Passion Returns

Dear Friends and Family,

I have not been as good about keeping my blog up to date as I  have on previous trips.  Busyness of life? Maybe apathy?  Maybe both.   Apathy is one of the things that I am weary of as my trip soon approaches I have been wondering when would the excitement come?  You know that feel, kinda like the anticipation of an approaching vacation, Christmas or even a birthday.   I was starting to be concerned that the passion that I have for Honduras had faded and I had become complacent after 6 previous trips.  I didn't want this to be 'just another trip to Honduras.'  I was starting to wonder if I had maybe signed up to go but wasn't supposed to go.  But the excitement and passion has slowly returned.  God recently tapped me on the heart and reminded me why I  fell in  love with the people and the wonderful country of Honduras.  

That reminder came in the form of recent notification that 9 new little girls have arrived at the hogar.  Bringing the total number back up to 25.  The new ninas rage in ages from 11-2;  I am guessing there are some sisters in  the mix.   They are beautiful little girls who have been rescued from poverty, abuse and neglect.  That small voice said to me "they were rescued just like you...remember how Jesus rescued you?"  Although we were both in need of rescue, I have no idea what some of these little ones have lived through.  I have never gone to bed hungry, I have never felt the sting of a hot cigarette against my skin, or sat in a dirty diaper with bugs crawling on me.  It is a sad picture but it is a reality.  They all have hurts and scars--inside and out but they now have a home where they can be loved, fed, provided medical care and an education.   It is because of these girls and others like them that I fell in love.  I am excited to return and share the love that I have been so freely given.

I am excited to return so that I can meet the new ninas and be reunited with others that I have loved on before.   I am VERY excited to see what God has in store for us. 

 
I just left our third and final team meeting prior to our departure on July 11th.   Our team is very diverse.  I am one of the oldest members, there is a family of 5 going, a mom and daughter, several teenagers, an Aunt and her niece and we are converging from several locations two from PA, one from FL  there is a team member already there, and the rest from here.

Along with the excitement comes anxieties, what if I don't get along with everyone (there are 24 of us ), what if I loose my passport?, I still don't have all my finances..(close but not 100%) What if it is too hot and I get sick again?  What if....what if.....what if.....???   I ask that you offer those things up in prayer, on my behalf.  I  am trusting the Lord, and I know it will all be ok...but there is always the BUT!  

If you would like to participate in my adventure the best thing you can do is pray but if you would like to participate in other ways we are collecting the following items to take with us.   You can contact me at 243-7856 or deezy214@yahoo.com & I will be glad to pick up your donations.

Cloth diapers and pins
Chewable Vitamins
Children Cough & Cold Meds & Children Tylenol
Girls Sandals (all sizes ages 18-2)   
Toiletries: shampoo, soap, toothpaste & brushes, deodorant, feminine products
Art  Supplies: pencils, markers, finger paint, water colors, glue sticks, manual pencil sharpeners, construction paper, color tissue, colored pencils, child scissors
Soccer Balls

Thank you in advance
Much Love
Dee

Giggles, Paint, & Prayers

 WELL.....since my last blog I received the time off for my trip to Honduras  WhoooHoooo!!!   I have attended my first pre-trip meeting, written my prayer letter and am in the process of mailing it out...and the most exciting part of my preparation came unexpected.....

Last Monday I was honored to attend the Honduras of Life board meeting where Pastor Yobani Alas was the guest for the evening. (he was in the US for three weeks visiting churches etc.)  As some of you may know Yobani is the pastor of the Fuente' de Vida ministry in Taulabe' Honduras...this is the ministry that Honduras Fountain of Life partners with.   When I first arrived in Honduras in 2008 he was the first person I met.  I had mentioned in a previous blog that he asked me then if I spoke Spanish...I sheepishly replied no but with his normal exuberance he proclaimed "We  will teach you"!  I still can't speak Spanish!! LOL  Anway,  Since that first meeting I have come to admire this Godly man who for 25 years has served the people in the mountains of Central Honduras...he has continued to listen to God and when at his darkest times he never gave up his faith.  During the meeting he recanted many stories of how God has used him and the ministry and how he never lets an opportunity pass without sharing the love of Christ in either word or deed.  He has helped to plant 60 mountain churches, open a home for the elderly and widows, continues to be head over the Hogar de' Ninas that is home to girls that are abused, malnourished and come from terrible backgrounds, and the Fuente de Vida school.   He spoke of starting a work and eat program, similar to Lord's Acres here.  Where people would help to work the gardens, in exchange for fresh vegetables

 "Feed a man a meal and he will be satisfied for a day, feed a man's soul and he will be satisfied for life".  That is one of his mottoes and one that Honduras Fountain of Life follows.  We can go in and buy food, build buildings and hand out things of material nature (HFOL does help when necessary)  but they have chosen to build relationships with the community and the ministry in Taulabe that has stretched over 10 years. 

People often ask me what I do when I go and I have to answer with a chuckle "I play"...  :-)   I play with the kids in the playground of the school where 350 students attend the Fuente de Vida school and another 300 attend the Compassion International School.  They love to laugh at the goofy American who can't speak Spanish & who calls them monkeys but also trust them to use my camera as they take pictures of themselves and of me.  I sit on the porch of the Hogar de Nina and color, or just sit and rock with a little one in my lap, or become the arms that catch  a giggling girl when they jump from the edge of the pool.  (we usually take the girls of the Hogar swimming while we are there)  I hate to wash dishes at home but I could wash dishes all day beside my sweet friend Elvia.  All of this while reminding them they are loved and not while I am there but when I come home to the US.   

On previous trips I have helped to sort the mercy closet that is home to shelves and shelves of clothes that are available to those in need; paint the hogar and school; host a women's retreat for the teachers of the school and workers of the church; assisted in medical clinics and taken photos, handing them out from an instant printer....whatever is needed to be done.  

We often go with a "plan"....and it is often tweaked or changed, depending on what is needed when we arrive but this year it is my hope to have "Art Day" for the kids at the school.   When I came up with the idea I imagined finger painting with the Kindergarten but it has blossomed to possibly spending time with each grade.   We have not settled on a project yet but we are searching Pinterest and other sources for ideas.  

Please pray for me and the team of 20 others as we prepare for our journey in July.  Pray God will give  us direction on where to go with the Art Day idea....or lead us in other directions where the need might be.  Whatever it is..we are there to serve as Christ came to serve us. 

Stay tuned!!!   

It's the little things

I have often said that it is the little things in life that make a difference. Earlier this week I found that to once again  be true.

 I still have not gotten the "ok" for my time off in July.  I found myself a bit discouraged and wondering if maybe it isn't the time for me to go. I even questioned if I really wanted to go. 

The enemy is so good at spreading lies and bringing us down and that is exactly what happened!

Later that same day I was checking out patients when one of the Spanish  interpreters approached the desk to assist a family.  I saw the mom and older sister but what I didn't see, but heard, is what made the difference.  There were younger children in front of the counter laughing, giggling and speaking in Spanish.  The little boy was requesting a sticker for a "nino." Their giggles took me immediately to the front porch of the hogar.  Of course I want to go!!!  Who was I kidding?  My heart is longing to hear the laughter there.  It is longing to hear the school children on the playground beg to have their picture taken and fight over who will use my camera & then hysterically laugh when they see themselves on the screen. Yes! Yes! Yes! I want to go!  

It is indeed the little things that matter, that make a difference.  The laughter of a child is undeniably one of those things.   

I New Adventure is Blooming

Since I traveled to Honduras for the first time, I have learned that when I leave,  I never know when I will return again.  It is always God's timing and when it all comes together I know then that it is the time to return.   

As some of you may recall,  my last trip was February of 2013.  I went with a group of ladies to minister to the ladies of Fuente de Vida Ministry in Taulabe.  This year the same type of trip was organized and many of the same ladies that I went with last year returned again. However, due to starting a new job in November, I was not able to go with them.  It was hard to stay behind and watch my friends return without me but I was with them in heart.  

So now,  just like the spring flowers are starting to bloom, so is the idea of me returning to Honduras.  I have sent in a request to be off July 11-18; I am waiting for the official approval.  It is hard for me to not become excited prematurely but I know in my heart that it is the right time for me to go.  I also know prayer is an accentual part of the trip; from the beginning to the end it is with the prayers of many friends and family that I go.   

Please begin now praying with me:

1) That I will be permitted the time off
2) That God will start, even now, to prepare my heart
3)  Pray for the team as it starts to form that God will bring 
     us together to serve our friends in Taulabe.

I have a feeling this is going to be an amazing adventure!