Happy New Year!
It’s 2024! During this joyful season, we hope you savored a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that you can now celebrate afresh God’s mercies that are new each moment, each morning, and each year. In retrospect, there is only passage that is fitting to express how much we treasure all of you:
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-6
Press on in the faith, just as you have encouraged us to press on - in full confidence that He is perfecting that which He has already started in your heart. We love you!
October
As for our final quarter, October marked the last month of MIM groups. Hiland Park Baptist Church came for the second time this year, this time with a dental team that staffed a dentistry brigade at Clínica Betania. It was precious to see everyone in action, using their gifts in different areas for God’s glory – everything from instrument sterilization to evangelistic counseling.
We also attended el Festival de las Flores, or the flower festival, on October 7. This tradition, exclusive to Siguatepeque, attracts thousands of tourists from near and far to enjoy the flowery floats, dancing and decorated horses, fireworks, floating lanterns, and live music commemorating Honduras’ floral beauty.
I also took a week to travel to Florida, mostly to surprise my sister for her eighteenth birthday, but also to visit with dear family and friends, CLEP out of a leftover class to finish out my degree, and update my eye prescription and glasses (thanks to my wonderful Aunt Pamela, a licensed optical manager).
November
In November, we reluctantly sent off the last intern of the year, Seth. He had been serving here since August, setting up the electronic medical records at Clínica Betania and helping with various ministry opportunities and medical groups (including one from his home church!), as well as making fast friends, learning catracho (Honduran) Spanish, and making our home feel all the warmer with his bottomless stomach :)
We also welcomed a unique group from Bob Jones University, which held an intriguing seminar at MEDA informing Hondurans about aquaponics and sparking their interest for future developments. According to their webpage,
Aquaponics is a sustainable low-water-use farming method that combines raising fish and growing plants without soil.
In an aquaponic system, fish are kept in a tank. Their waste, which is rich in nutrients, serves as natural fertilizer for plants. The water containing fish waste is circulated to the plant beds, where plants absorb these nutrients. In return, the plants purify the water, which is then sent back to the fish tank. It’s an efficient, closed-loop system where fish and plants help each other thrive without the need for soil, while conserving water and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers.
Click here to learn more about their research goals for the purpose of providing “a reliable and sustainable source of income and produce” in Honduras.
Even though we couldn’t spend Thanksgiving with family, we were so blessed to count our blessings with dear friends. We were able to host a Friendsgiving in our home for our weekly movie night attendees, as well as attend a muy rico Thanksgiving dinner in MEDA’s dining hall, making sure to bring the Fuller-famous stuffing, orange fluff, and chocolate pecan pie.
December
In early December, Kenny plugged through his final finals and completed his last class to graduate with a BA in Organizational Management next year (woot, woot!). He is both relieved to have finished strong and eager to get aworking on fresh projects that were waiting by the wayside during his studies.
The culmination of the year was the seminary graduation on the first of December, a special commencement celebrating the graduation of students from both SEPE Honduras and SEPE Global. What a true joy to see the hard work of our studying friends come to fruition, as well as see the fulfillment of our mission in ministry – the equipping of godly pastors. One of the graduates is now Kenny’s full-time assistant, having availed him part-time throughout the past year. We are so thankful for his friendship and faithfulness, and are now thrilled to see him work alongside us in ministry.
Around this time, we treasured much fellowship, both with our precious families and dear friends either visiting from Colombia or returning to that home country after four years of seminary study.
Because many families were visiting home for the holidays, campus was blanketed in something stiller than snow - silence. Regardless, Kenny and I enjoyed the timely tranquility and joyful festivity of this Christmas season, working on home projects, catching a glimpse of the Christmas parade, eating homemade torrejas - a traditional Christmas treat - with hospitable friends, and attending the Christmas play at Iglesia Bautista Emanuel and Christmas Eve service at Iglesia Bautista Betania. I was also so blessed to attend the women’s Christmas party at Betania, and as we conversed, exchanged gifts, and prayed for each other, I remember feeling, for one of the first times, as if I could truly connect on a deeper level with these Spanish-speaking sisters in the coming year.
Christmas Eve was a blast (quite literally), as we shared a delicious dinner with Los Villatoro, Los Fajardo, y más, gifted homemade pizzelles (Italian waffle cookies), and then continued the festivities at la casa de Los Romero, firing Roman candles and sensing a taste of home as they exchanged gifts - of course, only after the traditional firework finale at midnight. On Christmas Day, we had the pleasure of hosting our customary movie night with a white elephant twist, making precious memories with friends.
By this time, we will likely have experienced a delightfully smoggy and explosive New Year’s Eve, as Hondurans everywhere burn the año viejo, or old year - ringing in the new year with a dazzling newspaper and firecracker mannequin. In the midst of all the celebration, we are so excited to face the new year - expanding our ministry and service opportunities, growing in the areas in which God has graciously exposed us, and being intentional to form richer relationships and cast-iron convictions wherever the Lord has us in any given moment.
Giving Opportunity
The Current Need
Iglesia Bautista Emanuel is pastored by Melvin Romero, a graduate, professor, and dean of SEPE. This church is a precious ministry partner, collaborating with MEDA International Missions on various levels. The sanctuary is in need of new seating, so the proposition at hand is an offering to purchase new chairs for their church body. If you are interested in giving towards that end, please reach out to Melvin Romero at fam_romerovillela@yahoo.com.
