Answers to Prayer

Dear Family and Friends,

This month has been exciting and stretching in many ways. I am so happy to report that Julia was finally discharged from the hospital and she spent her first two weeks of recuperation out at the Villa. The children loved having her there and they took turns serving her and she prayed for them. Mutual blessings! Julia is getting stronger every day and it looks as though she will be strong enough to preach at the conference in Miami that was scheduled before she went into crisis. While Julia was in the AIDS hospital, God used her to help her doctor grow in the area of prophetic ministry. Her doctor (Varinia) is a dear friend of mine and one of my disciples. Varinia has been ministering on the AIDS ward for several years and has seen quite a few of her patients healed from AIDS. While Julia was in the hospital, God knit their hearts together for ministry and so Varinia will accompany Julia to the conference in Miami. God's ways are so perfect!

On February 15th, we initiated the school year at Jericho Christian School. We had been praying diligently about increasing the number of students at the school because during one of our weeks of fasting and prayer we sensed God encouraging us to ask Him for 60 students. We had been ministering to about 30 children in the school previously. We prayed for students of His choosing who would benefit from a stable environment and a solid Christian education. We prayed for children who were at risk to enter gangs, prostitution, and / or the world of addictions. God faithfully answered our prayers with not only 60 students, but by the time it was said and done, 80 children were signed up to receive education and ministry through Jericho. It was amazing to watch God lead us to the children of His choosing. There are so many in need ..... we had to have His direction.

It was a very exciting and stretching first day! We specifically wanted to EMPHASIZE two areas of outreach ..... The "Early Learning Center" for ages 0-3 years and the Jr and Sr High School. Our Canadian staff member, Jaime, (photo at right) Seemed the perfect fit for the little ones and she speaks English to them during their time with us to jumpstart them in that language. Elvia ((photo below) Had a burden for the youth so she is heading up the Jr. High and High School. Several of the students have already given their lives to Christ under her leadership, thanks be to God. We have big dreams for these young lives and know that God is going to do miracles!

As a result of our desire to be faithful to God's dictate to reach out to the next generation, my household has increased. It's not something I actually planned ahead of time. I certainly would not have Increased our size by three all at once but God's ways are not our ways and certainly this venture falls into that category. Julio is 13 years old, is in the 5th grade, and is Maryln's younger brother. He is a quiet sort and extremely helpful like his big sister. Julio lived out at the Villa last year after he was removed from his home where he had gotten involved in unhealthy activities with his neighbors. He did super well at the Villa and we sensed that it was time for him to join our family in Teguz. We are all thrilled with this. Yoly (pronounced (Jo-lie) is 14 years old and she comes from Marlyn's neighborhood. She has a difficult family situation (gangs, addictions) but she is very motivated to study. Her Mother wanted her to quit school to care for her two year old half-sister, but when I heard about Jericho School Yoly from Marlyn, she begged her mother to let her come and live with us so that she could attend Faith Christian High School Jericho. In the short time she has lived with us, she lost one of her cousins ,who lived in her home, to gang violence. The third child, Dariana, is 6 years old, and her family was displaced by hurricane Mitch back in 1998 so they live in a settlement way outside the city. Dariana's mother is Isabella's Aunt, so she found out about our school during her visits to see Isabella (my youngest child). The school attracted her and she asked if Dariana could stay with us during the week since they live too far to come on a daily basis. Dariana is quite spirited and already on her first day with us she socked a boy who was looking at women under the dressing room stalls at the department store where Marlyn was buying school clothes for the kids. I think we are going to have our hands full!




Katie Hutjens from DePere, Wisconsin Jericho joined the family on Feb. 4. Katie grew up in a church that supported me so she grew up praying weekly for someone named Betsy Hake. Several years ago at the urging of a friend, she decided it was time to finally lay eyes on her church's missionary and to find out more about the ministry. As the Lord would have it, she came to Honduras when I was on the healing adventure in NYC and so she ended up living in my home and helping to care for my children but we never met. When Katie returned last summer, God made it clear to her that she needed to serve at JM for a longer period of time. Katie will be with us for at least two years, and we are thrilled to have Katie. She is full of energy and joy and the children just flock to her. She is teaching English at the Villa and is in charge of the boys which can be very challenging at times. Katie has a blog which you can access from this site. She has a fresh way of describing life at the Villa and we are all enjoying watching God use her to bless the children. Katie is truly an answer to prayer.


And that brings me to Fofo (Rodolfo). He is Elvia's brother-in-law and he is God's answer to our prayer for a father figure for the children living at the Villa. Fofo visited Jericho in December with his wife, Miriam, and the children started calling him Papi Fofo. Try saying that 10 times without stopping! Not only did the children take a liking to Fofo but Hae Young sensed that he could be of great help to her, especially with the boys. God began working in Fofo's heart and he understood God was calling him to help at the Villa. He is a retired merchant marine who worked as a chef so the kids love it when he gets in the kitchen. Miriam works for Continental Airlines, hence Fofo can fly whenver he desires. Fofo and Hae came up with a plan. He would come once a month and stay for a week. We thank God for Fofo and the way he has taken very seriously this call to provide paternity for our children at the Villa.

Please pray for the Jericho family, especially for the teachers, staff, volunteers, students and new, as we all adjust to the changes that growth brings. Pray that God will continue to provide for all our needs.

With love always,
Betsy

On Mirna's Passing

It was one of the worst ways to die. She was alone in a teaching hospital in a developing country, in a coma after being hit by a car. Her family members had no idea what had happened to her since she went out late one evening and never came home. They didn’t go looking for her until three days had passed since she would often disappear on drinking binges. They found her in the morgue with one arm morbidly bent out of shape since the doctors didn’t bother to cast it. It was not the way her two daughters had envisioned God answering their prayers. Ever since she abandoned them at the Jericho Villa Rehab Center in January of 2008, Genesis and Vanessa had prayed for their mother Mirna. Mirna came to Jericho through an invitation from her sister-in- law, Indira. This is what Mirna shared with us when she came to Jericho.

Little by little, my eyes were being opened. I could see that I was not doing anything good. I wanted to change because I was hungry and cold, and wasn’t sleeping well on the streets. We were getting sick from sleeping on the floor in an abandoned apartment without electricity or water. The girls cried in fear at night, and I started to pray to God. I asked him to help me and my girls. Indira, my sister in Christ, found me and invited me to a church called “Oasis of Love” and the next day Indira brought me to Jericho Ministries to pray for me and my daughters. There I found people who belong to Jesus and who help prostitutes and the addicted in need of God. I felt that my life was worthless. Picturing myself on the streets without food or a home, I decided to make the effort to take a step forward. I realized that I didn’t want my children to become like me. I didn’t want them to live the painful and horrible life that I had led, bound up by the devil. But, Jesus loves us and wants to forgive us for all our sins. I ask my Lord to give me the strength to keep going forward with help of my sisters at Jericho Ministries.

Mirna entered Jericho when Genesis was 6 and Vanesa 8 (Mirna is 2nd from left with Vani and Genny Penny in front of her in the photo)but within a month of starting the program, the lies of the enemy seemed more real to her than the Truth. She decided one morning to abandon not only this new venture but her two daughters as well. Once she made her decision to leave she walked quickly down the mile long dirt road to the bus knowing that her daughters were in a place where they had a roof over their heads, food to eat and love to spare. But being abandoned by your mother is not an easy thing to digest, no matter what your age is. These two young girls, already having suffered tremendous abuse because of their mother’s lack of mothering, would now suffer being left behind. It took some time but little by little they adjusted to life at the Villa. Hae Young was their new “Oma” (Mother in Korean) and Tia (Aunt) Elvia would often invite them to stay with her in town on the weekends. They began to grow stronger as did their prayers for their mother’s true conversion to Jesus. They envisioned her back with them at the Villa, living happily together, learning to live in the ways of God. Sadly it was not to be.

Mirna came back to Jericho a week before she died to take advantage of a medical brigade that we offer once a year to the women on the streets. She assured me that she was going to change her ways and enter the program at the Villa “soon”. She hugged her daughters close and both girls had such hopeful looks on their faces. No one could have known that she was actually hugging them goodbye. I read a bumper sticker once that said, “Life is fragile, handle with prayer.” Life truly is fragile. We do not have any idea when we will go onto glory land or to the abyss, depending upon our decisions in the here and now. That’s why the Scriptures say, “Today is the day of salvation.” We can only be sure about the right now. I don’t know if someone out there needs to read this but I am sensing I need to write it. It’s not a politically correct thing these days to talk about being eternally separated from God (hell). But it is a reality. It can and does happen. We need Jesus, not only to live a life of power and love in the here and now but for the not yet. He is our blessed assurance of life eternal. Do you have that assurance? Are you living for Him in the here and now and trusting Him for the not yet? If not, the remedy is very simple. Not “easy”, but truly “simple”. You merely have to submit your life to Jesus and allow Him to take control. Much easier said than done but it is the truth.

We took the girls into my office to tell them the news. We had already decided that Vanessa and Genesis would now live with Elvia and her husband Tony since they would need more attention. A bond had occurred between this couple and the girls from their earlier weekend visits. As I spoke out their worst nightmare, both girls visibly crumbled, one onto my lap and the other onto Elvia’s lap. I don’t know how long we stayed there just rocking them as they sobbed and sobbed. We anointed them with oil and prayed for Jesus to bind up their broken hearts and restore their broken dreams. There was no explaining why this had happened. We tried mostly to thank God that He knew way beforehand that these little ones would need a safe place where they could receive love and learn to trust again. We prayed for Him to fill the emptiness that only He can fill when someone so dear has been lost.

I thought about the girl’s prayers for their mother. God answered in a different way, a way that made no sense to any of us. But then I remembered something Mirna had said. She had breathed this almost like a prayer, “ I realized that I didn’t want my children to become like me. I didn’t want them to live the painful and horrible life that I had led, bound up by the devil.” Perhaps this was God’s way of answering the prayers of the mother for her children. I don’t know….honestly there are so many things that He does that I do not totally understand. I just know that I trust Him even when His ways are not mine. Especially when His ways are not mine.

Julia's Healing

The call came in the middle of the afternoon. Excited would be putting it mildly for how Julia felt about this day. Over the weekend the doctors had decided that they would discharge her from the hospital. She was so ready to leave her hospital corner (she had shared a room with six others for over a month) to go out to the Villa. But it was not to be. At least not today. Elvia got the news first and came flying up to my office to get me. Somehow in the span of one day Julia had taken a turn for the worst and her potassium level (high or low, I do not know) was affecting the rhythm of her heart. So off we went to the hospital to see how we might help.

She was in the “intensive care unit” of the AIDS wing (actually there is no ICU on the AIDS wing, it’s just one bed where they keep patients that need intensive care until they can get them transport)and I could just barely see her through the crack in the curtains surrounding her bed. She was sitting upright with heart monitoring wires hanging from her chest. She was conscious and motioned for us to come to her so I just went right into the tiny curtained off area. Elvia hung back because unlike me she actually heard the warnings in Spanish that were being flung our way. No one was supposed to visit her since each visit seemed to send her heart into even more of a flutter. I don’t know how long I stood there before I realized that were yelling at me to get out of there.


The doctors seemed terribly worried and they decided she needed to go to the government teaching hospital since there would be no doctor on call until the next morning. This was not good news. No one wants to go to Hospital Escuela because it is understaffed, understocked, and overpopulated. Often when there aren't enough beds, patients are placed in the hallways and left there for hours. Sometimes they die in those hallways. But there was no other choice. Julia would have to go. There was a flutter of activity to get her ready but suddenly they hit an impasse. There was no nurse to accompany her in the hospital van. Suddenly Julia’s doctor realized that Elvia, doctor that she is, could substitute for the nurse they needed.

Meanwhile, I remembered the verses that God had given to us regarding Julia’s diagnosis….they were still taped to the wall. I went and pulled Luke 7:1-10 off the wall and put it with the discharge papers that were in Elvia’s hand. We needed to be reminded in the middle of the crisis that God had already spoken the outcome. This might seem silly to some, to make such a fuss over a Scripture, but if there is one thing I learned from my healing adventure, it is that faith moves the hand of God. He loves it when we move in the realm of faith, when we trust what He has to say despite the circumstances. “For without faith it is impossible to please God.”

They wheeled Julia to the van and carefully moved her into the vehicle while I ran to our KIA long bed pickup truck. Adrenaline was definitely flowing as I jumped into the pick up to try and follow the rapidly moving “ambulance”. The van swerved to and fro through all kinds of side roads at a speed that caused poor Julia to lose her entire lunch all over her hospital gown. It was hard to keep up but somehow I swerved at the same pace with the van so that I arrived at the hospital just in time to see the guards close the gate tightly behind it. I quickly found a spot to park and flew across the street while breathing this prayer, “God, please make me invisible!” There is tight security at the public hospital and to get in you have to have a special slip of paper that is given to one or two members of the patient’s family. I walked right past the guards at the gate which was now open again to admit another ambulance. No one said a word. The driver of Julia’s van saw me and motioned me towards the glass doors that I had to enter to find Julia. The guards there did not notice me either and I easily found Elvia and Julia in the emergency room.

The emergency room cubicle was tiny, just barely big enough to fit two gurneys with room for one person to move in between them. Several interns showed up and one gruffly asked me what I was doing there. Thinking that he was clearly getting ready to kick me out, I sheepishly said, “I am with her”, pointing to Julia now trembling on the sheetless, pillowless steel gurney. To my surprise he said, “OK, hold these papers”. They were the same admission papers that we had brought with us including the Scripture diagnosis. I smiled broadly and took the papers from his hands. The minutes ticked by and there was much coming and going in the emergency room but no one seemed interested in Julia. When the interns did pop their heads in to ask why we were there, as they discovered her diagnosis the reaction was always the same. They stated flatly, “Oh, HIV positive,” then they turned quickly on their heels to look for a more desirable diagnosis. One intern even said under his breath, “I wonder why they brought her here!” Julia just quietly took it all in. When I asked her how she was doing, she looked at me wryly and said, “God is birthing more patience in me.”

By now her sister had brought a blanket and a small pillow, thanks be to God. Eventually they kicked us all out of the tiny room and still Julia hadn’t received any medical attention. I began to wonder, too, why God had allowed us to come to this place which was so much worse than the AIDS hospital. The sense of helplessness was overwhelming. Out in the waiting room, Julia’s mother began to weep. The Lord reminded me that He was in control so I asked the family if I could pray with them. We made a little circle by the entrance of the hospital holding hands and began to implore the Doctor of doctor’s for help. “Oh God”, I prayed, “please send Your angels to help Julia.” Not more than 2 minutes passed when I looked up and saw a young intern walking by and I recognized him. Isaac had been a translator for a dear friend of mine (Dr. Ken Holden) who is a pediatric neurologist from Charleston and comes biannually to do medical brigades. Isaac showed up at my door one quiet afternoon just over a year and a half ago with a huge bunch of lilies that Dr. Ken and his wife had instructed him to buy for me. I was home alone, still sporting a rather pregnant looking middle and mustard yellow eyes, both results of my liver not quite behaving normally. What I remember most about meeting Isaac was that my dog Carl almost killed me as I tottered to open the gate for Isaac. Carl, a rather largish dog was his very excitable self and when I received the flowers, he jumped up and nearly knocked me over. But I digress. Isaac looked weary but when I tapped him lightly on the shoulder he turned and a look of amazement came over his face. “Oh Betsy, it’s you! You look so different! What are you doing here?” I proceeded to tell him the whole story of Julia. He assured me that he would help us and a sense of peace washed over me as he related that he would be “on call” all night. Isaac was our angel from God. He not only escorted me back into the emergency room to be with Julia, but he somehow located an EKG machine and began placing the leads on her chest. I steadied the machine as he moistened a wad of used paper with alcohol since there was no cotton available in the hospital. It was a makeshift operation at best but I didn’t care, I was just so relieved that Isaac was helping Julia and her famliy get the needed information on the status of Julia’s heart. By God’s grace, it was almost back to normal. All three of us in that tiny cubicle breathed a sigh of relief.

Julia finally was released from the ER in the wee hours of the morning. Isaac visited her off and on during the night and made sure she got the attention she needed. She hadn’t slept much but her pulse had stabilized and the emergency was over. God heard our prayers and used a young intern named Isaac to make them a reality. I bless that boy, Isaac. He reminds me of another Isaac whom God used to increase the faith of a man. Abraham’s Isaac. Isaac is seen by many Christians as a prototype of Jesus. Our Isaac was definitely a prototype of Jesus to us. I praise God for the way he stepped in to help when no one else even seemed to care. There’s a song I love that is in Spanish and the chorus goes like this: This is the reason I love You, this is the reason I praise, You gave me love when no one else loved me at all.” That’s our Jesus, for you. Stepping in and caring when no one else wants to care. I like that in Him. He is full of stubborn, refusing to give up,miraculous, healing love. Thank you, Beloved Jesus, for your persistent, healing love for Julia. And thank you for using Isaac to remind us of Your amazing care for the lost and lonely, the rejected and dejected.

Thank you so much for praying!

Until the next blog I remain,

your Betsy

New Year's on the AIDS wing

It was the smell that lingered long after I had arrived home. Nothing else about the hospital visit on New Year’s Day seemed noxious but the smell, well, it was not pleasant. But I could not seem to shake it. My beloved friend had been diagnosed with AIDS long ago but her symptoms had not appeared until years later. And now she was in crisis and the doctors said it was the end. She was in her twenties when it all began, according to her mother. While she was sleeping, her mother informed me of the details.

She was in her fourth year of med school when she met him. He had not studied and instead had spent his time making money by selling things. Her mother didn’t elaborate on what those things might have been, but he was successful enough to throw money around in a big way. Her mother did not like this young man; in fact she loathed him. She told Julia she would not be allowed to see him, so the romance went underground. They became secretly engaged and Julia was convinced that sleeping with him would not be harmful since they would be married soon anyway.  Little did she know, her beloved was a carrier of the AIDS virus. Before she would find this out, the strangest thing happened. He had a stroke and had to be hospitalized. Julia would hurriedly return from her classes at the medical university to spend her nights caring for her lagging fiancée. She was devastated when he died of what she thought was a brain tumor.

She became depressed. Nothing seemed worth any effort but a friend of hers insisted that she start going to a nearby church. When Julia realized what Christ had gone through on her behalf, she gladly accepted Him into her life and her life took a turn for the better. Joy returned and she began to realize that Jesus was her beloved, the One she was looking for to fill the void in her life. She began to fast and pray and study the Word of God with a passion. Med school became a thing of the past as she spent hours with the pastor’s wife, searching the scriptures and praying for wisdom.

When she went looking for a job is when she had the unfortunate experience of learning that she was HIV positive. She could scarcely take in the words as she read the lab report. AIDS…..the dreaded leprosy of the 21st century had taken up residency in her body. AIDS, in a country like Honduras, is especially dreaded because ignorance about the disease leads to rejection and rejection to being shunned. So this young woman made a promise to herself: No one would ever know that she had been implanted with a seed of death. She would take the medication and live as normally as possible. Her dark secret would remain just that……a dark secret.

The plan worked for some time. Years went by and Julia grew strong in the Lord. She shared His Word and was used powerfully by God. Her prophetic gift was used to encourage many, giving direction and hope when hope was gone. When the doctors told me I had incurable cancer, she was one of the people who laid hands on me and proclaimed that this was “nothing” and that it would be used for His glory.

Secrets sooner or later always come out into the light. Julia had just started traveling to minister internationally when the symptoms of her secret started to unfold in her weakening body. To keep the promise she had made to herself, she told everyone that she would be taking a sabbatical from ministry to rest and to seek the Lord. She was resting but not only from ministry. Her body was slowly shutting down.

God used a friend of hers (Miriam) who was visiting Honduras to get her to the hospital. Miriam, one of the few who knew the truth, contacted her sister Elvia and together they were able to help Julia get into the AIDS wing. This wing leaves much to be desired since it’s not a high item on the federal budget. Still the warmth from the little community that had formed out of a common need made it a bit more bearable.

When Julia woke up from her nap, we spent some time reading the Bible with her. I was encouraged because despite her very emaciated and yellowish appearance, she had not lost her sense of humor. We joked about how our roles had switched. Now it was my turn to tell her “this is nothing….just a little something for God’s glory”. God led us to Luke 7:1-10 entitled The Faith of the Centurion. This prominent man had a beloved servant and he believed that Jesus could heal him by just “saying the Word” and so Jesus was amazed by the Roman officer’s faith. As we read the last two verses, it was as if they pushed themselves deep into our hearts. “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel. Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.” We knew God was speaking and that His diagnosis was different from the doctor’s. We sensed that these verses would become the foundation of our actions in the days ahead.

And so we pray, and ask you to pray, for Julia. God has promised healing and so we are believing God. For we walk by faith not by sight and faith is the assurance of things unseen.

Under His healing wings,

Betsy

Taking Christmas to the Streets

Dear Beloved Family and Friends,

From all of us at JERICHO MINISTRIES

Wishing you a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

With so much gratitude, Betsy

We decided to take Christmas to the streets this year…table, chairs, tablecloths, candles, carefully wrapped presents, a centerpiece, the traditional leg of pork dinner and a specialty dessert the Hondurans call torrejas.... it’s kind of a rich French toasty type thing. We brought the works! Hae Young, Blanca, and I were super excited with this plan to share Christmas dinner with our friends on the streets. The only problem: there was not a soul in sight as we parked the van near the curb. So we decided to wait a couple of minutes to see if anyone would show up.


I had gotten it in my head to share a tradition with them that I had grown up with. During Advent, my parents would have us sit around the dinner table on Sunday eve and we would have our own little family service. They would assign a task to each of us depending upon our age. One of us would read the appointed scripture, another would lead a carol while yet another would carefully light the number of candles indicated by the number of Sundays that had gone by in December. Then Daddy would read the explanation of the scriptures while we listened with rapt attention. I loved it! I thought perhaps the women and men on the streets whom we have grown to love would love it too. And so that’s why we found ourselves on that cold winter eve waiting on the streets for someone to show up for our Christmas fiesta.


Nelson and Lorena came first. Nelson, in his tiny miniskirt, helped us unload the long table and the chairs and then the others came too, seemingly out of nowhere. We easily set the table and to my surprise, they quickly settled down and the same Spirit that led those devotions I participated in as a child showed up to lead this celebration. Tita seemed excited to be assigned the part of the devotional reader. Miriam squirmed with joy when assigned the part of the scripture reader. As she smiled the light gleamed off of her golden front tooth. The most excited was Lorena. She was to light the white candle of the Advent wreath which is called the Christ candle. It represents Him and His coming into the world. She asked me several times if I was sure about choosing her for such a thing before she finally settled happily into her role. Jessica, my friend from the very first night of visiting the streets, would light the other candles and Marvin would blow them out at the appointed time. Everything was ready.


It was one of those moments when you lose track of time. You get lost in the moment and in the glory of it all. Jesus coming to earth, God made man, the Divine crashing into the ordinary not just once, but over and over in moments like these to let us know that He is Real and that He loves us. He spoke to us through the scriptures and then again as we broke Christmas bread together. We spoke of His return and Jessica in particular wanted to know about the signs of His coming again. They lingered at the table. There wasn’t the normal scuffling about to get quickly back to work or the frantic jerking of their eyes back and forth to check out which client was driving by. No tonight they were there.... all there, drinking in His Presence and Love by candlelight.


Just before we blew out the candles Jessica whispered to me that this year, maybe just maybe, she would come to Jericho, that she would leave this life of degradation behind. Just maybe.


On the way home we were overwhelmed with feelings of joy and love. They didn’t accept Christ or make any commitment to give up their wicked ways, but they were touched by Him. My mind was abuzz as I puzzled over why we love them so…..these women and men who only seconds before we arrive are obviously involved in actions too despicable to even mention. And seconds after we leave they are back at it again. The only way I can explain it is God. Isn’t that how God is? He loves us even when we are stuck in the miry clay, trying desperately in our own strength to become unstuck, insisting on our own way. And He loves us even when we show no signs of leaving our wicked ways. He simply loves us. He woos us by shedding His light into our darkness.... by showing us how desperately we need Him. And then He waits for us to choose His way so that we can leave our ways behind.

Pray for Jessica, that truly she will leave her ways behind and that she will choose the Light of Life, the Giver of eternal life.

I pray that your Christmas is full of His Light igniting your life for His glory!

Sowers of Love and So Much Work to Be Done

October 28, 2009 Some of you might know that we have a tithing relationship with another ministry here in town called Sembradores de Amor (Sowers of Love). Pastor Francis and his wife Marilyn started this church in a poor barrio by reaching out to gang members. They truly live up to their name. The love from above that they sow into the hearts of their leaders and church members has really caused a love revolution in their neighborhood. From the beginning of their ministry, there was one gang that totally persecuted them day and night. The leader of this gang, Marcos, threatened to kill Pastor Francis on several different occasions and the gang members harassed church members on a regular basis. But Pastor Francis told Marcos what Pastor David Wilkerson said to Nicky Cruz when Nicky was still a hate-filled gang member in New York City. “If you kill me and cut me up in a million tiny pieces, every piece will still cry out that God loves you.” Pastor Francis called this past month to ask us to join him in prayer and fasting for this gang leader as many of his gang members were coming to Christ. He also asked me to research ministries to homosexuals because the wild part about this gang is that they not only are known for drugs and violence, but for homosexuality. By God’s grace, Marcos accepted Christ last week in a health clinic due to a scare from AIDS. He tested negative and was filled with gratitude and decided to pray with the man who was evangelizing at the clinic. Meanwhile, back at the church, his ex-gang members had been praying fervently for his conversion. There was much rejoicing over this lost sheep at Sembradores de Amor and at Jericho. Pastor Francis invited me to the deliverance for Marcos which was an amazing privilege. This is what transpired.

Pastor Francis and about 100 of his leaders gathered in a circle at their church. We were instructed to pray so people began praying out loud all at the same time. Some were walking about and shouting loudly, others were kneeling and entreating God in hushed tones. The Spirit was definitely leading. I looked up from the floor where my head had been plastered as if nailed tightly for the last 15 minutes and noticed that Marcos was now among us. There was no mistaking him. I gazed over to where he was sitting praying quietly and I could not take my eyes off of him. It was probably too long, socially speaking, but I could not drink in enough of this whole picture. It was mind boggling. His facial features were strong and masculine and he was dressed in a T-shirt and new jeans. Etched into his features were years of participation in evil, both criminal and occultist in nature. I could understand why he would cause fear. But at the same time there was this effeminate thing going on with him which totally seemed to collide with the drug lord exterior. His locks were curly and pulled back in a huge pony tail that reached half-way down his back and his nails were nicely manicured. Gold dripped off his arms and chest. Then Pastor Francis had us all sit down and explained that we were a here to pray for Marcos and in the most loving way he invited Marcos to share the actions of his life that he was now willing to repent of. Marcos was given a microphone and without any visible shyness he began to matter-of-factly recount in a very feminine voice the things for which he was now very sorry. He mentioned the occult practices and the murders and the lost boys he commandeered to do his evil deeds. He talked about the homosexual practices that he had been involved in since he was 11 years old. He often spoke through tears saying, this is the thing I am most sorry for.

After the public confession, everyone gathered around him to pray for his deliverance. It was beautiful to watch as the body of Christ took turns anointing him and praying for his freedom. My face had been stuck to the floor earlier because I was a bit fearful about what might transpire in this meeting and I wanted to make sure God knew I was serious about needing His help. But there was nothing fearful about the deliverance. He fell down several times under the power of the Spirit and willingly renounced his participation in all things evil. The pastors and leaders took authority over the darkness and once again it was clear that the Holy Spirit was leading. Perfect love casts out all fear.


Marcos’ face was full of peace and joy as church members took turns hugging him and giving him words of encouragement. I was not about to miss out on hugging this new brother in Christ whom I knew God would use in a major way. His conversion was really bad news for the kingdom of darkness. Pastor Francis said he had presided over 6000 gang members.


November 15, 2009 Two weeks later Pastor Francis asked me to preach at several of his services and to bring the Jericho worship band. Marcos arrived sporting shorter hair and his car was overflowing with a crew of ex-gang members. He remembered us and seemed pleased to share about how he was now using his resources and leadership for the Kingdom of God. The last service was like nothing I have ever attended in my life. It was just the messiest thing. I looked out at the congregation and a sea of young faces stared back at me, some so hardened by life that it was a little scary. I knew I was looking into the faces of ex- and not so ex-drug addicts, rapists, assassins….. You name it; they were there, exactly where they needed to be. Every nook and cranny of that church was filled with a young person hungry for God. What touched me most was watching Pastor Francis. He was fearless as he called an entire gang to come forth for prayer. He lovingly took a young drunk under his arm. He led that service with power that came from above. I remembered thinking to myself ... ”Now this is church”! We all agreed that night coming home together in the busito that we wanted to be like Pastor Francis.


So I’ve been thinking and praying a lot these days about Sembradores de Amor and their new disciples. The ministry is messy and demanding and there are slip ups on the horizon for sure as these new disciples grow and mature. But it is oh so worth it ... these new disciples will make a huge impact on the Kingdom of God. Love compelled these believers to reach out to these gang members who threatened their very lives and faith has helped them believe that these conversions are true and will bring forth much fruit.
December 7, 2009 You can imagine the sadness we all felt this morning when Pastor Francis called to tell us that Marcos was assassinated last night as he was leaving the church. He had just walked out of the worship service and his last words to Pastor Francis were, “There’s so much work to be done.” Several minutes later he was lying dead in the middle of the street in a pool of blood. It has been said that it was done by a rival gang, by hooded men in expensive cars. I don’t know. But I do know where Marcos is. I know that by God’s grace he is rejoicing in heaven. His conversion was true and perhaps in his short lived life in Christ he produced more fruit than some who live a lifetime without truly sharing what Christ has done for them. Please join us in praying for Sowers of Love Church, that they will be strengthened all the more by what has happened. Please pray that Marcos’ life and testimony will bear even more fruit. There is so much work to be done!


In His forever love,
Betsy

Dia del Niño

Dear Praying Friends,

I was hoping to do a quick update through pictures about the goings on this past month (actually Sept). I don’t think it’s going to happen. At least not the quick part. In the photo at left is Emma Isabella. She is growing like a weed and she continues to challenge all of us on many levels. Last month in the middle of all the curfews, I decided to try and potty train her. Don’t ask me why. Sometimes I have these thoughts that adding more stress to the existing high level of stress will somehow cancel out the initial stress. I don’t know if you follow me on that one. Some of you might. I bought a book called Potty Training in Less Than a Day while I was in the States last summer. During the weekend of the longest curfew, Isabella and I were holed up in my bedroom for four hours with all the suggested materials so that she could have her intensive training. I had baby wet-its-pants, tons of water, treats galore, and a plastic potty that converts into a step for washing hands. First the baby doll I bought (that was supposed to be the example) dripped water continuously since it didn’t come with a plug or anything. The variety of dolls that are available in Honduras that go pee-pee is pretty limited. Say, like one. I tried everything, even duck tape to no avail. So that was our first disaster. Then Isa would go a tiny bit in the potty only to have a huge accident in her training pants several minutes later. According to the book I had to have Isa wash out her training pants so that she could understand that there were consequences to her accidents. However she loved washing out her wet pants because she absolutely loves playing in the water. So that was disaster number two. I think you get the picture. Needless to say, Isa was not potty trained in less than a day. After four hours the floor was covered with water, tissues, cookie wrappers, and my exhausted frame. Isabella was still alert and raring to go! I felt like a terrible Mom since the book stated that hardly any children failed to launch in that amount of time with this method! I thought about throwing in the towel (training pants) and giving up but we have persisted and she is now going much more in the potty than anywhere else. I was reflecting on this the other day and realized that I don’t mind her messes so much because I love her so. “Love covers a multitude of sins” has taken on a whole new meaning for me!


September is a big celebration month in Honduras and one of the most celebrated days is Dia del Niño (Children’s Day). Gisela and Norma, two of our Jericho House staff members, presented a drama on the streets in an area of the city where many prostitutes live. We have been trying to reach out to the women and their children, many of whom are already involved in illicit activities. So this day we celebrated the children with a drama and games and prayer.

In the photo below, Marlyn is leading the games and I am discovering he prayer needs of a group of young boys. Several of them had tears in their eyes when they talked about what was going on in their homes. So much need for Jesus and His healing touch.

This young girl in the middle of the photo is a friend of Leslie’s. Leslie, you may remember, came to be a part of our Jericho family when her mother brought her to a medical brigade almost two years ago. Leslie was 11 yrs old and already involved in activities too yucky to mention here. So she has been praying for her friend Keiberly who lives the same kind of lifestyle that caused Leslie to look for help. If you take a minute to look at her gaze, you can tell she has seen way too much for her young years. We have joined Leslie in praying for Keiberly and ask you to do the same. We know God will show us how and when to move.

We are so thankful for God’s continued provision. It always touches me deeply at how perfectly God provides for us. We found ourselves scraping the bottom of the barrel so we prayed once again for provision and God touched different people who had no notion of our situation. The Honduran Rotary Club sent us tons of powdered milk, a staff member’s husband provided eggs for the Villa, and a church member had an unexpectedly large corn crop which she donated to us. Pictured here are some of our young people preparing the corn for grinding. In the corn grinding picture, Maria Fernanda is second from the right. Her mother (Norma) works at Jericho. Last week she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Mafa (as we affectionately call her) has responded to this surprise illness with grace and faith. She told her mother not to worry because God is going to use this for His glory. We are already seeing how this situation is bringing her family members and classmates closer to Jesus. And for this we rejoice! Please pray for Mafa and her family.


I wanted to ask you especially to pray for a retreat we are having this weekend out at the Villa for young people who are at high risk for entering prostitution. The conference is on sexual purity and we are sensing that the Lord wants to heal and deliver many. It’s called “I vote for purity”. Elections are next week and we wanted to take advantage of all the emphasis on that event to promote this event! Speaking of the elections, we are so thankful for the way God has answered prayer regarding the political situation. Things are much calmer and people are sensing that clean elections are definitely the way out of this difficult political situation. We are thankful that the US finally decided to back the elections and for the way that the truth of the situation has come to light.


There is more but I will close for now. Thank you so much for praying for us and for being used as a channel of blessing to all of us at Jericho. We truly could not do this ministry without you!
For the least of these,


Betsy and the Jericho crew

Healing Story on the Streets

Dear Praying Friends,

There is something I wanted to share with you but I totally forgot. It happened one night in August and it was mostly like other nights we’ve spent on the streets. Mostly, but not quite.


The team that came from the States had prayed hard before coming due to the political unrest that has plagued us since the latter part of June. The travel advisories stated that one should not venture to Honduras unless it was totally unavoidable. Ron Pagel (far left in the photo-JM’s US board president) was the leader of the team, and he knows Who he has to consult for travel advice. He told me that God woke him up one night and said, “I am inviting your team to join Me in My work in Honduras.” So they came at His bidding. There were nine of them on the team and all but the two youngest decided to go with us that night. I had not been back to the streets since the beginning of my healing adventure partly because of the new focus God had put on our hearts (reach the next generation) and partly out of the need to recuperate. But right before this team came, the Lord spoke to my heart and said none too gently, “Get back out there!” And so we went.

We met Saira, our administrator, at a hotel close to where the women gather on the streets. We found an empty table close to the hotel’s outdoor pool and in that dimly lit area we spent some time in praise and prayer before setting out to meet our friends on the streets. Our tentative plan was for one of the team members to share their testimony and then we would pray for the women and men.

From a distance I could see that there were several people soliciting on the corner where we usually share and pray with the sex workers when they aren’t looking for clients. As we drew closer to the area, I noticed Tita coming towards me. She embraced me like a child who has just found her long lost mother. Tears streamed down her highly made up face. Tita, whose real name is Carolina, and I have known each other for almost all the years that we have been visiting the streets. She lost two of her daughters in a tragic drowning accident some time ago and Hae Young and I went to support her at the memorial service. That night she gave her life to Christ and vowed to follow him but decided against entering our program. She said she could do it on her own. The lure of the streets was too strong and she was unable to keep that vow. There was another time when she was arrested for robbing one of her clients and she called us to come to the jail to pray with her. Miraculously the charges were dropped against her right after we prayed. She made a commitment to follow Jesus that day too, but just like before, she was unable to keep the commitment. Sometimes when we’d visit her, she would be flying high as a kite and the words coming out of her mouth were acerbic and cutting. Other nights, she would quote scripture and tell us how her Christian husband had left her penniless which drove her away from the church and onto the streets. But this reaction was new. I had never seen her so tender and caring. When she released me from her arms, tears still flowing, she began to speak excitedly to the others, “Look, Betsy was almost dead and now she is totally healed.” The healing miracle seemed to touch her deeply and she wanted to make sure the others understood what God had done. Her excitement made me want to twirl around like one of those plastic ballerinas gracing the top of a music box to show off God’s handiwork. But I refrained. It hadn’t even occurred to me beforehand that I needed to share this healing story on the streets but now it made perfect sense. As I shared, other friends of ours joined the spontaneous celebration and responded in like manner……tears and embraces mixed with joy.

The Holy Spirit was definitely touching this little band. After one of the team members (Jon-front and center in the photo) shared his testimony, the Lord nudged me to ask Ron to pray over each person in the gathering. Jesus had already put this on his heart and so he was ready to be God’s channel of encouragement to these thirsty hearts. Carolina went first and once again tears flowed as God spoke into her heart. Her man was standing beside her drinking everything in. He is a taxi driver and the street gossip is that together they rob her clients. The Holy Spirit led us to pray for him and to offer him the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. It was such a Holy Moment. The Presence of God surrounded us and we were all lost in this Holy Embrace. Carolina’s husband nodded to indicate that he wanted to give control of his life to Jesus. After we prayed, he told us how earlier in the day he had mentioned to Carolina that he wanted to start attending church. Is that God or what?

We came away from the streets that night, awed and humbled. What a privilege to participate in the stretching forth of God’s hand to those who are blind and lost. Thank you for praying for us. You, too, are a part of His outstretched arms as you pray for the lost, lonely seduced ones of the streets.

The Best Gifts

Dear Beloved Friends and Family,


Thank you all so much for your Birthday wishes and cards! I wanted to tell you how we celebrated because it was such an answer to your prayers!


God spoke to me all day long! We had a wonderful devotional led by one of our teachers, Gisela, and she spoke on John 8:32: “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.” We have been focusing on the Word this week since Sunday was the day of the Bible in Honduras. Gisela talked about how only the Word of God can free us completely. I knew God was speaking to me about my need to replace some wrong thought patterns in my life with the Truth of the Word. I pray to walk in God’s truth and freedom this year so that my weaknesses will not hinder the growth of the ministry.

In the morning, e-mails started to trickle in wishing me a HBD and then the trickle became a rush…..I thought to myself, “This is very unusual and very lovely. I wonder if somebody gave everyone a heads up about my Birthday.” Sure enough one of the e-mails that came had the note from Chris attached. God totally blessed me through you all!

God chose the Birthday theme……..without knowing ahead of time, everyone gave me presents that had to do with eating healthfully! I have been reading Dr. Colbert’s book entitled Toxic Relief. Perhaps I’ve been talking up his suggestions for healthier eating more than I thought! Fruits, exercise weights, a water bottle, nuts and granola … these filled my spot at the table! The icing on the cake was when they blindfolded me and brought out a piñata in the shape of a carrot and, instead of being full of candy, it was filled with a spiky red fruit called lichas. We laughed and laughed as the adults took turns smacking the heck out of that carrot! Confetti and fruit were flung all over the place! The hilarity that began with the piñata only increased when we started playing games and acting like a bunch of wild children. It was so freeing! Suddenly I realized…….with all the stress of the political crisis, we just needed to laugh! God knew that. His gives the best gifts! I pray to be more humble and childlike in the coming year.

And Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:1-4)

Pastor Evert then came and shared from the scriptures. He chose Psalm 39:4-6 and Psalm 73:24-26


“Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; Let me know how fragile is my life. You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it. But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in You.”


“Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”


It seemed strange to me at first that Pastor Evert would choose these verses referring to the fleetingness of life, but as he expounded on the scriptures, it made perfect sense. He spoke about how we all had come to know how fragile life can be during this past year and a half, and that God had taught me through the failing of my flesh, that He is the strength of my heart, my portion, and my hope. When everything else is stripped away, the truth comes forth. Nothing else can satisfy the deepest desires of our hearts. Truly His Presence is the best gift.


I pray to desire nothing but Him in the days ahead. Thank you, dearest friends, for praying for us, and for upholding us, during this time of national insecurity. I continue to be thankful for the security we have in Jesus. He never fails. Ever.

With love,

Betsy








“No one can be uncheered
  by a balloon.”
                      -A.A. Milne

The Gospel is Revolutionary

Sept. 8 2009-

I have written this blog in my head several times but the creation of the Jericho calendar has taken precedence to anything written. I just finished the calendar so here we go…..blog time! Hurray! I’ll start by sharing what has pushed us most to pray in the last days……namely the political situation. Both sides are hanging tough and there are protests almost every day by one of the political groups. I belong first and foremost to the Jesus group but one cannot help but take sides at some point. And that I have. I am thankful for the de facto government. Despite all kinds of disciplinary action on the part of the US and other countries, they are standing up for what they believe is right and best for democracy to survive in Honduras. And they have done it in a very wise and nonviolent way. They have counted the cost and decided to stand firm. “The little country that could” is what I saw on a poster held up by a supporter of the present government on one of their peace marches. I like that. Mel’s supporters (Mel is the ex-President who tried to extend his presidential stay), on the other hand have been violent and difficult, to say the least. This past week his supporters marched in front of Jericho House. Several of the leaders wore masks and defaced the walls of all the buildings they passed. It was a very tense couple of minutes as they passed by. I prayed that they wouldn’t spray our building or at least that they wouldn’t paint anything vulgar. I prayed for protection of our children. When we went out to check after the march had passed, this is what we found:

The Gospel is Revolutionary!

I had to laugh. At least they wrote something that is absolutely true! The Gospel does turn everything upside down….but perhaps not in the way they were thinking! One thing I love about the Gospel is that it is life changing and revolutionary, from the inside out! If God really gets a hold of us, our thinking is turned upside down and instead of living for ourselves, we seek the lost and the hurting, the poor and the destitute, the marginalized and the needy whether spiritually or physically or both.

That’s what Honduras needs…..the true Gospel of Jesus Christ who calls us to become less so that He can become more. I am asking Him, these days, to make me less, to help me to decrease so that He might increase. I need to be downwardly mobile….desperate for God and aware of my need for Him at every moment of the day.

After the march passed, we prayed for protection for the ministry and actually went outside and anointed the building with oil. The next morning one of our staff members arrived early only to find the black metal door to the ministry wide open. When she and her son went inside the building, they found that nothing had been disturbed. This is truly a miracle in our neighborhood. I knew God was trying to emphasize that He really is listening to our prayers. Honestly, when we were praying over the building, I kind of felt like we were just going through the motions. But God was totally paying attention. If you have moments like that where you think your prayers are just kind of “prayer-babble”, I want to encourage you. God is listening.

Sept. 22 afternoon-
Before we lose electricity, I thought I better get this to you. Since I wrote the above, Mel has returned to Tegucigalpa and has been given asylum in the Brazilian embassy. He continues to paint untrue pictures to the rest of the world about what truly is going on here. It is saddens me. We are not in any danger, per se, but life as we know it has been interrupted and it’s unclear how long the curfew will last. As a result of Mel’s return, we are under a 24 hour curfew and once again praying for God to show up in a Big way. We are so thankful that there really has been very little bloodshed considering all that is going on. Pray that this will be a time for us to be a witness to the stability and joy that knowing God brings in the midst of circumstances that seem out of control.


Under His Wings,
Betsy

I am missing you all tonight ...

Dear beautiful family in the North,

I am missing you all tonight. It is hard to explain but I feel it deeply. It’s not that I am unhappy to be back home. I was so ready to come home to my family in Honduras and to join them in the spiritual battle during this time of political unrest. It was time to get back into daily routines. But I miss you all. You treated my children as if they were your own, you loved us up and spoiled us and were used by God to lavish us with blessing after blessing. We cherished our time with each of you and have memories of beautiful long summer days that will be with us long into the cold nights of the rainy season. Some days the distance between us seems greater than others … like tonight.

We arrived safe and sound and the political situation, while unresolved, has not caused us any real difficulties other than living with uncertainty. It’s hard not to interpret everything as being related to the unrest. For example, this past Saturday we lost electricity at noon and heard planes overhead that sounded like fighter jets so we hunkered down and stayed inside and spent the day cleaning the house. The ex-president had been making noises about returning so we assumed that was the reason for the lack of power. Finally late in the evening, Marlyn and I ventured out to the grocery since the fridge was empty and the kids had eaten as many peanut butter sandwiches as they could stand. On our way back from the grocery we encountered the reason for our electricity problem. A truck accident had somehow snagged all the power lines to our neighborhood!

It is not easy, this standing alone business. No one likes to be the odd man out but that seems to be our position in the world right now. It has been very disappointing to receive condemnation rather than support from other nations. Honduras is being pressured to allow the ex-president back into the country which could spell disaster on many levels. We are praying that the interim president will stand firm until elections in November so that the country can truly continue to be a democracy. We are also praying that the truth about Zelaya’s (the ex-pres) plans for himself and Honduras will come out into the light. He makes much noise about how he is a defender of the poor. It’s not really so much about the poor as it is about power…..doing anything to stay in power long after you are supposed to (think dictator). Pray with us.

Speaking of dictators, Isabella has kind of taken on that role in our household! I am so happy to report that Isabella remembered that I am her Mama. The mother/daughter bond that occurred before our journey North was thick enough to endure the 5 weeks we were away. Isa made the transition from Elvia’s household back into ours without any major glitches. I am amazed at how much she has changed in just 5 weeks. Not only does she not fit into her size 18 month clothes, but she is definitely wanting to do as much on her own as possible. She says, “Yo, Mama, Yo” while taking the spoon out of my hand to let me know she wants to feed herself. And she loves to sit in her high chair and direct the rest of us……kind of barking out semi-coherent orders to anyone within shouting distance. She makes me laugh often and much and I am so thankful for this little jewel. It was so good to be reunited with Helen, too. She turned 10 while we were gone and she is happy that we are all back under one roof.

The pictures below are from our trip. In the car we would take turns talking about the ways God blessed us and how He made Himself real to us. There were far too many ways to account for them all here but hopefully the pictures will give you a glimpse of His goodness and mercy to us. I was so thankful to be able to share the healing adventure with all of you and to thank you for your prayers, especially during that time. We serve an awesome God, there is not doubt about that!



I love you all so much and…
….am missing you tonight.

         Betsy and the traveling buddies
      (Marlyn, Noe, Juanca, and Susana)