Honduras Missions - Hearts and Hands

 Today we left the hotel in Tocoa at 5am, before the roosters and the sun came up.  We had our long drive back to Tegucigalpa and wanted to have a little time in town to see some of the area and relax as a team a little.  So we spent a few hours in the Valley of the Angels, which is touristy area but fun to visit.  We saw some of the cultural dancing happening in the square that we had seen at the church the other night - so it was kind of fun to walk up and say, hey, I recognize that!  This area is a safe area and we were all able to wander around the town of our own accord and agree on a meeting place at a specific time.  Some of us shopped for loved ones, some of us just strolled, and we all enjoyed time chatting at a coffee shop.  After our few hours, we drove back to the mission house to clean up, pack up a little and then go out for our team celebration dinner. We enjoyed a meal together and surprised Mateo & Ashely with a cake for their birt...

Today we did not do construction or home visits, but planned and prepared a huge cookout for the community.  But before we did any of that, we all had to go to the lab to get our covid tests done in order to fly home on Sunday.  The lab was pretty quick and we got results back later in the day.  Everyone was negative for covid and ready to go back to the USA!   We decided to do a typical American cookout with burgers and chips and watermelon and all of the fixings.  Lorena and Pastor invited around 80 people to come to the CRIE where the BBQ was the be held. We got to work in the morning preparing all the food and getting things ready for people to come.  We did not know for sure what time everyone would get there but had fun getting things ready. We fed the construction workers first as they are always working so hard. I think they appreciated the food and to be served.   Kids and families from the neighborhood came a little at a time and we had fun s...

That’s a great question.  What is God calling me to do with my life?  Do we ever really know the answer to that right of the bat or does it often take a serious of wrong turns and sometimes right turns, before things become clearer.  Or is it always in hindsight?   I know I come here and every time I do, I know in my heart that this is the work I’m meant to do.  How far I go with this calling, I’m not sure. Is meant to be just this or is meant to go deeper than I can possibly imagine.  I don’t know. I just keep following the path I’m on hoping that I am doing the right thing.  My faith and journey in Christ has grown so much and my heart is so full that I don’t know how it could possibly grow more. I love this work.  It makes me whole.  It brings me closer to God.   Today we continued with our home visits and saw so much need in the community.  It is the love and strength that I gain through faith that keeps me going during these vi...

 Today was the first of two days of home visits for half of the team.  One half stayed at the construction site to keep working on the foundation with the local construction crew and the other half took food to families in need. Today we visited I think about 18 different families in the area.  The need is great.  They lack food, clothing, medications etc.  All the things that often take for granted back at home.  Their homes are “home made” from corrugated metal sheeting, bricks, blocks, sugar cane, whatever they can lay their hands on. The floors are dirt floors, and they almost always share a room and a bed with multiple people.  Today it was not uncommon to hear of families of 14 people living in one tiny room.  The most striking thing of all is their faith.  No matter what their worries and troubles are, they always have strong faith in God and are very gracious and thankful for that.  We could learn a lot from them about faith. ...

 Before I came on this mission, I connected with a neighbor of mine over a weekly devotion that she asked me to be part of.  The title of the devotion is What Love is. By Kelly Minter.  The devotion is written about Johns letters in the Bible and his gospel.  The devotion has been something that I personally have gotten a lot of peace from with the struggles I have had in my own life.  The study talks about how this is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  1 John  3:16. The letters define love in the person of Jesus and call us to love like he loved.   Our theme for the week in our teams devotions is Do every thing in Love.  I said in my speech to the audience on ground breaking day, “What better way to show our love, than to feed the bodies and souls of the children here in Honduras”.  Working together this week on this project has created friendships and bonds that can’t be broken.  The local Hon...