May 2020 Newsletter 

                                                                 Open and Honest 

As I sit in front of the computer thinking, praying, and reading my journal, contemplating what to share for this month - I am left with a blank mind. Yes, many fleeting thoughts and ideas have come, but they never seem to truly fit what has been going on here in Honduras this past month nor our true hearts. As Kelly and I have been praying and discussing as to what we can share for May’s newsletter, we have asked each other, ‘What is there we can share that we haven’t already in the past two months of this quarantine?’ It seems that not much is going on or that there are no new items report! 

Within the ministry, we continue to write devotionals for the families in the educational programs. We continue to prepare and give out bags of food, and as always we continue to pray for the country of Honduras and its people who are starving. We continue to pray for the teachers, students, families and friends here that we were steady working with in discipleship but now can only send calls or messages in hopes they have internet in order to receive them. But most importantly in all of this, we continue to praise and give glory to God, for He has shown us all different ways to continue to minister. Yet, we wait in anticipation to see things open up again, and as we have said many times, it can become frustrating and discouraging when week after week we hear that the quarantine has been extended until further notice. Mission teams who had planned to come from the States to serve alongside us for a week will be unable to come due to borders closing. The government has tried to stop the ministry’s operation of giving food to the hungry. These incidences, amongst others, continue at its attempt to break us down, in order to make us stop trying to minister, and honestly at times it does cross your mind, that we should just pause to take a break and sit back and wait until things open up again. The negativity begins to consume your mind and when we don't fight it, or encourage one another to see that God is still moving, it can consume us. We have to constantly remind ourselves and one another that God is in control, and that He has a greater purpose for all this. It has come to the time where we can not just talk about Proverbs 3:5-6 but that we need to truly walk it out - to Trust in the Lord with all our hearts, lean on Him, and not our own understanding. We have to apply this scripture and other premises that God shares in His Word. Not that we haven’t before, but it has been crucial during this time in order to fight against these negatives that the enemy is strategically discharging at us. We are reminded that the only way to fight the battle is with God’s truths in His Word. And by doing that, we do overcome it. We can press on and continue on the path God has called us to. 

Within our personal lives, we have felt much of the same. We have been blessed to be able to spend quality time with one another, and with Ezra, to really grow together as a family. Furthermore, as we mentioned in the last couple months in previous newsletters,  it has really allowed us to grow in Christ as individuals. This time has allowed us to begin the process of working through different strongholds of sin from the past knowing that when we do persevere and overcome them we will be more mature; not lacking anything, believing, and putting James 1:4 into action. Similarly with ministry, in our personal lives we have faced frustrations, discouragements and negative thinking. Family who had planned to visit to celebrate the coming of the soon to be newest member of our family has had to cancel their much anticipated trip. And as we wait in great anticipation for the baby to come, you can’t help to think about the times that our children are going to grow up in. But this shows the vital importance of bringing them up in a Godly home, teaching them about the one true Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Things like those, coupled with the multitudes of people that we have been seeing in need, at times leaves you with such a heavy heart. It becomes a battle in the mind warding of the negative, discouraging thoughts. But this is spiritual warfare. So we must capture every negative thought, and compare it against what the Word of God says to reveal and focus on the truth. 

God has been so very good through the last 2.5 months, and He continues to reveal His love and goodness to us. Through this process one of the main things we are learning and growing in, is living in the joy of the Lord. As I look through the thoughts, prayers and ideas that I have previously written in my journal from March 16 until now, the continued theme was exactly that “The joy of the Lord is my strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 The biblical truth here is that we can not have circumstantial joy, but that true joy can not and will not be determined by what I can do in ministry, nor can it be determined by who I can see, or what is happening around me. No, my joy needs to come straight from my Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that because of my faith in Him, that the grace I receive, allows me to have salvation and one day be with Him in heaven. When I replace negative thoughts in my mind with this truth, I find my joy, and I find my strength to get through anything, whether I am in Honduras, or in the States. This is whether I am with much or nothing, free or imprisoned, with Covid or without Covid, it does not matter. I can “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice! Phillipians 4:4 And that is because I have salvation in Him. And this is why I am His servant and share the Good News of the Gospel, because I want others to come to that same salvation in Christ and experience that joy and peace that only comes from knowing Him.

Will there be difficult times? Yes, always. Will things get hard, frustrating, discouraging, negative? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Look at the life of Jesus, being betrayed by friends and having to suffer on the cross. Or at the life of Paul, persecuted, sitting in prison. But nothing stopped them. They, as well as many others, had the joy of the Lord always, even in those dark times. God was their strength to continue on the mission they were called to. It came from knowing and having a deep relationship with the one who controls it all. Knowing that God is working while we are waiting, that He is moving even when we don't see it, think it or feel it. What great examples we have in the Word of God who have overcome and persevered through so much! 

In times like these, so much negative in the world draws us away from keeping our eyes and focus on the joy of the Lord. It amazes us how God works, that He uses such simple things to draw us back to Him and to see this. For example, Ezra, if you don't know - loves to sing! All day long, at any time, he will burst into song. The two songs that God has placed on his heart lately to open our minds and hearts have been ‘Soy Feliz en Cristo’ (I am Happy in Christ) and ‘Victory’ that proclaims, “I’m gonna see your victory”. So, in these past two plus months, we hear him sing over and over,  I am happy in Christ and I will see His victory.  It never ceases to amaze me how at times when we may be feeling down that God will use him or something little like this to remind us that we need to find our joy in the Lord. Because when we do, we will see His glorious victory over all this evil in the world. 

Lastly, we have not been immune to seeing all that is going on in the U.S. And knowing that it's not only here in Honduras where we have a constant barrage of enemy attacks, discouragements, frustrations, and challenges; sometimes it seems like even more so in the U.S. than here. That being said, we have a heavy heart for the constant strife that is currently taking place there in so many different contexts. Our hope and prayer is that in the midst of everything that you may be feeling or going through, that you keep your eyes upon Jesus. We pray you look to Him for your joy, and may that joy strengthen you to press on and persevere. We also pray that you all know the love and the salvation of the Lord, so no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or years from now, you will never lose your Joy. 

God Bless. 

Love Always, the Saurers Family