An Earth-Shaking Missions Trip
The early morning hours of May 28, 2009, will forever be imprinted on the minds of Youth Pastor David Tidwell along with 31 youth, chaperones, and ministers from the Maranatha Fellowship Church of God in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They had finished their weeklong missions trip and were ready to head home the next day. However, at 2:20 a.m. they were violently shaken from their beds as a 7.3 earthquake hit the country of Honduras.
The epicenter of the quake struck only miles away from where the youth group was staying on the island of Utila. Dazed, confused and scared are some of the words that describe the emotions of these teens, but no one was harmed. Buildings had fallen, bridges weakened and collapsed, and roads cracked. Yet God, in His might, protected the Consuming Fire youth from any devastation.
The airport the team was to depart from was damaged and no flights could take off or land that day. Still, God continued to show these youth that He was at work. Chartered buses were made available to transport the team across the mainland to Tegucigalpa, where they were able to acquire one of only two flights leaving the next day.
Youth Pastor Tidwell says, “No one can convince these youth that God’s love and power are not real. They have come to experience it first hand. This experience has given each of them a realization of how important life is and to make it count for God. The evidence of this life-changing awakening is evident in their worship services, prayer meetings, and in their everyday lives.”
© 2009 Church of God World Missions
