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.
I was chosen to go on the South Team with Bro. Alan Sumner, and we started our day at 2 A.M. and hit the road at 3 A.M.! Our first destination was with the police and it was my first time preaching with an interpreter. Service went wonderful and several asked to be prayed with. We continued our journey from there to the Honduran artillery division where John did a good job preaching, and I got my first encounter in Honduras with the song we have all heard so much about “Walking with the King” as Ruthie lead the soldiers in singing it. We then went to one more Army service before heading to Tiger Island. Wow! What a beautiful sight it is. The boat ride over was surreal experience and I will treasure my time on the island for a lifetime. The service at the Naval base there was exceptionally good. John preached an awesome message about God’s desire to help His people and you could tell the message really sunk in with them. Afterwards their Frigate Captain Vasquez got up and spoke to us about how much they appreciate us coming to bring the Word of God to them, and it was then that it really hit home how big of an impact the Sumner’s work was having here. To be able to be a part of this work even in this small way is a very humbling honor. From there, we took on a tour of the island and we stopped on a beautiful beach, and Bro. Alan took us all to an adjacent bat cave. Watching the bats flutter around was really surreal and was almost something out of a pirate book. Lisa even had a “bat” fly into her hair! Haha! You should ask her about it...just make sure that you do it when I’m not around ;) With the day completed we headed back to Tegucigalpa to pick up Bro. Pahlman, and then for the “Grand Finish” of the day we stopped and got a “meat plate. Sigh... Words cannot describe the meat plate... It is truly one of the finest meals I’ve ever eaten!
It’s been an amazing couple of days so far. It all started at about 2:30 A.M. Monday morning. After a restless night of sleep, (but really who could sleep with such a big trip ahead) we loaded up the vans and headed to the airport. Our flights were all on time and no issues arose, and even our two first time flyers (Allison Shaffer and Heather Tucker) handled it very well. We landed in Tegucigalpa around 1 P.M Central Standard Time. After meeting Bro. Alan and Bro. Scott, both of whom made us feel very welcome, we were off to the mall and my first experience with Coco Baleadas and trust me it won’t be my last!!! It was amazing. To put it in terms those in the States can relate to, it was everything Chipotle wishes it could be! From there we started the trek to the Sumner’s home. Driving through Honduras, you will notice a sharp contrast of beauty and poverty... one moment you will see a sight that will make you go “WOW” and the next you will see things that will almost bring you to tears. We made it to the Sumner’s had a wonderful time of fellowship before turning in for the night.
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AuthorJacob Vaughn is a Junior at Free Gospel Bible Institute. ArchivesCategories |