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.

Sweet Sacrifice

Normally I just use this blog to keep people updated on what is going on in our family and what life is like in Latin America. I'm not much of a philosophical writer, but God has been teaching me the same thing over and over for several months, so I'll share it with you all. Several years ago we made a big change in our lives. God showed us that we should follow Him to Central America to prepare to serve Him in Honduras. We sold our cars, our house and our belongings. We quit our jobs and left our families. We moved to a country where we did not know the language or understand the culture. It was a sacrifice. But one filled with joy and adventure. It's sometimes a temptation to think, "I have counted the cost and made a big sacrifice for the Lord." But God has been reminding me that Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me." I think the daily part is the most challenging. He didn't just ask me to GO once, He asks me to FOLLOW continually. He didn't just want my one time sacrifice; He desires my daily denial. And I have a wonderful promise. Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life."

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