fjz/d5Q -'/toM(yoUNTTEO STATESSALUDOS!fromSOUTHAMEHIBAJIO CHRISTIAN MISSIONPublished Quarterly Vol. 31, Number 1December ActivitiesThemonth of December was the busiest month of this past yearfor the Hoffs. It included weddings, programs and parties along with theirregular work. Billand Margyreturned home from Costa Rica on November30th. SinceMargyhad been awayfor sixweeks (threein the States and threein Costa Rica), and Billhad been away for three weeks, there was a lot of"catching up"to do and a lot of preparations to make relating toChristmas. Margy had purchased most of the gifts that she needed inKnoxville and in SanJoseso only a litde shopping had to be done.The Hoffs were invited to two weddings in the Spanishcongregation in December. Julio Corea, the pastor, was married onDecember 11th. It was referredto as "the wedding of the century."Juliohad been looking for a wife for manyyears, and praise the Lord he found agood Christian mate. Tom Schneller, the founder ofthe church, came withhis wife,Toni, from Kentucky to perform the ceremony. The church waspacked for the special occasion. One week later, another member, Dalilawho had been prayingfor a Christian mate, was married. Her wedding wasvery beautiful and weU attended.On December 10th, the English-speakingcongregation sponsored aprogram, which took place at a large auditorium in town. A missionarythat attends the church produced and helped sing in. The Toy Story, withthe children ofthe church. There were about 150 people in attendance.Refreshments followed the program. It has been suggestedthat thisbecome an annual event.On December 17th Mark andjoy arrived from Costa Rica. It tookthem two long daysofdriving.Then on December 20th Rebecca flewinfrom Knoxville. It was sure nice having the whole family here forChristmas.The English church's Christmas Eve service was held at the hotel inthe same room where services are held each Sunday. The room wasdecorated and set up with tables and chairs. Followingthe program, whichwas a story with Christmas carols, refreshments were served. It truly was alovely time of rejoicing and fellowship for all. After opening a fewChristmas gifts, the Hoff familywas invited to a turkey supper. Thetraditional fireworks were shot off at midnight and then everyone returnedhome.Christmas day was a time of opening gifts and thenhosting adinner for a missionary couple and aTaiwanese family. Everyone seemedto enjoy themselves and there was plenty to eat.The last big event of the year 1999 was the New Year's Eve partythat Billand Margy hosted. Two televisions were set up so that everj'onecould see the NewYear as it took place around the world. There was atremendous amount of food and a lot of fireworks to help usher in theNew Year. What a joyit is to have fellowshipwith Christian friends.M/M Bill HoffApdo. 3166San Pedro SulaHonduras, Central America504-566-3796e-mail: billhoff@simon.intcrtel.hnCorporate OfliceP.O.Box61013Las Vegas, NV 89160-2013Winter 2000TheMqffFamilyRebecca with her dadVictoria andJulio CoreaA Thanksgiving VisitThis past November we decided to talce a short break from ourroudne and enjoyThanksgiving at our son and daughter-in-law's house inSanJose, CostaRica. MarkandJoy areteachingat theSojournAcademythere.The school isassociated withthe Spanish Language Insdtutc andmeets the needs ofchildren of future missionaries. Mark teaches five classesinjunior and Senior highandJoy is teachingthe fifthand sixthgrades.Theyarealsoseekingopportunities toserveinanevangelistic capacity.The trip required two days (about 18 hours.) The distance is notquite700miles but the border crossings into Nicaragua and Costallicaareslow. At one point a landslide delayed us. Nicaragua's highways have notyet recoveredfromhurricanedamages. Welost alot of timedodgingpotholes and washed out sections of road. Neither of the countries'highways comparc to those in Honduras.We foundthe country of Costa Rica to be beautiful. The mostpleasant surprise was how fewguns there were. (In Honduras there are anestimated half million Volcano Arenalfirearms for six millioninhabitants, so automatic weapons are commonplace.) In many ways the nation is moreadvanced than the rest of Central America, probably because theydo not spend huge amountssustainingan army (theyhave none). Costa Rican prices are highcompared to Honduras, butpeople earn more so it balances out. It is easyto see why in the past so many missionarieswent to CostaRicafor language studyand neverleft.Because of that thecountryis heavilyevangelized.Our children showed us some of the natural wonders of the country. The livevolcano,Arenal, was especiaUy interesting. At night the glowingballsof lavarollingand bouncingdown the sloping faceofthe volcano are particularlyimpressive. We alsodrove to the top ofIrazu, a slumbering volcanicgiant that is 11,000feet high. From the top, we could look downon the clouds and down into the crater at a bright green lake.We had trouble findingall the ingredients for our Thanksgiving dinner. Wewereunprepared to find that things easilyobtainable in Honduras are not available there. "Afterall,"we thought, "it is all Central America!"Mark andJoy invited another couple to help useat the magnificent mrkey.We were doubly blessed to get home when we did, because the next day the borderbetween Nicaragua and Honduras was closed due to a dispute over territorial waters. Thedrive is challenging, maybe the next time we willvisit byair. LakeArenalPreacher TrainingDonJose, the owner of the property the institute leases,hasreceived averygoodoffer to buynearly 1200acresof hisranchfor buildingan industrial complex. He has already solda verylarge tract,and the purchaserhas askedto buythepropertyon theother side of the highwaywhere the institute sits. This has causedBilldeep concern. But DonJose has informed Bill that: becausethe U.S. basedunderwearmanufacturerforwhichthecomplexisbeingbuiltisin chapter11,nothingis likely to happen for at leasta year, and that the newbuyerwill honor the leaseor compensatethe value of the buildings. This doesn't meanthat the problem isresolved, but it gives moretimeto explore optionsif the instituteshould have to move.C'^son ChastaiK^ljmgiQri bringing asmaU group to helpprepareForliis familyVriTove i^Cl^orJune[^Hginally, itwasplanned that this group would beginthe constructionof a housefor the Chastainson the instituteproperty, but becauseof theuncertain future, theywillbe makingmodifications to the currentfacilitiesto accommodate his family.The four students returned from the holidaybreak withglowingreports. Jose, a married student from a very poor village,reported that he is doing all the preaching in his localcongregation. Besides that, he was able to purchase a small tract ofland, which is planted in coffee. There he willbe building his ownhouse(something every Honduran dreams about.)Santos,another student, has been recognized for his teaching skillsandasked to preach at a Catholic church. In his own congregation, heusually preaches on Sunday morning. Miguel is not able to travelto his home congregation each weekend because ofthe distance,but he has been adopted bya congregation in San Pedro and wehave been told that he is doing a tremendous job. Manuel is theyoungestand most introverted of our students, but he isworking with his local congregation, which already has a full-timepreacher.Getting to Know the Students Jose AguilarI was in born in San Luis, Santa Barbara, the 28th of March 1966. They tell me thatI was a verysickly child and was not expected to live. As I grewolder, I thought I woulddedicate myself to subsistence agriculture, like my father had done, but he wanted me tostudy instead. I managed to study through 6th grade.Later, 1became involved in a gang with my friends. TTiey taught me many vicesthat led me to destruction. All of my earnings were thrown away on supporting my vices.Eventually I lost my job, and I was left penniless. I remember thinking, "My God, whenam 1going to escape from these afflictions?" 1 found a new job, but as soon as I hadmoney, I returned to myvices.Even thenGodhelped me. As I lookedat my life He helped me realize that it wascomplete vanity. At that point, I thought about joiningthe church to serve Christ, to seeif I could change my lifestyle. And for a fewdays, I did walkin the path of the Lord. Butafterward I returned to the same weaknesses of my former life. Later on I began to attendchurch againfor about a year. During that dme I got married. Having awife, I abandonedthe church and returned to my old way oflife.Before very long, I had children and began to understand that I couldn't continuewalking in the desires of the flesh. I pulled myself together and said, "Lord, you knowthat J have played games with Your name and Your church, but I want You to be the one who will restore my life and my home." From themoment that I humbled myselfin God's presence. He gave mywife and me the power to change our lives. Our livesare much better now.I am preparing myself to teach others. I recognize that 1have been given marvelous help from God. I want to motivate others to jointhe Way ofJesusChrist.Margy's Trip in OctoberOne of the hardest things about being a missionary is being separatedfrom your children. In October Billand Margj' received a phonecallfrom Rebecca.Shewasdepressed over various circumstances in her life.Shewasn't wellphysically, her car wasn't runningproperly, hermicrowave haddied, etc. AfriendofMargysuggested that she should offer togo visit Rebecca.The followingdayRebeccaconfirmed that shewould really like her mother to visit and the same day Bill purchased a ticket for Margy.Rebecca rents an apartment about ten minutes from the universityofTennessee. Margytook care of some of the problems whileshewas there. Most importantly, there was plenty ofprivacy and time for Margyand Rebeccato talk. They spent dme taking a trip to Missouri to visit friends, one to Kentuckytomeet and enjoy lunch withJoy's parents and the better part of an afternoon driving in thebeautiful Smoky Mountains.Margyhad the privilegeofvisitingfriends and attending the area-wideladiesmeeting in the Woodlawn Christian Church only a short distance from where Rebeccalives.The flight home was rather adventurous. It took two days and three flights on thesecond day, before the airlinefound an airplane that was able to flyto San Pedro Sulawithout problems. Thefirst plane had landinggear that wouldn't goup and the secondplane had smoke in thecabin. Margypraisedthe Lord that she couldbe reunited with Billonce again. Unfortunately, a couple ofdaysbefore Margyreturnedhome, Rebecca'scomputer quit working,so E-mail has beensparse betweenRebeccaPe^ ^levins