Why Am I Amazed?

One of the reasons I started this blog was so that my family and friends can follow my preparation for my trip in December, as well as, to see how God is working in Honduras all the time!

As I am sitting here trying to create this entry I am giddy with excitement & smiling from ear to ear. He does it every time and I once again have to ask myself 'why are you so amazed?' He is so good and is constantly surprising me with His sweet goodness. I am always amazed, as if it is unexpected & I have never witnessed it before but the truth be told over the last four years I have marveled at how many time God has provided for me, team mates and those involved with our trips to Honduras.

Doesn't he do this all the time you may ask? Not just when one is preparing for a mission trip or involved in a ministry? Well of course he does but I think what happens is in our day to day lives (at least in my life) I tend to not completely trust him. (I don't go to him or seek his will during those routine times) That is one of the things that I have learned from the people of Honduras. They have so little but they have so much. They totally depend on God for everything. Honduras is the second poorest country after Haiti & the average person makes $900 a year!!!

So in my weakness and my lack of faith ....I am often blinded to his blessings, when in actuality it is I who often needs him more than the Hondurans. Even though as an Americans we seem to have so much we really have little!

I have submitted my application & release form for the trip & began saving for the deposit that is due September 18th. So the process has begun. Why am I so giddy and smiling? Like I mentioned earlier He did it again!!! I turned in my mileage log at work today & when I saw how much my reimbursement was I thought "that is nice we can use it for our upcoming vacation"....but after a moment I did the math and realized the reimbursement plus what I have saved was EXACTLY what I need (to the penny) for my deposit!

Thank you Lord for your goodness and your blessings!

And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.

2 Corinthians 9:8

Clothes Pins & Prayers

(view from inside of the hogar)

Recently, as I was hanging my clothes out to dry my mind drifted back to the backyard of the hogar. There are several lines stretching from fence post to fence post where the girls hang their laundry to dry. I recalled helping Paola retrieve her dried clothes, not talking but just working together. She would giggle when I would picked up the clothes that weren't hers. It became a game as I deliberately started selecting items that obviously did not belong to her.

As I pinned the clothes up on my clothes line in my backyard I began to pray for my friends that were hanging their clothes out to dry:

1) For God to send sponsors for the girls. The hogar is totally supported by the gifts of individuals (there are now 28 girls at the orphanage & it cost $4000 a month to operate the hogar.) This includes, food, electricity, medical bills, school, etc.

2) For guidance for the tias (nannies) as they love and care for the girls

3) To heal the scars and hurts that many of these girls have due to horrific living conditions.

These are just a few of the prayers that come to mind.

Please pray with me for these brown eyed girls that God will provide for their needs.

Called to serve

After the second trip I was hooked! I had Honduras in my heart & there was no getting it out. I have had people ask me 'why Honduras' and my reply is "because that is where God has drawn my heart" I truly believe that God calls us all to serve in various ways whether it is serving with the the nursery in your church, working at the homeless shelter in your neighborhood, or loving brown eyed little girls in Honduras, we all have a calling to show the love of Christ.

I returned to Honduras for the third time in April of 2010. Upon returning I was now a board member of Honduras Fountain of Life. HFOL is a nonprofit organization that partners with Fuente de Vida Ministries in Taulabe Honduras. HFOL's main ministry is the Hogar de Ninas (orphanage for girls). We also collaborate with Fuente de Vida to serve the people of Central Honduras through: mountain churches, a clothes pantry, medical clinics, micro economic projects, a school, and a home for widows.

Although we feel it is important to help with buildings of churches and feeding the poor it is more important to show them the love of Christ through building relationships. When I returned in April I was now returning to see friends, and those that I now consider part of my family.

Pictured above is Heidi, one of the girls that stole my heart in 2009. I was so blessed to visit with her again in 2010.

The Next Step

When left Honduras in 2008 I never dreamed in a million years that I would return again. In my mind it was a once in a life time opportunity. Over the next year I couldn't stop thinking about Honduras and the girls of the Hogar. I had fallen in love with one particular young lady named Johanna. I sent letters to her as a reminder that I had not forgotten her. That became a driving force for me & is still today...for the people in Taulabe to know that they are not forgotten when the Americans return to their homes.

In January of 2009 I was blessed to return for a second time. This trip I was part of a team that painted the the wall of the new hogar that was being built but more importantly than that I was able to continue building relationships with those I had met the previous year.

During the time that I had visited previously Johanna had to leave the hogar because she had turned 18. She had gone to live in a transition home and was going to school in Siguatepeque, about 45 min. away. Unknown to me it was arranged for Johanna and another girl, Lillian to come stay with the team while we were there. Life couldn't gotten any better. We went swimming, enjoyed laughs & even though there is a language barrier communicated through love.

Again, returning to the state I could not get Honduras off my mind. In 2009 I joined the newly formed board of Honduras Fountain of Life (more about HFOL to come)

My journey begins

My journey in Hondurans began in January of 2008. I had never been out of the United States and barely out of NC. I left behind my family and comfortable home to help create a story of what God was doing in the Central Mountains of Honduras. As a member of the art team, I was there to help photography the people and the country, that would help tell that story. However, after being there for 24 hours I soon discovered that God had more in store for me than just taking pictures. I soon found myself helping organize a pantry that would hold clothes, school supplies & medicine for the people in the mountains & the girls in the Hogar (home/orphanage). I also helped to take portraits of the girls & other 'task' during this trip.

It was on this trip I heard God speak to me clearer than any other time in my life , he reminded me of His love for me & the forgiveness that he had given me through his son. I stood before a church full of Hondurans, and through an interpreter gave my testimony of how God had forgiven me...how he was restoring me but also how he had loved me through the people of Honduras. See, I had gone to Honduras to love on the girls of the hogar...to help them but through God's love and amazing grace I was loved.