Thursday was a beautiful day, which we spent in the valley of the angels, fellowshipping, sampling Honduran candy, and buying souvenirs from one of the scores of shops in the town. We spent the evening playing volleyball. The Sumners are such a great family; they are a great example of what true ministry looks like.
Wednesday morning we had the opportunity to go to a military base, which was also an English school. It was so much easier, to testify without the help of an interpreter. It was a wonderful chance to really get to know some of the Honduran military; I didn’t realize how much I missed talking to people in English. We also visited the air force base. The Sumners mentioned that the air force is somewhat less open than other branches of the military. We stopped for special prayer that the air force would see a greater openness and hunger for God.
Tuesday we finished painting the tables and benches while the guys finished building the new tables and benches for the kitchen.
That night was the last night of the youth revival. It was a good service from the beginning. Bro. Hough, Myself, Lisa and Rachel testified. Bro. Butler preached followed by Bro. Palman. After alter service the SENT team, and the congregation gathered around the Sumner family, and prayed that God would bless them. It is truly amazing how much this family accomplishes. They have done so much for the SENT team, and have been a special blessing to me. It was soon time to say goodbye to the church people. I can’t believe how quickly the trip went by, I have come to love the people here, it has been great getting to know them, and the Sumner family. Monday we spent the majority of the day t the kitchen cleaning the tables and benches and painting them. That night at the youth revival Bro. Jacob preached on the five foolish virgins, and Tabitha, Emily and Alison testified. Bro. James preached on the Blood the Boundary and the Beauty. Again, we had a great altar service. It was wonderful to see the Lord move.
Sunday morning was the last service of kids crusades. The theme of the morning was the Holy Ghost. When it came time for the alter call, the Holy Ghost came in. Children crowded around the altar, so many of them, praying and crying out to God.
Sunday night was a wonderful service from the beginning, Bro Daniel preached, and sis Amanda, Heather and Elizabeth testified. Bro. Hough preachified about shouting for the battle and soon the altars were filled. The Lord moved in a mighty way. Saturday morning we piled into the back of the truck, and drove to the soup kitchen, where we fed over one hundred and eighty people, most of them children. I was amazed at the number of people that they feed every Saturday, even more so when sis Paula said that they had fed that many out of a kitchen much smaller. It is clear that the Lord has blessed their work.
Throughout the day we visited three Saturday schools that were put on by women from their church. That night at the kid’s crusade we had a wonderful alter service when people came up to pray for healing. Several people testified later that they had been healed that night. Friday night was the first night of kid’s crusade; I had the opportunity to ride on the bus, which was a wonderful experience. The only person on the bus that spoke both English and Spanish was Bro. Alan, and he was driving. We had a blast, as the kids got on the bus, they greeted us all with hugs. It wasn’t long until I had completely exhausted my Spanish vocabulary, but the kids didn’t seem to mind, and I eventually remembered more Spanish, and we were able to talk. The kid’s crusade was a lot of fun, I’m excited to see what happens this weekend.
On Thursday we had service at the fifth Battalion, there were at least four hundred soldiers in attendance. At seven o’clock it was already hot in the stands where the service was held. After service we were pulled aside by the colonel at the base. He gave us heartfelt thanks for coming and said that the doors of his base would always be open to the word of God.
In other news, we drank coconut milk out of the actual shell, ate fish that still had... everything, and made it back to the Sumner’s house by evening. Today, Wednesday, we again went to several bases. First thing in the morning we arrived in a base in San Pedro Sura, where there was a variety of police personnel, including some officers who were plainclothes personnel. Sis. Sumner mentioned that they were most likely specialized kidnapping or homicide units. It struck me that we were ministering to people who would walk into very hard and dangerous situations. They were people who would need the Lords help in a special way. It made me thankful for the chance to minister to them.
It’s amazing to see the amount of work that the Sumners do. We visited five bases on Tuesday. At each base the solders participate in the service, it is wonderful to see them touched by Gods word. I especially enjoyed visiting the police academy. Bro. Sumner mentioned that this was only the second time that some of them had been in service, as they were new students. At most of the bases the soldiers seem weathered and tough, but it was evident looking at their faces that these were very young. I was told that they had to be at least eighteen to be in police academy, but I wondered how some of them could be a day over sixteen. Bro. James preached a message about being right with God. When it came time to pray dozens of the recruits responded. I was thankful for their hunger for more of God.
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AuthorBethany Olsen is a Junior at Free Gospel Bible Institute. ArchivesCategories |