I was so excited to find out that today we would get to paint the tables at the soup kitchen! The tables were in desperate need of a new paint job. A lot of the white paint had worn off and was dingy-looking. It seemed that no matter how hard you scrubbed, those tables never looked clean. After sanding down all the table and benches, we painted the legs and under-sides of the tables black. We also painted the tops of the tables in red, blue, orange, yellow and green. Several of the kids came by and watched and they were so excited to see the bright colors! It looks a lot better now! We are really thankful for the change!
After we got home, we all rested for a little bit and then after supper we played three games of volleyball. It was a blast and we all enjoyed the chance to relax. We left for the church early this morning to prepare for the kids crusade as well as to pray before everyone got there. As the kids got off the buses, they were so excited about seeing more "dramas" (skits)!
After everyone sang together, the adults went outside to have class with Bro. Pahlman and the youth class stayed inside for class along with both children's classes. The kids all really enjoyed the games. The memory verse game that Janna and Katrina put together was a big hit. :) They also loved Bro. LePelley's Bible story of Noah. The Judgment skit was the last thing we did this morning. It traced the lives of two young people as they made decisions in life, whether for the good or bad. It was a powerful illustration to the kids of how the decisions they make will influence where they will spend eternity. They all responded well in the altars after the Judgment skit. Tonight everything was about the Call of God. The games were hilarious and the kids loved them. Bro. Brock's game of King Ooga Booga was a huge hit. That's all the kids wanted to play on the bus as we were dropping them off. :) Katrina gave an illustration of how we let things get between us and God. I could feel the Lord was dealing with some in the congregation as she allowed more things to get between her and the Lord. Finally, she was so far away from Him that she could no longer hear His voice. She had the kids' complete attention as she spoke. The Call of God skit was excellent. The response in the altars afterwards was amazing. The Lord's presence was so strong as He dealt with the children. Several prayed for salvation and many prayed and committed their lives to God. It was such an answer to prayer to get to pray with several of the kids from my sunday school class. One girl in particular, Helen, has been on my heart lately. She prayed so good last night and wept. The Lord let me know that the years of teaching and praying had not been in vain, that He was moving in their hearts. Praise the Lord!! He is faithful!! Today has been a busy day! We went to the kitchen and three saturday schools. All the kids enjoyed the story of Jericho, especially when the "Israleites" marched around the walls. The trash can lid "shields" and broom stick "spears" added to the humor. :)
Tonight we had the first night of the kids crusade. There was a good group of kids that showed up tonight. They were all really excited as they got off the bus. We had several skits, including Bro. Brock's sin chair skit, a midget skit, and a modern-day prodigal skit. The kids told me afterwards that they really enjoyed it all. The Lord really helped us today and we are looking forward to what He is going to do tomorrow!
Tonight we began the Youth Revival. It was so good to be back in a Honduran service and sing familiar songs. Our church people are so excited about the SENT team being here and are looking forward to what God is going to do. Tonight we saw several backsliders come in to service that had not been to church in years. I pray the Lord will continue to deal with them. We sang and testified and felt the Lord’s presence in a powerful way. Aaron Gilles and Bro. Pahlman both preached great messages that challenged and encouraged. The Lord moved in wonderful ways in the altar service. We saw many of our church people encouraged and it was a huge answer to prayer to see our youth girls getting in and really praying. I was able to pray with two girls in particular that have been on my heart lately. I couldn’t think of words to say when I began to pray with them and I asked the Lord to have His way and give me His words to say. The Lord answered and He gave me words that seemed to be what those girls needed to hear. I challenged them to quit playing around on the edges and that tonight was the night to decide between life and death, between Heaven and hell, and between God and the world. I felt the Lord come by and the girls began to weep. We prayed for a long time and afterwards I asked the girls if they had made up their minds which way to take. They both said they had decided to follow the Lord and I pray that they were serious with Him. I am so thankful for what the Lord is doing! It is so amazing to me that He would use us as His instruments to reach out to a lost and dying world.
The second service was at the First Infantry Battalion, which is the first one called in any time of emergency. We ministered in song and testified, but unfortunately duty called unexpectedly and the soldiers had to go fight a wild fire.
The third service was at my favorite place, ANAPO (the National Police Academy). I hadn’t realized how much I had missed all of the cadets until I saw them. I couldn’t stop the tears as we pulled in and they began to wave at us. It amazes me how much God can give you for such a large group of people. The service with them was amazing and the Lord moved and many prayed. It was wonderful to see how many of them are still serving the Lord. Our fourth and last service for today was at the Military Academy. We were all able to testify and sing. Bro. Pahlman preached a really good message and the cadets responded well. During the prayer, I could hear a couple sniffing and saw several wiping away tears. The Lord is so good and He continues to reach for the lost. Praise God for all He is doing! Today we had an all-around wonderful time. We saw the Lord move in the services and deal with the hearts of the soldiers and sailors.
The first service we had this morning was on Tiger Island, also known as Amapala, at the navy base. The service went well and we were able to minister in testifying, preaching and singing. Afterwards, the Navy provided a truck for us to ride in and took us on a ride around the whole perimeter of the island. Afterwards we ate fried fish on the beach. Bro. Pahlman actually licked a fish eyeball and gave us a prime example of the weakness of plastic chairs in Honduras and also of what Micah 7:8 says “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise;”. J It is so good to be home! J Our second service today was at the 11th Battalion, the home of the “Falcons.” This service went very good despite the heat. The commander of the Battalion was present in the service and was very pleased to have us there. We sang “Cristo Rompe las Cadenas” (Jesus Breaks Every Fetter) and “Crea en Mi Un Corazon Limpio” (Create in Me a Clean Heart). The presence of the Lord was in that service and later I watched the soldiers’ faces while Aaron Gilles preached. Many of them never took their eyes off him. It was a blessing afterwards to see a backslider pray with Aaron and my dad for forgiveness and come back to God. It has been a wonderful day so far!" It's so good to be home! I am looking forward to what the Lord is going to do with the SENT Team! I'm thankful that the Lord gave all of us a safe trip and I'm excited about what we are going to see God do!
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AuthorRachel Sumner is a freshman at Free Gospel Bible Institute. ArchivesCategories |