Precious Souls

She stood in the middle of the dirt road with a heart melting smile and a baby on her hip.  Her shirt was too small and her bulging belly revealed another child was on the way.  She was happy to see me and asked if I could come and visit with her for a while.  I left my task at hand and went with her to find out what was going on in her life.  She let me take the child from her hip and as we walked and talked, her other little girl came running up to us talking fast and quickly grabbing my hand, saying I was her new friend.  Both children were barefoot and barely clothed and I offered to carry the second child as well.  She told me it was okay, they were used to it and their feet were tough.  We walked along the road and she told me that she remembered me telling her that God had not given up on her and neither had I.  She said she has been going to church near here and asking God what to do.  This country doesn’t give women like her many options, but she believes that God will help her.  She invited me to see where she lived so that I could find her, if I ever wanted to visit. 

 

As we walked along the rocky dirt road, I could smell the child I was carrying who obviously hadn’t bathed in a while.   I kept looking at the other little girl’s dirty bare feet walking on the rocky terrain.  Then she stopped and said, ‘there it is.  This is where I live’.   I tried not to look shocked as she motioned for me to follow her up the steep trail to the building that was her home-just a small block building with a concrete floor.  No doors, no windows, no electricity or plumbing.  She asked me to come in as she explained that she lived there with her cousins.  There was not any furniture, except for the bottom of a spring type frame.  No mattress, nothing soft to lie on…just springs.  There was lump in my throat and I was willing myself not to burst into tears.  We went back outside where she took a little dress off a tree limb and put it on the older girl as we sat on the ground to visit.  The little girl crawled up in my lap and the stench of her hair was overwhelming.  I looked around and noticed that there was not even a makeshift shower or bathroom outside. 

 

 

As we sat and visited, the little girl started chatting with me and then she looked up with big brown eyes and told me something in Spanish that I wish I hadn’t understood – ‘Tengo el hambre’ (I have hunger).   It seemed like an eternity, me looking in her eyes and begging God to tell me what to do.  You see this woman has been begging for years.  She knew what it was like to have a good, safe, protected life.  Then she made a mistake…and now has to suffer the consequences.  They say that she will never learn and she just keeps begging.  They say if you give her something today, she will be back tomorrow.  They say that she sells what people give her and still has nothing.  I say WOULDN’T YOU?  If you had no food and hungry children, wouldn’t you beg?  Wouldn’t you sell anything you could get your hands on to feed your children?  I say that God commands us to love anyway.  I know that there are hundreds more just like her out there and the problem is way bigger than I am, but I serve a God that is in control.  I know HE hasn’t given up on her…and neither will I.  

There are 83 children here at Faith Home and I am begging God for wisdom to make sure that we give them the best opportunities in life, that we keep them safe & protected, but most of all ... I am begging for their souls.   It’s their relationship with God that I want them to value most.  Through that relationship, HE will transform them and the world around them.

As I sit here typing, I can still smell the stench on my clothes of the children that I held.  I can close my eyes and imagine their little bodies curled up next to their mother on those springs or even the floor.  A few years ago, I prayed for God to break my heart for what breaks His…today He crumbled it to pieces.   

Honduran Life

O how I wished I had a camera today!  So many memories etched in my mind forever.  The first half of the day was filled with bookkeeping, then Hector said it was time to go pick up our trucks from the shop in San Pedro.  There was so much going on at Faith Home, we opted to ride a bus in so we could get them both at the same time.  Jose Ricardo joined us because we had to go visit a potential employer for him.  We walked the dirt road down to the highway and waited…and waited…and continued to wait.  I have no idea how long it was because Hector said don’t take anything that anyone would be tempted to steal.  Thus, I left my watch, my camera and my purse behind.  I just had my passport, driver’s license and a little cash in my secure pocket on my pants. 

When the bus finally arrived, we climbed on board where I immediately smiled and greeted the passengers who looked back at me like I was a foreigner…O wait – I am!  As we squeezed in between everyone, the heat and stench quickly made their presence known.  It was the longest, most uncomfortable bus ride ever.  No singing team-mates, no laughter or tears.  Just some Honduran upbeat music, a man selling something ‘fresco’ insistently, the door guy whistling nonstop to get more passengers and constant stops as we weaved in and out of every little community on the way to San Pedro.

As I absorbed the sights, sounds…and smells, I started thinking about how most Hondurans must travel this way every day.  Even our transition kids ride the bus to get to school and work.  It is their way of life.  One of the things I want to do is understand their culture, so this was a good start.  When Hector finally signaled that it was time to get off the bus, we squeezed through the people and out onto a street corner that was several blocks away from our trucks.  A man ushered us to his taxi and we whipped in and out of traffic until we arrived at our destination.  We had several stops to make, all of which seemed to take forever and nobody seemed to be in a hurry.  Finally, we arrived at Jose Ricardo’s potential job and visited with the nicest people.  I have no doubt that God orchestrated this opportunity through a special lady from Jose’s past.  He starts to work on Monday and now we just have to figure out living arrangements for him in San Pedro.  God is good!

The drive home consisted of me weaving in and out of traffic, trying to keep up with Hector and learning Spanish from Jose as I drove.  He didn’t seem to mind my crazy driving.  Apparently here, I fit right in.  When we finally arrived back at Faith Home, Jose thanked me for a good day and said good-bye.  Reflecting on this day, I wouldn’t trade the scenic bus ride, laid back people, crazy traffic or the conversation with Jose for anything.  Thank you Lord for a good day!

TRAVELING LIGHT

I found a cool app on my phone the other day that counts down the days until a special event.  I put in the date of my anticipated departure for Honduras, which was cool.  As I played with the app, I also found where I could put my date of birth and it calculated how many days I had been alive…not so cool.  That’s a lot of days!  I began to think about how many of those days have been wasted.  I’m ashamed to say that the majority of them have been wasted on things that I thought were important or maybe even on nothing at all. 

I remember a day, several years ago, when I suddenly realized that I couldn’t change the world sitting on my couch.  Some days, I would come home from work, mentally exhausted and just zone out watching TV, eating supper and just sitting there until time for bed.  I’m a morning person, so I always wake up happy, energetic and ready to take on the world.  I have most of my moments of clarity with God in the mornings as I study His word, pray and let Him speak to my heart.  One morning as I told God, once again, that I wanted to be His hands, feet and heart to the world, He spoke to my heart about wasted time.  I started evaluating what I was really doing to reach others and how I was spending my time.  I determined that it was time to change things.  I refused to sit on my couch much and eventually stopped watching TV altogether.  I started getting out and visiting and meeting people and really started to see what reaching out meant.  It is more than just going to church and mission trips.  It is using every available moment to touch lives…and let them touch yours.

As I look at my empty house this morning, I was reminded of the couch moment.  I don’t mind that I have given everything away, because those are just ‘things’.  What I have is more valuable than anything I could own in this world – the Peace of God.  I want to share that peace with the world.  As I prepare for the journey to be a missionary in Honduras, I am traveling light.  I could fit everything I own in this borrowed car I am driving and I am perfectly content with that.  I am looking forward to the ministry in Honduras and watching God move through hearts and lives along the way.

I am thankful for the day that I realized I couldn’t change the world from my couch and the fact that now…I don’t even own a couch!

Patch Club and Gecko Poo

Tonight I shared my journey with with our 'Patch Club' children's ministry.  I tried to explain to them why I am leaving them and going to another country to serve where God is sending me.  I asked God this morning to help me leave some words with them that would be 'food for their journey'.  If I am not going to be here as they grow up, then I wanted to make sure that I still get to be an influence on them.  I talked about listening to God as they make their decisions for the future and how I had no idea as a child that this is what I would be doing now.   We talked about trusting God with their decisions and how He has a plan for their lives, as well as that of the children of Faith Home.  It got quite serious for a while as I fought back tears and assured them that I would find a way to 'skype' in and visit with them.

 

Finally, the mood lightened as the children asked questions and I tried to help them understand what it was like in Honduras.  I told about the scenery and the weather and then I talked about the geckos and the little 'presents' they often leave for us.  Miss Marcella had prepared cookies with chocolate sprinkles on them - which looked like gecko poo, so yeah, I used the comparison....the kids loved it!  What a memory for them...and for me. 

EXPECTING MIRACLES

Last night as we discussed the things we had seen, Pete mentioned a man in a wheelchair that was in bad shape. The man had tied a lawn chair seat to replace the missing seat. Scott said that it just happened that the the container that had arrived last week had a wheelchair on it. GOD's timing is perfect.

Today in eye glasses it seems that God wanted to remind us that He doesn't stop with one miracle. I think we fit more glasses through prayer than through our high-tech equipment. From multiple cataract cases to another small child with crossed eyes, we were amazed at GOD's provision for our patients.

My favorite was an older lady who had extreme cataracts. We took turns trying desperately to get a reading before accepting that it wouldn't happen. We prayed and went to the box of glasses not in our inventory, where we found an older style of glasses that had been in the box for the past several trips. We had no idea what the prescription was, but they looked like they would be perfect on the lady.

As I put them on her face, she said praise God she could see the people out in the field and thanked us. I told her that God had provided the glasses for her and she looked beautiful in them. Her precious smile reminded me once again to never stop EXPECTING MIRACLES.

To God be the Glory!

Back in May, when we were distributing shoes in Emanuel, we met a special young boy. This boy had wandering eyes and couldn’t see much at all. We weren’t equipped to do any testing that day because we had just went to church and did the shoe and food distribution. The mother asked if she could bring him the next day to where we were working.

As we arrived at the site, the young boy was one of our first patients. Because of his wandering eyes and inability to focus, it was impossible to get a reading. Cristina Lindsey and I tried for almost an hour before we gave up in tears, feeling as if we had failed.

This morning, as we started the clinic, Cristina and I were surprised by the same little boy, Eric, there to have his eyes checked. Emanuel is not too far from where we were working and they had walked over, wanting desperately to try again. We immediately decided that we HAD to try but that God was the only way it was possible. So we gathered as many people as were available and surrounded Eric and put hands on him in prayer.

We prayed boldly for God to guide Tom’s hands and the reader so that we could get a reading. As I prayed, I sensed that there were many around us watching and even those praying that needed to KNOW that God can do anything and that miracles are still possible. So I prayed that God’s glory would be evident to all watching and those who heard later.

After we finished the prayer, Tom went to work, trying to get a reading. He tried several angles and positions and we finally put Eric on my lap so that he could try again. As I held Eric’s head, I prayed once again that Eric not only would receive glasses today and be able to see, but he also would see God. For a moment, I thought about telling Deb to start looking for any children’s glasses in the extra inventory but then that still small voice said “Don’t try in your own power. God’s got this!”

Finally Tom got one of the eyes to read, but the other wasn’t happening. The eye turned too much out and wouldn’t focus. So we decided to try with the one that we had. As he sent the information to the computer, we saw that there was only one possible match (after we reduced the parameters way off from the reading). We continued to pray as Deb looked for the one possible match that the computer found. She pulled out the glasses that were in the specified slot and almost screamed in amazement. We looked and they were children’s glasses!

We put them on him and the look on his face was priceless! He could see!!!! We shouted and sang Glory to God, crying and then proceeded to explain to the mother why we were so happy. We explained how impossible it was and that only with GOD were we able to fit Eric with the glasses. We asked her to tell the story to Eric as he grew up so that he would always know what God had done.

As the family left and we started to log the inventory, Deb noticed that the bag Eric’s glasses came out of didn’t even have a number on them. We don’t know HOW they got in the slot that they did….but we know WHY.

I truly believe that miracles are still possible and I KNOW that God uses them to strengthen, encourage us and most importantly to recognize HIS GLORY.

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

HOPE

Today as the team arrived at the open field that would be our site for the week, I was once again stirred by the poverty of the Honduran people. But before I could get too wrapped up in sorrow for their circumstances, they overwhelmed me with their love. While walking down the muddy path to the site, I received countless hugs from children and adults coming out of their ‘shacks’ to welcome us.

The eyeglass clinic had not received the inventory file for the computer system and we discussed the possibility of not being able to do prescription glasses at all. Without the correct inventory, it would be impossible to match the correct glasses with the patients. God quickly reminded us that ALL things are possible through Him and we got excited to see what miracles HE was going to show us today….which He of course did. Through prayer, we were able to help everyone who came through the clinic and were rewarded with lots of hugs and smiles. Tom was having a hard time getting a reading on an older gentleman with cataracts and asked me if I wanted to try. We prayed and I had a reading within seconds…not me….GOD. I don’t know which made the man smile bigger, the glasses allowing him to see or us telling Him that GOD was the one who made it happen.

The entire team reported that they had an amazing day as we shared stories after supper. The best of all, for me, was a young mother and a little baby that we discovered had worked their way into all our hearts. I held this one month old baby while the mother was fitted for glasses. Before I gave him back, I felt we needed to pray blessing on his life. So we gathered around the mother and prayed. As I held the baby in my arms we prayed that God would bless him and protect him as he grew up with difficult circumstances and seemingly bleak possibilities for the future. I prayed that God would use this child to change lives in Honduras.

At the end of the day, I was called over to talk to the same mother. Her husband had been murdered and she lived with her mother with little hope for the future…until today. She had been touched by all the team as she went through the clinic. She had been given HOPE. She bonded with Deb White and requested that Deb be the godmother of the baby. We explained to her that Deb lived far away and would likely never see them again, but she would be honored to pray for the mother and child. Don took a picture for them, because the mother wanted to remember this day forever….the day she found HOPE.

It’s the little moments that make a difference. Whether in Honduras or at home, your kind words, prayers and love can change the world for Christ. YOU can offer them HOPE.