Once a week, we have "Family Night" with Claire. We usually play board games, read books, or watch a movie together. I know many other families do the same. If you're looking to mix it up a little, here's an idea for a missions-themed family night.

World Missions Family Night

To prepare, choose a country and missionary family to learn about and pray for. It's a good idea to choose a couple with children about the same age as your own kids. Use the internet to learn some fun facts about the country, and try to obtain a prayer card or recent prayer letter from the missionary family so that your kids can see whom they are praying for.

Family Night begins with a great dinner. If you are brave (and your children aren't too picky!) you can try a recipe from the country you are focusing on! If you want to start smaller, a new dessert is a good idea. If you choose Honduras, or another Latin American country, here is a great homemade flan recipe from a lady in our church.

1 can of condensed milk
2 cans of evaporated milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Caramelize the sugar in a heavy skillet over med-high heat until the sugar begins to melt. Shake the skillet to heat evenly, but do not stir. Once it begins to melt, reduce heat to low and cook about 5 more minutes until all the sugar is melted and golden. Stir with a wooden spoon as needed. Pour the melted sugar into the bottom of a glass 8x8 baking dish or a pie plate. Place this dish in a larger dish (13x9 works well) so that there is space all around the smaller dish.

Heat a medium saucepan of water on high heat. While it is coming to a boil, beat the milks and eggs until well-combined (but not frothy). Pour the egg/milk mixture into the 8x8 dish. When the water boils, pour it into the 13x9 baking dish so that it surrounds the smaller dish. The depth of the water should be about 1 inch.


Bake in 325 degree oven for about an hour, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

If you want to serve it warm, cool slightly on a wire rack. Before serving, loosen the edges of the flan with a knife. Invert over a large serving dish.

If you want to serve it chilled, cool on a wire rack then cover and chill in the refrigerator. Loosen edges with knife, and invert over a serving dish.

After dinner, take some time to learn about the missionary's country. A globe or a world map will help. Keep the facts fun and interesting. Try to pronounce a few words or phrases in the language of that country (You are guaranteed to get some laughs!). Read the prayer letter (or only highlight portions if it is long) and have a prayer time for the missionary family and the people of the country. Consider writing the family to tell them you prayed for them; you could also ask them questions your children may have about the mission field. Smaller children can draw pictures and dictate their letter. While they work, play music from the country of choice (found on the internet).

Throughout the night, ask your children questions to get them thinking about the mission field, such as:

1. What do you think would be the hardest part of living in another country?
2. What do you think you would like best about living in another country?
3. Why does God call people to live in other countries, far away from their homes?
4. What could you do to serve God in another country?

Develop a heart for the mission field at an early age! Sadly, many American children grow up oblivious to other cultures and assume the rest of the world lives just as they do. Open your children's eyes to the needs around the world. Who is waiting for your child to share the gospel? What will you do as a parent to make that happen?

If you are interested in doing a "Honduran Family Night" email me at christine@teamhonduras.com for a free information packet.

I was surprised to see a familiar face at the construction site of our new church building. How do I know that guy? Robbie exclaimed, “Do you know who that is? That’s Barracuda!”

Daniel, known as Barracuda by his friends, was a young man we had briefly met in 2005, our first year of ministry in Honduras. He had come to a Men’s Meeting where my father, Ricky Tippett, gave a lesson and spoke with him about his need for Christ. Dad was burdened for Daniel, knowing his lost condition. He took a picture of the him with Robbie, hung it on the wall in his office, and prayed for him faithfully for four years. Robbie had seen the picture on our last furlough, commenting, “Wow, I haven’t seen that guy since he came to that meeting! I wonder what ever happened to him…”

When he showed up unexpectedly a few months ago, Robbie told Alex, the foreman, about the picture. “My father-in-law has been praying for that guy every day.”

Alex raised his eyebrows and nodded with understanding, “Well, that’s why he’s still alive then! I wondered how he had survived this long…someone is praying for him!” He then went on to tell how Barracuda had made some bad choices and gotten mixed up in the wrong crowd. He’d gone back to where he’d grown up, the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras. He lived a life of alcohol, drugs, and gangs. Through some bad dealings, he’d become a wanted man by one of the gangs. When he realized they would not stop until he was dead, he’d returned to Progreso and sought refuge with Alex. Alex found a little room where he could live and helped him out with a job. Of course, he told him that in order to live there, he would need to clean up his act and come to church. At the end of his rope, Barracuda agreed.

A couple of weeks later, Robbie called Dad with some exciting news. “You know that guy whose picture is on your wall? Well, he got saved last night!” Four years after their meeting, Daniel had trusted Christ as his personal Savior.

Daniel began his new life with almost nothing. We were able to get him a Bible, toiletries, and used clothing to wear to church. He arrived early each service and read his Bible until everyone else arrived. As excited as he was to begin his walk with the Lord, he deeply missed his family in the Bay Islands. Though his life was in danger, he packed up his bags and returned.

This young man has much to overcome, but God has preserved his life and forgiven his sins. We can’t wait to see how He will continue to work in Daniel’s life! Please pray that he will not fall into temptation to return to former sins and that he'll be a testimony of the changing power of the Holy Spirit.

I feel like I just spent a week in someone else's life.

I've always enjoyed anything to do with decorating. When we lived in the States, my favorite channel was HGTV. I remember watching design shows in which homeowners would work with an interior decorator to create a beautiful space. Although I was fascinated by these shows, I never dreamed I'd ever actually get to work with an interior designer. Foreign missions and interior design just don't go together. Life in a third-world country is much more rustic; we think functionally and worry little about aesthetics. Working with an interior designer would never happen here...or so I thought.

About six months ago, I began to plan and save for Robbie's new office, which will be located in the new church building. I wanted to have a desk and built-in bookshelves made for him. One night I was talking to my mom on Skype, I mentioned that I wish I knew more about interior design, because I'd love to make his office look very professional and distinguished. She replied, "You know, I should ask Liza Ellis if she could help you." I had never met Liza, but she'd been coming to Mom's Sunday school class for several months. She had a degree in interior design and was working at an architectural firm in Raleigh.

"Do you really think she'd mind a few questions? I would love to get an idea of paint colors and how to do the curtains for that arched window!"

I began to communicate with Liza by email over the next few weeks. Before I knew it, she had sent me a beautiful plan for Robbie's office, complete with paint colors and fabric swatches. It was a dream come true!

Robbie's future office began to take shape. But the rest of the building still needed work. Our situation here is quite different from building a church in the U.S. We cannot finance this project. We pay for it as the money comes in. The plan is to get the building to occupancy level in order to move in as soon as possible. Then, we will do detail work (paint, ceramic, drop ceilings) as the funds are available. Since we'd be working project by project over the course of several months or even years, our concern was that the building would be a patchwork of different designs. We needed one overall design scheme. Since Liza seemed so willing to help, I timidly asked her if she'd mind advising us on wall colors for other areas of the building.

After we relayed to Liza our needs for the new building, she put together designs for the two nursery rooms and three classrooms. Then this past week, she flew down to spend eight days with us. She toured the new building and gave us ideas for some problem areas. We went to lighting, paint, and ceramic tile stores where she found beautiful choices for the classrooms, offices, kitchen, and bathrooms. We can't purchase everything right away, but when we do, the building will have an professional, cohesive design.

I am still pinching myself! I just spent a week with a professional designer who came to work on our building, free of charge! Who would have thought?




Our heavenly Father delights in surprising His children with special, unexpected blessings. It has been our prayer that this church building be a testimony of excellence and beauty to reflect the character of the Lord. And He answered this prayer above and beyond anything we could have imagined!