HONDURAS IN MAY

PICS

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Hello all! It is coming a rain here like nothing we have seen for months!!! This is the third day in a row it has been raining almost the entire day. Supposedly, there is a tropical storm Alma that came up the south coast a few days ago and has just been sitting and dumping rain, and we are getting a lot of it. That is a good thing though since it has been a while without significant rain.
However, it has been the possible cause of one tragic accident. Friday, a plane landing in Tegucigalpa overshot the runway, slid off the end of runway, and crashed into a neighboring community. So far, 4 people have been confirmed dead- a pilot, 2 passengers, and a motorist. You can go and read the story on Yahoo or USA Today. Just look for it or search for “Honduras plane crash” and it will come up.
Besides that, this past month has been and absolutely amazing month. Busy as always, but God has definitely been doing some big things.

ARROW RETURNED!- You may recall that last year we had a group called ARROW to come and do training with our staff. We excitedly welcomed them back this month as they brought a smaller team to do more training with our Hondurans. Also, we had a girl named Lindsey that stayed for an extra two weeks to help write case plans for EVERY single one of our kids. What a blessing to have them come along side, partner with us, and help make a difference in the lives of our kids!

DRIVING!- This month, one of the most dangerous things that could happen while I am in Honduras happened---- I started driving. It was not nearly as bad as I had expected, but it was definitely not without its challenges. Crossing traffic is definitely a lot more difficult than it is in the states, and good luck trying to figure out which caution light is yours and if you can “really go” or not. Since then I’ve been able to drive to church a couple of times and that’s about it, but at least I can now if I ever need to! Now I just have to learn how to get around this enormous city!

MEDICAL BRIGADE- As I mentioned in my last update, this summer I will be helping out on the brigades with the concrete floor ministry, and Mark, the guy currently heading up this part of the ministry, will be leaving. Well, I was blessed to be able to go on one more short trip to the mission house and go with him for some more training. This time we poured a small floor in the kitchen of a home of a man that lives with his two children and his sister. We had lots of extra materials that had originally been planned to be used in another room of his home. However, his home is on a very steep incline and is in danger of having the ground washed out from under it as the rainy season is approaching. His neighbor’s home is almost literally right underneath him on the hill, and would also be in danger. The man has already begun building a retaining wall, and since we felt that his home being safe was more important than the concrete floor, the extra materials we left will be used for him to finish his retaining wall.

After we finished the concrete floor, we used the rest of the morning to visit some neighboring homes and minister to those families. We were able to pray over one man who is a severe alcoholic and seems to be having a hard time letting go of the addiction. Alcoholism is a very powerful and common addiction, more so here than probably most areas in the states.
I also had a great time this past week sharing with people at the evangelism station of the brigade. I witnessed several people break down and give their hearts to Jesus, and helped several people work through the confusion they had about what it means to be saved and how just because we still have sin in our life does not mean we will not enter heaven. A lot of the people I encountered believe that they are Christian but that they will not get to enter heaven. How sad and confusing that is for a culture that feels they have to earn their way into heaven. It was such a relief to see the weight lifted off of their shoulders when they understood that we can’t work our way into heaven, and that only by putting our faith and trust completely in Him can we enter heaven.

Anyhow, I was very blessed to be able to visit with these people and share the love of Christ.

LEADING WORSHIP- This past month, a team from the ranch, led worship at Union Church in the city. The team consisted of myself playing keyboard, Brett playing guitar, and Jaylene, Jae, and Jenny singing. We had been preparing for this for a while at this point, and after many other things had prevented us from being able to in the past, it was a wonderful thing to finally be able to lead worship at the church. God has truly blessed my time at Union Church. The teaching of Pastor Darren is absolutely wonderful and I enjoy it every week. (And I’m not just saying that because he reads my updates!) But to continue my plug, he has started a blog that he updates several times a week here: http://forhisglorybyhisgrace.blogspot.com/
Go read it!

MY CHURCH VISITS- I was also blessed this past week to have 5 members from Trinity Baptist Church to visit Honduras with 4 Corners Ministries. This ministry had partnered with ITAM ministries a few summers ago when I went to Venezuela under their partnership and received my “calling” to missions. Anyhow, the 5 members that came were Rickey Mulkey, Harold Heard, Teresa Farmer, and Vicky and Jenna Pratte. Vicky and Jenna have joined the church since I left so it was nice to get to know them. Also joining the team as leaders was Jerry Cotney and Gary Clark, also from the Roanoke area. Needless to say, it was wonderful to have familiar faces around! I was able to meet the team at the airport Saturday evening, and visit with them at their hotel Saturday evening before saying goodbye.

The team spent most of the week in other places around the city, but I was able to join up with them on Wednesday for a day at the ranch. Upon arrival at the ranch, the team got a full tour of the ranch and was able to eat at the big house here on the ranch. After lunch, we went into the community and went door to door sharing and praying with people. I was not as surprised this time to hear some of the confusions people had about being a Christian, and we were able to help a lot of people. We also saw several people accept Christ for the first time.

To top off the day, the team led the usual Wednesday afternoon community program. This time, Jason and Karen had gone into the community the day before and announced it over a megaphone. We had OVER 100 KIDS and adults to come for the program. The program consisted of balloon hats, a Bible story, a parachute ball toss game, soccer, crafts, and a soft ball toss. The day ended with a Spiderman piñata. I wish you could see what it’s like when over 100 kids go diving after candy when it hit’s the ground.

It was sad saying goodbye, but when the program was over, I said adios to the team from Roanoke. They finished the week in the city and will be flying out sometime today. I know they had an awesome time and God definitely used them to impact Honduras.

SCHOOL IS ENDING- I’ll keep this section short, but school is coming to an end. My next update will include pictures from graduation, which is this coming Wednesday. Thursday is a game day and Friday is school clean-up. Then the summer is here, and the following week I’ll be going to the mission house to start my internship.

LOS MICAH BOYS- This year we have tried to make our chapel time different each week to keep the kids interested. Two Fridays ago we were able to have a group called The Micah Project to visit us from the city. This program is designed to get street ids off the streets and help them get their lives turned around and on the right path. Michael Miller, on of the elders at Union, is the found of this organization. He was able to bring several of the ministry’s children to the ranch, including some that have put together a musical group called Los Micah Boys. We were able to hear several testimonies of these young men and be blessed by their musical talents. These are definitely some talented guys and know they really hit home for a lot of our kids here at the ranch.

CHAPEL OF MUSIC- Yesterday, for our last Chapel of the year, we had an all music chapel. We had about 5 different groups to play different songs that were special to them. The morning started with the P&W Band playing 3 songs: Blessed be the Name, Heart of Worship, and Te Alabare. Next, caleb, our guitar player, played a song by himself called Amazing Love. Following Caleb, we had a mostly Honduran group led by Mr. William, one of our Honduran teachers, play a couple of songs, La Casa de Dios and En Los Montes. Then Eric, our chaplain, played a few of his own favorite songs, including Who Am I by Casting Crowns. Brett, Jae, and I, also played a few songs including Jesus Paid it All and Word of God Speak. We finished the morning by having the P&W band playing a few more songs, Everlasting God, Indescribable, and Eres Todopoderoso, one of our favorites from the year.

It definitely brought the year to an awesome close as we saw so many of our students that have been learning to play instruments throughout the year combine their efforts for an awesome morning of praise and worship.

POSSIBILITIES- Well, I write this part to inform you of what, at this moment, I see God doing in my life, and asking for your prayers. Ultimately, I know that whatever happens is God’s will, but I have to share my heart’s desire at this moment. I am hoping that I will be able to commit this next year to serve on the WGO Evangelism and Medical Brigades/Concrete Floors. Many of you know that I feel that I eventually will work with different people groups around the world, most likely unreached people groups. I feel that this opportunity to serve with the brigades will be a huge step in that direction.

About a month ago, I was almost certain that it would happen, but then a teacher we thought was coming was not able to, and this felt like a door closing this opportunity. Recently, some things have happened that have made me feel like this can still happen. However, there are still problems with the schedule for next year that would have to get worked out. The big issue is all my classes that I would have next year have to get covered. Those things are being worked on but there are still some “ifs” that have to get worked out for it to happen.

I know God has a plan for my life, and however this situation works out will be what I am supposed to do, but I can’t say there isn’t a selfish part of me that desires this opportunity. Part of me sees the huge opportunity for outreach involved and the experience I will gain in sharing my faith, seeing Hondurans being brought to Christ, and being able to bless families with concrete floors. I also know that if I am to stay here at the ranch for more time, God will also use my musical talents to continue the praise band and other music classes among other things.
Please pray for this situation and that God’s will be done.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT- Please consider supporting me financially over this next year!!! No matter which way I go over this next year, I will still be serving God through mission work here in Honduras, and that is made possible by the financial gifts from people like you. My budget for next year is approximately $15,000. My financial need will start about half way through this June as support from this past year begins to run out. Please consider what you would be able to do, and follow these instructions if you would be able to support me financially.

1. If you are able to open the attached form, complete it and send it to the address as directed.

OR

2. If you cannot open the attached form, do the following. Please include a note indicating whether it is a one-time gift, or if you would continue making a monthly gift and in what amount.
Please make checks payable to World Gospel Outreach. Your donation is tax deductible, but please be sure that you put “TINER” on the envelope and on the MEMO line of your check. May God richly bless you for supporting me in this work!

Please return any donation to: World Gospel Outreach
Attn: Jesse Tiner Fund
P. O. Box 14348
Humble, TX 77347-4348

Well, this has been a full update! I hope that all is going well for each of you and that God is real and strong in your life. Please continue to pray for the Ranch and WGO, and please let me know if there is anything I can be praying about for you.