UNITEDSTATESMEXICOSOUTHAMERIPublished
QuarterlySALUDOS!fromBAJIOCHRISTIAN MISSIONVol. 36, Number 1M/M BiU
HoffApdo. 3166San Pedro SulaHonduras, Central
America504-566-3796e-mail:[email protected]
OfficeP.O.Box61013LasVegas,NV89160-2013Winter 2005Bible Institute
Graduation...On October 30th, 315 people gatheredto celebrate the
graduation of nine young men. Thesemen have dedicated themselvesto
the study of scripmre over the last two years. They have made
sacrifices to be able to attend classes and have worked hard toput
the Word of Godin their minds and hearts. They have studied each
book of the Bible as well as ministerial skills. We praythat these
men will be faithful to their railing in the fiirthering of the
Gospel.The graduates are (fromleft to right) Reyno, Antonio Paz,
Leonel, Elvin, Henr}% Emilio, Mauricio, Sergio, and Antonio Ruby.We
were honored to have Dennis Weaver fromJoplin, Missouri, share some
words of encouragement with the graduates. Localminister and
teacher, Amable Rivera, also presentedthem with a charge.Amable
preaching Billpresenting a diploma GraduatesMarktranslatingfor
'Dennis Graduation
attendanceChildren'sCarnival...Wehadaveryfundayfor thechildrenof
ICF onOctober 23rd. Bill and Margyhosted us on their carportasweset
up carnival gamesand snacksfor kidspreschoolthrough6th grade.
Theyouth and ladies of the churchwere a great help in providing
booths Ukea beanbagtoss, matchboxcar race, musical feet, and face
painting.Everyonehad a great time.Christmas in HondurasThe
Christmas season is a special time to reflect on the precious birth
ofour Lord and Savior and to share His love to those aroundus. We
do this through various cultural and family traditions that are
dear to each of us personally. In Honduras, Christmas
looksbothsimilar anddifferent to ChristmasintheU.S.As welook around
weseeChristmaslightsand trees, figurines in j ards, nativities,
stockings, and poinsettias. The streets and storesare crowded with
holidayshoppers. Gift baskets are handed to those less fortunate.
Tables are filled with goodies, and familiesand friends gather.Much
of this seems likewhat happens in the U.S. However, we are not
wearingour winter coats as temperatures are in the 70sand 80s (and
even in the 90s). Some of the Christmas lightsare hung on palm
trees. The big celebration for most Hondurans isonChristmas Eve.
Honduran families will stay up very late and eat a Christmas dinner
at midnight. Dinner may include somedelicious tamales. They
normally openall of their gifts on Christmas
Eve.TheChurch'sChildren's Christmas program was held during the
morning service on December 12. The children and youth dida
beautiful job of sharing the story of Christ's birth through drama,
song, bells, and
recitations.OnChristmasEvethechurchhelditsannualservicewith about
85 people in attendance. Thiswas a special time of reflection,
praiseandcommunion. Following theservice, thehotelcatered a special
plate of hors d'oeuvre, whicharetraditional for thistime of year.
Everyoneenjoyed the fellowshipwith both members andvisitors.After
the service, us Hoffs shareda time ofopeningoneof our Christmas
giftsandthenvisiting our Russian friends for more
celebrationandfood. We arrived home beforemidnight.Christmas day we
Hoffshosted30 peopleforChristmas dinner with turkeys and all
thetrimmings. We always tryto invite those who donot have family
here in Honduras. The gatheringincluded Russians, Filipinos, Finns,
Americans,and Latins with various churchbackgrounds.Work teamThey
came from Kokomo, Indiana. Seven men and one woman: dieycame with a
will to help and theywere needed. The prospect is that
thenewclassat the Institute willhave more marriedstudents than the
previousone, so another married student's dormitory is in
construction. And itmust be finishedbefore the middleof February.
Billand Markhoped thatthe teammightget the concretefloors
pouredanddo a few odd jobs,butjust in casetheyran out of work,
theycontacted a man with a backhoe todig a hole for a septictank.
They tried to have plenty of materials readyfortheir projects.While
the team worked Bill and Mark triedto finish the roof (aproject
long delayedbyunceasing rains.) Bythe end of the first dayit was
obvious thata lot more work wouldbe done than was anticipated,
theyhadpoured and finishedone fifth of the floors.Soon they were
doing the septic tank anddicing ditchesand lading pipeto connectit.
Theyalsoput gutters to collecttherainsothat it will notform a
swamp. Because oftheir hardwork, it nowseems that
themarriedstudents apartment willbe finishedon time. They are
greatly appreciated.Five week trip in the U.SOn November 2"*^,
shortly aftergraduation,Billand I flew to Indianapolisto visit with
familyand a few friends. Wechose to spend a day with our long
timefriends of Mexico, Beckyand HumbertoRamirez. Theytookustotheir
weeklyHispanicchildren's clubmeeting. Thatwas areal experience
withover60childrenpresent. The followingday we flew toLas Vegas.
Inorder tosavetimeandavoid vvear andtearonourbodies, wechosenot to
drivethis part ofthe trip.Wehad a good time visitingbothsides of
our families. After aweek's visit in Arizona wereturned to Las
Vegasand thenflew back to Indianapoliswhere the Rowans
(Joy'sparents) pickedus up. We tookMark's car in order to finish
therest of the trip on the road. Ourtravels tookus toAlexandriaand
Mt. Vernon, KY and thenIIIon to Knoxville for Thanksgiving.
WeenjoyedZachariahand parents alongwithwith other friendsat Johnson
Bible College.The last section of our trip took us to
Springfield,MO in order to spend the weekend with friends. Onour
return toIndiana, westopped toseeformermissionariesin Honduras,
Danilo and Chrisdne Vijil.Christine'sparents. Chuckand Carol Kelley
enjoyedour visitation with them also.We arrived home on
December7^^. It wasa rushedtime to prepare for the Christmas season
withchurchactivities, dinners, etc. but weweregladthatwe had this
opportunitj' to visit and share with ourloved ones. ToGodbe the
^lor)'.ZZ ON XINH3dSN'HTIIASSO^aivdaovxsoci s n'O^O
XIJO>Id-NONPraisePrayer *n' PraiseThat Markand Joygottheir
residencyfor HondurasFor the 9 men who graduated fromthe Bible
instituteFor the 315 people who came to support the graduatesFor
the new building and the prospective studentsfor next yearFr)r Noe,
a Christian teacher from Mexico, who will be at the institutero
teach February throughMayFor the Macedonia work team fromIndiana
who worked hard on theconstruction of thenew dormFor
ourchurchfamilyat theInternational Christian FellowshipFor Bernie,
a young man fromLas Vegas who stayed with us for acouple of months
in 2004, and was in Honduras for a year and a half.He received his
passportand visa and was able to returnhomeForGod's protectionand
grace.PrayForthe graduates as they seek tofollow God'scalling in
their livesFor theworkteamthat
iscomingfromtheHazelwoodChristianChurch in Indiana fromthe 27''^ of
January' until the of FebruaryForBill, Noe, andthe otherteachers
asthey preparetoteachtheVC'ordFor the newstudents as theyprepare to
begin their studiesin FebmaryFor the members of the English
churchas they face many trials ona daily basisFor Rebecca and
Zachariahas theypreparea week'strip to
HondurasinFebruaryasfxs'^nd'3}! syanooi^599 S>IISi'Xog odDui
'uoissij>j UBpsijq^oi(BgXq paqsnqnjWilliam Hoff, 10:54 AM
1/19/2005 -0600, Wrapping uptheoldyear beginning another Page 1of
2Date: Wed, 19 Jan 200510:54:29 -0600From: William Hoff Subject;
Wrapping upthe old year beginning anotherTo: "Langford,Bill"
Reply-to: William Hoff X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express
6.00.2900.2180X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS 0503-0, 01/18/2005),
Outbound messageX-Antivirus-Status:CleanX-NAI-Spam-Score:
7.3X-NAI-Spam-Level: *******Dear friends,We wrapped upthe old year
with a wonderful children's Christmas program at theEnglish
speaking church and a Christmas Eve service. The children gave usa
drama ofChrist's birth based on interviews with eyewitnesses. It
was fun and it was thoughtprovoking. The Christmas Eve service
brought together most of the church members and anumber of former
members who were visiting in Honduras. It was a great
homecomingcelebration with ChristmasCarols and readings followed by
the Lord's Supper. Followingthe service, the hotel catered a
special plate of hors d'oeuvres, which are traditional forthis time
of year.Margy and Joy prepared dinner Christmas day forthirty
people. Each year they try toinvite those who have no families here
so that their Christmas will bemore joyful. We hadturkey and the
trimmings,Another new year passed with us fast asleep. I figure
that I celebrated New Year's onGreenland time(3 hours early). Funny
how, as weget older, things like that mean less.Weonly thank God
that wegot tosee another year pass.Yesterday we bid farewell to
agreat group of people from The Macedonia Christian churchnear
Kokomo, Indiana. They came to help with the construction of
amarried studentsdorm. These seven men poured the concrete floors,
help put on aroof, built aseptic tankand installed adrainage system
to get rain water out of the low-lying areas of the instituteso
there will be fewermosquitoes, and installed rain gutters on one of
the buildings. Markand I estimate that they did about twice the
work we had believed possible. Margy andJoy greatly appreciated Ada
Johnson who came to helpcook and clean. The group alsovisited
theCopan Ruins and the church where John and Madonna Spratt
minister toabout an hour and ahalf away. In nine days another eight
people will be coming from theHazelwood Christian Church in
Clayton, Indiana tocontinue the work on thedorm.Meanwhile, we are
all busy catching up on office work and buying materials for the
nextteam.Classes begin the middle of February. Rebecca and
Zachariah are planning a week's visiton the 18^^ ofFebruary. We
look forward to that visit.Please pray for us at this busy time.
Also pray for Noe Soriano who iscoming to teach at the institute
for 3months. He isfromMexico. Last but not least, pray for the
prospective students.Printed forMission Services Association
William Hoff, 03:54PM2/16/2005 -0600, Thelatest on the Bible
Institute Page 1of 1-yDate: Wed, 16 Feb 200515:54:24 -0600From:
William Hoff Subject: The latest on theBible InstituteTo: Byron
Paddock Reply-to: William Hoff X-Mailer: Microsoft OutlookExpress
6.00.2900.2180X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS0507-2, 02/16/2005), Outbound
messageX-Antivirus-Status:CleanLatest on the Bible Institute in
HondurasThe Hoff family is doing well in Honduras. We hosted two
work teams, each with 8people from Indiana during the month
ofJanuary and first part ofFebruary. They wereable to finish the
second married student dorm, dig a septic tank, put in gutters,
clean theothertwo dorms, etc. It was a very profitable time for us
and we are verygrateful.Yesterday, ten men registered at the
school. They are older than the previous group andwe look forward
to a very educational and productive school year. Three wives
camealong with four little girls. The visiting professor from
Mexico arrived and seems veryenthusiasticand willingto work. He
plans on stayinguntil June.On a personal note we anxiously await
the arrival of Rebecca and Zachariah on the18 .They plan on staying
one week. On Sunday, the20^*^, abaptism is planned in
amember'sswimming pool.God is good and faithful as always. Thanks
you for your prayers for our health and safetyand for the Lord's
work in this country.Welove you.Bill andMargyPrinted for Georgia
Sharpe 2/17/2005William HofF, 03:46 PM 4/23/2005 -0600, A short
trip to the USA Page 1 of 1Date: Sat, 23 Apr 2005 15:46:33
-0600From: William Hof Subject: A short trip to the USATo: Bob
Keesee Reply-to: William Hoff X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express
6.00.2900.2527X-Antivirus: avast!(VPS 0516-7, 04/22/2005), Outbound
messageX-Antivirus-Status: CleanDear Friends of the Ministry:We
need to send you a quick note. We are going to make a month-long
trip to the USA. As the years go by, we need tovisit our mothers
more frequently, and Margy "needs" to visit grandson Zach. We leave
April, 26th and will returnMay, 25*-We are leavingthe ministry in
Mark and Joy's capable hands, and Noe is doing the teaching at the
Institute.We want to inform you ofour states-side phone number and
E-mail address.To contact us:Telephone:317-374-1298E-mail:
[email protected] amcurrently downloading our Juno account
throughmy pop3 account andyou can use it at anytime. (Previously I
onlycheckedit while wewere traveling in the US.) Using my
propheticgifts, (Ha!) I foresee a change in our Internet Provider
in Honduras and therefore e-address inthe next fewmonths. I will
informyou in advance, but the Juno address will continue to be good
in any case.The telephone is courtesy of our co-in-laws the Rowans,
they lend it to us when we are in the USA.Bytheway, didyouread
that, "Happy people mayhave better prospects forgood health," Ina
recent study doctors found happier people hadlower (better) levels
of cortisol, a stress hormone, andfibrinogen, a marker of
hearthealth. They found thatthe happiest people hadreduced-stress
hormones, stronger immune systems andmore robust cardiovascular
systems. Science is confirming the Word: Proverbs 17:22,
Amerryheart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth
the bones.May God pour out his richest blessings on you.We love
you.Bill and MargyPrinted for Mission Services Association
5/2/2005UNfTEDSTATESMEXICO enimi ft^ealr'A'
VSOITTHAMERCASALUDOS!fromBAJIO CHRISTIAN MISSIONPublished Quarterly
Vol. 36, Number 2Bagope...Eachyear, the Christian Churches come
together for a weekend camp at the BagopeCamp Center. It is a time
for renewing friendships, but more importandy,
renewingone'srelationshipwith God. There are great times of
worship, preaching, teaching, andsharing. Bill gaveone of the
sermons and Noe gaveone of the classes.This yearthe BibleInstitute
was responsiblefor the recreation. Markand Noe headed this up as
eachof thestudents led a different station offun. It was a great
time with water balloons andwatermelons. JoyWillpreaching
Madomiareceives a plaquefor 45years
ofmissionarysenice.Enjoyingfellomhip at the campCm/M Bm Hoff^Apdo.
3166San Pedro SulaHonduras, Central America504-566-3796e-mail:
[email protected]: bajiochristian.orgCorporate
OfficeP.O.Box61013Las Vegas, NV89160-2013Summer 2005BaptismThe
angels rejoicedwith us onFebruary 20th as we welcomedCatalina
Fuentes as our newsisterin Christ. CataHna has beenattending
International ChristianFellowship for several monthsnow.
Sheisafaithfulprayerwarriorand shares the Good News ofChrist each
dayas she rides the bus.She is making a difference in
manylives.baptism atchurch member's swimmingpoolInstituteNotesA
groupof 8 came fromthe HazelwoodChristian Church(Joy'shomechurch)
januarj'27th- February' 6th. Thej' installedelectrical,plumbing,
doors, and windows in the newmarried student apartment building.
They alsocleaned the existingapartmentsand dorms, installed
gutters, and built a storage cabinet for the kitchen. It was
Ha5?:elwood's fourth dme to send a team to servethis ministT)'.We
are blessed to have a visidng professorfrom Mexico Cit)'. Noe
Soriano is a graduate of Colegio Biblico and has cometothe
BibleInstitute to teach for about four months.It iswonderful to
have himat the Institute to disciple,teach, and train the
students.He is also helping develop a more formal curriculum. Mark
and Noe have represented the BibleInstitute to the congregationson
the weekends. He is a great blessingto the Bible Institute and to
us.Classes beganagain at the BibleInstitute on Februar}' 14th. Ten
newstudents arrivedto begin their studiesand prepare to preachthe
Word. The men come from fivedifferent areas of the countr)'. In
general, they are an older group of students than the previousone;
several of them are intheir 30's. Four of thestudents are atthe
Bible Institute withtheir wives and children. You canmeetthe
students on the internet by going to www.bajiochristian.org, click
on "Bible Institute," and "Students," then scroll down tothe
current class. Joy.Marriedstudent housing New students\Wives
working at theInstitute Noe teachingVisit in FebruaryRebecca
andZachvisited fora week inFebruary. Unfortunately,Alfredo'swork
did not permit avacationat that time, but he promisesto return with
the family next time. The weekwas packedwith fun-filled acd\aties.
UsHoffs visited friends, went tothe beach, went outto eat,
andenjoyedabapdsm-picnicwith the English-speakingchurchgroup.
Everj'one loved Zach and was so happy to visit withRebecca.She is
trulya "people-person."Zach was unafraid of the large dogs.He
offered a corn chip to Baxter(Nlark and Joy's100-pounddog) who
gently bit off a small portionand then Zach put the rest in this
mouth. We laughed until we cried.We pray that the next visit will
happensoon. MargynZachenjoying the goats at l^nnellField's house
Zachoffering a comchipto haxttrew HouseWe, Billand Marg^', have
purchased a house in San Pedro Sula. Afteralmost twelve years of
renting, we are now the owners of a 2-story,3-bedroom house. Itis
located about five minutesfrom where wecurrendy live and is in the
location that we have been praying for.Thesearch fora new homehas
been in theprocess forseveralmonths. Then, following a Bible
studythelast day ofMay, ourhostess mentioned that their neighbor
was trying to sell their house.We visited the ladyand she
waswillingto showus the house withoutprevious notice. The following
morning Mark and Joy joined us tolookat it inthedaylight. Wewereall
pleasedwithit andthatafternoon Bill made an offer to the owners.
The followingmorningthe pricewas agreedupon. Bill has signedall the
papers and the titlewill be in our hands at the end of June. In
July we willpaint the house and move in. Our neighbors are church
members fromthe Philippines. The sale of our house in Mexico has
made this all possible.Many people have asked us if we plan
onretiring in Honduras. As long as it is the Lx)rd*s will, we will
remain here. We feel itwise to make an investment and not
continueto pay rent. Ourcurrenthouse has served us well.
Margy3Rebeccaand ZachiFamilytogether3One Month in the StatesBill
and I spent most of the month of May in the States. The 4-week
triptook us from Las Vegas to Kxioxville and then to Indiana where
we gota flight back toHonduras. We purchased a pick-up in Las
Vegasanddrove it across countr}'. Thetruck remains in Indiana and
will be used byMark and Joy and ourselves during our visitsto the
States.Most of thetime in tlie U.S. was withfamily members, but we
did enjoyspecial times with former friends of Mexico and Honduras.
Time wouldnot permit us to see everj'onew^e would have liked to
visit. It is alwaysa blessingto talkon the telephone during our
travels. What a joyto keepupdated withour childrenonwhat
ishappeninginHonduras or inKnoxville! A special thanks to Joy's
parents, Rickand BeckyRowan, forproviding a cellular phonefor
ouruse.In Albuquerque we spoke with the mission team of die First
ChristianChurch and in I'Cnoxville we spoke at the Gap
CreekChristian Church. Igot to enjoymybirthday with Rebecca and
family. It is always a blessingto spend time with Zach and see how
he has grown from the last dme wesawhim. We call him our
"littleguy." Although small in stature, he hasa big heart and is
loving toeveryone. MargyGiveme"5" DadTeacups at DollymodDad and
Zach- recreationFerris Whee/ at Dol/ymodZachandGranmaFun with
FriendsWe alwaysfeel it important to have special activities for
our English-speaking friends at the church. Currently, four events
areplanned annually to make this possible. There is a
springbanquet, a "day at the beach," a Thanksgiving dinner, and a
ChristmasEve service.The springbanquet was heldin a rented room at
the Princess hotel in SanPedro duringApril. It was a success in
spite of the factthat our speaker became ill two days beforehe was
supposedtospeak. Unable to find anotherspeaker, joy suggested that
wehave a couple litde skitswith a spiritual message. Several
members participated and everj'one enjoj'edit. The meal was
deliciouswhich was an addedblessing.The "dayat the beach" was held
in May. There were over fort)' people in attendance. Even though
Bill and I were not able toattend, we heard that it was very
successfial and many got sunburned. Is that being successful!!!!
Joy.\^(/e ami children ofInstitute students Children ofInstitute
studentsJoyleadingworship High schoolgraduatereceives g^tj'rom the
churchPrayer 'n' PraisePrayer Praises ...We praise God
fortennewstudents andtheirfamilies.We praise God for the work teams
andtheir help in finishing the new building and preparing for
classes to begin.We praise Godfor Noe, a Christian teacher from
Mexico, who is teachingat the Insdmte until June 20th.Wepraise God
forsafety in travel aroundthecountry.We praise Godfor a great time
of campfor the national churches.We praise God for His
protectionandHis grace.We praise God for our churchfamilyat the
InternationalC'hristian Fellowship.We praise Godthat we were able
to purchasea house.Prayer Concerns ...Please pray for the graduates
as they seek to followGod's calling in their lives.Please pray that
the squatters' attempt to overtake the adjacent land will be
unsuccessful.Please pray for Bill, Noe,and the other teachers as
they teach die Word.Please pray for the new students as they study
and prepare for ministry.ZZ ON JUVHHds>i 'aniAssoiaivdaovxsoci
'snO^O lIJO>Id-NONnjiA-sns sss^aav999 '3ITP-ssoyDuj 'uoissipj
irensiJij^ orlcgXq poqsnqrmIn Page1 of 1To: "Allison Raney"
Subject:Update onLaborday In HondurasSeptember UpdateIt is Labor
Dayin the U.S. and we have been laboring. It is hot and humid here:
thispart of the country has only been getting sprinkles of rainin
the afternoon.We are enjoying our new house. Almost every day
something is done to make itlook more like ahome. We are
gratefulfor a friend who came and gave us somehints on decorating.
Currently, there is a carpenter working on newcabinets for
thekitchen. It will be nice whenit is finished.The church continues
with a good attendance throughout the summer. Variousvisiting work
teams came, that helped while some of our regular members wereaway,
but now the teams have left and the members are back. The
ChristianEducation department had a children's carnival at our
house last Saturday. Therewere teenagers here helping and adults
enjoying the fellowship also. It was a greattime for everyone. The
Fellowship team of the church is nowplanning the annualThanksgiving
dinner.The institute has encountereda fewdifficultiesin the past
couple of months, butcurrently everything is running smoothly with
nine students and one cookwith herdaughter. Asecond cook had a baby
on August 26^*^ and she will be returning whenthe second year of
classes begin in February.One thing about the educational ministry
is that there are not too many great newbreakthroughs to report. We
plod along teaching and instillingin the students theirduty to
serve the Lord. But overthe weekend Iwent to the quarterly
preachersmeeting. Wow!Icould really see growth and maturity in
former students. It was soimpressive that I had to mentionit. The
Lordis working through them and makingthemuseful toolsinhis hand.We
covet your prayers and thank you for your financial support as we
continueministeringin thispart of the world.Godbless, BillPrinted
for Georgia Sharpe 9/6/2005Page 1 of 1Date: TIKl 24
Nov2005ji)8:04:22 -0600From: WilliSim-Hon User-Agent:
Thunderbird1.5 (Windows/20051025)To: "McNabb, LouisandMarilyn"
X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS0547-4, 11/24/2005), Outbound
messageX-Antivirus-Status:CleanX-SpamScore:4X-MailHub-Apparently-To:
[email protected]: [Norton AntiSpam]
ThanksgivingX-NAS-Classification: 1X-NAS-MessagelD:
1845X-NAS-Validation: {EB187F76-71F6-4642-90B5-A8593A810903}*This
message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm)
Pro*Happy ThanksgivingGod put the most beautiful rainbow that I
have ever seen in the sky this morning. Bill saw it about 6:15, but
when I wentwalking a little later I saw a full rainbow with the
brightest colors that I have ever seen. A lush green mountain
backdropped it. The sun shone on the mountain interspersed with the
shadows of clouds. I walked and walked so that I couldcontinue
watching it. What atime to praiseGodforhis handiwork.Last Sunday
was the church's annual Thanksgiving dinner. It is always a
highlight of the year. The location we rented wasabsolutely
beautiful; it had separate areas for serving food and for setting
up tables to seat 170 people. We also had the useof an auditorium
for our worship service. Preparing for the Thanksgiving meal was a
lot of work, but itwas worth it,because of the fellowship and the
number of non-church members who were invited.The weather has
beenaffecting many people'stravel plans in Honduras. About thirty
inches of rain in less than four dayshas caused extensive
floodingand many bridges have washed out. We were asked to go to
the airport on twodifferentoccasions to pick up people who could
not get to their destination. A nurse practitioner from the States
was headed toLaCeiba when therains became so severe and theflooding
of the airport made it impossible for the plane to land.
Theyreturned to San Pedro Sula where she spent thenight in the
airport. We were called the following morning to pick her upand she
spent a day and a half with us before she could continue on to her
destination. Later, a family that was going to goby road toLa Ceiba
could not be picked up as scheduled, sowerescued them.Yesterday
Bill helped in the buying and delivering of supplies for families
in an area of flooding. Heis awaiting word on howhe can beof
furtherhelp in another location. The scope of the flooding doesn't
compare to Hurricane Mitch, but forsomepeople it is just as bad.On
December 4''th the church is having agoing-away party for two
veteran missionary couples. We will miss them greatly.The men were
faithful preachers for thecongregation. December ll^th isthe
children's Christmas program.On December 15^th Bill and I fly to
Indianapolis to spend Christmas with Alfredo, Beka, and Zach.
Preparing for this tripby buying Christmas gifts from Honduras will
keep me busy after Thanksgiving.Tomorrow weare preparing for
sixteen people to eat their Thanksgiving meal in our new house.
Welook forward to ablessed time together and rejoice that we have
alovely comfortable house in which to Hvewhile we serve the Lord in
thiscountry.Thank you for being part of this ministry.In His Love,
Bill and Margy HoffPS. If you would rather not get messages fromus.
Please let me know. I am about to reorganize our e-address Hst that
wasmessed up when I imported it from Outlook Express to Mozilla
Thunderbird. Also please notify meof any
corrections.BiUfile://C:\DOCUME~l\STEVES~l\LOCALS~l\Temp\eud22.htm
11/29/2005HoH^:33 AM 12/10/2005 -0600, [Norton AntiSpam] Christmas
Letter Page 1of 1Date: Sat, 10Dec 2005 11:33:20 -0600From: William
Hoff User-Agent: Thunderbird 1.5(Windows/20051025)To: "Meade,
Stephen" X-Antivirus: avast! (VPS0550-0, 12/10/2005), Outbound
messageX-Antivirus-Status: CleanX-SpamScore:
0X-MailHub-Apparently-To: [email protected]: [Norton
AntiSpam] Christmas LetterX-NAS-Classification: 1X-NAS-MessagelD:
2132X-NAS-Validation: {EB187F76-71F6-4642-90B5-A8593A810903}*This
message was transferred with a trial version of CommuniGate(tm)
Pro*Dear Friends,While driving through town last night, I was
impressed by the Christmas lights. Lighted palm trees were in vivid
contrastwith the American ideal of a perfect spruce or fur. As I
pondered that, I remembered while there were no pine trees
inBethlehem; Jericho was known as the city of palms (date not
coconut), and Jesus would bemore at home here in Hondurasthan in
New York. Another thought came to me: "What is a giant inflated
Santa doing over-shadowing a manger scene?"Unfortunately, that
seemed symbolic of how secularism has advanced over faith in the
world today. No longer do the threekings bring presents to the
children of Latin America: the mythical, jolly, old fat man does it
all. What a loss!Christmas vacation at the institute has come andwe
arelooking forwardto a two week trip to the U.S. to visit our
grandsonand family.I had a few things to do during the vacation but
tropical storm Gamma changed some of them. Honduras washit hard by
this little "almost hurricane:" it dumped nearly 30 inches of rain
in fourdays. Chiquita lost a quarter of itsbanana production. Some
towns were severely hit and had all their crops wiped out. I spent
three days distributing foodprovided by the International Christan
Fellowship. Lifeline Christian Mission provided me with clothes and
Bibles for thetown which was hardest hit. Naturally, I had lots of
help bagging the supplies.2YOur ministry at the Bible Institute has
been blessed during this past year. Nine men have completed their
first year ofstudies. (February through November) And if the Lord
permits, they will graduate next fall. Various national
evangelistshave helped by teaching. Two students' wives have done
most of the cooking.In August we made the "big move" into our
newhouse. After eleven years of renting, the Lord provided an
opportunity forus to purchase a housenear our previous one. We
aretruly blessed and aretrying to make it a home, not just for
ourselves,but forall who need our hospitality.TheEngUsh speaking
church has done exceptionally well this year with attendance of
over 100 most Sundays. We have seena few new familiescome, but
tragically we are losing two couples who have been very important
to theministry. The natureof the expatriate community is such that
we can never say that anyone is permanent. But God has provided and
willcontinue to provide the key people who are needed to continue
the ministry. Our only regret is not being able to devote moretime
to these fine people.Remember, we are aU expatriates in this world.
But one daywe will go hometo our true country and King.Pray for the
ministry here.Bill and Margy HoffPrinted for Mission Services
Association 12/29/2005
