 El Regreso
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| God's
Work In Honduras By Gary Metzger |
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I would like to share with you some of the beautiful things the Lord has done in the fulfilment of His word to carry the Book of Mormon to a covenant people.
I
would like to tell you, first of all, about the branch in
Choluteca.
It was begun in 1995, and now has seventy baptized members. A beautiful
Spirit has accompanied that group of people, and now, from that place
there
have been three men called to the priesthood.
Some
of you are acquainted with our brother Arturo from
Honduras.
Through
three dreams which he had in 1990, he was commanded to take the gospel
to his family -- his mother and father, and his aunts and uncles. He
has
done that. Through this, repentance has reached ten homes where the
parents
were just living together, but now have made their marriage covenants.
One
of the men called into the priesthood is Felix. A few
months after
he received the gospel, he went to his niece's house to share it with
her
family. The husband of this home was a drunk. He was irresponsible and
often they didn't have food. His name is Antonio, and by the grace of
Jesus
Christ, he has completely changed his life. About a year later, he was
called to the office of elder.
In
February, Arturo was in Tolateca. He and Antonio had a
joint
testimony.
On the same night, Arturo had a vision and Antonio had a dream. It was
made known to both of them that they were to go without purse or script
and take the gospel to a nearby city. They went, and began to share the
gospel from door to door.
At
one home, a young lady came to the door and said, "I'm
really glad
that
you're sharing about the Lord Jesus, because I, too, follow Him. But
our
pastor has been sick for over a week and we haven't had services."
Arturo
and Antonio shared with her about faith and God's gift of healing. They
left that home and were walking on down the road when it was impressed
upon them that the Lord wanted them to go to that pastor who was sick.
By asking around the village, they found his home.
When
the pastor came to the door, he pointed to them and
said, "You are
servants of the Most High, because He gave me a dream last night in
which
He said, 'I will send two of my servants, and they will lay hands upon
you and you will be healed."
Arturo
and Antonio asked this pastor, who was of another
denomination,
if he believed in the laying on of hands and the gift of healing. They
shared James, chapter five. The pastor said he did believe. They all
bowed
and prayed, then Arturo and Antonio administered to him. This man was
instantly
healed. He knelt down before God and gave thanks.
Then
the pastor said, "This evening, I want to go to a nearby
village."
Arturo and Antonio walked five kilometers with the pastor to a small
village
near the border of Nicaragua. When they got there, the pastor shared
his
testimony about the dream he had received and about how he was healed.
Then he invited Arturo to preach to the people of his church.
Arturo
shared about the gifts of the Spirit and the
Restoration, and
the
Lord brought the Restoration into the hearts of five families. The
pastor
has since stopped holding services with those people and they've asked
us to continue sharing the Restored gospel with them. Only the Lord can
raise up a branch overnight.
Felix's calling to the priesthood was very special to me. It was at a time when there was a conflict in the branch of Choluteca. There was hardness of heart, and Felix and another brother weren't speaking to each other. Arturo and I went to Felix's home to try to bring ministry. While
we were there, Felix shared with us a dream that he had
received.
Three angels walked into his room, and knelt and prayed. At first,
Felix
could not understand their words, but after he prayed, he understood
these
three angels to say, "We will soon visit you in your church."
About
a month later, the people of the Church gathered
together for an
all-night prayer service. About three o'clock in the morning, a
nine-year-old
girl was filled with the Holy Spirit. She prayed for one solid hour.
She
prayed for her grandmother, and even at that very hour, her grandmother
was healed. She prayed for her mother, who was not attending any
church.
At that very hour, her mother -- who was in another city -- had a dream
in which she saw a group of people kneeling down and praying in a
church.
That's exactly what was happening. At that same time, people heard
footsteps
as the angels came into the building to visit them.
One
reason that the Lord is bringing fruit among these people
is
because
they are sacrificing. People are praying, and God is being faithful to
His word.
When Arturo and I were in Felix's home and he was
sharing his
dream,
the
Spirit of the Lord came over me. God told me that Felix had that right
to the ministering of angels, because he was called to be a priest. A
few
minutes later, we all knelt down and Arturo offered a closing prayer on
our meeting. As he was praying, the Lord spoke to him, also.
Arturo and I said goodbye and started on the half-hour walk back to the church (where we sleep in hammocks). As we were walking, I put my arm around Arturo and just smiled. He said, "Do you want to talk to me?" I told him that I did. He said, "I know what you're going to tell me." I asked him why he said that, and he replied, "While I was praying, the Spirit of the Lord spoke to me and said that Felix is called to be a priest and that you already knew it." What a beautiful experience.There was no doubt that the Spirit of God spoke to us and that this brother was called. What is an even greater testimony is that the same week when Arturo and I went to the priesthood council to present Felix's call to them (that there might be common consent and order in the work there), the other brother -- who was offended and would not speak to Felix -- also had a dream. The Lord told him that Felix was called to be a priest and that Antonio was called to be an elder. The Lord said that he needed to humble himself. So this brother walked to Felix's home (it's only across the street) and knelt down before Felix and asked for forgiveness. Only God can bring reconciliation in this way. 
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