Hi everybody!
I have one more story I would like to share from our trip to Honduras.
Belia and Jose Miguel´s Bulls...
In my last update, I introduced you to Belia and Jose Miguel Argeal. They have stepped up to help us stay in better communication with folks wanting to start Christian Rancher groups in Honduras. Toward the end of our time there, they insisted we travel about 6 hours from Catacamas to Comayagua for a rodeo. Belia´s family would be providing the bulls for the bull riding event in San Sebastian.
We hit it off well with Belia´s family, and were quickly invited into the inner circle of the cattlemen´s association and a big meal with all the parade participants. When going into a place for the first time, we usually don´t know who is who and what is really going on until after an event. In this case, Belia and Jose Miguel whispered to us as we went along to help us realize that we were really hitting it off with mayors and leaders and such. While all that was fine and good, something else happened that blew us away.
The Random Meeting that Surprised Us Most...
When we pulled up in our truck to the rodeo arena to look it over for future events, we had slowed down trying to figure out where to park, when a man and a woman started waving frantically at us. At first, we thought we had pulled up into an area that was off limits. But then we looked closer. It was Heling and Flor Nolasco, a bull fighter and his wife, who had been a part of our first baptism last April in Juticalpa! I jumped out of the truck and we laughed as we hugged one another. This couple, along with Jose, their 13-year-old son, were a part of a group of bull riders and rodeo personnel who had come to Christ and wanted to get baptized in a horse trough right outside the arena in Juticalpa on one Sunday morning a almost a year ago. When I looked closer at them, both Flor and Heling had their Denton County Cowboy Church hats on!
Bull Fighting Runs in the Family...
After sitting down to catch up, we realized that though they travel with the rodeos, their home was only about 15 minutes away in a village called Lamani. So we took a little detour and enjoyed getting to know their story better. We drove to their home and met Heling´s mother and soon we were looking at pictures of Heling´s dad, who was a bull fighter and had died after getting run over by an out-of-control bull when Heling was only two years old. As we looked at pictures and marveled at how Heling was living out his late father´s dream, we could also see God reaching out to this family. It seems that their decision to follow Jesus is strong, and we talked about them starting a couple of different Christian Rancher groups--one would be in their home and another with folks they travel with.
Now that we are in touch again, we feel that with Belia and Jose Miguel on the ground in Honduras, we can help folks like the Nolascos a lot better. Please pray for the success of these friends of ours as they learn how to use the Play.Story.Eat. format with their friends and family.
Love y’all!
Steve