Working Together

Working Together

It is amazing to think that we just completed our first full calendar year (2016) in operation at the Sparrow Children’s Home. It was nearly two years ago (January 31, 2015) that we spent our first night on site here in Santiago, and to see how God has grown and used this ministry over the past two years is nothing short of amazing! Following up on Justin’s post last week sharing testimonies of the past year of ministry for Sparrow Missions, I wanted to take this opportunity to look back on the year that was and the amazing ways God has expanded our ministry here beyond what we could have imagined. But the underlying theme behind this whole post is the idea that it is only together, through the different, and equally important, gifts and talents of each person here that God has assembled, that He has been able to do that which has taken place through the Sparrow Children’s Home.

One of our challenges over the past year was to reach outside the fences of our property and into the community around us in Santiago and Tela to see where God was opening doors for us to serve. It has been amazing to see how God has opened those doors in such a way that we have become so much more than a Children’s Home, and how each and every member of the staff here has played a part in that. For example:


Chris has continued to build relationships at Ministerio Vida in Tela and has just begun a Celebrate Recovery program with the guys that live there. These guys will finally be able to walk through a program with someone to encourage them and teach them accountability and the ways to handle temptation.

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Alishia has continued to teach English classes in the local schools as well as work with children in the local church. Her presence in the school, and work done there, has opened the door for many opportunities for our staff to serve the community.

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Roxanne began visiting the local school in Santiago once a week to teach a health class and spend a couple hours seeing children who may be having any health issues.

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I have been visiting a local Asilo (nursing home) once a week and spending time with the residents there. This time spent with them has been as much a blessing to me as it has to them I am sure.

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These are just a few examples of how God has been using us to reach out beyond the walls around us, and we know there are more opportunities that He is leading us into as well. For instance, this year we plan to open our medical clinic on site and begin a sewing clinic for the ladies in our community as well. We have teams scheduled to help us get both ministries up and running, and we hope to have more folks join us on the ground for short term work in the year ahead as well.

One thing God has really reinforced to me throughout this past year has been the importance of being a team and working together. Not a new concept, right? But it’s more than just each person having their gifts/talents and serving in their ministries. It’s about learning what they do and finding ways we can support them, pray for them and grow together as we work. It’s about finding out what God is doing and seeing how we can help. Here, it’s not Beef’s Asilo ministry, Roxanne’s medical ministry, Alishia’s school ministry or Chris’ Vida ministry. It’s about God’s work in the community around us. Because, honestly, God doesn’t need us to do this work, He just allows us to meet Him in what He is already doing.

One thing I love about our family here at the Children’s Home is how we have become exactly that—a family. Each week we come together for a community meal with the Weekses and also spend time together in Bible study and prayer. We check in on each other throughout the week and share ways that we can be praying for each other and encouraging each other. At Christmas, the Weeks family and my children joined me at the Asilo where we threw a Christmas party for the folks there. It’s not about ministry ownership, it’s about being a part of what God is doing.

Over a month ago, we parted ways with the two ladies who had been helping us in the house with taking care of the babies and cleaning. As a result, this meant I needed to do less errand running and stuff outside the house and spend more time helping Roxanne take care of the needs around home (a thought that prior to December frightened me more than I care to admit). After a month or so, I am so thankful we have had this time together as a team because it has allowed us to grow closer and really appreciate each other a lot more. You see, changing a diaper is just as important as feeding a homeless person. Sweeping and mopping floors are just as important as leading a medical clinic. There are not more important jobs or ministries, there are just equally important opportunities—provided we are following God’s direction to them.

You all know this verse well, but it really speaks to what I feel God has been hammering home to me over the past year. The fact brought forth in Ephesians 4:16, that

“from him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”

Whether you are missionaries working together in Honduras or you are serving a ministry in your local church, you are part of a team. The responsibility of us as members of this team is not to compare what we do or how we do it to our other teammates. Our role is to do our work and encourage those around as they do theirs. Do not criticize, do not minimize, do not boast, do not compete. Instead, love, support, encourage and pray for each other. When we work together, we see the body of Christ as it truly should be. One!

God Bless!  Eric (aka Beef!)

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