Cold Feet on Independence Day
Many said they’re looking forward to hearing about my time in Honduras, so here’s the first of several stories I’ll be sharing… My time was filled with miraculous moments, but the first one began before I even left my home on the night I was to fly out of Tijuana….

July 4th 9:30pm- Cold Feet- hesitant to embark on the journey I’ve been planning and investing in for the last several months. The final 2 days were filled with waves of reluctance and uncertainty to finally take the leap. This was my second annual trip but felt like my first because I didn’t have the community support I had last year and the long-term vision/purpose for this trip had changed and was still being defined. The financial support was much less than I had anticipated and the cost had risen a bit. In addition, I began to not want to leave my kids and wife for the next 8 days. Were the value of my relationships in Honduras worth this? The answer is clear now, but it was all cloudy then.
I asked the kids, Gwen, and my mom who was visiting, to join me in the living room. I asked them to pray for me. I also asked them to listen for what Jesus wants to do for the Hondurans that I meet. Gwen got some impressions and images: “pneumonia, out of the box, a deformed foot.” Lorien got the word “family”.
“Family”. That one struck me because Jesus knew what I was struggling with. It comforted me at that moment that he knew my weakness and concerns. I asked Lorien to ask Jesus to show her more about “family”. She said, “I got an image of a globe with people holding hands all the way around- like a global family.” Wow. That helped me so much- Jesus was saying, “I know you’ll miss your family and hesitant right now, but you’re going to be with family in Honduras”. That was true- Brian & Rina Ruark, Octavio & Maria Peralta, Amy Cafarella, Pastor Juan- were all people that I connected with last year and formed bonds with. I was in good hands. Comfort and Peace began to take over my heart, though the hesitance to depart was still there.
It helped to look forward to see how the words Jesus showed my family would play out in the coming days. For now, I would need to focus on how to make my self comfortable in the 1am flight across Mexico. Our arrival to San Pedro Sula, Honduras would be 11am that morning. When I met up with my team, many of my hesitations disappeared. I had moved past looking back.
Note: My goal for this trip was to partner with Brian & Rina Ruark of MLV (Mision La Voz), a faith-based trade school that seeks to give the poor locals of Puerto Cortez job skills to lift them and their families into better futures. Students age ranges from mid-teens to 40’s. In addition, Brian had planned a several teaching engagements for our team on healing prayer, a visit to a local mountain village wedding, neighborhood outreach, and healing prayer for patients at the local hospital.

After we arrived, we grabbed lunch, settled in to our rental home, and made our way to MLV (Mision La Voz- Voice Mission). Brian the founder leads a Wednesday evening worship service for the locals. During the service, I felt the peace and love of God and was inspired to invite people to encounter him. Hunger and Thirst for Jesus was ringing in my heart. Octavio helped me translate. I invited people to receive prayer if they’ve been struggling and have now realized that all the source of love, joy, peace, patience, and self-control they desire is sourced in Jesus.
A woman came up wanting healing for her throat problem. I asked her friend to put her hand on the neck and to order the pain to leave. The woman said the pain diminished. So her friend told it to go again- it was gone! I like showing others that they can do this stuff! However, my eyes were locked on a young man in the gathering. He was experiencing the touch of Jesus on his heart. So I went over to him and spoke in my limited Spanish about the unending grace and forgiveness Jesus has for him. His name was (E).
I sensed that there was a need to release his parents and forgive them. To “pay it forward” as Jesus taught regarding forgiveness. And so Octavio and I coached him through that. I asked E. if he has fully surrendered his life to Jesus. He said he’s been involved in the faith for many years but at this time he hasn’t and that he wants to. So we prayed together to surrender all of the junk and fear. After that, I sensed that he needed to be baptized in water on Saturday’s MLV graduation party at the water park. So I said to him that it would make sense that now he’s surrendered his life to Jesus that he ought to be dunked and saturated in him. He said yes. It was that simple. A new man, a new identity.
That Saturday, I sensed that after lunch I needed to prepare E. on his new identity in Christ and how baptism plays a role in that. It was a rich and fun conversation for me as I pulled key points from Romans 6 on how we are set free from a sin-based identity and fully united with Jesus in his death and new life resurrection. I could see these insights really impacting him and encouraging him to see himself the way God sees him. The old is gone, the completely new has come!
After the chat, I sensed that it was a good moment for E. to receive a tangible experience of his union with Jesus- some call it a baptism not in water, but in his Spirit. He would be saturated in the awareness of Jesus’ presence and love within him. This is a mystery but a very real thing. This is one of the major moments to freedom from addiction- an tangible experience of our union with Jesus.
I called him to focus on Jesus and the cross of his love. As we prayed together for him to be filled, the Holy Spirit began to come upon him and he then began to lean backward on his heals and begin to fall. Thankfully Octavio saw what was happening and caught him from behind and gently put a chair under him. E. was out- like drunk out. Like a baby in a cradle, he was wrapped around and filled to overflowing by God. After 5–10 minutes he came to. He said he felt like he was drunk- though with his past in drug addiction, he knew this was way different! He was drunk with the wine of Jesus’ grace- the cup of rescuing love. It was a beautiful moment- seeing a person become a child of God and no longer a slave to self.

E. spent the next several days with our team. He prayed with people for healing, chatted with me late night on Jesus and scripture, learned more about his relationship with Jesus, and saw many people receive the same grace he received. Seeing E. be transformed into a new man and set free from his past was one of the most memorable times of my trip. It was a great reminder that following Jesus means simply helping others follow him in life’s journey, apply his words, and experience him in community.
Next story is on the fulfillment of Lorien’s word about “family” !….
