“Being a dentist, I was not sure how God could use me on the foreign mission field,” said Billy Capps, International Mission Board missionary to Honduras. “Betty, my wife, had been called since the third grade. I, too, felt the call at that early age but never felt I could be used to further His Kingdom.”

God equips

“In 1990, I took my first mission trip, which was to Guatemala. It was a great experience, although, not knowing the language, I felt I contributed very little to the trip,” he said. “On the plane back to our home in Arkansas, I prayed that—if there was any way God could use me on a foreign field—I was willing and making myself available.”

On the flight home, Billy felt God telling him that He equips those whom He calls. “I knew I was called at that point, and I knew I could depend on Him to equip me in the coming years,” he said.

“My wife, Betty, and I both felt called to a Spanish-speaking country. There was a request for a dentist in the country of Honduras, which we felt was an answer to prayer.”

Hope for Honduras

They accepted the call to Honduras, attended language school for a year, and eventually arrived in their new mission field. They felt called to minister to the Lenca, who number between 50,000 and 100,000, and moved to the most heavily Lenca-populated area.

These natives of Hope, Ark., now live in the Honduras town of La Esperanza—Spanish for hope.

An Independent Baptist missionary had ministered in the area for 26 years, starting nine Baptist churches—but none among the Lenca people. When people tried to visit the Lenca, they chased them with machetes and demanded that they never return. The missionary told the Capps that for many years he had believed God might use a medical or dental professional to open doors to the Lenca.

“The Lenca are very poor and functionally illiterate people, and are strongly influenced and controlled by the local priest. This is the main reason the area was closed to evangelical work,” Billy explained. “Betty and I felt called to the area and felt our mission was to see that every Lenca would have the opportunity to hear, understand and respond to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Dentistry opens doors

They began practicing dentistry in schools, developing relationships with people, and sharing Christ with their new friends. Their motto is: "Sowing seeds among the Lenca in view of a future harvest through dentistry."

“Although we are not totally free to share the gospel with groups at this point in time, doors have been opened using dentistry,” Billy said. “And we have never been asked to leave the community or been threatened in any way.

“God has used dentistry. When we arrived, no evangelical was allowed to work in our area with the Lenca,” he remarked. “Now, after three years, besides Betty and me, there are five other Baptist missionaries who have been allowed into the area and into homes to have Bible studies.”

“Betty and I will always believe that God used dentistry to open the doors that someday will allow a church planting movement among the Lenca people group. We pray we will be available to participate in and witness the harvest.”

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