CLINICA LA JOYA

Imagine the spiritual impact of an unreached people group having continual contact with an evangelical medical clinic backed by a number of sound local evangelical churches, what an irresistible opportunity for God's people!! Well, we would like to think that, but such is not the case. There is a great need for responsible Honduran churches to fulfill the Great Commission. This is our heartbeat. God has set before us an opportunity to spark a passion in Honduran churches for world missions.

Located in the beautiful mountains of central Honduras is a medical clinic that was started in 1980 by missionary Marshall Case and his wife. Its purpose was not only to communicate the Gospel to the needy villages nearby, but also to help met the physical needs from those suffering from the lack of medical care. Clinica La Joya or "the jewel" is strategically located on more than 15 acres of land. It has great potential not only in evangelizing, but also in theological training for pastors for world missions, who presently have no vision for reaching the Tolupanes, the poor indigenous group who live an hours drive from the clinic. The clinic has always had a desire to help reach them for Christ. Presently a Honduran missionary, Crispin Martinez has learned some of their language and the entire Scripture is in Tol. Yet many of the villages remain without a Gospel witness of any kind.

Through the years the clinic has suffered its administrative ups and downs. Two years ago the board of directors (called the "Christian Workers") decided to ask Rigoberto Ulloa Carvajal (a pastor, medical doctor and long-time coworker of Marshall Case) to come back and take the leadership of the clinic. By faith, the clinic has been supporting a full-time doctor and nurse at the clinic to treat the sick and share the gospel. The clinic is now completely owned and run by Hondurans.

The board of directors realizes that in medically treating the poor, there are never enough funds to cover the deficit for salaries and medicine. Neither does the board want to continually rely upon outside gifts to keep going. Hence together the board and I have developed some projects which will enable the clinic to (but not be limited to):

• Pay its bills on its own budget
• Continue to provide free health care to the Tolupanes and to local pastors
• Establish a training center for pastors
• Challenge local churches to reach out to the Tolupanes
• Provide medical teaching and evangelism to area schools

In order to achieve these goals the following projects have received the blessing of the clinic's board for 2008 (with estimated costs):

• Build a house for the caretaker and his family ($8,000.00) (the old one is literally about to fall)
• Build and equip a hen barn with 1000 laying hens for egg sale ($30,000.00)
• Build and equip fish ponds for sale of tilapia ($10,000.00)
• Purchase a vehicle to facilitate transportation for the clinic and its projects ($15,000.00)

There are other projects the clinic would like to do, but at present we are starting out with these four. There are three ways in which you can help with these projects, thereby helping the clinic to be self-supporting with the goal of spreading the Gospel and training God's servants for world missions.

1) Pray for the needs of the projects and God's wisdom in ministering them effectively.

2) Send a love gift for the projects in the name of "Biblical Ministries Worldwide" and mail to the address:

Biblical Ministries Worldwide
1595 Herrington Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043

Please include a note stating, "Deposit into Bullock's Ministry Travel Fund #088." That way every cent gets used for the projects.

3) Be a part of a team that could come in 2008 to help us with any of the various projects. The following information will help in setting some guidelines for team preparation.

Teams that would like to come can be involved in the following:

• Construction on the three projects
• Medical/Dental personnel could be involved in medical consultations
• Maintenance on the existing buildings such as painting, minor repairs, etc.
• Children's ministry in local schools or in local churches
• Assist in pastoral training and/or teacher training
• Possible ministry with Tolupanes as directed by Missionary Crispin

Basic information for teams would include the following:

• Fly into the international airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
• Normal stay would be 7 to 10 days
• Size of the group should be no more than 25 team members and no less than 8
• Include in the trip the cost $5,000.00 minimum for construction materials for those involved in construction
• In-country costs for food, transportation, lodging would be $400.00 per person (subject to change based on length of stay and other variables)
• Additional exit fee upon leaving country is $33.19 (subject to change)
• Bunk beds are on site but team members should bring bedding
• Best to bring at least one person on the team that can help do some cooking for breakfast and lunch
• Non-construction ministry will be limited to the number of translators available

Team leader is responsible to have group members:

• Covered by international health insurance for emergency medical evacuation
• Register with the home office of Biblical Ministries Worldwide (Preliminary Team Information Form)
• Register your coming to Honduras with the US consulate (Register Here)

If you would like to come and be a part of a growing ministry that has a lot of potential, then please contact Clifton Bullock at cbullock@biblicalministries.org or at cliftonjane@juno.com or call 011-504-9920-4337. Teams are already lined up for January and February 2008, so please do not hesitate if you sense the Lord wanting you to come.

"Empowering Responsible Honduran Churches"

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BIBLICAL MINISTRIES WORLDWIDE
1595 Herrington Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Phone: (770) 339-3500 Fax: (770) 513-1254
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