Letters from the Field – The Birth of a Beautiful Ranch || Cris Lopez

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We have been ministering in the Rancho Bonito community for more than a decade now serving, preaching the Gospel, and working toward community transformation and life change.

When Sparrow Missions first arrived, the community was referred to as one of many “Bordos,” meaning “border community.” The people of San Pedro Sula referred to these communities in this way because they’re along the border of the river. It is a community of significant need and abundant hurt and for the majority of our time here, two different gangs were present.

I remember the fear that our people had because of the gang activity, the consistent dread of interacting with them. It was especially prevalent among the women and young girls who feared for their safety and for the safety of their families. At this time, we were having weekly leadership meetings with some of our core Sparrow leaders from the community. They expressed their frustrations and the weariness that they had with the continual gang activity in the bordos.

So, we began to pray. We prayed for God’s protection and for the gang activity to decrease.

However, shortly after we started praying, I began to have a strong conviction in my heart that we needed to change our prayers. I felt that we were praying selfishly, only asking God to move in ways that would benefit us. And, while Scripture tells us to ask the Lord for what we need, I felt that He was leading us to pray even bolder prayers.

I came to the meeting one week and began to speak with the leaders. I had a deep concern for them and I didn’t want to sound insensitive, but I knew God was leading us into more. I said, “I know I don’t live here and I don’t face the same fears as each of you, but I think we’re praying selfishly. There’s nothing wrong with what we’re praying, but we’re doing it out of fear. God teaches us in the Bible to pray for our enemies and bless those who persecute us. So, let’s pray for their souls! Let’s pray that God will transform their lives.”

This was the beginning of a noticeable change in the community. We began praying out of love, mercy, and compassion for the very people who were oppressing our leaders and their families.

The very same week that we started praying these bold, faith-filled prayers, we began seeing change…miraculous change.

One of the gang leaders came to me and asked to talk. He began sobbing in our conversation, expressing that he didn’t know what to do anymore. He felt that he had no way to change the path that he was on or the situation that he had gotten himself in.

He shared, “I feel hopeless,” and all I knew to say was “Let me pray for you. I don’t know the answer, but God might show you the way.”

The change was evident.

Some of the members were put in jail, others were killed, others fled the area and we truly believe that it was the power of prayer that brought about this transformation.

Our leaders noticed the change, and so did the people of the community. For the first time, those who lived there experienced some peace. They wanted their community to be known by this peace, so they came together and decided to change the name of the community. From then on, it would be known as “Rancho Bonito” meaning “beautiful ranch.”

What was once a community filled with violence and unrest is now one where hope is present, the Gospel is being preached, and lives are being transformed.

There is still much work to be done, but by God’s grace, so much transformation has taken place.

Thank you for continuing to support us, pray for us, and help us as we minister to a community in desperate need of Jesus Christ. May God bless you!

Sincerely,

Cris Lopez; Honduran National Director