This letter informs you of some critical events that have befallen us as a family since the middle of last year, 2023. Because God is faithful and just, he has always sustained us, guiding and strengthening us in everything. First, we give our thanks to God and to our brothers and sisters at LAM. You have accompanied us with your prayers. May God Almighty bless you. 

We want to give you some details. First, we’ll tell you about Isabel's health situation. For some time, she has been very unstable. We had several consultations at the hospital here in Puerto Lempira and then at a hospital in Nicaragua. She was not getting better, and on March 1, we traveled to Tegucigalpa. Unfortunately, she suffered in an accident, resulting in the fracture of her fibula and five ribs. We thank God for sustaining us faithfully during this time. Even now, she suffers from pain and discomfort, but she has a great desire to serve in the Lord’s work.

Secondly, I’ll give some details about my health situation. Things occurred unexpectedly on January 14, 2024. The next day, I had emergency surgery for appendicitis. Thank God there was a surgeon in the Puerto Lempira hospital. According to Dr. Por, internal infection and contamination in extraction began to spread through my body. Eleven days later, they opened me up again, removing the infection. They left the wound open for cleansing and healing purposes. Thank God, after a month of rest, the wound healed well. 

However, after some time another problem appeared. The medical staff at the Puerto Lempira hospital could not give a conclusive diagnosis. Because no specialist lives here, we had to travel to Tegucigalpa. Due to high costs, we went to Siguatepeque, Comayagua, where we received care.  The specialist at the Evangelical Hospital gave us the diagnosis: second and third-grade hemorrhoids. I experienced a lot of bleeding, so he recommended two more surgeries. Beginning in April and ending on May 6, the gastroenterologist helped, and I felt much better. I thank God because he sustained me for four months. Today, I am in Puerto Lempira, and we are praying to continue with Bible classes this weekend.

A third aspect of our family’s health involved a tragedy with our son, Heiner. He was staying at our house while we were away.  On April 7, he suffered an accident being squashed between a motorcycle and a car, suffering a dislocated and fractured hip. He was treated at the Hospital Puerto Lempira. After 14 days, his condition became more complicated, and no orthopedic surgeon was in the hospital. That meant he had to be transferred to Tegucigalpa. On April 22, he was admitted to the Teaching Hospital. God is great in mercy, and on April 24^th they operated. Today, he is resting and recovering in a rehabilitation ward. So far, our son can only move in his wheelchair. We are praying that he will recover and walk normally. We thank God during these difficult times. These are great trials. In His mercy, He has guided and sustained us, fulfilling His purpose with us.

Lastly, we want to tell you about ministries in Puerto Lempira during the last six months. We have been busy from October 2023 to May 2024. One of the highlights involved training sessions for 25 pastors and leaders. Some brought their wives, meaning we had about 30 people at the training sessions. We experienced a lot of hustle and bustle. Visiting speakers taught, giving special emphasis on Discipleship and Theology. We continued teaching others with the help of the Evangelical Church Jerusalem, concluding our activities on December 23, 2023.

Sincerely yours,

Benjamín and Isabel Martínez.