Honduras Mission Trip - April 2007
April 16 - 21 Mike and Karen Pickle  --  Somoto, Nicaragua Class
Pictures or Slide Show

As I began conversing with Greg about what I would teach during my trip with Training Pastors
International, he encouraged me to teach what I spend my days doing.  I work with Family Life of Campus Crusade for Christ.  Family Life conducts marriage conferences, produces radio broadcasts, has a Web site filled with family and marriage resources, and trains national leaders around the world. I work with many depts. in the ministry to serve the needs of couples and families. Greg encouraged me to teach on marriage and family.
 
My wife Virginia and I have been teaching couples principles of marriage that meet rather specific needs in couples and families. Since we married in 1976, the Lord has taught us by godly teachers and by hard lessons that His principles concerning marriage are the only place to build a foundation for a life-long marriage and a successful family.

I was not sure that what we have been teaching would actually connect with the pastors in another country or not. I trusted that God would lead me and would provide counsel through my guide and interpreter, Samuel Aguilar. God was faithful and provided direction to adapt one lesson and to add two discussion sessions during the class time. I decided to open the class to questions and discussions from the students. I was amazed at the depth of some of the questions. Most pertained to the class subject, marriage and family, but I did not limit them to that subject. Tuesday afternoon we spent almost 2 hours discussing questions and listening to the problems that the pastors face in their churches. On Wednesday, I added a discussion of Proverbs 22:6 that the Holy Spirit promoted me to add to our class. After that, the students wanted an English lesson, so I taught the two verses from Psalm 1. After a few minutes, I realized that this would be as difficult as pulling teeth, so I decided to lead them to learn the passage with motions to help them remember the words. I made up motions as I went along--Gini and I had done this to help our children learn longer passages when the children were younger. It was great fun back then, and it was great fun and a lot of work for the pastors Wednesday afternoon. We worked on this until I thought they were truly tired of such a difficult lesson. The next morning, we reviewed Psalm 1:1-2 in English and I led them in the motions and we all did the passage. I told them they passed the class.

Even though the pastors seemed to be grasping and connecting with everything Sam and I communicated, I was never positive until the morning we left for the graduation in Jalapa. Sam and I sat down and let the students share or ask whatever they wanted to say. I did not know what to expect, but I have always done this with teenagers and our children, so I felt it was a good exercise. I was overwhelmed at the their response. I never in my wildest dreams expected them to understand and to receive such an unusual course so well. Listening to their comments and questions, I realized that God had indeed communicated through Samuel and I.

I tried to make sure class had some fun mixed in; the heat made those times incredibly valuable. I told them about the horse I had when I was in high school. I named him Pretty Boy and he was rather smart for a horse and mischievous. He worried my mother silly when he was out of the corral. "Pretty Boy" became our class joke when someone like Samuel acted up. It was great fun. I look forward to the Lord permitting me to return and teach again.

Mike Pickle