Honduras Missions

                                                                                                        This was a very blessed fall visit to New England.  The foliage was very colorful and wonderful; also we found many excited churches. First of all, let me say to the pastors, churches and mission board members, thank you so much for all your faithful support that you are giving us, financially, with your prayers and for coming to visit Honduras in Mission teams. At the present there are four groups going in the first four months of the year and another two going on the first two weeks of August 2009.

I came back very encouraged to see your commitment and sacrifice that you are taking in making sure that the Gospel of Jesus Christ be preached in Honduras. Additionally, Mrs. Elizabeth Johnson (a teacher from Williamstown, MA) is coming this January to be with us in Honduras for the whole year. She will be teaching English in our School in Danli. PTL!!! I also, had the opportunity to visit the family that is going to provide the funds to buy the Land for the Orphanage, and it was so nice to hear from them the reconfirmation of their offer of the funds for the middle of March 2009.

During this visit I also had the opportunity to meet with the, “Core Committee of Mission Honduras” and with the larger group of supporters of Mission Honduras, the State Steering Committee. It is so wonderful to see how much work they are doing in the whole State of MA and NE in raising funds and encouraging others to go and visit our mission field.

This past Spring the Chairman of Mission Honduras for the past 5 years, Rev. Steve Youd, left the post to dedicate more time to his growing ministry in First B.C. Hanson, MA. During his years, he challenged and encouraged many of the ABC of MA, to get involved in Mission Honduras. Well I had the opportunity to see him and have lunch with him. I also met with Rev. Gary Ludwig, the New Chairman of Mission Honduras, and was invited to preach at his church, FBC of Hingham, MA.  It was a very fruitful meeting. 

This year we started our Theological Bible Institute with 24 students, and it has been a blessing to our ministry in training our present and future pastors too, but the lacking of funds for next year is menacing the Institute to be closed. Please help us to keep it open.

It was so nice to know that Rhode Island has opened their doors to Enrique and Stacy Newman to raise their salary; they are still very behind.

My dear friends, please continue praying and supporting our ministry in Honduras. Thank you again for being our faithful partners in the Lord’s business in Honduras.

PRAYER REQUEST: For my salary support, (a third is still needed)

Dr. Hector Newman

                                                                                                         We arrived in FL on October 1^st. Our plans included: stopping for a couple of days at my father’s house, spending a couple of days of vacation to visit some old friends in Maryland and driving all the way to Rhode Island. However, when we arrived in Brevard County, God had different plans for us. Our car, which had been parked at Dr. Newman’s house, started overheating after a routine oil change. At the recommendation of the mechanic at the car shop we paid for fixes to the car with the same results. The bill was now well over what we could afford and I felt suspicious about the job being done on the car. I decided to take the car to another car shop where indeed they confirmed my doubts. The previous shop had not connected my car’s fan correctly. We decided to try to fix the issue with a different specialist and they were finally able to get it running smoothly. Thanks to the brother’s and sister’s who prayed for our situation.

October 9^th, we arrived in Rhode Island. Our first stop was spending a week in The Berkshires, MA. Pastors Doug Duncan and Dave Anderson had invited us to preach at their churches. We also spoke at Pastor Pete Daniels church board meeting at the FBC of Williamstown. It was our first time in The Berkshires and the foliage sight was magnificent.

The following week we attended the 6^th Apostolic and Prophetic Conference held at the Iglesia Bautista Renovacion (Renovation Baptist Church) in Springfield, MA. Stacy and I enjoyed 7 conferences in 2 days. Conferences such as: “Building a Spiritual House”, “Effectiveness” and “Spiritual Pharmacy” were of great blessing. In the near future we will be sharing with our pastors in Honduras many of things that we learned there. It was such a great blessing to represent the Iglesias Comunidad de Amor Internacional at the conference. 

In the finals two weeks we were able to visit 2 new churches in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and in Andover, MA. We were also invited back to preach at the Church of the Master/Iglesia la Esperanza in Providence. 

What a joy and encouragement it was when we heard that we will have our first ABC Pastor from Rhode Island coming down to Honduras. After some agenda tweaking and many tour options Rev. Diane Pomeroy of the First Baptist Church of Pawtucket selected the “Honduras Immersion” tour of March in 2009. After sending out many emails and visiting many churches we have started to see the results. 

On October 18^th Dr. Newman, Stacy and I attended the Annual Bazaar & Silent Auction in Hingham, MA. Rev. Gary Ludwig and the First Baptist Church of Hingham have been very generous and creative in using this tool to raise funds for Mission Honduras. It was such a great blessing to attend and even have a booth to ourselves to sell some award winning Honduran coffee. We were so thankful to the First Baptist Church of Hingham and the First Baptist Church of North Adams, MA for allowing us to sell our coffee. The sale of the coffee helped us buy our return airplane tickets. Praise God!

We have been in Honduras for almost a year with no car of our own. Last month our prayer request was to be able to ship our car to Honduras. I overheard a member of my dad’s church stating that he was shipping his car to Honduras as well. So I asked him for information and we proceeded to call. To my amazement, shipping was more affordable to Honduras from Cape Canaveral, FL than shipping a car from FL to R.I. In addition to that, it was half the price than what other companies in Honduras and Miami, FL had quoted me. We thank the Lord because the first phase of having a car in Honduras has begun. We expect the car to arrive to the Puerto Cortes (Port of Cortes) in about 5 days after it is shipped. We now ask for your prayers so that we are able to save or raise the amount needed for the introduction customs fee.

Enrique & Stacy Newman

                                                                                              September 14th we drove to Danli, El Paraiso to teach a group of youth how to play volleyball.  The August mission’s team donated and brought 2 brand new volleyball nets along with balls.  About 15 youths showed up and we had a blast teaching them the essentials of the game of Volleyball. The kids learned quickly and by the time we left they were still playing. On the way back from Danli, we got into an accident with a large yellow bus. Our truck received the worst end of the hit.  Although Stacy, Johnny and I were rattled, we were thankful to God that we were unharmed. Johnny Duncan, is the son of Rev. Douglas Duncan from the Community Bible Church in Williamstown, MA. He stayed with us (Stacy & Enrique) for the month of September. With an interest in missions, he will spend the month of October in the Bay Islands at an Orphanage.

September 20th, we traveled 4 hours north to the city of Villanueva, Cortes. Villanueva is in the Sula Valley, which is about 15 minutes from San Pedro Sula (the industrial capital of Honduras). The purpose of this particular trip was to have an evangelistic outreach in order to plant a church in a new area. Villanueva is characterized for being one of the most dangerous cities in Honduras. This is one of the main reasons Stacy and I wanted to plant a church there. When we arrived around 10am we ran into a roadblock. As I drove through a side street we could see tons of people gathered (about 200 or so). I quickly rolled my window down and asked the lady that was passing by what had happened. She said, “Oh they found 2 men executed”. I kept driving through the crowded street until I was able to find the main road again. When we turned back into the highway, we witnessed the car of the 2 deceased people, riddled with bullets. What a sad sight. I thought to myself at that moment that we have been placed in the area to share the gospel to that city. 

Unfortunately Pastor Ayestas did not have his cellphone with him and we drove around lost for about an hour. Gladfully we were able to find his other number and eventually meet up. After getting reacquainted, we decided to drive to San Pedro Sula to purchase some wires for our speakers. We then decided to have lunch at a burger place. Pastor Ayestas was kind enough to give us a tour of San Pedro Sula’s central park, when we were done.

It was about 3pm and we headed back to find a hotel for Stacy, Johnny and I. We made sure we found one that was very safe. We then proceeded to pick some lights at Pastor Ayestas house. The soccer field where I was to preach had no lights. Pastor Ayestas volunteered to cut light wiring from the inside of his house to provide for lighting. Eventhough there was no lighting on the field a nearby neighbor donated electricity from his house. 

The night was dark and humid in Colonia Kilometro 86. The title of my message was “God has not forgotten about you”. We had about 25 people show up for the Evangelistic outreach and although no one that we could see got saved, we know that the Word of God never returns void. Others were hesitant to come out to the field and hear the Word, but we could see many of them set their chairs out in front of their houses to listen to the music and the message. It was such a blessed time, and when the service had finished, I went over and greeted everyone including the people sitting in front of their houses. The local trustees donated a piece of land to our mission so that we can build a church in the near future.  What a blessing!!!

                                                                                                                                            Our brothers and sisters from The Berkshires, MA arrived on Friday the 22^nd at the Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  They were a spirited bunch, despite the sleepless night they spent the night before.  The plane arrived on time and after a bite to eat, we headed for Choluteca.  

Next morning we drove to Guayaba Beach to experience the beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean.  It was a relaxing time to explore the beach for little treasures and to get acquainted with our newly introduced group.  Later on that evening, we visited Iglesia Comunidad de Amor Juan Pablo II Church.  Rev. Douglas Duncan delivered the Lord’s message to the congregation even after the electricity went out, there was no roof to the church building, and a hail and a rain storm had just past through the neighborhood.  We are sure the Lord was blessed to see the persistence of His people.

The following day we attended Iglesia Comunidad de Amor in Altamira where we heard a blessed message by Rev. Peter Daniels. Outside, Rev. David Anderson shared a story with the children during Sunday school.  Candy was given to all who attended and later blessings and goodbyes were spoken.  That evening we arrived at the Iglesia Comunidad de Amor Manuel Fernandez Church.  After a short lesson on the keyboard given by Brother Abraham (music leader from the Community Church in Williamstown, MA whom speaks Spanish) the worship team was ready to go.  It was amazing to see the harmony between the two musicians after only knowing each other for 5 minutes.  Rev. David Anderson delivered a message about the apostle Peter using the first person narrative style of preaching, which seemed to particularly capture the attention of the children. 

The next morning, we all returned to the Iglesia Comunidad de Amor Manuel Fernandez Church to continue reconstructing the altar, with the exception of the three Pastors and Brother Abraham.  Our brother and pastors stayed behind at the hotel to meet with pastors of Comunidad de Amor of Choluteca to lead a training seminar and workshop.  Each of the pastors came prepared to deliver a two hour class to our local pastors on topics ranging from discipleship to sermon delivery.  This was created in hopes to aid the pastors in being more equipped in being effective sheppard’s in their community.  Meanwhile back at the Manuel Fernandez Church, we were busy trying to complete our project before our four hour deadline was up.  We managed to finish a large chunk of the work needed to complete our project and retired to lunch before the hot sun became too much to bear.  When the “construction team” returned to the hotel we were able to sort the gifts that were brought from the United States to be given to the pastors and their families.

On Tuesday, we had a long day of travel from Choluteca to Danli, which in total equal six hours of travel including stops and lunch.  We ended that day with a worship service at Iglesia Comunidad de Amor Ciudad Fortificada in Danli.  Over the next three days we mirrored the routine we had done in Choluteca.  The pastors performed their seminar, then later joined us in the construction of the Danli school, attended church services and during our down time we visited downtown El Paraiso.  

The leaders of the group cautiously and correctly decided to cut the mission trip a day short (from 10 days to 9).  With the unpredictable hurricane Gustav heading to the Gulf of Mexico for the next couple of days, they did not want to risk being stuck in Miami airport for several days. So our missions team experience ended with the exchange of email addresses, hugs, and the always encouraging “see you next year!”.

Enrique & Stacy Newman

                                                                                                         Sunday, July 27 we had a blast at the Iglesia Comunidad de Amor:  El Palomar in Choluteca!  At the beginning of the year, during our first missions group visit, we had a group of sisters in Christ purchase a Clifford piñata as a gift to us. After receiving great children attendance reports from Pastor Mario we decided to put the piñata to good use. We planned a gathering for small children and at the same decided to share the Word of God with them.  The event started out with praise and worship, as well as, songs that a few young ones had prepared.  Pastor Enrique then preached a simple, easy-to-understand message of salvation followed by an altar call.  The glory be to God, 25 children decided to ask Jesus into their hearts!  It was such a blessing to see so many children make a decision that is going to change them for the rest of their lives.  

All the children who are members of the church sang and danced to The Lords Army in Spanish, of course.  The kids couldn’t wait any longer.  The site of Clifford hanging from the ceiling filled with candy was too much for them. It was time for the blindfold!  With the help of Pastor Mario and Brother Santiago hoisting Clifford from deathly blows, he survived long enough for almost all 90 kids to have a shot at him.  Towards the end it was getting a little dangerous, so I decided to shake the prizes out of the piñata.  This also proved to be quite risky, since all the children desperately grabbing for their share of the candy, quickly surrounded me.  After we laid Clifford to rest, it was now time for chocolate cake and soda.  Many of the small children came up to us to say thank you and tell us how much they enjoyed the cake.  Finally, each child was given a little goody bag and our blessings from the Lord. 

Before heading home, we stopped by Iglesia Comunidad de Amor: Manuel Fernandez Church to check up on the progress of the construction. We were really excited to see that the roof was finally installed!  Pastor Nuñez and his wife were cleaning and setting up the church when we arrived because a wedding was to be held later that night.  

Our mission for the day was complete so we headed back to Tegucigalpa, but not before one last surprise.  Just as we were leaving the town limits a road crossing held us up.  A herd of cows you say? Nope, a green Iguana running across the road!!!

Stacy Newman

                                                                                                         Stacy and I left for Danli, El Paraiso around 10:00am on Saturday, July 19th. On the way there we saw a horrendous accident, where a bus loaded with people veered of the slippery wet highway to the side of the steep road. We don’t know to this day if there were many or if any casualties. 

 The purpose of this trip was to offer spiritual support to some of the pastors that we would be visiting and to check up on the church buildings. First up was Iglesia Comunidad de Amor: Ciudad Fortificada or “Fortified City”. We knew that some painting had been done to the front part of the church and that a new church sign was up. However what we did not know was that the front part of the church was having some tin roof issues. The strong winds from the winter rainy season had taken its toll on the upper structure. We then headed to Iglesia Comunidad de Amor: Los Robles. Just two weeks ago I had been able to go and check on the church building however this time it would be different. The river that is in between the road and the church had massively grown because of the torrential rains. There is a bridge there, but if you cross it, it’s at your own risk. Stacy and I got out of the truck to try to assess the situation.  The question of crossing a 4 foot river with a 4x4 truck was not, "are we adventurous enough?", it was rather an issue of having to replace a truck that is not ours. There was a man there with another 4x4 truck debating whether to cross himself. While we where there a local kid volunteered to go in and see how deep it was. The river was indeed deep. For his efforts I gave this little boy 20 Lempiras (the equivalent of a dollar). As much as we wanted to go visit the church at Los Robles, it would not be possible.

We also visited Jenny, Carlos, Edwar, Armando, and Carlitos. They are some of the sponsored children that attend Iglesia Comunidad de Amor: Col. San Cristobal. Little Edwardito seems to have recuperated from a bruised forehead after falling into a ditch and receiving 9 stitches. They seemed happy, cheerful and always asking, “When are the ‘gringos’ coming back?” Stacy told them that she is a “gringa” too, to which they replied, “No!!!...”  It seems like they have accepted Stacy as a local! 

In the afternoon we headed to the only local mall to have some pupusas (melted cheese inside of tortillas) for lunch. Pastor Vismar heard that we were in town and invited me to preach at the evening service.  I gladly put a sermon together in a span of an hour. The title of it was, “What are you looking at?” based out of Hebrews chapter twelve verse two. Later that night at the altar call we had many people reconcile their lives. Praise God!

Sunday morning Stacy and I met up with Pastor Raul Sanchez, our supervisor for the east of Honduras. We drove to the city of El Paraiso, which is on the outskirts of Danli (some 15 minutes away). It is a very scenic drive and tons of coffee manufacturing companies can be seen in the highway. It was the first time Stacy and I visited that church. When we arrived it was closed, mainly because they have their services on Saturdays. It was nice to see a building with a sign for one of our churches. After canvassing the neighborhood and talking with some of the people there, we headed back to Danli. Pastor Sanchez took us to Pastor Carias’ house. They have a small pulperia (convenience store) and we found both of them there. They were very excited to see us and we sat down to talk about life, work, and ministry.  After carefully listening to them, I found that health and economic issues have been discouraging them. I had the chance to offer some counseling for the Pastor and his spouse. At the end I offered to pray and we all held hands in front of the store while we prayed. We then left and headed back to Tegucigalpa having completed our weekend supervision.

Pastor Enrique Newman, Assistant Director