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Mission Trip To Honduras Roger Wiemers, close personal friend and professor of Educational Administration at Tennessee State University in Nashville, arranged my recent trip to Honduras, where we taught a seminar to forty five students on Understanding God’s Word. This subject is of tremendous importance, since a common faith and unity in Jesus Christ depend on our understanding of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible. You can download the course at www.ibsresources.org. I believe that the men who wrote the Bible were guided by God’s Holy Spirit, and that they literally wrote a message from God. That message is realized in the life and person of Jesus Christ, a real man who walked on this earth, and who is the focus of conflict in the world today. Jesus will crush all opposing ideas by His word, and give peace to those who love Him. Serving Jesus is challenging and exciting. We arrived in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, with a warning from the pilot that the approach to the airport there is not ordinary. The airport is in a deep valley, and the plane skimmed over the small houses jammed together on the slopes of the mountains as we dropped into the landing approach. This landing is so tricky that pilots have to maintain certification for making the flight by flying in several times a year. Relieved passengers clapped loudly as we made a safe landing. We were met by brethren at the Airport, and proceeded on our journey to Catacamas by rented car. Catacamas is sort of a wild west town. One night we were startled by three shots from a rifle nearby. The next morning the armed guard at our hotel informed us that it was the police firing into the air to stop an escaping thief. Cattle ranching is a major industry in the area, and handmade saddles and riding gear were displayed at shops there. I took a look at the sharp pointed spurs that the Vaquero’s are noted for using. Seeing the horse riding gear caused me to remember the time in 1979 when I was thrown by a horse and broke my neck. That experience helped prepare me for mission work, by teaching me to rely on God for strength. Roger and I taught students of Escuela Biblica Honduras, and those who completed the course were given a certificate by that Bible school. Attention was good, the students seemed to be encouraged by the study, and we received many compliments for the instruction program. Roger had invited four native evangelists to join us who are sponsored by the church in Nashville where Roger is mission chairman. Two from Nicaragua and two from El Salvador stayed with us and helped in the instruction during the seminar. These men want to become instructors in the Institute of Biblical Studies, and they invited Roger and I to come to their countries during the Christmas holidays, which is one of the few times that Roger can get off from teaching responsibilities. We went to Honduras during his spring break. There is great potential for the Institute of Biblical Studies in Central America. Connections with many native evangelists are already established, and we will be challenged to meet the opportunities that are open to us. I want to study Spanish so that I can communicate more freely in Central America. We went back to Tegucigalpa the day before our flight home, and had a great visit at Baxter Institute, an intensive Bible training college that has turned out almost four hundred graduates who are doing great work in Central America. The four who met us and helped in the work in Catacamas were all graduates of Baxter Institute. Based on their attitudes and abilities, I give Baxter Institute a vote of confidence. Pray for the Christians in Central America, and pray for our nation. Randolph Gonce, www.ibsresources.org |