January 2014 in Honduras (la version française suit celle-ci)

Greetings to all our friends, and those who support us in prayer and/or finances!  We are truly grateful for your friendship and support for our ministry that allows us to continue here in Honduras.

We have had several exciting events during the past month:

1. A group of twelve students graduated at our Leadership I level in our First Principles courses here at the Hermon Baptist church which Lise and I attend.
   
   
   
   
2. Fourteen students graduated from a sister church in La Paz.
   
3. Twenty-seven pastors graduated in the southern part of Francisco Morazan department in the presence of 500 people. Some of these pastors had walked up to four hours on foot every time to attend classes. Then another four hours to get home.
   
   
   
   
4. This past week we had our national convention at Lake Yojoa, where we had our first graduation at the degree level. A dozen pastors were awarded the “Licenciatura” of Theology. That is roughly equivalent to our Bachelor of Theology. While this degree is not officially recognized, the Convention leaders studied the requirements in secular universities as well as seminaries for this degree, and placed the same requirements for granting this degree.  (Official accreditation is extremely expensive from the Honduran point of view. In fact, the cost would be prohibitive.)  We also saw movement toward closer unity among the churches of the Convention.
   
   
   
   
5. Each of these graduations has inspired several new students to want to join the program, giving the opportunity for the graduates to start facilitating these courses themselves, even as they continue in their own education.
6. Tomorrow morning, I will have the privilege of baptizing two young men in the muddy waters of Chorrerita . It is a stream that pours down a waterfall forming a small pond before carrying on.

Norman Nielsen will be in Honduras with a few other people in the first week of March, when we will be able to discuss a number of things, as well as the Children’s Home, as the founder/director of that Home will also be coming from Spain at that time.

In the middle of March (we don’t have the exact date yet) we will be travelling back to Canada for a six month period. If all goes according to plan, we would be returning to Honduras in September. We have already been planning our work load for when we return.

We hope to see many if not all of you during our six months in Canada, as we will be available to visit churches.