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Dear M.M.M. family,

How we’ve missed writing to you and sharing the blessings of God here in the mission field. Although we’ve been out of touch for awhile, we have not forgotten you. By the time you receive this issue, we will be in the U.S. visiting different churches and encouraging God’s people in mission work.

We wish we could visit with all of our Maranatha family, but just in case we don’t see you this summer, we hope our newsletter ministry will be an equal blessing for you. It’s time now for you to take a spiritual break; So find a comfortable, quiet place and allow God to bless and encourage you. Don’t forget your water .

Joe & Elsa

M.I.C.E. In Ministry

(Maranatha Institute of Christian Education)

We are trying to do all we can to offer these young people every opportunity to develop all of their faculties for the glory of God and for His service. We thank God for consecrated young people like Teresa Jimenez.; were it not for God sending us the right missionary volunteers, their selfless dedication and determination to train our M.I.C.E. in service for Christ, they most certainly would not have been able to tackle such a project.  Some of you may have read the booklet, or listened to the audio cassette, entitled “NOW”. It’s an allegory of last day events, and how God’s people might respond to what is soon to take place in this world. We thought in the time we are living in, that this would be a meaningful an important project  for our M.I.C.E.

In our previous newsletter, we told you about our students taking on the huge task of translating a Christian booklet from English into Spanish. This is no easy job for children who, just a few short years ago, barely knew how to read or write; But God had plans for these children.

Well dear friends, our M.I.C.E. have completed their translation of this book, and it is now in publication. What a tremendous accomplishment for these young students. They have done what few students, even here in the United States, have done. Oh how I wish each one of you could write them to express your pleasure in hearing about their spiritual and educational growth. You see, they need all the encouragement they can get. Unfortunately, they receive little encouragement or pats on the back from friends or family; Many of whom can’t fully appreciate the significance of the Christian education they’re getting. Together, we can fill that void and let them know that they’ve done (and are continuing to do) a fantastic job. God is using these children to minister and reach many, many other young people with Christian literature.

(Photo: Javier, Angelica and Roger hold up copies of the translated booklet “NOW”,  “AHORA” which will be used as their missionary outreach ministry to other young people.)

Youth Bible Camp – Honduras

(Photos: Our young people sharing  devotional thoughts. / And of course, break time is always refreshing.)

For the second year, our youth from La Zona have attended the Youth Bible Camp in the town of Pinalejo. At first, our M.I.C.E. were a little shy and hesitant about participating in the camp activities; But not this year. Our young peo-ple are front and center of all the camp projects.

There were nearly 100 young people from several different countries in Central America.  To most , this was a very new and unique experience. There were many activities for the kids, such as wilderness survival, cooking classes, youth evangelism, nature walks. The classes included, Last Day Prophecies, True Education, The Sanctuary Message, Medi-cal Missionary Work. Of course, the food was great!!!  It was prepared by our very own Chef from La Canasta de Vida Restaurant. Although all of our youth had a great time at camp, the one who enjoyed and benefited the most, was Roger. He never dreamed of even leaving La Zona; Let alone attending a Youth Bible Camp in a far away town. But his grandfather gave him permission to leave home and attend camp. What a blessing this has been for all of our MICE. They want to thank each and every one of for your sponsorship help, enabling them to take part in a project that prepares young people in  service for God.  Thank You M.M.M. Family!

I Never Dreamed

By Elsa

Carlos Castellano  is the owner of, what use to be, the most popular  restaurant in Santa Barbara. I admit, compared to the other eateries in the town, his place is rather nice. But that was before The Lord’s restaurant, La Canasta de Vida, came on the scene. From day one, Carlos has been a faithful customer. You see, Carlos was quite obese, and one of his sisters had recently died of cancer. His plan was to simply come to our restaurant once in awhile, and eat a healthy meal. He figured that  should help keep his blood pressure down and lower his chances of getting cancer.

Well, just one bite of our delicious food and Carlos was hooked. He said, “I never dreamed healthy food could taste so-o-o-o good, I really did not think that I would like vegetarian food, but I love everything I’ve tasted here.” Since that very first day, Carlos has been a regular customer of La Canasta de Vida Restaurant. He comes in for breakfast and lunch every day. And while he’s waiting for his meal, he calls up his friends on the phone, and tells them they need to come to the restaurant and eat with him.

You would think that the owner of a restaurant, only two blocks away from us, would do everything he could to keep his customers from going to another place to eat; But Carlos has admitted that he knows the food he serves in his restaurant isn’t the best food to eat. And he’s recommending to all his friends and family to come and eat at our restaurant. Since coming to La Canasta de Vida, Carlos has lost 50 lbs. he looks years younger, has more energy… he is our model:)

(Photos: 50 lbs. lighter; A slimmer Carlos stands with mom. / Ruby gives .Dona Maria. a leg treatment.)

I have also been able to share a lot of spiritual information with Carlos and his family, and I know that the Lord is working in his life.  He truly appreciates us being here. He says . I would never want La Canasta de Vida to close down because of lack of business…what would we do, this is such a blessing for us..
Recently Carlos came asking for help for his mother who was suffering from a bad case of .Erysipelas., a condition that affects those who suffer from poor circulation and accumulation of toxins in their system. I only had a few days left be-fore coming to the States, but I told him to go ahead and bring her up to the outpost, and we would start her on a cleanse. Dona Maria came and stayed in the room with Ruby, who would be the one in charge of carrying on with the treatment program. We explained everything to her and she was willing to cooperate.  Well, dear friends, God is so good and faithful… HE IS THE GREAT PHYSICIAN!  After three days, I left her with Ruby, and when I called last week, Ruby was full of excitement as she related how the Lord had blest the treatments and Dona Maria’s leg had cleared up, she felt so much better and determined to continue with a proper diet.  Carlos and the rest of the family came to pick her up and were amazed at how good she looked in such a short time, they were all very thankful.  We claim God’s promise that medical missionary work is the entering wedge for the gospel.  Our prayer is that people like Carlos, his mother and family will one day soon take their stand on the Lord’s side, as a result of the work being done by the Restaurant and Maranatha Outpost.

Redemptions Lesson

by Elsa

I recently had a special experience and object lesson that I’d like to share with you, our M.M.M. family.  The La Zona village got hit with an epidemic of “Dengue fever”… something similar  to Malaria. Several of our M.I.C.E. (Maranatha Institute of Christian Education), students got sick as well as some of our church members, and village people. We  untiringly did hot foot baths and steam baths, lots of water, Echinacea, Golden Seal, garlic and vitamin C.

I had been very busy to say the least,  and only had a couple of weeks to get everything  organized before leaving for the States…..and you’ve guessed it, I wore myself out  and got the Dengue fever.  Well, that put a stop to all my run-ning around. I had a fever of 102 F. day and night for five days.  I tried everything, and with mid-day weather tempera-tures of almost 100* there was no relief or comfort….it was truly a miserable experience;  I could not sleep, could not concentrate to read, could not accomplish anything, and there was so-o-o-o much needing to be done.  By the 5th day, I was becoming weak and weary, and beginning to feel a bit discouraged.

At midday I received a phone call from Yessenia, one of our workers at the restaurant., she sounded worried as she said that she had some .bad news. for me.  Well, that was the last thing I needed to hear; she informed me that the water in the bathroom sink had been left on all night and had once again run into the garage that was being rented by the owner of a hardware store not far from the restaurant., all his things had gotten wet and were ruined; This being the third time this has happened, he’d had enough, and was now planning to move out.

I felt horrible, I felt ashamed, I felt like we were being a bad witness there in town. I didn’t know what I was going to say to Dr. Carlos, the owner of the house we are renting and using as the restaurant; what could I say,…. I had no ex-cuse. We had been negligent in checking all the  shut off valves, before leaving the restaurant . You see often times the water in town goes off in the middle of the day and comes back on at night after everyone has gone home. A customer may leave the valve opened and the water runs continuously all night into the building next door..

After hanging up the phone from speaking with Yessenia, I said .Lord please forgive me and help me.. I figured I’d better call Dr. Carlos before he called me.  When I called, I proceeded to tell him, that I had no words to say, nor ex-cuses about the water.  He was busy with a patient, so he said he’d call me right back.  I felt so bad, I did not know what he might say, and my only recourse was to tell him that if he lost his tenant , that I would be willing to rent that garage, until he found someone else. I felt responsible and did not want him to loose any money on our account.  He called back and I apologized to him and told him just that.  Then all of a sudden, in the kindest , most loving manner he said  . No! Dona Elsa, I would not think of you doing  anything like that,…I know you, the  kind of person you are, you are very conscientious, you are taking such good  care of my house,  you are such a blessing in this community, your restaurant has been God sent. I know the kind of work you are doing.  Don’t you worry about this problem, I’m going to fix it, so you don’t have to worry about it anymore;  It is all on me, so don’t you worry about anything..  I knew it wasn’t Dr. Carlos speaking, it was the Lord., my loving Saviour.   I could hardly hold my tears back as I thanked  him and as soon as I hung up, I fell on my knees weeping, overwhelmed with the love and mercy of God., for His tender mercy and love to me.

I had been reading the chapter in Great Controversy entitled, .Facing Life’s Record., Speaking of those that come up in the resurrection of life it says: . Jesus will appear as their advocate, to plead in their behalf before God…..A book of remembrance is written before God, in which are recorded the good deeds of them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon  His name.. Malachi 3:16  Their words of faith, their acts of love, are registered in heaven….And every act of  sacrifice , every suffering and sorrow endured for Christ’s sake  is recorded.  Says the psalmist: .Thou tellest my wonderings: put thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book? Psalms 56:8

All I could do was to thank God for the beautiful Redemption lesson He gave me that day.  I was weary from five days of fever, felt discouraged and guilty about the water incident at the restaurant. Felt like we were misrepresenting God, we were guilty and we needed to pay.  That is exactly how it is with our lives. We are sinful, guilty and deserve to pay the penalty of death.  But like Dr. Carlos,  Jesus steps in and says, I know you, I know your works, I know the sacri-fices you make for me., I know that you are repentant, so I will forgive you and cover you with my righteousness, I will pay the price I will take care of the problem.  Praise God for such a Saviour.  May we learn to trust Him and ever be thankful for such a redemption.

A LIGHT IN THE COMMUNITY

by Elsa

Some may say, “If the Lord is coming soon, what need is there to establish schools, sanitariums, and food factories? What need is there for young people to learn trades?”  It is the Lord’s design that we shall constantly improve the talents He has given us. We cannot do this unless we use them. The prospect of Christ’s soon coming should not lead us too idleness. Instead, it should lead us to do all we possibly can to bless and benefit humanity..  MM 268

Thanks to God, La Canasta de Vida  Restaurant is being a light and a blessing to all in the community.  The police department are now regular customers,, they all feel the difference and see the results of a healthy vegetarian diet.  Every day that I walk into the restaurant  I see a miracle….full tables with smiling faces of satisfied customers.  Who would have ever thought it.  It has not been easy, and it is certainly a lot of work.  Sometimes when I have to drive in the hot sun and spend all day going through the markets to get supplies for the restaurant, I say . Lord, I would never do this except for you…that souls may be in your kingdom as a result of it.

La Canasta de Vida restaurant was established not as a business but as an outreach ministry. We wanted the people in the town to know that we care about their health. We wanted to  have a place where people can be educated.  Since our opening we’ve had several seminars on nutrition. Each of our tables has a health nugget that people can read while wait-ing for their food, and free literature that the people can take home with them.

Our faithful volunteers conducted a cooking school the week I left to come to the States.  The ladies that attended were thrilled to learn how to make their own soy milk, tofu, scrambled tofu and other protein dishes.  We’ve already had a request for a group of ten for another cooking school.  So once a month we will conduct a week of cooking classes for the community. So please continue to pray for the restaurant.

Health Corner

by Joe

As the scenes of earths history draw to a close, we find that even our natural sources of food are depleted in nutrients. God gave His people the perfect plan many years ago, but still we continue to procrastinate and make excuses. Had we  all listened to God’s counsel, and purchased a small piece of land far out in the country, we could have planted our fruit orchards and established profitable vegetable gardens. But now, many are dependant upon super markets for food; Food that is called .Hybrid. food, with little or no nutritional value whatsoever. A body cannot defend or heal itself when fed a diet of nutrient-low foods.
It’s not too late to redeem the time and find a place in the country; But what we failed to do in time of ease, we must do now, when times are hard. In the meantime, we must depend upon the nations farmers markets to supply our foods. This being the case, we will need to learn how to take supplements.  I am not a promoter of supplements; However,  for those of us who are dependant on foods from the grocery store, you will undoubtedly need to take some form of supplement; At least until you are 75% self-sufficient in growing your own fruits, grains and veggies.

Meanwhile, here are a few important tips on how you can nourish the immune system.

In order to keep our immune system operating properly, we need to keep the body fed with certain vitamins and min-erals. When the body becomes infected, we use up essential nutrients like vitamins A, C, and E. We also use up min-erals like Zinc, Potassium, Chromium, Iron and copper. Unless we replace these vitamins and minerals, the stage is set for us to develop serious health problems. As you already know, cancer is on the rise. Primarily due to the fact that our foods are so nutrient depleted. Cancer prevention requires a diet of foods containing Vitamins A (Beta– Carotene), Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Selenium.  Here are just a few foods that are high in these Vitamins and minerals: Almonds, Apricots, Barley, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Carrots, Collards, Kale, Red Peppers, Squash, Sweet Potatoes, Turnip Greens, Watercress, Wheat Germ, Onions & Garlic.

Now, here are a few foods that are high in Zinc:  Brewer’s Yeast, Legumes, Lima Beans, Mushrooms, Pecans, All Seeds, Soy Lecithin, Soybeans, Whole Grains.

“Many have expected that God would keep them from sickness merely because they have asked Him to do so. But God did not regard their prayers, because their faith was not made perfect by works. God will not work a miracle to keep those from sickness who have no care for themselves, but are continually violating the laws of health, and make no efforts to prevent disease. When we do all we can do on our part to have health, then may we expect that the blessed results will follow, and we can ask God in faith to bless our efforts for the preservation of health.” CDF—26

Update On Ruberman

We continued ministering to Ruberman until a week before leaving for the States. In his last appointment with his Doctor who operated on him, he was referred to the hospital in the city of Tegucigalpa. There the doctors recommended that he receive chemotherapy treatments, because the tumor had begun to grow again. He of course did not want to have the treatments, but pres-sure from family members and doctors forced him to begin treatments.  We have been in touch with him by phone, and I also sent him some supplements and organic barley green that I had ordered for him. His desire is to return home and do things naturally. His mother says that he cries and always mentions our names, saying that he wants to be back in La Zona under our care.  We want to thank those of you that helped with the cost of his operation. Please continue to pray for him, we want to do all we can for Ruberman.

MINISTRY MATTERS

Prayer Requests:
Our M.M.M. volunteers as they keep the work going
Ruberman and his family
Wellness Secrets—God’s rich blessings upon His work.
Pete Raimondo—Continued health & Healing
Jackie Baldwin—Restored health and healing
The Willis family— Consolation in the loss of our dear Sally.
M.M.M.—faithfulness in doing God’s work
Sr. Vincent—Health & healing. Stay close to Jesus.
Numerous unspoken requests that God’s will be done in their lives.

** A very special Thank You to all who have responded to the invitation to write to Roger, and others of our M.I.C.E.. And also to you who have helped financially to sponsor our crisis children.

** Maranatha Medical Ministries is accepting applications from all married couples who may consider Honduras as their mission field of labor. We are looking for one or two couples to come and help us manage our ministry Outpost here in Honduras. If you are led by God in this direction, please contact Joe & Elsa Willis by mail or email (you can find our contact information at the top-right of this website).

** M.M.M., as do so many other ministries, is feeling the effects of high costs and poor economy. Due to the increase in mailing costs, M.M.M. will now be sending out our newsletters every two months. We hope you will continue to support us, especially with your prayers.

** Friends, no-matter which organization you support, please remember that support of God’s ministry is necessary. If we have to cut back on certain things, let’s cut back on the extra foods and snacks; let’s cut back on driving unnecessarily; Let’s begin going to bed early, and turning the lights out by 8pm. Use flashlights if you must. Every time you go shopping, ask yourself, “Do I really,… REALLY, need to buy this item?” If you can do without it, …Do without it!!

All of the money you save can go into the Lord’s work, and God can and will richly bless you.  Dear friends, we are fast moving into serious times. We all must learn to simplify our lives, and loosen ourselves from earthly things.  May our treasures be laid up in heaven.

“BLESSED IS HE THAT CONSIDERETH THE POOR”

God loves you with an everlasting and unconditional love.
Draw nigh to Him, and He will draw nigh to you.

Maranatha

“When the gates of that beautiful city on high are swung back on their glittering hinges, and the nations that have kept the truth shall enter in, crowns of glory will be placed on their heads, and they will ascribe honor and glory and majesty to God. And at that time some will come to you, and will say, .If it had not been for the words you spoke to me in kindness, if it had not been for your tears and supplications and earnest efforts, I should never have seen the King in His beauty.. What a reward is this!  How insignificant is the praise of human beings in this earthly, transient life, in comparison with the infinite rewards that await the faithful in the future, immortal life!”  WESW—16

“Each morning consecrate yourselves and your children to God for that day. Make no calculation for months or years; these are not yours. One brief day is given you. As if it were your last on earth, work during its hours for the Master. Lay all your plans before God, to be carried out or given up, as His providence shall indicate.” 7T—44

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