STAR Team 2010, Update #3

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Dear friends,

We’re halfway through the week. It seems like we just got going. We have one more full day of house to house visitation tomorrow. Friday is a day off for the team. Part of the team plans to drive to Puerto Cortez, the site of last year’s STAR Team. They will be meeting some of the pastors and church people from last year. You’d be surprised how quickly you can become attached to the pastors and translators when you work together all day. I will be leaving at 7 am on Friday morning to go back home and get ready for the trip to Africa.

I was part of a wonderful service last night at the El Tabernaculo Baptist Church. I had visited all day with Pastor Raphael and truly enjoyed worshiping with his people. They are also hosting a Vacation Bible School in the afternoon so there is a lot happening in their little neighborhood. He sent a car to pick me up for church last night so I didn’t have to ride on the motorcycle again. The skies were completely black so I just knew I was going to get on the motorcycle right about the time the storm hit. Roberto, a sixteen year old young man, translated the message for me. He did very well for his first time translating a message. Many of our people were out from 9 am until after 9 pm without any kind of break. My roommate, Harold Reed, was in a remote church, where the lights went out right before the service. They held the service by the light of two small candles and a flashlight. 9 people were still saved during the meeting. 10 others had made a decision for Christ during the day. Harold, looking like he had wandered out of a war zone, found me talking to some others when he got back to the hotel, asked for the key, and said, “I’m going right to bed!” We’re walking hot dusty roads, pouring our hearts out to people. It can get pretty tiring. Many have commented on how many people are listening to the gospel presentation and respond by saying, “I’m not prepared to make a decision right now.” They are afraid of what others will say, of changing from one church to another, of having to forsake some sin in their lives. It is truly a spiritual battle every day.

I went back to Pastor Raphael’s church today. We presented the gospel this morning in 4 different homes. In every case, the answer was the same – “not now, maybe later.” On our third visit, we could smell a wood fire burning in the courtyard of the neighboring house. At the close of the visit, Pastor Raphael walked over, pulled out some bills and paid the lady some money. She was cooking something in a large pot filled with bubbling oil. It smelled pretty good. I asked Alejandro, my translator, what she was cooking. He said he wasn’t sure what to call it in English. The closest we could get was that she was cooking pork skins. Now, before you think about those things they sell in the gas station called pork rinds, this really was a big hunk of pork skin with a little meaty fat (or fatty meat – mostly just fatty fat) on it. I saw my lunch plans pass before my eyes. I doubt if this is going to break through onto the menu at Wendy’s, but you never know. We went on our fourth visit and proceeded to one of the church member’s homes for lunch. She brought out a lovely meal of Honduran roasted chicken, rice, beans, fried bananas, pickled mixed vegetables, and tortillas. She also made a homemade fruit juice that was delicious. As we were settling in, a knock came at the door. The pork skins had finished their mandatory frying time (like close to an hour) and were being delivered fresh. I was being treated to one of Pastor Raphael’s favorite dishes. Here’s how it works. You take a tortilla and break off a fist size hunk of pork skin. You stick it in the tortilla (don’t ask me why the tortilla helps but it does) and chomp down. It’s somewhere between chewy and crunchy but mostly between fatty and greasy. I grunted with pleasure a few times just to let Pastor Raphael know that I was a true Honduran (I think he had doubts about my manhood after the look on my face while I was sitting on his motorcycle). Fortunately, lunch is followed by siesta, so I leaned my head back on the couch. The combination of grease and starch gave me a very pleasing need to doze off.

Following the pork skin orgy and the siesta, we walked a couple of blocks over to visit a woman named Maria. I gave my testimony and presented the gospel to her and three of her daughters by using the wordless book. I concluded the presentation the way I had been doing all morning with the question, “Wouldn’t you like to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior right now so you can know that you are going to heaven?” Unlike the 6 people this morning, Maria said, “Yes!” So she prayed and received Christ right there in her living room in front of her three girls. Pray for her. She says her husband is an agnostic and won’t be happy to know that she has received Christ.

After a couple more visits, I am back at the hotel getting ready for tonight’s meeting. I will be preaching again at El Tabernaculo Baptist Church. Pray for God to move among the people. It is wonderful to sense their joy in the Lord and their love for each other.

I saw one of the Pastors from two years ago this morning. He is from the Remanente Baptist Church. I spent two days visiting there on my last STAR team trip. Pastor Rene, the lead pastor has not been able to come out this year. He received a phone call on Monday morning saying that he was being watched and would be killed if he didn’t pay 100,000 limperas ($5000) to the criminals who called. He is being very cautious right now. They still had the service last night but locked the doors to the church as soon as everyone was inside. This is Honduras. It is friendly on the outside, but there is danger lurking under the surface. We have heard of a number of people in the churches and their families who have been murdered for a few dollars. Pray for these churches and their dedicated pastors.

I really appreciate your faithfulness in praying for me. Some have given to help with the cost of the trips I am taking this year for Bible Basics Ministry. Everything has not been covered yet, but it all helps. I really appreciate the sense of team that is there. I wish you all could experience the joy of seeing Maria come into the family of God. It is because of you that I am able to be here. We have seen well over 200 people come to Christ already during STAR Team 2010. Many more seeds have been planted and others have been watered. God is reaping a harvest for eternity. Glory to God!

Your partner in the harvest,

Evan Drake