Standing Firm in the Faith

by Global Ministries | published on Oct 10, 2014

Dear Friends and Family

Today in our family Sunday School class we talked about Paul’s letter to the Philippians and the importance of standing firm in one’s faith. We decided to write you all and tell you about some of the challenges we have faced here and how we have been able to stand firm in our faith in the midst of these challenges.

Dear Friends and Family

We started by talking about the challenges we faced when we first arrived, especially the difficulty in communicating because we lacked language skills (and still do at times) and the loneliness because we had few friends. We talked about the struggle to find a house in a safe neighborhood, the adjustment to living in a much bigger city, finding furniture and everything to set up a house in a city where there is no Super Target! The school system was very different and we struggled along with our children in adapting to principals and teachers with different expectations from the US.

We now speak passable Spanish, but at times it is exhausting to have to think so hard to communicate. We did get friends but they have very different backgrounds and beliefs, which remains a challenge. We constantly think about keeping safe, whether from parasites in the water and food or from violence in the streets. We miss our family, friends, home churches, and previous workplaces terribly. Even when we go home it is a mixed blessings as we know we leave again and go though the pain of missing home more intensely again.

We also struggle with the reality here of extreme poverty and experience guilt at having so much. We don’t always know how to respond to the homeless, the disabled, the elderly and the children begging in the streets, or knocking on our gate and requesting money to help with medical expenses. We feel the frustration each time we go through the hospital system with the long lines, and with the problems encountered, such as the line of 30-40 young men who were at the rehab hospital being fit for artificial limbs all who had been injured when they fell off trains trying to enter the US. We feel overwhelmed by the problems in the villages at times, the lack of water, food and work, the marginalization of women, the family violence, the poor education systems. Rachel and Linda especially struggle with machismo and its effects, the leering, the lack of respect, the messages even from the church that women and children, especially if they are poor are somehow less important than men.

So, how have we been able to stand firm in our faith in the midst of these challenges?

The simple answer is that we know that God is with us in our work, that the Spirit of God is sustaining us, comforting us and encouraging us. As Seth said, “We feel God’s presence in our hearts.” We also have each other, and Kesia reminds us, also Sparkles, our dog, which we wouldn’t have met if we hadn’t come to Honduras. He is the best dog in the world. We also talk with one another, our friend Margarita and her children Hannah and Gabriela who are also missionaries and understand some of our struggles. We talk with our family and friends through email and ichat, and are able to send pictures to one another through the internet.
We also count on you all. We have friends that write us, keep in contact with us, and tell us they are praying for us. Other groups support us in other ways. University Christian Church in San Diego sent us a sermon that was more in keeping with our theology, a breath of fresh air for us all. Groups bring us novels in English, and write and tell us how much they appreciate our ministry here. We have churches all over the United States that are in partnership with us, that support our ministry here in various ways, with work groups, prayers, sending teddy bears and shawls for the kids at the nutrition center, or sending us thought-provoking comments from theologians in the US. We know churches are advocating for policy in the United States that will benefit the people here in Honduras. We also rely on our memories of previous church experiences that have been meaningful to us to sustain us when we are hearing alternative messages in the church with which we don’t always agree.

Finally, we find that personal spiritual disciplines are important, whether prayer, reading theological works, Bible study, our family Sunday school, listening to spiritual music or journaling.

We wonder what you think? What do you do to keep firm in the faith in the face of challenges?

Blessings to you all,

Bruce, Linda, Rachel, Seth and Kesia Hanson

Bruce and Linda Hanson are missionaries who serve with the Evangelical and Reformed Church of Honduras assigned to the Association of Evangelical Institutions of Honduras (AIEH). He serves in the health ministries as a nurse. Linda serves with her pastoral duties and also works as a physical therapist.