UNITED STATSMEXICOSOOTHAMERICAPublished QuarterlySALUDOS!fromBAJIOCHRISTIAN MISSIONVol. 29, Number 1M/M Bill HoffApdo. 3166San Pedro SulaHonduras, Central America504-566-3796e-mail: billhoff@simon.intertel.hnCorporate OfficeP.O.Box 61013LasVegas, NV89160-2013Spring 1998THEMARRIAGEWEBBERSJim and Doris Long have been friends of Bill and Margy for manyyears. They first met whenthe Longs were invited by the Hoffs co-worker, NormDungan, to hold a couples' communicationseminar nearQueretaro, Mexicoabout fifteen years ago. The Hoffsparticipated inthat seminar. Several years later, theHoffs invitedtheLongstoafamily campinthe samecampfacilitynear Queretaro. At that timetheLongs expressed their desire to movefromMexicoCity. Bill andMargy had been making plans to leave Queretaro and asked if theywould consider renting their house for two years prior to their retirement. They stayed for two and a half years and thus completed thirtyyears of mission work.Since December of 1995 the Longs have retired in Phoenix, Arizona, but continue to hold seminars whencalled uponin Latin America. Ayearanda halfago, Margy talked toJimandDoris about coming to Honduras. It was planned for Aprilof 1997, but then the Longswere given the opportunity to visit Cubawith a thirty-day visa (somethingunheard of forChristians). Although BillandMargy were disappointed, they understood andhelped pray fortheirvisit toCuba. Margy thenasked theLongs if they could reschedule avisit toHonduras. They were happy todo this and agreed tocome inJanuary 1998.WhatablessingtheLongs were to manycouples and individualsin Honduras. Theyheld seminars forcouples, bothin SpanishandEnglish. Theyencouraged manypeople.They were ableto see much of thecountry. Perhaps thehighlight was when theHoffsandLongstooka two-day break to visitthe Ruins of Copan. Itwas a relaxing and educational time. Thankyou, Jim and Doris, forgiving a month ofyourtime to the peopleofHonduras. Many marriages have beenwebbed tighter becauseof your visit.Jim &DorisLong and Bill&Margy at hotelMyan CalendarLivingquartersofRoyaltyBallfieldat Copan.Stone turtle altarMANYPARTICIPATEIn February 1997 Bill was askedto lead a groupofEnglish-speaking people whowanted to gather on Sunday mornings. Bill saidhewouldteach theadultsandthat hewouldliketoservetheLord'sSupper eachweek. This wasthe beginning of thechurch thatis nowcalled The International Christian Fellowship.Fromthebeginninggroupof 12 peoplewhomet ina member'shome, the churchhas grown tonearly 50 inattendance with tenmembers participating eachSunday. There are currentlytwo classesfor the children. Fromthehouse, the church group moved to a schoolnearbywhere they met without charge. March 8thwas their lastSunday in the school. While various people were looking for a placewith air conditioning, the owner of the schoolcalled and said that thegroupcouldnolonger meettherebecause theroomwasbeingrenovated. God's timingisalwaysperfect. OnMarch 15th,thechurchbegan renting an assembly roomin a large hotel. They anticipate manyvisitorsand having air conditioning each Sunday.The first week of January the family in whose home the church hadits beginning, returned to the States. It was hard for everyone to saygood-bye. This group of expatriates are very transient. Many peoplehave come andgoneandsome will returnagain. Themembers areconstantly inviting their friends to this English-speaking congregation.KEEPINGINCONTACTBill would like tohave moretime tospendwiththe Spanish-speaking congregation in San Pedro Sula, but his obligations with theEnglish "International Christian Fellowship" and his ministry with theBible Institutetake upmost of his time. Hedoes, however, trytoworship onSunday evenings withthem.In November, therewas a guest speaker at the Englishchurch andBill was able to join with the national churchin a fieldday at the beach in BajaMar. The special event was the baptismofthree new believers. The church was transported in a bus and private vehicles. Whenthe song service was begun, some ofthe local Garifunapeople(of African decent) whospeaka pidginlanguage of African, Spanish, Dutch, and English) joinedin. What a beautiful reminder for the Honduran congregation that the gospel transcends all cultural barriers. After the servicethe ministers of the church accompanied the candidates into the surf where they baptized them. Then the whole churchentered into a carry-in supper. Bill also used the occasion to make a lightning trip to visit John and Madonna Spratt. Theyliveonlya fewmiles east of Baja Mar.Baptisms in CaribbeanChildren playinghellsFarewellgatheringYouth at farewellCongregationINSTITUTEIMPROVEMENTSThe Bible Institute has been in operation for more than a year. Slowlysome of the deficiencies in the physical plant are being corrected. One ofthe most pressing problems is that the students have been living in roomsthat are future classrooms. They do not have glass in the windows so, whentherain blows, thebeddinggets wet. The rooms also have noindoorplumbing. The fact is that there is a real need to get the students into adormitory.The studentshave takenthe problemsin stride. They arein classesabout five hours a day. Whenthey are not studying, they work a couple ofhours a dayfor theschool. Then they study toprepare for classes ormessages for the prayermeetings andservicestheyholdinthe neighboringranch. Whenever thereis a free minute, they can be foundkicking a ballaround or playing checkers with a board made from a cardboard box andCoke and Sprite bottle tops for checkers. Bill is very pleased with theoutreach ministry of thestudents.Last December a Sunday school class at Macedonia Christian ChurchinCentral Indiana wassendingtwonurses onaworkingtriptoassistMadonnaSpratt. It occurred to someone that perhaps others could accompany them and help in other ways. Madonna did not needa workteamatthat time, so she contacted Bill to see if they could help with the next phaseof construction. Bill was doubtful; the need was certainly there, but therewere no funds. At about the same time, the mission received an anonymousdonation designated for construction. That made it possible for Bill toaccept thework team.The groupof eight worked onraisingthewalls of thedormitory whichBill hadenvisionedfor sometime. There wereafewobstacles, but theymanaged to put up almost half of the buildingbefore they left. They laidabout 190 linear feet of wall, five courses high and were just getting fast attheworkwhentheweekended. Theyweredisappointedbecausetheywantedto accomplish more, but Bill wasoverwhelmedbytheir willingnessto work.It is always a "bitter sweet" moment when Bill and Margy take a groupto the airport. They are grateful for their hard work, but glad to return totheir normal lives --if there issucha thing.Theblockworkwasfinishedby thestudentsand RichardGring, avisiting professor who taught for a month. As this article is being written,thesteel roof trusses arebeingerectedandthedorm buildingis beingstuccoed. Godisso wonderful.Even with the help of several visiting professors, the "lion's share" ofthe teachinghas fallen on Bill. Please pray for additional workers for theinstitute. Help is needed in the areas of publicity, teaching, and construction. Many of thefuture ministers ofHonduras will be trained attheinstitute.Please Note!new phone number:504-566-3796new e-maii number:bii!hoff@simon.intertel.hnMacedonia Christian ChurchCheckersFoundationfor dormPerspective on thenew construction at rightWork teamLaying blockPERSONALGLIMPSES--A HARDDECISIONIt was a hard decision. I had been praying about this for some time. I hadspent the past two years helping the students with their English in an A.C.E.school. During the last year and ahalf, the emphasis had been onEnglishliterature. "My" students had been reading books in English and then answeringquestionspertainingto each chapter. Someof the studentsdidver> well; othersneeded a lot ofhelp in understanding what was being said in English. Day afterday I worked to see that the students got their literature done.But my circumstances were changing. We were going to have house guestsfor two months, mymaid was leaving, I was fallingbehind in mission correspondence, and I was feeling exhausted each day as I fell into bed.Leavingmy "kids"at school was goingto be hard. Theywere alwayshappyas I walked into the room. The administration told me that the literature programwouldbeshut downif I left becausetheydidn't haveenoughpersonnel. Thestudents were definitely benefitting from reading the books. And 1was makinga littlemoney whichI wouldmiss. After much prayer, 1decided to resign. Myfirst responsibility in Honduras was to our mission.OnDecember 18th,I said good-byeto "my"kids. Someof themhungonmeandbegged menot toleave. Some of the girlscried. Abigparty washeldinmyhonor. I tookpictures of them. But I hadtowalkaway from thisperiod of mylifeand usemytime elsewhere.I have not had free time since I left thisjob. It was the right decision. I lovekids andIlove to teach.ZZ "OMllVMyads'M 'amiASSo^iaivdaovisodsTiDHOlldOyd-NONMargy's KidsSIX-WEEKVISITORSOn January 9th, Rebecca wasawakened to acrying noisein the backyard. It was about2 a.m.when she woke up her mother saying that Brandywas having puppies. Brandy, a medium-sized partGerman Shepherd dog, has been part ofthe familyforthreeyears. She waspurchasedforRebeccaand they were great friends until she went tocollege. Now, two days before Beka had to returnfrom her Christmas break, her dog was giving hera belated Christmas present.Throughout the night. Brandy dropped sevenpuppies. Theywerevery cute, butwerea lot ofworkandexpense. Brandy hadvarious healthproblems, so we made several trips to the vet. Thepuppies were taken acoupleof times for theirshots. Margy drove while Bill rode in the back ofhis pickup with the seven puppies loadedin a boxand Brandy standing beside them. Before the tripwas over, thepuppieswere walkingaroundthetruckandBill was coveredbydoghair!! Eventhough the puppies werea lot of enjoyment, therewere no regrets on Billand Margy's part when thelast onewas given away at sixweeks of age.Puppiesaiis^nbi'UMOiio^'^^OD ssimavaiiiMVHvno lovisodN}{aL3}[ ONVa}{VA[ }lOdZi999 S":^'3Il!'^sso-am odouj 'uoissijx UBiisuq3 oifeay(q paqsijqnjUNrrzDsrATBMEXKO\ SOim' agenciesforhelpingthe populous. But it is difficult to get back to tlie areas tliat are worst hit. So most of the relief stops where thepavement ends, and there are still many areas that have not yet received any help.Duringthe first days of the hurricane we received a tremendous volume of correspondence and phone calls. Nowthecorrespondence has slowed. We are spendingless time in the office and more time in hard manual labor. The firstcontainer arrived last Tuesday. Bill, the Bible institute students, and four hired men unloaded it. It was filled with 17 tonsof food and clothingwhich were stored at the institute. The food is being brought a Etde at a time to our house where it isbeingincluded in the bags that are packed for distribution.We developed a policy for distributionthat focuses on Santa Rita, a specific area near the institute. That way we do notwaste time and money traveling. The major part of the food and clothingare being taken to that area. We have alsofilled orders for Madotma and John Spratt who, because the road to their village is stillflooded, are unable to get to themarket. Tobin and AmyHill also distributefood. To date over 3,000 bags of food have been prepared at our house.Saturday Bill, Todd Fields, Tobin Hill, Aleck(our co-worker in relief work), Kathy Butler (a fiiend visiting fi-om theStates), and the congressmanfi-om Santa Rita, distributed food and clothingto villages that had not yet received any help.In fact, these villages have been isolateduntil last Saturday, and the new "road" is either a quagmire of mud, or fordingrivers filled withboulders. We are alsogiving out blankets becausethe weatheris turning coldand the peoplehave noprotection. Currently, various ladies are preparing bags of clothingfor each famil>'. Next Wednesday, Bill and others willgo and distribute these. Bill has been told that there are600 children in that area.Three more containers came in over the weekend. As soon as Bill can get the paper work done, ChiquitaBanana willdeliver them to the institute. They will fill the classrooms and the chapel. Pray that the weather will permit the semi-trucksto get up the hill to the school. The last truck had to be pulled up by a four-wheel-drive tractor, but the weather hasgotten worse and even a tractor can't get a full trailer up the hill in Ae mud.The need in Honduras is just beginningto become apparent. The ministry of labor has reported imemployment is up to42% and will climb higher. The coffee crop in some areas has been devastated. The small farmers have fi-equently lostnot only their houses, but also their tools, and in some cases, their topsoil, (land slides have buried their fields in rocks.)We have spent almost $2000 on purchasing shovels and hoes and machetes so that the farmers can begin to recover.Next, we are planning to get them seed so that they can sow their fields again.The following is a personal account of the trip last Saturday'. We thank each ofyou for your continued help in prayei*s,funds, and goods for Honduras.May Grodblessall ofyou. Bill and MargyKathy'sperspectiveOn Saturday we left the institute with 3 pickups full of food, clothes, water and bedding. We were to meet the Deputadoin Santa Rita and he would lead us up the valley to the small mountain villages of his district. Each village has a mayor orleader who has a list of everyone in his village and the people cannot receive aid if they are not on the list. It is a verygood way to keep integrity in the work as well as provide a sort of census. When any aid is given to a family it isrecorded. This area is supposed to be "near" the institute, but near is a relative term. Perhaps it is near as the crow flies.We experienced several of the damaged bridges of this country but even though sections are broken down we drove overthem anyway. That is fortunate because some areas completely lost their bridges, totally cutting them off fi-om eveiything.The Deputado was waiting. He seems to be a veiy efficient man and is ready to help the people of his district. That willmake theon going work much easier. Up the mountain we went. The dirt road was veiy narrow, barefy passable in someplaces. The tiver ran hard and wide, far below us. Then down. down, down we went into the rr\^er beditself. ba.sicalh'finding our ownpathfor therewas no real road. At onepoint the Deputado stopped in the middle of the bed and showedus the aldea La Union. There was nothing there but boulders, huge treetrunks and debris. The onlj- evidence of a villagewas water pipes sticking fi"om the far bank. This scenewas repeatedseveral timesbefore the daywas over. We cameto aschool where refugees were being kept. There we distributed clothes and water. It began to drizzle.On we went. Wecameto a village wherethe menwere trying to cut a tree to fall across the river. Their bridge had been destroyed andwhat was left of the village was cut off from tlie road by the wide river bed. As we went up, the river had becomedecreasingly morenarrowbut the bed cut by the floodremained wide. It washard to believe tliat it had not always been ahuge river bed. We also gave them clothes and water. Our destination was still ...up...and the rain was causingthe roadsto become evenmore treacherous. We finally reacheda point where e\'en the 4 wheel drives couldgo no further andactually had to back down the mountain until a turn around place was found. At this point I chose to walk. I couldbarelybravethisroadgoingforward let alone backward! Eventhough we weresad that we couldnot reach ourdestination, things worked out just fine. The Deputado found a family on the road that allowed us to unload theremaining goods and use their homeas a distribution point for the village above . The following daythe people wouldwalkdown and receivetheir relief. These people are so resilient, but even though they are used to hardship, this goes farbeyondthat. Even in these circumstances however the>' were patient and gracious as they waiting in lines to receive thefew things we were able to bring on one trip. 1-2 times a week supplies will now go in to this area until there are no moresupplies. At some point a building programwill be needed and medical attention givenalso. Withthe mud, the cold andthe continuing ^in-rsickness-wilt come. The sight of pigs roaming freely amongst tlieir living^eas concerned me gieatlj*as there is alread>' beginning to be a problemwith cholera in the country. Seed will be needed also, after the fields arecleared. Even after seeingwithmy own eyes it is hard to believe the destruction one small (normally 4-5 ft. wide)river couldmake and how the life of those who livedupon it could change so suddenly. One thingthey have to bethankful for is that no one was killed. There is much work to be done here and one must be patient as well as faithful.a note fromDarryl Olson:I wanted to let you know at least 6 men are going to Honduras on the 17th of January to help the Hoffs.Please pray for tliere safetj' and that the>' wiU be a help and encouragement to Bill and Margy. They are takingmedicalsupplies as much as they can cany.At this time onl>' monej' is needed by the HofTs send toBajio Christian Mission Inc.PO Box 61013LasVegas, NV. 89160-2013JO^O.COJW. (-T AV)! mail ^OLI-' . "V l-y. /:.1998ir^rknds,r. .irA^W^-fnppwacft tfiis Christmas season, ourprayer is tHat tfie Lorddas SCessecfyou tfimiigHoii^^yeafrTt was not my intention to sendout CHristmas greetings Because ofourSusy scfieduCe witft ^fiurrican rvGrfefforts, Sut I didn't want topass up an opportunity tosendgreetings to ourfriend .andtedyou how mucfi we appreciateyou.iJiispast montfi fias Seen one of mucft xvor^andmuch stress.