UNITED STATSMEXICOSOOTHAMERICAPublished
QuarterlySALUDOS!fromBAJIOCHRISTIAN MISSIONVol. 29, Number 1M/M
Bill HoffApdo. 3166San Pedro SulaHonduras, Central
America504-566-3796e-mail: [email protected]
OfficeP.O.Box 61013LasVegas, NV89160-2013Spring
1998THEMARRIAGEWEBBERSJim and Doris Long have been friends of Bill
and Margy for manyyears. They first met whenthe Longs were invited
by the Hoffs co-worker, NormDungan, to hold a couples'
communicationseminar nearQueretaro, Mexicoabout fifteen years ago.
The Hoffsparticipated inthat seminar. Several years later, theHoffs
invitedtheLongstoafamily campinthe samecampfacilitynear Queretaro.
At that timetheLongs expressed their desire to movefromMexicoCity.
Bill andMargy had been making plans to leave Queretaro and asked if
theywould consider renting their house for two years prior to their
retirement. They stayed for two and a half years and thus completed
thirtyyears of mission work.Since December of 1995 the Longs have
retired in Phoenix, Arizona, but continue to hold seminars
whencalled uponin Latin America. Ayearanda halfago, Margy talked
toJimandDoris about coming to Honduras. It was planned for Aprilof
1997, but then the Longswere given the opportunity to visit
Cubawith a thirty-day visa (somethingunheard of forChristians).
Although BillandMargy were disappointed, they understood andhelped
pray fortheirvisit toCuba. Margy thenasked theLongs if they could
reschedule avisit toHonduras. They were happy todo this and agreed
tocome inJanuary 1998.WhatablessingtheLongs were to manycouples and
individualsin Honduras. Theyheld seminars forcouples, bothin
SpanishandEnglish. Theyencouraged manypeople.They were ableto see
much of thecountry. Perhaps thehighlight was when
theHoffsandLongstooka two-day break to visitthe Ruins of Copan.
Itwas a relaxing and educational time. Thankyou, Jim and Doris,
forgiving a month ofyourtime to the peopleofHonduras. Many
marriages have beenwebbed tighter becauseof your visit.Jim
&DorisLong and Bill&Margy at hotelMyan
CalendarLivingquartersofRoyaltyBallfieldat Copan.Stone turtle
altarMANYPARTICIPATEIn February 1997 Bill was askedto lead a
groupofEnglish-speaking people whowanted to gather on Sunday
mornings. Bill saidhewouldteach theadultsandthat
hewouldliketoservetheLord'sSupper eachweek. This wasthe beginning
of thechurch thatis nowcalled The International Christian
Fellowship.Fromthebeginninggroupof 12 peoplewhomet ina
member'shome, the churchhas grown tonearly 50 inattendance with
tenmembers participating eachSunday. There are currentlytwo
classesfor the children. Fromthehouse, the church group moved to a
schoolnearbywhere they met without charge. March 8thwas their
lastSunday in the school. While various people were looking for a
placewith air conditioning, the owner of the schoolcalled and said
that thegroupcouldnolonger meettherebecause
theroomwasbeingrenovated. God's timingisalwaysperfect. OnMarch
15th,thechurchbegan renting an assembly roomin a large hotel. They
anticipate manyvisitorsand having air conditioning each Sunday.The
first week of January the family in whose home the church hadits
beginning, returned to the States. It was hard for everyone to
saygood-bye. This group of expatriates are very transient. Many
peoplehave come andgoneandsome will returnagain. Themembers
areconstantly inviting their friends to this English-speaking
congregation.KEEPINGINCONTACTBill would like tohave moretime
tospendwiththe Spanish-speaking congregation in San Pedro Sula, but
his obligations with theEnglish "International Christian
Fellowship" and his ministry with theBible Institutetake upmost of
his time. Hedoes, however, trytoworship onSunday evenings
withthem.In November, therewas a guest speaker at the Englishchurch
andBill was able to join with the national churchin a fieldday at
the beach in BajaMar. The special event was the baptismofthree new
believers. The church was transported in a bus and private
vehicles. Whenthe song service was begun, some ofthe local
Garifunapeople(of African decent) whospeaka pidginlanguage of
African, Spanish, Dutch, and English) joinedin. What a beautiful
reminder for the Honduran congregation that the gospel transcends
all cultural barriers. After the servicethe ministers of the church
accompanied the candidates into the surf where they baptized them.
Then the whole churchentered into a carry-in supper. Bill also used
the occasion to make a lightning trip to visit John and Madonna
Spratt. Theyliveonlya fewmiles east of Baja Mar.Baptisms in
CaribbeanChildren playinghellsFarewellgatheringYouth at
farewellCongregationINSTITUTEIMPROVEMENTSThe Bible Institute has
been in operation for more than a year. Slowlysome of the
deficiencies in the physical plant are being corrected. One ofthe
most pressing problems is that the students have been living in
roomsthat are future classrooms. They do not have glass in the
windows so, whentherain blows, thebeddinggets wet. The rooms also
have noindoorplumbing. The fact is that there is a real need to get
the students into adormitory.The studentshave takenthe problemsin
stride. They arein classesabout five hours a day. Whenthey are not
studying, they work a couple ofhours a dayfor theschool. Then they
study toprepare for classes ormessages for the prayermeetings
andservicestheyholdinthe neighboringranch. Whenever thereis a free
minute, they can be foundkicking a ballaround or playing checkers
with a board made from a cardboard box andCoke and Sprite bottle
tops for checkers. Bill is very pleased with theoutreach ministry
of thestudents.Last December a Sunday school class at Macedonia
Christian ChurchinCentral Indiana wassendingtwonurses
onaworkingtriptoassistMadonnaSpratt. It occurred to someone that
perhaps others could accompany them and help in other ways. Madonna
did not needa workteamatthat time, so she contacted Bill to see if
they could help with the next phaseof construction. Bill was
doubtful; the need was certainly there, but therewere no funds. At
about the same time, the mission received an anonymousdonation
designated for construction. That made it possible for Bill
toaccept thework team.The groupof eight worked onraisingthewalls of
thedormitory whichBill hadenvisionedfor sometime. There
wereafewobstacles, but theymanaged to put up almost half of the
buildingbefore they left. They laidabout 190 linear feet of wall,
five courses high and were just getting fast
attheworkwhentheweekended. Theyweredisappointedbecausetheywantedto
accomplish more, but Bill wasoverwhelmedbytheir willingnessto
work.It is always a "bitter sweet" moment when Bill and Margy take
a groupto the airport. They are grateful for their hard work, but
glad to return totheir normal lives --if there issucha
thing.Theblockworkwasfinishedby thestudentsand RichardGring,
avisiting professor who taught for a month. As this article is
being written,thesteel roof trusses arebeingerectedandthedorm
buildingis beingstuccoed. Godisso wonderful.Even with the help of
several visiting professors, the "lion's share" ofthe teachinghas
fallen on Bill. Please pray for additional workers for
theinstitute. Help is needed in the areas of publicity, teaching,
and construction. Many of thefuture ministers ofHonduras will be
trained attheinstitute.Please Note!new phone number:504-566-3796new
e-maii number:[email protected] Christian
ChurchCheckersFoundationfor dormPerspective on thenew construction
at rightWork teamLaying blockPERSONALGLIMPSES--A HARDDECISIONIt was
a hard decision. I had been praying about this for some time. I
hadspent the past two years helping the students with their English
in an A.C.E.school. During the last year and ahalf, the emphasis
had been onEnglishliterature. "My" students had been reading books
in English and then answeringquestionspertainingto each chapter.
Someof the studentsdidver> well; othersneeded a lot ofhelp in
understanding what was being said in English. Day afterday I worked
to see that the students got their literature done.But my
circumstances were changing. We were going to have house guestsfor
two months, mymaid was leaving, I was fallingbehind in mission
correspondence, and I was feeling exhausted each day as I fell into
bed.Leavingmy "kids"at school was goingto be hard. Theywere
alwayshappyas I walked into the room. The administration told me
that the literature programwouldbeshut downif I left
becausetheydidn't haveenoughpersonnel. Thestudents were definitely
benefitting from reading the books. And 1was makinga littlemoney
whichI wouldmiss. After much prayer, 1decided to resign. Myfirst
responsibility in Honduras was to our mission.OnDecember 18th,I
said good-byeto "my"kids. Someof themhungonmeandbegged menot
toleave. Some of the girlscried. Abigparty washeldinmyhonor. I
tookpictures of them. But I hadtowalkaway from thisperiod of
mylifeand usemytime elsewhere.I have not had free time since I left
thisjob. It was the right decision. I lovekids andIlove to teach.ZZ
"OMllVMyads'M 'amiASSo^iaivdaovisodsTiDHOlldOyd-NONMargy's
KidsSIX-WEEKVISITORSOn January 9th, Rebecca wasawakened to acrying
noisein the backyard. It was about2 a.m.when she woke up her mother
saying that Brandywas having puppies. Brandy, a medium-sized
partGerman Shepherd dog, has been part ofthe familyforthreeyears.
She waspurchasedforRebeccaand they were great friends until she
went tocollege. Now, two days before Beka had to returnfrom her
Christmas break, her dog was giving hera belated Christmas
present.Throughout the night. Brandy dropped sevenpuppies.
Theywerevery cute, butwerea lot ofworkandexpense. Brandy hadvarious
healthproblems, so we made several trips to the vet. Thepuppies
were taken acoupleof times for theirshots. Margy drove while Bill
rode in the back ofhis pickup with the seven puppies loadedin a
boxand Brandy standing beside them. Before the tripwas over,
thepuppieswere walkingaroundthetruckandBill was coveredbydoghair!!
Eventhough the puppies werea lot of enjoyment, therewere no regrets
on Billand Margy's part when thelast onewas given away at sixweeks
of age.Puppiesaiis^nbi'UMOiio^'^^OD ssimavaiiiMVHvno
lovisodN}{aL3}[ ONVa}{VA[ }lOdZi999 S":^'3Il!'^sso-am odouj
'uoissijx UBiisuq3 oifeay(q paqsijqnjUNrrzDsrATBMEXKO\ SOim'
agenciesforhelpingthe populous. But it is difficult to get back to
tlie areas tliat are worst hit. So most of the relief stops where
thepavement ends, and there are still many areas that have not yet
received any help.Duringthe first days of the hurricane we received
a tremendous volume of correspondence and phone calls.
Nowthecorrespondence has slowed. We are spendingless time in the
office and more time in hard manual labor. The firstcontainer
arrived last Tuesday. Bill, the Bible institute students, and four
hired men unloaded it. It was filled with 17 tonsof food and
clothingwhich were stored at the institute. The food is being
brought a Etde at a time to our house where it isbeingincluded in
the bags that are packed for distribution.We developed a policy for
distributionthat focuses on Santa Rita, a specific area near the
institute. That way we do notwaste time and money traveling. The
major part of the food and clothingare being taken to that area. We
have alsofilled orders for Madotma and John Spratt who, because the
road to their village is stillflooded, are unable to get to
themarket. Tobin and AmyHill also distributefood. To date over
3,000 bags of food have been prepared at our house.Saturday Bill,
Todd Fields, Tobin Hill, Aleck(our co-worker in relief work), Kathy
Butler (a fiiend visiting fi-om theStates), and the
congressmanfi-om Santa Rita, distributed food and clothingto
villages that had not yet received any help.In fact, these villages
have been isolateduntil last Saturday, and the new "road" is either
a quagmire of mud, or fordingrivers filled withboulders. We are
alsogiving out blankets becausethe weatheris turning coldand the
peoplehave noprotection. Currently, various ladies are preparing
bags of clothingfor each famil>'. Next Wednesday, Bill and
others willgo and distribute these. Bill has been told that there
are600 children in that area.Three more containers came in over the
weekend. As soon as Bill can get the paper work done,
ChiquitaBanana willdeliver them to the institute. They will fill
the classrooms and the chapel. Pray that the weather will permit
the semi-trucksto get up the hill to the school. The last truck had
to be pulled up by a four-wheel-drive tractor, but the weather
hasgotten worse and even a tractor can't get a full trailer up the
hill in Ae mud.The need in Honduras is just beginningto become
apparent. The ministry of labor has reported imemployment is up
to42% and will climb higher. The coffee crop in some areas has been
devastated. The small farmers have fi-equently lostnot only their
houses, but also their tools, and in some cases, their topsoil,
(land slides have buried their fields in rocks.)We have spent
almost $2000 on purchasing shovels and hoes and machetes so that
the farmers can begin to recover.Next, we are planning to get them
seed so that they can sow their fields again.The following is a
personal account of the trip last Saturday'. We thank each ofyou
for your continued help in prayei*s,funds, and goods for
Honduras.May Grodblessall ofyou. Bill and MargyKathy'sperspectiveOn
Saturday we left the institute with 3 pickups full of food,
clothes, water and bedding. We were to meet the Deputadoin Santa
Rita and he would lead us up the valley to the small mountain
villages of his district. Each village has a mayor orleader who has
a list of everyone in his village and the people cannot receive aid
if they are not on the list. It is a verygood way to keep integrity
in the work as well as provide a sort of census. When any aid is
given to a family it isrecorded. This area is supposed to be "near"
the institute, but near is a relative term. Perhaps it is near as
the crow flies.We experienced several of the damaged bridges of
this country but even though sections are broken down we drove
overthem anyway. That is fortunate because some areas completely
lost their bridges, totally cutting them off fi-om eveiything.The
Deputado was waiting. He seems to be a veiy efficient man and is
ready to help the people of his district. That willmake theon going
work much easier. Up the mountain we went. The dirt road was veiy
narrow, barefy passable in someplaces. The tiver ran hard and wide,
far below us. Then down. down, down we went into the rr\^er
beditself. ba.sicalh'finding our ownpathfor therewas no real road.
At onepoint the Deputado stopped in the middle of the bed and
showedus the aldea La Union. There was nothing there but boulders,
huge treetrunks and debris. The onlj- evidence of a villagewas
water pipes sticking fi"om the far bank. This scenewas
repeatedseveral timesbefore the daywas over. We cameto aschool
where refugees were being kept. There we distributed clothes and
water. It began to drizzle.On we went. Wecameto a village wherethe
menwere trying to cut a tree to fall across the river. Their bridge
had been destroyed andwhat was left of the village was cut off from
tlie road by the wide river bed. As we went up, the river had
becomedecreasingly morenarrowbut the bed cut by the floodremained
wide. It washard to believe tliat it had not always been ahuge
river bed. We also gave them clothes and water. Our destination was
still ...up...and the rain was causingthe roadsto become evenmore
treacherous. We finally reacheda point where e\'en the 4 wheel
drives couldgo no further andactually had to back down the mountain
until a turn around place was found. At this point I chose to walk.
I couldbarelybravethisroadgoingforward let alone backward!
Eventhough we weresad that we couldnot reach ourdestination, things
worked out just fine. The Deputado found a family on the road that
allowed us to unload theremaining goods and use their homeas a
distribution point for the village above . The following daythe
people wouldwalkdown and receivetheir relief. These people are so
resilient, but even though they are used to hardship, this goes
farbeyondthat. Even in these circumstances however the>' were
patient and gracious as they waiting in lines to receive thefew
things we were able to bring on one trip. 1-2 times a week supplies
will now go in to this area until there are no moresupplies. At
some point a building programwill be needed and medical attention
givenalso. Withthe mud, the cold andthe continuing
^in-rsickness-wilt come. The sight of pigs roaming freely amongst
tlieir living^eas concerned me gieatlj*as there is alread>'
beginning to be a problemwith cholera in the country. Seed will be
needed also, after the fields arecleared. Even after seeingwithmy
own eyes it is hard to believe the destruction one small (normally
4-5 ft. wide)river couldmake and how the life of those who
livedupon it could change so suddenly. One thingthey have to
bethankful for is that no one was killed. There is much work to be
done here and one must be patient as well as faithful.a note
fromDarryl Olson:I wanted to let you know at least 6 men are going
to Honduras on the 17th of January to help the Hoffs.Please pray
for tliere safetj' and that the>' wiU be a help and
encouragement to Bill and Margy. They are takingmedicalsupplies as
much as they can cany.At this time onl>' monej' is needed by the
HofTs send toBajio Christian Mission Inc.PO Box 61013LasVegas, NV.
89160-2013JO^O.COJW. (-T AV)! mail ^OLI-' . "V l-y.
/:.1998ir^rknds,r. .irA^W^-fnppwacft tfiis Christmas season,
ourprayer is tHat tfie Lorddas SCessecfyou tfimiigHoii^^yeafrTt was
not my intention to sendout CHristmas greetings Because ofourSusy
scfieduCe witft ^fiurrican rvGrfefforts, Sut I didn't want topass
up an opportunity tosendgreetings to ourfriend .andtedyou how mucfi
we appreciateyou.iJiispast montfi fias Seen one of mucft
xvor^andmuch stress.