New Perspective....

For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

2 Corinthians 4:6

 

Today we wrapped up our awesome week in Honduras.  My dear friend Jeneen and I worked on a slide show devotion for tonight (Friday) with the hopes of inspiring the team for the future and what they would take home with them.  The ironic thing was that as we worked on the devotion and discussed what was on our minds, we found that God was telling us both some very specific things and we were the ones inspired to go home with a fresh and new perspective on life. 

 

 

 I was dreading leaving Honduras, but now I'm excited to see what God has planned.  

You can't walk with God and remain the same.

 

Here I am Lord....use me! 

Terrific Thursday!!

Another super cool awesome day in Honduras!  I had the honor of holding the hand of 155 Honduran children today and praying for blessings on their lives.  Today we saw a lot of head lice and a lot of sores on the children....didn't matter though.  We were there to be the hands, feet and face of Jesus to those people.  I'm pretty sure Jesus wouldn't have been afraid catching anything, so neither was I.  They make medicine and shampoo for things such as that.  As I held some of the bumpy, sore hands and prayed for the children, I began to think about the difficult path ahead of them.  I choked back tears, as I prayed harder and more specific for each one of them.  I prayed that God would plant a seed in their hearts today, so that as they face their futures, they would remember a kind smile, friendly touch and the words 'Jesus te ama'.... and they would know that Jesus loves them.  I am confident that God planted many seeds through us this week.  Someone mentioned that they wondered before they came what difference we could really make with a little medicine and other services offered for one day in the midst of a lifetime of difficulty for the Hondurans.  We all agreed that we know the true difference was what they saw in us.  This team truly was the hands and feet of Jesus this week.  We all got to take time with the people and interact with them outside our designated duties.  It was amazing!  After church, I got to spend hours just playing with the kids. 

I sat on the trailer with a group of children and colored for a while.

I also got to spend several hours just playing clapping games with Cynthia and Heidi. 

Leona Cole and I walked out into the village, while the team was finishing up, to visit some of her friends from when she was a missionary here.  As I heard the bus starting up, I looked around at the peaceful lifestyle, beautiful scenery and then at my little friends, Cynthia and Heidi, holding each of my hands.  I found myself thinking about what it would be like if the bus forgot me and left.  Okay, I know that's not practical and yes I came back to reality, but it really saddened me to leave El Banano today.  As I ponder that irrational thought, I wonder what about that life appealed to me?  Simplicity....their simple lifestyle, yet their eagerness to love.  Think I could stand a 'back to basics', simpler life and to love more.  Lots of lessons learned this week and lots of things on my mind.  My prayer is that I sort it all out and allow God to use this week's experiences to build my character into who I need to be, so that I'm prepared for what He has planned for my life. 

The team is getting up early for a sunrise service at the Faith Home chapel.  Then we have a full day of visiting the women's coop, pizza party with Faith Home children, inventory of supplies, trip to market and then wrap things up to go home. This week passed way to fast for me.....

WOW! Wednesday

Today we moved to El Banano which is a community within a banana grove.  The church and school were both much smaller than the previous location.  Parts of the clinic had to double up:  eyeglasses & dental, pharmacy & hospitality packs and hearing was on the bus.  You would think the congestion would have made things chaotic, but no...smoothest day yet.  We had an awesome day in children's ministry with 185 children.  I switched the type of bracelet that I put on them today to one that had to be tied around their wrists.  When I first started tying them, I caught myself thinking 'this is going to take a while'. 

Then I noticed as I held a child's hand to put the bracelet on, he was looking up at me with expectant eyes.  As I looked in his eyes and held his hand, I said a silent prayer that God would bless that child's life.  What a blessing!  That was my resolve for the rest of the day: as I tied bracelets on, I prayed for each and every child.  

We had 50 people saved in church services today.  After we had finished church, we went over to the clinics.  As I sat on the wall visiting with some kids, I asked about the ringing of the bell for those that were saved.  We usually ring the bell after each service for the number of salvations so the other team members would know.  They had done it for the first service, but not the rest of the day.  Since I asked about it, they brought the bell to me to ring.  I have to admit, I was a little embarrassed to do this because all eyes were on me as I rang the bell 41 more times.  While I was ringing it though, it occurred to me the impact of each ring of that bell .... someone going to spend eternity in Heaven!  That was overwhelming. It was an honor to recognize those people and their decisions.

So what I've learned today, is to stop and listen to what God is revealing to me in each situation.  Above is just a couple of blessings I would've missed if I hadn't taken time to listen.  I wonder how many times I miss such simple things when I grumble, complain or just don't really want to do something?

It was just another truly awesome day...and the weather is great.  Not too cold, not too hot....perfect!

Don't just do something....STAND THERE!

So the last two days have been phenominal!   I caught myself thinking that things were going too smooth.  You know that thing in the back of your mind thinking this is too good to be true?  Well last night and this morning, I found myself worrying about things that I have no control over and to be honest it was stealing my joy.  So I got up extra early and was reading and praying to put things in the proper perspective.  I went out for a walk and talk with God and was reminded of something I read a few weeks ago.  I tend to stay moving and busy all the time...always feel like I need to be doing something.  You've heard people say 'don't just stand there, DO something!'.  The devotion I read said "Don't just do something ...STAND THERE!".  So many times we get caught up in feeling like we need to do something, fix something, be something and often forget to just stand still and wait on God to show us what to do.  So this morning I just stopped at the bottom of the mountain and looked up and waited on God to speak - and He did.  He had something to tell me, but I was too busy doing my own thinking and analyzing to hear Him.  I was reminded of the song that my pastor's wife and my good friend Paula Richardson sings "Stand Still and Let God Move".  That is my prayer this morning for myself, the team and everyone reading this.  Just stand still for a moment and wait for God to show us what to do...in our plans, actions, reactions and especially our words. 

Can't wait to see what God has planned for today! 

Awesome Tuesday!

Today was even more awesome than yesterday!  I'm wondering if I should be having this much fun on a mission trip....yeah of course!  Nothing to complain about for sure.  I got to meet 241 Honduran children today in Kids Ministry and we had a blast!  The clinics were backed up so we got to take our time with each of the children.  We didn't have a translator, but the people from the church we were working out of were helping us.  There were a few kids that I started to recognize as repeats, but I just pretended that I didn't notice.  They were sneaking around and filtering in with the new families as they came in church.  I figured what did it hurt? 

One little 9 year old girl in particular, I had seen four times already.  I just smiled and winked at her to let her know that I remembered her.    In one service there were several salvations and the church members were all busy talking with them.  When the children came up for the lesson, there wasn't anyone available to read it.  The little girl that kept coming back raised her hand and offered to read, so I let her.  Apparently she had caught on from being there so much and she proceeded to teach the lesson with so much enthusiasm, the children were listening and responding.  She even made them repeat the main points in unison.  I saw God working through that little child.  Awesome!

God is Good!

I don't know why, but I'm constantly amazed at how God orchestrates things.  Things don't just happen, He knows all along what is best.  When we take time to look, we can see His hand upon even the smallest of details.  To take 32 people from different places, different backgrounds and incredibly different personalities and put them together in Honduras to work as a team....impossible for us.  God knew exactly who and what He needed here to accomplish His purposes and today that was sooo evident.  Over 500 people came through church and the clinics today, 285 of which were children.

As we gathered this morning to pray and sing at the site before beginning our work, the people came to watch and some even came in to join us.  They didn't know what we were saying, but they knew it was a Holy moment and they prayed with us.  Pretty cool how God can connect us in ways a spoken language never could. 

We got to church to discover that the local pastor was already preaching and the porch and yard we had scoped out for children's ministry was full of people.  I couldn't do children's church the way I had planned...but of course God's plan was much greater than my plan.   We had children's church up front, after preaching, giving them salvation tracts and other items, while taking time with each one and showing them God's love.  It worked so well that we continued to do the same for the rest of the services and it was Awesome!  I had about 10 different plans - lessons, puppets, drama, etc. for children's ministry ...that was not one of my plans.  God knew just what would work all along.

While the pastor was preaching to the people, He was preaching hard about where they would spend eternity.  He proceeded to tell them all about what they would receive from the mission team today, then added that the most important thing they could leave with today was medicine that gave them eternal life.  He explained that everyone has sinned, but God gives them the free gift of eternal life.  All they have to do is accept the gift.  Such a simple basic message...but the most important one.  The pastor knew that some of those people were only there for the free clinics and he knew he had one chance to tell them something that would change their life.  How many times does God bring someone across our path for one time- for His purposes- and we miss the chance to make a difference?

For me, it's easy to come to Honduras and see God move all around me....no distractions.  The challenge is to watch Him move in everyday life, and see where I can join Him.

God is Good!  All the time!  ....and His plans are better than my plans.

Kids Ministry Rocks!

I definitely had the best job on the team today.  I got to be surrounded by 285 children and say 'God loves you' to each and every one of them.  We had the most amazing time in children's ministry!  Kids are the same wherever you go.  If you just take the time to look them in the eye and see them as an individual person....they know you care and love them.  A smile is a smile in any language and God has a way of connecting hearts and helping us communicate.

It was an awesome day!

Good Morning!

What a gorgeous view!  The sun is starting to peak over the mountains as the team is getting breakfast, gathering for morning devotion and preparing to leave for a super awesome day in La Sabana.

My prayer this morning is a simple song:  Lord prepare me, to be a Sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true.  With thanksgiving, I'll be a living Sanctuary for you.

One of my favorite songs, but seemed to have much more impact on my heart this morning as I sang it on top of the hill watching the sun come up and listening to the sounds of morning at Faith Home.  Please pray for the team as we try to be, do and say what God wants us to today.  I'm sure there will be lots of unforeseen things, but it's awesome to know that God sees them all and HE knows what the plan is...even if we don't.