Epic Road Trip

How do you summarize a trip that is 16 weeks long, covers 14 states, 22 cities, 10 thousand miles, 25 beds, 9 churches, 8 small groups and 70 families? We have learned many things and experienced countless blessings. Before we left Honduras to tour this US on this epic journey, I really didn’t want to go. We were in full swing of ministry and God was providing great momentum for sharing the gospel with our neighbors. But just a few weeks before we boarded to plane bound for the US, God prepared my heart and gave me a great desire to connect with friends and family in the US to tell them about all that God is doing in San Pedro Sula. The blessings we have experienced along the way have been incredible. So many people have told us that they pray for us, for our safety, a fruitful ministry, humble hearts, close walks with the Lord, and wisdom in parenting. That foundation of the prayer is a powerful asset to enable us to follow God’s call, and we rely deeply on others interceding for us. Along the way, we have been humbled by new families joining our prayer teams and multiple people commiting to financial support. Generous people have upgraded our electronic equipment and provided used clothing for our growing kids. We have truly been spoiled as families have hosted us in their homes and taken us on exciting outings. Several families have watched the kids so that we could have date nights together as a couple. We have received valuable counsel from pastors and experienced Christian workers, been strengthened by the encouragement of friends, and thrilled by time with family. And now that we are reaching the end of this productive trip, God is turning our focus back to our beloved Honduras. We are preparing for re-entry. We know that we are going to go through culture shock again due to our extended time in the US. We will all have to catch up on Spanish and return to the traditions and way of life of Honduran culture. We will make some of the same sacrifices that we made 3 years ago when we moved to Latin America, but God has given us a sense of purpose, joy and longing to be with our Honduran friends and church. Honduras, we’re on our way back!

San Antonio, Texas

Our third city to visit on our epic road-trip was San Antonio. We thoroughly enjoyed staying at the Harrison’s home. Reagan had fun playing with their sons on their backyard play-set and fell in love with their dog, Libby. We spent an evening at the zoo and enjoyed some excellent Mexican food.

San Antonio zoo

riding the train at the zoo

Dallas, Texas

We spent two wonderful days in Dallas. It was great to visit the families of three of Mark’s former co-workers. One of the men visited us in Honduras several months ago. It was special to see him again and hear his perspective of his trip to San Pedro Sula.

Honduran in Houston

One lunch that was very special for us in Houston was with Wilma de Castellanos, the former mayor of Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Mrs. Castellanos now lives in Houston and attends our church. Wilma’s husband was a very famous doctor who served as the mayor of Tegucigalpa during the time when Hurricane Mitch hit Honduras devastating the country. While surveying the damage of the winds and rain, the helicopter carrying Mr. Castellanos crashed, taking the life of Wilma’s husband. She decided to run for mayor, and after being elected, served the remaining 3 years of her husband’s term. It was such a privilege to visit with this honorable and beautiful lady about the country we love and miss so much.

Houston, Texas

We have begun our 4 month visit to the US. We will pass through 13 different states, drive over 6000 miles and stay in 22 different homes. It will be such a privilege to see so many friends and relatives along the way. We started in Houston, TX for a 2 week visit at our home church, Bethel. We lived in Houston for 3 years before leaving the US to serve the Lord in Latin America. Mark’s parents drove down to Houston to bring us their car so that we can drive it for the summer. We spent two very special nights together at a hotel, and then they flew home to Lincoln. (We happily suspect that the real reason for the trip was that they didn’t want to wait 2 months until we make our way to see them in Nebraska.) We stayed 2 weeks in the home of the Laus who made us feel very comfortable. Reagan loved playing with their son, Elijah. We saw an average of 3 groups of people each day while in Houston, including church families, neighbors, home fellowship groups, and my cousin Stephanie whom I had not seen in 5 years. At Stephanie’s home, our kids ran in the grass barefoot for the first time, and also drank from her garden hose. They thought this was so fun because the water in Honduras is not clean enough to drink. Reagan also made a very special visit to Nasa in Houston along with a friend from our church who works there. He showed him several different airplanes that the astronauts train in and even let him put on a flight helmet and sit in an ejection seat. At the end of our stay in Houston, Clarissa broke her arm, but the doctors put on a beautiful, pink, waterproof cast so that she will be able to swim.

Mark speaking to our Houston church
 

 

Clarissa's pink cast

 

Reaga's trip to NASA
 

 

Monica's cousin, Stephanie

 

Our summer wheels

 

Reagan goofin' off with Elijah

Missions Trip

In March a group of Mark’s former co-workers visited us in Honduras for a short-term missions trip. Through translators, they taught a men’s bible study, the youth and college group, and accompanied the pastors on evangelism and discipleship meetings. They spent a day in a nearby, poor neighborhood sharing the gospel door to door and even entered the state prison to share the gospel. There is no way to describe the environment of the prison, but the men there are willing to listen about Jesus Christ. This group of men from the US also hiked up a mountain with our local pastors to minister to a small mountain church which we regularly help with medical supplies, leadership training and encouragement. The hike up the mountain takes nearly 3 hours each way, so most people took turns riding the mule. Atop the mountain, several people accepted the Lord as their Savior, and everyone returned very tired but thrilled to see God’s work.

Family in Honduras

Monica’s parents came to San Pedro Sula in January and we spent 10 very special days together. Monica and her dad hiked the jungle mountain adjacent to our neighborhood and we took a short trip to the beach. It rained the entire time, but we got in the water anyway. We celebrated a late Christmas together as well as early birthdays and enjoyed being together and showing Randy and LaVon our lives and ministry and surroundings in Honduras.

Christmas

Mark’s parents visited us at Christmas time. It was very special to be together and for them to see where we live in Honduras. Sadly, we were all sick 9 out of the 10 days that we were together. Mark’s mother was especially affected and visited the ER 2 times. But at least they got to see the kids and experience a taste of San Pedro Sula.