Daily Devotion Focusing on the Missions Supported by First Pres

Acts 8:26 – 35

²⁶ Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south^[g] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” ³⁰ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. ³² Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and like a lamb silent before its shearer,
so he does not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus

One aspect of the PC(USA) mission partnership in the country of Honduras is helping the pastors and the pay leaders of the Honduran Presbyterian congregations to increase their biblical and theological education. Mission co-worker Dori Hjalmarson assists in this quest.

Dori accompanies, coordinates, and coaches lay and pastoral leaders of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras as they broaden theological education and strengthen the church’s leadership capacity. One component of this is a dynamic program in collaboration with the Latin American Biblical University (UBL) of Costa Rica offering an intensive two-year theological education program for pastoral and lay leadership.

She serves as the primary Presbyterian World Mission liaison to the Honduras Mission Network, facilitating connections between World Mission, the network, the Presbyterian Church of Honduras, and other interested parties. One focus of Dori’s collaboration with the Presbyterian Church of Honduras is facilitating partnerships between Honduran and U.S. Presbyterians.

A compassionate listener and communicator, Dori provides invaluable support to the leaders of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras as they strive to fortify their church.

I work to accompany the leaders and people of the Presbyterian Church of Honduras as they participate in theological education and organizational development as a relatively new denomination in a country riven with violence and poverty. I think of myself as a chaplain, listening reflectively and actively. I don’t often teach, but I walk with those who are learning. I don’t lead, but I am a friend to those who do. I seek to be a pastoral presence to the leaders of a church striving to be a light in darkness, a city on a hill.

Part of our church’s global mission budget is directed to the support of Dori’s ministry. Please pray for Dori and the churches in the Presbytery of Honduras, as God’s Word touches and transforms lives there.

Prayer

God of our hearts and minds, be with those who help others to learn of Your love and grace, as we join the generations of disciples of our Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray. Amen