Things are going well. The team is beginning to get a little weary from the long days. There has been a lot of walking and while you have all seen snow, it has been on the hot side here. I think for many of us the dusty roads and long days are beginning to take their toll, but we are still very excited with what God has done so far and there is still two more days.
We have witnessed over 200 professions of faith so far this week. And while I know that not everyone was genuine I truly believe that many were and the work that is being done here is mighty and that we can only dream of such a revival back home.
Tomorrow, I am told, I will be known across the country of Honduras as I am going to preach on ‘Canal 40’ or channel 40 to us I’m the States. One of the larger churches, where I will be preaching tonight has a television program on Sunday Mornings, and I guess Pamela thought that I needed to preach on the air.
While I have to admit, this is way outside my comfort zone, I am not afraid, because I don’t worry as much about embarrassing myself as I do mishandling God’s Word and for that I am prepared by His grace. Who knew, Pastor Rich the televangelist, haha…not!
Continue to pray for the team, especially the interpreters or interpretaters as one of our team calls them, and also the people we will meet in the next 48 hours that God’s simple truth will penetrate their hearts.
On Monday, pray that we have safe travel home, but also pray the the Gospel Switch that many of us have turned on this week will not be turned off once we get home.
Grace through Christ and 4HisService
Pastor Rich

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Yesterday was not as productive as the day before within our team. We were in an area that had a strong Catholic presence and there were many that told us that only God would know who would and would not go to heaven. We spent a good amount of time trying to make them understand that we can know because we can trust the creator of the universe to keep all that he promises.
Though the people we shared with were more of a challenge, the area we were in was also humbling. Many lived about 4km down a difficult dirt and rock road that only a 4 wheel drive and goat cart can make it down. Most of the homes did not have electricity or even floors. It’s humbling every time we come as to how much we do have back and the amount that we still think we need.
I am also humbled by how faithful God is to the harvest when the workers are plentiful. May we all cast off our comfort and get motivated to seek the lost.
I have watched plumbers, welders, factory workers, garbage men, bankers, teachers, teenagers, and yes, even pastors give up their comfort, their time, and sometimes even their own humility in order to proclaim the gospel.
Each of us should ask ourselves, what will we give up for the least of these?

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That is the number of people who made a decision for Christ today! It always amazes me how easy the harvest comes in this part of the world. 9 of us broke into 4 teams and 29 people were saved from God’s wrath this morning. Another 6 spoke to a school of children who mostly were Christian, and 2 more were added to the Kingdom.

I had the honor of serving with Eddie this morning and even through his nervousness and Kentucky slang, God used him as a vessel for His glory! To watch him interact with people in their homes is a testimony of the work that God is doing in his life and a reminder to each of us that through God, all things are possible.

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I am starting to wonder if we are on a Mission Trip or vacation. The difference this year is we decided to make our travel days Mondays which is a non ministry day in Honduras and so the real work begins tomorrow. We will be leading a mini vbs and feeding children and the Open Eyes feeding ministry. Most of the team will then visit a local hospital to offer encouragement. I will be staying behind to work on my sermon preparation for tomorrow night.

We did have some excitement that woke a few from their slumber…

We had a flat on the van about 5 miles from the hacienda, but the little guys should apply for NASCAR seeing that they changed the tire on the bus in the middle of the street with a bottle jack and a rock, yes a rock!

About to head to the cabana that Matt, Collin, Isaiah, and I are staying in so we can get ready for an early start. Hope all is well on the home front.

Pastor Rich

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Well based on years past the area we are in is a Paradise. Not all of us can stay at the main house which is breathtaking. A few of us are suffering for the team by being isolated in a Cabana about a mile away. Well… Suffering may not be the right word for it, unless you call being in a private house with A/C suffering, though using it may be a mistake since it is in the 80s outside where we will be spending much of our day.

We will have orientation tonight and find out the official schedule for the week. We did learn that Lucilla, a translator from 2008 will be with us this week as will be Pamela, her sister, mother (though we will miss Fanny), and Hans, Pamela’s husband.

I am sure the rest of the team will be posting to the blog as well…Oh and maybe we shouldn’t mention the A/C, 🙂

 

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We are in Honduras and just ate our first international meal, Burger King! Now 2 hours to home

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We are off! We were cutting it a little close this morning but we made it to Atlanta. Wes said it the best, we had to hurry up to wait. We have at least another 1.5 hours of a 2.5 hour wait until we fly out at 10:03am EST. We arrive in Tegucigalpa at 1:03pm CST so we have a 4 hour flight ahead.
So far everyone is in good spirits in spite of the sore knees, backs and feet of a few of us.
Continue to pray, and for the family members of the team, I believe that we will be able to use Skype to call when we arrive as long as we have internet access.

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Amy, Isaiah, and I will be leaving Saturday morining to drive to Louisville in order to spend 2 very short days with the team and then we will all fly out at 6:00am EST from Louisville and will arrive in Tegucigalpa, Honduras around 1pm CST. We will be traveling with a team of 15 people and all of us need your prayers while we are gone. Those on the team are:

Rich, Amy, and Isaiah Barnett
Wes and Stephanie Vittitoe
Jason and Laura Vanarsdall
Matt and Christianna Van Hooreweghe
Jeff Vibbert
Cathy Bond
Ida Butterworth
Susie Grom
Eddie Baker
Colin Britt

God has done some amazing things already and the enemy has opposed us at every step so far and therefore I am excited about what is going to happen in the next week or two. There are a number of things to be praying for:

• Pray for safe travel and the health and safety of the team which also includes our missionaries, interpreters, cooks, pastors of the local churches and church members that will be withh us during some of our time there.
• Pray for the men leading the Leadership conference that they will be vessels of God’s word and that the lay leaders that will be in attendance will find the value in the teaching.
• Pray for hearts to be broken for the gospel and that all who profess faith in Christ are genuine and not led astray.
• Pray for the families left behind that they will be at peace with their loved ones gone and pray that they are surrounded by Godly people to fill the gap.
• Pray that each member of the team realizes why they are on the trip, which is to honor God with our lives and with our servants and give us all a servants heart both while we are on the field and beyond.
• Pray for those who did not go this time that their hearts may be softened to the possibility the next time an opportunity arises.

The team will return on January 16 and while we will be exausted and ready to get home, it will also be bittersweet because if it is like any other trip we have been on, we will be heartbroken when we leave that we could not do more.

Perhaps the greatest prayer comes in the weeks that follow any mission trip and that is that those who went on the trip will not simply flip the switch on evangelism and revert back to a bench warmer, not that they are now, but the reality is, people tend to do far more for the ministry of the gospel on trips like this than they do daya to day in their regular lives. My prayer is that the person I am on the mission field is the same person I am in any field, but especially in my own community. This is also my prayer for the team, that they will doscover the simplicity of the gospel and will tear down every wall or barrier thay have placed between them and truly serving God through evangelism.

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Seems like it has been a while since we have posted anything to the site, but it has been a while since we have been out of the country and a lot has transpired. Amy, Isaiah, and I have taken on our first church as the Senior Pastor and family and while we are now in West Union, Illinois, We look forward to the time we will still share on the mission field with our friends from Kings Baptist Church in Mt. Washington, KY.

The three of us will be heading for Louisville, KY Saturday morning to spend 2 days with friends and the team before we wing off on Monday morning to Comoyagua, Honduras once again to see what God is going to do with the faithfulness of our team.

Please be in prayer for us as we will be on the field from January 9th to the 16th. There are 15 of us traveling and it will be my encouragement that each of them post something while we are away. I will try to put as many pictures up as I can while we are gone so those of you at home who have either helped financially or through prayer can be a part of the adventure as well.

Just 5 Days to Go!

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