Blog - 61 Isaiah

Summer Missionaries Have Arrived!

July 2, 2018 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

Our first team of summer missionaries arrived in Gracias last night! Please be in prayer for them as they serve the next three weeks. Take a peek below to find out more about them!!!

Javier Lara

My name is Javier. I’m 19 years old and this is my 4th year working with 61 Isaiah. I was a senior at Abundant Life a year ago, and I will start my sophomore year at Harding University in Arkansas in the fall. I’m double majoring in Finance and International Business. Eventually, I’m planning to get involve into politics and help my country. I’m very excited to be a summer missionary and help my people.

Courtney Weaver

Hi!! My name is Courtney Weaver! I’m 18 years old and live in Zavalla, Texas! I am attending Stephen F. Austin State University in the fall to pursue a major in Early Childhood Education and a minor in Spanish! I hope to become a Kindergarten teacher and am praying about where God would have me to do that! I have always had a heart for missions, and I feel that it is possible that God is calling me to teach in a mission field!

Emma Lehew

Hello! My name is Emma Lehew! I’m 18 years old and just graduated high school. I became a Christian at a young age, and for almost as long as I can remember, God has been calling me to the mission field. Now that I have finally surrendered to His calling, I can’t wait to follow Him down to Honduras. I am currently working towards a Biology major. After I attain it, I will become a pediatrician and work for a nonprofit that will allow me to help impoverished children both here in the states and in third world countries. I would ask that you pray for my health as I travel to Honduras and for the health of all the other incoming interns. And I would like to thank you all so much for your prayers. I know they will help each and every one of us during this upcoming summer.

Mikah Phillips

Hey y’all! My name is Mikah Phillips and I am 18 years old. I grew up in central Texas,the oldest of 6 kids, and always have felt that God had an impeccable and adventurous plan for my life. He softened my heart toward His people all across the

world and opened my eyes to see His love for them. Eventually, He pulled my heart to Honduras. After graduating in December 2017, I moved to Honduras in January to pursue what God had in store for me there, and was by no means disappointed. I w

orked at the bilingual school there as a teacher’s aide and visited the mountain villages on a weekly basis and worked (or was it played?) with the kids there. The Lord showed me His beauty in the countryside of, and the hearts of, the Honduran people. Therefore, it is no surprise that I now find myself headed back to Honduras in the summer. I would ask for prayer this summer concerning spiritual and physical energy for both myself and the rest of the 61 Isaiah team, as well as for eyes that see His purpose everywhere. All glory to Jesus!

An Answer to the Call

May 26, 2018 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

We would like to introduce you to our newest team member, Joshua Dykes. He is 22 years- old and originates from Mount Pleasant, Texas where he grew up with his awesome parents (Chris and Martha) and his younger brother (Brandon). Josh grew up attending First Baptist Church in Mt. Pleasant along with his family and his relationship with Christ started when he was 9 years-old and asked his parents, “If Jesus is perfect and I am not, then why would He die for me?” To which they responded, “Because He loves you.” From that moment onward, Joshua started the crazy and fulfilling adventure that we call being a Christian. Josh continued to learn about God’s will for his life and when he was 16 years-old he felt a call to ministry. He followed this call to Howard Payne University where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Youth Ministry, Public Policy (from the Guy D. Newman Honors Academy), and a minor in Spanish. He has worked in youth ministry for the past 4 years and believes that his time in ministry has prepared him to work in adaptive innovative ways. Joshua came to Gracias for the first time on a short-term mission with Southside Church and returned again the next year. It was after this second stay in Honduras that Joshua joined the missions team. This is how Joshua explains his call to Honduras in his own words, “After I left from serving alongside 61 Isaiah Ministries for the first time, I knew I had to come back. I knew God was calling me to Honduras at this point. I cannot explain why I have grown up with such a desire for learning Spanish and understanding Latin American culture, but I know now that it has been God preparing me for an opportunity just like this one. I see glimpses of Honduras in every day and I cannot wait to Walk With the people of Honduras and serve with 61 Isaiah Ministries.” Please be in prayer for Josh as he begins his preparations to move here.

Feelings Bear

February 28, 2018 by Kristi Hopkins 5 Comments

I’m not a fan of stuffed animals. I don’t really have a good reason other than that they seem to always be in the way. I’ve even been known to pass them off to other kids when my own children weren’t looking (don’t judge, I know you have done it too.) So you can imagine everyone’s surprise when I brought home a giant teddy bear. You know, the kind you see in movies, that is as big as a person. What would posses me to go against this uncalled for dislike of stuffed animals? My child needed it. And like any mom, we will do anything to help our children. When Isabella came to our home 4 and half years ago she rarely cried. If she was scared, hurt or upset, she would retreat into a little shell of a person showing no emotion and not moving for hours on end. I longed for the day that she would cry and tell us what was wrong. Months and months later, when those tears and anger came, I would wish for the silence again because boy can she cry… for hours. And then the anger began less frequent but more extreme. Little scratches on her face, pinching her legs, banging her head. It was hard to watch. And so, the giant bear was introduced and given the original name of “Feelings Bear.” He was placed on a mat in her room where she was free to express her anger. He is great at taking the beating. Isabella would sit in his lap and rage until she was ready to do her deep breathing exercises. Sometimes after hearing crying for two consistent hours, I wondered if this “phase” would ever end or if we would hear fits for the rest of her life. But yesterday, she asked if she could give Feelings Bear away. The time has come that she doesn’t rage as often, although we still see tears a little more frequently than most 7 year olds. She no longer needs to hit something to get her anger out, or pull the bear’s fur. Isabella always expresses her emotions loudly. She laughs big, she hugs hard, she cries with her bottom lip sticking out and she wants everyone to know when she is angry. This may never change. I am not sure we want it to. It’s part of who she is. But just as God continues to mold me, as her mother, He is molding her into his character. He is using us to teach her appropriate times for anger and good ways to express this. Correction is never an easy process and we never seem to learn quickly but progress is so sweet when the journey has seemed long.

A New Season

February 2, 2018 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

It’s been a couple of weeks since I have been back to Honduras. I was glad to get to go home and spend time with family and friends for a while. I already miss them, but know there are several things to prepare for in the next couple of weeks. I’m ready to take on whatever comes!

Now it’s back to finishing what the Lord has started, and I’m pretty expectant to see what happens. It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update. For many reasons I have struggled with what to say. Because if I’m honest, it hasn’t been easy. It’s gotten more difficult as time as gone on. The newness of it all has worn off for the most part, but I’m sensing a new season beginning here. There have been many changes, some that I’m a bit apprehensive to adjust to. I feel completely out of my element. Even more so than I did when I first arrived ironically. The first two months were really an adjustment and just trying to get comfortable anywhere. Now I am full of questions concerning the future. The questions could go on and on. Really, it’s been just me challenging Him a lot. Questioning His motives, making sure He knows that I’m, well, me and am too structured to be here. Or too narrow-minded, or too weak. Oh and I want things! Yeah, I want things and have desires so I like to remind Him of that too. Like He doesn’t already know. It got more confusing as I went home, seeing other options open up, and realizing how much I am missing in regards to spending time with my family. It’s only been hard because I am a person who likes to plan and know the next step. For anybody that walks closely to the Lord, you will realize that He will ask you to drop your plans sometimes. He will ask you to drop everything and trust Him. It can be scary, but also relieving once you just give everything over and let Him do it. He kind of knows what to do right?

So all of this in regards to ministry and trying to figure out what I’m really fully called to do has been difficult. It’s been a mental war that I’ve been fighting for weeks. You could probably gather just from those questions how much this has caused me to fear. It has made me fearful to invest, fearful to get too close, and always looking for the greener grass somewhere else. I have had to be reminded of the fact that He clearly called me here over a year ago. God has been so gracious to me here too. I have never felt so close to Him in my life, because I depend on Him in a different way now. I have seen Him give me the grace to get through each day over and over again. It hasn’t been easy, and I ask for your prayers because I’m battling. And in the midst of my personal battles, there has been so much change here for the past couple of weeks. Before I left to return to the states, the political climate here was pretty heated. Riots were breaking out, causing panic and chaos in many of the bigger cities. We were under a nationwide curfew for a couple of days, which limited our opportunities to work with others here. I am glad to say that everything has calmed down for the most part and we can start meeting with villages again. We will begin preparing for several teams to come down here and serve within the next couple of months. I also am excited about the possibility of a young woman, Aaliyah, coming here to serve with us in March! Please keep all of the teams and Aaliyah in your prayers. I know that these next few months will definitely fly by as we prep and stay busy. Along with all of this, I am looking forward to the opportunities of teaching. My need for the Word has increased since I’ve come back, and I am glad to be able to join others in studying the Bible. The Lord has been showing me how much I really need to depend on Him to do anything. This is not an easy process, but I am falling more in love with studying His Word because of the struggle. I can’t be more thankful for the ways that He is equipping me as more opportunities to serve here are opening up. I have begun meeting with a student here too and can’t wait to see how God works through our study together. I don’t doubt that the Lord will use that time for each of us to learn more about Him and to share Him with others. I’m also looking forward to teaching a class at the bilingual school soon! I will be temporarily teaching a Psychology class while Kristi has surgery in the states. Keep her in your prayers for the next 6 weeks!

***Please also keep the village of Cenicera in your prayers as they are mourning the loss of a young boy, Raul. He joined us for children’s church almost every Sunday. I can’t imagine the grief his family must be feeling, as well as Melyssa and Frank who have known him for the past three years.***

I am grasping more than any other lesson that I have ever learned is that nothing is profitable or fulfilling without the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. He really makes it easy to trust. He’ll give you the grace and faith to do whatever He asks you to do. Truly. If there’s something that you’re fighting, struggling with, striving for, or hurting over, give it to Him. He wants your full trust and does the rest. I just want to encourage anybody and everybody to trust in a faithful God in a fragile world. Trust Him over the fragile state of your heart. He knows best. I’ve been coming to a point where I crave nothing more than to be near Him, no matter where He takes me. I am hopeful that this will only lead others to desire Him as well, in whatever way He wishes to accomplish that. Thank you all who have been praying for me and this ministry. I am grateful to you all. 2018 will be a great year!

My scripture for 2018:

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

It’s a Family Thing

January 10, 2018 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

Tonight I was reminded of a couple things. The first is that life is precious and fleeting. We had to go to an accident scene and retrieve passport information for the embassy for a lady as well as see if we could identify the husband that was in the morgue. Really not a fun night. At the same time, I am thankful that we were able to help the family of this husband and wife. The second is that God called us here as family. This is harder than most people realize at times but I am assured that my kids are growing in ways they would not otherwise grow. When we were called to go to the hospital (and later the morgue), it meant leaving dinner partially cooked and the kids on there own for a while. One kid had lice that needed to be treated, another was in tears over homework and the third was trying to handle it all while finishing dinner. It is always hard to leave my kids in such a mess. And yet, these are the times when I see the person God is molding them to be and that I assured WE are in this together. The crying child, Emma, who feels everything deeply, asked how the man was and hung her head when I had to tell her that neither he nor his wife made it. He was a stranger to her and yet she hurt for his family. Tyler, the child that was trying to hold it all together, who was sending me SOS texts but in reality, had it under control and was ready to help clean up the kitchen after everyone was in bed. And of course, God didn’t just leave us here by ourselves. A good friend responded to the SOS messages and went to help after we had been gone awhile. I guess all this to say, sometimes I feel that we neglect our kids when times of crisis come up but tonight I saw how times of crisis grows us all. Sometimes being a missionary family means we minister along side each other, and sometimes it means my kids growing up a little faster than they should. Just my little thoughts from our ordeal tonight. And yes, one kid still has lice that I didn’t get to treat but there are worse things that could happen.

Thank You for your Support!