Special Report - Honduras

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 Dear Brothers and Sisters,

 I will be posting to our Website a complete newsletter report on our trip to the prisons in Honduras last week but I felt I needed to send a special report on one part of that ministry. We ministered in the largest and most dangerous prison in Honduras; Tamara National Penitentiary.  We were given "carte blanche" access by the miracle grace of God. We ministered one-on-one with every inmate in the maximum-security section which houses 30 of the most dangerous men in the country. They are there for kidnapping, murder, and assault outside and inside the penitentiary. Four of these inmates, including Juan Carlos Miralda, are accused of the bus massacre in San Pedro Sula, Honduras just before last Christmas. Many of these men, including Juan Carlos, prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior and we gave each one of them a Bible with instructions on how to read it. They all expressed thankfulness for the ministry of the Hope of the Gospel in a place one inmate described as "hell on earth".

 Below is the AP account of the arrest of Juan Carlos.

Police Arrest Presumed Bus Massacre Leader
By Associated Press
Tuesday, January 4, 2005
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TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - President Ricardo Maduro said Monday that police have arrested the alleged mastermind of an attack on a public bus that left 28 passengers dead two weeks ago. The suspect was identified as Juan Carlos Miralda, 24, one of the leaders of the violent Mara Salvatrucha 13 street gang. In addition, police seized a 22 cal. gun,15 grams of cocaine and several cutting weapons.

Ten other gang members have been arrested in connection with the bus killings. All have been charged with homicide.

The massacre took place on a bus filled with workers returning home and shoppers buying gifts for Christmas. A car carrying two armed men cut off the bus, after which one of the men got of the car and started shooting. He then climbed aboard the bus where he continued to fire, while two other men fired from behind the bus. The majority of the 56 passengers aboard the bus were women and children.

Chaplain Rob Brown