We’ve been hearing a great deal about Honduras in the news these days. Over 200,000 Hondurans have fled to the US just in the last nine months. With 67% of the Honduran people living in poverty, major gang activity affecting the everyday life of most people, crimes committed with few prosecutions, and corruption in the government even to the highest levels, you can understand why people would want to flee.

Yet amid these dreadful realities, God is at work in this beautiful country. He loves His precious girls, boys, women, and men in Honduras! LAMB is one ministry among many that seeks to be the hands and feet of Jesus right there in the center of the country: Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras.

As many of you know, LAMB was founded by Suzy McCall, former St Philip’s Director of Christian Education.  Suzy had been on staff when Jim Hampson was our rector now some thirty years ago. He confirmed Suzy’s call to mission and was instrumental in her being sent out to Honduras by SAMS (Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders).  She had been on the mission field for nine years when the Lord gave her the vision for LAMB.  (See the LAMB website for our history, mission and vision statement:  www.lambinstitute.org)  Lifelong missionary service is a rarity these days. For Suzy, she is just that, a rarity. Honduras is her home. She does not intend to move back to the States.   Her heart, mind and soul are committed to the work of God in her beloved Honduras.  Truly one remarkable servant of our God, Suzy is loved there by old and young, rich and poor alike.  

The LAMB Board stateside makes the journey to Tegucigalpa every August, and we have just returned with more passion and vigor than ever before. On the mission with me were Joanna Macmurphy, Maybank and Elizabeth Hagood, and Guv and Tammy Gottshalk, who brought along their precious daughter, Lauren. A great deal has happened in the ministry since we were there last year; it has been a time of pruning and a honing in upon what God has called the ministry to. Then in May, LAMB founder and lifelong missionary Suzy McCall’s sweet, sweet sixteen-year-old daughter, Sallie, took her own life. This was a sadness beyond words for Suzy, her children, and all the ministry. Many of us had known and loved Sallie since she was six months old. The theme for the ministry this year is “Be Strong and Courageous” from Joshua 1:6. Indeed a timely word for LAMB.

Love Himself was poured out upon us as we listened, learned, and saw what our Lord has been doing at LAMB over this past year. We spent treasured time with Suzy and her children, the LAMB leadership and staff, the Honduran Board and of course, got to see lots and lots of beautiful children! It was crystal clear that Jesus was mightily at work in and through each of the areas that LAMB is ministering.

You might ask, “But what exactly does LAMB do?” LAMB has two main campuses. The first is in the heart of the inner city of Tegucigalpa in a very poor, marginalized barrio known as Flor del Campo. There, LAMB has a Christian daycare and school, God’s Littlest Lambs, with 220 children in preschool through 9th grade; a large youth program with about 200 kids designed to reach those being targeted by the gangs; and a community development program called Restore Savings, which helps to grow tiny businesses typically owned by single mothers desperately trying to provide for their families. The second campus is 30 miles south of the city, in the mountains close to a town called San Buenaventura. That campus has a children’s home with 51 babies and children who have known neglect and abuse, a transition program for 24 young men and women who are now in college and receiving technical training, and a safe house for seven girls who have been the victims of human trafficking.

One other important part of LAMB is our ministry to the many North Americans who come down on teams every year. We host some 25 teams primarily from South Carolina and Georgia but some from as far away as Kentucky. They come for many purposes: construction, medical missions, prayer ministry, and more. Over the past nealry 20 years, most of our buildings have been built by mission teams. Our own Connie and Jeff Rink have answered a call to lead a team from St. Philip’s next spring from March 7th to 14th! If you’re interested in joining the team, email me at susanckeller@knology.net.

Another way to get involved would be to consider coming to our yearly event, the Dinner Party With A Purpose, on Thursday, October 24, at St. James Church’s Ministry Center on James Island. Suzy will be the keynote speaker once again. You will not be disappointed!

Thank you for praying for Suzy and for LAMB! Every work of God needs much prayer! There are challenges every step of the way, yet there have also been many magnificent joys and miracles observed. Our vision is to “Follow the Lamb wherever He leads” (Revelation 14:4b). We serve a great God and He is leading the way.