We were all elated that we had had such a blessed three-week road trip to Costa Rica. We accomplished our main purpose of getting some documents authenticated, and we were able to see a few friends and cousins. One rainy night, as we drove between two cities, we were listening to our worship music when, suddenly, the car started to shut down. The lights dimmed down to nothing and the engine shut itself off. The Lord parked our car right at the only clearing on a long, narrow stretch of highway with no shoulders. It was the driveway up to a farm house! There was nothing else in sight. A man from the house came to our rescue with a flashlight and a cell phone. We called our friend, Franklin, in Liberia, a nearby city. He arrived quickly and towed our car back to his place. We spent the night there and took the car to his Christian mechanic the next morning. As our car spent the next whole day in the shop, we recognized that it was a blessing in disguise. We were able to spend extra time with our friends and even led worship at their church. The mechanic found the only spare part in town to fix our alternator. We were so thankful that the car broke down just 9 kilometers outside of Liberia and not in Nicaragua (the very next day), where we don’t know a soul to come and bail us out! The Lord is good!
Upon our return to Honduras, Robert shifted into high gear to prepare for a conference that he gave in a church way up a mountain five hours from home, just two days after our arrival. He also preached in our church plant in Rivera Hernandez the following Sunday.
Meanwhile, Roxanne has worked overtime finishing the homeschool year and packing our belongings in order to move the first week of August. We are moving to Siguatepeque where our rent will be less than half, the violence is considerably lower, the weather is much cooler, and our kids have MK friends there. Another missionary family wants to rent the house we are in now and buy most of our furniture. In Siguatepeque we will continue to train leaders (we have several pastor friends there), and will return to San Pedro Sula once a week to follow up on our ministries here. Siguatepeque is up in the mountains, half way between San Pedro Sula and the capital city (Tegucigalpa).
Roxanne will make a trip north to Canada for a few weeks in August to submit some documents to the government for residency for Robert and the kids. Some of this paperwork needs to be done personally. Our Honduran religious visas will expire at the beginning of 2012 and God has made it very clear to us that our time here is coming to a close. We need to return to Canada to “recharge our batteries” and prepare for our next mission field. We need to make a scouting trip to Spain over the next year or so, as that is where God has indicated that we are to go next. Our kids are looking forward to living near grandparents and other close relatives for the first time ever. Besides, Roxanne has been on the foreign mission field for 24 years without a break. Add to that the fact that our support is extremely low and you have plenty of reasons for a move to Canada! It could take six months to a year for the government approval but the timing is all in God’s hands. Please pray for us as we get everything together to submit to the Canadian government and that we would find favor in their eyes.
As we move from San Pedro, Roxanne is saddened to leave Alba behind. She is the neighbour across the street who looked after our cat when we were in Costa Rica. She started to open up to Roxanne one day, sharing that she left the church eleven years ago and wanted to rededicate her life to God. The next day was her father’s birthday. This pastor said that it was the best birthday gift anyone could have given him! These last two weeks Roxanne and Alba have gotten together several times to read the Bible and pray. Please pray for Alba, that she would continue to grow in the Lord and for her husband, Jose, that he would come to know Him.
We are so grateful for your prayers and support! May God bless you all!
Robert, Roxanne, David, and Julianna
