We believe that God has placed us here to be a blessing and a resource to the Honduran Christians who are going about the work of evangelism in this part of Honduras. Throughout the various ways we minister to them, we strive to help the pastors be more effective in this work, and in the related works of planting churches and discipling new believers.
Why work with the indigenous Christians?
No matter how hard we try, we cannot connect with the Honduran people in the same way that another Honduran can. We cannot live the same lifestyle as a Honduran, and our understanding of their language and culture is not complete. When a poor person comes to a Honduran pastor for help, the pastor can pray with them, and lead them to the eternal source of help. When the same poor person comes to see us, and we pray with them, they will still be looking to us for help, because we have so much more than they have. We do give material help, as much as we are able, because we know that we are called to do this, but this can become an impediment, as we strive to point others toward Christ.
Additionally, when hardships occur (personal hardships, such as family illness, or larger issues, such as political unrest or instability), it is not unusual for foreign missionaries to have to leave a country. The Christian leaders who will remain are the Hondurans. It makes sense for us to work to strengthen their ministries, as our time here is limited.
Stewardship.
We strive to achieve a high standard of stewardship in all we do. One facet of this, is that Allen goes back to the US occasionally, and works for a few months at a time, while the family continues to run the ministry here. This "tentmaker" system allows us to spend 100% of the donated funds toward ministry, instead of spending any of that on our personal support. We appreciate that God has allowed Allen to have these opportunities to work in the US, and we are able to live for a year on what he makes in a month there. This may not be something that God continues to grant to us in the future, but right now, as our family as a unit cannot return to the states (to do a time of fundraising) without leaving our son David behind, this source of income is a major blessing to us, as well as a blessing to the ministry.
Additionally, by working with the Honduran pastors, instead of directly running an evangelism/preaching/teaching ministry ourselves, we are able to multiply the efforts of the pastors. We could not possibly do the work that is being done by the 250 pastors with whom we work. The population in the mountains of Honduras is scattered across a large area of difficult terrain, in tiny villages. This work needs an army of self-sacrificing Christian servants, who will do what they can with what they have, living and working alongside the desperately poor and remotely placed population - and God has raised up just such an army. We work to train and supply this army, as much as we are able with the resources we receive.
Why so much humanitarian work?
We try to base our ministry activities on the example Christ gave us, during his years of earthly ministry. He spent much time in sharing the Gospel, but He didn't neglect the physically needy who came to him for help. Much of His time and energy was spent in healing and feeding. (Also see James 2:15 & 16)
History of Christianity in Western Honduras.
What we found, upon arriving in Lempira, was (and still is) a population of people who would tell you they were Catholics, but who have almost no opportunity for interaction with the Catholic church (or any other Christian church). These are people who want to be Christians, but they really know almost nothing about Christianity. At the time we arrived, three years ago, there were approximately 8 Catholic priests serving an area with a widely spread out population of 400,000. There was no way the needs of the people could be served by these few workers. In this spiritually needy area, evangelical pastors (coming into Lempira from the surrounding areas of Honduras) have made huge inroads, reaching the people in the mountains.
The usual pattern for the evangelical pastors is that they start a small house church in a village. They receive no salary for this work, instead supporting themselves and their families on agricultural work. If they have the opportunity, they often plant several additional churches in homes in surrounding villages. Some of the pastors with whom we work travel to hold services in 4, 5 or even 6 villages on different nights of the week. In general, in areas where churches are planted, the people flock in for the opportunity to gather as Christians and learn more about the Christian faith.
