If you or someone you know is interested in coming to Nicaragua May 5-13 for our annual medical team, please sign up quickly.

This is a great opportunity to use your medical skills to serve the Kingdom of God in one of the poorest regions in the Western Hemisphere. We are looking for all sorts of medical personnel and translators to help meet the needs of many who have little or no access to medical care. We work under the Nicaraguan Conservative Baptist Church Association and they will be coordinating our medical efforts with evangelistic outreach.

The all inclusive cost is $1700. The deadline is Feb. 1.

For more info please write Mike Najjar at michaelnajjar@gmail.com

It is hard to believe it is Christmas again. I want you to know this is the hardest Christmas message I have ever written. Most of you know that every year I write a reflection on what Christ is calling us to. This year the reflection is based on the here and now.

          Henri Nouwen tells the story of an old man who used to meditate early every morning under a big tree on the banks of the Ganges River. One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water. As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that reached out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature. As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion. This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain.

          At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted, “Hey, stupid old man, what’s wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly evil creature. Don’t you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?”

          The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger’s eyes he said calmly, “My friend, just because it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save.”

Many times we get stung doing ministry and trying to do the right thing. Some of us were just stung worse than we have ever been stung. I arrived in Honduras on Sunday, December 4 with two friends. We came to support Robin, a close friend, whose husband Jeff died in a car accident. Steve Holtrust, a good friend of both Robin and me as well as the Beyond Partnership Board President, Robin’s mother, Madeline, and I came to Honduras together. We picked Robin up from the hospital (she was also in the car accident) and were driving to Tegucigalpa to identify Robin’s husband to bring him back to the States. Steve Holtrust, who was driving at the time, was shot by an unknown assailant and died instantly. The car crashed but the three of us were not injured physically.

Jeff Harter

I officiated Robin and Jeff’s wedding three years ago. Robin had waited so long for the right person to come along and I well remember the radiant joy that flowed from her at the wedding. Jeff was perfect for Robin and joined Robin in Signs of Love, the ministry to the deaf that Robin started 13 years ago. I have seen Robin be used by God to transform people that everyone forgot about into Christian leaders of the deaf ministry. Like the old man in the story, Robin and Jeff sat by the river and saved many people.

Steve Holtrust

Steve Holtrust retired three years ago and spent much of his time in ministry. He was the President of our Board. He was constantly serving in Honduras by supporting and spending time with the ministries of Humberto del Arca and Robin. He also sat by the river and reached out and touched the lives of many people.

Steve and Jeff are now in glory and we feel the sting. So many people are hurting over this. Tears of pain have been shed and the hurt will go away slowly.

Brennan Manning wrote about Henri Nouwen’s illustration, “only a madman would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, ungrateful creature.” Jesus answers, “My friend, just because it is fallen mankind’s nature to wound, that does not change my nature to save.”

As followers of Christ we have taken on the character and nature of Christ and we will be stung by this sinful fallen world. Some people get stung and it changes them into vengeful bitter people. Others get stung and they simply stop sitting by the river to save because they are afraid that they will be stung again. There is no question it hurts to be stung. But it should not change our nature to save.

Jesus came into this world and we stung Him. We continually sting Him with our sinful actions. His nature does not change and He continues to sit by our river and saves us.

Leonard Cohen, a Canadian singer and poet writes:

We’ve been cracked a little bit more. But now more light can come in. The star shined the night Jesus was born. Now may the star of Jesus shine a little bit brighter through the larger crack of pain we encountered. May we never run from the river because it hurts but always be there to save even though we get stung. As we get stung, I pray our nature to save does not change.

The true test of one’s character is what one does in times of adversity. Robin will return to Honduras and continue to work in the ministry with the deaf in spite of her suffering. God’s love in her heart is greater than the fear and pain that surround her. That is the nature that Jesus gave her. This is also Beyond Partnership’s nature as we will continue to serve the poor as before and be God’s instrument to save.

Beyond Partnership is doing well because of your prayers, support and concern. It has now been a year and a half that we have been an independent organization, and in spite of many ups and downs, we have grown stronger both relationally and financially. We thank you so very much for your part in our growth.

Eric Sanchez and Otto de la Cruz are two of the national ministry directors we work with in Central America. The light of Jesus shines through them among the very poor in Honduras and Guatemala. The Beyond Partnership Christmas offering will be used to support their ministries this year. Please read the attached and prayerfully consider helping them this Christmas season.

I pray that you allow yourself to be stung in the coming year and be cracked a little bit more so the light of Jesus shines on all you are around.

In His Love,

Every year we have a special offering for the national ministries with whom we work. This year the offering will go to Otto de la Cruz in Guatemala and Erick Sanchez in Honduras.

The ministry in Guatemala continues to grow and there are now 36 churches. We have been working with Otto de la Cruz, the director of the ministry, for nearly 19 years. Otto’s vision was that “one day there would be a chain of churches across Guatemala—from Belize to Mexico that proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.” Many of the churches are in or near Guatemala City, but there are also churches in the Petén area near Belize all the way to the northern border with Mexico. One of the current focuses of the Guatemalan ministry is to finish the construction of their seminary building. This will enable them to train more pastors and leaders who will continue the work of evangelism and church planting. Although there is still much work to do on the seminary building to receive accreditation from the government, last month two classes were taught for church leaders in the newly completed classrooms. The construction of church buildings and the seminary is done by the teams and volunteers from the churches. The ministry is requesting a dependable truck to be used to transport building materials and supplies as well as people. The one they are presently using is very old and unreliable. This will help the ministry in so many ways.

The ministry to the Lenca Indians of south central Honduras has been growing rapidly among a people who has traditionally been the least evangelical, least educated, and least developed in the country. Erick Sanchez has been leading and directing the ministry for the last 7 years training local leaders to be pastors of new church plants. Their two greatest needs are increased transportation to reach the many remote villages where they work and to continue to expand their program to provide basic school supplies to poor children so that their parents can afford to send them to school. For transportation, the ministry is requesting two Yamaha mountain motorcycles so that their pastors and trainers can visit many unreached places. Each one costs about $4000. They are also requesting funds to provide school supplies such as shoes, backpacks, pencils, etc. for over 250 Lenca children. Typically they have sought out child sponsors, but because of an illness suffered by Erick Sanchez this fall and the high administrative costs of the administration of a sponsorship program, they have opted to seek general donations for the school children this year.

Please pray to see if God directs you to give this Christmas to these two incredible ministries.

Make a gift to the Christmas Offering

Steve Holtrust Memorial Service – December 16th 2011, 1:00PM

Water of Life Community Church – 7623 East Ave, Fontana, CA

In life we come across few genuine servants—people who continually give generously and unselfishly. At North Hills, Steve Holtrust was our genuine servant. He demonstrated extraordinary generosity to so many people. He was unselfish all the way to the end.

Our church grieves over the loss of our beloved Elder Board member, our passionate missions man, our gracious listener, our role-model husband and father, our good friend, our pillar, and fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

Thanks Steve for modeling the way of Jesus to us. Your Leader, Teacher, Savior and Friend has been honored by the way you lived your life. May even your death bring goodness and glory to the One you lived for and died for.

Well done, good and faithful servant.