The bricks in the foreground are adobe bricks curing in the sun. Like the Israelites did in Moses' day, the people in Concepcion mix mud and straw and then form bricks to build houses with. They are not as permanent as the bricks we use, but they are affordable and provide a relatively long term building. 

In the background are people waiting in line at our temporary medical clinic in Concepcion. These are people who are thrilled to be able to get the treatments and medicines they need. The state clinic in town has a doctor a couple days a week but there are very few meds available if they need a prescription filled.

Ocotepeque Newsletter End of 2012
This has been a great year of church growth for the Ocotepeque region. Both the Ocotepeque congregation and the La Antigua congregation have experienced growth in numbers and spiritual maturity. Jorge and his family along with Mar- cos are working hard for the Kingdom. Our congregations here would do well to adopt the evangelistic fervor of those men.
The children's sponsor program continues to be successful by helping poor chil- dren stay in school and by teaching their families about the church. Much of the numerical growth is because of teaching and conversion of their families. The program has been going for 5 years, and now there are children who started in the program becoming Christians. There are 44 children now and we would like to add 6 more, so if you are interested or willing to become a sponsor, please contact me. Sponsors receive a great blessing by praying for their child and seeing
photos of their child growing.
At the end of 2012 there were some changes in the region. Marcos married his childhood sweetheart, Bessy, and they now live in La Palma where she teaches in the Christian School. The Friendship con- gregation in Southaven, MS wanted to plant a church in Citala (see-tu-la'), a town on the El Salvador side of the border between the two countries. Marcos has exceptional skill at door knocking and teaching, so he was the obvious choice to be the church planter. He began working in Citala on the first of the year and that congregation held its first worship on Jan 20 with 4 families from the community in attendance. With God's blessing and Marcos' work, this congre- gation will grow rapidly. The Friendship congrega- tion is planning some trips to help, including medical and teaching campaigns.
Luis was chosen to replace Marcos in La Antigua. Luis is 19 and a December graduate of the Bible Institute of Central America in El Progresso, Honduras. He is enthusiastic about his new work and will be under the mentorship of Jorge in this work. We believe that he can successfully continue the growth of that congregation.

Alex and Lucia are full-time students at the Ocotepeque Bible Institute, studying to become evangelists and teachers. Alex is a recent convert and is on fire for the Lord. He speaks very good English and helps us as a translator. He has a sponsor for his expenses. He studies Mon-Thursday and works as an evangelist Friday, Saturday and Sunday. He will be doing some practice preaching under Jorge's guidance in a few months. Lucia wants to teach others how to become Christians or better Christians. She, too, studies 4 days a week and works the other 3 days teaching and taking care of the church facility. She has only partial support and needs an individ- ual or congregation to provide $100 monthly for her food expenses. She is a dear sweet lady fully committed to the work of the Lord.
Santos and Lydia plan to move to Ocotepeque in March and begin full-time bible study and evangel- ism work. They are from Tulsa but now live in the San Salvador area. They are sponsored by the Park Plaza congregation in Tulsa. They will be an asset to the church in Ocotepeque congregation while they are studying.. Pray for them and their young son as they make some significant changes in their lives.
We conducted medical clinics in the villages of Santa Anita, Santa Fe, and Concep- cion during our January trip. All of these are in need of congregations to expand the Kingdom into those areas. We believe that God will bless any work in any of them, and we plan to put evangelists there as soon as possible. By the end of 2013 we hope to have support for a full-time evangelist in one or more of those communi- ties. There will be men available by that time and we will be seeking support to rent a building(s) and locate someone there. Please let me know if you have interest in supporting that either partially or in full.

Carlos, Melvin, Ralph , Debbie, Carla, Sharon, Dea, Doctor Harris. What a team it was!
The Rodriguez family - Karen, Gloria, Cesia, Jorge,Abigail. Theyare truly a wonderful family, always working for the Kingdom of God. He is a spiritual leader and mentor for the men in the region.

This is our team for the January 2013 trip. With a doctor, a nurse, an EMT and some helpers, we conducted over 300 consults and helped many with vitamins, parasite treat- ments, medicines, and reading glasses. We also provided 12 water filters to help families be able to drink pure water for their health. Our trip included a visit to the local State Prison to treat the inmates and staff there. The prison work has grown to a significant part of our ministry, and we witnessed the baptism of two prisoners with whom Jorge and his team had been studying

Needs: $100 monthly to support Lucia as a Bible student; $100 a month to pay for the internet and administrative expenses of the Bible Institute; by July 1, 2013 we will need $125-150 monthly to rent a building in La Antigua for worship and Bible study of the people there-they are outgrowing the space they now have. By the end of 2013 we will need about $500/monthly to rent a building in Santa Anita, Santa Fe, or Concepcion and support a full-time evangelist for the region. Other non-cash needs include men's dress shirts M-L, neckties, T-shirts, light sport jackets, reading glasses, ball point pens, LCD projectors, fabric for sewing, IPODs to load the Bible on, good tennis shoes up to size 10, and any cash donations. We plan a shipment in April so these items need to get to MO before then. Please contact me with any questions about these items.
The churches and evangelists in Ocotepeque and La Antigua are supported and over- seen by the Mt Vernon, MO Church of Christ. Contact Ralph McClurg, rmcclurg@mo-net.com, 417-849-0245. 

Note: the photos did not come through

I am sorry for the lack of posts lately.  I had my right shoulder overhauled a couple of weeks ago, and last week Carol was diagnosed with breast cancer.

I couldn't type with both hands until just a few days ago, but am recovering slowly and steadily.

Carol will have a lumpectomy on March 1 and be evaluated for the relatively new 10 dose internal radiation treatment.

For several years I have gone to El Salvador and Honduras in March, June, September and December each year.  Last year we decided to go in January, June, and September.  Now I know why that decision was made!

God willing we will be ready to go by June or late May!

The old church building in La Antigua has a tall belltower, and Dea and Doc were privileged to go up in it.  This is well over a hundred years old architecture.

Carla enjoys a moment with an elderly lady at Santa Fe.

Jorge and the other evangelists taught Bible lessons to those waiting in line at our medical clinics.