Paperwork Saga

Living overseas involves endless paperwork. For the last 14 months we have been in a non-stop paper-shuffle to get our license plates. I will try not to bore you with the details, but let's just say that we have learned to long for the organized (if annoying) system of the US department of motor vehicles. Hearing "Now serving B 14 at windown number 6" would be music to our ears. In Tegucigalpa, there was a period of 6 months where there wasn't money to make new plates, so everyone had to go to a government office every 2 months to renew their temporary permission to drive without plates. You cannot imagine the line of people waiting. One day Mark waited for 8 hours in the line. And for an un-known reason the location of the office kept changing. So part of the frustration was the hunt to even find the office. A few weeks after we moved to San Pedro Sula, we learned that our plates were finally ready... in Tegucigalpa. So Mark drove 4 hours each way only to be told that our paperwork was not in order. For the last month, while trying to resolve the situation, we have been forced to drive without updated papers. The police pulled Monica over twice and threatened to impound the car. But really, they were just trying to get her to pay a bribe. We finally hired a lawyer to help us end the wild goose chase. So here's the tally: We waited in 14 different lines at 5 different offices, traveled to two different cities and paid several hundred dollars just to get our license plates. It was never a dire situation, just an on-going frustration of trying our best to live legally in a foreign country. It was a very satisfying feeling to screw the plates to our Honda this afternoon.

Move to San Pedro Sula

With joy overflowing we share with you how God is advancing our plans for ministry as your extension of the gospel in Latin America. Our family of four has been serving and studying within an established church of 1,000 Hondurans in the political capital of Honduras for one year. Our original plan was to live there for 3 to 4 years learning within the central campus of this influential church. However, in 2011 two Honduran pastors from our central campus planted a daughter church in the industrial capital of Honduras. That newly planted church in San Pedro Sula has quickly grown to 80 people with many new believers. To be part of its continued growth in evangelism, discipleship, and teaching we were given an invitation to move our family and minister in this new local church in a city of 1 million Hondurans within in a jungle valley ringed by beautiful green mountains. After much prayer and at the advice of our local pastors, elders, and US leadership, we have taken this further step of faith and have replanted ourselves at the base of the mountains outside San Pedro Sula. To clarify: neither our ministry vision nor our missionary associations have changed as we continue to advance within the same network of Latin American Impacto churches and under the same US supervision of Grace Pointe Ministries.

Our new church: Iglesia Impacto

Clarissa in our new kitchen

Reagan and Clarissa's new room

We now live in the most violent city in the world. But God has provided for us through your faithful prayers. We see God’s provision as He directed us to a well-guarded, enclosed neighborhood where we have the freedom to walk outside and to meet our neighbors without fear. We are learning how to live carefully in this even-more dangerous setting, but we are truly at peace and know that our safety lies in the hands of our powerful and caring Heavenly Father. Additionally, God has provided a bilingual Honduran preschool for our 4 ½ year old son, Reagan, within a mile of our home.

Visit to the US

This summer, after living for two years in Latin America, we visited the US for the first time. Clarissa had not yet been to her country of citizenship since she was born in Central America. We spent our first week with our home church, Bethel, in Houston, Texas. It was a wonderful time reconnecting with many special friends. We then flew to Breckenridge, Colorado to see Monica's family. We rode the ski lift to the top of the mountain, went hiking, celebrated Randy and LaVon's 40th wedding anniversary and had a party for our nephew's first birthday. We spent our final week in the US with the Voss side of the family in Vail, Colorado. Reagan and Clarissa enjoyed playing with their cousins. Reagan went on a pony ride on Vail mountain and splashed in the river. We did a lot of shopping for things that are cheaper in the US, and ate some great food at our favorite restaurants.


Reagan riding a pony
 

Monica with her sisters
 

All the Voss cousins

A beautiful view from Vail Mountain
 

Iglesia Impacto: 11 years

This week we celebrated the 11th anniversary of our church, Iglesia Impacto. It was a joyous occasion where we looked back to see what God has done here long before we even realized we would be living here. Each anniversary our church has a ceremony which gives a visual representation of how powerfully God has been changing lives in our community. A large cake in the shape of a cross was placed in the front of the church, and all of those who had become Christians through the church put a candle in the cake. It was beautiful to see people lined up all along the room waiting to put their candle in the cake.

God's Powerful Light

We have had some sad weeks here in Honduras. I’ll try to write about this in a way that is profitable and not only lament the events. The first tragedy was a fire in a prison which killed 350 people. Here in Honduras, the newspapers do not restrict photos which would be prohibited in other countries. I saw a photo on the front page of a newspaper and my heart broke for the people affected by this tragedy. Only by the miracle of God’s love will these people be able to overcome this terrible situation.

The same week, Mark and a pastor from our church went to a hospital to talk to a man whose son was having surgery. Unfortunately, they were not able to find him. Later that day they learned that the father had committed suicide when he learned that his son did not survive the surgery. We believe the Satan is working hard to restrict the gospel here, and so we wonder if the outcome would have been different if Mark and Deybi had found this distressed father to share the gospel with him.

Another day, I gave a bottle of baby formula to an impoverished friend. I later learned that she was giving her 9 month old son bottles filled only with water and sugar. My heart cried out for the physical needs of the people here.

Another anecdote is a bit humorous but demonstrates the same desperation. Outside of Tegucigalpa are many solar windmills which provide energy to the country. Someone stole metal bolts from the bottom of one of the windmills so that he could sell the metal. Apparently, the bolts were quite essential, because the tower fell to the ground pulling four more windmills to the ground with it, and plunging Tegucigalpa into darkness. We know that the gospel is bright enough for the darkness here and are thrilled to be part of shining that light in this country that we love so much.

We were recently granted residency here in Honduras. We have permission to stay here for five years. We hope that God will grant us many opportunities to meet both physical and spiritual needs.

Reagan's Fourth Birthday

And we have a four year old too! Reagan (or maybe it was Mark) wanted to have a Star Wars birthday party. Mostly, Reagan just likes the robots. So we played robot games in the backyard, ate a star wars cake, and broke apart an R2D2 pinata.

Our little doll turns 1

Wow, we have a one year old! We celebrated Clarissa’s first birthday with Matt and Ellen Zell. We’re so thankful for our little girl. She brings so much joy to our lives. It is so fun to watch her develop. I think that seeing a child learn to walk is one of the best parts of being a parent. By her first birthday she was already running. Clarissa already understands both English and Spanish quite well, and speaks a few words in each language. We just adore our little girl.

Walking...on her feet now

Walking?

Clarissa has chosen her preferred method of mobility: Here's her current version of "walking." (Sorry that the video is sideways.)

According to the Three Year Old

Recently, we have been having very special conversations with our son, Reagan. Last week, he excitedly called me outside to see the stars. We laid in the hammock looking up at the sky and Reagan told me, "I think Jesus is coming down from there." "Yes Reagan," I confirmed, "someday Jesus will come back from the sky to earth again." Puzzled, he asked, "Will there be another Mary and Joseph?" "No, next time Jesus isn't coming back like a baby. He's coming back as our powerful God to get the people who love Him." "Mommy, I love Jesus. I want Him to come down to get me."

When we were at the famous, beautiful catholic basilica here in Tegucigalpa, Reagan asked Mark, "Daddy, why is their Jesus still on the cross? He's not dead. He rose from the grave." Mark explained that, "the people from this church believe that Jesus rose from the dead, but they don't really worship Jesus, they worship his mother." Obviously distressed, Reagan said, "We need to tell them about Jesus."

Upon seeing the huge mormon temple located on the hill behind his preschool, Reagan said, "Mommy, look at that big castle." I said, "Yes, that is a beautiful building, but the people at that church don't believe that Jesus is God." Very concerned and sad, he told me, "We need to tell them more about Jesus."

And today on the way home from school, Reagan said, "Mommy, the guards at our house have guns and they shoot the bad people. They take care of us.....but Jesus takes care of us better.

From the mouths of babes...

Visitors

It has been a pleasure to welcome 4 different sets of visitors to our house in the last 3 months. In October, our boss, Dan Harder, from Grace Pointe Church in Chicago, came by to see how we were settling in our new country. We were very encouraged by his visit.

Over Thanksgiving, Monica's parents came for a few weeks. We were able to show them around Tegucigalpa, and thoroughly enjoyed watching them play with the kids. Reagan reveled in the attention of his grandparents as they played with legos, trains, airplains, swords, ate picnic lunches, did puzzles and read books. Our parents were able to get a good feel of our life here as they attended church activities, met our friends and visited Reagan's pre-school. Randy and LaVon spoiled the kids by taking them to a tiny amusement area inside one of the malls in town. Reagan enjoyed riding the bumper boats, and also rode his first mini-roller coaster. He screamed out of shock the entire first round, then laughed for the next passes. When he got off, he asked to go again. Grandpa obliged. Our other special outings included a trip to the children's museum and an afternoon at a swimming pool. We passed around an illness while they were in town, but still enjoyed being together. For thanksgiving day we traveled outside the city to see friends at their home in the mountains.

On Christmas Eve, our dear friends, Heather and Michael, arrived from Houston, Texas. We cooked a turkey complete with stuffing and all of the fixings and celebrated a very special Christmas together. The Hondurans celebrate Christmas with a big dinner at midnight on Christmas Eve. Then they open gifts and set off fireworks into the wee hours of the morning. We didn't sleep much because of the noise. For New Year's, we made sure that we were invited to a party. If you're awake, you might as well be part of the fun. With Heather and Michael were able to leave the city to visit a touristy town, traveled to a hillside park overlooking the city, and also visited a Catholic Basilica. Heather and Michael also visited us in Costa Rica when we were in language school, so they have given us a great sense of connection with our home church, Bethel Church of Houston. They brought us a very special photo album with pictures of our friends from our church. Each family listed a prayer request so that we could pray for them as they pray for us. It is a delight to pray through a photo album and know God's care for His children all over the world.

Currently, our friends, Matt and Ellen, are staying with us. Their rental house will soon be finished in a tiny town outside of the city. But "soon" is a relative term in Honduras (and maybe all over the world amongst landlords). So we are enjoying the extended stay of our close friends. We met Matt and Ellen at language school in Costa Rica. They took wonderful care of us for a very difficult month when we were all sick, Clarissa was born and Reagan was having seizures. So we are delighted to give them a place to stay until their own home is ready.

And to all of our friends around the world: we have a guest bedroom waiting for anyone who would like to visit us. Come on down! (Or over or up depending on where you live.)

Typical Day

A typical day. Well, we don't really function on an 8 to 5 schedule here, so there really isn't a routine here. Each day is different. So let me give you a quick rundown of what we do each day.
Monday: This is Mark's one day off each week. We like to relax as a family, but also enjoy inviting a family to our home for dinner.
Tuesday: Mark studies all morning and then attends a staff meeting at the church in the afternoon as the staff and pastors at the church review the activities of the week, pray, and organize responsibilities. Three days a week Reagan attends a tiny, Christian, bilingual preschool that is only a 5 minute drive from our house. The classes are taught in English, but all of the children talk in Spanish. Reagan seems to be sorting out the languages well, and is communicating better each day with his new classmates. We are beginning to meet other families there as we drop off and pick up Reagan. Meanwhile, at the house we welcome a dear, sweet woman to our house. She rides a bus almost 2 hours each way so that she can have a job that will provide for her needs. Her neighborhood only receives water one day a month, so we are thrilled to hire her to work in our home two days a week. When Corina is in our house, we all speak Spanish. It's a great way to practice in Spanish as a family. Corina is teaching Monica to make some of the traditional Honduran foods. Also on Tuesdays, in the evening, Monica attends a women's bible study at the church. They are currently studying the book of Exodus to see how God cared for His people. Late in the evening Mark attends a class at church: Panorama of the New Testament.
Wednesday: Mark goes to EARLY morning prayer and a men's bible study breakfast. (It starts at 5:30.) He has been challenged by some fantastic teaching from some of the older men at the church. After the men's breakfast, Mark and the other four men who are receiving church planting training attend a book study with the evangelism pastor. Monica is at home with the kids during the day. We like to walk down the street to the park or play in the street with the neighbor kids.
Thursday: Mark studies all day. Monica studies with a tutor two days a week. Doña Georgina is a retired professor who taught Spanish to Peace Corp students for many years. Some of the grammar forms and vocabulary used here are different than what we learned at language school in Costa Rica, so Doña Geo is helping Monica adapt to Spanish that is more specific to Honduras. On Thursday evenings, Mark meets with Norberto, the evangelism pastor. Norberto is preparing Mark to do one-on-one discipleship with Hondurans in Spanish. Later in the evening, Monica meets with a woman from the church named Juanita who has led many people to Christ. They are doing the same discipleship training as Mark and Norberto.
Friday: Mark studies all morning and then participates in a prayer meeting with the staff, students and pastors of the church. He also has a meeting with the pastor of the church. Since all of the classes that Mark is taking are taught in Spanish, he spends a good amount of time reading books and studying his Bible in Spanish. We are both memorizing verses in Spanish.
Saturday: Saturday mornings vary for Mark. Sometimes, he does construction at the church or is part of ministry outside the confines of the church campus like evangelistic medical brigades or food giveaways to the needy. As for the ongoing church construction, after renting a grocery store for several years, some land was found to build a church building. We now occupy a new building, but it is far from finished; we are already growing out of it. So Mark usually works a few hours on Saturday mornings to haul dirt, excavate rocks or dig holes. In a recent medical brigade the Honduran Army provided medical care for several thousand needy Hondurans, and one of the church planting students from the church shared a formal gospel message to hundreds while Mark shared the gospel one-on-one in the shadows. Last weekend, Mark attended a Saturday morning missions conference aimed at informing our Honduran church of the effectiveness of Latins going to Muslim nations to share the gospel. On Saturday afternoons Mark takes two classes. And in the evening we attend the first of three weekend church services where Mark has many servant responsibilities.
Sunday: Mark goes to church early to help set up and make preparations for the two morning services. Usually Monica attends the service on Saturday nights and helps in the children's classes on Sunday mornings. Impacto has a wonderful children's program with music, Bible lessons, crafts, and fantastic teachers. During the first service, Monica helps with the infants (including Clarissa.) The next service, she helps in whatever class has the most kids. Mark also helps out with a variety of tasks on Sunday morning. It ranges from directing cars in the parking lot to serving communion. Our ministry work usually ends by 2:00 PM and we have a late lunch as a family or with new Honduran friends.
So that's a "typical" week for us.