What a blessing it is for us to share with you the many wondrous things God is doing here in the mountains of Honduras. With every newsletter we send to you, it is our hope and prayer that you are encouraged, uplifted, and drawn closer to our Lord and Savior.
Every passing day brings us closer to the day Christ will return.. In the short time that remains, we must spend every moment in surrender to God, allowing Him to change every defect of character, until no resemblance of self remains; Only that of our dear Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus.
“We are witnesses for God as we reveal in ourselves the working of a power that is divine. Every individual has a life distinct from all others, and an experience differing essentially from theirs. God desires that our praise shall ascend to Him, marked with our own individually. These precious acknowledgements to the praise of the glory of His grace, when supported by a Christlike life, have an irresistible power that works for the salvation of souls..” M.H., pg. 113
“Remember The Sabbath Day, To Keep It Holy”
By Joe
In the days ahead, God’s people will be tested more and more; And the primary deciding issue will be, God’s Seventh Day Sabbath. It is the Seal of the living God. The crowning Seal of His creation. The faith of all true Christians will be tested. How will you stand? Let me share with you something that happened just recently to a young man who now lives in our mountain village of La Zona.
His name is Benito, but we simply call him Ben. Just a few months ago, he lived in San Pedro Sula, the second largest city in Honduras. He had a good job, working as a driver (chauffeur) for the owners of a large business. The work was easy, and the money was great, but Ben had a persistent feeling that he and his family needed to leave the city. Unable to shake this feeling, Ben made preparation to move into the mountains of La Zona, where he has friends and family. Little did he know, that God was the One calling him out of Babylon. Ben had saved up enough money to move and rent a small house right next door to Salvador, one of our baptized church members. Although La Zona is a relatively small village, it has its unpleasant elements. Not wanting to be a part of such things, nor wanting his family enticed or misguided, Ben began bringing his family to church. At first, he was only coming on Sabbath’s, but soon he, his wife and baby son were attending every meeting. Douglas, our Bible worker at the time, presented some powerful and clear messages, and recently, Ben witnessed his first baptism of a young woman, (written about in our last newsletter), who committed her life to the Lord.
Ben inquired more and more about the truths he was hearing; He enjoyed the worship services, and as he learned about God’s holy day, Ben wanted to keep the seventh day Sabbath holy. Learning these new and exciting truths about the Seventh Day Sabbath, brought with it a strong conviction; One that required firm obedience to God.
Ben now had a job working on a dairy farm, making a pittance of what he had made in the city, but keeping his job to support his family was necessary. The work was not hard, but the hours were long, and he had to work on the Sabbath. Have you ever been in a situation, where you had to decide between your livelihood, and your obedience to God? Believe you me, it’s not a pleasant experience. The only thing that can keep us focused and faithful, is the Word of God.He has promised to care for His children, if we are obedient to Him, and keep all of His statutes, His commandments, and His laws.
Ben now had the trying task of telling his employers that he could no longer work on God’s holy Sabbath day. Would they be understanding, and allow him to take Sabbath’s off? All Ben could do was pray that God would some-how intervene, so that he could keep his job. We must ever keep in mind that, “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Eph. 6:12
With firmness and trust in God, Ben let his boss know that he could no longer work on Sabbath’s, because the Seventh Day Sabbath is God’s Holy Day. Without understanding or compassion, Ben’s boss told him that if he could not work Friday nights and Saturday, that he’d just find someone else to work for him.
That next Sabbath Ben came to church joyfully, and Saturday night, he asked if he could come up to the outpost the next day to talk with us. We were curious to know what he wanted. Early Sunday morning, Ben was at the outpost. He excitedly shared with us his testimony, of how he felt God had brought him to La Zona to teach him His truth. He wanted to be obedient to God’s word, and his desire now was, not to make money like he had done in San Pedro Sula, but to serve the Lord and be able to attend His house of prayer here in La Zona. He asked us, if there were any way he could work for us, either at the outpost or the restaurant. We were so moved by Ben’s determination to serve the Lord, no matter what, that we decided to hire Ben as our grounds-man / handyman. I believe this was God’s way of blessing Ben; but not only did God bless Ben with a job, but also with more money than he was making at the Dairy Farm. No-one is looking over his shoulder, and he’s pretty much his own boss. When you’re faithful to God, you just can’t beat God’s giving, and blessings, no-matter how hard you try. Whatever the trial, or circumstance; when we can see no light at the end of the tunnel, we must learn to trust wholly upon the promises of our Savior.
Praise the Lord!!!!!!!
A House Of Prayer and Learning...
By Elsa
“The Bible is the only rule of faith and doctrine. And there is nothing more calculated to energize the mind, and strengthen the intellect, than the study of God’s word… If God’s word was studied as it should be, men would have breath of mind, a nobility of character, and a stability of purpose, that is rarely seen in these times,”
Do you know the 2300 day prophecies? Well enough to teach it to others? Well dear friends, that’s what our little church group is doing. For the past few Sabbaths, our (God’s) House of Prayer in La Zona has been learning, explaining, and teaching Bible prophecy, particularly, the 2300 day prophecy.
This year the Lord placed it in our hearts to study the book “The Great Controversy.” It has been such a blessing, it has revived our members. I believe all of God’s children should be studying this book along with their Bibles in preparation to be able to stand in these last days.
Our humble members have been greatly inspired to study, and specially as we studied the chapter about William Miller, an American Reformer, whom the Lord led him to the study of the prophecies, specially the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14, “Unto two thousand three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed”. I did not want us to just pass thru the chapter without making sure that each of the members understood that prophecy for themselves, and well enough to explain it to others. It was not an easy task for them. You see the majority of our members are village people, some whom never went to school and others, maybe as far as third or sixth grade, but they tried, they persevered and they prayed for understanding; claiming Psalms 119:130 which says “ The entrance of Thy word giveth light, it gives understanding unto the simple.” And friends, the Lord has helped them...they know and understand the 2,300 day prophecy, which lets us know, that since 1844 we have been living in the time of the investigative judgment, that soon Jesus will come and we must be ready.
You see, when you have so-called Bible scholars who seem to have all the right dates and calculations, and who then tell you that, according to Bible prophecy, judgment will end and Jesus will return to this earth on May 21, 2011, you had better know your Bible for yourself. We are told that many winds of doctrine will come and the study of the word of God will be our only safeguard. So we too, encourage you to go back and study the prophecy, and make sure that you know it for yourself. If the folk in La Zona can do it, you can too. As one of them said “ it’s time to give up watching T.V. and study the Bible instead.”
It has been a joy to see the members come alive and realize that we can no longer just sit back and listen to the preaching of the word, but that we need to study for ourselves, and as William Miller did, study deep and ask for that heavenly wisdom which comes only through the agency of the Holy Spirit.
A Good Report
By Joe and Elsa
“It is in youth that the affections are most ardent, the memory most retentive, and the heart most susceptible to divine impressions; and it is during youth that the mental and physical powers should be set to the task in order that great improvements may be made in view of the world that now is, and that which is to come.”
We are so thankful for what the Lord has done in the lives of our missionary trainees…Rene and Roger, for they are truly Medical Missionary Evangelist’s. But we realize that, like all of us, their education is not over; We all continue in the school of Christ, taking every opportunity to continue to develop our faculties for service.
Recently in our visit to Costa Rica, we had the opportunity to spend some time with a very special man, brother Enrique Betancour. I would say he is one of those few remaining standard bearers, those that choose the old paths to walk in. In talking with brother Betancour, we discovered his deep love for agriculture, which has been his life. As we listened to him, I thought…people like him should not be allowed to pass off the scene, without imparting all that knowledge and experience to the next generation; And of course, I thought about our boys, especially Roger, who loves agriculture. When I mentioned that he needed to share his knowledge and experience, he enthusiastically informed me that he was starting a one year agriculture training program in Honduras and was accepting interested young men. He said, “send me those boys, I know I’m dealing with good people”. After praying, and talking to both Rene and Roger, we decided that we would send Roger first, since we still need Rene’s assistance at the restaurant. We drove Rogers six hours away to the town of Tabanga, to an abandoned farm house that had been donated for the agriculture project. By the looks of everything, and the simple but spiritual worship that was conducted by brother Betancour that night, I knew this was the right place for our boys, they were going to learn much more in the school of Christ. We were going to miss them, and I knew they would miss being at the outpost in La Zona, but in our heart we knew that this was a good opportunity for them. We assured brother Betancour, that Roger would be an asset to him, a hard worker and a dedicated young man.
We have called Roger every week to check on him, and he always sounds excited, because he is learning so many good tips about organic agriculture from brother Betancour. The schedule allows the young men an hour break during the afternoon, which Roger has been wisely using to teach his other companions the principles of medical missionary work and simple natural treatments, as well as Bible truths. I was so proud of Roger, for being willing to share all that he has learned, what a good report!
A few weeks ago when I called to check on Roger, the one that was excited was brother Betancour. He proceeded to tell me that he had taken the boys to visit one of the local Seventh Day Adventist churches in a nearby village. During the missionary time, they had asked Roger to do a 10 minute missionary report. Well he said, “that boy got up with all the enthusiasm to share about missionary work, and got the people so excited, that they invited him back for the after-noon program to teach them how to do outreach and give Bible studies; “that young man you all trained is something else, a real leader, someone who is not swayed from his principles.…. that church had never been so excited!” After the training in the afternoon, Roger took the church members out to the park, and from house to house, using his blood pressure cuff as an entering wedge, to visit the people and then ask about future Bible studies… “you all trained a real missionary, that’s what all our school ought to do!” Praise the Lord for such a good report!
Saved To Serve
By Elsa
“We have come to a time when every member of the church should take hold of medical missionary work. The world is a lazar house filled with victims of both physical and spiritual disease.” 7T. Pg. 62
This was the quote that came to my mind as we walked into Maria’s dark, dim and dirty shack. She was sitting up in an unkept bed. We immediately smelt the stench of dead flesh...gangrene! Her hair was loose and wild, and after talking with her briefly, we realized that her mind was not right either. She recognized me, and immediately began whispering that “they” were after her, and that she was going to die from the damage to her foot. The doctors had sent her home from the hospital to die. They had wanted to amputate the leg, which maybe to man may have appeared to have been the only solution, but were unable to operate because of her mental condition. Her family are poor, unlearned, superstitious mountain people. But as we beheld the scene, we were moved with compassion, we knew if we left her there, she would soon die. In her mental state, and the serious condition of that foot, could we accomplish anything? We all looked at each other and said, “we’ve got to help her”, even if it’s just to prepare her heart for Jesus.
After talking with the family, they agreed that we would take her up to the outpost. It was going to be a challenging, self sacrificing task, but my thoughts were that, I know Jesus had died for her, and that He would be willing to spend and be spent to help her, so by His grace we moved forward in faith. After the first day of struggling with her physically and mentally, we almost gave up, thinking, she is not going to cooperate with the treatments, so what is the sense of having her with us; But after praying, we realized that we would have to exercise the faith that she did not have; we had to have the positive thinking that she has never had; we needed the love and patience of Jesus. I want to tell you, that God is so faithful, His grace is sufficient for us. His methods of healing work, and I know that He is doubly blessing the few treatments that we are able to give Maria. In only one week of just a few treatments that she allows us to give her, we noticed a tremendous change; The foot is coming back to life; there is no more stench of decaying flesh, there is new bright pink flesh coming up, and yes, her mind is clearer. She no longer has that wild look, and she even smiles now:).
The first few days when we would read her the Bible she would pretend to be asleep, but now she sings along her favorite song, “Mas halla del sol,” and she also prays, and even acknowledges that her foot is getting better.
(Maria’s foot on Day 1 and One Week Later.)
I thank God for His love, and that He is able to place that love with-in our hearts. Taking care of Dona Maria has helped us to learn more of that self sacrificing love that Jesus had for a world that did not want or appreciate that sacrifice. It has helped me to realize how patient and loving God has been with me, that He has not given up on taking care for me, and healing and cleansing my soul from the stench of sin. It has taught me how quick and effective His simple remedies are in restoring health of body and mind. It has taught me that what seems impossible to man is possible with God. We still have a way to go with Maria, the care is still challenging, time consuming and costly, but....what is the worth of a soul ?
Dona Maria suffers from what many people here in Honduras suffer from, and that is poor circulation and vascular weakness, which leaves them open for leg ulcers to erupt easily. She had begun with a small itchy sore and decided to soak a rag with gasoline, and wrap her leg with it. Thinking this would kill whatever was itching her, she kept the gasoline-soaked rag on all night. The family took her to the local hospital, but whatever treatment they did on her, left her in a worse condition than when she went in. Of course, we could not turn her away.
“No one can practice real benevolence without self-denial. Only by a life of simplicity, self-denial, and close economy is it possible for us to accomplish the work appointed us as Christ's representatives. Pride and worldly ambition must be put out of our hearts. In all our work the principle of unselfishness revealed in Christ's life is to be carried out. Up-on the walls of our homes, the pictures, the furnishings, we are to read, "Bring the poor that are cast out to thy house." On our ward-robes we are to see written, as with the finger of God, "Clothe the naked." In the dining room, on the table laden with abundant food, we should see traced, "Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry?" Isaiah 58:7.” {MH 206.3}
(A once discouraged, sour-faced woman, now has joy in her, and a beautiful smile on her face.)
What have we done? With prayer and faith we have used God’s simple treatments. A diet of fresh fruits and grains for breakfast, lots of water to drink in between meals along with high doses of vitamins C and E. Fresh vegetables for lunch, along with live vegetable juices. When she is up to it, we soak her foot in warm water with Golden seal powder and fenugreek powder for periods of a half an hour, or as long as she is able to stand it. We have also applied carrot poultices and cabbage poultices for periods of two to three hours. We have used a special blend of Burn and Wound cream for twenty four hour periods for debriding purposes. And of course lots of prayer and love.
Ministry Update:
Pen Pal’s Wanted
Hey Kids,...have you ever thought about writing to someone living in a foreign country? Well, here’s your opportunity.
Several of our Sabbath School Kids want to write to other Christian youth from around the world. When I told them we would try to find Pen-pal’s for them , they were so excited, that within only a couple of days, they had their letters all written out and ready to go. These beautiful young kids speak only Spanish, but what a great opportunity for them to learn how to translate your letters to them into their language. We think you would also enjoy the challenge of translating their letters into Spanish. What a wonderful way to make Christian friends from foreign lands.
If you would like to be Christian Pen-pal’s with our children, just choose one (or all) of them, and begin writing. Tell them your name, age, where you live, and all the different things you like to do. We will make certain that your Pen-pal receives your letter, and that you receive theirs.
Ok,...there may be a few older young people out there who would also like to write to our Kids; We don’t want to leave you out. You too are welcomed to write, but please remember, these are children from our mountain village, so please keep things simple. These are smart Kids, but we don’t want to sound too “grown-up”).
Prayer Corner:
“Cultivate the habit of talking with the Saviour...Let the heart be continually uplifted in silent petition for help, for light, for strength, for knowledge. Let every breath be a prayer.” MLT, pg. 17
Please pray for:
Ligia Yanet - Restoration of health.
Michael Lullo - To know how precious he is to God.
Janice - To know how precious she is to God.
Charles & Judy Wilson—Health & healing
Gayle Johnson - God’s rich blessings
Barbara Grahm - God’s blessings upon the work at Advent Home.
Estoria Patton & family - Health & God’s saving grace.
Frances Seabolt - Health & faithfulness to God
Julia Thomas & family - God’s blessings
Jacquelin Lynch - Health & blessings
Pauline Hodges - God’s abundant blessings upon her.
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon God’s people &
M.M.M.’s outreach programs.
All of our MMM supporters - May God ever bless you for supporting His soul-winning ministry. The evidence of your faithful support will be manifest when we reach our eternal home. What a glorious day that will be.
Thank you, dear MMM friends.
God loves you with an everlasting and unconditional love. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. Draw nigh to Him, and He will draw nigh to you.
Our new ministry e-mail address is mmm.mmtc@yahoo.com
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