fjz/d5Q -'/toM(yoUNTTEO STATESSALUDOS!fromSOUTHAMEHIBAJIO
CHRISTIAN MISSIONPublished Quarterly Vol. 31, Number 1December
ActivitiesThemonth of December was the busiest month of this past
yearfor the Hoffs. It included weddings, programs and parties along
with theirregular work. Billand Margyreturned home from Costa Rica
on November30th. SinceMargyhad been awayfor sixweeks (threein the
States and threein Costa Rica), and Billhad been away for three
weeks, there was a lot of"catching up"to do and a lot of
preparations to make relating toChristmas. Margy had purchased most
of the gifts that she needed inKnoxville and in SanJoseso only a
litde shopping had to be done.The Hoffs were invited to two
weddings in the Spanishcongregation in December. Julio Corea, the
pastor, was married onDecember 11th. It was referredto as "the
wedding of the century."Juliohad been looking for a wife for
manyyears, and praise the Lord he found agood Christian mate. Tom
Schneller, the founder ofthe church, came withhis wife,Toni, from
Kentucky to perform the ceremony. The church waspacked for the
special occasion. One week later, another member, Dalilawho had
been prayingfor a Christian mate, was married. Her wedding wasvery
beautiful and weU attended.On December 10th, the
English-speakingcongregation sponsored aprogram, which took place
at a large auditorium in town. A missionarythat attends the church
produced and helped sing in. The Toy Story, withthe children ofthe
church. There were about 150 people in attendance.Refreshments
followed the program. It has been suggestedthat thisbecome an
annual event.On December 17th Mark andjoy arrived from Costa Rica.
It tookthem two long daysofdriving.Then on December 20th Rebecca
flewinfrom Knoxville. It was sure nice having the whole family here
forChristmas.The English church's Christmas Eve service was held at
the hotel inthe same room where services are held each Sunday. The
room wasdecorated and set up with tables and chairs. Followingthe
program, whichwas a story with Christmas carols, refreshments were
served. It truly was alovely time of rejoicing and fellowship for
all. After opening a fewChristmas gifts, the Hoff familywas invited
to a turkey supper. Thetraditional fireworks were shot off at
midnight and then everyone returnedhome.Christmas day was a time of
opening gifts and thenhosting adinner for a missionary couple and
aTaiwanese family. Everyone seemedto enjoy themselves and there was
plenty to eat.The last big event of the year 1999 was the New
Year's Eve partythat Billand Margy hosted. Two televisions were set
up so that everj'onecould see the NewYear as it took place around
the world. There was atremendous amount of food and a lot of
fireworks to help usher in theNew Year. What a joyit is to have
fellowshipwith Christian friends.M/M Bill HoffApdo. 3166San Pedro
SulaHonduras, Central America504-566-3796e-mail:
[email protected] OfliceP.O.Box61013Las Vegas, NV
89160-2013Winter 2000TheMqffFamilyRebecca with her dadVictoria
andJulio CoreaA Thanksgiving VisitThis past November we decided to
talce a short break from ourroudne and enjoyThanksgiving at our son
and daughter-in-law's house inSanJose, CostaRica. MarkandJoy
areteachingat theSojournAcademythere.The school isassociated
withthe Spanish Language Insdtutc andmeets the needs ofchildren of
future missionaries. Mark teaches five classesinjunior and Senior
highandJoy is teachingthe fifthand
sixthgrades.Theyarealsoseekingopportunities toserveinanevangelistic
capacity.The trip required two days (about 18 hours.) The distance
is notquite700miles but the border crossings into Nicaragua and
Costallicaareslow. At one point a landslide delayed us. Nicaragua's
highways have notyet recoveredfromhurricanedamages. Welost alot of
timedodgingpotholes and washed out sections of road. Neither of the
countries'highways comparc to those in Honduras.We foundthe country
of Costa Rica to be beautiful. The mostpleasant surprise was how
fewguns there were. (In Honduras there are anestimated half million
Volcano Arenalfirearms for six millioninhabitants, so automatic
weapons are commonplace.) In many ways the nation is moreadvanced
than the rest of Central America, probably because theydo not spend
huge amountssustainingan army (theyhave none). Costa Rican prices
are highcompared to Honduras, butpeople earn more so it balances
out. It is easyto see why in the past so many missionarieswent to
CostaRicafor language studyand neverleft.Because of that
thecountryis heavilyevangelized.Our children showed us some of the
natural wonders of the country. The livevolcano,Arenal, was
especiaUy interesting. At night the glowingballsof lavarollingand
bouncingdown the sloping faceofthe volcano are
particularlyimpressive. We alsodrove to the top ofIrazu, a
slumbering volcanicgiant that is 11,000feet high. From the top, we
could look downon the clouds and down into the crater at a bright
green lake.We had trouble findingall the ingredients for our
Thanksgiving dinner. Wewereunprepared to find that things
easilyobtainable in Honduras are not available there. "Afterall,"we
thought, "it is all Central America!"Mark andJoy invited another
couple to help useat the magnificent mrkey.We were doubly blessed
to get home when we did, because the next day the borderbetween
Nicaragua and Honduras was closed due to a dispute over territorial
waters. Thedrive is challenging, maybe the next time we willvisit
byair. LakeArenalPreacher TrainingDonJose, the owner of the
property the institute leases,hasreceived averygoodoffer to
buynearly 1200acresof hisranchfor buildingan industrial complex. He
has already solda verylarge tract,and the purchaserhas askedto
buythepropertyon theother side of the highwaywhere the institute
sits. This has causedBilldeep concern. But DonJose has informed
Bill that: becausethe U.S.
basedunderwearmanufacturerforwhichthecomplexisbeingbuiltisin
chapter11,nothingis likely to happen for at leasta year, and that
the newbuyerwill honor the leaseor compensatethe value of the
buildings. This doesn't meanthat the problem isresolved, but it
gives moretimeto explore optionsif the instituteshould have to
move.C'^son ChastaiK^ljmgiQri bringing asmaU group to
helpprepareForliis familyVriTove i^Cl^orJune[^Hginally,
itwasplanned that this group would beginthe constructionof a
housefor the Chastainson the instituteproperty, but becauseof
theuncertain future, theywillbe makingmodifications to the
currentfacilitiesto accommodate his family.The four students
returned from the holidaybreak withglowingreports. Jose, a married
student from a very poor village,reported that he is doing all the
preaching in his localcongregation. Besides that, he was able to
purchase a small tract ofland, which is planted in coffee. There he
willbe building his ownhouse(something every Honduran dreams
about.)Santos,another student, has been recognized for his teaching
skillsandasked to preach at a Catholic church. In his own
congregation, heusually preaches on Sunday morning. Miguel is not
able to travelto his home congregation each weekend because ofthe
distance,but he has been adopted bya congregation in San Pedro and
wehave been told that he is doing a tremendous job. Manuel is
theyoungestand most introverted of our students, but he isworking
with his local congregation, which already has a
full-timepreacher.Getting to Know the Students Jose AguilarI was in
born in San Luis, Santa Barbara, the 28th of March 1966. They tell
me thatI was a verysickly child and was not expected to live. As I
grewolder, I thought I woulddedicate myself to subsistence
agriculture, like my father had done, but he wanted me tostudy
instead. I managed to study through 6th grade.Later, 1became
involved in a gang with my friends. TTiey taught me many vicesthat
led me to destruction. All of my earnings were thrown away on
supporting my vices.Eventually I lost my job, and I was left
penniless. I remember thinking, "My God, whenam 1going to escape
from these afflictions?" 1 found a new job, but as soon as I
hadmoney, I returned to myvices.Even thenGodhelped me. As I
lookedat my life He helped me realize that it wascomplete vanity.
At that point, I thought about joiningthe church to serve Christ,
to seeif I could change my lifestyle. And for a fewdays, I did
walkin the path of the Lord. Butafterward I returned to the same
weaknesses of my former life. Later on I began to attendchurch
againfor about a year. During that dme I got married. Having awife,
I abandonedthe church and returned to my old way oflife.Before very
long, I had children and began to understand that I couldn't
continuewalking in the desires of the flesh. I pulled myself
together and said, "Lord, you knowthat J have played games with
Your name and Your church, but I want You to be the one who will
restore my life and my home." From themoment that I humbled
myselfin God's presence. He gave mywife and me the power to change
our lives. Our livesare much better now.I am preparing myself to
teach others. I recognize that 1have been given marvelous help from
God. I want to motivate others to jointhe Way ofJesusChrist.Margy's
Trip in OctoberOne of the hardest things about being a missionary
is being separatedfrom your children. In October Billand Margj'
received a phonecallfrom Rebecca.Shewasdepressed over various
circumstances in her life.Shewasn't wellphysically, her car wasn't
runningproperly, hermicrowave haddied, etc. AfriendofMargysuggested
that she should offer togo visit Rebecca.The
followingdayRebeccaconfirmed that shewould really like her mother
to visit and the same day Bill purchased a ticket for Margy.Rebecca
rents an apartment about ten minutes from the
universityofTennessee. Margytook care of some of the problems
whileshewas there. Most importantly, there was plenty ofprivacy and
time for Margyand Rebeccato talk. They spent dme taking a trip to
Missouri to visit friends, one to Kentuckytomeet and enjoy lunch
withJoy's parents and the better part of an afternoon driving in
thebeautiful Smoky Mountains.Margyhad the
privilegeofvisitingfriends and attending the area-wideladiesmeeting
in the Woodlawn Christian Church only a short distance from where
Rebeccalives.The flight home was rather adventurous. It took two
days and three flights on thesecond day, before the airlinefound an
airplane that was able to flyto San Pedro Sulawithout problems.
Thefirst plane had landinggear that wouldn't goup and the
secondplane had smoke in thecabin. Margypraisedthe Lord that she
couldbe reunited with Billonce again. Unfortunately, a couple
ofdaysbefore Margyreturnedhome, Rebecca'scomputer quit working,so
E-mail has beensparse betweenRebeccaPe^ ^levins