Our last month in Honduras held several exciting activities. Kristy ended her second season of the Union Biblica soccer league with an exciting championship game. After much difficulty, she had success in reserving the city soccer stadium for the game. One of the local pastors gave a devotional before the game for all the players and spectators that were present. It was a fun experience for the kids to be able to play in the professional stadium. Click here for a video of the champion team’s celebration. (click here for pictures of championship game). In a final meeting Kristy had with the coaches they expressed their satisfaction with the way the ministry is reaching adolescents and bringing them into the church. They felt so strongly about getting more churches involved that during the break before the next season starts they plan to go visit other pastors, and share together the changes they have seen in their youth to encourage other churches to participate. This was extremely encouraging… to know this ministry will continue and perhaps even be stronger after we are gone.

In the end of January our church received a large delivery of shoe boxes from Samaritan’s Purse “Operation Christmas Child.” The organization asks each location that receives boxes to hold an event with an evangelical message to hand out the boxes. The week beforehand, each child in our Sunday School ministry was given invitations to bring two friends the next Sunday. The Sunday of the event the church was packed FULL of children and some parents came along as well.  They enjoyed a morning of singing, a message and a snack before they each received a shoe box. The kids were of course very excited. They were told the boxes came from the States and therefore many of the children that were not from the church—and so did not know us—thanked us for the boxes on their way out! After having participated in the filling shoe boxes at Christmastime side of the equation before, it was interesting for us to see the other side of Operation Christmas Child. (click here for picture slide show of the event)

The weekend before we left we led a two day training seminar for the regional directors of Union Biblica’s children ministry.  We spent time on an interactive journey through Matthew, taking the place of Jesus’ disciples in the text. We explored what it means to be a disciple by actively following the teachings of Jesus. We ended the time with Jesus’ assertion that he came not to be served, but to serve. We then closed the evening with foot-washing and worship. Afterwards, many of the directors expressed that it was a very powerful time for them.  At the end of the seminar the regional directors (many of whom we had worked with several times this year) expressed their gratefulness for our work with them, and then they spent time in prayer over us for our next step in ministry.  (click here for pictures)

The night before we left there was a going away service at our church.  The majority of the congregation of Sala Evangelica came as well as other people we knew that did not attend the church (including coaches from the soccer league!). It was a lovely service with both worship music and “open mic” times for people to share. (click here for video they put together to show that night). A few of the people from the praise team Jonathan led changed the words to a few songs and sang them for us. (click here for video) We felt extremely honored by the outpouring of thankfulness and emotion that was expressed.  Saying goodbye was extremely difficult. It was hard to imagine not seeing the faces that comprised our community day to day.  Many people expressed thanks for how much we touched their lives and taught them.  But we feel like we are the ones who have been extremely blessed to have been so fully accepted into that community.  Through this experience we have been equipped with vital tools for our future ministry here in the states as well as life experiences that have forever changed us.

Yet we are not only thankful for them, but also for each of you that have followed us on our journey this past year. By God’s grace your every thought, prayer, and support helped carry us through this year… Especially when our surroundings felt most volatile and dangerous. As we take a few deep breaths before our next step we pause to give thanks to God both for our Honduran friends and for each of you. Que el Señor les bendiga.