MissionsURC.org

H  I  S  P  A  N  I  C      C  H  R  I  S  T  I  A  N      M  I  N  I  S  T  R  Y   
A Ministry of Covenant Reformed Church of Toronto in Partnership with
Faith United Reformed Church of West Olive, Michigan

HCM Trip Report – El Salvador / Honduras – February 26 to March 11, 2010

El Salvador – February 26 to March 2

I spent the first weekend “shadowing” José Jesús Ramírez, who moved from Toronto to his home country of El Salvador with his family in January to take on the new role as MINTS-El Salvador Country Coordinator. What a joy to see the goals of MINTS coming into action. Just two years ago he was “shadowing” me as he accompanied me on a teaching tour through El Salvador. He has since graduated with his Masters in Theology with MINTS in Toronto. By God’s grace, MINTS goal of training national leaders to train others is becoming a reality in the story of the life of this family. During the weekend I was in El Salvador, we worked on a curriculum for him to promote among the Centres. I also visited two of the Centres and followed up on several new contacts that he has made during the first month of his new leadership role in MINTS. What a joy to see the passion with which José is taking on the vision of developing church leaders in his own country.

Item of Thanks: His household goods have come in after spending a month in shipment. They are thankful that after having problems of shipping from Toronto, the goods are in his house, awaiting settling in.

Item of Request: Their 2 yr old son, Steven, is asthmatic, and he had a serious asthma attack this week. He is in the hospital at the time I’m writing this newsletter undergoing aggressive intravenous antibiotic treatments.

Honduras – March 2-11

I had postponed a trip to Honduras on two occasions because of the tense political situation there. But it was good to be able to make a trip to follow up on the Centres since my last visit in May, 2009. During the visit to Honduras I was able to teach two courses in four of the Centres. I taught “Canon of the Bible” and “Introduction to the Bible” during this visit. I was able to teach a conference in Comayagua, where colleague Rev. Ernie Langendoen is planting a church. The Centre in Tegucigalpa, whose director was killed in a car accident one year ago, is struggling to stay motivated. One of his disciples, also a MINTS student, is beginning to take on some of the responsibilities that were left vacant and, though young, it is encouraging to see his enthusiasm. In the Moskitia (indigenous region of Honduras) the Study Centre struggles with typical issues of an indigenous nature (language, educational level, and transportation issues in this region of rivers and lagoons), but they continue to forge ahead tenaciously. In San Pedro Sula 16 students in three Centres have completed several courses and are eagerly anticipating the work on these next two courses.

Item of Thanks: Frontier Missions has initiated a program to train Hondurans for mission to the Muslim world. After meeting with them, they asked me to provide consultation and training for these leaders through MINTS. What a unique opportunity for MINTS as a missionary seminary to train national missionaries!

Item of Prayer: The Study Center in the Moskitia continues to face challenges of leadership development because of issues related to indigenous culture and circumstances. The Centre is accessible only by air, and travel in the region is limited to boats along the rivers and lagoons. Communication between the students is a challenge, and the educational level provides a unique challenge.

In the Service of Christ,
Rev. Eric Pennings,
Missionary, Covenant Reformed Church of Toronto
Miami International Seminary (MINTS) Central America Regional Coordinator

Canadian Donations: Hispanic Christian Ministry, c/o Covenant Reformed Church, 265 Albion Road, Toronto, Ontario M9W 3P1

US Donations: Hispanic Christian Ministry, c/o Faith United Reformed Church, 8270 120th Ave., West Olive, Michigan 49460