MISSION HONDURAS

Seven Moments with God

There we were… right in the midst of San Pedro Sula, Honduras… everything was a new experience... but what a wonderful place to do God’s work.  We had come here to look into establishing relationships between our home church, The Planting (a new church start of two years, located in Clarksville, Tennessee) and some church or churches in the country of Honduras.  At the time we knew very little about the opportunities that awaited us.  Little did we know how much of a grasp the needs and opportunities of Honduras would have upon us…  the beauty of the land and her people overwhelmed us…  God was about to do something and we did not yet know the dynamic of it all.  We were consumed by it all and taken to a new level.  This was God Moment One, since we had previously planned this trip to Mexico, but God intervened.

There we were… right in the midst of San Pedro Sula, Honduras… everything was a new experience... but what a wonderful place to do God’s work.  We had come here to look into establishing relationships between our home church, The Planting (a new church start of two years, located in Clarksville, Tennessee) and some church or churches in the country of Honduras.  At the time we knew very little about the opportunities that awaited us.  Little did we know how much of a grasp the needs and opportunities of Honduras would have upon us…  the beauty of the land and her people overwhelmed us…  God was about to do something and we did not yet know the dynamic of it all.  We were consumed by it all and taken to a new level.  This was God Moment One, since we had previously planned this trip to Mexico, but God intervened.  

The team for this investigative trip was made up of an adult business man, a youth who had committed his life to full-time Christian service, a Honduran for translation and myself.  Having spent considerable time being involved in mission work in other countries, I knew the value of a good translator.  However, what I failed to consider on this occasion that my previous translators had been our own missionaries; those we knew and could be trusted in all situations.  This time, however, it was different.  Our translator often chose to make his own input without divulging the completeness or complexity of our situation.  “As well-meaning as this might have been, it misrepresented our situation to the Honduran people.  He made only one trip…  God Moment Two – Changing translators

Two weeks later, following a strong urge to return, the adult on our team, a prominent businessman, decided to go back to Honduras and investigate the business opportunities that might be available.  Before he returned to the US, I received a call from him stating that he was going to purchase major land holdings and he would need me to go there on something of a permanent basis to oversee the operation.  (While his every intention was good and above board, he made this decision without having a grasp of the business concepts in Honduras and the fact that our business techniques … well as we would soon find out, they do things differently down there.)  The proceeds of our endeavors were to be used to support the ministry and the local churches that we would become involved with in the days ahead.  Of course, I was somewhat taken aback with these suggestions.  Immediately I thought of the church where I was pastor, my family, and who knows what else…  However, I must admit that the idea of being a semi-permanent missionary awoke a calling that God had presented me with many years earlier, as well as the fact that the opportunities of ministry were very similar to the work I previously did for the Kentucky Baptist Convention.  My response was that I would pray about the matter immediately.

Already having warmed to the country and its people and having a tremendous desire for mission involvement, my decision was not so much about going as it was about leaving.  The church had gone from 13 to 85 in two short years.  My agreement had been to give them two years to establish the work.  However, I had not given thought or prayer to ending the ministry at that point.  God, as usual, went to work, providing answers to all my questions. (God Moment Three)  In a sermon, preached by our Hispanic pastor, gave me clear understanding that my ministry was about to take an abrupt change and Honduras was the next Kingdom move.  My family support was complete and we laid out a plan for the church to begin looking for its next pastor. After all the normal closures, I was off to minister in Honduras.

As will be suggested later, my friend, the businessman, had a secret desire to have a farm that he could go to and play farmer.  I had agreed to the minimal introductory salary arrangement and for a one year trial assignment in which we would look for land on which we could produce sufficient income to assist the churches that we would work with there.  The agreement was that we would do whatever we could to pursue this goal for a year and at that time we would reevaluate and decide whether to continue or change direction.

After investigating various agricultural pursuits, Raising Corn, Fish, Chickens, Beef, Dairy, yes, even Rabbits, the decision was to find land on which we could do some kind of work.  Scramble to learn… yes I did.  Thankfully, not everything was new.  I had spent a great deal of my ministry in rural areas of Kentucky, where God had allowed me to pick up a few pointers.

God Moment Four came when we were able to hire our translator, Gustavo Cerrato. (That’s not all of his name, but the main part)  Gustavo was in college, studying computer programming and repair.  He was supporting himself by a teaching position.  He came to work with us full-time, working with me to locate the land and help with all things needing translation.  Gustavo would continue his studies and work our projects around that schedule, which he was able to do very well.  Over and over we attempted to find and purchase land; nothing worked… Nothing, that , until we eventually found a farm in Camelote, Honduras, owned by an elderly man and his wife and began the process of negotiation.

On one occasion, our translator, Gustavo, went with me to meet the administrative director of the Cattleman’s Association.  I had already drawn up my business plan, including the barn project for a successful dairy operation.  (There is definitely a need for a ‘best practices’ approach to many agricultural pursuits in Honduras.)  After introductions, I had the opportunity of sharing our plans, at which point the gentleman went to a file and pulled out a drawing almost identical to the one I had made.  He had a tear in his eye as he began to share…  He, also a Christian, had hoped and prayed that someone who was a Christian or a Christian organization would come to Honduras and establish a good dairy that would train and assist the farmers in meeting their countries needs. (God Moment Five)

We quickly learned that land negotiations were done much better without the owners knowing who we were…  the prices were drastically affected by being Gringos. 

God Moment Six  came when, after several weeks of negotiating and spending time on the front porch with the family (a necessary activity when purchasing property which is held as a man’s life work).  The businessman had given a figure that he said he believed God would be happy with…  After several days of discussions, the old man agreed to the price.  The business man had agreed that if God allowed us to get the land for the price quoted, we would definitely purchase it.  We are talking almost a Million Dollars.  I was very uncomfortable negotiating with someone else’s money, especially at this amount.  However, I did not make a single move without first confirming it with the business man.

When the day came to make the transaction, the businessman backed out over a small technicality.  It seems that the land had burned off due to a fire.  However, we were going to completely cultivate it anyway.  The older gentleman needed time to leave his cattle on the land until he could sell them.  The businessman stood up and said the deal is off. 

We were devastated…  What about all the God moments, where we definitely saw the hand of God move upon our negotiations?  There were more movements that I have provided in this quick scenario.  To make things even worse…he would further divulge that he had been pursuing this activity without the direction of God???  That God had told him to close down the operation…   To my question:  “What about the call of God to support the ministry in Honduras?”  I offered to use my non-profit corporation to continue the work, if he would support that.  The following morning he informed us that he would not provide assistance to the ongoing mission projects as we had previously agreed.  He did state that he would continue to support the Honduras staff that we had hired away from their previous employment.  So that ended my working relations with this man and his plans.  Now it would be totally up to God to reveal how He would move forward with me in relation to the Honduras work.

God Moment Seven (ongoing challenges to stay firm to my calling to mission work in Honduras.)  The results of these moments, yet ongoing, are revealed throughout the web site.  Global Networks, the non-profit design that God had given back in 1997, is now carrying the load.