Greater Portland Baptist Church

Mike and Debbie Lane: May, June, and July 2007

Greetings dear co-laborers in the field of Honduras,

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." I Cor.15:58

This is Paul's conclusion to chapter 15's discussion of the importance of the resurrection of Christ and its implication for ours. Without it, everything we do for God would be in vain, but because of its truth, nothing we do in Christ's Name is in vain. Thus, we should be faithful, unshakeable, always moving forward in God's Work, even when we are not seeing lots of evidence. Thank God for His Promises!

In May, we helped celebrate the 2nd anniversary of our mission in Tegucigalpa (capitol city) with Pastor Arturo Pineda, our missionary from New Hope Baptist Church in La Esperanza. Pray for him as he struggles with Pentecostals trying to steal his members and as we look for a place to build their building. We are also looking for land for the mission of Quebrada de Lajas, a work right outside of La Esperanza. We have begun work on the foundation of the mission in Ojo de Agua, with a group promising to help in construction in February. Also, work continues on the additions of New Hope B.C. Bro. Jim Foster of Helping Hands Ministry is trying to organize a group to help put the roofs on next year. Each roof will cost approximately $2,500 if anyone is interested in helping.

In June, three were baptized, a lady in her sixties, her granddaughter of 10 years, and another lady in her twenties. Two more were baptized in July from Sapatillo. This is the community where we have to walk an hour and a half UP a mountain to reach. By the way, I have been officially banned by the community from coming to preach and teach, but since this is illegal and the believers can invite whomever they want to come and preach, I will be going back as soon as I can. Just pray for God to open more eyes to the truth there, please. The mission in Sapatillo is going ahead with plans to begin the foundation of the building in spite of community (Catholic) opposition.

We had the youth group from Tulsa Baptist Temple again this July and they were a tremendous blessing, as always. They presented the gospel through puppets and songs about 20 times in 10 days of ministry and really encouraged our people, especially those in areas where there is so much opposition.

Our last Sunday in Honduras, we celebrated the 4th anniversary of New Hope Baptist, the church in our neighborhood, with about 140 in attendance. It was a bittersweet service, knowing we would not see one another for 6 months. I have included the report of July in this letter because we have come to the States to take a 6 month furlough

The month of August I have been invited to Zambia, Africa to teach and preach to pastors and others and to help prepare for a large conference. I will be accompanying Pastor Mark Smith of Faith Baptist Church, Tacoma, WA., where I was former pastor, and Brandon, our son, who is music minister at the church. More on this next month.

Salvations: YTD 187; Baptisms: YTD 41

Thanks for your faithfulness. Love in Christ,
Mike and Debbie Lane