Mission Letter 2012

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope this letter finds you well and that you are just as excited as we are for the warmer weather of spring and summer that seems to have prematurely made its entrance this month.  Though this winter was one of the strangest and mildest we’ve experienced in a long time, we are eager to bid it farewell.  As we look forward to the green grass and the budding trees, we would like to share with you that later this year, from September 29 – October 6, 2012, we (Brian, Kimberly and Ben) will have the opportunity to help the people of Honduras, and to provide for them in a way they may never have known until that moment.  Along with a team of medical professionals, as well as non-medical individuals, we will provide medical, dental, vision and pharmaceutical care for many of the Honduran people who would not otherwise have the means to receive such care.  In addition, we will provide a children’s ministry which involves washing and styling hair and presenting the gospel message while some individuals will pour cement floors for families who have lived on dirt all their lives.

(Ben) I would like to go on this mission trip because I would like to go to another country to help people that are not as fortunate as we are and I’d like to tell them about the LORD.  I hope that as many people as possible come to know the LORD when we are down there and that their lives will have new meaning.  I pray that everything will work out the way it is supposed to and that Jesus works through me in Honduras in a very special way. 

 (Kimberly) Truthfully, I can think of several reasons NOT to go to Honduras … It’s not going to be anything like the mission trip to England on which Brian and I served nearly eight years ago.  There’s going to be a language barrier.  Can I really be away from my two young daughters for eight nights?  What if I can’t deal with the intense need of the Honduran people?  Am I too crippled by fear that I won’t be an effective witness? … But just recently, as I was looking up passages from the Bible to form into prayers to pray for my husband, with the thought of Honduras looming in the back of my mind, I barely whispered to God, “LORD, would you just make it clear to me whether or not You want me to go on this mission?” and it was at that very moment that I turned to the following verse that I was going to write down for the prayer for my husband:

…stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

How about that?  Well, I instantly claimed that verse for myself and memorized it!  Despite all my fears, I was affirmed by the Word of God that my efforts will not be in vain and I am excited to see how the LORD will use me on this mission trip!  I’m excited, too, to share this opportunity with my husband and my son as I expect that it will draw us closer as a family both physically and spiritually and I look forward to seeing Ben, especially, be stretched more than he ever has before.

(Brian) Well, another opportunity has come our way to serve the LORD as a short-term missionary, this time in Honduras … coincidentally, I served there for two months while in the Army in 1985.  I was talking with someone who had been there last year and it sounds as if it hasn’t changed at all since I was there, like they still use big rocks as safety rails along roadways where sections of the pavement has been washed away by the “weather”.  I remember, too, that the Honduran people would practically fight over the food that was easily accessible to us, yet we did not always want.  So when this opportunity came up I felt that it was a mission that we should be a part of.  I was a little concerned, though, about going because I am not always so open to share my faith with others, which seems weird to me considering that we live in a country that is supposed to be “Christian”.  I know that not all people share the same faith but if you ask most people in the USA if they want to go to heaven when they die, most people would say yes.  But if you ask the same people if they spend time getting to know God now, they say “No”.  So why do “we” want to spend eternity with God in heaven but “we” don’t want to spend time getting to know Him now?  Do you know how much God loves you?  Do you know that He loves you so much that He came to earth as Jesus to die for your sins?  This is part of what I’m going to Honduras for … not only to share my faith with others but to grow my faith as I do.

We truly are excited to go on this mission to Honduras to serve the people and to share our heart for Jesus.  Please pray for us as we prepare and train for this endeavor, for safe travels throughout the mission and for God’s will to be done through our thoughts, words and actions.  We are anxious for your encouragement both prayerfully and/or financially, as your participation incorporates you as team members right along with us and we greatly appreciate any and all of the love and support you have to offer. 

If you’d like to follow along as we prepare and train for this mission, you may do so via our blog at:  http://www.fromwisconsintohonduras.blogspot.com.  You can also request to be on email updates by sending us an email at prenderbergs@gmail.com.

With all our love and warmest regards,

Kimberly and Brian Prendergast/Benjamin Lindberg

Honduran Medical-Evangelism Ministry Information

Honduras is among the poorest nations of the world. It is a nation of neglected and abandoned children and adults in dire need of help. Many families are locked into a devastating cycle of disease, unemployment and illiteracy. Every year, more than 50,000 Hondurans have their medical and dental needs met by medical and non-medical volunteers who make up the Medical-Evangelism brigades of World Gospel Outreach. Lives are changed and communities are transformed as WGO Brigades partner with more than 80 local Honduran churches to serve those in need, bringing medical care to some who have never had it. World Gospel Outreach is helping defeat poverty in Honduras while bringing the hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The country of Honduras is in Central America, is smaller in size than Wisconsin, but has a higher population.  The second largest country in Central America, Honduras is bordered by Guatemala and El Salvador to the west, Nicaragua to the south, and is characterized by humid, tropical weather, moderate temperatures, and long periods of drought caused partly by deforestation. Honduras faces severe poverty and food insecurity in rural areas, where 53 percent of the population lives. On average, only one-third of Honduran children attend school past the primary level, resulting in decreased availability of qualified labor, productivity, and income generation. Child labor is also an issue, as an estimated 384,000 children and adolescents between the ages of five and 18 are employed.

Your prayers and financial support are needed to fulfill the call to go to Honduras to serve the people there and to share our hearts for Jesus with them.  Each team member must raise $1,595 ($4,785 for the three of us) and have a prayer team supporting our efforts.  We sincerely covet your support and invite you to invest in us and the work we seek to do for the LORD.  All financial gifts are tax-exempt.  God bless you and be with you.

I, We… will help Brian and Kimberly Prendergast and/or Ben Lindberg as they serve as short-term missionaries to Honduras from September 29 – October 6, 2012.  We agree to pray for them ______ and/or I, we would like to contribute $_________ to their mission fund. 

Name - __________________________________________ Address - ________________________________________ ________________________________________________ Email Address - __________________________________ (if you would like to receive email updates on our mission planning and training)