Jesus Came To Seek & Save The Lost

Aren’t you glad that that our Lord came to seek and save the lost. Where would we be without Him? This is truly the Christmas message… the Father sent His Son as a gift to seek the lost… the Son sent the Holy Spirit as a gift to seal those saved… the Holy Spirit has set us apart with the gift of eternal life and with the mission to join in this great gift giving tradition.

This is the heart of missions: to join the Lord in seeking the lost and to watch Him save the lost. In keeping with His example we must, also, become incarnate; that’s why Kim and I physically moved to and now live in Honduras. In keeping with His example we must sacrifice. The Lord’s great sacrifice is ever before us, but we, too, must sacrifice. Kim and I have sacrificed to be sent, and you who send us must also make sacrifice to keep us on this mission field. This word “sacrifice” becomes very real to us in this challenging economy. In years past, much was given to missions from our “plenty” or from our “surplus”. But, now, giving to missions is more and more a sacrifice, which is in keeping with the model that the Lord has laid down for us.

Our season of state-side furlough time is going well. We are continuing to meet with supporters, speak at churches and somehow find a little time of rest and renewal. Our first banquet (Dec. 3^rd), since being on the mission field was good. Sixty attended, many of whom made remarks of truly enjoying the evening and now better understanding our mission. After paying the expenses… a little over $1,000 was the net amount in gifts. Friends who have volunteered there time in Honduras alongside the Becks are who brought the banquet program, sharing testimonies of their Honduran experiences. The food was traditional Honduran and the entres pleasantly surprised everyone attending. There are plans to put onto DVD the banquet and offer it to you as early as Jan. or Feb. It would be a great tool for you to use to host a dessert in an effort to help with support-raising for Rick and Kim’s mission. We could personally visit your “mini-banquet” via an international phone call.

Honduras Military Prepares
Our Children Safe In The Midst

Inevitably, since Kim and I arrived into the USA, June 20, our friends and supporters have greeted us with this question, “How are your kids in Honduras?” Please know that our 4 Honduran foster-kids are fine. There were many days during the civil unrest that they called us from Honduras in fear, several times crying… wondering what was going to happen to them. But, praise the Lord, they are fine.

During the days before and after the controversial vote in Honduras, scheduled for June 28, Tegucigalpa became quiet volatile. Friday, June 26, was “heated” as president Manuel Zelaya (that is known by his nick-name, “Mel”) terminated without any communicated reason the Secretary of defense. Saturday, June 27, became even more “heated” as president “Mel” attempted to intercept the ballots, as they arrived at the Tegucigalpa airport. This vote was so controversial because it was deemed as unconstitutional by both the judiciary and congressional branches of the government. Since, there is no impeachment process in Honduras, “Mel” continued to publicize the vote and to even seek control, as to how the vote would be administered. The world learned of the news Sunday morning, June 28, that the president of Honduras was taken captive early morning by the Honduran military, he was escorted to safety to Costa Rica. The unconstitutional vote would not take place. The democratically elected representatives of Honduras from both major parties all agreed to defend their republic and its constitution. The controversy lies in the means through which they defended their constitution… with military force. Initially, world leaders, including top USA leaders, verbalized that ex-president “Mel” should be reinstated. This situation escalated as an international affair as Chavez pledged Venezuela’s military backing, as did neighboring Nicaragua. The saga thickened throughout the week, as there was talk about ex-president “Mel” reclaiming the office of president by force. This was countered by the newly appointed Honduras president; “Micheletti”, as he promised that “Mel” would be arrested on-site and tried in court. Incidentally, both presidents are from the same party.

Our Honduran house is on a main street within walking distance of the presidential house. During this crisis our children experienced nearly 5 days of military maneuvers, police groups rushing by our house with sirens screaming. Our kids constantly heard helicopters and fighter jets flying just over the roof-tops. They listened to local news reports day after day telling people in Tegucigalpa to leave the capitol city and spend the following days, weeks, or even months in quieter, safer country-side villages. Our nannies that we hired were all talking of leaving Tegucigalpa… adding to the anxiety of our kids. We talked with our children sometimes every hour comforting them, praying with them, and forming a contingency plan should they be left alone or should they need to leave Tegucigalpa. But, after 1 ½ weeks of turmoil… there is civil peace in Honduras, although under a cloud of high anxiety. A curfew continued for weeks during the afternoon hours, then the evening hours, and finally only the night time. Schools have resumed and there are no more black-outs. Electricity, water, cable, internet, and cell phone services are all back to normal (almost constant).

Thank you for praying for our Honduran kids. This is a hard time for them (aside from the civil unrest), as we take our mandatory furlough. Their personal experiences are such that our departure stirs-up feelings of abandonment. They know in their heads that we are coming back, but they feel in their hearts very similarly as they felt when their fathers abandoned them, or when their mother died. Please pray for them. Should Honduras hit the news again, as it certainly will… please let the “headlines” and “top stories” serve as reminders to pray for our family and ministry there.

Also, in addition to prayer, we need funding for our Honduran foster-kids. Our operating budget for them is as low as you will find for any foster, residential or child-sponsorship program. Simple math ($10 per day X ~30 days per month X 4 children) reveals a monthly need of around $1,200 for the 4 of them, which includes healthy meals, clothing, medical/dental, transportation, private education, church attendance and youth activities, and nannies (while we’re away), etc. Kim and I are strongly committed to raising these kids. It is the Lord who brought them into our lives. However, our YFC accounts are negative so we have not been able to receive our foster-care funding. By default Kim and I personally pay the short-fall, even at the expense of not paying other personal obligations, and we wait to be reimbursed. This cannot continue for long. Please give financially toward our foster children during our state-side assignment. They are far away from us during our furlough, but so very near to our hearts.

YFC Advances Across Central America
6 Countries Represented at Leaders’ Retreat

An annual event offered to the YFC staff & volunteers of Honduras has been a leaders’ retreat every Easter week. When Rick & Kim Beck took YFC into Honduras’ capital city this retreat was an encouraging time for the volunteers from the 2 Honduras chapters (San Pedro Sula & Tegucigalpa), as they prayed, worshiped and received training together. Last year was even better as YFC/Guatemala attended the event for the 1st time. But, during the 2009 gathering (April 5-8) God did a “new thing”… 6 countries were represented! This was a “grass roots” effort that has to be attributed to the movement God. It is not surprising that leaders from the 2 established YFC countries (Guatemala & Honduras) attended, nor that the leaders from the 2 new chapters, Costa Rica & Nicaragua, attended. But, young leaders who want to start YFC in Belize and El Salvador attended, as well. A new synergy could be felt at the retreat!

Rick along with 8 volunteer leaders from the Tegucigalpa/YFC chapter traveled nearly 5 hours to Honduras’ YFC camp at “La Entrada”, Copan. There, they met with 66 other leaders from 3 other Honduras cities and 5 other Central American countries. This year’s retreat was especially strategic for the Tegucigalpa team and their leadership development, since Rick & Kim will be leaving Honduras soon for ~9 months of furlough in the USA. It would be tragedy for the missionaries to leave and the mission work to come to a halt. Praise the Lord! This will not be the case; the Tegucigalpa volunteer team is not just interested in continuing their 4 established ministries. But, now the team has vision for new ministries and new growth.

It’s encouraging to know that during a time of global economic crisis, God on His throne is calm. It’s good to know that as we hear about bankruptcies and there is panic, God’s economy is “booming” and there is peace. As we experience cut-backs & lay-offs, God’s work force continues to grow and advance. It is times like this… when the world’s way of operating so diametrically opposes God’s way of operating that our faith and our testimonies shine the brightest!

Through The Eyes Of A Volunteer

Aben Loves To Help At The City-Dump

March 11, 2009

Today 5 of us went to the city-dump. Something really interesting happened to me that never happened before. Like always, we had our devotion & we began to give the food and water. But, today… this one little boy about 8 years old said something to me after I gave him the plate of food. What he said that impacted me was, “Thank you, so much”. I could feel that he said this from his heart. For me that was the best reward that I could have, while I am working there, because kids like him haven’t been taught to say, “thank you”. They haven’t learned this because they haven’t received gifts, much love, or understanding from others. Their lives are filled with abuse, kicks and hits from others, even from relatives. So, they are full of bitterness.

Later, several of the older youth, also told me, “thank you” and “God bless you for what you are doing here”. It was another normal day at the city-dump, hot, sunny, disruptions by those who always push and break in line. But, today it was especially good because we had enough food for everyone (200 servings), and I feel that some of them are changing a lot… and are truly thankful and are beginning to express their gratitude.

Aben

Rick & Kim Visit Home For The Holidays

Mission In Honduras Continues Strong

Eight years ago Rick & Kim left Memphis for their year of language school before entering YFC’s mission field in Honduras. Just months ago was their first time to spend the holidays at home in the USA with family and friends. Needless to say, it was a time of encouragement and support for Rick & Kim; it was a special time for Kevin & Jimmy, and it was a significant time for the YFC mission in Honduras.

The travel home was a time of support for Rick & Kim. Usually when one reads the word, “support” in a missionary newsletter…. one thinks of “funding”. Indeed, being with donors during the end of the year is important, especially during today’s economic challenges. However, I intend to use another definition of the word, “support”. “Support” can be synonymous with “encouragement”. The encouragement / support that we received, as we visited with family and friends, was much needed. This type of support renews the heart and strengthens the soul. The privilege to be at home (and to feel at home) is appreciated in a special way by missionaries, soldiers, and ex-patriots. After living cross-culturally for 8 years it was support much needed.

The trip to the USA was a special time for Kevin and Jimmy, 2 of our Honduran foster children. They traveled to the states for the first time… a process that began in May of 2008 and was completed the day before we left Tegucigalpa, Nov 23rd. And, it was a process that impeded their 2 sisters from traveling. Michelle & Nuri encountered countless problems at the Honduran “registry of persons”, as we tried without success to correct erroneous birth certificates. Such mistakes kept them from ever receiving Honduran passports. It was back in July that we knew that US visas for the girls was “out of the question”. But, we all watched and accepted the way that God “worked-it-out” for Kevin and Jimmy to receive USA visas. Our foster boys anticipated meeting the “gringo” side of their new family. Also, it was a time that broadened their world view, as they left home to fly over the Caribbean Sea, the island nations, communist Cuba, and into Florida. They experienced what it was like to legally be in the country where nearly all their Honduran family and friends could only dream of being. They experienced cold weather, snow, sledding, ice-skating and seeing their breath in the winter air. But, more importantly, they experienced how a team, a body, of people from various walks of life, from different churches, and denominations have sent 2 missionaries to Honduras… to them, and the youth of their country. They saw how God has orchestrated a mighty work to the benefit of their young lives. It was a very special time for Kevin and Jimmy.

Our time in the USA was a significant time to our mission work back in Honduras in that the ministry continued strong while we were gone. We, as a team, learned how to communicate “long-distance” with cell phone calls, text messaging, and e-mails. This was the first time for some of our Honduran team to use such modes of communication. We learned how to wire money and disperse it to the right persons to cover on-going ministry expenses. And, we learned that as we make plans for our much needed year of furlough, God’s work that was started in Honduras nearly 7 years ago will continue strong. This is reassuring to know.

No More Mystery!

“Behold”, “Look”, “Notice”,

“Surprise”, “Know This”,

“Consider”, “Be Sure”,

“Take Note”, “See”

Roughly speaking, it was about 2000 years before the birth of the Christ child when a certain son asked his father on their way up a mountain,

"Father?" "Yes, my son?" Abraham replied. "The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. (Genesis 22:7b, 8)

Now, as we sit, roughly speaking… 2000 years after the birth of the Christ child, we read the acclamation, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” We have a 4,000 year vantage as we consider this father-son conversation between Abraham and Isaac. God’s direction to Abraham was clear. Abraham knew “what” to do, with “whom”, and “where” to do it. But, God had woven into His instruction “mystery”. The Lord said nothing concerning “when”, “why”, or “how”… leaving a “mystery”. 4,000 years later, our tendency is to minimize the mystery of God’s direction to Abraham, because today we know what happened. However, back then, Abraham exercised great faith and experienced God’s divine “twist”, as Abraham realized that it was all a test. But to us, it is a great foreshadowing of the Messiah, even prophecy about God’s Messianic provision. For nearly 2,000 years the sons of Abraham lived in the mystery, asking, “When would God provide a lamb?” and “Who would the lamb be?” The mystery, like a crescendo, added to a growing anticipation.

This ought to be our backdrop as we read what John the Baptizer (Jesus’ cousin) shouted-out, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” At last… the answer to Isaac’s question from 2,000 years earlier… Mystery revealed! The angels heralded it; the star illuminated it; even the magi unraveled this mystery. But, no better words, than these 5 words from cousin John, could reveal the mystery of the Messiah. And, what a shout it must have been. We’ve all leaped to our feet and shouted to express an emotion. Picture a heated argument, a defending attorney in court, or sports fans at an arena. It is as if John’s chief purpose in life was to express with all his being who the Messiah is, for his expression also started with a leap. John, while in his mother’s womb, leaped when the 2 expectant mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, greeted one another. John leaped, but retained the shout for nearly 30 years. So, when he shouted, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” I imagine it echoed off all the surrounding mountain slopes. It still echoes today and is the mission of YFC: “…to communicate the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to every young person…”

Thank you for your prayers and gifts as we together reveal to the youth of Honduras, and around the world, and as we point to Jesus and acclaim, “Behold the Lamb of God!”

Our Most Recent Mystery

Could Our Honduran Foster Kids Spend The Holiday Season In The USA?

Last year Kim and I announced to our family in Memphis that after 8 years in the foreign mission field we will be home for the 1^st time for Thanksgiving, Christmas and `09 New Year’s Day… and, we’ll try to be here with our Honduran kids for everyone to meet & know. We knew that the process for them to travel with us would be complex. Birth certificates had to be corrected (they had multiple errors). Honduras passports had to be obtained. Then, visas from the US Embassy had to be granted. Our prayer was that if God wanted them to travel with us, then He would make it happen. My 4 Honduran children and I entered the registry of persons in Tegucigalpa in May, as the starting point to this process 7 months before Thanksgiving, so that we would have plenty of time. And, for 7 months we lived in “mystery”, as to whether or not God would make it happen. We prayed faithfully and we asked others to pray with us through this process. As parents, Kim and I “coached” our kids to have faith and to trust God regardless of the outcome. If we can travel together God is good, but if we cannot… God is still good and worthy of our praise. True faith is trusting God during seasons of mystery and trusting Him when He does something different than what we want.

Indeed the process was complex. In a word, our 2 oldest foster daughters (Michelle & Nuri) could not obtain Honduras passports. Being without living mother or father, their maternal grandmother has legal custody of them. But, her last names are different than the last names of the girls, so Honduras immigrations would not let the grandmother sign for their passports. There was no solution to this problem, so they could not travel with us. The 2 younger boys were able to obtain Honduran passports and eventually visas to enter the USA. But, the 7 month mystery continued until 1 day before our travel day when we received in-hand the visas.

The Lord taught me some life-lessons through all this. Allow me to briefly share one with you. Don’t confuse faith in God with optimism. Consider, again, the Abraham/Isaac story (refer to front page). Before Abraham and Isaac headed up the mountain Abraham said to his servants to wait here and the boy and I will return. Hebrews 11 is a commentary for us that Abraham thought that he would kill Isaac and that God would raise him from the dead. That is not what happened. Abraham was optimistic in the midst of a mystery, but God did not “fill-in” the details. There was no “Thus saith the Lord…” Now, faith comes from a Word from God. When God is silent and mysterious we must optimistically trust him. But, just like Abraham’s conversation with his servants keep your optimistic ideas to yourself. They are not to proclaim as “the word of the Lord”. Abraham did not say what was in his mind that they would go up the Mt., he’d kill his son, then God will raise him from the dead. Faith is reserved for the “word of the Lord” because it will come to pass. This is not to be confused with our optimistic thoughts, because we might be wrong.

I was in a similar position for 7 months. I know that God would have Kim and I raise these 4 kids, but to travel to the USA for the holidays… we had no “word from the Lord”. We were tempted to change our optimistic thoughts into the “word of the Lord”, but this would have been wrong. I even had to buy airline tickets based on optimism, based on what I thought would happen, but I could have been wrong and could have wasted our much needed money.

Praise the Lord! Kevin and Jimmy were able to travel with us to the USA and spend Thanksgiving, Christmas, and soon New Year’s Day with us. Thank you all for praying with us and for supporting us as we minister to youth in Honduras (the kids in prison, the youth at the city-dump, the Tolupan Indian youth), but especially to our foster kids during this very exciting time for them.

This Morning's Headlines Were Of More Gang Killings

This Time It Was Our Isabel

Sadly enough we become accustomed to headlines of youth violence and gang killings. But, me and my 4 Honduran kids gathered around the paper today and did no more than just stare at it. It was their sister who was photographed face-down in the street. We had received the news yesterday, but seeing it in the paper today seemed to authenticate the news and opened the emotions that for some reason were dammed-up initially.

Our emotions were of sorrow, of course; we lost someone that we loved. She was one of the first of the girls in the youth prison who placed her faith in Christ when we moved to Honduras nearly 7 years ago. As a new believer in Christ, her request to Kim and me was to visit and help her brothers and sisters, so that they would not follow after the criminal, gang life that she had lived. Kim and I politely refused to go searching around some gang ridden neighborhood with our broken Spanish searching for children that we did not know. The risk would have been too much, but we prayed faithfully with Isabel each week for her little brothers and sisters. And, as the Lord would have it… they came knocking on our front door, begging for food, clothes, or whatever we could give them. Well, to make a God-story short… these 4 little brothers and sisters became a part of our home and our hearts.

Not only did we feel sorrow, upon hearing this news, but we all shared the surprising emotion of anger. It was not anger at the gun men. It was anger that seemed to be directed at Isabel for not taking what was offered to her by the Lord, and by so many others who wanted to help her live right. Shortly after her release from the prison nearly 2 years ago, we all saw a gradual redirection to the life-style that eventually lead to her death.

A pessimist would look-on and doubt our effectiveness… that there was no change and she died tragically like most other gang members. “Tragedy”, yes, it is a tragedy, but I believe that her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ was real and that she was born-again as a daughter of the Lord Most High... the same Lord who gives tragic stories tremendous endings. I believe that just seconds after Isabel closed her eyes on that dusty curb-side path, she opened her eyes to see her heavenly Father, face to face. Not only would the optimist consider this, but would also consider the victory that is won in the lives of her 4 little brothers and sisters who are now my sons and daughters. They each have also placed their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They all just finished their school-year strong last week, as they all studied their hearts-out. Because of their history of years on the streets, they are all behind educationally. But, that has just given them each a gratitude for school and a desire to study all the more, and to be whatever the Lord leads them to be.

Regarding Isabel’s prayer from 6 years earlier and her request to Kim and me to help her brothers and sisters, it is being fulfilled. Her little brothers and sisters are not following in the life-style that so entangled her life. Accepting the Lord’s wisdom, Michelle, Nuri, Kevin, and Jimmy see through the lies of the devil and, now, know well the end result of the popular and glamorized gang-life.

Seeing Kids Changed... Forever!

What kind of change is it that we desire to see? Throughout our ministry schedule from week to week we give cool water to thirsty kids, but they’ll soon be thirsty again. We feed hungry kids, but they’ll soon be hungry again. Some we tutor and pay for private school education, we provide guitar and piano lessons, we teach English… but, none of these changes, as good as they are, matter in the scope of eternity, except that they help us earn the right to be heard as we communicate “the life changing message of Jesus Christ”. When a kid bows his head in prayer and yields his life to the Lord Jesus Christ… a change for eternity happens. When we give Bibles to kids who desire to follow Christ and we teach and mentor them, then we see change, a transforming change into the likeness of Christ that is eternal. Kim and I along with our many partners provide need based ministry, helping to change poor nutrition, poor education, aimlessness, But, it is only through a personal encounter with God that a kid’s live can be changed for the rest of forever. This is the kind of change that we desire to see.

Hosting Short-term Missionary Teams

Adding Partners… Multiplying Our Efforts

Living cross-culturally is like living in “the best of times” (international travel, exotic places, new foods, etc.) and also it is like living in “the worst of times” (feeling of isolation, not fitting-in, language barriers, etc.) Going to the airport to meet a missionary team is like a breath of fresh air. The refreshment goes deeper than simply spending a week, or so, with a group of people that talks like me, who eats like me, who plans, works, laughs, interacts, etc… like me. Hosting short-term teams is so exhilarating because we get to partner with other brothers and sisters of the same faith who share a like passion for communicating “the life-changing message of Jesus Christ” to young people. What is so beneficial for the Honduran youth goes deeper than a week of ministry in Honduras… they learn how to pray more fervently, share their finances more faithfully, and return again in the near future more friends. Their involvement is more than “addition”… they “multiply” our missionary effort in Honduras. Praise God for the short-term missionary teams that partner with us in Honduras. We may try to measure our ministry together, but only God knows the true dividends from these short-term teams. Teams that we have hosted have impacted multiplied thousands of youth here in Honduras, and to some families their impact will be felt for generations.

Pouring Into A Few Interns

Who Over-flow Into Many Lives

This was our 4^th summer to host interns here in Honduras, and our experience with college-age young adults keeps getting better and better. This summer for the 1^st time we hosted a group of interns, 5 came to serve in Tegucigalpa alongside us. They actually came though a “sister” mission organization, the Orphanos Foundation. The founder and president of “Orphanos” is Wayne Sneed who worked on staff with Kim & me at Mid-South YFC some 15-20 years ago. Even, then, Wayne’s heart was with international missions and specifically the ministry of short-term mission teams. As the Lord would have it Wayne hired Sandi Langley to head-up their internship program. And, as the Lord would have it, Sandi is a friend from “yester-years” as Kim and I were students together with her at the University of Memphis, also, some 15-20 years ago. Our recent reacquaintance with Wayne and with Sandi lead to a wonderful summer of training their class of 7 interns and the awesome privilege of hosting 5 of them during June and July. Our Honduran interns (A.J., Lora, Hannah, Crystal, and Julia) benefited from our formal classroom time. But, the greater benefit came as they experienced 1^st hand ministry in Honduras, as they experienced several Central American cultures in 3 different countries (from the high Mts. to the Caribbean islands), and as they visited or worked with various mission programs and missionaries, including our family. Together we were able to lead many kids to saving faith in Christ, give away hundreds of Bibles and gospel tracks, provide follow-up and discipleship. They arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica in late May ready to learn and serve; they returned to the USA in early August changed, as were the hundreds of kids with whom they invested their summer.

Visiting Short-term Missionary Teams

The 1st 4 months of the year have been full of travel. I mentioned in my last newsletter (Jan/Feb issue) about my trip to Haiti, then in late Feb. I traveled to my home town, Memphis, Tennessee. My home church, Bellevue Baptist had their annual mission conference. It is always good to see family and friends. I was able to see old friends and make some new ones as I attended my booth in the church vestibule, and as I visited classes. One of the highlights of the trip home was the missionary banquette where I heard and met Steven Saint and the Indian man who adopted him as a grandson (Photo above).

Shortly after my return to Tegucigalpa, my friend, Eric, with Fellowship of Christian Athletes (Austin, Texas) came with a team of 5 people. I took them to a remote, hard-to-get-to, village in the Mts. of Yoro only accessible via foot or horse back. They hosted a soccer tournament with 4 neighboring villages. They communicated the live-changing message of Jesus Christ to many, as several hundred attended the tournament.

Then, during Easter week, Kim & I hosted a team of 30 from the Boston area. The team was lead by Pastor Nate Hall and church member Michelle Brown from Pacific Union Congregational Church, however 2 other churches were part of the trip. Although several of the team members have been to Honduras for 4 years, now, we did several “new” things this year. We hosted a medical brigade for the first time. And, for the 1st time Kim & I divided the team and headed in 2 different directions. Kim stayed in Tegucigalpa with ½ the team, and I went to the Mts. of Yoro with the other ½ to minister to the Tolupan Indians. Hundreds were benefited by this team’s work. Social needs were met (feeding, medical care, clothing, etc.), demonstrating the love of Christ, demonstrating and communicating the love of Christ.

It is so good to “lock arms” with brothers and sisters from the USA. We feel so encouraged to be with others who pray for us and sacrifice to come be part of our ministry here. Praise the Lord for these short-term missionary teams that help us communicate the live-changing message of Jesus Christ to so many young people in Honduras.

Through The Eyes Of A Visiting Friend

On a recent trip to Honduras, my 13-year-old daughter Megan and I saw personally the impact Rick & Kim have with their various ministries. One of their avenues of outreach is the City Dump. Even though I read the article in the Miami Herald and heard personal testimony from the Beck’s about the dump, the first-hand experience will forever remain etched in my mind and Megan’s. With ragged, torn and dirty clothes, men, women and children ran expectantly towards our vehicle as we drove up. After a brief devotion we handed out plates of food, water and bananas to those gathered. The lesson learned while watching Rick & Kim, along with the volunteers, is that they express a genuine love for these people; it flows from their hearts. Their ministry is Matthew 25:35 in action.

Jack Sedory

When Youth "At Risk" Puts You At Risk

“Winning-Over” The Tough Ones

Kim and Waldina, one of our volunteers, walked into a “hornet’s nest” about a month ago at the juvenile girls’ prison. I was with another volunteer on the side where the juvenile male offenders are. As Kim & Waldina began their Bible study, Estefani and Paula, the 2 older teens in the group of nearly 30 girls, began to act-up. They eventually struck one of the well behaved girls with a blow to the face and Astre began to bleed. Kim tried to maintain control of the group to the benefit of the girls wanting the Bible study. Kim asked the guards to lock-up the 2 rebellious girls, to which they replied that they could do nothing. Now, Estefani is a 17 year-old black youth who towers over the shorter Latina girls, and is bigger than Kim. She climbed to the roof of one of the buildings where she found a broken glass bottle. Back on the ground she began to threaten Kim and the other girls. What do the guards do? They lock-up Kim, Waldina, and the well behaved girls. Go figure. After some time Estefani and Paula settled down enough so that the guards could let Kim and Waldina out from locked doors and the guards escorted them off of the premises to safety.

The weeks that followed lead Kim through a series of mental and emotional circles… from not wanting to ever go back, to wanting to speak to the authorities about the incompetence of the system. But, eventually we discerned God’s Spirit prompting us to return evil with good. Kim and I had planned a trip, which happened to be near the town from where Estefani came. We told Estefani that we’d like to call and meet with her family and maybe take or bring back any items that they wished to exchange. Estefani was dumbfounded as we offered “kindness” to her. The Sunday before our travel she gave us a small crotchet purse with several letters for her grandmother. So, during our stay near Estefani’s home town we called her grandmother. We met her; she was a tall, Garifuna woman. She looked African and her English Caribbean dialect was very distinct. We delivered the small purse; her grandmother visited with us a while and then she gave us a grocery sack of clothes, family photos, and letters for us to deliver to her granddaughter.

Kim, who hadn’t returned to the prison since the incident, personally handed the care-package to Estefani, the first correspondence that she has had with her family in 2 years. This act of kindness was in drastic contrast to their hostile encounter a month earlier. Kim “won her over” with kindness. They embraced and visited; Paula, too, through tears asked Kim to forgive her. I’m sure that Kim and Waldina were prepared a month earlier to teach a great Bible study. But what transpired over the month’s time reminds us that many times in youth ministry… more is “caught” than “taught”.

Rick Beck

One Of Our Favorite Youth Misbehaving

Having To Show "Tough Love" For Her Own Good

Assuredly, you would rather receive “good news” over “bad news. Believe me… I’d rather write you with only the “good news”, the successes, and the victories. But, that would be a skewed report, not a true picture of our missionary life. Recently, we had to ask Isabel to leave our house. The first few months were good; it seemed as though things were going to work-out with the addition of a 19 year-old and her 3 year-old son to our family. It was a joy to see Isabel reunited with her brothers and sisters for the first time since she began the gang-life as a 13-year-old. Five years of prison robbed her of seeing her siblings grow, robbed her of being with her mother during her death and the healing time with family, thereafter. But, we experienced true joy together with Isabel and Jonathan. Through the years she encouraged us as we visited her in prison, and what joy to have her in our home upon her release. Joy was multiplied as Isabel and Jonathan joined our family devotion time before bed and as we went as a family to our regular church services. She told me that she wanted to continue her education, so I enrolled her into a school. She said that she could crochet 2 hand-bags a day and would like to earn an income with this skill, so I bought her an ample supply of the string that she needed and I lined-up venues through which she could sell everything she could make. However, she put forth little or no effort toward school or to her work.

The last several months were quite challenging as she began to go out at nights with friends without communicating with us and not returning until the next day (and on 2 occasions for several days). She stopped going to church with us. She broke trust as she began to lie to us and began to rob from us and her siblings. The joy that she had brought as she was in prison and during those 1^st few months in our own home was turned to disappointment, frustration, and pain. Oh, we tried talking with her; we tried a probationary period, but there were no changes. Her 4 siblings (our foster kids), Kim and I really wanted to see a change for the positive with Isabel and for everything to work-out like it did the first several months with us. Toward the end of her stay with us it appeared as though she was using drugs, although she was a master at keeping this from us. So, finally, we had to ask Isabel to leave, so with many tears from us all… Isabel and her 3 year-old son, Jonathan, left to live with someone else. She left threatening us with evil promises and slanderous words.

So, there I told you… a newsletter that includes “bad news”. And, as I pondered how I would give this report, I considered the Bible, which is a type of “newsletter” from God to us. I considered all the “failures”, all the “bad”, all the “disappointments” that God included in His newsletter to us. I realized 2 things: 1) God is patient and is not finished with Isabel nor with little Jonathan, and 2) I realized that Isabel’s brothers and sisters on the back stage of this drama and are learning great lessons, as are me and Kim, and everyone else looking on this situation. We all have witnessed God’s provisions, forgiveness, His love, grace, and mercy balanced with his justice and intolerance. This challenges me to walk close to our good God. And, may we all be challenged to be one with His purposes, and let us be obedient to His plans for us.

Your brother in Christ,
Rick Beck

Casa De Luz

Casa De Luz offers Christian Child-care to a poor neighborhood in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Heart Of God

I wanted to make this video available for you to see. It is simply quotes from Christian "greats".

By The Grace Of God These 4 Boys Are Not Orphans

The Lord Uses Us

To Help Save Their Mother’s Life

On May 14 a dear Honduran friend who is very poor came to us in tears with the news that her cousin, a young mother of 4 boys, was sent away from the public hospital. The family was advised to prepare for what was imminent, her funeral. I had met this cousin, Suyapa, even hosting her and her family at my house when she traveled to the capital city to “work” the free public medical system. Multiple stones had caused abscesses in one of her kidneys. Over the course of 3 months I had seen her demise as appointments and exams were postponed and rescheduled. During the same time-frame the head lines in the Honduras newspapers told of the strikes in the public hospitals. This young mother, Suyapa, and her family were hopeless. They were ready to do what so many Hondurans do… give-up and let whatever happens… happen.

Suyapa’s near death condition was so preventable. But, by mid-May her bad kidney was 3X its normal size and no more than a dead abscessed organ inside of her. Oh, the hospital set a surgery date to remove her kidney… in October, but that long wait was in essences a death sentence. Again, Kim and I felt like a small drop of “help” in an ocean of “need”, but how urgent and critical was this need. We’ve never helped with a medical need like this; we didn’t have the money personally or in our ministry account. Not to mention, our YFC mission statement isn’t for adult kidney patients. But Kim and I both felt that the Lord would have us to what we could to help. We put her in a private hospital to have the bad kidney removed before she died. We used our personal rent money to pay the admission fee. Then, we simply e-mail friends back home, explained the situation, asked for help, prayed and waited… hoping for her recovery and enough funds to pay for it all.

There were complications along the way, many “ups & downs”. Suyapa is still in the hospital, but, in a word, she has had her kidney removed and is expected to be released soon to join her 4 boys at their humble home in the country-side some 3 hours journey from the capital. It wasn’t until just recently that it “hit me”. This is indeed the purpose of YFC… helping kids! Not only have I been able to share the Good News of Jesus with these boys, but a group of friends, Kim and I, collectively we responded to the Lord’s guidance and kept these boys from being orphaned in a country where the orphan life is not so friendly. My 6 foster kids can attest to this. Many of the friends who helped this cause also receive this newsletter. Let me tell you, “you amaze me!” I’d like to thank you for how you gave above and beyond your on-going missionary support and helped to save the life of this young mother. There were several points along the way where I didn’t think there would be a “happy ending”. But God was gracious… He guided, we followed, and He did it! Thank you.