The Ocotepeque congregation get together for soccer as a fellowship activity on a routine basis. Lori and Dea joined the cheerleading squad, Ruth and Nathan and Maddie joined the players. It was a fun time!

When we first started working in La Palma in 2004, there was one congregation in Ocotepeque with about 12-15 members, and the beginning of the La Palma congregation.

Now there is a congregation in La Palma with about 30 adults, one in San Ignacio with about 20-25 adults, one in Citala, just started, one in La Antigua with over 20 adults, and the one in Ocotepeque with around 50 adults.  These all have full-time preachers working them and most are growing.

It is time to plant another congregation and expand the borders of the Kingdom.  We looked at some towns and villages, but have selected Santa Anita as the place.  It is about 8 miles up the highway from Ocotepeque toward Guatemala.

Santa Anita was chosen based on geography and demographics.  It will be convenient for the other congregations to help work the town.  We visited the town and the people.  They were very receptive and welcoming, and they said they would be willing to attend it.

As a team, we prayed to God for wisdom, guidance, patience, and boldness as we develop a plan for this work.  We ask each of you to pray also for this venture.

Our team prayed in this location for God's blessing on the city and plans to establish a congregation here. It is Santa Anita, the next town northwest of Ocotepeque on the highway to Guatemala. We visited several people there, gave some little girls some beautiful dresses, and were welcomed. We asked for God to give wisdom and guidance and patience in the planning for the new church there.

I should learn to not be surprised by things like this, but it still happens.  People at home know that we collect medical equipment and supplies to bring down here.  Our barn and garage usually have lots of donated stuff.  We ship some and we carry some with us.  My check bag was near the weight limit but had quite a bit of space, so I put a bag of hundreds of diabetic syringes in the top.  They weigh very little but occupy considerable space.  We had discussed what to do with them when we got here, but that was an unnecessary discussion.  Hiliana, the nurse we all love, came and visited yesterday morning.  I told her about the wheelchairs and walkers and crutches coming in the shipment in a few weeks, then asked her what she needed most right now.  Her reply without hesitation was "diabetic syringes".

We are having a great trip!  We are seeing old friends and making new ones.  Today we will worship in   La Palma, San Ignacio, Citala, and Ocotepeque.  The people here are a real blessing to us.
I will be posting photos this evening if time permits.  There are 10 of us and we are all finding work to do.

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