school and have made great friends already. Of course they are the talk of the school as they are the only "gringos" with the exception of one other girl who we know through another missionary family. It is a smaller school which allows the administration and teachers to give more attention to each child and address any issues (such as bullying, which is a major problem in Honduran schools).

We are thankful for this answer to prayer! We have sensed the Lord leading in this direction for two major reasons: 1) It will give Gavin and Garret the social interaction they need to function here as well as improve their Spanish, and 2) it will give Kirsten and I most of the day to work together in ministry. We have seen that working together has greater advantages than just my presence in a community. When people see a married couple working together it leaves a great impact. We thank the Lord again for his perfect timing!

Serve with us!

We will have many projects coming up that you can invest into, whether that be your finances to help the people we are serving, your resources by providing tools for ministry and/or connecting us with other people with resources, or your time and energy by coming down to serve with us. We are committed to the Body of Christ and doing what we need to do in order to help it grow, both in quantity and in quality. Whether you attend one of our supporting churches or not, we want you to serve with us! We are partners in the Gospel! It's the Acts Church alive and well! We are independent missionaries with one task: to bring redemption to the Garifuna people (and whoever else we might affect along the way) through a true relationship with Jesus Christ in whatever manner the Lord provides.

Please Pray For:

• Ministry to develop in Sambo Creek (school program specifically), wisdom of how to move forward, and community members to see the love of Christ shown in word and deed.
• Church plant in Sambo Creek: it is young, but on fire. Pray for the new believers to grow in Christ and for others' salvation.
• Cooperation of "patronato" and leadership of the community.
• Our boys Gavin and Garret as they transition into school in La Ceiba.
• Our family as we become more involved in the community of Sambo Creek and become a witness for Christ as a family unit.
• God's continued provision for us financially and logistically. God provides all we need, but we know we need to communicate with you, our ministry partners, what we need and ask Him to provide. Financially, please pray our monthly support would increase. Logistically, please pray about an all terrain vehicle. We have been praying about buying a UTV, which is similar to an ATV but carries two people or more and has a bed and roll cage for carrying supplies. This vehicle will get us to places to share God's love where we wouldn't otherwise go without one.

Thank you for praying and reading! You are truly partners with us in this ministry God has called us to. We are so thankful for you and to our Lord our God! HE REIGNS!

In His mighty grip,

Corey, Kirsten, Gavin & Garret