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REV. ERNEST LANGENDOEN PRAYER LETTER

Dear friends,

I continue to have impressed upon me the need for godly men to be called to go into the world to preach the Gospel and to plant churches that are faithful to Christ and to His Word.  Unless this is the primary focus of our work, we are doing nothing but wasting our time and our monies on that which has no lasting value.  The true and faithful proclamation of the good news that Christ came to save sinners from destruction, that He grants to them lives based not on their merit but on what He has done, must be central to all that we say and do.  And as we work on the field, paternalism and feel-goodism has absolutely no place.  This is not our work, nor is it about how good we feel.  This is the Lord's work, and it is a matter of utmost importance, the saving of souls for eternity.  We confess our complete unworthiness for such a task, and if it were not for Christ and His soul cleansing, soul-saving Spirit, we would attain absolutely nothing in this world.  Trying to put the world back together with bandages is just not going to work—man can only be saved by the preaching of the Gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit.

To this end Rev. Bout and Rev. Pennings were sent by Immanuel ORC of Jordan, Ontario, to examine Orlando Sierra and Felix Martinez to see if they were qualified to receive a license to preach.  We had a blessed afternoon on November 10 as the two men fielded the many questions sent by the council of Immanuel.  Both Orlando and Felix looked forward to the exam with some trepidation, but both did well in answering the questions.

Rev. Bout came down with his wife Joanne, and Betsy and I were thankful for a time of Christian fellowship with them.  At times the mission field can be very lonely, far from family and friends, and though we are thankful for the fellowship with the believers in Honduras, it is always good to see those from the churches that support us back in Canada and the United States.

How much Honduras does need the Gospel!  It is a country that has received vast amounts of help from governments and agencies from all over the world. As well, many mission agencies have come and gone, and yet in the end the economy is in shambles, violence is at an all time high, and leftist movements see an opportunity for the final experiment, an all-powerful, all-absorbing police state, with a government portraying itself as the saviour as it enslaves the people.

But of course this is nothing new.  Our own countries, once greatly influenced by the Gospel, have gone the same route, and we are paying the price for adventuresome economic and socio-political policies that are based not on the wisdom of the Bible, but the foolish caprices of human reason.

But of course I have said this many times in past letters, as I struggle to apply the gospel in a culture where jobs have dried up, money is scarce, and people are getting frustrated and angry.  But although in some ways the gospel can be so simple, Jesus himself said His burden was light, man so easily burdens himself down with that which is just not good news, and cannot see himself through to escape.  How blind man is without the leading of the Holy Spirit within him?

The church in Comayagua continues to go well.  Attendance has been constant, and we have bought some more chairs since there are many Sundays where almost every chair is taken.  The attendance in Tegucigalpa has gone down, but we have impressed on the brothers there the necessity to persevere.  We are just starting, and we do believe that the Lord has called us to proclaim the gospel in this very needy city.  Antolin Mendoza, who preaches in the countryside in southern Honduras, has reported that attendance has been good, and the church is doing well.  I plan to go down there in late November, and we plan to have the Lord's Supper.

We ask for your prayers, that the Lord may continue to provide for the mission work, that we may be found faithful in the tasks He has given us, and that many more may come to believe in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. And may God grant all that you need as you live before Him.

In Christ,

Ernie Langendoen
Comayagua, Honduras
November, 2010