Dear friends and family,
We have now completed our second year on the mission field. We would like to give you a summary of our second year. Last summer we started construction on the church. The construction is mostly finished now. Toby plans on adding ceiling tile to the sanctuary within the next three months. He also wants to work on the lighting and electricity. A new classroom is almost finished as well. The new sanctuary can seat 150 people. Our attendance use to be around 50. It is now on the average 80 people. If you have not seen the pictures of the new sanctuary, go to our web page or ask to see our photo albums and/or videos.
One of our goals was to become fluent in Spanish. While we do not speak Spanish perfectly, we can both teach or do whatever the ministry calls for. We spent two weeks at the end of April in language school to work on our Spanish. It was very beneficial. Toby was able to work on several weak areas that limited his preaching.
One of Toby's goals was to start a couple of cell groups. He has one in La Union de Rio Frio every Sunday where 10 to 15 guys come. On Monday nights he leads a study on the basic doctrine of the church with four of the guys from our church in our home. Tuesday night he preaches in the Penitas church. Saturday he helps with the youth program. One day a week he meets with Emilio and Santos to discuss whatever may be going on at that time. Tomorrow he will be meeting with Emilio, Santos, and our former minister Amable to discuss goals and plans for the upcoming year. Toby's basic schedule looks like this: Sunday-Church, assist with the older kids Sunday School class. Go to La Union to teach the men there. Monday-Bible study with 4 guys in Penitas Arriba Sermon preparation. Tuesday-Prepare for sermon, prayer time, and preach. Wednesday-miscellaneous things that need to be done. Thursday-Errand day in San Pedro Sula. Friday-Miscellaneous things that need to be done. Saturday-rest help with youth program.
My work has changed with the clinic a little since last year. Some of you may remember that we have some major legal problems with one of my workers. Because of that I can only let my workers work 170 days a week to avoid legal problems. We continue to go to La Union. We have cut out the vaccination program. The dentist continues to come once a month. We still work Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This has worked out really well. The problems I had before are now greatly diminished. I am able to help Toby more since his part of the ministry is really taking off. On non-clinic days, I work on finances, correspondence, prepare anything that Toby needs, clean the house, and just generally encourage and support Toby any way that I can.
It has been awesome to see the changes taking place. The women used to do everything in the church. Now the men are leading more and more. The women are taking pride in the church and keeping it clean. People in the mountain are now a lot more open to accepting Christ. Santos graduated from the Bible Institute in June. Emilio and Santos are now developing problem
solving and leadership skills. They have been taking on more and more responsibility. They are ready to minister to people in the mountain. Friendships have been built and maintained. People now trust Toby and I. They know are word is our word. They also know that we do not stand for evilness and stand up for the goodness. They are learning that the Bible calls for guidelines and standards in our lives. All of these things are major in of itself. We are so thankful that God has decided to allow us to be a part of what he is doing.If anyone has any questions, we would be happy to answer them. We appreciate your prayers and support.
God bless,
Toby and Amy Hill