Here is a comment I posted on the XMA website right after our trip:

Well, the mules never arrived! We had permission for entry into the village and also the promise of mules, but when we arrive at the drop-off point at the village of La Esperanza, there was a note waiting for us that the village had changed their mind. The local people told us that that village is a predominant Catholic village and they have fear of evangelism and so that is the reason they had changed their minds. We didn´t get discouraged though because we knew God had a plan specific for our group and each of their members. We will update you on our blog site and encourage some of the group members to write about their experience during their week here. Thank you for praying for us!

 Here is a glimpse of our week:

 Carlos, our pilot, took us in his pipante (dugout canoe) down the Patuca River and dropped us of at the village of La Esperanza. We had planned to spend the night there then head out hiking to the village of Buenos Aires and stay in that village for a few days doing a medical clinic and sharing time with children. As our boat was pulled up to the shoreline, Pastor Conception, the pastor of La Esperanza, came down the hill with a grim look on his face and a note in his hand. He handed Marlon the note without saying much and Marlon unwrapped it from its package. Inside, the leaders of the village of Beunos Aires had written that even though they had given us their permission to come just a few weeks before, we were no longer invited to come to their village. A conversation began and from what I translated, it was because the village there is predominately Catholic and they have fear of evangelism. Rain was beginning to fall on us while we waited in the boat and so we decided to unload and then talk about what we would do the rest of the week with this closed door we were facing. We gathered under the porch at Pastor Conception’s house and settled in for the night. We showed the film “Something to Sing About” and the people enjoyed the film and the message. That night, my tent was pitched near the kitchen door and Marlon and I laid quietly and listen to the Pastor, his wife, and other villagers talk about the decision the leaders of Buenos Aires had made. It wasn’t the first time a door had been closed due to a reason like theirs and so Marlon and I whispered a prayer together and ask God to continue to direct us to the work He needed done. We also asked for the members in our group not to get discouraged because as always, our plans are so different than God’s and we have to be willing to follow even when we don’t understand.

The next day (Monday), we passed some more time on the Pastor’s porch and the younger missionaries (Gage and Samuel, ages 9 and 10 respectively) played with the other children of the village. We had Mr. Dale with us that love to tell oral Bible stories and we listened to a few stories in English and Yuly and Marlon translated them into Spanish. It was neat to hear about Abraham and his son Isaac and almost relive the moment through the telling of a story. After the story was told, questions where asked and some of the local people participated in answering them. Pastor Conception talked about imagining himself in a situation of having to sacrifice his son and he talked of how hard that would be to be obedient and trust God. He understood though, when God asks, trust and obedience are expected.

Later that day, Yuly helped the Pastor complete some studies he was doing towards his Biblical training and much to our surprise, the Pastor could not read and write very well. I smiled because he had said earlier that he enjoyed learning the Bible through oral stories and Mr. Dale had shared an MP3 player with him that had many oral Bible stories downloaded on it. The Pastor received a great resource that was left with him to learn the Bible and we will pray about this man receiving training to learn how to share the Bible through storying. That evening we decided to stay another night and we showed the film “The Last Flight Out” and a young boy named Nixon accepted Christ. When I went to bed that night, I thank God He had held us over there more time than we had originally planned.

On Tuesday, Carlos arrived and took us further down river to the village of Las Marias. This village was besides the river, but when we arrived there were no keys to the church available. We were invited up to a nearby porch of a house not far from the church and we got to know the people of that house. People came in and out as well as children and it was neat to see Mr. Dale and Mr. Randy play patty-cake with the little girls of the village. They didn’t let up much with them and these two guys made some new friends. That evening, we had a clinic at the house and at the same time showed “The Jesus Film” at the church. A leader had arrived to open the doors and the church leaders and members were happy we had come for a visit. After film, the clinic continued and once we finished, Marlon and I were served a Honduran dinner (rice, beans, eggs, and cheese) and then we joined the others missionaries back at the church. Mr. Randy had set up my tent and I gladly slid into it for a good night’s sleep. Yuly had helped lead the invitation after the film since we were at the clinic and she shared with us that 5 people had received Christ!

On Wednesday, Carlos took us back up river to Blue Canyon and a lady that was at Pastor Conception’s house on Sunday, had opened her house up to us. We arrived to Mrs. Angela cleaning her house and welcoming us in. Yuly had children’s time while Marlon, me, and the other missionaries held the clinic. Mrs. Angela was like a busy bee going around visiting the people who had come to the clinic, making coffee and other food for us in her kitchen. That night, we showed “The Jesus Film” and Mrs. Angela seemed to talk the whole time during the film. She was telling the people to watch carefully the film and that Jesus saves us. I heard her one time raise her voice and say “Listen children to this message”! During this day, the pilot Carlos was feeling tired and so he stayed around with us at Angela’s house. He took a nap during the day and that afternoon, he listened to the oral Bible stories on the MP3 player Mr. Dale had given him. Carlos isn’t a Christian and Mr. Dale wanted to share the stories with him to listen to while he takes his boat up and down the river transporting people and supplies. Later, we learned that none of the villagers that came to the film except Angela, were Christians and it was neat to share the message of Christ with them.  It was also neat that after all this time using Carlos as our pilot, he finally had time to hear the message for himself! We continue to pray for his salvation.

Thursday we headed back to Danli and I was thankful to return to my bed and a warm shower. Marlon and I talked about the week and it was neat to see how God had used us to minister to people we hadn’t even thought we would be ministering to. On Friday, we went to Valley of the Angels for our fun day and Mr. Randy asked if it was possible to have a bonfire. We had never thought of this and indeed it was possible. That night, we sat around the fire and had time of sharing. One of the things that was thought of as we looked at the fire burning down, the red embers in front of us, and the wood laying beside the fire waiting to be added… We have the fire of the Lord in us and we have two choices…one, let the fire burn down and go out, or toss some more wood on it and keep it burning. We can place wood on our own fires through prayer, studying the Bible, attending a church to listen to the message, and also we can fellowship with other believers. We also can spread the fire by sharing His Word with unbelievers and also building the fires of believers through times of fellowship and encouragement.

It was a good week with the missionaries in the mountains and we are thankful for your prayers!!!