This trip went by too fast, and to be honest I wasn’t ready to leave. I absolutely fell in love with the work being done here, and I definitely want to continue to help and support them however I can. But, like all good things it had to come to an end, and as we boarded the flight there was joyful goodbyes a few happy tears and of course a bunch of laughter! This trip has absolutely changed my outlook on the ministry and I encourage any and every young person that has an inkling of a burden for the work to take it to the Lord and come to Bible and maybe you could be on the next S.E.N.T. trip and God can give you the vision too.
Wow! I can’t believe that it’s already our last full day in Honduras. We all loaded up in the van and the truck and we took off for the Valley of the Angels, which is a popular tourist stop. They had an awesome market for souvenirs and we all loaded up for friends, family, and the churches that supported us. It was located in the middle of a beautiful mountain range that had some pretty incredible mountains in it. After we finished shopping we headed back to the Sumner home for a grill out and several games of volley ball. It was so much fun just getting to relax with the Sumner’s and have some fun, and they sure know how to have fun. It’s hard to think of a more joyful group of people anywhere in the world.
Wednesday brought a return to base preaching and this time we went to some different bases. We started off with Air Force Base in Tegucigalpa. Daniel preached a good message about the Rapture. After the service they took us on a tour of the base, and we even got to see the Honduran Presidential plane! It was a pretty neat experience. After that we headed off to what I would have to say was the neatest service; the language school. The whole service was in English and the soldiers even sang along with us in English! No interpreters were used and everyone was very attentive. After the service we spent time with them, and they got the chance to practice their English on us. It was a blast! You could see the joy on their faces as they spoke to us and saw that we understood them, and the extent of their proficiency in our language, for the short amount of time they have studied, was truly amazing. We ended the day at the Police Academy, and what a wonderful service it was. The Cadets were tired from working and training, but they didn’t allow that to hinder the service. They seemed to get energized once the service began. They participated so well that it can truly be said that the Police and Military Academies are the jewels of the base services. They have really made themselves a special place in my heart. It was such a blessing to have them as our last service in Honduras and they even backed the preacher with a big round of applause during the message.
Tuesday was pretty awesome day for me. I turned 27 years old and it was so cool to do it in a different country! The Sumner’s were so kind and they had baked me and Tabitha a cake on Sunday (her birthday was Monday) and then Tuesday everyone wished me a good year and I even got some presents! Christians truly are the best people on earth.
We also finished up the tables and benches and got them ready to be painted. Bro. Alan seemed really tickled that we were able to finish the project before we left. He thanked all of us for our hard work, but really it was the least we could do. The work here is so important and anything we can do to help is our pleasure to do. I only wish we could do more Then we cleaned up and headed to church for the last night of the Youth Revival, and true to form, it was an amazing service. John did a good job preaching, and Bro. Pahlman preached wonderfully about faithfulness to God and His will. We have really been spoiled by the altar services here. The people sought the Lord so well, and it’s been a blessing not only to them but me as well. It’s such an encouragement and really puts a desire to get out and do something for God. After the altar service the people began to testify about what the Lord has done for them during the Kids Campaign and Youth Revival, and about what a blessing it was to have us there with them. It was a truly humbling experience. To think that Almighty God would use a ragtag group of students to be a blessing to a people in a faraway country is amazing and mind-blowing to me. God is so good. Monday started off with us beginning our project for the Sumner’s and this year we choose to build them five more tables and ten more benches for their soup kitchen. This was actually a lot of fun. We began by measuring and cutting all the pieces of medal we would need, and then with the help of a jig we assembled the piece and welded them into frames for the benches and tables. Day 8 saw us finish all the bench frames and start on the table frames.
After putting in a good days work we got cleaned up and headed to the second night of the Youth Revival. Yet again we hooked up right where we left off the night before and after James and I preached, the altars were filled again. The people at the Sumner’s church really put their all into the altar services. God did some mighty good things in this service, and several people accepted God’s will in their life! Sunday morning started off with the last service of the Kid’s Campaign, and let me tell you it was amazing! The kids had a blast and we did too, but the real highlight was the altar service. After we did our skits about the importance of having the Holy Ghost leading your life, the kids filled the altars. With hands lifted high, they sought the Lord and there were very few little eyes that were dry. God came by mightily for them and you could see the moving of the Spirit on their tiny little faces. It was something I will never forget! I have never seen children so little seek and praise the Lord so strongly before. Bro. Alan said they had never had a children’s service like that before either. A little boy named Yader topped the service like a cherry on a sundae when, after seeking the Lord so well in the altar, he was Baptized in the Holy Ghost! Praise God! Then it was back to the Sumner home for a wonderful meal and a time of rest before we started off the Youth Revival.
We started the Youth Revival with the Spirit moving just like in the Kid’s Campaign! Everyone was getting in and worshiping so well, and the Spirit of God put His approve on it we a mighty touch of God. After Daniel preached about “Thank God for Christ,” Rachel and Elizabeth sang and the Spirit brought everyone to the altars and while they prayed Bro. Hough exhorted about bruising the head of the devil and the people really dug into the altars. Conviction was moving and there were even some backsliders that prayed back through! God is so good to his people. Day six was a very jam packed day, but it wasn’t the bad kind of jam packed. It was the awesome, hilarious, being blessed while you try to bless others, fulfilling kind of jam packed. We started off with the soup kitchen and everyone loved having us there. Then we headed of for the first of the 3 Saturday schools. This is such an amazing work. The sisters in the church who help make this possible will truly get a crown in heaven along with the Sumner’s. For our part in the lessons, we would put on our Nehemiah skit for the kids and although the real Bible account may not have had water balloons and giant apelike beasts (me) they really seemed to grasp onto the concept of the story. Then we went back to the church to begin preparing the second night of the Kids Campaign. The newly saved “soldiers” of the Lord's Army made their first attempt at defeating Goliath, but the soon found out that the “weapons of our warfare are not carnal” and that to defeat the minions of the enemy we must use God’s Word, not man’s steel. The kids really enjoyed the skits and once again they filled the altars it was awesome! Then we had a prayer line for the sick and the Lord came by mightily.
Day 5 began with just one service with the Danli Police force, who are the Sumner’s home police force. This time we had the whole SENT team together and it was cool to get to be in service with the other team. God came by and like always His Spirit is the same in every Country and at every base or police station we go to. God’s Grace is truly amazing! After that we went and ate a traditional Honduran breakfast of pork/beef/chicken, eggs, beans, cheese, fried plantains, and heavy cream. It was delicious! Then we went our separate ways with some going to the church to set up, some going to the grocery for the soup kitchen and the rest heading back to the house to do laundry and rest up. Then we started of the Kids Campaign at 7 P.M. and it was absolutely a blast! The kids seemed to love it and we had a good time too. They filled the altars during the altar service and it was very moving. The Honduran kids are very sweet and so excited and happy to see us.
We started the day off right with a Circle K stop and two bean sandwiches, and I know that doesn’t sound like much but they are absolutely delicious! After that we headed on up to the Communications base and had a good service with them, many of which are saved. Then we went to a very special place indeed; the 6th Battalion. You see it was actually the 6th that became the open door for the Sumner’s Military ministry. After being denied the opportunity to preach at other bases, the 6th not only allowed them to hold a service for them, but they also asked if they would hold services every week! The Colonel was very nice and invited us to sit with him and we enjoyed a few minutes rest and fellowship and got to try some awesome limeade made from limes that were bigger than softballs!!! We had two more wonderful services with the 110th Brigade and the 9th Battalion and then it was time to head back to the Sumner Homestead.
Day three started off with us guys heading over to preach to the Cobra unit. The Cobras are the tactical unit of the Honduran police force, and let me tell you they are some bad hombres! Bro. Alan was telling me about a time when the Cobras did a demonstration for them. He said that two of their snipers went up into the hills and when they laid down, they completely disappeared! Then they asked for volunteers to go out into the field and hold up two balloons, Bro. Sumner said no one did!, so a fellow officer went out, and with iron sights, the snipers popped both balloons out of the of the officers hand! From there we met up with the ladies at McDonald’s for our first WiFi break. After that it was on to the 1st Infantry Battalion and we had a wonderful service there you could really feel the presence of the Lord and He blessed us with a good altar service. We ended the day at the Military Academy and I have to admit that this has been the highlight of the trip for me so far! There was over 250 recruits there and everyone was getting in during the song services and they were so attentive. You could truly tell they were happy to see us. It brought me to tears and I couldn’t help but fall in love with this work after this service.
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AuthorJacob Vaughn is a Junior at Free Gospel Bible Institute. ArchivesCategories |