Then & Now - Honduras Issue...Rancho Ebenezer in 1997. Teams poured into the Ranch to build the...

Winter 2014

4 WGO then and now, a photographic journey

Then & Now1984 2014

WORLDGOSPELO U T R E A C H

8 Leadership building ministry together

11 WGO graduate goes on World Race

WHAT are we about?Our vision statement is:

“Impacting the faith of Christ followers through serving and evangelizing children and the poor”

WHy are we pursuing this vision?We are driven to pursue this vision by three fundamental Biblical mandates:• To care for the poor, and especially the widows and orphans (James 1:27)• To be fishers of men and to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost (Matthew 4:19)• To be accountable before God for how we meet the needs of others (Matthew 25:31-46)

how are we accomplishing this vision?We are accomplishing this vision by engaging in three areas of ministry:• Serve Teams - Meeting physical and spiritual needs• Rancho Ebenezer Children’s Ministry - Caring for at-risk children• Impact on the North American believer - Providing life changing opportunities to serve

Contents Winter 2014

11 WGO graduate goes on World Race

8 The Fergusons and the Butts building ministry together

About the Ministry

On the coverWGO then and now, praising God for all He has done in and through the ministry.

4 WGO then and now, a photographic journey

14 Luis comes home - a mentor parents’ story

16 Jeff Johnson journeys with WGO

17 New Missionaries

23 Impact on the Believer

The World Gospel Outreach Magazine is published quarterly. To submit articles

contact: [email protected] the Online Edition of the WGO Magazine at www.wgoreach.org

Winter 2014 World gospel Outreach Page 2

We have spent this whole year celebrating the wonderful work the Lord has done through WGO these last 30 years. I hope you have enjoyed

seeing us celebrate this special milestone and to honor what the Lord has done in our first season as a ministry. As we begin to contemplate what the Lord may have for us in coming years, allow us to praise Him once again with a recap of a few of the major blessings He has given us:

• In our early years we had 10,000-15,000 people come through our Serve Team sites each year. Now we minister to over 100,000 Hondurans each year and in August of this year we passed a major milestone—over 1 million Hondurans have been ministered to at a WGO Serve Team site since we began them.

• During the same time period we have seen over 75,000 first time decisions for Christ and over 13,000 people have come from the U.S. to serve on a WGO Serve Team.

• Only 15 years ago we had six missionary staff and 10 Honduran staff. We have grown to 40 missionary staff and 50 Honduran staff as well as six staff working in the U.S.

• Our children’s ministry started as an orphanage model at Centro de Vida before we moved to the concept of raising the children in a family setting at Rancho Ebenezer. We are now caring for 30 children at Rancho Ebenezer and making preparations to grow it to 80 over the next few years.

• Over 40 children have grown up under the care of WGO for virtually their entire childhood and have now launched into adulthood. Many of these young adults have been with us since the inception of our children’s program 19 years ago. Now they are successful, healthy, independent-living adults whose stories are as varied as life itself. Some have gone into the workforce and some have gone on to college. Some have started families and have children of their own. A few have gone to work in ministry themselves and one is a short-term missionary with World Race missions.

• It is always hard to measure ministry impact with a children’s ministry because it is about impacting lives in the long run. You have to measure it in lives changed over

decades. However, since we have been in children’s ministry for two decades now, we have some encouraging early indications as just mentioned above. Another hint of good spiritual growth is when we receive letters of gratitude from some of our young adults (like the one shown in the Fall issue) or hear their testimonies of thankfulness.

• This year marked our first expansion into a new country—Belize. We will keep you updated on the progress there as we plan to host construction teams there during 2015 and hopefully Serve Teams in early 2016.

• Taking our impact even further, we launched our pastoral discipleship program focusing on the spiritual development and support of our network of 250 Honduran churches and their leadership.

• In these last several years our Board of Directors has grown both in size and in diversity, giving us a good base of vision

guidance and accountability. Also, in the area of accountability, in April of 2011 WGO received its certification with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. This is the gold standard of ministry accountability and we maintain our certification through a rigorous annual audit.

The Lord has faithfully made His provision over and over again for this ministry and we are blessed to have a deep and rich spiritual history - a history full of your stories of being impacted, of service and of eternal life change. With great anticipation and expectation we look forward to what the Lord will accomplish in the years ahead through World Gospel Outreach.

Mike FergusonWGO President & CEO

From the President

30 Years and Beyond From the President


Oscar, a graduate of the ministry shares with one of our newest at the Ranch.

Construction began at Rancho Ebenezer in 1997. Teams poured into the Ranch to build the community that would not only house the families, but continue the dream of the ministry to care for and raise leaders for Christ in the contry of Honduras.

From bringing the gift of help to bringing the gift of family, WGO has met the needs of the country of Honduras by praying through and seeking guidance from God. Today, the Ranch is fully staffed with mentor parents, counselors, teachers and support staff. The entire community participates in the raising of these children. On pages 6 and 7, see how some of our children have grown.

WORld gospel outreach Then

and



In the early years of WGO, the ministry delivered much needed food to families in need. Today, teams work alongside members of the Honduran churches to make a difference in their communities.

The ministry was built on two principles pressed into the heart of our founder. First and foremost, no service, no matter how great, can be done without being rooted in the Gospel of Truth. Evangelism was and still is embedded first in all the ministries that WGO participates in. Secondly, don’t do it alone. God spoke very clearly to Allen Danforth as he started the ministry, “If you do this alone, you will fail, but if you build Godly associations, I will put you many years ahead”. God kept His promise.

WORld gospel outreach

Now


Four friends pose together at Centro de Vida. All graduated from the Ranch. The girls stay in touch and still consider themselves family. Left to right are Maria, Miriam, Nancy and Stephany (Yoselin).

Kevin (left) and Franklin are brothers. They came to Centro

de Vida shortly before the Ranch was complete. They

stayed together and were part of the first families at the

Ranch. Franklin graduates in November and will move to the

Bridge House. He plans to attend college in Tegucigalpa.

The first group of children that came to the Ranch as babies are now happy

and healthy twelve-year-olds. From left to right Enmanuel, Kensi, Jennifer

and kneeling is Junnior.


Fany in 2005 (above) started in the school at Centro de Vida. She moved to the Ranch in 2000 with the first families. In 2012, she graduated from Ebenezer Academy and is now working for WGO.


The Fergusons

On Dec. 30th of this year, Lyn and I will celebrate 15 years of ministry with WGO. We launched out on

this wonderful season of our life on Dec. 30, 1999, departing from C o n t i n e n t a l Airline’s (now United Airlines) gate No. 7 from the Little Rock, Arkansas airport. The flight left at 6 a.m. that morning but nonetheless a large group of our friends had gathered to pray for us. We sailed into the uncharted waters of missionary service, but with a strong tailwind of personal faith and the prayers of these precious friends. I remember it in this kind of detail just as though it happened yesterday--it was a once in a lifetime moment. We were in the prime of our lives at the time (44 years old) and had made a decision that would change the course of the rest of our lives.

Those who did not really know us well thought that we had lost our minds. Who would leave a successful

business, family and friends, and a great home church and go to the mission field? Those who knew us well were not surprised at all. Perhaps Lyn and I were the most surprised of all that God would call such an unlikely couple and that we found the strength to make the decision to go. However, many of our close friends told us they had a feeling we were headed in that direction.

I remember one close friend said that she never doubted that we were committed to our call to the mission field but one particular decision convinced her that we were, “all in.” That was when we sold the home that we had raised our children in. It was a difficult decision as it is for many missionaries. It wasn’t because it was another possession that we were selling. We had already sold everything else we owned and had come to have peace with that. Also, it was not the most difficult thing we did by any means, as the most

difficult was leaving our daughter, Kelly, who was in college, as well as leaving other family behind. It was also difficult for our son, Nick, as he was leaving all his friends and moving to Honduras too. Releasing our home seemed different because many of our most cherished family memories had happened there. Equally important were the new memories we had plans to build there. We had visions of watching our future grandchildren jumping on the trampoline and climbing up in the tree house in the back yard. We imagined passing this home on to our children someday. We had all

kinds of plans. That home in some ways embodied the best of what God had blessed us with in the past and it contained, so we thought, the very DNA of our hope for the future and the new experiences and blessings that would add to our treasure chest of memory jewels. It wasn’t the house that was hard to let go of, it was the home inside. It was that deep sense that our family memories that had been built there might fade and, even more importantly, the plans we had for more memory building in the years ahead were not going to come to pass.

From where we stand now, 15 years later, all this talk about the initial difficulty in letting go of our home seems so trivial in light of the incredible faithfulness the Lord has shown us since we left all of that behind. Nonetheless, it was one of our “spider monkey moments”. Many times I share with the teams a story about spider monkeys and how easily they can be caught. To recap

the story: You place a piece of fruit in a closed cage and hide. The spider monkey will approach and

pass his hand through the cage to firmly grasp the fruit. The monkey knows how delicious the fruit is and will not let go of it. Now his hand, stretched out to hold the fruit, will not pass through the bars of the cage and he becomes an easy prey for a life of captivity as a pet. Even as he sees you approaching with a pet leash, he holds firmly to what he knows tastes good even though it costs him his freedom.

As Christians, we all face moments where we are so enamored with the “taste” of the current blessings God has given us that we are content to hold them firmly in our grasp. This

Mike and Lyn Ferguson celebrate 15 years of service

“As Christians, we all face moments where we are so enamored with the “taste” of the current blessings God has given us that we

are content to hold them firmly in our grasp.”

written by Mike Ferguson

continued on page 10Jennifer and Stephany at the Ranch

Winter 2014 World gospel Outreach page 9

very action holds us captive to our own limited understanding of what is good for us and prevents us from moving to the new horizons the Lord has planned for us. So, for us letting go of all of the blessings that God had given us, the house being just one of them, and trusting Him for what lay ahead was our spider monkey moment. Aside from our decision to accept Christ as our Savior, it is perhaps the most important spiritual decision we will ever make.

However, the aspect of our journey to Honduras that Lyn and I most want to share with you is not the sacrifices we had to make to come here. It would be dishonoring to the Lord if we in any way left you with the thought that our story is about

sacrifice. Rather, it is about the blessings He has given us and the incredible faithfulness with which He has cared for us. The way He has honored our obedience and the sacrifices that came with it. We must mention our daughter in all of this and how the Lord used her to call us to the mission field. Many of you have heard the story of our calling. It was actually Kelly who first felt the call to be a missionary. We were not at all excited when she first expressed this desire, but then later we let her go on a mission trip. We kind of hoped she might have a hard time (bad food and water) and get it out of her system. What actually happened was she had a great trip and felt more confirmed than ever that she was called to be a missionary. Over the following year, Lyn and I both felt a conviction that we should be supporting her and not trying to thwart her call. So, we all went on a WGO mission trip as a family of four, including our son Nick, to see what it was all about. I now know that trip was the beginning of the Lord leading our hearts to something much bigger than our daughter going to the mission field. On a second trip to Honduras a few months later, God revealed His plan. He was not calling Kelly to the mission field but He was actually calling Lyn and me. Once we got over the shock of this new “information” we quickly

proceeded through one open door after another. Only six months had passed from the time we answered the Lord’s call to the time we found ourselves at Continental Airline’s departure Gate No. 7 to board our plane to San Jose, Costa Rica for language school.

Over these last 15 years, we have seen many things. We have been a part of WGO now for almost half of its 30-year history and we have been blessed to be a part of the fastest growth period in the history of the ministry. We have seen the birth and amazing growth of Rancho Ebenezer, endured the passing of our beloved founder, and saw the completion of the building of the new mission house in 2009. The children that were some of our first to enter our children’s program who we have known since there were practically toddlers are now young, independent adults. We have seen many short and mid-term missionaries come and serve for a season and return home. We have seen the Lord continue to bring us high quality, dedicated staff to further His work. Recently, we have seen the first expansion of the ministry into another country, namely Belize.

It is our great privilege to have been called to be a part of such a wonderful work of God called World Gospel Outreach. We look forward to the next 15 years if God so blesses.

Mike and Lyn Ferguson celebrate 15 years of service

Robert and Jennifer Butts serve as a team

I first came to Honduras on a WGO medical team in 1996 with the Fellowship Bible Church singles group. I loved every part of that week: the opportunity to serve, the language, culture, relationships. A few months later, while working back in Little Rock, Arkansas, a friend of mine mentioned that the WGO

newsletter had just come out and expressed a need for teachers for the upcoming school year. God had put on my heart the desire to work with Spanish-speaking cultures, and I had specifically gotten a teaching degree for that exact type of opportunity. So to say the least, I jumped at the chance. Allen Danforth talked to me about what teaching would look like

written by Jennifer Butts

Our daughter, Kelly

continued from page 9


with WGO and I sent in my application.

I moved to Honduras during the summer of 1997 and began teaching the kids of Centro de Vida. I was just coming to teach for one year…or so I thought. I ended up teaching for 6 years at CDV and later at Rancho Ebenezer. My first students were my teachers as well. As I taught them an

intensive English program, they taught me Spanish. I knew I had some amazing little teachers that were going to educate me on far more than just language. Fellow teachers (roommates) and I had the opportunity to spend some sweet time with the kids both in and out of school, getting to know them and listen to their stories. It was always

amazing to see what God had brought them through and to imagine where He was leading them in the future. They were full of life and a joy to get to know.

While in Honduras, I met my husband Robert. Robert had also first been introduced to WGO by serving on a short-term mission team. He had moved to Honduras to live and was teaching at a local school in Tegucigalpa. About a year after we were married, he joined the WGO staff and taught with me at Rancho Ebenezer. We later moved to the U.S. for a couple of years, then back to Honduras to begin a new experience at WGO’s transition home for young adults. We lived at the Bridge House for 6 years, and had the opportunity to mentor the very same youth that had originally taught me Spanish so many years before. At the Bridge House we spent time teaching life skills such as finances, gaining work experience, and improving social/relational skills. It was pretty neat to be able to be a part of their preparation for adulthood.

We now live at WGO’s Mission House where Serve Teams come to serve in poor communities and link individuals to the local churches. Robert is working as Chief Operating Officer for WGO, overseeing ministry operations. This has given him a better opportunity to work directly with our staff, as well as, giving us an opportunity to better know the team members who are themselves just getting a taste of short-term ministry overseas, just as we as we first did with WGO. For Robert and me, these years in Honduras have been quite a ride, but we love where God’s led us.

Robert and Jennifer at the Bridge House with residents at that time and Rudolpho(center) who they recently adopted.

Jennifer and Ebenezer Academy teachers pose in front of the first Rancho Ebenezer school on the hill.


Stephany is a graduate of Ebenezer Academy. She has grown up under the loving care of WGO’s staff since 1998 at Rancho Ebenezer. After living at the Bridge House for several years and working at the Mission House, she felt the Lord’s call to go on an 11-month mission with Adventures in Mission through their program called the World Race, beginning this past July. This will take her to 11 countries

in that time period, sharing the Gospel and serving people in need. Below are excerpts of Stephany’s thoughts leading up to her trip and along the way from her emails and her blog.

4/07/2014 First I am so honored and thankful that God has given me this great opportunity to serve Him in this unique way with the World Race, spreading the Gospel to people who might have not yet heard it. Please be praying for me as I continue to prepare for training camp and that I will be ready to hear what God will be teaching me throughout this new chapter of my life.

4/29/2014 I ended the last blog with asking God a question. What have I gotten myself into?? Honestly? I have no idea. I have never done a mission trip, never had to fundraise, never had to leave my comfort zone, and never had a problem of being lost in language translation. So I do not know! Sounds crazy right?? Believe me it is. Lately people have been asking why do I have to leave my country when I can evangelize right here where I am. That is true. I could stay and have a wonderful job with an organization where I could have the opportunity to minister in different ways and avoid all the struggles and not have to leave anything behind. Why would I leave my home, college, job, friends, and family for a “mission trip”? I’m sure someone else could do way better than me. Why me??? Because I am called. It’s that simple. “I took you from the ends of the earth, from its farthest corners I called YOU. I said, “You are my servant’; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. SO do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.” Isaiah 41:9-10 (NIV)

Even though this is probably one of the scariest things I have done in life I have never been so sure about God’s calling as I am right now. It’s a huge step of faith. I will have the privilege to serve “the least of these” in Albania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Romania, South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, India, Nepal, Mongolia and China.

WGO Graduate answers call to World Missions


July 6-Bulgaria

After 40 hours of travel, and 4 planes we finally landed in Bulgaria. We learned that in Bulgaria nodding your head means no and shaking your head means yes - a little confusing as you can imagine. We will start working in the town of Dobromirka (population 500) preparing seminars and camps for children and teens. This month we are being

spoiled. :) We have showers, hot water, beds, a kitchen where we cook our own food. We have been blessed to stay in such a nice place for our first month. Thank you all for your prayers.

July 31-Lezha, Albania

Made it safely here after 28 hours or so traveling through Bulgaria and Macedonia. I’m excited to see what God has for me this month.

August 13

Our ministry was to serve with Mission Possible which is a local provider of Christian teaching conferences and seminars, as well as running winter soup kitchens. One thing I realized this month is how much I need God to be able to pour out to others. This month gave me the opportunity to be able to keep building my faith. We were able as a team do several Bible studies and worship together.

9/06 Singerei, Moldova

Today has been a great day so far. This morning during the children’s ministry time we did a skit about how God called Paul to ministry, and then enjoyed time playing with the kids. This afternoon we got to relax and enjoy the water slide they have. Tonight we will go to the church and join the prayer group. Please keep the people of Singerei in your prayers.

9/08 This weekend has been so awesome. In Moldova is very hard for people to accept Christ and just this weekend we had 4 souls saved!! Please keep these 4 people in your prayers and also the church who is doing a follow-up with them.

As long as I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a missionary. Ever since I was young I’ve been involved in doing some sort of ministry. I’ve taught English as a second language, as well as literacy classes for both kids and adults, done my fair share of concrete floors, taught Sunday school, evangelized, been a translator, and so many other ministry related things. When I was about 16 or 17 God gave me a heart for my own country, Honduras.

Honduras is a beautiful country but it’s full of brokenness. It is a 3rd world country and it’s considered one of the most dangerous places. The country has a youthful population but the poverty, chronic unemployment, and illiteracy have forced so many to get involved in maras (gangs) that have contributed to the violence in Honduras. Working with my own people and just seeing personally the poverty, brokenness, and abundance of needs, I developed a desire to help my own people.

I found out about The World Race through a team that came through Honduras in 2013. I thought it was a great organization and I loved the

idea of traveling to 11 countries but I just didn’t think that’s what God wanted for me.

After a few weeks I met another WR team randomly at a mall. At this point both my family and close friends thought that

this was something that I should pursue but I still

Meet Sashco, he is one of the gypsy kids that we loved on this month. I am going to miss him and all the rest of the kids.


felt like it wasn’t something for me. I felt like my heart was for my own people or at least for people in Latin America. Then the WR opened a new route called the Spanish route where it only went to Latin America. This was the point where I decided to go ahead and apply, although having started the process, I was continuously looking for a way out. God kept making things so easy for me. He kept opening doors that I kept trying to close. People were encouraging me. Fundraising, which I imagined would be super difficult,

came so easy. When I applied for the US visa to go to training camp I got denied and I was extremely relieved. I thought to myself, “This is my way out”. However, when I talked to the WR office about the visa they were willing to work with me and encouraged me to keep pursuing this, even though it wasn’t going to be the “Spanish Route”.

At this point I was already committed to going on the “World Race”; God had provided the funds and made it evident that He wanted me to go. When I started the race in Bulgaria it was very hard for me because I felt like I could have been more useful to God back home. In Bulgaria I did more service work like doing the dishes, cleaning, and serving food than doing actual ministry. I felt like I wasn’t pouring into anyone’s life and the language barrier made it even more difficult. I also felt like I was not connecting with my team, the people I was supposed to be working and serving alongside of.

All of this time I was fighting God subconsciously. I didn’t realize I was doing this until the end of month two. The whole time I was willing to do the bare minimum but I was not willing to really invest in the opportunities and the people God was surrounding me with. God opened my eyes to see how much I was fighting Him simply because the plans I thought He had for me didn’t match where He was leading me. After He opened my eyes to this, I realized that this would mean I would have to start letting go of what I thought God’s will was for my life.

Because the race was not what I wanted it to be and not where my heart was, I had questioned why He would give me a heart for my own people in the first place. I had failed to see that He was calling me somewhere else for a reason. I hadn’t wanted to see that there is so much that God can and will teach me no matter where I am. I know that by letting go of my dream of serving Him in Latin America in this current season of my life does not mean that it is never where He will call me. For now however, He has called me to this route where He can teach me things I would not have learned otherwise.

He is slowly giving me a heart for this route by showing Himself to me through the people I meet along the way. He is breaking my heart for what breaks His.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9


In December of 2013, something happened at Rancho Ebenezer that has never happened before:

a parent obtained a judge’s order to remove her son from our ministry. It was an extremely emotional time for everyone at the Ranch. As mentor parents our emotions ranged from extreme sadness, to very worried, to hopeful that the 6 year old that we had loved and nurtured for nine months would be OK back in the environment from which he had been rescued. We put on a positive face and on a Sunday shortly before Christmas, we drove him back to his home in Nueva Capitol, one of the most crime-ridden areas of Tegucigalpa.

As it turned out, his mother had not been honest with the courts regarding her intentions to get Luis into school, or to keep him off the streets begging, or even about where she was living. Over the next six months, our hope that a mother’s love could change any situation began to turn to fear, not only for Luis’ future but for his very life. We began to see Luis on the streets begging in busy intersections, tapping on car windows. A life on the streets in Honduras is no place for anyone, especially not a six year old boy. So after much prayer, we began the process of trying to bring Luis back into the ministry. It took almost two months to finally get a court order to rescue Luis and another month to get a court order for his three brothers as well.

We have been mentor parents for two years now so we did not have any illusions that the boys would be happy and grateful to be rescued. This street life is a life they have known since birth. They do not understand the dangers that they are facing every day. We were hopeful that there would be some remnant of

the little boy that had left us in December, a boy full of life and love, anxious to please, so compassionate for others and whose first thought when he returned to his home in the city was to bring his parents a Bible so they would get to know the Lord as he had over those nine months.

We had to take Luis off the street, and he had been well versed in staying away from the North Americans. He and his brother had been advised to stay away from us and not believe anything we said. We spent hours planning the least traumatic way to rescue him knowing he would probably feel anything but rescued. The judge had given us permission to take him ourselves, without assistance from the police. We had to go to the places he had been seen and wait for the time to be right. The waiting was the hardest. Every day with that order in our hands and no Luis in our care was a reminder of how fragile this life can be. “What ifs” surrounded us. What if we don’t see him again? What if someone hurts him? These “what ifs” were very real concerns in the life he was living.

It was a Monday in June that the right day arrived. We only knew it

was the right day when it was over. I was waiting for one of our other ministry children at the dentist, I got the phone call that Luis had been sighted and a group was heading down to try to pick him up. Nathan, one of our missionaries at the Ranch, was to be the lead in the rescue. Luis knew and loved Nathan, and Nathan is a football player which seemed to be the best fit for our rescue operation. We knew that Luis would run because he had run from us when we tried to take food to him on the street. Nathan would approach him and we had several people waiting in areas where he might run. While this was being staged, I was hurrying a dentist that had so kindly offered to work on one of our boys. As we ran out the door to be part of this long awaited rescue, I quickly praised God for all that He had done for us so far, and all that He would do that day to make it successful in every way. Every part of me knew that it was the best thing for these boys. After months of praying about taking boys from a mother that loves them but just cannot take care of them, I raced down the mountain to the city, praying that these boys would come back into our care.

Luis comes home . . . . written by Karen Howarton

Luis helps decorate the Christmas tree shortly before he was returned to the city in 2013.


As anytime in traffic when you are in a hurry, everyone else seemed to be driving extraordinarily slow. Traffic was gearing up at the end of the day and I was almost out of gas. I was about halfway through town sitting in traffic and got the call that they had Luis and his brother named Older. My heart soared and I again praised God. I asked where they were and they said they were on the way to IHNFA (the child services department) and could I meet them there to help keep Luis calm. I looked up and saw where the slow traffic had placed me; I was waiting for a light at the entranceway to the IHNFA building! I did not have to have a sign to believe that this was a situation paved by God, but I did take it as an extra affirmation.

As the van drove into the parking lot where I was waiting, it was all that I could do to keep from jumping in the van with Luis and hugging him. The door opened a little and the social worker got out to go into the IHNFA office to get the paper work to take the boys back to the Ranch. I saw Luis sitting in the van covered in dirt with ragged clothes. When he saw me, he turned his head away. I remembered how much he loved the new clothes he had received through the ministry, how he always dressed himself and loved to be clean. I remembered his sweet smile and his willingness to sweep the porch for

me even when I didn’t ask. I knew that even if he never forgave me, I would be at peace with him just being safe and loved in the environment that the Ranch staff offers all the children in their care.

I walked to the other side of the van and sat with him outside the window for a few minutes. I told him that I was so glad he was safe and coming back with us. He never looked up but after a few minutes I could see the tiniest hint of a smile. Nathan told me later that the first thing Luis said when he picked him up was “Bring my brother too”.

We knew that we had a long road ahead of us. It has been three months and in that time Luis and his brother, Older ran away from the Ranch. They were found several hours later in the forest that surrounds the property and returned to the Ranch. Older eventually had to be placed in another facility. He is thirteen and could not adapt to living at the Ranch and continued to run away. He is now back with his mother and back on the streets. We pray for Older, that he would come to know Christ and leave the streets.

One week after we rescued Luis and his brother, we were able to bring the two younger brothers to the Ranch. Mercifully, they had not yet begun begging on the streets, so they have adapted very well to life on the Ranch.

Luis is now thriving again at the Ranch. The three boys are in school and learning to read and write in English, as well as Spanish.

They were excited to see their mother during a visitation time recently and tell her about how they were able to eat three meals every day and that they had new clothes and they were going to school.

To these boys and all the new children that come to the Ranch, a new life is offered, including having physical needs met through loving staff and generous donors, as well as spiritual development and nurture from those same people, the body of Christ.

The job of a mentor parent is to love these children as you bring them into a healthy family environment. God has placed these children out of all the many thousands of children that need a loving family into the ministry of WGO. It is a serious and often difficult task that must be covered in prayer for any success to be achieved. Please pray for the families at Rancho Ebenezer as we continue to bring new children into our ministry, our homes and our Christ-centered lives.

Luis comes home . . . . a mentor parents’ story

Luis (center) and his brothers Kevin (left) and Angel Daniel (right) enjoy life at Rancho Ebenezer.


In the summer of 1991, I was thumbing through one the numerous optometric journals I receive on a monthly basis. Toward the back of one of these periodicals was an advertisement in the old “wild west wanted poster” font style. It said,

WANTED OPTOMETRIST FOR EVANGELICAL

EYE CARE MISSION TRIP

I went ahead and made a phone call, found out some of the details, and sensed this is what I was supposed to do. The initial excitement of that decision was quickly replaced by “what am I thinking?” I began to assess the probability of this trip coming to fruition. The reasons to stay home were numerous and logical. Frankly, the primary reason for staying home was a financial one. I had just started a new practice, and to take off a week would add significant stress to an already stressed checking account. The money just wasn’t there for this trip.

Secondly, the trip was full of unknowns. It was an “eye care only” trip and I would be going with several other optometrists whom I had never met to Roatan Island, off the north coast of Honduras. The trip would be the first week in October, which is prime time for tropical storms/hurricanes in that area. The team leader had no idea of our accommodations, (which turned out to be rustic at best), or our ability if any, to communicate with family members back home. We would be flying on SAHSA, the “official” airline of Honduras, which had the oldest 737’s still flying in the western hemisphere. (There was a hole in the

floor of the plane by my seat big enough to see the baggage compartment below.) One doctor on the trip said, “SAHSA means, Stay At Home, Stay Alive”.

The list of “don’t do it” reasons kept piling up. Nevertheless, a very reluctant, “least likely to do a mission trip” individual wound up flying to Roatan. It turned out that my roommate in a very small bedroom with one very small double bed was WGO’s founder Allen Danforth. Although the sleeping arrangements were less than ideal, I was one of the few team members who really got to know of Allen’s personal/spiritual journey, and the depth of the Lord’s call on his life. That “divine appointment”, (Allen would frequently use that phrase), has made a personal impact on me and continues to do so after all these years.

So, after 20+ years and around 40 trips serving with WGO, how would I sum up the influence WGO has had on me? Through this ministry, I have come to know this; I am utterly amazed by the Lord’s unmerited favor in allowing me to be used by Him to accomplish any of His temporal and eternal purposes, whatever they might be. I believe one of the great values of the ministry model WGO has developed and

refined over the past 30 years, is purposefully encouraging team members to function as members of the “priesthood of the believers”. 1 Peter 2:9 states, “for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” No matter what role a

team member fulfills in this medical brigade model, God is allowing His purposes to be fulfilled through each person. We get to show “the goodness of God” to the “least of these”.

I so value the relationships started and maintained over the years with team members and WGO staff alike. Although we spend/share together seven short days in ministry once or twice a year, as we have the opportunity to return again to serve with new and familiar faces from across the country, it seems as if we just pick up where we left off.

One of the best spiritual investments I have made in/for my family was to bring each one to Honduras and see them thrive in an intergenerational, cross-cultural ministry environment to serve the under-resourced.

There are so many stories from the “WGO mission front”. God has used WGO to make a temporal and eternal difference in the lives of countless Hondurans and North Americans. I will always be grateful for the personal, professional and spiritual impact this ministry has made in my life.

Dr. Jeff JohnsonCary, IL

WANTED OPTOMETRIST FOR EVANGELICAL EYE CARE MISSION TRIP


In May of 2014, our family moved to Rancho Ebenezer. Our call to Honduras began before we knew about the

ministry God was doing here. The loss of a parent, years of infertility, the hope of adoption all contributed to God’s call to live with and love the children and adults of Rancho Ebenezer. Having a past of being loved on and cared for by not only parents

but also influential adults helped connect the dots when we visited the Ranch in March of 2013. The call to live a Deuteronomy 6 lifestyle with our children opened our hearts to walking out the love that Jesus has for us all with the beautiful children God brought to Ranch Ebenezer. During our years of homeschooling our children, God has taught us that it is something we do in our daily life

and not just once a week in a church setting. We are in awe that God is allowing us to live and serve in this beautiful place.Every trial we have been through, every joy we have longed for, every passion that has burned in us and every gift we have been given suddenly came together and the entirety of our lives make sense here at Rancho Ebenezer.

New WGO MissionariesThe Alford Family

Sitting on floor is Angel and Darwin. On the couch is Mikayla, Autumn, Hannah and Mentor Mom Jennifer. Standing are Cristian, Chad, Kati, counselors, Jasmine and Vanessa.

Marrying into the WGO family God writes amazing stories. So His orchestrating my falling in love with a missionary didn’t really surprise me, but the unfolding adventure of living and working in Honduras is more wonderful than I ever imagined!My calling to Rancho Ebenezer is twofold: First, God answered my prayers and called me to be a wife again after being widowed in 2000. My husband, Ron Langejans, is a WGO “veteran” of 8 years and is currently Resource Manager and Vocational Education Program Manager at Rancho Ebenezer. We were introduced by my close friend and college roommate, Jennifer Butts, who has served with WGO for 15 years. After a 3-year long-distance relationship, Ron and I married and I became a missionary overnight! Simultaneously, my lifelong dream of caring for kids who need a family was satisfied by the

opportunity to work at the Ranch. Although my role is sometimes in the background, every part of the body of Christ here at the Ranch touches the kids’ lives. I recently began teaching PE and art at Ebenezer Academy, so I now get to spend time with nearly all the kids at the Ranch. Our 15 year old son, Grant, is getting an education even beyond the curriculum at Ebenezer Academy - getting to see firsthand God’s heart for children who need a family, getting a global perspective on orphan care, serving with Ranch teams, and learning a second language. We are blessed to be part of the WGO family!

New WGO MissionariesChristy Langejans

I went into college a little unsure of my choice to go into bilingual education. It wasn’t until I did my student teaching this past spring that I confirmed that it really was something that I was passionate about. I loved working with those sweet little bilingual students and being able to love them and help them and teach them. Last summer I went on a trip where I spent two weeks in Honduras for a mission trip and church plant. Those were some of the best weeks of my life! I went with about 20 college students from my church and we had such an amazing time going into schools to do skits and share the

gospel, and going on campuses to hang out with students and talk to them about Jesus. We were also able to attend and help with the first two Sunday morning services of City Life Honduras. The country was beautiful and the people were so welcoming and gracious; I left Honduras before I felt ready. I remember walking into my room the day I came home and crying because I didn’t feel “at home” in my room. At that moment, I felt like God was showing me that I would be going back. As time went by I pushed thoughts of going to Honduras or any other country to the back of my mind, and eventually I decided

Lindsey Speer


The Langejans family, Ron and Christy, Grant (seated above) and Luke.

I never imagined I would be a teacher in Honduras. I have always loved missions and traveling, but I never could have guessed God would bring me here. After several mission trips to Mexico, and one to Haiti, I felt God’s call on my life to continue working in other cultures. In college, I took ESL classes and added the ESL certification to my teaching license. With no job prospects at all, I took a graduate assistant position at Henderson State University, and I began my MSE in Reading. My roommate at the time, Amanda Hunt, was beginning her fundraising process to move to Honduras. She encouraged me weekly to consider teaching here at Ebenezer Academy. When she returned from her exploratory trip with a note from yet another college friend who was already serving here, God began pulling me here.

I tried to ignore His call. After all, I had graduate school, a new teaching job, and a wedding to plan for my best friend. I thought surely the timing was all wrong. Have you ever told God no? Take my advice and don’t do it. God quickly changed my heart, made it very clear where he wanted me, and showed me his perfect timing. This was July 2013,

and by September of 2013 I was beginning my application process. By December 2013 I was visiting, and in February I began making arrangements to move.

It seems like it all happened so quickly, and yet here I am. I have been teaching just over a month and loving every minute of it. The people here at Rancho Ebenezer have welcomed me with open arms, and it has been made abundantly clear I am exactly where God wants me. “And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send?

Tiffany Terry

I would just stay in Midland/Odessa and get a job at one of the many schools that were hiring. I wanted to have money, buy a new car, and have my own place. During a weekend college conference I attended, one of the speakers—a missionary in Jordan—talked about people who feel called to something when they’re young, and then go around their whole lives saying that they feel called to a certain thing without ever actually doing it. Right then I realized that that was the path I was headed down. Instead of going to another country “someday,” I felt like God was telling me to go “now!” When I got home from the conference, I looked up an organization I had heard about that took care of children and provided schooling for them (World Gospel Outreach). I saw that they had teaching positions, so I sent an email saying that I was interested and asked for more information. The second week of June, my mom and I went to visit Rancho Ebenezer in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and God confirmed

that it was where he wanted me to be. I am now teaching second and third grade at Ebenezer Academy.


Lindsey photo here

Tiffany with her 5th grade class. From left to right are Tony, Whitney, Marlon, Tiffany, Yolibeth, Hannah, Cristian and Daniel.

Lindsey with Franklin, one of her students.


Will you run an event to support WGO?

This summer two golf events were enjoyed by almost 100 golfers, and raised over $16,000! These funds tremendously help to support the costs to bring more abandoned kids to Rancho Ebenezer. Organizers of both events are Serve Team members who value our ministry as well as enjoy golfing and a nice dinner

afterward. The event in Woodridge, IL began 8 years ago by a nurse who was touched by the tremendous need that she saw

and was inspired by what she saw God doing on her WGO mission trip. Marilyn Straub invited her fellow team members and friends back home to join her in organizing the 9-hole event, along with a dinner so that non-golfers can participate also. After the initial years of successful outings, it has expanded to an 18-hole event. Every year part of the fun has also been a silent auction of items donated by friends and local businesses, including tickets to sporting events, crafts by the children at the Ranch, monthly home-baked desserts and week-long stays at summer homes.

The team from Flagstaff, AZ held their second annual golf event this year organized by WGO team leader Bill Cheney. He reported that participants enjoyed the golf along with the games of closest to the pin, longest drive and longest putt. He reported that they had a “hit the green” contest to raise funds. Although no one hit the green, it WAS a lot of fun! Of course both groups shared what the mission of WGO is since there were friends invited who had not heard of the ministry.

Would YOU be willing to organize a similar event in your community? The WGO development team will assist you with getting started. Call Fred Steinbach 630-359-5175 or email [email protected].


Please pray forCristian, age 10

Give the gift of life this Christmas Sponsor Winter 2014 World gospel Outreach Page 21

Will you run an event to support WGO?

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opportunities to help WGO ministriesHere are some ways you can support the ministry of World Gospel Outreach. Just fill out the attached response

envelope indicating which opportunity you can participate in. For more information, visit us on the Web:

w w w. w g o r e a c h . o r g

Your donation to the WGO ALLKids Fund will go directly to the food, clothing and education of all of the Honduran children living at Rancho Ebenezer, who desperately need a loving Christian home. Or you can sponsor an individual child of your choosing for $30 per month by going to our website: www.wgoreach.org/wgokids. If you have questions about this new kids’ sponsorship program please contact Fred at: [email protected] or Phone 630-359-5175.

WGO Serve Teams in Tegucigalpa are able to offer medical care to more than 100,000 Hondurans a year. The CarePay program was created to augment the funds needed for that care. Every $2 you donate will sponsor the costs to care for one patient. $20 will provide for 10 patients. We hope you will consider a monthly gift to help in this ongoing ministry!

Cloud Forest Coffee is a premium, organic, shade grown, hand-picked coffee grown at Rancho Ebenezer. 100% of the proceeds from this coffee go toward the care of children at Rancho Ebenezer. Give the gift of life by giving a gift of coffee. Visit us at w w w. h o n d u r a s c l o u d f o r e s t c o f f e e . o r g

Cloud Forest Coffee3

Carepay program1

WGO ALLKids2


But my checkbook is near empty!How much of a person’s wealth is cash? Much less than you might expect. The average American has about 91% of their net worth in non-liquid assets. Wow, that’s huge. You may wonder if you have that much in non-cash assets?

We rarely consider this when we give to our church, ministries, and other charities. We simply write a check and don’t consider our other assets. The truth is that making a cash gift is not always the best plan of stewardship. It’s often possible to receive greater tax benefits by giving things such as:

• Real estate • Life insurance • Business inventory • IRA funds

• Public stock • Private stock• Proceeds from the sale of a business

These kinds of gifts typically require some planning in advance to ensure full tax benefits. Shoot us a quick email, or give us a call and we’ll provide you resources to help you make important decisions that will benefit both you and the Lord ministry. Contact: [email protected] or phone 309-531-7342

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Impact on the Believer


Looking back on Serve Teams from the last several years as we are closing out our 30th anniversary of the ministry of WGO and looking ahead to what is to come, I found this photo. Pictured are Serve Team women from Houston in June 2012

preparing and praying in anticipation of a worship service in this small church in Tegucigalpa. The heavenlies seem to watch over them as displayed in the background wall painting.

He annointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit guaranteeing what is to come.

2Corinthians 1:22


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TOUGH DECISION? Maybe not.

You may be saying “Oh, no! Enough about charitable giving”. Yes, we understand Americans are pulled in numerous directions with charitable organizations asking for support. With so many very good organizations doing very good things, you may wonder how to decide where your giving should go. As author and Biblical scholar, Henry Blackaby, advises…. “Find out where God is working and join him”. He’s telling us to come alongside a ministry God is blessing and is working in and through. So, ask yourself, is the Lord working in and through WGO’s ministry efforts, and blessing the work? If your answer is ‘yes’ then we should be on your list of ministries you support throughout the year. If you plan to give to the Lord’s work in December, we ask that you will come alongside WGO, giving to our work in Central America. You are a blessing to us and we desire you to financially partner with us. So, choose to be a blessing where you know God is at work transforming lives. Contact us at: [email protected] or phone (309) 531-7342

Donate electronically at: www.wgoreach.com/donate, or send a check to:

WGO P.O. Box 14348 Humble, Texas

77347-4348

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Then & Now - Honduras Issue...Rancho Ebenezer in 1997. Teams poured into the Ranch to build the...

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