It is amazing to see how God had already prepared the way for us to temporarily leave Honduras to take care of Julie’s medical needs before we even knew there was a problem. We shouldn’t be amazed because knowing and taking care of every little detail is part of the character of God, but sometimes we forget what a mighty God we serve and we end up amazed.
One of the details that God took care of was to bring the Robinson family to Honduras at just the right time. They completed language school at just the right time. They moved to Santa Rosa de Copan at just the right time, but by the design of God were unable to find a home that was big enough for their family so they made do with a small 3BR/2BA house on a month-to-month contract while they looked for something more suitable. The home that God provided for us to rent was big enough for them as well as the 2 children that were already in our care and we would need someone to live in and take care of the house for us as well as the children. They needed a bigger vehicle — God had already provided for us and we would need someone to maintain the vehicles for us. Not only was the Robinson Family a good fit with the timing of their needs and ours, but they have an amazing heart for children who do not have a family. I asked Dean and Tamara to provide some information about their family and heart for missions so we could introduce you to the amazing family that is standing in the gap in Honduras for us during this chapter of our lives. The following is what Tamara provided to me and it came right out of their ministry vision document. If you have followed us for any length of time you already know that Isaiah 58:6-12 is the scripture upon which our whole ministry is based upon — it spoke volumes to me as I read their biography that they ended it with Isaiah 58:10.
Please join us in prayer for the Robinson family as they stand in the gap for us in Honduras and take care of the two precious children that are now in their care on our behalf. Our ministry will continue to provide the finances for the care of these two children as well as the maintenance of the home and vehicles so please continue to support New Beginnings Honduras as well as our Bright Beginnings sponsorship for the children. The Robinson family needs the support just as we needed the support when we were in Honduras and we plan to stand behind them in prayer and finances provided for this ministry.
On a completely different note — if you would like to follow Julie and I and the story that God is writing as she fights cancer, please follow us at GodisUptoSomething.blogspot.com. We will occasionally cross-post key information here, but on her personal blog we will share information (and real and raw feelings) as we get it. Our personal blog is the best place to get detailed and up-to-date information on how you can best pray for us and support us personally.
Blessings!
Ben Agee
We are the Robinson Family: Dean, Tamara, Blake, Tate, Brooklyn, Olivia, Reagan, Lauren, Hannah, Riley, Asher, Halle, Wyatt and Jubilee. We are from the small town of Woodland, GA and now live in Honduras where we are partnering with Legacy of Hope Foundation to develop family-based solutions for orphan, abandoned, and at-risk children and their families in communities where there are limited resources to help children without families or families who are struggling to stay together.
Our ministry first began 16 years ago when God opened our eyes to the number of vulnerable children in our own community who were without the love and nurture of a family. Since that time, God has allowed us to serve Him with our lives through foster care and adoption ministry. These experiences have transformed our way of life as God has increasingly used our family to minister to children and families in need. Drawing from spiritual, educational, professional, and personal experiences, our ministry has grown from foster parenting and adoption to providing individuals, families and organizations with professional consultation, education and training, compassionate insight, understanding, empathy, and support as they care for orphaned and at risk children.
As we continued to seek God’s leading in our lives, He has directed our steps into international ministry. In May 2015, we attended the annual Summit of the Christian Alliance for Orphans. As we waited for the first session to begin, we prayed together and asked God to reveal to us how He could use our marriage and family to reach more children with hope and future through the gospel. As our time at the Summit unfolded, God began connecting us with others who share His heart for the orphaned child in Honduras, and we left the Summit filled with anticipation, recognizing the familiar sense of leading that filled our hearts.
We spent the next six months Skyping, emailing, and learning more about ways we could support those serving orphaned and at risk children and their families in Honduras. Tamara wrote policies and procedures and answered questions about trauma and best practices. We prayed and worshiped and thanked God for His faithfulness and for the hope we have in Christ. We visited Honduras in November and again in May to deliver training on Trauma Competent Care and left there both times more in love with the Honduran people and with an even stronger vision.
While there, we had the opportunity to witness God moving through the church in Honduras on behalf of the orphaned and at risk child. The Holy Spirit moved on our hearts as we heard pastors and children’s homes’ staff share about the development of family-based care solutions for children in a country where children are traditionally cared for in institutions. We shared time worshiping and praying with ministry leaders and spent hours dreaming big about permanency programs rooted in the church. We left Honduras knowing that God had plans for us to return and engage in the global movement to expand Christian action for children in need.
When we returned to the States we shared our vision with County Line Church, our families, and our friends. God provided the opportunity for us to be sent and in January 2017 we arrived in Honduras to begin our work. God continues to reveal to us His love for the vulnerable child, and we are thankful for the privilege of being a voice for orphaned and at risk children in Honduras.
Spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. (Isaiah 58:10)