{"id":61012,"date":"2020-05-11T22:21:51","date_gmt":"2020-05-12T04:21:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/?p=61012"},"modified":"2020-05-11T22:22:22","modified_gmt":"2020-05-12T04:22:22","slug":"a-living-church-faith-miracles-and-a-thousand-dollars-well-invested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mesonaz.org\/en\/a-living-church-faith-miracles-and-a-thousand-dollars-well-invested\/","title":{"rendered":"A living church, faith, miracles, and a thousand dollars well-invested"},"content":{"rendered":"

Missionary Paul Jetter* shares an inspiring story of the movement of God through His church in Honduras.\u00a0 After investing nearly, a decade of his life there as a missionary, Paul said that it has been very gratifying to see that instead of establishing a paternalistic church dependent on foreigners, District Superintendent Begardo Bardales and his leaders are establishing churches and training pastors who will continue to reach people for Christ, with or without help.<\/p>\n

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Jony is neither well educated nor wealthy.\u00a0 He lives in a depressed area in the mountains of the southern part of Honduras.\u00a0 Several years ago, Pastor Nicolas and his wife Claudia felt God leading them to show the Jesus Film in the rural areas near their church in Choluteca.\u00a0 One day they ventured up the rugged, winding dirt road to the little town of La Esperanza.\u00a0\u00a0 After showing the film, Johnny and several persons accepted Christ.\u00a0 Several times a month over the next couple of years Nicolas and Claudia made the 45-minute trip up the mountain to instruct the new believers in the ways of the Lord.\u00a0 Johnny became the leader of the group, but since they had no church building the believers met in various houses.<\/p>\n

When I was in Honduras a couple of years ago, District Superintendent Begardo Bardales urged me to go with him to Choluteca to see how the churches were progressing.\u00a0 I was encouraged as I observed the sacrifice and dedication of Nicolas and the other pastors.\u00a0 In one poor area on the edge of the city, a young pastor excitedly showed us two lots he and his congregation had recently purchased.\u00a0 When I asked him how they raised the funds in such a poor area he answered, \u201cWe are not poor.\u201d\u00a0 Then he pointed to his head and said, \u201cThe only poverty is here.\u201d\u00a0 (I was so impressed with what they had done that I was able to channel funds to him to buy a third lot.\u00a0 A work and witness team later helped them complete a building.)<\/p>\n

While in the Choluteca area I observed teachers, who were donating their time to hold classes in areas where the children might not otherwise receive an education.\u00a0 I saw buildings that had been built with a healthy combination of donations from work and witness groups and local participation.\u00a0 I observed the fruit of the ministerial training extension classes that are taught each week.\u00a0 Some courses are taught by local pastors but others are taught by Begardo or others from Tegucigalpa which is located several hours away.\u00a0 But most of all I observed that the Church of the Nazarene in Choluteca is alive, growing, and healthy.<\/p>\n

Begardo and Nicolas wanted me to go with them into the mountain to see if I might help raise funds to purchase a lot where Jony and his new congregation would construct a church.\u00a0 At first, I was skeptical.\u00a0 Could a self-supporting church really develop in such a remote, poor area?\u00a0 But to please them and to get a chance to see the mountains, I agreed to go.<\/p>\n

We bounced around for about an hour on the steep, curvy \u201croad.\u201d\u00a0 Finally, we came around a bend and there was Jony and a group of believers standing under a simple roof with no walls that they had built.\u00a0 They explained that the lot was loaned but was also for sale.\u00a0 After hearing their stories and seeing what they had done, I agreed to find funds to help them purchase the lot.\u00a0 It turned out to be one of the best $1000 investments we have ever made.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t hear much about the project for the next year or two.\u00a0 But when we returned to Choluteca in January 2020, Begardo and Nicolas insisted that we visit La Esperanza again.\u00a0 The road seemed longer and bumpier than ever.\u00a0 Eventually we came around the curve and there was the lot we had agreed to purchase, but instead of a church someone had built a house there.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happened?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe owner decided not to sell,\u201d they replied.\u00a0 \u201cSo, we purchased a different lot instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

We rode a little further and turned off the main dirt road onto an even smaller one.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have they done?\u201d I wondered.<\/p>\n

And then I saw it \u2013 a neatly built church on a large fenced-in lot.\u00a0 It didn\u2019t take long for me to realize that Jony and Nicolas had used very good judgment to purchase a lot off the main road.\u00a0\u00a0 It not only eliminated the dust and noise of the trucks and buses, but the children were safer as well.\u00a0 It was another lesson that our role as donors and missionaries is not to make the decisions but rather to facilitate and assist those that are leading the local churches.\u00a0 Often they know better than we.<\/p>\n

I was amazed at what they had accomplished with so little.\u00a0 And then Jony began the story\u2026<\/p>\n

After purchasing the lot, the first thing they needed to do was to level it so they could begin construction.\u00a0 On their own the congregation contracted a bulldozer and worked together to clear the lot.\u00a0 Once the land was ready, they dug trenches for a foundation that would consists mostly of stone.\u00a0 However, they had no money and no stone.\u00a0\u00a0 They prayed, asking God for help.<\/p>\n

As someone was adding the finishing touches on leveling the lot, they discovered a cluster rock.\u00a0 Miraculously it was a layer of rock that formed blocks that were just the right size and shape for the foundation and a small retaining wall.\u00a0 I asked Jony if when they finished there was still more rock.\u00a0 \u201cNo,\u201d he explained.\u00a0 \u201cOnce we finished the foundation and the retaining wall all the rock layer was gone.\u201d\u00a0 God knew ahead of time just how much rock they needed.<\/p>\n

Even though Jony and the congregation didn\u2019t have much money, they had a lot of faith and a lot of mud.\u00a0 Working together they soon had enough adobe blocks to begin construction.\u00a0 They had walls but their limited resources were not enough to purchase material for a roof.<\/p>\n

Through Begardo and Nicolas, Bob Shea, a volunteer who has helped in Honduras for many years, heard what Jony and his congregation had accomplished and their need for a roof.\u00a0 \u00a0Bob likes to help local churches and congregations that are involved in their own projects and are reaching people for Christ.\u00a0 Jony and his church were doing both, so it was easy for Bob to find donors to provide funds for roofing materials.<\/p>\n

But Jony had another challenge.\u00a0 Now he had steel for trusses and sheets of aluminum for the roof, but he had no one in his congregation that could weld and no money to hire a welder.\u00a0 He was very concerned because the rainy season was coming. \u00a0\u00a0An adobe structure without a roof can be quickly damaged by rain.<\/p>\n

One rainy day Jony went to the unfinished building to ask God for help.\u00a0 As he huddled wet and cold in a corner of the building the man who had sold him the lot happened to walk by.\u00a0 \u201cWhat are you doing out here in the rain all by yourself?\u201d he shouted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not alone,\u201d Jony replied.\u00a0 \u201cSomeone is with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re crazy,\u201d the man replied.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t see anyone but you.\u00a0 And do you know what you ought to do?\u00a0 You should block in the door to whatever you\u2019re trying to build and we can use it for a water cistern.\u201d<\/p>\n

In spite of the man\u2019s mockery Jony continued talking to the Unseen One who was with him.<\/p>\n

Soon afterwards Jony met a tired, sweating young man walking up the mountain.\u00a0 \u201cYou look really hot and tired.\u00a0 Can I buy you something to drink?\u201d Jony asked.\u00a0\u00a0 As they talked Jony inquired, \u201cDo you happen to know someone who is a welder?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a welder,\u201d the young man replied.<\/p>\n

After looking over the project the young man replied, \u201cI can build your roof.\u00a0 And since it is for a church I am not going to charge you anything at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The young man worked for several weeks.\u00a0 The church people provided meals and helped as they could.\u00a0 Finally, it was completed \u2013 one of the neatest and best-built roofs I have ever seen in all of Honduras.\u00a0 The congregation now had a place to worship and began to grow rapidly.<\/p>\n

Their next project was to plaster the walls with cement.\u00a0 They did such a good job that when I saw the building I didn\u2019t realize it was adobe.<\/p>\n

But soon Jony discovered he had another problem.\u00a0 Animals like burros, goats, and chickens have free range in many rural areas of Honduras.\u00a0 They began to congregate on the flat open land around the church.\u00a0 A fence was needed, but it was a large lot and a fence would be very expensive.\u00a0 But while Jony had very limited funds he had an unlimited God.\u00a0 So, he called the church to prayer.<\/p>\n

Jony felt God instructing him to visit the mayor at Le Corpus, a nearby city whose area includes several smaller towns including La Esperanza.\u00a0 When he arrived at the mayor\u2019s office there were long lines of persons asking for assistance.\u00a0 One of the receptionists recognized Johny and said, \u201cYou might as well leave.\u00a0 The line is too long.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never get in to see the mayor.\u00a0 There\u2019s no use asking for something with so many people ahead of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t come to ask for something,\u201d Johny replied.\u00a0 \u201cI came to get something!\u201d<\/p>\n

At that moment the mayor walked out of his office and saw Jony.\u00a0 Disregarding the long line of waiting people, the mayor said to Johnny, \u201cHow are you today?\u00a0 Come into my office.\u00a0 What can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Jony explained his situation and the mayor wrote something down and said. \u201cGo to the building supply warehouse and give them this paper.\u00a0 They will take care of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jony thanked the mayor and did as he was instructed.\u00a0 At the building supply warehouse, they gave him all the material he needed \u2013 chain link fencing, steel posts, cement \u2013 everything except someone to build it.\u00a0 But God was still at work.\u00a0\u00a0 The young man who had constructed the roof again volunteered to help.\u00a0 Once again, he didn\u2019t charge for his labor.\u00a0 With the church members providing his meals and helping in any way they could the fence was soon built.<\/p>\n

When I visited the church in January 2020, I was amazed not only at the miracles God had provided but also by the quality of the work.\u00a0 Jony invited me into the building and I saw the benches and d\u00e9cor.\u00a0 It was obvious that the church was much more than a building \u2013 it was a group of dedicated Nazarenes who took what they had been given and, instead of complaining that it wasn\u2019t enough, turned to God and to their own labor and resources to get the job done.<\/p>\n

As I walked across the dirt floor, I asked Jony if they planned to pour cement someday.\u00a0 \u201cWe plan to have ceramic tile,\u201d he confidently replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you had money for the tile could you and the church take care of the rest?\u201d I asked.\u00a0 After he assured me they could I told him we would secure funds for the tile.\u00a0 I look forward to returning sometime to see what they have done, but most of all to hear about lives that are being changed by the power of God.\u00a0 One such story I heard in January – the man who sold them the lot and who mocked Jony for saying he wasn\u2019t alone in the rain has become a believer and disciple of the Unseen One.<\/p>\n

A final note about this story.<\/p>\n

Nicolas is a former military officer who is very disciplined and focused.\u00a0 Years ago, during a very difficult time in his life he made many trips to Tegucigalpa.\u00a0 During those trips he began to attend a Nazarene church and accepted Christ.\u00a0 Called to ministry, he studied in the extension seminary class and is now ordained.\u00a0 He connected well with district superintendent Begardo Bardales and through their tireless energy and vision they have established many churches in Choluteca as well as a very strong extension seminary center.<\/p>\n

Over the last several years work and witness teams and medical teams have been inspired by the growth of the Church in the Choluteca area.\u00a0 Like most mission teams, they believed that the best use of their time and resources was to partner with national leaders who were being successful and churches that were dedicated to their own projects.\u00a0 As they see the fruit of their trips some teams have been inspired to return to Choluteca or to other parts of Honduras.<\/p>\n

Although Jony\u2019s story is unique, Begardo has shared with me many other stories of the initiative and faith of pastors and congregations throughout Honduras.\u00a0 Having invested nearly a decade of my life there as a missionary, it has been very encouraging to see that instead of establishing a paternalistic church that is dependent on outsiders Begardo and his leaders are establishing churches and training pastors who will keep reaching people for Christ with or without our help.<\/p>\n

Written by Paul Jetter, April 2020<\/p>\n

*Paul was a missionary to Honduras from 1981 to 1990.\u00a0 Previously he served in the Dominican Republic and the Bahamas.\u00a0 In 1994 he and his wife, Mary, planted The Valley Church of the Nazarene in Piqua, Ohio.\u00a0 He retired in 2012 and now volunteers as the coordinator for partnerships and work and witness teams to Cuba.\u00a0 Paul and Mary presently reside in Tennessee.<\/p>\n