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 Dear Friends:
Our theme verse for our mission to and with the people of Honduras comes from I Thessalonians 2:8: “So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves.” They are the words of the apostle Paul as he reflected on his ministry to and with the people of the church of Thessalonica. It wasn’t enough for Paul to share the gospel in word and letter --- for the gospel to be real it needed to be shared in person. Our mission to Honduras has a lot to do with providing opportunity for people from the United States and Honduras to share the gospel of Jesus Christ to each other and with each other “in person.”
Like the story of the little boy who one night was in bed and was scared of the dark and called out for one of his parents to come and be with him. Despite several assurances from his folks that he would be all right, the boy kept calling for them to come and be with him.
Finally his father said, “Don’t worry son, God is with you.” After a moment the boy cried back: “But I want someone with skin on!”
The gospel of Jesus Christ is all about God putting skin on and being with us in the flesh. And with Christ comes the model for how we do ministry --- we try to be God with skin on to a world that so desperately needs to know the good news of Jesus Christ. People who travel with us to Honduras quickly discover that while they assume they are going to Honduras to minister to others … they themselves become the ones being ministered to by the transforming work of the Holy Spirit. That’s what ministry “in person” will do to you.
We hope the words you read in this section of the website will help you to understand a little more of what we seek to do in Honduras and also arouse your curiosity enough to take the Spirit’s lead and travel with us sometime.
In Christ,
Stephen D. McConnell |
