Although we live with Tony at the camp site, my team is actually working with an up and coming church with Pastor Salinas that’s located in Tegucigalpa. When our team went to visit the church for the first time on Sunday morning, they were more than welcoming. Unlike in Guatemala, we had a translator for the service.
Pastor Salinas
On our first day of work at the church, Pastor Salinas and his family (3 kids, wife, a few church members and close friends) had my team sit down in a circle and share our stories. Afterward, I came to him just to thank him for the day and the chance to tell them about us. He said, “Tu heart es like my heart.” And he told me how I remind him of himself when he was young. It was an incredible compliment. Now, next Sunday, he wants me to share my testimony to his church. So, that is a BIG prayer request for everyone!
Pastor Salinas and two of his kids.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Pastor Salinas and his family tried to take us to the biggest public hospital in Honduras. I say “tried” because we weren’t granted access. Finding out the reason later, that the big boss of the hospital is not a believer. “And some days you get in, and some days you don’t,” says Pastor Salinas. Every time Pastor Salinas tries to get in, the guy laughs in his face saying, “What God? Show me your God.”
Yesterday, we were finally let in. We visited 2 wards of the hospital. The first was Male Cancer. It was my first time going to a hospital specifically for prayer. It’s a strange feeling, walking into a room with so much misery, with all eyes focused on you. Can’t say that I exactly blend in with the crowd either. But my team walked in with a lot of confidence, armed with the Holy Spirit. We NEEDED to believe our prayers would make a difference. And as nervous as I was, I was ready for it. This is why we came, to release the Holy Spirit into those who needed it. As we laid hands on the first man, Pastor Salinas opened up his bible and started reading from either Isaiah 52 or 53 in Spanish. I quickly dug mine out of my pocket and flipped to Isaiah, trying figure out the specific verse. I’m pretty sure this is what he was reading:
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53:4-6
After praying over the next patient, Pastor Salinas, turned to Job 3:
If I were you, I would go to God and present my case to him. He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles. He gives rain for the earth and water for the fields. He gives prosperity to the poor and protects those who suffer. He frustrates the plans of schemers so the work of their hands will not succeed.
Job 5:8-12
After praying over about 10 men, we moved into the children’s wing of the hospital. Most had pneumonia, asthma, infections and/or very high fevers. Thankfully, there is never a shortage of the Holy Spirit, and God is always willing to heal. So, we continued on, believing that tomorrow, their parents will be able to bring them home, where they belong.
It was an unforgettable day. I learned so much from watching Pastor Salinas pray over the patients. He prays like he KNOWS they are healed. I hope I can inherit that confidence in my prayers from him over these last 2 weeks I’m here.
Spending the day in Santa Lucia (The Beverly Hills of Honduras).
Looking at the city lights.
Tegucigalpa
Thinking about taking some bananas off this tree.
View from Santa Lucia.
