Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27
Dear Family and Friends,
For three years now we have called Honduras our home. This beautiful Central American country is special to us in so many ways and we are thankful that God called us here. Every experience - every high and every low - has been a blessing from Him. Thank you to all of you who have faithfully partnered with us and prayed for our family during these last three years! Though we may go many months in between these newsletters, please know that we often think of and give thanks to the people who through prayers, encouragement and/or financial support have been used by God to allow us to serve here. We are so grateful for you all!
Our last few months have been jam-packed with blessings in the form of people coming to serve with us and opportunities to be used by God to care for widows, orphans and struggling families through outreach, prayer, construction work, advocacy, teaching and meeting basic needs like food and clean water. Though our primary work is with the children and staff of WGO’s children’s home (Rancho Ebenezer), God has opened doors through a growing number of Serve Teams to impact more people off the Ranch as well. Along with our visiting missionaries, we’ve been able to serve together as a family to do things like pour a concrete floor (pictured below during the process of moving and mixing rocks and sand), deliver clean water filters and food, and pray for the physical and spiritual needs of families near the Ranch and in the city of Tegucigalpa. On the Ranch, we’ve assisted teams as they led Vacation Bible School, training and coaching for staff, caregiver respite times, worship services, devotionals, music lessons, sewing classes, sports activities, field trips, fishing at the Ranch laguna (pictured below), a talent show, construction and home repairs, and much more.
More than 200 people came to take part in these ministries between May 20 and Aug. 16. Some of these team members included kids close in age to our boys, providing an opportunity for new friendships and a lot of fun (Bryeten pictured below with new friend Jayvon who came to serve with his parents). The work of God through short-term missionaries, together with long-term staff both present and former, is to us a beautiful representation of what Paul described in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8: "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor."
As the busy summer Serve Team season ended, in between trying to “catch our breath” we were able to once again participate in the amazing experience known as Missionary Kids Camp for English-speaking children of missionaries in Honduras (Chance and Mac’s camp team pictured below.) This week is always an absolute blast for all of us. It’s a nice break from the regular routine, though we would not call it restful! 😂 Kris was a cabin leader for 14 and 15 year old girls and Steve was with a group of boys ages 9 to 11. We also enjoyed some time hiking in the rain forest at La Tigra National Park and taking in the spectacular views (pictured below).
During the months of September, October and November we will host several teams and begin planning for our 2026 teams. We will also be planning and preparing for our furlough trip to the U.S. in December and early January. We will share more about that in our next newsletter. ♥️
Prayer Needs: Four of the Ranch kids will transition off the Ranch into independent adult living soon - Cindy, Fernanda, Angeles and Franklin. Please join us in praying for their successful transition, as well as for the spiritual growth of each child here at the Ranch, for the health and strength of the long-term staff, and for the physical and spiritual needs of the many Honduran families who live in poverty unlike any that most North Americans have ever seen. We also seek your prayers for our boys as they begin the 2025-26 school year - Bryeten will start 6th grade, Chance 3rd grade and Mac 2nd grade - along with our daughter Yese.
Thank you for reading our latest newsletter and for your continued prayers and partnership! May God bless you and your families greatly!
In Christ,
Steve, Kris, Bryeten, Chance and Mac
Steve.Nelson@wgomission.org, Kris.Nelson@wgomission.org
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