December - January

Dear Brethren,

We would like to thank everyone that sent money or food and medicine to us since the hurricane. Mitch did a lot of damage to Honduras and it will be years before things get back to normal. The soil has been destroyed and since agriculture is still the main source of income the people here will be hurting for a while. The Standard Company is one of the main companies in Honduras and they have had to move to Costa Rica for 2 years until the soil improves enough to grow fruit again. They had to lay off a lot of their employees and things are even harder than they were before the hurricane. We have already given out the food that we had and are now buying food for the more desperate of the people. Prices here are still running a lot higher than they were before the hurricane and probably will for a while. We expect another shipment of food and medicine in February or March. Brother Rutledge in Alabama is sending a container of food, medicine and clothes and the ship that is bringing it is suppose to leave in February. Please pray that it arrives here and we have no problem getting the container through customs.

We praise the Lord for the men that gave of their time and talent to come to Honduras and help us. Brother Paul Ciesielczyk, a medical missionary, came for a month to help treat the people here. Also Dr. David Rummel from Jay, Fla. came for 3 weeks to help out. It was not easy working in the villages in the mountains with no water and no restroom but they were faithful in doing the job God gave them to do and treated about 2000 people. We thank God for their faithfulness and for the Christians that gave money to pay for their way here. We also thank Bro. Luis Guerra and Bro. Brendan Brown for giving a week of their time to use their talent in carpentry.

We are still having alot of problems with the roads and bridges. We have had a lot of rain and it washed out the bridge over Rio Bonito and we could not get to the prison so I have not been able to start the prison ministry again. They brought in a barge to use as a ferry and charge $7.25 to go across. I hope to have the prison ministry going again soon now that I can get across the river.

I have been asked to start churches in the villages of Pueblo Nuebo, Triunfo, Nuebo Jutiapa, Sonaguera, and Miramar, but there is no way I can handle 6 churches and a prison ministry. I really need a man that called as called to preach to help me but it is hard to find them here. Please pray God will raise up a man here who will help me. I think I can handle 2 more and I am praying for the Lord to show me in which villages to start them. Nuebo Jutiapa is an hour and a half walk up the mountain from our church in Piedras Amarillas and it is a difficult and dangerous journey so of course my people are concerned about me going there. I promised them I would pray about it before making a decision.

we have had a couple of bad incidents that have my people and my wife worried. The first happened while I was preaching in a village called Mercedes. A man in the congregation had been drinking and he did not like something I said and came after me shouting I was a liar and a hippocrite and hit me in the back of the head with his fist.

The second incident happened because I had sent a supply of medicine and food to the village of with a "Christian" and he promised he would give it out in the village. One of the men in the village comes to our church in Piedras Amarillas and he told me that they had not received any of the supplies so during the service I prayed that if the "Christian" had stolen the supplies that God would get him. Before the next service the man appeared with his brother to confront me. His brother had a gun and had told the village he was going to shot me. When they confronted me, the kids and women in the church gathered in front of me while the men got behind his brother in case he drew his gun. Praise the Lord, I was able to reason with the man and it was settled without anyone getting hurt. I was just amazed that the man was scared and upset because I had prayed for God to get him for stealing but he did not fear God because he had sinned in stealing the supplies.

We are thrilled to tell you the Lord has added 6 new members to the Body of Christ during December and January. Mario is a boy about 10 yrs old that works filling up the holes in the road with dirt. I stopped on our way back from Piedras Amarillas and let Bro. Guerra deal with him and he got saved. I pick him up and take him to church with us every week.

An elderly lady I know asked us to come look at her grandson's foot. It had been broken and set wrong and now he is crippled. This lady and I have been praying for the salvation of her grandson and granddaughter (both in their 20's) every since I arrived here. I took Bro. Ciesielczyk and went to see them and I could tell that the Holy Spirit was dealing with them and they were ready to listen. Although we could not help him physically, we wereable to heal him spiritually. Both he and his sister received the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior.

Brother Brown preached at Bro. Erazo's church and I translated for him and gave the invitation and 2 ladies came forward. Their names are Rosa Callomo and Solvin Salazar. I dealt with them after church and they got saved. It was a real blessing. I had one on each side of me and one was crying her eyes out and the other was so happy she was about shout. I have a young man named Omar that sometimes helps me in Piedras Amarillas and he brought his cousin, Noel to the house for me to deal with. I let Bro. Guerra deal with him for a while but he said he was not ready so I talked to him and found out what was stopping him from getting saved and we dealt with that problem and he got saved. He is now going to Bro. Erazo's church with his cousin.

We thank the Lord for these souls and for the way he is working in our church in Piedras Amarillas. I can feel the Lord working there and I know things are going to start happening there.

Thank you for the extra help and prayers for us during the trouble we have had here and please continue to keep us in your prayers.

PRAYER REQUESTS
1. that our shipment of supplies will arrive
2. that the Lord will show me which villages to start churches
3. that the Lord will protect me from harm
4. that the bridges and roads will be repaired
5. that God will raise up a man to work with me.

Your Missionary in Honduras,

Santos Ortiz