Transforming Individuals, Families, & Communities

In our last blog update, we talked about a detour God had given us to reveal his better plan for us. When we first began ministry here in La Ceiba, Honduras, we knew God had something specific planned for us and how he would use us for his purposes. Over the course of the last 9 months we have learned what that is, or at least as much as we can know to this point, and we want to share that with you.

Last fall, God specifically told us to wait on him and that what was coming was something bigger than what we could imagine or think. It would be beyond our narrow vision and would expand into something much greater, not only in impact on people's lives and drawing them into a deeper relationship with Christ and his desires for them, but in connecting the world around us to the greater vision that God has planned. We are reminded of this in several places in God's Word, most specifically, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps" (Proverbs 16:9); "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans" (Proverbs 16:3); and "In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3:6). These are only a few of the clear instructions from the LORD to move forward with what understanding we have in faith knowing that God will direct us into what he desires for his purposes.

"Mi Señor Jesus" (My Lord Jesus)
script and the Playboy Bunny sticker
(see red circles) co-existing on the back
of this car in La Ceiba, a common sight
and contradiction here.

By living here in Honduras it is easy to see that it is a "religious" culture, meaning in nearly every area of life there is a list of "do's and don'ts" and Christian phrases and symbols are a part of everyday life. Going to church is often cultural, no matter the denomination. But there is a disconnect between religion and life and how the message of Christ, his forgiveness, peace, grace and mercy, should effect our lives and how we treat others. In most of this culture, the effect of "Christianity" has no impact and there is complete disregard for others—a distrust. There is an answer to battling this stronghold. It's in the power of the Holy Spirit to change hearts and minds, both through his supernatural power and through the physical example of Christ.

Jeff & Julie Hines, our partners
in ministry.

We want to reach the culture where the culture is at. Since January we have developed a relationship with another missionary family, Jeff and Julie Hines, who have the same desire to reach people where they are at with the life-changing power of Christ. They had been working in "Ladino" (what locals call Latinos) communities with what we call "community transformation" for about a year or so prior to our meeting them. The idea is to use everyday needs to share and show Christ in word and deed transforming the way entire communities function. We desired to do the same in Garifuna communities, so it made sense to team up and become like a "three-stranded cord" battling the strongholds together.

Outside of the school we built, we interact with the kids
of the community.

Since January, we have begun to develop this new ministry with the Hines family and have seen many aspects of community transformation take place. Community transformation is broken down into five areas: spiritual, physical, social, educational, and economical. It starts with building relationships with individuals such as "persons of peace" and/or identified leaders in communities, then to families, and then with the entire community. We instill Christ-like values and biblical concepts into the five key areas and address needs in these areas that the communities might have. We start with a "seed project" that opens the door for us to work in the community. Some examples of seed projects have ranged from building a new school room for a community to finishing a cement floor in a community center. These projects build trust and relationships from the very start. Every seed project creates connections within the community to other individuals and families and allows us to have an impact very quickly. We survey families within the communities taking down information such as income level, number of people in the home, type of structure, and access to basic amenities such as drinkable water, electricity and shelter. This gives us a baseline of where we are starting from and allows us to develop a plan and set goals for the families and community as a whole.

We've developed the video embedded into this post below to show what the "before" and "after" looks like in the communities we have worked in. We have just begun work in a new Garifuna community called Nueva Armenia. We ask that you pray for our involvement in this community and for hearts to be softened and minds to be changed in the coming months as we move forward with the leadership and contacts we have made there.



If you have any questions about community transformation and our ministry here, please email us at ckwells1@gmail.com or send us a message on our Facebook page: Honduras Wells. And as always, thank you for praying and supporting us in many ways!

In His mighty grip,
Corey, Kirsten, Gavin & Garret