By Bob Werntz
Sometimes on the mission field, we are surprised by incredible God-given ministry opportunities that are a bit outside our expectations and paradigms. During our time in Honduras, this has certainly been the case for our family.
In 2009, I received a call from a ministry called International Fire Relief Missions (IFRM) in Minnesota requesting my help in connecting them with the municipal government on the Honduran island of Roatan. They felt led to minister to the firemen and medical emergency responders there, and the director of the group attends an EFC church in Minnesota. I love to go to Roatan – a beautiful island paradise where I have often dreamed of planting a hammock church. After many months of phone calls with governmental and customs officials and a couple of vision trips, the day finally came!
The Roatan Fire and Medical Services were happy to receive a fire truck and a container stuffed with over $1 million worth of supplies! A team from Minnesota traveled to the island for two weeks to train the workers on the best use of their new equipment. (
At right, Roatan fire fighters, wearing and using their new equipment, receive car extraction training.)
At the same time, another ministry affiliated with IFRM (International Relief Missions) worked with a church in Roatan to train a group from their local church family to provide chaplain ministry to the emergency responders. Part of the training included going to the fire station and meeting all the workers there (
pictured at left), the first steps to building a relationship between the church and the emergency responders. What a blessing to see these ministries and trainings come together after months of preparation and prayer!
God surprised us again when a group called Missions Mobilization International (MMI) contacted us. MMI had the desire to minister to the national police force in Honduras, the COBRAS, and requested our help. They arrived in Tegucigalpa with a team that specializes in training SWAT teams around the world. After several days of intense training, and once they’d earned the COBRAS respect, the MMI ministry team preached the gospel to them. Many COBRAS indicated their desire to follow Christ, and we handed out around 500 Bibles! Awesome!
Preaching the gospel to the COBRAS
Proud owners of new Bibles
May God continue to surprise us all with ministry opportunities that seem outside the box!
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