2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

I couldn’t believe what was happening.

During a ministry trip to Honduras, a team from Vineyard North Phoenix went to visit a La Viña church in Valle de Angeles – the Valley of the Angels. What a beautiful place that was! Pastor Mario Fernandez began to share his message to this church, and I had the privilege to interpret it into Spanish.

As his message unfolded my heart began to race and my legs to weaken. My head thumped and my ears buzzed. Feeling short of breath, I was sure that, any moment now, I would faint – making a total fool of myself and bringing the meeting to a halt.

Despite being scared half to death, I managed to continue with the interpretation. Thoughts raced through my mind like swooshing arrows: Any time, now, and you’re going to faint. You’re going to mess things up. Look at all these people, hungry for God’s Word. Look at Pastor Mario. He’s depending on you to deliver his message. You’re a failure. You can’t do this.

I began to breath faster. Fear pushed all oxygen from my lungs and mind.

“I don’t think I can go on, Lord,” I cried in desperation.

Yes you can. I will sustain you.

I turned to look at all the men and women crowding the pews, eager and needy. “Lord, I’m not sure I can do this much longer. But I will go on for as long as You’d let me. If I faint, I faint. I’m among friends. I will trust in You.”

I gulped and interpreted the section of Mario’s message he had just finished saying. And then the next. And the next. And the next. Thought a battled raged in my mind the whole time, I was able to do the job I had come all this way to do.

I wish I could say things got easier as the message progressed. But they didn’t. However, in the back of my tortured mind, this thought was ever present: God will sustain me.

At the end of the service, I collapsed on a chair, quietly and in secret. No one knew what had happened, except for me, the enemy of my soul and my precious Lord and Savior.

I was so freaked out by what had happened, it took me a couple of days before I was able to share my experience with DaNetta, our team leader. Thankfully, the episode did not repeat itself during the rest of the trip. I truly believe this was a bizarre instance of fierce spiritual battle. Something I had to face. God only knows why.

This morning, during my devotional, I read this portion of a book called “Brakethrough Prayers for Women”, by Clift and Kathleen Richards:

“You are more than a conqueror. Use all the tools God has given to you – the Word of God, the shield of faith, the power of the Holy Spirit, the power of the blood of Jesus, overcoming faith, and the power of prayer – to vanquish every enemy in your life and to tear down the walls erected by the enemy to block your progress in spiritual things.”

I realized that during the intense 45-minute war I experienced in Honduras, each of these elements came together to my rescue: God’s Word, His Holy Spirit whispering encouraging words in my ear, Jesus’ love and power at work, faith, prayer, complete trust…

This encounter took me by surprise, but it didn’t catch me unprepared. And it reminded me of the essentiality of my daily encounters with God through prayer and the reading of His Word.

Ephesians 6:13 says, “Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

The Lord Jesus is indeed my Savior. In Him will I trust, and my heart will not fear.

Ana

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the need around you?

I sure have!  I especially feel this every time I join a team from my church for our annual ministry trip to the beautiful country of Honduras.  The need is so great and so evident there, one can easily feel overwhelmed by it.

My dear friend, DaNetta Fernandez – who is our team leader during our trips to Honduras – was experiencing these feelings at the beginning of this month.

“Oh, Ana,” she’d told me, “our Honduran friends have so many needs!  There is so much I wish I could do for them, but I just don’t have the money.”

“Is there anything we could do?” I asked her, trying to be helpful.

“What about a garage sale?” she responded, half-heartedly.

It was a plan.

We asked our friends for donations, hoping to collect enough items to make our efforts worth something.

I have to confess that at first, I wasn’t too hopeful.  But as the donations began trickling in, my faith grew bigger and stronger.

“I think God will provide, DaNetta,” I told my friend.

“We’ll see,” she responded, feeling weary.

The donations poured in more abundantly during the week of our sale, and on Saturday morning, our customers flooded DaNetta’s driveway ceaselessly.

When it was all said and done, we had made 670 dollars!!!  By 11 am, exhausted and sunburned, we were ready to close shop.  We packed what was left and filled DaNetta’s truck to the max.  She and Paige (one of our team members) took the items to GoodWill.  Before that, we filled Lord only knows how many bags of clothes that we took to our church’s Food Bank.  We also filled two big suitcases with children’s clothes to take with us to Honduras.

Talk about God coming through!

This experience reminded me of the time when Jesus told His disciples to feed the hungry crowds that had been listening to His teachings all day long.

“[But] we have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they had answered. (Matthew 14:17)

That didn’t matter to Jesus.  He took the little that had been given and multiplied it.  The Bible says that “those who ate [were] about five thousand men, besides women and children.” (vs. 21)

It also says that the disciples filled twelve basketfuls with what was left over.

I thought about our friends who gave their contributions to us: a few fish here; a couple loaves of bread there.  Yet Jesus multiplied their seemingly small offerings and showed us that He is indeed a faithful and compassionate Provider!

Our team will leave for Honduras today.  So I am asking you again, dear friends, to offer your “small” contribution of prayer as we embark in this adventure.  We will have a chance to teach, to minister, to encourage, to pray and to share God’s love and message with the people of Honduras.  And we really can use your help, again.

Can’t wait to tell you what God does next!

Thank you so much,

Ana

http://anastinescorner.blogspot.com

First of all, I’d like to thank you, dear friends, for your prayers and words of encouragement during my trip to Honduras with mi amiga, DaNetta Fernandez. We had an amazing time and were kept safe by the grace of God.

We traveled that beautiful country, from its capital city, Tegucigalpa; to Danlí, bordering to the east with Nicaragua; to San Pedro Sula, which borders to the west with my beloved Guatemala. We visited with, prayed for and met wonderful people – many of them pastors of the various La Viña (Vineyard) churches. How wonderful it was to see the ongoing work of the Lord in Honduras!

On our way back from San Pedro Sula, we stopped at the shore of Lago Yojoa – a majestic lake with gorgeous views, dotted with little stands where you can eat a mean plate of fried tilapia. Being a pair “healthy eaters”, DaNetta and I eagerly accepted Pastor Jorge’s offer to stop for lunch. (By the way, we stayed at Jorge and his wife Eva’s house while in Tegucigalpa, and they also graciously drove us all over the country. ¡Gracias, Jorge & Eva!)

Imagine our surprise when a young girl inside the stand motions for us to follow her, then opens up a freezer and begins to pull out these big, wide-eyed fish, and asks, “Which one do you want?”

“Are you ladies hungry?” Jorge asks jovially.

“Well, I was,” DaNetta responds, looking a bit green in the face.

Our last stop was at Comayagua, which is about 1-1/2 hours from Tegucigalpa. DaNetta preached during the Sunday service; we met with several friends, and we got to watch the Soccer World Cup final at Pollo Campero (a delicious fried-chicken restaurant). But the highlight of our visit was on Saturday, when we attended the wedding of Josue Hernandez, the La Viña de Comayagua worship leader, and Jenny Whitson, a missionary from the North Phoenix Vineyard.

I got to interpret for Jenny’s family during the ceremony and even got to say, “And now I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Oh, what I kick I got out of that! ;0)

The wedding was happy and lovely and Jenny looked beautiful. We ate and danced and laughed to our hearts’ content. But one event in particular touched my heart in a very special, unforgettable way.

It happened early in the morning, before the ceremony began. Esperanza, who is the groom’s mom and Pastor Antonio’s wife, asked DaNetta and I to help her transfer the wedding cake from the bakery to the hotel in which the nuptials would take place.

“And then I’m going to drop you girls off and ask you to put the cake’s top tier on its columns. It should be easy,” Esperanza said airily.

Never known for our hand-to-eye coordination, DaNetta and I seriously doubted we were the most adequate selection for the job. But since everyone else was busy with another wedding-related task, we prayed for steady hands and bravely accepted the challenge.

On our way to the bakery, Esperanza broke into tears as she shared how God had granted a very special wish of hers. “I’ve always wanted to pay for our son’s wedding cake,” she said, wiping her cheeks unabashedly. “It didn’t look like we were going to be able to afford it. But the Lord opened a door for me to make a little extra money at work, and now I rejoice in God’s faithfulness and provision.”

A big lump formed in my throat – part shame, part emotion. I don’t know about you girls, but for me “toughing it” mostly means not using my credit card. Yet this people face need and poverty and want, every day, and they do it with a grace that humbles me and puts my meager struggles in perspective.

Monday morning, we said good-bye to our dear friends and returned to Phoenix and to our families. It’s kind of funny how DaNetta and I talk non-stop on our way to Honduras. Yet on the way back we are uncharacteristically quiet. I guess we’re tired, and a little sad, but mostly in awe of the many wonderful things we witness God do during the few days we get to visit there.

It is awesome indeed, and we are so glad to be a part of it.

Please continue to pray for our brothers and sisters and for the work of the Lord in Honduras.

Grateful,

Ana
PS. You can check out pictures of our trip on Facebook – look me up by name: Ana Stine