"Batallas De Fe Honduras" Evangelistic Meetings

The Call for Earnest Work — If our ministers realized how soon the inhabitants of the world are to be arraigned before the judgment seat of God, to answer for the deeds done in the body, how earnestly they would work together with God to present the truth! How earnestly they would strive to lead men to accept the truth. How untiringly they would labor to advance God’s cause in the world, proclaiming in word and deed, “The end of all things is at hand.”

Letter 43, 1902.

There is nothing more thrilling to me than evangelism.

Maybe it’s because I came into God’s precious Seventh Day Adventist church through an evangelistic meeting. To know that the truths of God’s Word are being presented with power, and that precious souls are hearing that Word of truth, that can change their lives forever, is joy for me!

I’ve lost track of how many baptisms we’ve had in our village of La Zona over the past twenty years, but I do know that each baptism was the end result of weeks, sometimes months of spirit-filled evangelism. One plants the seed, another waters it, but God gives the increase.

The Marables

This year [2018] we had a very special, caring and giving family come and visit us for two weeks — the Marables from Maryland. Their trip had a two fold purpose. They wanted to help a young man get out of a negative environment and also wanted their two children to experience the missi0n work that is done here in Honduras.

They were truly a blessing for the church members in La Zona, as they shared candid talks on the family and raising a Godly seed. They had personal interaction with the new young couples and God used them specifically to bless a new visiting young man by the name of Froilan, who had just decided that at the cost of losing his job, he was going to obey God and keep the seventh day Sabbath holy.

Batallas de Fe Evangelistic Meetings

Shortly after the Marables left, Brother Nelson, the director of the Reach International Orphanage, paid a visit to the outpost for some health counseling and to inform me that he was considering hosting Batallas de Fe evangelistic meetings with Pastor David Gates and Pastor Jeremiah Davis.

batallas-2 He asked what I thought of it and if I’d be willing to support it. Well, as I said, evangelism is in my blood, and I became very excited and told brother Nelson that M.M.M. would be happy to assist in whatever was needed. So, we volunteered to feed the crew of about twelve people for the ten days they would be here.

I began planning on how I could get the whole village down to Santa Barbara to hear God’s present truth messages. The invitations went out, and all the members of the La Zona and Piedra Hancha congregations were informed that they must attend.

Families from the nearby village of San Manuel, where we are giving Bible studies, sacrificed leaving their homes for a week in order to attend the meetings. The response was so great that I realized that it was inevitable that we would need to rent a bus. However, in the end, it turned out that we not only needed to rent a bus, but we also had to use four additional pick up trucks. Every night was wrought with a spiritual excitement as the people waited anxiously to get on board.

Every night, as we drove back to our mountain village, we would sing songs of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord. You could actually feel the Holy Spirit’s presence in the bus and pick up trucks. Later, to watch our village folk walk slowly up the mountain road to their homes, was a beautiful sight. Some continued to sing softly the songs they learned at the crusade. Others discussed newly learned biblical principles and yet others simply walked quietly, meditating on the many blessings received thus far.

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As always, there is a sadness when a crusade comes to an end. You know, it’s like you’ve been to the mountain top. But here in La Zona, the excitement continues. There are more visitations to do, more Bible studies to give, and the most joyous of all is to see the results of all the accumulated efforts — Yes, when souls decide to give their lives to the Lord through baptism.

This is Froilan’s story:

Froilan, a young man in the village whom we have known since he was a small boy, was one of those young boys that batallas-4 came to church every once in a while, but was never serious. When he became a teenager, he started drinking, which later on led to drugs. This was a daily routine for Froilan; he was enslaved, yet he still managed to go to work.

He met a nice young lady, but could not stop the substance abuse. Whenever I saw him, I would pray for him, and always greeted him warmly, as I do to all the young people in the village. No matter what their lives might be like, we must learn to look at people the way that God does, not seeing how they are, but who they can become through His grace.

batallas-8 Well, God’s grace was working in Froilan’s life. He suffered a terrible disappointment, when he lost his first son at birth. It was at this event that he began to call on God. We took the opportunity to be there for Froilan and his wife Ocelis, visiting them and encouraging them. God later blessed them with a little girl, Marian, whom they love dearly. But, Froilan still could not quit his vice.

On one of those drinking spells, Froilan had a motorcycle accident, leaving him incapacitated for weeks with a broken leg. This was God’s opportunity. We began visiting him on a regular basis, offered a juicing cleanse and also Bible studies. Once healed, he began attending church, stating that he always knew that the Seventh-day Adventist church had the truth.

Froilan didn’t miss a church service — listening attentively to every message given, gleaning important truths, and batallas-6 applying them to his life. He became convicted of changes he had to make in his life, like marrying Ocelis and keeping the Sabbath, and step by step he trusted God and became obedient to His call.

It has been a joy watching Froilan and Ocelis, and even little Marian, growing in grace and making changes. One of the hardest decisions Froilan had to make was giving up a job with a well known company where he had worked for eight years. But, he faced the owners and unflinchingly explained to them that he had to obey God and would no longer work on the Sabbath. Friends and family thought he was crazy, but he stood firm on his conviction.

God has been there for them, testing them and strengthening their faith. On this special day, I know that heaven was rejoicing, and rightfully so, because a soul had been rescued from the chains of sin.