Mangulile Photo Essay

Mangulile Photo Essay

April 21, 2018
 

“Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Mark 16:15

As Adventure In Missions, we have heard this call and have decided to respond. A team of 22 individuals from the ages of 7 to 60, heard the specific call to climb into a small fishing boat, cross the ocean to arrive in Mangulile, a small coastal village that had never received missionaries before.

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Mangulile is not accessible by road. To arrive at the shores of Mangulile, you must travelalong the Atlantic coast for 25 minutes by boat. The blue waters shine with beauty and are the key source of income for the main industry of fishing, along with the agriculture of plantains and corn that dominate in Mangulile.

 

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Upon arriving at the coast of Mangulile, one first notices the beauty of the pure nature. The sandy beaches have never been crowded with tourists, the waters have not been reached by cruise ships, and the mountain’s jungle has never been cut back. It would be easy for one to be overcome by the beauty of this magical place, but the injustice and poverty that its people face remains.

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We introduce you to Angie (right), a girl with the most tender and loving heart that truly captured our hearts. She loves the Lord Jesus Christ and wants to serve him. But she is also only sixteen and a single mother of a tiny baby. She, like the rest of the children living in Mangulile, has only completed grade six.  She has no real hope, because there is no real work for a woman in her village. All she can imagine is asking the Lord to send her a good husband who can provide for her and her son by fishing or farming.

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The injustice that the people of Mangulile face does not allow them to fall into self-pity,  but rather encourages them to seek the face of the Lord. We introduce you to Doña Paula (right) and Doña Bachita (left). These incredible women were ecstatic to meet us as we arrived in their homes, exclaiming, “We have been waiting six years for the missionaries to arrive!” Indeed the Lord had spoken to them six years ago that he would send a group of Western missionaries to support them. Praise God we were able to be the ones to respond to that call!

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Upon receiving this word from the Lord, Doña Bachita began to save all her money to build a house for the future missionaries to stay. Simply by faith, a single woman, living in a village with no other cement houses, saved to put down every cement block to build a house with multiple bedrooms. She organized a car battery to provide the power needed to have one light bulb for us. And cooked for all 22 of us on her little clay oven. These women are heroes of the faith and we are blessed to serve alongside them and pray in faith for even greater things to be done in Mangulile.

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During our time in Mangulile, we served alongside the church in children and youth ministry, worship and teaching, medical care, and construction. We desired to show them the gospel not only in our words, but our actions. God had sent us because he had seen their suffering and desired to bless and encourage them. We had the opportunity to build a home for a family of six.

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This is the old house where the children slept, with water leaking through the roof and flooding the dirt floor during rainy  season. The mother cooked over an open fire, burning her eyes and filling all of their lungs with harmful smoke. This family will now have a tin roof and cement floor to protect them from disease.

 

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One day as we played on the beach with many of the youth and children, and they invited us to go on an amazing adventure. To walk to the most beautiful place covered in tropical uva trees. They called this place Puerta Escondida, meaning “Hidden Door”. And it truly was a magical place as we realized that it was hidden from the rest of the world. That no other missionary had arrived to share the good news of Jesus with these beautiful people. And that we were the first ones to walk these beaches, leaving our little footprints, but allowing God to use us to leave enormous, beyond our imagination, impacts in the lives of those we met in Mangulile and our own lives.

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As we prepared to leave Mangulile, the church of Christ was there to say their goodbyes and their thanks. It was incredible and humbling to be thanked, and to realize who deserved the thanking, as they had taught us what it meant to have faith and to trust and to love and to serve.

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 Mangulile has captured our hearts, just as it has captured God’s.

He desired to send us there to stretch us, without the availability to running water, or electricity, or the comforts of a bed, and to show us his love for the nations. We have accomplished God’s initial call to go and completed the prophecy, but we pray that God will take us back!

Elida with the first shoes made from leather!

March 17, 2018
Almost one year ago Adventure In Missions started a micro business making shoes. Arriba, “shoes for beautiful feet”, has been a huge success. We thank God for leading us into this venture that now provides employment for 8 Hondurans. This week Elida made our first pair of shoes from leather. They will be a gift for her Dad as Sunday is Fathers Day in Honduras.

Computer Project

August 17, 2017
We are very excited to say that a new ministry was started in El Cacao: Computer and Technology Project. We desire to see people reach their potential through career enhancing skills. In our computerized world, these skills are of great importance for opportunities in study and work and very few in our rural area have access to or have ever used a computer. Imagine your life, never being able to type an email, make a powerpoint presentation, or search the internet for an article. A trained Christian teacher from La Ceiba will be coming to El Cacao weekly to teach the essentials of typing, Microsoft programs, and internet searching. One of the teenage students on the first day excitingly exclaimed, “I need this!” She recognized the importance of these skills to future study, and her career. We pray that these skills will be an aid in breaking the cycle of poverty. Please join us in praying for the students as they learn and also have opportunities to engage in the gospel with our staff!

Mission Trip to Honduras

August 17, 2017
Why not escape winter this February and join us in Honduras? You can be a change maker!

WINTER MISSION TO HONDURAS FEB. 11-22, 2018

WILL YOU ANSWER THE CALL?

Want to make a difference in the lives of others for eternity? Now is your chance Ask God if a winter mission trip is something He would have you do. Join us to use your skills and abilities to bless others through medical, construction projects, and serving children. No matter what your age or skill level is, we need you! Prepare to find the excitement, adventure, challenge and joy that comes from serving others.   For more information: Email: info@adventureinmissions.com Phone: 1-866-550-8404

Exploring the Limitless

July 11, 2016
IMG_5666Limitless is one of those terms that I can’t really can’t wrap my mind around. Without limit: how can a limited brain, with limited capacity, comprehend something that goes beyond boundaries? It can’t be done, but our limitless God calls us to explore his incomprehensibility. We at Adventure In Missions see God at work each and every day and sometimes it’s easy to forget about the awe of it all, how God takes things that are seemingly never going to change and transforms them. Willing people + an almighty God = revolution. This journey to El Cacao marks my first ever mission trip. I’ve been pretty successful at coming up with excuses in the past for not going on mission trips. Whether they were legitimate or not, I’ve been able to ignore the tugs at my heart for 22 years to be the hands & feet of God overseas. I’ve heard it said that people are creatures of habit; that saying is oh-so-applicable to me! I know what works for me and I rarely stray away from that! I very much enjoy working hard and then rewarding myself with leisure and recreation. God has always held my heart, but I don’t know if I can say that I ever gave a piece of my heart to “the least of these”. File_004Although I’ve been a Christian as long as I can remember, this trip has been eye-opening. I’ve discovered areas of growth in my life that need to change, areas that I never would have addressed had I not been removed from my American comforts. Back home, I can get away with not trusting Jesus with my whole heart, and I often fall into that temptation without even knowing it. These past 2 weeks, however, have allowed me to see my faith in a new light. I can honestly say that no experience in my past can compare with reading through my favorite Bible passage (1 Peter 1:24-25) with an 8 year old Honduran girl, and then having her read me hers (Galatians 5) in Spanish. Watching the wheels turning in young people’s minds at youth group as they hear God’s Word. Seeing the gratitude in patients’ eyes as they leave with fresh stitches or after receiving the care of a doctor or nurse. Overcoming language barriers by lifting hands, clapping, and praising the same God. How God can take a service team of Hondurans, Canadians, & Americans and unite them as one body. Estan cosas hermosas. Whenever I feel inconvenienced or start to miss the luxuries of home, I am reminded that minor discomforts are nothing in the grand scheme of things. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:10: “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” I struggle with giving my time to things that I don’t see worth in. If I can’t identify value in a task, chances are fairly high that I won’t give 100% to it. However, there are a few things in life that have an immense and obvious value in them, and I boldly say that spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ is one of them. 13495082_747609412008095_1674646734109744254_n  

-Colleen Thompson

 

God’s Surprise

September 26, 2013

Have you ever just felt that you were exactly where you needed to be? That God planned this exact date, time, and place for you? If you haven’t, I encourage you to ask God to give you one of these moments, because they are extraordinary. Ask God to surprise you. He loves to surprise us with his intimate love and plans.

This moment happened to me when we left Cacao for three days to venture out to a new village, called Mangulile, with Pastor Jugo. We had to take a 25 minute boat ride to get there because there we no roads to access the village. There was no electricity and no (what our part of the world would call) working bathrooms or showers. No missionaries had ever arrived there. It sounded very adventurous and I was all in!

Upon arrival, I was first surprised by the beauty of the village. It was breathtaking! The beach, the blue water, the jellyfish, the sand, the rocks, everything. Then you look up and all you can see is jungle covered mountains, right off the shore, the mountains tower over. (the only part was that everyday we had to climb a hundred-some stairs to get to church and then climb the mountains to get to the village’s homes! Talk about getting in shape!)

The second surprise was the house we stayed at. I was secretly hoping to live in a one rom stick house on the floor with spiders and pigs (that would make a great missionary story, am I right?), but the house we walked up to was lovely. It was cement and had multiple bedrooms. I had a slight sense of disappointment, although I am sure the rest of the team felt complete relief! Although the house was great, we still got to spend the night with the spiders and pigs. 😉 But I still couldn’t imagine who would have such a nice home in such a poor, remote area.

pig at mangulile

The next surprise was even more breathtaking and awe filling! I introduced myself to the lady of the house, Hermana Bachita. I greeted her with lots of enthusiasm as I told her how pleased and excited I was to stay in her lovely home. But she greeted me with even more enthusiasm as she said, “We have been waiting for you for six years! And look, you are finally here!” I was in shock, as I said, “Huh??” She went on to explain how six years ago with the sisters from the church, she saw a vision of missionaries coming to her village. Her exact words were, “There were so many Gringos that I didn’t know where they would all come from!” I was in awe of God. What? How? Why us? What now?

So we went to pray and ask God the specifics of these questions. We received three words from the Lord.

  1. We were there to bring joy to the church.
  2. We would see the church grow because of our ministry.
  3. We would come back to Mangulile again.

With that in the back of our minds, we continued for three days doing all of the ministries we had planned. On the last day we spent the morning in prayer with the some the our brothers and sisters from the church, and Hermana Bachita began to tell us that in her vision, three things were revealed to her. That we would bring joy to the church, and the church body would grow, and that we would come back! I was in awe. Oh how God loves to surprise us and use us for his glory!! Then she began to tell us that after seeing the vision, six whole years ago, she began to save all of her money. She lives alone, but she wanted to build the biggest house possible so that when the missionaries finally arrived, they could stay in her house. How amazing! What faith! I was in awe. I still am in awe. How did they not give up hope? How did they save every penny with no reassurance that God was going to send missionaries? And why us? Why were we able to fulfill the prophecy? I don’t know, but I am surprised and blessed to be God’s child, lover, and servant!

ppl up mountain

God has so many plans just like this for each one of us. Ask him to reveal them to you today! Ask him to surprise you with his love and his plan. It will make you step back and be in awe.

Toda la Gloria es para Dios!

-Kaitlyn Anjelica

Where is God Sending You?

September 26, 2013

Where is God Sending You??

Being a missionary has so many rewards. Seeing people grow is our paycheck. El Cacao is such a small town. There is a high school, but the few that graduate have a hard time going to university and the thought process of the people questions if education will really help them move forward. They don’t have much hope of ever leaving their village and definitely not their country. They don’t have a world perspective.

Four years ago, I lived in our village of El Cacao for the first time. God told me to hold a youth event and more youth than we were capable of hosting showed up, and praise God, fourteen youth accepted Christ. On this night, a young man that many of you know, Edwin David Romero Martinez, invited Jesus to be his Savior. At that moment, I knew God’s eyes were on the youth of Cacao and I was excited to start discipling them. It is a struggle to see youth from horrible situations try to break their chains and erase the lies, but when they finally do, it is overwhelming.

It is a missionary’s greatest joy to see someone’s journey from accepting Christ to living for Him and then to starting their own ministry. I can imagine Jesus’ delight when he for the first time sent out His disciples. “When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” Luke 9:1-2. And then Jesus sends out the seventy-two. “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Luke 10:17. What pride Jesus must have felt in seeing His people be sent out to discover their own gifts and then use them for His glory. Such pleasure.

As I stood in the check-in line with my “Little Spiritual Son” Edwin, I felt what Jesus must have felt. To watch this young man accept Christ, fight to leave his old life behind, fall in love with Jesus, and decide to commit his life to serve his Lord, was my ultimate joy. As he watched his suitcase “float” away on the conveyer belt, he smiled in awe and looked over at me and said, “Wow! Look how the suitcases move, that is the next level!” Then he gathered his backpack and passport to board the plane to Panama City, to begin a new adventure with God in a Discipleship Training School with YWAM, I knew that he wouldn’t be the last youth from Cacao to board a plane with the desire to be a missionary. I knew that God has a plan, and it includes seeing Honduran missionaries going out to the nations. I knew that I am part of that plan and that Edwin is too. He will be a testimony to his village, that you can leave, you can find hope, and if God so calls you, you can encounter the world. I am so proud of Edwin and am excited to see where God will take him. And I am so excited to see what God has for the youth of Cacao. I believe HUGE things. Edwin has shared with me that he has been given a new heart for his village and wants to reach more of his own people for God and show them the joy of serving the Lord as well. Soon the seventy-two will be sent out! Amen?

Please join us in praying for Edwin as he experiences God in a life-changing way in Panama. Pray for his up-coming outreach phase and also his finances to travel where God calls him.

Gracias y desoe que entiendan el llamado de Dios para sus vidas. Adonde creen que Jesus les esten enviando?

-Kaitlyn Anjelica

Edwin with Kaitlyn and Cherise just before boarding the plane to Panama. edwin's dts    

Abide in Christ

September 26, 2013

Dear Family in Christ!

It is Kaitlyn Anjelica here, back in Canada after spending the past seven weeks in Honduras. It was a busy and exciting two months. We hosted 26 volunteers over the course of the summer. We spent our time teaching English, building a house, traveling to host free mini-medical clinics, treating patients in El Cacao at Project Hope Clinic, visiting the women’s prison, hosting children’s programs with a special focus for young girls, running our weekly youth group, sharing, worshiping, and preaching in churches, and leading evangelism outreaches. And those are just the beginning of the adventures God took us on during the span of seven weeks. God moved in such incredible ways that I feel compelled to share with my family in Christ everything so that they too can be encouraged in their spirits and be lead to pray. So over the next months I will be retelling the stories of God that happened during the summer.

My prayer is that God would speak to you through the stories. That he would reveal to you that he is God and he is good and he is moving and wanting to move in your own life. That you would catch hold of the passion and fire, and desire it for yourself. And ultimately that you would choose to make God the center of your life, so that all things would flow out of a heart dedicated to him.

Sometimes we get so busy focused on the “ministry”. What is ministry anyways? The Free Online Dictionary states that it is “the act of serving”. But sometimes we forget who and why we are serving. The logistics and organization get us all mixed up and we focus more on what games we will play at the youth group, and where to buy the best cement, rather than on Jesus himself. This summer the number of ministries increased, the people performing the ministries needed to be taken care of, and the people being ministered to always needed more ministry. I quickly became overwhelmed and looked to myself to get it all done. But all we really need is to make GOD the CENTER of our lives, and everything else will flow out of that. If we abide in the vine, then we don’t need to worry about the fruit. Thank God for this truth. It takes off all the pressure.

So as you continue in ministry (because we are all called to be missionaries) may you make God the center, and abide in Jesus as a fully time career. And then watch the fruit come, and ministry have impact.

My prayers go out to you, as I know your prayers are going out to me. Cherise and my mom, Florence are still in Honduras continuing the ministry I had to leave behind, so pray for them please! Thank you and keep looking for the coming blogs J

Con mucho amor,

Kaitlyn Anjelica