Africa to Central America–October 2018

As I’m going back over all the places the Lord has led me over the past 3 months, I’m somewhat overwhelmed. The Lord is working some awesome things throughout the globe, and it’s my privilege to participate in them, knowing that at the end of my life, when I stand before my Maker, I will say that I was only an unworthy servant who had done His duty.

So from conferences in Africa to translators and filters in Central America… here we go…

Training the Called – African Adventures

It had nearly been a year since my last trip to Africa, so imagine my excitement to have my feet back on the hard, red clay that covers seemingly every square inch of the land. We traveled immediately from the airport, arriving at the new SOS ministry headquarters, located right outside of one of the first villages I ever visited. Having stayed at many places here, I have to say, this is the nicest – no loud club music playing until 3:00 AM, no intense birthday parties going on around us, and no mosquito infested swamp to keep us slapping ourselves into late in the night.

In Africa, one of the biggest enemies of the gospel are so-called African churches where the pastors are only eager for selfish gain and teach that godliness is a means of making money. Many of these pastors live in luxury while their congregants give of their meager funds to keep the pastor in his lofty position.

Jesus taught that leaders in the church should be servants, not the high and lofty “pastors” who demand money from their people. This false gospel has taken over the churches and solid pastors have no formal training to combat the deception. Our pastors are excited about the gospel and diligent in their work, but no one has ever taken the time to train them.

This past May, we brought a small team from the States to teach a pastors’ conference, and the response was incredible. The attendees were encouraged, and we spent one night worshiping until long after midnight. It was awesome getting to be reunited with our Nigerian brothers and having the privilege to preach the gospel to men who had never heard it before. God is growing the ministry faster than we can raise up workers and funds, so pray that God will raise up the right people for the job.

“I’m Listening”

The day after the conference ended, we visited a village where we had never been – a village whose chief greeted us stoically – a village with no way out except the way we’d come if things went weird. We greeted the people warmly and especially the chief. After exchanging pleasantries, Mike explained that we were there on behalf of the God who had created all things with a message for him. He responded through our translator: “I’m listening.”

Mike then proceeded to explain the creation and fall of man, his need for salvation, and the hope of Jesus Christ which is for all people. When he finished, one of the pastors asked for permission to speak and the chief said again, “I’m still listening.”

At the end of our dialogue with the chief, with all the villagers watching, he gathered everyone close so we could pray for them, and the door seems wide open for the gospel to come into their village. Please pray that when we return that the chief will still be listening – for the salvation of him and his people!

Please also pray that God provides the funds for more water wells for the multitude of villages we love, because the need for clean drinking water is incredible.

El Salvador & Honduras Unfiltered

Speaking of clean drinking water, a month after leaving Africa, I found myself getting off a plane in El Salvador with two suitcases stocked with water filters. One of the biggest needs in developing countries without infrastructure is for clean drinking water, and a Christian businessman graciously donated 1,000 reusable water filters for us to give away free of charge – filters that could last these families for years. This meant that we had some awesome opportunities to visit people in their homes and deliver a potentially life-saving water filter that will serve them for years. One man who tried water from his new filter took one drink and declared, “Wow that is very good!”

But even more importantly, we were able to deliver the living water of Jesus Christ to thirsty souls.

“Come, everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and he who has no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
hear, that your soul may live;

Isaiah 55:1-3

Found in Translation

Last March, we lost a translator on the way to Honduras. This time when the bus pulled up, we had no translator. I greeted the bus driver and noticed a young girl sitting in the car so I talked with her for a moment in Spanish and suddenly something dawned on me, “you speak English… don’t you?”

“Yes I do!” she said, and started cheerfully telling me how she’d learned it from American movies and music – and that she’d never taken English as a course. She came with her dad to drop us off in Honduras, but ended up getting so excited over what we were doing and the idea of staying with the team that she asked if she could stay. Naturally, like a good team leader I contained my excitement and said calmly, “Yes I think we can do that.”

On the inside, it was more like, “Yesssssss!!!!!”

The next day, we were ministering at a remote school in the mountains and came to the point in the program where we presented the gospel and suddenly I found myself unable to translate for Joey Rasico, the young man who was speaking. I pointed to Alejandra, asking if she could step up and translate. “Paul I can’t do that!” she said.

I shrugged, “I’ll be right up here with you” and she came up out of the crowd (to my relief).

She seemed unsure at first, but I backed away slowly as she began to translate the gospel with amazing clarity with all the kids paying careful attention to every word. (Hats off to Joey for sharing the gospel in an amazing way!)

The next day, Alejandra was translating the gospel at another school when suddenly the lightbulb went on. She later told us that day, July 12th, was the first day she’d truly understood that Jesus had indeed paid for her sin. How awesome is it that last March, the Lord gave me the ability to translate the whole trip, but with this trip, He took it away at just the right moment so that Alejandra would hear and understand and be saved?

God’s word is amazingly powerful, and Alejandra was just one of the several who came to faith this past month – among many other amazing things, even a miraculous healing.

But we do not go for the miraculous healings, nor the salvation testimonies – though both are wonderful. We go because our Lord has called us, and it is better to be with Him doing His work than anything else.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers. If you are looking to get involved in the ministry in any way, please let me know! And know that God can use you.

March Madness–Surprises and Help for the Helpless

Every March, S.O.S. Ministries sends down a team to Central America to minister and to run some women’s conferences in the various locations, and it’s an amazing trip. For the men who ask about such trips, I always encourage them that it’s not a ladies trip but that the conferences are a backdrop that often involves some amazing meetings with their husbands who wouldn’t normally set foot on the property. (It’s amazing what serving a family and serving food will do…)

Even with that being the case, this trip was unique…

Lost in Translator

We were on our way to Hondruas and picked up a new translator, Francisco, who turned his life over to Jesus a few months ago after living a disordered life of drinking and drugs. Last December he seemed to be going through the motions, but this time, he seemed genuinely excited to go.

As a primary translator for the team, I was doubly excited, because it meant I wouldn’t have to carry the main burden of translating for the team, which would free me up to do other things… like breathe.

When we got to the border, Francisco took a long time to come back from the office, and when he finally returned, he told us that there was a crime committed in his name that he’d have to clear up, which meant he couldn’t come with us.

He was upset, saying, “I’ve come to serve the Lord and now this happens?”

Anyone who’s been in the same situation knows what it’s like to have a closed door – it’s frustrating, and I was bemused and slightly frustrated that after telling everyone how happy I was not to be a team translator, I’d just gotten another promotion. A friend of mine reminded me of God’s faithfulness and the feeling quickly passed. Yes, He can and does use even my Spanish, and He also even used being turned back at the border to grow Francisco in his faith.

The team gathered around him and prayed, assuring him that God had some kind of purpose for this, and that he would be joining us on the ministry soon enough…

Children’s Ministry and the Main Thing

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven… so shall My word be that goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” – from Isaiah 55

In Honduras, we usually have a ministry team that takes care of the children while the women’s conference continues, which allows the women to relax and hear the word of God without distractions. This time, our ministry team was four men, and most of the children were pretty young. Our team did an admirable job of keeping them entertained but we were getting worn out and the kids were in danger of getting bored. We went to put on a movie when we felt we couldn’t do any more, but the projector wasn’t bright and the sound wasn’t working.

One of the team members told me he’d done kids ministry in the past and could give a lesson, but I was doubtful that we could keep their attention. Still, we gave it a shot, and the moment we began teaching them the word of God (the parable of the unmerciful servant), they became completely still and even asked some really good questions. We shared the gospel about how Jesus had completely forgiven us of our sins and that we should share that same forgiveness with others and several of the kids locked eyes with us the whole time.

This happened two days in a row and I realized, sheepishly, that the real purpose for the children’s programs should not be to distract the kids while their mothers hear the gospel; it is another venue to share the gospel. God worked through us the moment we were obedient to that calling and befuddled all our attempts to entertain outside that main thing – preaching the word to the least of these.

Hats off to the team… that was quite the adventure.

Someone to help us

You may remember this, but back last December, some of the young men from Honduras told us that their parents did not care for their spiritual growth and that no one would teach them the scriptures.

This trip, we played a game of soccer with them that went on for quite awhile and we invited the young men to join us for a Bible study. For a moment I thought that everyone left – something that does happen sometimes in the ministry – but two of the young men stayed behind.

One of the young men on the team and I went through parts of Matthew 5 with them – that murder and adultery are not only sins of action but sins of the heart. When we told them that even looking at a woman with lustful intent was the same in God’s eyes as committing the act itself, their eyes grew big. “No one can do this,” they confessed. We finished with Jesus saying that you must be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect and about how He had provided a way by living the perfect life for us. We gave them notebooks and a Bible and they told us that when we returned, the notebook would be full of questions. It was an awesome answer to prayer, and we’re hoping to continue that ministry in July.

Just so you know how difficult it will be for these young men, their cousin had been coming to the church, but according to our church leaders, his parents told him that if he continued to attend, he would be thrown out of the house. Pray for them – the road to salvation will not be an easy one.

Joining Together

Because we had a smaller team this time, we brought the entire group of Hondurans (the cooks and leaders and their families) to eat with us in Copan, and the next morning, we invited everyone, even the cooks, to join us for breakfast. Laughter and amazing conversation followed – even across language boundaries. How good and pleasing is it for brothers to dwell in unity!

At first the younger Honduran girls balked at the idea, thinking it wasn’t permitted to eat with the Americans – wow. No wonder they seemed a bit stand-offish. No one had ever told them this, but they assumed it was the case, and I’m glad the team corrected this.

How beautiful is team unity? When we got ready to depart, several of the Hondurans told us that their favorite part of the team being there was the times we ate together as a group. Is this not what Jesus prayed for in John 17 that all believers would be one even as He and the Father were one? I’m excited to see what the next trip brings.

Surprise

When we returned, we were looking forward to a baptism for our new translator (Francisco) and his familiy. But the day of, we found out that he and his girlfriend of ten years were living together but not married, even having kids together.

Baptism into Christ is a baptism of repentance – turning from your old sins, so what would you do? I’ll tell you what would have been the easy thing, to turn a blind eye to the whole thing and just baptise them and hope they made it right.

But that’s not the way of the Lord. He desires His people to be holy and pure, so we confronted them in this, and it was… really… awkard at first. But the Lord began to work in their hearts and they went from being taken aback to getting excited about obeying the Lord.

He agreed to move out and to stay with the team at La Esperanza for the sake of obeying God’s call to purity in their lives. Just to show how excited they were to get married, he woke up at 4 AM the next morning to go pick up his future wife and get the process started, and later that day, they brought their entire family out to minister alongside us.

Now normally, the process of getting the paperwork and everything lined up for a marriage takes a week, but they were so excited that they got the process done and we celebrated the wedding just two nights after we had confronted them. Praise the Lord when His children obey Him. Pray for our brother Francisco and his wife, that they would pursue the Lord with all their hearts, and that their marriage would be blessed. Lord willing, we will be baptizing them in July.

The team that “gets it”

I needed to spend some time abiding in the Lord the last day of the trip, because things had been so chaotic and quite frankly, I had not prioritized my time with Him. The team had things under control with the last womens’ conference, so I decided I needed to go. On the way to the room, I saw the soldiers and some of the men outside and had a strong urge to evangelize them. Yet it was almost as though the Lord were urging me to spend time with Him instead – that He was able to do His work (John 15:5).

When I came back, all of the men from the team were sharing the gospel with the men on the property and the soldiers – one of them even using google translate to communicate the message. Some of the girls had befriended a local doctor and were making sure that the doctor and her sister left with Bibles.

It was incredible. The team just “got it”, and many people not only heard the gospel, they heard it compassionately from members of the team. God is good – it never ceases to amaze me what He is able to do when His people come together to serve Him. The same invitation I give to people in person I’ll give to you, come join us this summer. I would love to serve with you.

School funding

As one last thing, there are many in El Salvador who are seeking to get a higher education but who are unable to attend. One of them is a fine young man named Roberto who is constatly serving at the church and seeking to grow in the Lord. He’s brilliant – top of his class – but because his father abandoned him, he has no way of going ahead to the university and may not even be able to finish high school.

Please pray for those who are looking to further their education, and if you are interested in donating to the education fund for El Salvador, please contact me or go to www.soshope.org/donate and be sure that whatever you give is earmarked “El Salvador Education”. We will make sure that 100% of the funds go to that purpose, knowing that whatever we have done for the least of these, we have done for Jesus Himself. (Matthew 25)

In His strength,
the least of God’s servants,
- Paul

Christmas Joy

Ministry in Central America
Our Honduras team was the smallest it’s been for 7 years, but that didn’t mean it felt like that. Every member of the team contributed in an awesome way, making sure that the hundreds of children we ministered to in many different areas not only received Christmas gifts but also the good news of the Savior of the world, brought into humble circumstances 2,000 years ago.

Everywhere we went, we preached the gospel, and people were listening, even going out of their way in some cases to be sure they could overhear the conversation. Here are a few stories from the trip:

Dealing gently with others
One of the houses we visited was home to a family that is staunchly opposed to the gospel. A 17-year-old from El Salvador boldly engaged the man of the house while we spoke with a woman we’ve spoken with before. At one point in the conversation, she asked, exasperated and in an accusing tone, “How do YOU know you’re going to heaven?” to a young woman in the group.

How should we respond to people when they act like this?

The young woman answered her gently, and all of us were very gracious to her and she settled back and listened to the gospel, then went out of her way to introduce the rest of her family, even putting a smile on her face.

When we share the gospel and others oppose us, we must remember that it was in kindness that our Savior rescued us, and we should show that same mercy to others.

No one to help us
One of the last nights of the Honduras trip, we invited several of the local youths to an impromptu soccer match, which turned into a miniature tournament. One of the young men on the team volunteered to preach the gospel before we presented the prizes (prizes we put together on a whim because we didn’t know it was supposed to be a tournament), and many of the young men gave their full attention as we shared the gospel, even hushing those who weren’t paying attention.
In a conversation later on, one of the young men told us that there was no one to preach the word of God to them and no one to teach them right from wrong, and their parents didn’t take them to church or teach them the Bible because they only cared about whether they were living an outwardly quiet life.

There is a great need in Hacienda Grande for someone to teach the youth the scriptures. Please pray that God touches someone’s heart to do this.

Pastors’ Conference
While we were serving in Honduras, our local elders traveled to El Salvador to a pastors’ conference (thank you Lakeside Community Chapel!) and on their return, each of them spoke about what an incredible blessing it had been for them to learn how to preach the scriptures more effectively. The men are hoping to return to the conference in July. Please keep praying for these courageous men.
An incredible note about these men is that one of them was not even literate before he became an elder, and he learned to read for the sole purpose of studying the scripture. These men are unequipped by the standards of the world, but as Paul wrote, “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).

If you should find yourself feeling discouraged and useless, remember this – God uses the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Cor 1:27-29). The race doesn’t belong to us – He does the work and He works in us.


New Frontier
In El Salvador, we have been visiting some of the same villages since the first year I came (2005), and it’s a huge privilege to see the Lord work in those places through our continual visits. But every year we also visit a new location with a special need recommended by one of our local contacts. This time, we found ourselves in the beautiful village of San Jose that sits on a hilltop opposite the local volcano (no worries folks, it’s probably extinct).

The people were extremely welcoming, and the program went off fairly well. Afterwards, my friend Casey and I went over to speak to some of the men of the village. Now usually the men won’t engage us in deep conversation, but Casey was very vulnerable with them, sharing his testimony and how the Lord had rescued him from the folly of his youth, and for some reason, the story resonated with the men. They told us at first that they believed that everyone was going to heaven, but that some of them had had struggles.

We dialogued on man’s brokenness and his inability to please a holy God – how every one of our good deeds is defiled and how only the sacrifice of Jesus can cover over the filth of our sin. By the end of the conversation, one of the men said, “We are trapped in the mire, and unless we grab God’s outstretched hand, there is no hope for us.”

The men thanked us repeatedly for coming to their village and for sharing the word of God with them, and we were amazed by their openness, especially considering that both of us were younger than most of them. When God opens a door for ministry, none can shut it.

Afterward, the medical worker briefed us on the sad conditions of the people in the village – teenage pregnancy, malnutrition, and family issues, and I felt a strange tug on my heart.

Could God be calling us to plant a church here?

Please pray for San Jose.

Personal
It amazes me that God can or would use me. I remember at one time thinking that I was invaluable to the kingdom, but now He is showing me more and more just how little I have to offer in my own strength. He really does use the foolish and weak things of the world to shame the strong. I’ve been in awe of how He uses even the smallest grain of faith to move mountains, and I’m looking forward (hopefully) to sending a part two with an update from our latest trips.

Redeeming Communities Update – A Seed Finally Sprouts
I just got off the phone with a friend of ours from Rainbow Village (the neighborhood in our area where we’re ministering) and a young man from there just told me how much he needed the Lord and to stop doing things in his own strength. He attended church last Sunday along with his family and he’s planning on attending more. He had a court date March 19^th so please pray for him.
We preached the gospel to him almost two years ago and he’s continually rejected it, so may this finally be the wake up call that brings him from darkness to light.

Water for Life
Our regional director for Africa just gave us an urgent plea for us to support a new water well in a village that has no good source for water. Please pray for the Lord to provide, as it will affect an entire village and be a positive testimony of the gospel in a village that has an incredible thirst both physically and spiritually.

Prayer Requests
Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support. God is working more than I can say in a short letter and I ask for your continued prayers.

Pray that God will glorify His name in the ministry, that He will sanctify me and give me wisdom to know Him better and to reach the lost, and that He would cause the word of God to be honored and to grow rapidly wherever we go.

With much love, the least of the followers of Jesus Christ,
- Paul