Vineyard Church North Phoenix | 2007 Honduras Ministry Trip

In 2001 a team from Vineyard Church North Phoenix stood in the Central Park of Comayagua, a pleasant town north of the capital city of Tegucigalpa in Honduras. The Lord had surprised us that day with a divine appointment. A woman, who had been orphaned as a child, now widowed as an adult was suffering with sickness, loneliness and poverty, she asked if we would pray for her. As we gathered around her, we laid our hands on her and prayed for a miracle. She told us she hoped one day there would be a church in this city that would love the poor and pray for the sick. In 2002 while doing an outreach in Comayagua, a woman hearing the Vineyard music approached me and shared her hope that one day there would be a church in Comayagua that sings these songs. In 2005 our team had the privilege of sharing the history of the Vineyard, our values and philosophy of ministry as well as our hope of planting a church in Comayagua with a small group of people. Today there is a Vineyard church in the city of Comayagua of 50 people!

If you have been around the Vineyard for any length of time, you have heard Pastor Brian say, “Lost people matter to God” and because they matter to God they should matter to us. Jesus commands us in Matthew 28:19 to “Go and make disciples of all the nations…” and so we go! This country of diverse landscape and cultural richness is home to two Vineyard churches called, LaViña. Our team of 11 people from Vineyard Church North Phoenix and Vineyard Christian Fellowship of Kenner were part of the 13th ministry trip to Honduras and during our time in Comayagua and Tegucigalpa God used to accomplished many things.

While in Comayagua, we sponsored a conference titled, “Created to Grow” in which pastors and/or leaders from five churches attended. It was a time of casting vision and teaching on church planting, balancing marriage and ministry and God’s call upon our lives for the work of the ministry. Team members gave guitar lessons and spoke on the Vineyard value of worship while working together with the leadership of the LaViña to raise up future worship leaders. Another group of team members taught the art of puppets in relationship with children’s ministry equipping the children’s ministry workers. The young adults on our team planned a creative, fun and meaningful youth night for the youth of Comayagua. The women on our team ministered at a Women’s Meeting where our interpreter Yolanda McShane shared her testimony. The women of the church had invited their friends and there were 40 women that came! Pastors Tom and AJ (VCFK) and I facilitated a Small Group Workshop which concluded with an awesome time of ministry. On one night our team split up and attended the two small groups that were held in different neighborhoods. It was such a blessing to meet in the homes of the people in the church, sharing in their lives and families. It was especially wonderful to be with our missionary Jenny Whitson who has been ministering in Comayagua for this past year.

There were two outstanding highlights during our time in Comayagua. The first was a cultural presentation by some of the cutest kids in the world who danced their hearts out for us in their traditional costumes. The church had prepared dinner for our team and invited guests. It was a great opportunity for the church and for us to meet the people of the community. Our second highlight was the trip to the tropical waterfall north of Comayagua. There we hiked through the midst to the base of the waterfall where a guide took our team behind the waterfall, into caves and then jump off a 15 foot rock into a pool of water at the base of the falls. What an amazing adventure!

At the end of the week, we drove two hours to the capital city of Tegucigalpa where we ministered at a youth group in a poverty stricken neighborhood where gangs and drugs are prevalent. As we walked up the narrow dirt street that lead to a small room where Vineyard worship songs and contemporary Christian music was being played; we had to step over an open sewer and a man passed out drunk. Poverty and despair was everywhere, but in that small room at the top of the dark street the joy of Jesus and the love of God was calling out to the young to come and worship God! It was an incredible night of worship, fun and testimonies. Our team was able to be apart of commissioning a young girl that we have seen grow up in the church who was being sent out as a missionary to Costa Rica.

Perhaps the most emotional time for our team during our week in Honduras was when we visited the make-shift home of a woman named Ana in the church in Comayagua. She and her children walk two miles to church one way. Ana, a single mother, has adopted six orphaned children. One of the ministries of LaViña is the helping to build permanent and safe housing for those in extreme poverty. It is estimated that 45% of those who live in this beautiful city are without adequate housing. Their make-shift dwelling places are subject to disaster whenever a tropical storm comes. We were there just weeks after a storm had knocked over the walls of a house where a working mother and here children live. Thankfully the members of LaViña had come to her aide and repairing the walls. The city has declared this make-shift neighborhood unsafe and in December 2007 it will be bulldozed. This means these families will have no place to live. We learned that it would take only another $1,500 to complete the home LaViña is building for Ana and her children. For our team, Ana put a face to the women and children of third-world poverty. As a team we decided this must become a reality. If you are interested in helping to make this dream a reality you can give by giving a check in the normal weekend offering (you can also do this on-line) just write "Ana's House" in the memo section of the check and it will get to Honduras to help with this project.

There are many exciting opportunities taking place in Honduras and God is allowing us to partner with Him as the Kingdom of God advances. Every team members expressed how this has been a life changing experience. Their faith was tested, their comfort zones challenged and their gifts used for the glory of God. We are grateful and amazed as we look back upon the lives we were privileged to touch and the country God has broken our hearts for. Our next ministry trip to Honduras is in the summer of 2008. If you are member of VCNP, have completed ministry training, and are actively involved in some kind of ministry here at the Vineyard, perhaps 2008 will be your time to GO!