Thanks for all your prayers for my mama.  She is in the hospital, as many of you know, and has suffered a stroke.  She is getting a little better each day but her heart is the real problem — only functioning at 10%.   Please be praying for both her and my daddy.

Carlos and I are coming to Augusta a week from today (22nd) for a week, not only to help my parents but to also buy some things we need for Destino.   With my parents at the hospital, we are needing a ride from the Atlanta airport on the afternoon/evening of Tuesday 22nd, and also need a very early in the morning ride back to the airport on Wednesday (30th).  If anyone can help with one of these trips, please let us know as soon as possible.   We will greatly appreciate it and also love to have some one-on-one time with friends.

I’ll send out another email very soon with an update on all that is happening at Destino.   Lots of encouraging news and God is continuing to do amazing things.  I haven’t slept very well for several nights because of a virus going through our house so please be praying for that.   Thanks for your encouragement and prayers and if anyone would like to see me in Augusta, you can call at my parents’ house 706-731-5216.  I think I will be spending most of my time at the Walton Rehab Hospital while there but you could come and see me there as well.  Just let us know.

Love to all of you,

In His grace,

Rhonda

more

I know I have been very slack in getting more information to you about our electricity problem.   As you know, we have been waiting for the parents to get us an answer about a government ruling declaring that we do not need to be paying any electric bills since we are a non-profit ministry and are providing education to over 250 kids each day, etc.   While we were waiting for this to happen, the company came and turned off our electricity and we went just a few hours  without electricity, but immediately we were able to get it reconnected and are still waiting for an answer.  The head man of the  electric company in Sigua himself has assured us that at least we should not be paying more than 40% of what we have had to pay in the past so that is at least some good news, however, we still don’t know for sure about the other situation (free electricity) so everyone has advised us not to pay anything until we get an answer.  We owe about $3,000 in past electricity if we have to also pay the “deposit” they are trying to demand from us — but we are still waiting and so that is why I have not had an answer for y’all.  Please keep praying though.  Carlos met another lawyer this week who evidently has experience in this area and he also assured us that we should NEVER have been paying any electric bills whatsoever — it would be so wonderful if the electric company would pay us back what we paid — but that is a pipe dream in Honduras — once the money passes, it never returns, ha.

We just started our soccer tournament with the other bilingual schools in Siguatepeque — about 11 schools participating.   It is so fun to see our little poor children competing against the rich bilingual schools — we have always been the champions and we are hoping again that God will show off His blessings over these precious students.  He promises in the Word to bless those who are His and also there are many promises for His special blessings on the poor, so we have a double portion!!! ha.   We won our little boy’s game yesterday (Josue, Jonathan and Sammy are on that team) 3 to 0.   We won our girls’ game today 2-0 (Eidy and Coki are on that team and Eidy got one of  the goals).

We also were the champions in the first ever Spelling Bee in Siguatepeque this last week.   We took two first places and one second place so had the overall best showing for a school — the kids are so excited about that as well.

We have had a wonderful school year and I am soooo thankful for all that God is doing.   We had to let one of our 7th grade professors go a couple of weeks ago but God immediately replaced him with another teacher, Prof. Luis.  Luis is 31 years old and he has taught for several years and has a great reputation in the area of teaching math (which is what our junior high needs LOTS of help in).   We are so blessed to have him with us and he is fluent in English too so that always helps with the communication between the American and Honduran teachers.   God never fails to cover every need that we have here and I am so blessed to see so many miracles and provisions from His hand.

Church has been so good the past few months — Keep praying for Carlos to let the Holy Spirit speak through him and to him.   He is such a blessing and God is teaching him so much.   He is going to begin a discipleship with Pastor Wade through email so pray for them to be able to work out the details on that.   He really needs a godly man like Pastor Wade in his life on a regular basis.   He has been enjoying his seminary studies as well but that has changed to just one evening every other week so it is not much of a full-time seminary, although he is very thankful for this opportunity.   God knows though what he needs and maybe he would never have been able to go every week if that was what was scheduled.  Thanks for your continued prayers for Carlos — the enemy NEVER seems to give him a break and he gets weary sometimes.

Pray for the Americans we need for next year in the school.  We have several committed and 2 or 3 still praying and have not given us an answer yet.   I know that God knows exactly how many and Who we need so we will appreciate your prayers for His perfect plans in this area.   I am so thankful that Amanda Bruin is now our English supervisor and is overseeing the curriculum and plans and training for next school year.  It just gets better and better at Destino del Reino and I am so amazed at the quality of people that God continues to bring to us.

I do get a little discouraged at times when I see how slowly the money is coming in for building the junior high building, but God is able and so this must just be His timing (very different from mine).   We have our next group of graduates in another month and we will have two classes of junior high so we need to at least have the first floor of the building finished by mid-August.   We are again taking in a few of the 6th grade graduates from the other Christian bilingual school for poor children in the next village up the road so we will have another class of 30 students.

Please keep praying for our junior high kids — it seems that we may have a battle keeping them as they live in a world where girls at age 12 and 13 are having babies, are living with men, the boys are joining in gangs, or having to work for their food supply in their homes.   It seems that we have a big job on our hands to get their parents to dream for their children and use their authority and influence to KEEP their children in school in order to prepare them for better careers down the road.  We lost one of our girls last month — she has been with us for the entire 7 years and made very good grades but just didn’t want to keep in school and is living with her boyfriend now.   It is heartbreaking to us but we know the battle is the Lord’s and we need to be faithful  to pray over every one of these children.  Specifically, you who are sponsoring junior high kids, please be praying regularly for your supported students — it is a huge temptation for them to go the way of the world around them.

We have a container coming by mid-August from Augusta, Georgia.   John Turner is going to be getting a list out as well, I believe but I am going to put some items that we need on this email so that some of you can be looking out for anything that you may have in your garage and donn’t need, etc.   The container needs to be sent by about the 10th of July so please keep that in mind.   Here are some of the needs:

2 washers

2 dryers

vaccuum cleaner

LOTs of school supplies (pencils, composition notebooks, 3-ring folders (500), notebook paper, pens, crayons, staplers, sharpeners, erasers, etc.)

5 or 6 dressers

high chair that folds up

plumbing putty, teflon tape, mixture for strong cement grout for bathrooms,

autoclave (sterilizer) for our dental clinic

ice maker (industrial for cafeteria)

cafeteria heatingfood service  system (with stainless steel pans, etc.)

diagnostic computer for cars and buses

book shelves

desks for teachers

3 refrigerators

3 stoves

professional hair clippers

sink tail pieces and toilet fixtures

dental instruments for two clinics

ping pong table

towels and wash rags

sheets

2 double beds

4 single beds

chalk marker to mark football and baseball fields

games, puzzles, solid bigger toys

bikes

playground equipment  (big plastic types for our kindergarten classes)

used children’s clothing and shoes (all sizes, boys and girls)

white socks and undershirts for school uniforms

children’s books

2 televisions

Lamps,

kitchen table and chairs (2 sets)

We are going to have to furnish two more teachers’ houses this year so we need all the dishes, and pots and pans, towels, sheets, etc. for them as well as the furniture.  Thanks for anything you can do to help us fill this 40-foot container.  I know God will send just what we need.

We still want to open our dental clinic once school starts next year and only need a few more items of dental equipment  before that can happen.   Carlos and the guys will start building in the 3 sinks in the dental rooms in the next few months and once we get the other equipment we will start arranging for dentists to come on week-long mission trips and start seeing our students — the dream is that each student could be seen once a year — I don’t think any of them have ever been to a dentist in their lives.   Thanks for praying about this HUGE need for them.

Our crops will be planted in about another week or so.  Travis is supervising the farm and has a very good worker under him who is preparing the fertilizers, and preparing the land.   He will plant corn and beans in the big field and then have another huge area where we will continually have vegetables growing.  he wants to introduce the Honduran markets to some new vegetables that they do not eat here.   We are so thankful for Travis’ work and what we know God is going to do through him for Destino del Reino.  We hope to have an agriculture degree for the students in the next few years as well and they will be able to work on the farms and earn their degrees at the same time.   Also, Travis is going to see my cousin, Elvin (a farmer) in Colorado in early July to talk about what specific equipment we need sent to Destino to make this an incredible farming project.   Elvin has tons of equipment and is so generous in wanting to provide for Destino.  We also have a friend, Mike from Maine, who has his own truck and trailer and is willing to drive the equipment that is donated to Honduras — pray for the details of all of this project and that God will provide what we need to make this farm work and to be able to provide food and work for many many people in the coming years.

Thanks so much for all your prayers for us.  God taught me something a few weeks ago in Deuteronomy 8 — he told the Israelites (and I believe it applies to us) that the two reasons that he tested them (sent trials) was (1) to humble them, and (2) to let them see what was in their own hearts.   I have been able to greet my troubles with more courage lately, recognizing that God loves me and he is keeping me humble before him — completely dependent on HIM alone, and also to show me the things that I don’t realize are in my heart but are very apparent when I am confronted with a difficulty (i.e. anger, jealousy, revenge, impatience, disobedience, etc.)  His love sends us troubles to that we will KNOW now what is failing in us and can repent and see His changes in our lives and not wait until eternity and suddenly realize what has been there hidden to ourselves.   “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, who can know it?”   God knows it and he is showing me what needs to change in me through the many struggles we have at Destino.  Please pray for me to recognize His love in every situation.   I pray you are all able to see His grace as well as you walk through so many difficult times that I am not aware of .  We are so loved and cared for and this life is just a vapor.  Let me know how to be praying for you all as well.

In His grace continually,

Rhonda

more

As many of you know, we have been in a battle over our electric bills.  We are charged about $1,500 a month and that is outrageous for Honduras typical bills.  We were never supposed to have to pay for several years after the Houston light company brought in electricity to Destino del Reino for free and we paid (through your donations) for all the poles and other materials here to bring the electricity about 3 miles on down the road.  This provided MANY more customers for the light company here and they had told us we would get 4 or 5 yaers free for that help to them.    Well, they never gave us even one month free and instead charge us enormous monthly amounts now for 6 years or so.  Well, as you know, we started finding out through the mayor of Siguatepeque and other ministry leaders that we should not ever be charged at all because we are making no money in this ministry and are providing education to 250 very poor children etc.   We have been in the process of getting this taken care of and our moms in the school have been locating people to help us get not only the future bills excluded but also to write-off the $3,000 we have owed for two months when this whole possibility came up.  The parents believed if we wait for them to work with this other agency, then they would not make us pay the outstanding $3,000 nor the $2,500 deposit that the electric company has started demanding of everyone.   So we have been waiting this out but today THEY CAME AND CUT OUR LIGHTS OFF and we need to do something quick.  I just want to clear up for everyone that we do always pay our bills on time but this was a situation where even the mayor believed we should not pay until they work it all out.   Now, Carlos is in town trying to figure out what to do and to have an emergency meeting with the mayor and a lawyer who helps with these kinds of exemptions in the government.   We need prayer and $5,500 immediately.   They assure us that if we pay these back two months and their demanded deposit, then we will be able to exempt light bills for the future (not sure if I believe them but we are in the process of trying to get this sealed for Destino).   Carlos is so angry at the injustice of it all and I hate it too but as I told him, God put us in a country that has been declared as one of the most corrupt in the world, and God knew that before he put us here to change the next generation.  It is God’s money and this is HIS problem so we have to not lose our tempers over something that we cannot fix.  Please pray for wisdom, provision and the favor of God for at least not having to pay future electric bills.    If God doesn’t provide, I guess we’ll go back to living for a while without lights, but it is going to be tough because that also cuts off the water for us and I now have 20 kids and not just 4 or 5 like I did when we used to live without electricity, and we didn’t have a school with all those children in the past.  But, as I said, GOD KNOWS — I just ask for your prayers NOW!!!  I am so grateful to have all of you praying with and for us and I will be anxiously waiting on the Father for His provision and answers to this need.

Love to all of you,

Rhonda

more

This will not be a long update but just want to mention a couple of things.  One is that we really need you to be praying for our older students.  We had one that dropped out this week to live with a boyfriend after we have taught her and provided everything for her for 7 years.   It is so disappointing and the real problem is that the parents do not discipline their children or even really encourage them to do anything with their lives.  I think they have lost hope so they don’t hope for their children either, even though God has placed such a huge gift in their laps (free bilingual Christian education for their children).   Please pray for Carlos tomorrow as he speaks to the parents (when they come to sign the report cards) about discipline in the home — the command of the Lord and the benefits to the children when they are disciplined in love.  This is going to be an upward battle to keep these children in school in the years to come because of the environment and culture around them — so please pray faithfully.

Second, request for prayer and maybe you know someone interested in helping.  Carlos asked me to put out the word that we could use a small group (5 to 7) men to come in the next month to start the laying of the blocks in the junior high.  The next phase is the blocks and then we can really see progress.   Please let me know if you think you can get a group of men in your church or somewhere that would be interested in coming for a week to complete such a huge task for us.

Third — PLEASE pray about the finances.  We are really struggling right now.  We had beans and rice in the school this week because of the lack of money for more groceries.  Although the kids did not suffer or go hungry, we are really wanting to feed them better meals.  We are also needing to pay the past electric bills and they are telling us that once we pay the back payments on the electricity, we will get our permission to start receiving our electricity FREE in the future.  Please keep these things in your prayers — that we will get the permission for free electricity and also that God will put the ministry needs on the hearts of people so that we can get through this hard time financially.   I sure do count on all your prayers and we KNOW that the Father will faithfully provide for us.

Love to all of you and thanks for your faithful prayers,

Rhonda

more

I just talked long distance with a group in New York, Baptist Life Association, and they would like to offer a matching gift up to $1,000 for our next phase of the junior high construction.  We need to raise the money for the cement to pour the slab now that the footings and structural foundation is ready.   We have until Easter Sunday (April 8th) to send any donations in to them and they will match your giving up to their promised $1,000.   My contact there is a friend from Bryan College, Jeff Armstrong, and we are back in contact through Facebook and he has been reading about what God is doing at Destino and said that Baptist Life Association would like to help in this way.   If you would like to give, apart from your regular giving to Destino, in this special matching gift opportunity, send your donation to:

Baptist Life Association, 8555 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14221.

Designate on your check that this is for the Destino del Reino matching gift fund and Baptist Life Association will send you your tax receipt.

Thanks for praying for this opportunity — God is providing for our junior high in all kinds of creative ways.

Have a great day and thanks most of all for your faithful prayers.

In His grace,

Rhonda

more

I am sorry it has been over a month since I sent out an update but thanks for all the prayers even when you don’t hear from me regularly.  We have been so busy and things are just hopping around here at Destino.

First of all, thanks for the prayers for our trip to the missions conference at Day Spring in Augusta.  We had a great time and really enjoyed meeting some other missionaries and having fellowship with them during the conference.   The highlight of my trip though was that Carlos was able to re-do my parents’ bathroom in just 3 days so that my mom would have a walk in shower with a chair and can sit down to shower now — he took out their bathtub and laid tile, etc. etc. and we were so happy he could do something for my parents since they have done so much for him in the past.    We were there a week and I also had a tooth pulled and came back feeling kind of bad for several days, but we are all doing well now.

The fathers are really showing up to work at the construction site now.   We have a little money come in each week — enough to not stop construction — and we are so grateful for God’s continuous faithful provisions for that junior high building.   We are so blessed that these fathers are donating their time.  They do not have jobs and could have insisted they need to be paid, but they are joyfully helping to build the school for their children.   It is amazing to have such dedication from all of our parents– just a few years ago, we had to do everything ourselves and they had a “poor me” mentality — now they all realize that God can use them and we can be a team together in this ministry.  I am so proud of all of them.

We have started preparaing for our first crop to be planted in May — well, I should say not “we” — I do NOTHING on the farm, ha.  Travis and Julie Hester (and their two children – Ethan (9) and Olivia (7) are our first ever missionaries to join us at Destino del Reino.  We are so excited to have them joining us and love the humility and servant spirits that they have.   Travis was approached by Growers First (an organization that helps poor farmers to improve their coffee plants as well as help them to not be exploited by the big buyers, etc.) to become their representative here in Honduras.   This will not require a whole lot of his time but it is turning into a big blessing for Destino as well.  They found out that Travis would be living and working at Destino and they want to help him build a big coffee farm at Destino that will not only produce for Destino but will be a model of how to do it and they want to bring in the farmers here to learn from Destino’s model.   This is part of our dream — to help train people as well as minister to them spiritually.  Travis also has expressed a dream to teach agriculture to future missionaries because he said the unreached countries of the world almost all are agriculture countries with the right climate for coffee.   I told him we have a whole school of future missionaries and they need to learn all of this — I cannot even imagine all that God has in the future for the children here.   It is so exciting to see part of our dreams starting to form into real plans.

Another couple, Mike and Barbe and their three sons are seriously praying about coming full-time to Destino as well.  Please be praying for God’s clarity and wisdom in this decision.  They are from Maine and are returning there this week to start making decisions that will prepare them to move into full-time missionary work.   Carlos and I prepared a list of things that we really really need some help on at Destino after we first met Mike (even before he expressed any interest in coming to serve at Destino).   We had at the top of our list “discipling fathers and young boys who have received Christ this year” — after that we had on the list “taking over the mission teams groups that come to help at Destino.”   Well, I guess it shouldn’t have surprised us because God is always so perfect in all his ways, but .. ..   Those are the two biggest dreams that Mike has had.   As well, he is willing to drive one of our buses and that would save us a Honduran salary as well as frustration.    Anyway, as it looks right now, we believe they are being called by God to Destino as well and we can’t wait to watch God just open up the heavens and pour out his blessings all over them as they give up “the American dream”  lifestyle and come to follow GOD’s DREAMS and plans.   Please pray for them to clearly know God’s direction and timing.  We will need to finish off the other end of the medical clinic building for their housing so pray for those funds to come in soon as well.  We already have the cement floors in, the electricity and plumbing and would just need to have doors, windows, painting, flooring and finish off a bathroom and the kitchen — it wouldn’t take but a couple of months if the money comes in.   All in God’s perfect timing.

We are amazed at all God is doing right now.  It seems that we suffered through a lot of hard times for several years but God was building a firm foundation in Destino — changing Carlos and I in so many ways to be able to carry this ministry to the greatest levels that God wants — he has been teaching us faith and obedience and perseverence and now it seems that he is ready to just blow us out of the water with all of the new things taking shape.  It is so exciting.

We had another couple who we would like you to pray for as well.  They visited us from Minnesota and are praying about where God could use them as well.  They would be free to come 6 months out of hte year and especially would like to be involved in teaching the word (probably more discipleship) and also helping in the school (November to April).  Pray for direction for them as well and for wisdom for all of us to know what God is wanting.

We had a great group from Melissa, Texas this week and they came through Lost Orphans International (who is the group that has already been helping Destino in many ways).   They hired a van from another ministry here and their driver was a young Honduran man who grew up in Texas and has returned to serve Lord in Honduras — he is married to a Gringo and they are expecting their first child in May.  Anyway, as soon as Alan got here, he immediately wanted to be involved at Destino in some way.   He and his wife, Nicole, are in the process of doing a church plant in a part of Siguatepeque but that only requires his time on Sunday afternoons each week.  They are praying how God would want them to be a part of Destino (even the possibility of one day being houseparents — he is GREAT with kids).   Alan said he LOVES to teach the word of God to children and so on Mondays and Wednesdays he is starting next week to teach our 7th grade Bible class.   I have asked him to pray and consider being our full-time Bible teacher in the school next year and I would be soooo happy if he can take on that responsibility.  We have a Bible teacher now but she cannot cover all the classes and is also the assistant in some English classes as well.

As you can see, God is moving quickly and bringing people in faster than we can imagine so we need lots of prayer for wisdom and guidance in using these people and knowing who God is calling here and clear confirmation from him on all of these decisions.

Church has been so precious lately.  Carlos got a book by Herb Hodges that Pastor Wade sent to him — translated in Spanish on discipleship.  He absolutely has loved this book and has begun teaching it to us in church.   Pray for him to clearly be able to teach this to us each week.   It is kind of hard to teach a book without reading it to us, but I believe it is necessary that we learn this.

Things are going well at school and every year just gets better and better — we have such godly teachers this year who are so dedicated to the children and it is such a blessing to see them working together.   We already have 3 new American teachers committed for next year and 3 possibilities (strong possibilities) — pray that God confirms to each one if they are to come and serve here.  We are so excited to have more help in the English department next year.  The more Americans who come to help us, the smaller groups we ccan form of students to really learn the language well — with good pronunciation.   I thank the Lord for sending us such incredible servants to love and teach these children.   We are going to put out the needs list for the container this week because we need a LOT of furniture and appliances etc. for furnishing two more houses for our Americcan teachers next year.  I think the board will send the list out and we plan to have it all collected by June 30 this year so it can be at Destino before the middle of August when we start school.  Please pray for us to be able to receive all that we need for the upcoming year — there is also farming equipment on our needs lists and some things we need to finalize our plans to open the dental clinic for our students next year.

Things are going well in the house as well with my 18 kids.   We thought we were getting a baby and a 3-year old last week but so far they did not show up.  God is so clearly closing the doors when I try to take in a child that he has not planned to be here.   Pray for Eidy (age 11) please.  She is still a child but has developed early and is absolutely boy-crazy and it scares me to death.  We talk and pray about it openly but it is something that God is going to have to heal in her.  She was abused as a child and those desires need to be put back to sleep until she is older.   I have to watch her constantly and it is a huge concern to me.  Please pray for God to heal her up so that she can enjoy her childhood and that I will have wisdom and patience as I work with her.

We had a visit from Pastor Larry from West Acres Baptist yesterday . I was so thankful that he finally got to come and see with his own eyes all that God has done and is doing with these precious Honduran people.  It was such an encouragement to Carlos and I that he came.    He expressed a desire to come and teach sometime as well and we are excited for that.  We have more than 200 families in our reach with these school children and the people are hungry for deeper teaching.  I praise God that he is not only seeming to be sending permanent people who love to teach the Word but i also putting it on hearts of pastors to come and do short conferences for spiritual growth.   Carlos is an evangelist and pastor but he cannot possibly disciple and teach thoroughly all of these new believers and God is sending in the help for that — I am so excited about that.

We have our first ever sports camp in July — led by Tomball Bible Church.   Please be praying for our 7th graders to know who they are to invite to the camp.  The 20 girls in 7th grade can invite one other girl and the 10 boys in 7th can invite two guests.   Many of our 7th graders (ages 13-15) have brothers just 15 or 16 year olds who are already becoming alcoholics and in gangs.  We are so thankful that this youth sports camp will be an opportunity to reach some of these teens with the gospel.   Thanks for starting to pray with us about this now – -it  is just a few months away.

Carlos and Pedro (our bus driver and father from the school) started seminary last week — it is just one night every two weeks but they have quite a bit of studying to do and they really loved it.   I wish the teacher could give them more time personally but at least they have started classes.  Pray for them to really learn all that God has for them in these classes and studies.

Well, I’m sure there are a lot of other things I forgot to mention as there is always a lot going on here, but thanks for your prayers and I will appreciate your continued prayer about all our needs here — both physically and spiritually.  The battles are great sometimes.   Carlos and I both need to learn to not lose our peace and joy when we are criticized or even lied about.  I was reading in John yesterday and just imagining what it was like for Jesus on the earth — for three years, almost every day people were insulting, making fun, accusing, lying, seeking to kill him, and he continued in perfect joy and peace, knowing that God’s plans would never be thwarted — I need to KNOW that same peace and joy and keep walking when Satan uses people’s tongues to hurt us, and remember as it says in Matthew — “worry more if everyone speaks well of you.”    Please pray for us to be God-pleasers and not people-pleasers and to continue fulfilling God’s plans for Destino and keeping our eyes GLUED on HIM alone!!

Thank you SOOOO much for your continued encouragement for us and for your prayers.  We have to keep faithfully praying in the funds to continue the construction for the junior high — the foundation is finished and that was the hardest part of the building — so we should see it springing up pretty quickly now that they have begun to lay the blocks.   Also, pray still about the electricity — we still have not heard anything about our getting to receive it free — but word is that we should never have paid anything for all these years — I wish we could get a refund, ha.   Anyway, they have turned off the meters though so we are not accumulating more expense during these weeks of deliberating.  Pray for God’s favor in this situation.  Thanks so much.

Love all of you and so thankful that each and every one of you has felt the call of God on your life to be an active part of this ministry — this is GOD’s ministry and not ours and we are privilged to team up with all of you in fulfilling God’s plans for the lives of these people in Honduras.

In His grace,

Rhonda

more