Hi Everybody!
I am currently in Catacamas, Honduras, with Cesar, Rick Watson, and Frank Molano. Rick and Frank flew into Honduras yesterday (Thursday, 5/18), and today was our first day of activities here. We met with some of the bull riders from the National University of Agriculture and one of the top officials of the University and have great news to share. But since we will be adding to that story in the next few days, I won't report on that just yet.
In the last update, I mentioned that Cesar and I would be driving from Guatemala to Honduras. On Tuesday, when we were heading for the border, Cesar noticed how much my head was bobbing and said, "Esteban, what do you think if we stop to swim and take a rest?"
"Okay," I said, thinking I was more interested in taking a rest, but I didn't say that.
Stopping to Swim and Relax...
"We have time to cross into Honduras tomorrow. Let's see if staying at Valle El Dorado would be cheap enough for us to stay tonight," Cesar suggested. This is not a normal place for us to stop, because it has a water park and is more of a vacation spot for staying a couple of days to enjoy the amenities. But I didn't object, thinking about the fun we had there with my family about 10 years ago.
Fifteen minutes later, we were standing neck deep in one of the swimming pools, and Cesar asked about some of our cowboy church friends in Texas. I was busy talking about several of those he knew when a man snuck up behind me in the water and asked, "Are you misioneros?"
A Divine Appointment...
"Si," Cesar answered, somewhat hesitating.
"My name is Otto Morales, and I am a pastor and the president of the local pastors association, and I thought I overheard you talking about the ministry."
Once we told him that we were on the way to Honduras to work with cowboys and rancheros, he came closer to us and said, "Hermanos (brothers) you won't believe this, but you are an answer to a prayer I have been praying for a week. I hope you don't mind me taking your time with my story."
"Please tell us," I said.
Otto's Story...
"Several months ago, I had been witnessing to some rancheros, and they came to faith in Jesus. They didn't feel comfortable coming to my church, so I started a men's group on Tuesday nights for them. More got saved, and now we have about 50 men who come. Last Tuesday, I asked the men if we should continue the group or not. They wanted to meet at least a few more times. On the spot I said, 'Next Tuesday we will have a special meeting that you won't want to miss. And God will show us what to do with our group.'"
Then he looked directly at us. "I have been praying this whole week for direction from God and have gotten nothing. But here you are! I believe God sent you to speak to our group tonight."
Two hours later, Otto's wife fed us a delicious dinner and then we went to the men's gathering. Cesar and I shared our vision for PSE groups and demonstrated how we do them. The guys hung around long after the end of the meeting to talk. To a man, they were dedicating themselves to join us in our strategy to reach guys like themselves in the region.
Steve connects with Otto's group of rancheros!
On the Radio...
As Otto took us back to the hotel, he asked if we could be on the radio with him Wednesday morning. (Otto also hosts a couple of weekly radio shows!) Because we really needed to get on the road, we regretfully declined to show up at the radio station. "But I can call you and interview you by phone as you drive," Otto interjected.
Laughing out loud, we nodded our heads and said, "Esta bien. Sounds good." So on Wednesday we were on the radio for about 30 minutes with Otto and got to tell our story to a wider audience.
One of the ironic points that we brought out was the fact that 17 years ago when Cesar and I first got the idea to do something with cowboys in Guatemala, we were about 15 kilometers from Otto's town. The location didn't escape Otto's attention, and he implored his audience with his final words of the program, "Hermanos, we need to learn from these men and fulfill the mission God has for the rancheros and vaqueros to come to know Him."
10:02 Prayer
Please ask God to give clear "next steps" to Otto and his group. We plan to stop and see them again on our return trip home.
Invest
Thanks for your continued generosity. Several this week have begun to invest in the mission.
Engage
Please forward this email to friends who want to fulfill the great commandments and the great commission. The Play.Story.Eat. Updates and the PSE Discipleship Guide may be helpful.
Next time I hope to tell you the story of what has happened today in Catacamas. I can hardly believe it. Thanks for your continued prayers.
Love y'all!
Steve
PS... Investing Information
You can mail checks to:
Daybreak International, 11628 Oakmont St., Overland Park, KS 66210
On PayPal, you can give using the email daybreak.international@gmail.com.
On our websites, you can give at www.PlayStoryEat.com or www.DaybreakInternational.org.