So today was my first full day here in Honduras… and it was indeed FULL! By the way, this may be a bit long for a Facebook post but I can’t get to my blog from here, so if you don’t want to know what God is doing in Honduras, that’s OK, just look at the photos and pray for the people of this beautiful country!

As I write this, my heart is still heavy as I continue to think of and pray for our dear brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Many are still trying to leave the country. A friend of mine just had a baby in-country and they need your prayers. The baby is in ICU with some breathing issues.

So, I’ve been coming to Honduras for more than 20 years and it seems that little has changed for those living on the streets… My day started at 7 am with coffee and a wonderful breakfast prepared by the young men of the Micah House Culinary department! At 7:30, we all gathered in the main room of the house for a time of devotions. (I posted a video of this earlier.) Then Michael, the Micah director, CEO, father, mentor, etc. and I began visiting many of our old and new friends and all of the work that’s going on here at the project. We visited the music class, the science and math classes, the new Micah Works ministry as they worked in their new water treatment facility and the culinary class as they begin to move into their new, spacious kitchen!

In the early afternoon, we visited old friends in Villa Linda Miller, the village next door that many churches and friends of Micah helped to establish almost 20 years ago. Flora and her family are doing well and caring for many kids by preparing them meals each day!

We then hit the streets in downtown to visit with many of the street kids. (They have a more PC name for them but I don’t recall it right now… sorry.) These are the same streets of the city where almost all of the Micah boys/men came from. As we made our first stop, many young men and young ladies ran up to Michael and his staff who were helping with food but more-so giving hugs and sharing in conversation with them for a long period of time. They don’t just hand out food, though many appreciate it, but they spend time getting to know the people and offer God’s love to all. They give a sense of importance and caring to these often forgotten people. They are not forgotten by the Micah Project and even more, they are not forgotten by God!

Many of our street friends were very dirty from sleeping endless nights in alleyways, on street corners and most of the men smelled like the yellow glue that they were huffing to take away the pain and hunger of living on the streets. Several young girls had one or two babies and others were pregnant with no fathers in the picture. The staff ladies of the Micah project gave them their full attention and love. Their sunken eyes told the story of their lostness and of them being so impacted by the drugs, hunger and of yellow glue. But they wanted to hug and talk, even before we offered them some food and hygiene supplies.

After about 3 hours on the streets, we returned to the safe haven and the noisy, active boys and young men of the Micah House. We had another delicious dinner of tortillas, frijoles and cheese before settling in for the evening. As I came to my cabin around 8 pm or so, I could still hear the sounds of the boys playing football (soccer to us Gringos) and laughing at each other. What a blessing the Micah House is and what a blessing the wonderful leaders and staff are who have made a huge difference in they guys lives.

If you would like to be a part of what God is doing at the Micah Project here in Honduras, please go to their web page at; www.micahprojecthonduras.org and please pray for all who are a part of the Micah Project.
Thanks & God bless!

He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

After almost two years of Covid lock-down, I was finally able to make my first international trip in July of 2021. I’ve been waiting to get back to Iraq to see and minister with some very close friends. My friend, Jamal, has faithfully been going to Iraq, particularly the Northern Kurdistan region, for almost 15 years. I’ve gone with him for 13 of those years. We minister to refugees, many who are still in tent camps even though many have now started re-locating to their former homes near Mosul and other areas of Iraq.

Continue reading On the Road Again… 2021 Mission to Iraq

WE ARE FAMILY…

Did you just start singing the Sister Sledge song, “We are Family…  I  got all my sisters with me. We are family, Get up everybody and sing!” I did!

God created us to live in “family” and I love my family. It’s not always been perfect but I’ve been nourished, encouraged and blessed by my family over the years.

Sharon and I recently returned from a wonderful couple of weeks in beautiful Alaska! We didn’t go there just to get colder or to see the beautiful mountains, whales and eagles… thought we saw plenty of them…. We went to see our family! Particularly the birth of our new grandson, Kellen.

Continue reading WE ARE FAMILY!

WHAT’S UP WITH CHRISTIANS??

I read some pretty interesting stuff recently. I’d love to know what you think… without trying to be exactly what the article is talking about. Here are some excerpts…

Spend two minutes talking to almost anyone outside the Christian faith and you’re almost certain to hear a list of complaints they have about Christians. The problem with many non-Christians isn’t that they don’t know any Christians. The challenge is they do! So what gives?

Many Christians would tell you we have an image problem: we’re treated unfairly, we’re being persecuted, or we’re just badly misunderstood. I’m not so sure.

It’s not so much that Christians have an image problem. It’s far more likely that we have an integrity problem. Do we get misunderstood on some issues? Of course. But that’s outside our control. There are more than a few issues entirely within our control that give us a bad name with people outside Christianity.

Too many Christians come across online as either

• Toxic (Hello angry ranters, trolls and haters);
• Cynical (Yes, we know you’re disappointed with everyone all the time and no one gets it as right as you); or
• Syrupy (So sweet we can’t stand the taste and are not really sure you live in the real world)

Why do so many Christians think their social media feed is a place to show the world their weirdness? It gives the impression that if you’re going to follow Jesus you also need to become socially awkward.

I know people might say “no, I’m just being authentic”. But being authentic does not mean being weird. (I shared my personal criteria for what I share online in the name of authenticity in this post). I think a general rule is if you can’t imagine saying it in real life to a person, you shouldn’t say it online.

If you go to post something and you think, well, that would be braggy if I said that to someone, that’s a healthy check. It means you’d be bragging. So don’t post it.  Similarly, if you think “Well, people would just walk out of the room if I said that in real life,” then maybe don’t say it.

If you’re always angry or cynical or all you do is complain online and you think “well, I wouldn’t want to be friends with someone like that in real life,” then that’s a clue that maybe you shouldn’t say it, or be like that.

And if you think “well, then I’ll have nothing to post,” then you’ve likely put your finger on a deeper issue.

Christians, let’s just stop being so weird online, okay?

There’s much more on this subject. If interested, go here for the full article.

 

Above: Randy Mayfield sings for the Thanksgiving Day Festival in Kiev, Ukraine

Central Presbyterian Church has been ministering in the country of Ukraine since 1991. We have helped the local church with children and youth camps, trained pastors, planted new churches, provided encouragement and aid to those in need.

The September 2019 trip was focused on evangelism and outreach as pastor Randy joined with local Ukrainian musicians in outreach events in areas where people are really hurting due to the ongoing border war with Russia. Hundreds came to listen to the music and message, and many gave their lives to Christ. We did similar events in churches, town squares, and parks, and at every occasion, there were many who came forward to receive Christ as their Lord and Savior.

Randy also had the opportunity to perform in the annual Day of Prayer and Thanksgiving in downtown Kiev where over 100,000 people packed the main street, Khreshchatyk, to hear music, sermons and experience a time of worship.

Click here to view video of Randy performing with the Ukraine Gospel Orchestra.

Shots around Kiev, Ukraine — Thanksgiving Day Festival on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2019

The Orchestra was excellent and Randy enjoyed rehearsing and performing with them! A crowd of over 100,000 people gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving Day and pray for Ukraine. Leaders from many Protestant Churches shared in music and the Word.

 

 

 

 

Beautiful Kiev… or KYIV as they now call it!

Randy and his band, “The All Star Band,” traveled with a team to Kenya, Africa in June of 2019. Their primary goal was to use music to reach and encourage the young people of Kapenguria, West Pokot, Kenya.

During their 10 day tour, they performed in a number of local high schools to more than 2,000 students and they were well received. Randy sang in English, Kiswahili and their native tribal language of Kalengin. They especially enjoyed the Kalengin as they rarely hear a visitor speak or sing in their tribal tongue! (Kinda an Acts. Chapter 2 in the Bible!)

This was Randy’s 18th trip to Kenya to visit his friends in Kapenguria where they have established several churches, schools, a Bible College and many other outreach ministries in this area of Kenya.