“Have your parents ever told you not to do something and curiosity got the better of you and you did it anyway? Did that thing have consequences?” Ethan Waters, a junior, asks some thought-provoking questions during the children’s message on Sunday August 14.

Ethan reminded us all that, “We are not very good listeners to our parents, teachers, and God. Remember that God created us for a purpose. He wants us to listen to His plan. Even though His plan may include treacheries, at the end of the journey, there will be a great reward because you listened to Him.”

Our students who went to the youth gathering and middle school mission trip this summer, led worship on August 14. DCE Dan Hampton shared that, “We do these trips each year to get our students outside of their normal comfort zones to see what God wants us to learn. We get to be the hands and feet of Christ, and we are challenged to see something in a new light.”

Youth Gathering – In All Things

The theme of this year’s Gathering, “In All Things,” was based on Colossians 1:15–20. “In [Christ] all things hold together. … For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” It was Christ that unified the Gathering’s thousands of attendees.

Each of the three main conference days, held in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, began with Bible studies and featured dozens of sessions for youth and adults throughout the day.

Matt, a sophomore, shared with the congregation and online viewers about the big impact the Youth Gathering had on him, “Knowing that there are more than 20,000 people that share your faith with you. It’s not just here. It’s in 11 other countries too.”

One of Anastasia’s favorite games at the gathering included clothes pins. She shared, “We wrote Bible verses, encouraging words, and nice things on the clothes pins and clipped people’s backpacks without them knowing, so it was a surprise for them later.”

Showing Christ’s love in Houston, Kansas, and Indiana

• CLICK HERE to see a video of our student’s summer!

Over the three full days of the Gathering, more than 4,500 participants were deployed across Houston to serve at various locations. Holy Cross’s student group was chosen to serve by building a trail from apartments and an assisted living facility to Resurrection Lutheran Church.

Christie Hampton, an adult leader serving on the trip shared, “When we arrived to our trail building spot, our students jumped into action to help with no hesitation. It was fantastic to see students realize they can do more together.”

Middle School students were able to share Christ’s love a week later starting in Wichita, Kansas! They were able to help ministries by sorting clothes, cleaning, moving classroom furniture, as well as landscaping and painting at a Women’s Counseling Center.

Next, they headed to Evansville, IN, to DCE Dan’s Lutheran School growing up, staying at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and School. The school just finished a remodel, so students were able to help clean up all the construction dust and put school furniture and materials back in the classroom, with Tony Shull (one of our Holy Cross youth from the 70s and current Evansville Lutheran School Principal) as their point person. The teachers were so thankful that we were there to help, especially with school starting in two weeks. They also helped at the local food pantry distributing food to over 150 families!

Middle School students ended their trip with a visit to the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter which gave them an interactive experience into God’s Word. Remembering that we are called to live out God’s truth. Knowing our Creator is mighty!

DCE Dan Hampton prays that even though these youth are just middle and high schoolers, they see how God is with them each day. And because God is with them, they can see what they can really do in their community and world.

By: Jeff Faunce

Holy Cross at Compassion Project 223 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Betesda – Naranjo

Revelation 7:9-10. 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

I’ve loved this verse for many years. It speaks of the universality of God’s people—that God’s eternal people will gather to praise Him from every nation, tribe, people, and language. It has become more meaningful after participating in Holy Cross mission trips to Honduras. I’d read that verse before and heard the stories of others who had been in mission around the world, but neither prepared me for the experience of seeing God’s global grace in person. His grace truly is amazing!

Again this year, as our team of 21 souls traveled to Lepaterique and Tegucigalpa Honduras, God reinforced that He is God of the whole world and that the language of faith is universal. How else to explain the instant bond we have with our brothers and sisters at Betesda church in Lepaterique and at Compassion Project 223 in Tegucigalpa? How else to explain the amazement that new travelers experience when they are welcomed with all the love that only brothers and sisters in Christ share?

The partnership between Holy Cross and the people of Honduras is a special one. If there is one thing I would like you to know it is that God is growing His kingdom among the people there and that you are making a difference. We see it year to year. There is progress in the day to day lives of people and eternally through faith.

In the early years we would join Betesda (Pastor Omar’s church) in worship—one year illuminated only by the lights of an old truck—and see a congregation that was just beginning to come together. But they came together in the joy of the Lord.

As the host of Compassion Project 222, Betesda chose to focus on children. Back then, that focus was necessarily on the children of Betesda and Lepaterique. They didn’t’t have the resources to do more. However, as the years have gone on, God has blessed the partnership between Betesda and Holy Cross. He has given the people of Holy Cross generous hearts—and He has fanned the flames of outreach among the people of Betesda. The combination of resources and relentless outreach has resulted in an additional 11 churches being planted across the countryside outside of Lepaterique. Literally hundreds of additional children and their families are hearing the eternal hope of the gospel and benefiting from help here and now in this world.

The people of Betesda and the outlying villages are blessed by your sponsorship of children through Compassion International. We see evidence in every child and home we visit. They are blessed by Holy Cross mission funds that they turn into self-sustaining agriculture at each church site. They are blessed as the Honduras Golf Tournament raises funds to give promising young Christian leaders the opportunity to advance their education. They are blessed by what you contribute to trip supplies and to the assembly of hygiene kits. And they are blessed when you purchase coffee, grown by the labor of God’s people, employing 20 families and giving them hope and a purpose.

One of my favorite stories revolves around one of Betesda’s satellite congregations, Naranjo. The people of Naranjo came to Pastor Omar and said, “We need a new building. The one we have is rotting away and is not safe for our people.” Pastor Omar replied, “I know you need a new building, but we simply don’t have the resources at this time.”

The people of Naranjo got together and said, “We will pray and we will clear the land for a new building.” They cleared the land and one of the elders took a stone and placed it at the corner of the newly cleared site. He said, “It is on this site that God will build His church. We will pray and watch God work.”

At the same time in the halls of Holy Cross, I was approached, without prompting, by several members who asked, “What do you need for Honduras this year?” I had just heard about the needs of Naranjo. I tell you, within two hours we had the necessary funds to purchase the materials for a new building.

We wired the money to Pastor Omar, who purchased the material in anticipation of our trip. We arrived on a Friday expecting to see cleared land and a pile of material ready for us to help assemble into a new sanctuary. What we found was a church building nearly complete. The people had worked 20 straight days to put up the building we all would end up worshiping in the following Sunday. Now that’s a partnership! Each doing what they can under God’s direction to accomplish something greater than the sum of the parts.

I hope this blog post has given you a glimpse into this special ministry. I also hope you will continue to be a part of what God is doing through this partnership. Perhaps your next step is coming on a trip? Ask anyone who has gone, or contact Lorrie or me directly. We’d love to speak with you about being a part of this ministry now and into the future.