Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again; he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea. Micah 7:18-19 Where would we be if it was not for the compassion & mercy of God? We don’t deserve it, yet he delights in mercy. Why? Because of His compassion for us. He even forgave our sins and cast them in the depths of the sea.
We had an interesting time together this morning as brother Bruno Abreu from Brazil shared a devotional and his testimony of how he came to the Anabaptist faith. It is wonderful to hear how God is using people in many parts of his kingdom to carry out His work in the hearts of those who seek Him. How wonderful to be a part of this huge family.
Several announcements we would like to make before getting into the news: We have been in Honduras for 22 years and therefore we feel out of touch with the churches in the USA. Therefore, we are glad that brother Amos Beiler from Stuarts Draft, VA, and Ray Byler from Whiteville, TN have agreed to be a support committee for the work here. Brother Bill and Eric are still helping give spiritual over- sight, but this committee will provide a helpful link for volunteers and donors. We also have a new email system that we will be using to send out our letters. This will have a link at the bottom that will allow you to unsubscribe if you so desire. There were addresses added to our original list at the suggestion of the Committee to include some of their friends and contacts, so some of you will be getting this letter for the first time.
Here is a family picture that was taken in July when our daughter Dorcas, Marc & family visited from Uruguay for the first time since our grandson Pablo was born in 2019. L— R in the photo: Dorcas & Marc with Sarah (5) & Pablo (3) in front of Florinda (17) & Tomas (19). To the right of Sarah & I are Esther (7), Kensi (17), Hannah (36), Sindy (12) & Erick (19).
I see that it is just over a year since I last sent out a letter. Sorry for the long silence. It is not that there has not been anything to write about, but I was having computer problems and just didn’t have the time to get it fixed. I tried several times, but never got it working right. I now have another laptop and will try to do better in the future.
I am not sure where to begin, so will start with a few updates on what I had shared a year ago. At that time, sister Alicia was still working on the construction of her house. She is basically finished with her house and has been living in it since March. She is very thankful to God for having provided for her family in this way.
Sister Alicia with her 3 children in their new home.
Moises (13), Elizabeth (9) & Mateo (4)
I had also mentioned about having a truck and some farm equipment in the US to bring down. Our son Tomas and I flew to Chicago in Oct, and drove the truck from Nappanee, IN to OH – VA – TN & MS, loading it on the way. A neighbor from HN then flew to New Orleans and drove the truck down through MX to HN. We want to thank each one that had a part in making this possible. The tractor and equipment have been a huge help here on the farm, and the furniture helped furnish the teacher’s house.
We enjoyed the many contacts we were able to have along the way. I was especially glad for the opportunity of having a few days in Nappanee visiting with aunt Barbara & cousins, and attend the Maple Lawn church. I believe the last time I was at Maple Lawn was for my sister’s funeral in 1979, so it brought back a lot of memories. It was a very refreshing trip and yet tiring at the same time.
I had also requested prayer for sisters Rina & Amarilis. Sister Rina had left the church and then also left for the USA, leaving her 3 young girls (ages 11 – 16) behind. She was soon back again after having been caught in MX by migrations, but she continued on the downward spiral until Sunday 4 weeks ago, when we had special weekend meetings, and she rededicated her life to the Lord. We praise God for the change He has brought in her life, and for bringing the prodigal back home.
Her 3 daughters are again attending with her, but they have not yet had a change of heart. Amarilis has not yet come back but is attending a Pentecostal church.
We are also thankful for having our son Enrique back in the area. He and Anita (who we had also taken care of when we were at the Children’s home 22 yrs ago) got married in June and have been attending church with us.
My sister Mary, who had been living in Belize, had been having a lot of health problems related to her diabetic condition. In December, Hannah went over to Belize to help her for a month. Then in January she again went over to bring Mary over here to Honduras to live with us while recuperating. In March Hannah went with her to MS to pursue further heath care. I then also flew to MS to be with the family in helping Mary make some major decisions for her future. She decided to go to a nursing home where she could receive more intense therapy to recover the strength she lost during her time of illness. Talking of illness, Hannah had also spent several days in the hospital with Astrid, an adorable young girl with severe asthma problems. She attends church some with her parents, Adan and Alma.
We are thankful to have sister Jaleesa Henderson from VA here helping Hannah with teaching this year. We are also glad that she has agreed to come back and teach next year. Cintia, a Honduran sister from the Pilgrim church, has also agreed to come teach for us next year. It sure is a blessing to have both teachers lined up months before classes start in Feb. Hannah is looking forward to having a break from teaching after having taught for 15 years.
Lighthouse School 2022
About 4 weeks ago I made a trip to OH with Sarah to be with her while getting a new hearing aid and also get her eyes checked by a Retina Specialist. This is the first time we have made the trip to the USA together since 2015, because of the responsibilities with the children. Sarah’s hearing was too bad for her to be traveling by herself, therefore I flew up with her, and then with her new hearing aid she was able to make the trip back by herself. She had made a trip with Florinda in Aug to get a mold made to fit the ear, but they needed more time to get everything ready for her. Thankfully she can hear a lot better with the new hearing aid. I was only up a week, but she stayed 2 weeks longer so that she could make sure the hearing aid was adjusted correctly before returning. Her eye doctor said that her macular degeneration is not the bad type at this time, but she needs to be alert to any changes in her eyesight. She came home on Friday, for which we are all glad, and it is a real blessing to have her be able to hear again. Thanks a lot to those who had a part in making this possible!
We were also thankful to have brother Harvey Brubacher here to work with the boys while I was gone. About 1 1/2 years ago Harvey and his brother and family moved from MO to an area about 2 hours from us.
While Sarah & I were in Holmes Co. we talked about the future of the work here, which also included meeting with the leaders of a local church. As the children get older, we feel the need to have more help to be able to work with the youth in learning a trade. With the responsibilities of the Church, it is hard for me to be able to work directly with the boys as much as is needed. This is also a real concern for sister Alicia, to have a safe place for her son Moises to work during school break and once he is out of school. As we get older, we also feel the need to have a younger family involved in the work of the church. Please join us in praying that God would send more laborers to his harvest here in Honduras and give direction in planning for the future of the work here. I will share a little more on this in a later letter.
When I got home, our Longan Fruit was ready to be picked, so we spent several days picking that. We got around 600 pounds that we sold to a Chinese man. Being that the fruit originates from China, they are familiar with the fruit, and he resold it to his Chinese friends. He was wanting 2000 lb., but the birds didn’t leave us enough. We had an excellent crop this year, but the birds probably ate about 4,000- 5000 pounds and left us about 1000 pounds to eat and sell. This is a new crop for Honduras and has a lot of potential, if we can figure out how to protect it from the birds. We are also producing plants to sell in hopes of getting more people in this area growing this fruit. Here, we have been selling for a little over $1.00 a lb., but if Honduras can produce enough to start exporting the fruit, in the USA it sells for up to $10.00 per lb.
We recently made another trip to Matasano to visit a family we have been helping with their little child who has a cleft pallet. The mother is a young single girl who is still living with her parents. They are God fearing people, and have been doing all they could for the grandchild, but since he cannot nurse, they were buying what infant formula they could, but it just wasn’t enough for little Dilan. They are visiting Operation Smile in hopes of having surgery as soon as he gains enough weight to go through the operation. Please join us in prayer for Dilan.
June (6 mo / 6 lb,) October (12 lb +)
While in the village we also visited with Norma, a daughter of Suyapa. (the lady that was killed on her way home from a service we had at her brother’s place several years ago). She served us coffee and montucas. (made with ground fresh corn with meat inside). I talked about forgiveness based on the story in Mathew 18. She has had her grandfather and several uncles killed, then her father was killed, and a year later her only brother was killed, and then another year later her mother. I was challenged by her attitude when she said that she has forgiven and she can greet these people (who killed her family) when she meets them on the road. Yet forgiveness does not erase the memories and the pain. She said some of the others have not yet forgiven. She has 3 sisters, and the youngest, who was with their mother when she was killed has had a very hard time coping with life since then. Please continue to pray for the contacts we have in this village, and especially this family. The four sisters are Norma, Hilda, Sonya & Sandra.
In Christian Love,
David A. Yoder
Prayer Requests:
- That God would give wisdom and direction in the work of the Church and School. And along with that pray for direction in planning for the future of the work here.
- That God would provide at least one more family for the work here.
- That God would give us wisdom in reaching out to the needs of the people around us.
- Pray for the youth and those struggling in the trials of life.
If you sense the Lord leading you to become personally involved in the work here, feel free to contact us, David & Sarah Yoder—david@lighthouseministries.us 601-879-5058 (USA #)
Amos Beiler—amos@3851.mail.com 540-487-7873 or Ray Byler hrbyler@emypeople.net 901-490-1820
And if you would like to contribute to the work here, you may do so by sending a check to:
Deed & Truth Ministries, P.O. Box 318, Etowah, TN 37331
(Checks should made payable to Deed & Truth Ministries and marked for the Honduras Project. D&T can provide a tax-deductible receipt for all donations.)