I pray this letter finds you well. Honduras is under some political turmoil at this time. Our president ran for re-election, and he was declared the winner by the board of election. Since it was a close election (1.5% difference), the losing side has accused the president of fraud and will not accept the results. There have been a lot of protests on the street, and some people have died. There are three things the president has done to provoke some very strong opposition:
1. He extradited to the United States over 20 of the biggest drug dealers in the country.
2. He set up a commission that fired over 4,000 police officers, mainly because of corruption.
3. He built a couple of maximum-security prisons and sent the most dangerous inmates to them, especially gang leaders and members. He did away with an old prison system where the inmates had pretty much ruled the prisons and had ordered other people outside the prison to execute their crimes for them. They enjoyed a whole lot of privileges.
Those three actions have greatly reduced crime and violent deaths on our streets. The country has gone from 89 deaths per 100,000 people (the highest in the world a few years ago) to 42 this year. It is still very high, but we are heading in the right direction.
Those three groups listed above killed some people before the election and threatened to kill whoever supported the president. In spite of the hostile atmosphere, people went out to vote, and the president managed to win, even against those types of foes.
We have had to cancel some services and other church activities due to the protests, especially since we are in the capital city, the center of the political turmoil. This has settled down somewhat, but the opposition threatens to continue to protest until they overthrow the government. Please help us pray for Honduras concerning this issue.
Even with all the turmoil going on around us, we have tried to continue preaching the Gospel. Last month I was out visiting and saw two ladies named Maria and Daisy sitting on a sidewalk. I started talking to them and told them about Jesus. They invited Jesus into their hearts. The next day the two sisters and five other family members came to church. They have come a few times since then. Praise God! The Gospel will always be the power of God unto salvation.
The weather has been very cold this past month, and our church has had to endure some chilly Sundays. We meet on an open pavilion, so when it’s cold and windy, it’s especially tough. One Sunday I could hardly speak— I was sick all week because of the cold I endured. Thankfully, we should start our church building soon. My pastor-friend, Dani Motta, has raised $15,000 for our building project. This should be our last winter out in the open.
Thank you for your prayer and financial support. May God bless you and continue to use you.
Truly,
Osmin Gutierrez