God’s Blueprint

04 Jan God’s Blueprint

God is great and He is doing amazing things.  Not just here in Honduras but I know back in the good ol’ U.S.A. as well.  It seems like this would be a great time for me to sum up and celebrate what great things have happened in 2016.  But I’m not going to do that.  I’m gonna go another way. I’d like to share a glimpse into how ministry growth has happened for Sparrow Missions in Honduras from a very close angle.

My original gut was to share a few quick testimonies of growth from 2016 like:

At the Sparrow Missions Children’s Home we have seen our staff led by Eric and Roxanne Bowman make great strides of representing Jesus into the communities of Santiago and Tela.  They have integrated their lives into the school system with Chris and Alishia Weeks and the community of Santiago.  Chris has jumped in with both feet by serving the men from the Tela branch of Ministerio Vida Rehab Center.  He is teaching them carpentry skills and encouraging them greatly.  All the while these two couples and their families have cared for the children with whom God has trusted them.

The Sparrow Academy was started in 2016 and God used it in amazingly effective ways!  We have seen growth both spiritually and personally in the lives of the students from 1st to 6th grade.  The education is top notch thanks to the leadership of Elena Faulkner and the teachers of the Academy.  God is using them daily to see His Kingdom come to earth in the lives of our precious students.

We have seen growth in the bordos community through the children’s class with Elena, Olga and Jackie, boys youth group with Cristian (Cappy) Lopez and (Uncle) Dean Faulkner, girls youth group led by Olga and Jackie, women’s discipleship program led by my beautiful wife Ashley and focused discipleship programs by Jami.  Each of these people have made a huge difference in lives this year in San Pedro Sula.

We have seen a group of young men from the bordos with the desire to learn how to play guitar for the pure purpose of leading others in praise and worship.  They are talented and work very hard to prepare for how God will use them.

The soccer programs have continued to grow.  Coach Don Ruben is a coach/discipler/teacher/mentor to these young men.  His time with them is so valuable.

OK, so a few testimonies slipped out.  How could I not mention baptisms, salvations, and lives turned over completely to God.  He is so good!

“But Justin, where do these ministries come from?”  You may be asking yourself.

Great question!  Each has its own unique and supernatural story. And sure, blueprints and plans years in advance would be nice, but here we go with one quick story. Let me attempt to paint you a picture (with words of course) of how God takes a comment, thought or small idea and turns it into something special and life changing.

Let’s go back to June.

For months, maybe years, there have been small requests for English classes here in Honduras.  We had tried in the past to do one class weekly for a few youth in the bordos but over time it whittled down to one student and we decided to pull the plug.  Learning English in San Pedro Sula, Honduras is a big deal.  There are large call centers that pay very well for English speakers.  There are also opportunities to be part of ministry teams as translators.  Quite simply, learning English is a trade and an awesome ministry tool.

In June of this past year, Cris came to me and mentioned how many of the boys in the youth group have consistently come to him asking if there is any way that Sparrow can help sponsor them to attend a weekly class to learn English.  Cris felt deeply that this was a great chance to support the boys and that over time it would pay off.  As I recall it, we decided to go to a coffee shop to talk it over.  He showed me that the program was pretty simple, 10 boys would get one class each week as a group for 5,000 lempiras/month. ($217).  Seemed reasonable.  But God has a way of taking a cool idea and pouring gas, nitroglycerin and any other combustible liquid on it and make it bigger than we could dream.  Honestly, it was always His dream. Over the next hour there was a Holy energy that grabbed us as we started scribbling ideas on napkins of how instead of enrolling ten boys into a one day a week program, we could start our own program that would be 5 days each week and involve more students with a greater focus.  God planted this great plan into our hearts.  The next step is finding the teacher and the always present funding issue.

Pay attention.  This is where is gets fun.

In the car on the way home I called the best English teacher in San Pedro Sula, Jessika Laya.  She has given lessons to our staff and been involved deeply in ministry in the bordos for years with Ashley.  She loves God and loves to teach.  It felt right to make a call to her.

She and I spoke for a little while and I rolled out the idea of a program that would meet 5 days a week with 20 or more students.  She could integrate the word of God and we could all be involved in working with the English students.  By the time I had returned to the mission house she had agreed to take on this program for the same 5,000 lempiras we had originally budgeted (but….5,000 lempiras we didn’t have just yet)!

But when God is moving like this it’s easy recognize that it’s not about you at all.  It’s Him!  While walking from my car to the mission house to see our twins, I bumped into a few of our summer staffers.  They asked what was up and I spilled the whole plan.  I couldn’t have held it in if I had wanted.  One of them asked, “how will it be funded?”  I smiled with a big shoulder shrug. (Translation: Only God knows)

Over the next hour I shared the idea with Ashley and the one and only Bo Cracraft.  They both recognized that if God is moving He will bring in the funds.   Shortly before dinner, the summer staffer who had asked how we would fund it all approached me and humbly committed to fully supporting the program.  A college student.  Overwhelmed.

Now let’s jump to present day.  We recently had a Christmas Party for the English class.  Each of the students chose a verse in English and shared why it was their favorite verse IN ENGLISH.  They were super nervous but did an amazing job.  We played games for a while and then Profesora Jessika asked each of them to share something they are thankful for and talk about a goal for 2017.  Again all spoken in English.  They confidently walked to the front and stated how they are thankful to God for Sparrow Missions.  Next came their goals.  I was shocked as the majority shared that they hoped to be ready to translate for the short-term mission teams this summer.  The want to use this gift of English to serve God.   Here are a few videos of students sharing their verses!

[vimeo 198064869 w=650&h=364]

[vimeo 198067939 w=650&h=364]

[vimeo 198067942 w=650&h=364]

John 5:19 says: Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

This verse clearly shows that we can only work where God is already working.  We must recognize that God is the Creator.  He creates, not us.  He works, not us.  It is HIS blueprint.  We don’t have to be entrepreneurial in our faith.  We don’t have to be ambitious. We simply must see where God is working and join Him in it. By doing so we will live on the cutting edge of ministry and our faith will remain active and alive and He will get all the glory.

God Bless, Justin Ross