ministries 61 Archives

February 10, 2023 by Edith Ayala Bonilla 1 Comment

My Next Step

When I was about to graduate high school I was trying to figure out what was next in my life, where I needed to go, and what God wanted me to do. God answered my prayers by opening doors, and I was able to go to college to get a degree in hospitality and work with 61 Isaiah ministries. Little did I know the blessing and the family I was getting myself into.

It’s been almost 7 years since I joined the ministry. I have no idea the amount of sermons I translated, the amount of time I spent with pastors and their families, the amount of visits I made to hospitals or clinics with families from communities, The amount of preparation we did for teams, or the amount of laughing I did in so many places with so many people. My last 7 years brought me so much spiritual growth. I have learned by not just reading the Bible or listening to sermons, but by seeing people living their faith and showing what it really means to love people and their families well.

2022 was a hard year, a year that truly made me face my fears, and my faith. So many things changed, I was graduating from college, and again I had to ask God what was next. I can say with all certainty that the past 7 years have been an awesome journey. A journey that has given me a second great family, friends far away joined in prayer, and a great spiritual growth that prepared me to face the world and my journey ahead in a whole different way than I would have faced it years ago.

Many of you may wonder what is next. My next step is to attend flight attendant school in San Pedro Sula. After that, I will be seeking the Lord’s direction for a position in the airline industry. I am so grateful to take all of the skills I have learned in the ministry to this new field. The hours spent serving others and meeting them in their good times and bad times will help me to better serve and see the needs of people I will meet every day.

Working in ministry, I have come to realize that all people have basic needs to hear about our Lord and Savior, and to be loved, cared for, and accepted. I will have the opportunity to be this for countless people and I look forward to see how God will use me.

The past seven years have been full of ups and downs and many twists and turns. I’d like to leave you some of my favorite memories that will hopefully make you laugh.

Teaching Shannon Spanish is one of my favorite things to do. Primero (first) because I’m not good at explaining rules, Segundo (Second) because accents are hard for English speakers, and tercero(third) because many words sound so similar and it’s hard to pronounce them right. Also, feel free to ask Shannon about the tercera (third) reason.

In 7 years of visiting pastors and their families in the communities my name is still not remembered by them, in fact, I gained some more names. I am the translator, the girl that comes with Shannon, Iveth, Iris, Cindy, la hermana, (the sister). Most of the time I answered to anything because I knew they couldn’t remember my name.

During my time in the ministry I developed an awesome gift that I know came from the Lord because He knows how much I like to sleep. I can sleep in the car up or down the mountain anytime. Bumps don’t bother me, I just need to find a good spot and game over.

Translating sermons has helped me gain a lot of knowledge and not specifically by just knowing the word, but by saying a word that is not the right one and saying something completely different in the middle of a sermon. After a lot of mistakes I decided that some English words were not going to be in my vocabulary. Some words you mispronounce and it becomes a VERY different word altogether. I rather explain to people what it is and have them say the word.

These memories and experiences I will have forever. Thank you all for your love and support over the last seven years. I will not forget you and the experiences we shared. I pray you will continue to lift me up in prayer as I follow the path before me, as I will continue to pray for you and the work of 61 Isaiah Ministry.

My 61 Isaias team is the bomb diggity bomb!

November 26, 2022 by Lindsey Moreno Leave a Comment

It Matters

Do you ever find yourself asking the question, “does it really matter?”

“Do my daily choices matter? Do the habits I make matter? Does my work matter? Does my life matter?”

I ask myself those questions a lot. I ask God those questions a lot too. In the monotony of day to day life, I often wonder quite frankly if any of “this”– life, work, struggles, responsibilities– matters. Deep down, I want to know “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3). Is everything really just vanity? Does everything just crumble to dust?

I know in my head, of course I matter, I was thought up in the mind of God, and of course what I do matters, I am where he called me to be. But doubt is my best friend, and to borrow the Spanish terms what I saber (know by facts) in my head is not always what I conocer (know by experience) in my heart.

I used to have this idea that if anyone in life had work that really mattered, it would be a missionary. I mean, you can’t get more purposeful as a Christian than leaving everything to serve God in a different country, right? If anyone had meaningful work it would be the ones who are actively leading people to God, right? There was almost this golden haze of meaning surrounding the life of a missionary.

But the truth is, missionary, or working in the states, the doubts are still there and the question of meaning and purpose is always lurking in the background. Surprise! The question of “does this really matter?” doesn’t change and it doesn’t go away.

I think people are always looking for meaning and reassurance in the work they do in life. Is the thing that we pour our every drop of life and every ounce of passion making a difference? We all want what we do to “matter,” but meaning, value, and success is defined a little differently by each person, country, and culture.

Does it really matter? For me, I like to be able to answer that question with results: facts, numbers, and figures. I like success to be easy to measure and easy to see. I want something to show for my work. I like tangible results to assure me of the fact that I really matter.

Recently, I have taken a pivot in the ministry work I have been doing in Honduras. I decided to step away from the school and explore other facets of ministry. That has led me to helping Micah on the farm, going out to villages, doing office work, visiting the pregnancy center, and even getting involved with a local deaf ministry. Every day is a little different and I get to experience a different part of the goodness of God. And while it may sound romantic on paper in the day to day aspect the romanticism is easily wiped away.

Feeding chickens, stumbling through half cohesive Spanish conversations, answering emails, serving arroz con leche to pregnant women, and cleaning up after kids hardly seems like kingdom work or work that really “matters.”

A few weeks ago I got a message from a high school friend. I have seen her maybe once since high school, aside from the occasional photos and comments on instagram. She told me her and her husband had been talking about how they had met and realized it was because I had invited her to come to church. She shared, “Thanks to a small gesture and church invite my life is on a completely new and Godly path.”

To tell you the truth, I don’t remember exactly when we met or that I invited her to church. Those memories have faded into the mundane day-to-day moments of my life. But she remembers. To me I never imagined that something as small as an invitation could truly matter to someone.

But I think that is God’s secret. He works more in the day-to-day motions than the mountain top highs. Sometimes the things that seem small to us or the work that seems in vain is actually where God works to change lives. And we don’t always get to see the results.

So to answer the question does it really matter? The facts and figures I want to use to measure the value of my work and my success are meaningless– they are vanity. Your work doesn’t need to matter for you to matter. God knows what matters, even if you don’t always understand, and that is enough. God works in the daily motions and movements in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine. All he asks is that we remain faithful to him.

“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going…These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth… But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” (Hebrews 11:8-16).

October 14, 2022 by Taylor Chandler 1 Comment

Hurting with the Hurt

61 Team Members on their first day of school

Each morning in my devotional class at ALCS we spend some time in prayer. On a normal day we pray for Honduran fútbol players, animals to be rescued and have homes, or something political. However, one particular day after the bell rang, a girl in class pulled me aside and asked for prayer. She did not feel comfortable sharing with the entire class but proceeded to tell me her request. We prayed together, and while we prayed streams of tears fell down her face.

There are many people I know and love who are hurting during this season. You might find yourself in a similar situation. Loss is hard. Heartbreak is hard. Not hearing from God is hard. Bad news is hard. Sickness is hard. (Fill in the blank) ________ is hard.

My heart hurts because people are hurting. If I’m being honest, my flesh wants to be the bandage to your heart. I want to have the right words, but I don’t have the words to put all the broken pieces together. But what I do have is something better. Someone better. Access to a Holy God who sits on the Throne and will not be moved. My God is a God of all comfort. He sees the pain and the tears that fall, and He knows and understands the parts of our lives that we don’t understand.

2 Corinthians 1:3 says, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

We find multiple times in the gospels that Jesus was moved with compassion for people that were hurting. He met them in their need, and the same is true today for you and for me. He not only meets us in our need, but gives us access to comfort those around us in need. Prayer is so important when we or our loved ones are facing unfortunate circumstances because God is the source of all hope and joy.

I need to remind myself of these truths quite often. I’m thankful for those in my life who constantly point me to the source of life. They comfort me, and remind me to call on His name in prayer because He hears us. I hope I may remind you to call on His name when you are in a similar season. God is faithful today and every tomorrow yet to come.

Psalm 145:18-19 “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.”

Deuteronomy 31:8 “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If you find yourself in a season of hurting, continue reading 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. God is faithful.

September 23, 2022 by Nelsy Paz Leave a Comment

Wonderfully Made

Psalm 139:13-14 says, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

These have been some of my favorite verses for a long time, but they took on a whole new meaning for me when I became a mom. When I look at my daughter, I cannot help but be in awe of God’s craftsmanship. I take great comfort knowing that God created her exactly how He wanted her to be. I look at her and see God’s beautiful, perfect creation. It is easy for me to see all of these things in her. It is much more difficult, however, for me to see myself in this light. If I make a mistake, thoughts can creep in that I am not good enough, or that I’m not worthy of God’s love. I begin to doubt that God could really love me. I surely don’t deserve it! But I do not love my daughter because of what she does or how she acts. Instead, I love her because of who she is– my daughter.

If I, as a human parent, can feel this much love for my child, how much more must my heavenly father love His children? He loves me because I am his child, not because of what I do. I am also God’s beautiful creation. Just like my daughter, God made me exactly how He wants me to be. I am a child of God. Nothing can change that. And because of this, nothing can separate me from his love.

June 10, 2022 by Jeff Holloway 3 Comments

Hearing Loss for the Hearing

Almost 2 years ago God called us to move to a new country to join with 61 Isaiah ministry in sharing the gospel with the Lenca. This meant we had to leave all our old friends and make new friends, leave some comfortable customs and learn some new ones. It meant that we needed to learn a new language so we could communicate the gospel we were called to communicate.

Our whole family began to take Spanish classes. I had known a little Spanish before but just enough to get by with a few basic things. Most of the Spanish I knew was picked up by listening to people and joining in on the conversation. Michelle is doing much better than I am as she listens and practices with her teacher.

One thing that has made it difficult is that we moved here during a pandemic, and everyone is wearing a mask. You can’t see their lips when they speak and their voice is muffled. Well, this made it hard for someone who learns by listening. Now we all had that problem, but I found out I had an even bigger problem.

For a few years, Michelle had joked about me having selective hearing, and then that grew to me just not getting every word that was said in a noisy room. I would begin to hear my family say things like “does the T.V. have to be so loud” or “remember I told you that” then we would be somewhere and I would hear some of the smallest quietest sounds and they would come to the conclusion that I had selective hearing.

Well in learning a new language, we began to find out that even though I was repeating what I heard I was not pronouncing the words correctly. We realized something was wrong with my hearing. I just didn’t hear the same things other people did. We decided to get my hearing tested.
We took a 5-hour drive to Tegucigalpa for an appointment with an audiologist. After about an hour of testing, he brought me into his office, and he said he had some bad news and some good news. He asked me if I had ear infections as a child – I did. He asked me if I was in a place regularly that caused me to be around loud music. I said I was a youth Pastor and went to many concerts and also helped backstage during concerts.

He knew my hearing history from these tests. He said the bad news was that I have a diagnosis of hearing loss for the hearing. This has three very noticeable symptoms. 1. When you are in a room where many people are talking you can’t hear clearly, everything just mushes together. 2. When you’re talking with people you need to look at them and see their lips. 3. When learning a new language, you can’t pick up all the words correctly and hear different things that other people hear.

The latter symptom is the one we need to deal with the most. It seems that I can’t hear certain sounds of letters. I can’t hear B, P, T, V, S, and a few more. It was fine when I was only around English words. When people would speak English to me, and my ears didn’t hear those sounds my brain would fill in the blanks with the right sounds, so I thought I was hearing those sounds. It was what I was used to and expected. I didn’t think I was missing anything I believed and knew I was hearing those sounds. Now when I began learning a new language there would be blanks and my brain would try to fill in the blanks with the English sounds. Now when the word was close to an English word, I did fine but when the words were not I struggled. Michelle and others would repeat the words and I would say what I just knew was being said and I was wrong.

Well, when the audiologist put in a demo set of hearing aids adjusted for this, things did not sound louder, but they sounded clearer. Then he began to speak to me in Spanish and say a few words that included those letters. I was wowed. I had to ask him if these words really sounded that way and on one word, I argued with him but when Michelle walked in and said the word it sounded just like him and I was hearing the wrong thing the whole time.

Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We need to be careful not to have hearing loss for the hearing spiritually. This is when we have a tradition or practice that we have done our whole life and even when we read a scripture that says something different, we have already decided and all we hear is what we want to. Or maybe we have an idea or thought that we believe and want to be true that when we hear teaching or see something that isn’t that way we refuse to see or hear the truth.

I have been a Christian for 44 years and for 30 of those years I was positively sure there were only 2 of each animal on Noah’s Ark. Then one day while reading the story to my kids in Genesis 7:2 I read the word seven. What?!!! 7 clean animals of each kind – Wow. You mean all those songs and all those movies, and all those bible stories were not right. Then a few years later I was reading it again for a project and how did I miss that it was 7 pairs of each clean animal – what ?!!! you mean 14 of each clean animal and bird. I had hearing loss for the hearing with Noah’s Ark. How many more things were clear in scripture that I was doing the same thing? How many times had I decided that since someone told me that is the way it is, and they put two or three scriptures together and it sounded so good and it was what I wanted to hear so I believed it to be that way?

I believe that the bible is the Word of God and that all of it is true. The problem is that many people want to give certain scriptures more weight than others. Any time we have a belief or a teaching that requires us to lessen or explain away another scripture, I think we may be experiencing a little hearing loss for the hearing spiritually. We need to be very careful when we decide that we want to hear what we want to hear and make one scripture less than another in importance. I have found throughout the years of studying God’s word I have had hearing loss for the hearing and needed to look at scripture for what it says and not what I want it to say. It is amazing what happens when we simply let God’s word be our hearing aid and correct us.

Join us Through Support!