Missionaries at 19

I want this blog to be something where people can read everything that is going on within Micah. We have so many good things going on and I don't want those things to ever be overshadowed!

This past weekend Marvin (aka MJMV) and Pedro (aka Peter) went on a youth retreat in a small town outside of Copan (the west coast of Honduras). However, their main purpose wasn't to go to experience the retreat for themselves, but to minister and witness to the youth through their testimonies and music.

I'm sure most of you reading this know about Los Micah Boys, but if you don't let me fill you in... Marvin and Pedro, with other Micah guys, started a Christian Latin rap group using their own struggles and triumphs to share the gospel. They've created two albums and are very talented. They have their own MySpace page which feachers some of their songs. It isn't updated too often but at least you can get a glimpse of what their music is about.

Anyway, they were invited to sing and share their testimonies this past weekend. After looking at some of their pictures, it struck me they are missionaries at the age of 18 and 19. I guess I was just so impressed because here are two guys who are using their gifts and talents as well as their pasts to bring other Honduras to the Lord. They are glorifying God right now, right here and serving Him!!! That is what Micah is all about... creating servant leaders. I pray God will continue to use these guys to glorify Himself.

Psalm 40

Verses 1-3 (NIV)

I waited patiently for the LORD;
He turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted Erick out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and the mire.
He set Erick's feet on a rock
and gave him a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in Erick's mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord (as a result of His work in Erick's
life).

Verses 11-17

Do not withhold your mercy from Erick, O Lord;
may your love and your truth always protect him.
For troubles without number surround him;
his sins have overtaken him and he cannot see.
They are more than the hairs on his head,
and his heart fails within him.

Be pleased, O Lord, to save him;
O Lord come quickly to help him
May all who seek to take his life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire his ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
May those who say to him "Aha! Aha!" be appalled at their own shame.

But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation always say,
"The Lord be exalted."

Yet Erick is poor and needy;
may the Lord think of him.
You are his help and his deliverer;
O my God, do not delay.

Washed in Prayers

We have been overwhelmed and so blessed by everyone's concern and willingness to pray for Erick.  I (Jessica) personally felt so encouraged and blessed by all the prayers and comments people sent to us.  I thought if I was blessed by it maybe others would be as well.  So here are some snippets of what we received today:

-God's peace and comfort to you all!
Let's also not forget to hold the "newbies" up also during this time focused on Erick; Wilmer, Marvincito, and Cristofer, may Satan leave them alone and may they be protected during their transitions.

-May God's love and comfort envelope all of you during this time.

-We are standing with you, but better still God is hearing and is faithful! Pray God's promises back to Him and He will responded to His Word!

-Know that I am praying for you guys too. I know that your hearts are broken over Erick, as is mine, and pray that God would give you peace and comfort as you seek to minister and love Erick. Know that all you have poured into him has been fruitful and that that fruit will remain, even though it seems so lost right now. It's because you give so much of yourselves and love Erick so much that it's so frustrating, heart breaking, and difficult. Thank you for continuing to love him in ways that are tangible and true. You love him too much to simply allow his destructive behaviors to rule. God is mightier than this addiction. He is stronger than Erick's cravings for drugs and in the end He, above any of us, does not want this young man to be lost. So, we will call on Him with boldness and assurance that "He who began a good work in Erick will be able to complete it."

-I pray that you all will remain strong and may the Lord grant you peace soon.

-I know that God will work powerfully as we put our trust in him, asking him to intervene for Erik's good and his glory. We worship a God of breakthroughs and a God of hope!

-I have already prayed for Erick and will continue to pray for him.
He is floating and feeling nothing - he isn't empty and hurting or like some people feeling like he is in a dark hole of despair - he floats - feeling nothing - like in outer space - it's light, not dark and scary - like floating on clouds but it is an empty space of nothingness. Reality is the darkness - whenever he is in reality - life - it is dark and extremely unpleasant. He escapes to nothingness. And he is happy there.  Prayer and fasting - God is the ONLY one who can save him and bring him back.  No words can save him but the Word of God. Keep reading the psalms.  Remember not to let the darkness he is in come in like yeast to your life and take your joy away. You are saved- your joy is contagious. Erick's family needs to see your joy in the Lord as you hope, even during these difficult times.

-I am also praying for you all that God will give you strength, comfort & hope through this time and as you live your daily lives.

-I pray that Jesus will show that He is the Victor and bind Satan and his demons, that He will place an army of Angels around Erick and his family. I pray that he will pull the scales from Erick’s eyes and make clear to him the devastation that his life has become. I pray that the Lord will also show Erick His unending love and compassion by drawing him back, as the prodigal son. I pray the Lord will place that same protection around Micah and all that live and serve there. I pray for strength, endurance, and peace for all of you that stand firm in your faith and commitment to our Lord.

-I pray that Satan will lose his grip and the Lord will take over his life.

-Only God can do this miracle and so we come to Him. I am praying also for all of you and the boys, that Jesus will comfort and strengthen you, and give you hope.

-Let's pray that the Lord can pull Erick out of this and bring him back into the fold. All of the boys matter to God and to us, so we will continue to lift them to the Father.

-I have been fasting all day- I must admit it is not my usual practice- I have been a Christian for 35 years. Even in just one day I am understanding something so important-- every time my mind begins to wonder and I think about food it reminds me to pray for Erick and his need to be able to break this addiction. I realized I am not even really hungry and yet my mind has wondered to food- I have even had to put something back down that I was going to put in my mouth. How difficult for this young child to be so addicted to this horrible drug---and have no power in himself to overcome it---I pray God will give him the supernatural strength to say yes and then the strength to stick with his decision to go into rehab. Better yet that HE could heal him and take this addiction away. God Bless you for loving those kids and caring so much to involve us here so far away-- it is a privilege to be praying for Erick. Thank-you for giving me this opportunity.

-I pray that Erick’s chains will be broken and he will be able to return to those who love him. It’s amazing how much an addiction can enslave a soul. It is the very difference between life and death, and yet when given the choice, it’s so much easier to choose that which can destroy. I guess we are all prone to that behavior and those choices in one way or another. Our sin nature is strong, but God is sovereign, and He desires his children to return to Him. As the prodigal son did, I pray that Erick will “come to himself” and remember the love, peace, and security he knew at Micah.

-God most definitely answers prayers – I see it in my own life as well as the lives of others. Whenever I am facing something that seems so big that I cannot fathom a way around it or against it, I think of David and how he went out to fight Goliath with stones a sling shot, and the absolute truth that there is no one and no thing more powerful than God – “Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.”

-It's no light thing to know that we'll all one day stand in that place of Judgment. That's why we work urgently with everyone we meet . . . Christ's love has moved [us] to such extremes. His love has the first and last word in everything we do. 2 Corinthians 5:11-14 The Message


We (the Micah staff) fervently pray that he would desire more than just the emptiness and nothingness of addiction. We truly believe that our loving heavenly Father answers our prayers. We also believe that He loves Erick and wants to redeem him and make him his son. The power of darkness is great, but it is nothing compared to the power of our saving God. I was led to Ezekiel chapter 18, verses 23 and 24 in my time of prayer for Erick today: “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?”

I (Michael) talked to Erick on the phone a couple of hours ago. As I have done many times in the past weeks, I asked him to consider His loving Heavenly Father, and to consider all those who love him and are praying for him, and to make the decision to turn away from the darkness and chains that have a hold on him. It was a good talk, and he seems to be seriously considering the decisions he has to make in order to return to health. He still needs a lot of prayer though, since the addiction has a HUGE hold on his life right now.

Everyone who has told us they are fasting and praying for Erick is so encouraging to us! It gives us the strength to keep bringing God’s love into dark places and darkened lives here in Honduras.