Faith Facts

• Predisan ministry began in 1985 when a simple rehydration solution saved an infant and sparked a Church of Christ healthcare outreach.
• Dr. Amanda Madrid and Doris Clark led the work from humble beginnings to a full hospital, rehab center, and 233-school lunch program.
• Community leaders credit Predisan’s faith-based peace efforts with ending cartel violence that once plagued rural Olancho.

Dr. Amanda Madrid and 82-year-old Doris Clark recently climbed into saddles once more to retrace the dusty trails they first rode nearly forty years ago. Supporters, board members, and local families watched as the two women, now almost seventy and eighty-two, waved from horseback while a marching band played and more than one hundred villagers cheered.

The ride ended at CEDECO, the Center for Community Development in Las Delicias de Cuyamel, where Predisan’s earliest clinics once stood. Today the campus trains leaders in spiritual growth, water systems, food security, and the school lunch initiative that now feeds children in 233 rural schools.

Staff members later reenacted the 1985 moment that birthed the ministry. A young mother’s dying baby was restored to health after a visiting volunteer mixed a simple oral rehydration solution. The skit closed with the words “And Predisan is born.”

Community elder Oscar Melgar then stood to recall darker days. “From 2012 to 2015 there was a lot of violence in this area,” he said. “They wanted to solve their problems with their guns.”

“Now we have peace, so much that I’m not worried about sleeping at night with my door open and my windows open.”

Dr. Cliff Fullerton, a Texas board member who has volunteered for thirty years, noted the deeper change. “The whole community is getting more mature and healthier,” Fullerton said. “And I love seeing the pride that people have in Predisan and their communities.”

Young Honduran staffers Keyra Erazo and Annette Moradel, both twenty-five, listened intently. Moradel said the stories of Madrid and Clark “inspire me a lot and encourage me that I can really reach out and do anything that the Lord placed on my heart.”

Dr. Gabriela Tovar left a dental practice in the capital to join Predisan. “It’s an organization full of opportunity,” the thirty-one-year-old said. “Young people can come in here, work, get lots of experience. But more than experience, they can get closer to God.”

Adopted daughters Bartola Kuruvilla and Fide Madrid-Jones traveled from Tulsa and Denton to celebrate. Kuruvilla called herself “a product of this ministry.” Madrid-Jones described her own journey as “a miracle story because of them.”

Grandson Daniel King, a twenty-one-year-old flight instructor from Texas, reflected on the contrast between past and present. “Now the kids are vaccinated, there’s healthcare available, and that’s just the start of it,” King said. “They’ve expanded into education and food and economic development. And the coolest thing about it is that at the center of it all is Jesus.”

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Faith Facts

• Fifteen men convicted for their roles in the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 267 worshippers and tourists have been sentenced to more than 200 years in prison each.
• The attacks struck three Sri Lankan churches during Easter Sunday services, along with several luxury hotels, in an act of coordinated terror targeting Christians.
• Christians in Sri Lanka have cautiously welcomed the long-awaited sentences as a step toward justice and protection of religious freedom.

The convictions mark a significant development in the fight against religious persecution in South Asia.

Sri Lankan courts handed down the sentences after years of investigation and trials following the coordinated attacks on Easter Sunday 2019.

“Christians in Sri Lanka have cautiously welcomed the sentencing of 15 men to more than two centuries each behind bars for their roles in the 2019 Easter Sunday suicide bombings, which killed at least 267 people at churches and hotels.”

The bombings struck during Easter worship services, killing faithful believers as they gathered in church sanctuaries.

The attacks also targeted hotels frequented by tourists, showing a broad intent to sow fear and chaos across the nation.

The convictions send a clear message that acts of violence against Christians will not be tolerated.

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Faith Facts

• AI technology now allows believers to hear the entire Bible performed in sea shanty, hard rock, and Gregorian chant styles.
• Christian musician Daniel Johnson says the project is sincere even if the musical results are not for every listener.
• Believers continue to weigh the spiritual value of new technologies against the unchanging truth of Scripture.

Artificial intelligence has created a new way for people to experience the Bible: sung entirely in the style of a sea shanty. The project offers the complete Scriptures in other musical forms as well, including hard rock and Gregorian chant. While the experiment has drawn attention, it also raises questions about how technology should serve the church.

Daniel Johnson, a Christian musician, acknowledges that the sea-shanty version will not appeal to every listener. He nevertheless affirms that the effort comes from a sincere desire to honor God’s Word.

“It’s not to everyone’s taste, says Daniel Johnson, but it’s heart is in the right place.”

Many Christians welcome fresh approaches that draw attention to Scripture, yet they also remember that the power of the Bible lies in its message rather than its musical packaging. The concern is whether stylistic choices might unintentionally shift focus away from the text itself.

At the same time, the project demonstrates the remarkable reach of modern technology. Tools that once seemed unimaginable now make it possible to hear every chapter of the Bible set to music. This capability invites believers to consider how innovation can serve eternal truth without replacing it.

Ultimately, the discussion returns to the unchanging nature of God’s Word. Styles may change, but the call to hide Scripture in the heart remains the same. Christians are therefore encouraged to test every new method by whether it deepens love for the Lord and obedience to His commands.

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