Families Helping Families Around the World Volume 16, Issue 1 March, 2012 Family Outreach INSIDE THIS ISSUE: The Work - Let Us Not Forget 2-3 Prayer Requests 3 This and That 4 Ask the Sperry Kids 4 Financial Summaries 5 Blessings in The Work By Chuck Sperry God is still opening doors for us among the police. I have been invited to the capital to give a presentation at the police commissioners' training center about how our security committees work. Recently I met with the chief commissioner of the state of Comayagua, the state attorney general, and the governor. The governor said she would be talking with the Defense Minister about what we are doing and that he might want to talk to me. I would appreciate your prayers concerning this, that doors would be opened so I can share the Gospel with him, and that he would accept it. Every week I am meeting with the Municipal Security Committee, the police commissioner, Engineer Diaz of community development, and the director of municipal planning, Noe Flores. We are planning on training upwards of 50 security committees within the next 6 months for the different neighborhoods here in Siguatepeque. On the 20th of this month, I will be having a training session with the Municipal Police. Pray that as I go talk to these 50 neighborhoods that the people not only listen to the security issues, but that they listen as I share with them that Jesus Christ is their security. About Family Outreach 6 This is an exciting time as doors are being opened to share with people in high places within the government. The Lord is allowing seeds to be sewn in many areas. Pray that His Holy Spirit will water these souls so that a harvest will be brought. This is our hope that these people will one day blossom as a rose. We are still having classes with the shoemakers and friends. They are going well. One of them wants to receive marriage counseling from us when Regina gets back home from the States. He and his companion want to get married. Please pray for them that they will start sharing the Gospel with their pastor and church. I am continuing to have baptismal classes with David and Candy, Judith and Otoniel. Both couples want to get married. David and Candy have asked if I would marry them in the church. Please pray for them that they would start attending church. We are also going to start baptismal classes with Lilian. Areli, Jorge's daughter, Wilmer, Heidi, Timothy, Hanah, Joshua and myself are continuing to go to the central plaza every Thursday night to pray for holiness for Siguatepeque. A friend of ours passed away in February. Fernando, a practicing atheist, was married to Angelica, a church member. I had been sharing with Fernando for several years, now. He was the son of a pastor, with both his parents having been missionaries in Puerto Rico. Regina and I have always felt Fernando held a belief in the Lord, deep inside. Four days before he died, the Lord directed me to go to talk with him. In this meeting Fernando accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior. Angelica later asked me to preach his funeral sermon. God blessed us. Thinking back, it was 12 years that I shared with Fernando about Jesus and prayed that he would come to know Him. He always rejected any belief in a Higher Power. The Lord, in His mercy, manifested Himself to Fernando so that he might be saved to Paradise. Pondering this I get tears in my eyes, for truly the Lord is merciful. Blessed be His Holy Name!
page 22. FAMILY OUTREACH The Work in Honduras - Let Us Not Forget By Hugh Caldwell This past fall, my daughter Rachel and I went to Honduras for eleven weeks, helping the Sperry s with their ministry in Siguatepeque. God has been nurturing his plantings in this part of his vineyard, and we knew before we left that there would be plenty of work to do. The Sperry s have been firmly established in this mission for 18 years now. They stay very busy, with each family member actively contributing to the work. Our job was to assist them, while learning as much Spanish as possible, so that we could increase our capacity to share the gospel. A few days after we arrived, a group of Saints from the local congregation visited a home for the elderly, where we held a service of song and preaching. Most of the residents who attended were either very feeble or crippled. I saw their sparse living quarters and bleak surroundings, and sensed their isolation from the local community. They were about as lowly as any group I had ever met. But in the sweet spirit that they carried, and in their yearning for fellowship, I knew that they were very near to God s heart, and that he was preparing a place for them to feast at the King s table. As Rachel, Tikva and Hanah sang for the group, the Holy Spirit flowed in, God was extending his arms to bless this people, and letting us know that inasmuch as ye do it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me. One man was spoken to under the Spirit. It was another reminder of God s great love for those whom he seeks to gather into his fold. Bringing Worship to the local "Old Folks Home" May the Holy City be established soon, so the sons and daughters of Lehi receive their inheritances with the Saints of the most High God. I met many people in Siquatepeque who had already been prepared, through the working of the Holy Spirit, to receive God s word. One of them was Mercedes Manuales, the young woman who came to the church five days a week to teach me Spanish. Many times, we would get sidetracked from our classes and simply talk about Jesus Christ. Mercedes already had been converted to the Lord, but she was keenly interested in the Restoration message. For homework assignments, she would ask me to prepare lessons based on stories from the Bible. That gave me a chance to share a lot of our beliefs, such as the story of Enoch and the Holy City, the restoration of Israel, and hope of Zion. On one occasion, as we stood outside the classroom taking a break, I started to tell her about the Book of Mormon. Words kept coming to my mind, and before we knew it, we had stood there for two and a half hours, talking scripture. Mercedes testified that she felt a great joy come over her. The fact that my Spanish had been more fluent than usual that day confirmed to her that the Holy Spirit had been with us, and that the things we had shared were true. Another time, she brought a newspaper to class, and began cutting out articles for me to read and discuss. The first one was a story about an archaeologist, who had studied the Mayan calendar and its prophecies concerning the year 2012. This provided an opportunity to talk about the Mayan people, as found in the Book of Mormon, and the many Indian legends which speak of a bearded white God visiting the Americas. Later, I gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon, so that she could read it herself.
Families Helping Families Around the World page 3 I would ask our readers to please pray for Mercedes, so she might have part to play in the work of building up Zion. On Thursdays, I accompanied Chuck as he taught classes at a shoe repair shop. Often customers would come in, drop off their shoes, and stay and listen to Chuck s computer presentation. If they started asking questions, the class would get even more interesting. Every week brought opportunities to witness to the people there. Toward the end of my stay in Siquatepeque, I paid regular visits to a family that lived a couple blocks from the church. The mother and daughter were church members, but the father, who was 86 years old, professed to be an atheist. I enjoyed visiting this man because he spoke English and Spanish, and he always encouraged me to stop by and practice my Spanish with him. He was also a genuinely nice person, which made it hard to believe that he was really an atheist. I felt a tremendous pity for him. He was dying of cancer, but he showed no fear of death, saying he was content with this one life that he had been given to live. Several times, during our visits, we talked about religion, and afterwards I would go back to my room and plead for this man s soul. Chuck had been laboring and praying for him for several years, and it was absolutely heart wrenching to consider the sad fate that awaited his death. But glory to God, good news came a few weeks after I returned to the States. Chuck sent an email, saying that this man had passed away, but that he had accepted Jesus Christ as his savior four days before he died. Testimonies like these give us a great boost of encouragement as we labor for our Lord. I believe the stage is being set for a great work of God in Siquatepeque and elsewhere in Honduras. Even now, the Sperry family maintains contact with many people who have either requested ministry or who are being prepared to accept the gospel. Rachel Caldwell, Hanah Sperry, Tikva Sperry God s word will not return unto him void. The Lamanites shall blossom as a rose. But more workers are needed, so let us remember the commandment to pray unto the Father, asking that more laborers be raised up. Let us pray also that God bless the church in Honduras, that His glory may soon rest upon it, unto the converting of thousands Prayer Requests People in the Old Folks Home; most have no family Medical needs of Christina (a healing) as well as the Doctors working with her. Charles and Elizabeth, at school in Branson, MO Mercedes Manuales, Hugh's Spanish teacher while he was in Honduras last year (see Hugh's article on page 2) On-going missionary work in Honduras Others, as indicated throughout this newsletter Chuck and the Sperry family; neighborhood safety. While Regina and Christina are in the United States, Chuck and three of the children are in Honduras. Daily prayers are needed due to an on-going problem with gang-related activities in their neighborhood, and in the city.
page 4 This and That There have been several special activities we have been involved in during the past few months. As a congregation we went to visit the Old Folks Home here in Siguatepeque. During our visit we found out that one of the women who lived there passed away. She was a sweet person, with Alzheimer, so we have no idea if she had a relationship with Christ. Please pray for the folks that live in this home. The Sunday school classes worked hard on a play we presented: The Tree of Life. It went very well. We used a rod of iron to lead to the Tree of Life. There was a great and spacious building representing the world and her ways. We all had fun and learned a lot. I am sure the children and youth will remember this for a long time. Christina (Tikva) was our director, costume, and props manager. Ask the Sperry Kids! FAMILY OUTREACH Does the Sperry family have a garden? Joshua, Age 10, Lamoni, Iowa Yes, we have a garden. Right now it's growing tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, cilantro (Chinese parsley), mint, garlic, onion and sweet potatoes. We have had problems with our tomatoes. There is a fungus around here where we live that kills tomato plants. The tomatoes have pretty much died. We did find some baby tomatoes that grow wild by a lake and are somewhat resistant to this fungus. We have a few of these baby tomato plants in our garden. (Back) Hanah, Timothy, Joshua, Hugh (Front) Edwin, Roni Do you have questions about what it s like to live in Honduras? Why not ask the Sperry Kids! Email your questions to SperryKidsAnswer@gmail.com and we ll print their answer in an upcoming newsletter. Be sure to include your name, age and where you re writing from! The Library project for the public schools will begin again in March. Rachel Caldwell came to Honduras last fall, and worked at a Bilingual school. She stayed in our home for 2½ months. Regina and Christina are in Independence at this time. Christina has had an ongoing illness for 8 years, and the medical doctors in Honduras encouraged Christina to return to the U.S. for further testing and evaluation. They are still working to diagnose it. The lengthened stay in the U.S. has placed increased financial burdens on the family due to both added living and medical expenses (food and gasoline costs, while traveling to the many doctor appointments, as well as costs related to doctor visits, lab work, tests, etc.) The ongoing search for a diagnosis is, at times, frustrating to Christina who longs for a healing or (at least) answers which will ease her pain. (Back) Joshua, Timothy, Cindy (Front) Fernanda, Gabriela
Families Helping Families Around the World page 5 2011 Financial Summary By Jon Tandy, Treasurer Family Outreach is a Missouri not-for-profit organization, dedicated primarily to supporting the efforts of families serving in the mission field (to learn more about our mission, see page??). We presently support the Sperry family in Honduras, where there continue to be many opportunities to share Jesus Christ and to offer classes on the gospel. We are thankful for the continued support of the Lord in this ministry and the faithfulness and generosity of the Saints. We pray that the Lord will guide as you engage in whatever good causes the Lord may be calling you to support for the sake of the gospel and the church. Your prayers, financial assistance and notes of encouragements make a great difference to those who are on the front lines of the work. The Lord has consistently provided similar blessings in times of need through the years. This year there have been some additional expenses, such as truck repair, replacement of a computer used for the work, and a couple of trips to the States for a few family members who needed medical attention. Below is a summary of Family Outreach s income and expenses for 2011. Income received by the Sperry family directly through employment or gift are reported through their personal expense reports. INCOME AMOUNT EXPLANATION Family Outreach $ 13825.21 Regular donations, including garage sale income Special Projects $ 100.00 Donations designated for a specific purpose (Joplin relief) Total 2011 Income: $ 13925.21 EXPENSES AMOUNT EXPLANATION Bank Fees & Charges $ 25.00 Newsletter $ 465.80 Copying and mailing Disbursements $ 16298.11 Disbursed to Sperry family for travel and living expenses Special Projects $ 100.00 Joplin Relief General $ 90.00 General Expenses Total Expenses: $ 16978.91 2011 Starting Balance $ 7288.40 2011 Ending Balance $ 4234.70 Sperry Family Financial Report CATEGORY NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARY FEBRUARY Shelter $ 141.03 $ 208.24 $ 394.61 $ 523.21 Food $ 737.95 $ 747.27 $ 432.82 $ 718.14 Clothing $ 2.11 $ 0.00 $ 7.54 $ 169.51 Personal & School $ 0.00 $ 13.44 $ 27.78 $ 55.00 Medical $ 16.00 $ 46.25 $ 89.90 $ 171.94 Transportation $ 71.14 $ 1108.43 $ 291.08 $ 434.16 Taxes $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ 46.00 $ 169.11 Misc. Necessity $ 355.22 $ 6.86 $ 171.37 $ 204.95 Tithe $ 122.43 $ 252.90 $ 219.98 $ 261.69 Misc. Unnecessary $ 0.00 $ 8.00 $ 3.72 $ 0.00 Total Expenses $ 1445.88 $ 2391.39 $ 1684.80 $ 2707.71 Total Income $ 1119.05 $ 2591.00 $ 1500.00 $ 3094.51
FAMILY OUTREACH PO BOX 22 INDEPENDENCE, MO 64051 (USA) We are currently collecting items for an early May garage sale/fund raiser. Contact Julie Caldwell for more info: (816)878-8015 page 6 FAMILY OUTREACH About Our Organization Family Outreach is a mission board dedicated to supporting full-time missionaries and their families in the mission field. When missionaries visit foreign lands for a few weeks at a time, they cannot fully appreciate the unique needs and complexities of the local population. In the long-term these mission endeavors often fail because new converts do not receive regular ministry, and indigenous priesthood often lack sufficient training and support in the ordinances and doctrines of the gospel. By living in a country for an extended period and becoming part of that culture, missionary families can learn about the people and provide on-going ministry to meet them at their need. By helping strengthen the faith of new converts to Christ, and instructing local priesthood by teaching and example, missionary families work and sacrifice alongside local members to nourish and enrich the soil which sustains that part of the vineyard. We welcome your comments or questions, prayers of support, and much needed donations in support of this work. The world is ripening in iniquity, and it must needs be that the children of men are stirred up unto repentance, both the Gentiles, and also the house of Israel (D&C 16:2a). The Lord has called His servants to preach the gospel to every man, woman and child who will hear. We have heard! EMAIL US AT: FamilyOutreach@earthlink.net VISIT US AT: http://home.earthlink.net/~familyoutreach SEND DONATIONS TO: Family Outreach PO Box 22 Independence, MO 64051