Allison's Account

Where do I even begin? This missions trip has been quite eventful to say the least! But it has been such a blessing and God has been so faithful. This is my second time to come to Honduras and stay with the Sumners. The first time here, God put a special place in my heart for these people. This time around, my love for them has just grown and grown. Especially for these young people! We were privileged to go along with the Sumners and their youth group to the Light of Life Youth Camp on Roatan Island this year and what a great time it was! Getting there was not easy for sure! We left Sunday night after church and about two hours into the drive, we began to have van troubles so we had to pull over into a gas station and stay the night there in our vehicles. The next morning we all hung around the gas station until the vehicles were fixed and ready to go. It was probably a funny sight for everyone else coming in and out of the gas station to see over 40 young people all sitting around outside the gas station and I'm sure the people that worked there were probably happy to see us leave already. �� Now we were ready to make it to our next stop, the ferry that would take us over to the island! We stopped at a gas station near the ferry and again slept in the vehicles that night outside the gas station. In the morning we made it to the ferry and got aboard. You'd think it would be smooth sailing from here, but on the contrary, we had a very rocky ride! The waters were not by any means calm that day but the captain decided to set sail anyway. At first all the young people were excited and taking pictures and standing at the back of the boat looking over the edge, and the next minute almost everyone on the ferry was grabbing bags left and right as sea sickness set in. I'll spare you the details, I'm sure you can imagine just what was happening all around us! When we finally reached the island, everyone was more than ready to get off that boat. While on the ferry, sister Paula Sumner also had an unfortunate mishap. Definitely keep her in your prayers as she had to have surgery on her shoulder from this. But anyway, we had finally reached the island and were so ready to get to the hotel where we could freshen up and get ready for service. You can just imagine how we looked, and probably smelled, after spending two days in our vehicles outside of gas stations! It was not a pretty sight to see! But we praise God that we finally made it and were able to go to camp! And what a camp meeting we had! I would not have enough time to tell you all that the Lord did in the youth camp! The enemy sure was fighting us, but what the Lord did was greater than any hinderance the enemy may have tried to put in our way! Every day we heard such anointed preaching by several brothers who you could tell came with a burden and a message for this youth camp. The Spirit of the Lord was so rich in every service and so many young people stood and testified to how God helped them and ministered to them. I believe many young people had life changing experiences in those altars this past week and we give all glory to God for it! I can't help but think what great things He has planned for these young people's lives and how He can use them to reach their country. We serve such a mighty God and there's no end to what He can do! I'm looking forward to seeing the work God continues to do here in Honduras and praying I can be a part of it again! The Sumners are doing such a great work here in this country. I learn so much from this family every time I'm around them! They are true examples of dedication, sacrifice, and service to the work of the Lord. I pray the Lord just continues to bless their ministry here and gives them the strength they need to go on! I know I've said it over and over, but it has truly been a blessing being here again and I can honestly say I'm not ready to go home, but Lord willing, I'll be back again! :) God is good! All glory be to Him! ¡Dios te bendiga!         
-Allison Shafer