The coastal nation of Honduras is bathed in natural beauty, but the majestic landscape conceals a dark reality. According to international data, Honduras has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Some of the victims have been Canadian tourists.
Yet our team has witnessed a stunning transformation. They can see just how the light of Jesus’ love is piercing through the darkness in central Honduras.
Several decades ago a small, faithful team of Christian workers from EHC came to Quezalapa. Deep in the central region of Honduras and more than 4 hours drive from the coast across rugged terrain, 6,000 people live on the mountain plateau. When our team first came to the community, the violence was stunning. At that time, Honduras was a haven for anti-Sandinista Contras violently opposing the government in Nicaragua.
But our team began sowing good seeds in faith. They had no idea what would happen in response to the strategic, home-by-home delivery of the gospel message. Yet within a few weeks, the first response card arrived at the office. The team followed up this response with a Bible correspondence course. Then they patiently watched to see what God would do next.
The number of cards arriving to our office multiplied. More and more people were asking for more information and expressing their desire to follow Jesus. But there was no church at Quezalapa for the new believers, so EHC workers returned to establish a Christ Group for discipleship training and worship. This Christ Group was the first one planted by EHC in Honduras.
Miraculously, those few seeds sown in faith have multiplied many, many times. Today there are 177 Christ groups worshipping the true God. As the Christian influence grew, Francisco, who had been trained by EHC’s team, immerged as a leader. He began as a committed EHC volunteer, leading home-to-home evangelism and training others who, like himself, came to learn about Jesus through an EHC gospel booklet.
The impact of the home-to-home outreach was greater than imagined. Recently when the team was invited to visit Quezalapa, they were thrilled to go and see the church.
“When we arrived, it was our surprise to see this church had grown to 200 members,” shares Angel Humberto Reaños, EHC’s National Director in Honduras. “Pastor Francisco and his church members have planted five additional churches in surrounding communities,” he says. “The area consists of small villages spread across great distances. Many people have to walk one or two hours to attend the services.”
Since EHC co-workers fi rst set foot there three decades ago, Quezalapa has experienced the transforming power of the Gospel. “The Body of Christ that was established in Quezalapa has been a powerful force for evangelism. The way of life for this village has changed,” says Angel.
“Now, many people are very interested in studying the Word of God. Children attend church as faithfully as they go to school. This is a community where the Gospel is truly advancing. There has been a radical change in Quezalapa and we praise God for it!”
Angel reports that EHC recently provided evangelism training for another young man who has begun to minister in some of the violent coastal communities of northern Honduras, including Limon, Sangrelaya, Sico and Santa Rosa de Aguan.
“He is a young pastor who has much love for the lost and he loves very much our material because in these communities our material is easy to comprehend,” Angel explains. “We praise the Lord for the life of our brother who has been a good testimony, winning many souls in his communities.”
We praise and thank the Lord for the devoted co-labourers in Honduras. Today, where violence once ruled, the region is a rich producer of agriculture products. Violence has been radically reduced. God has changed the people – from the inside out.