100lbs of Love



 
I have to start this blog entry by saying thank you, thank you....THANK YOU!!  I am so overwhelmed by the support I have received for this trip!

Last weekend, I began sorting through the items that have been donated...flip flops, t-shirts, children's clothes, school supplies, ball caps, & someone even made soap to send.  As I packed each item I thanked the Lord for the ones who gave the items. I said to one lady 'you are one step closer to Honduras, you have made an investment.'   I can't even begin to tell you how appreciative the people are for your gifts. They are thankful for every little thing that is given. 

For me, am I thankful for your gifts and financial support but I am so very grateful for your prayers.  I have had people email me and message me and tell me that they are praying for me. That is such a comfort for me to know that you are all going with me through your thoughts and prayers. 

I do not take this opportunity for granted. I know that it is a great privilege to go. I am privileged to be able to be a messenger of hope and to remind those who are desperate that they are not alone.  

 

As I zipped up the black duffle I said 'that is 50lbs of love'. Together I am taking 100lbs and it is worth more than that to those who receive it!!

 

Team one left for Honduras this past Friday.  Part of the team will return next week while 4 of them will remain with us.  Please pray for these folks this week as they are painting, loving and playing.  Pray for their health and safety.

 

Please pray for our team as we wrap up our preparations.  We have our 'packing party' on Wednesday and then our next meeting will be bright and early at the Asheville Airport Friday morning.  Please pray that our hearts will be focused on what we have ahead of us. 

 

 

I give thanks to my God for every remembrances of you.

Philippians 1:3 



 

 

Flying on a plane

 

I have pictures placed around my house of different people from Honduras. Just like you have of your family members, sweet memories etc.   Recently I put the picture below of sweet Elvia on my phone as the desktop.  (she is in the pink top) 

 

Curran, my 4 year old grandson, saw her picture and said "Hey Grammy!  That is the girl you fly in the airplane to see".  I was taken back.  He and I hadn't talked about Honduras lately....but he remembered that Elvia is special to me and that I fly on an airplane to go see her.  Not just her...but many others who have captured my heart over the years.  Many I don't even know their names.  God gave them a place in my heart that I can't seem to shake.  Whether I go and play on the playground with the little kids or hold a ladder while someone pants I am going to serve these wonderful people in Taulabe' Honduras.   I can't wait to fly on the plane to see my friends. 

 

31 days...it is drawing close. 

 

Final preparations are being made.  Meetings to wrap up details, items collected to take, and a lot of prayers are being said. 

 

Thank you to all of you that have supported us with your financial gifts, items and prayers.

 

  Please don't stop.  Please pray for us as we finish the preparations. 

 

Things tend to get crazy as the time approaches..things happen..sicknesses may occur you name it. 

 

  I especially ask that you help us focus on what we are going to do, who we are going to serve...not so much on the details. 

 

 

Moving, Loving, Repeat

Yesterday's message at church was entitled "The Leading of  God".  The questions were asked How, Where and Why does God lead us in life.  I have asked myself these things so many times over the years.  Where is God taking me?  What does he want me to do with my life, etc. 

 

Although the message was a general 'Life Message' it really spoke to me concerning my upcoming trip and the ministry in Taulabe' Honduras. 

 

Brian said that the majority of us are not called to serve overseas as missionaries but we are called to love others.  Even though I travel to Honduras I have never seen myself as a missionary.  I see myself as a fellow believer loving other's and showing them that they are not alone.  I am always amazed how he uses me and I am honored and blessed that he does.  

 

As Brian spoke I especially thought of the team that I will be a part of .  The passage used on Sunday was Acts 16:1-19  Talking about how Paul, Timothy and others went to different cities spreading the gospel....   THEY WENT...and...They went together.   At our last meeting we talked about team work and serving together as a team.  I am looking forward to serving with this amazing group.  As always teams are all different.  Most of the members are teenagers and there are a few adults sprinkled among the bunch.  We all have different gifts and talents and God will use us all separately but I also know he will use us together.  There will be times we are tired, hot and maybe even homesick.  I anticipate there will be times of great joy and moments of accomplishment and whether we experience these times individually we will also be there together.  Helping each other through this great adventure and many new experiences. 

 

I really liked this quote from the message "God always leads us beyond what is comfortable as he propels us to love the needy In word and deed" 

 

Please pray for us as we continue to prepare for this journey.  We each have our own fears and anxieties.  However I ask that you pray for us this week as a team as we prepare to go TOGETHER.  

 

 Moving Loving Repeat

Baseball Caps, Flip Flops, and Shampoo

If my calculations are correct we will be departing for Honduras in 54 days!  I am sooo excited!! 
Our next team meeting is this coming Sunday.  I am really looking forward to seeing the team since I was unable to be at the last meeting.

I am starting to make lists of things to take, things to do and even little gifts I can take to my friends there. 

 Earlier this week I was thinking about my friend Alonso, who is one of the guards on the property. He has joined me for coffee during the mornings as I sit and watch the earth awaken.  For him, his shift is ending and he is ready to go home. We muddle through a conversation that is broken English and Spanish...but some how we get our point across.  He always has a ball cap on. So I thought I could take him a ball cap.  Then the thought came to me "why not collect gently used/new baseball caps and take them to be distributed to the men".  Many of the men work out in the hot sun doing manual labor, working in the coffee groves or just walking from place to place. 

I don't know about you but we have an abundant amount of baseball caps around our house.  Ones that you have collected from vacations, free ones from events, or those that may be your favorite sports team.  So while you are doing your spring cleaning if you come across any baseball caps that are  just taking up space, I will gladly take them off your hands. 

It is always surprising what God puts on my heart to take.  One year I had a bag full of old buttons I took.  That same Christmas one of the ladies at the Hogar received a sawing machine for Christmas, she was tickled to have them!  One year we used safety glasses for an art project and I took extra, the men that do the yard work were using a weed eater without protection...we had plenty to spare! 
So if you have any of these items or God lays something on your heart to donate, please contact me.  I would love to be your delivery person!

Also other items that we will take are:

• Shampoo
• Lotion
• Deodorant
• Tooth Paste/Brushes
• Feminine Products
• Flip Flops, all sizes
• Hair Bows
• Children's Gummy Vitamins
• Children's cough and fever medicine
• School Supplies

Thank you for your prayers and support as we are preparing for this adventure in July.  God has great things in store for us, he always does!

Baskets and Bows

Things are coming along with the trip preparation.  This coming Sunday is the next fund raiser for the trip.   As long as I can remember the youth group at Grace has had a silent auction for Mother's Day gift baskets. 

I have bid on the baskets in the past but this year I am actually creating them to help the youth raise money for their trip. 

In March I started thinking about ideas, themes, who to ask to donate products for them etc.  One night I was laying in bed and my brain would not shut off.  I had to get up and write the ideas down.  Some of them were: gardening, color themes, coffee, Buzzy Bee, art, and the list goes on.  I finally decided on three and I have to say they have turned out pretty good. Not because I have put them together but because people have donated their resources and talents to make them happen.

 

'Home Grown'  is a basket full of locally grown products ranging from a bushel of apples from Justus Orchards in Edneyville, 2 dozen eggs from a lady that I work with that raises chickens, a bouquet of sunflowers from a friend who grows fields of them, a rose bush of your choice from a couple at Grace who grow amazing beautiful flowers and trees,  NC honey, and gifts cards from my favorite BB Barnes nursery, and a box of home grown goodness from my friend Maggie's homestead. 

God is working through this entire process even in the fund raising.  He is opening doors for us to share about what God is doing in Honduras and He is working our own hearts.

Pancakes and Burritos

Today was another step in fundraising and team building.   This was the second Sunday that the youth group cooked and sold breakfast as part of their fund raising.  I was asked to be a Kitchen Supervisor for this event.  My automatic response was "I'm not really your kitchen person" but Greg didn't miss a beat and sent me the list of things to do.  I admit I was a little nervous and unsure what I was getting in to. 

 I arrived at 9:45 for the 2nd shift.  Myself and another supervisor, Rebecca, started assembling burritos with the ingredients that 1st shift had already prepared.  

A few minutes later the youth filed in and went to work. There was really no "supervision" needed.  They all took their places..some at the grill cooking pancakes, some started cracking eggs, and others joined the burrito assembly line.  There were people collecting money and filling orders from the large warmer that was set up in the cafe'.  It was a well oiled machine. 

As I was helping fill the burritos, Emily the expert burrito roller, looked at me and sweetly asked, is that a special order? I looked down and laughed "Well NO!!"....I had forgotten the tortilla shell and had placed the eggs directly on the tin foil!!!  She was so gracious to me and replied "It's OK, just laugh it off.  That's what we do!"  

Pancake flippers, Caroline and Samantha

Sweet Emily

As I watched the girls continue to assemble the burritos I mentioned to them that while we are there, we will get to learn how to actually make tortillas!!  I am already thinking ahead to how much they will love the hogar and the girls that live there.  

Dylan and Caleb

Just observing the team work together today, listening to their laughter, and even receiving their hugs, I was reminded how blessed I am to be a part of what God is doing. I am eager to see what he has in store for us...each step of the way.

Pancake tester, Mikey

Relationships

When I was asked why I wanted to return to Honduras the first thing that came to mind was to see the girls in the Hogar de Nina (home for girls).   When I went to Honduras for the first time I remember saying in my prayer letter that one of the things we will be doing is hugging little girls.  Indeed, that is what we did....and that is what we do. But the beautiful thing is that the hugs are mutual.   

I am not just eager to go to see the girls but to see those that I have come to love over the years.
In 2008 I didn't know anyone there but as I return now I am going home.  I am going to visit family. 

Tina

Tina, who is the cook at the hogar welcomes you with open arms.  She feeds us and makes sure we have what we need.  We cut up and carry on like families would in any kitchen when the gang is there to visit. 

Louis, is a long time friend and member of Fuente de Vida church.  He is there to welcome us at the airport and drive us home in the school bus.  He loads and unloads our luggage and is available during our stay if we need him.  He reminds me of a favorite Uncle you would see at your next family reunion.       

Louis and a porter loading the bus

Lizzeth, my sister and friend.  When I returned home from Honduras the first time Lizzeth was my connection to the world I left behind.  In 2008 there wasn't a connection via Facebook or internet on campus but I would email her and she would respond at the local cyber cafe'.  In 2009 we were bunk mates when she came to stay with us at the mission house.  We have had many conversations and we have prayed for each other over the years. 

Carmen, is a teacher at the school and has become a precious friend to me.  She and her husband have a sweet little girl and a new baby who was born the end of last year.  I am eager to hold the new little one that I have seen so many photos of. 

Pastor Yaboni, Glendis, Senovia, Johana, Paola, Sister Reyna, Wilmar, Gasbar, Adon, Olga, Christina, Andre', the children in the school yard, Gladis....and my list can go on. 

Gladis and Ricardo

They are all people I have gotten to know and I am so thankful that I can build relationships in the small town of Taulabe'.  Not so that the people there know me but so that I can show them that they are loved by a wonderful heavenly Father who sees them in the midst of their struggles and their hard times.   I am honored that I can be His arms and give hugs to little girls that may be missing their families or a teenage girl that may be heart broken.  I can remind them that they are not alone.  I am honored that they call me sister and friend.  Even though we may not speak the same verbal language we speak the same heart language.

A lap full of love



Louis' daughter and granddaughter

Adon and Pastor Milton