We are settling in at the hacienda and most of the team is sorting tote contents. We had a time of orientation, and of course there are always challenges to overcome for the week as things do change on a mission trip, but we have committed ourselves to be Gumby’s and will bend and be flexible.
All the luggage arrives as did all the team members. My goal is to get others to share tonight, but rest may be the first priority for some. We begin early tomorrow. Continue in your prayers.
So it’s 2:15am on Tuesday morning. The house is both quiet but also buzzing with anticipation. As everyone gets ready to go, I am reflecting on the years past and what we are about to encounter. Leading up to the trip, the excitement I had in years past had not washed over me yet, and while I’m still not overflowing, I can finally feel the anticipation building. “What will God do through us?” “What will God do to us?”
While I overindulge in caffeine, as the picture represents, and as I have reached the end of this post, the quiet has become an awakening, both for me and for the house. God do what you will… ’cause ready or not… here we come!
It seems like yesterday that we were painting the Homes of Hope Orphanage, but it has been two years already. It is that time again. We are heading back to Comayagua Honduras this week. Our team, technically leaves Tuesday from St. Louis and also from Louisville. We will meet in Atlanta where we will be united on our way to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. The 6 of us from UBC will begin our journey tomorrow, however, as we first must make the drive to Alton due to our flight leaving at 6:00 am, meaning we must awaken earlier than most of our 159BCM students go to sleep at night. The two coming from Kings will also leave out early as well.
A few prayer requests come to mind:
This will be my 5th time on Honduras, Amy and Isaiah’s 4th. We have a few others that have also been with us in the past, but 3 who have never been on a foreign mission trip. I believe God is going to do great things through us this coming week, but it will take your prayers.
The goal, as it has been in the past, is for each of the team members to blog while we are on the trip (as long as we have Internet access), so watch for new posts and pictures and feel free to post comments. It’s always a blessing to hear from back home.
We look forward to shrink our adventures both here and at home on January 13 at UBC at 6:30pm. Come welcome us home if your in the area.
It’s now been a few weeks and we are all home again safe and sound. Hopefully everyone received their luggage (other than a few things that I still have of Ashlei’s at least). Perhaps the greatest trouble of coming home is maintaining the motivation and the drive to serve. My prayer for this team for now and also for the future is that they will catch the “evangelism” and “missions” bug and that they will continue to push themselves, and others, to continue to go and to tell, and besides, isn’t that what we who call ourselves Christian are supposed to do?
Though we are home again, our true home still awaits, and I look forward to the day when our team, and the numerous churches they represent, are reunited in that universal church where we shall receive the rewards for the faith that each of us must continue to practice.
I once again leave you with this question, when will you go?
Well, I believe most have arrived, some bagless and some not. Mark and Natalie opted to fly to Louisville and then got a ride North from there. Connie, Wes, and Ashlei left from Atlanta with Connie’s husband who drove down when he heard about the cancellations. I am assuming they have made it since no news is usually good news.
Wes, Lucas, Cassie, Greg and Tailar rented a mini van and drove home via Indy.
Alas, Adam, Isaiah, Valerie and I are still stuck in Atlanta. Had we known everyone’s plans Monday night, the 4 of us could have probably got a plane out today, but with the trouble with all of the luggage this trip and the fact that standby for 4 would be impossible, we will be waiting yet another day until we get to go home.
Pray for patients and no more Delta disruptions.
While God is still bigger than Hercules, the snow has proven too much for Delta Airlines and we are now stranded in Atlanta until Thursday morning at 7:35 am when we are booked on a flight to Indy. Pray the whether clears and we make it prior to the next snow storm.
We are all safe and look forward to being home soon, but in the meantime we will have to see if we can reach 200 by Thursday by continuing to proclaim the gospel to those we meet who are in our same position.
It is around 5am here as I begin this post on the day we begin the long journey home. For many of us, this week has went by far too quickly. For some the thought of staying is a welcome one. For me, this day is also bittersweet as this may be the last opportunity I have to serve alongside many of the people on this team as my family and I await God’s guidance on where we will serve next. Though He has removed us from the Palestine Baptist Association, there were many reasons why He brought us there and I believe one of the greatest reasons was this trip. I say that with confidence as we get to exclaim today, that as we make our long journey home, 175 people this week, have also began their journey home as they have each one made a profession of faith by praying to receive Christ!
Though I am sad to be going home, I am more sad at the prospect of losing what we as a team have found here this week. I pray that those who remain in the association will continue to push to return to Central America. I pray they catch the spirit of evangelism as many of the team have this week. I pray that they stay strong and pass on the excitement for worship that they each experienced this week.
As I shared last night, I will return, if for no other reason than to bring yet another team, from another area of the state or country, so they may experience the fullness of the gospel and it power to save.
Lastly, and most importantly, as we begin the long journey home, pray for a miraculous clearing of the way home as Hercules has done its worst to try to prevent it. Five of us have a 5-9 hour drive to the St. Louis area and the rest back home to the PBA churches, and all along our route is 10-14 inches of snow and extremely cold temperatures. But, with that said, as the song says, “My God is so big and so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do. do you believe this? Also continue to pray for Open Eyes Ministries and all that they are doing for the kingdom. Their ministry is faith based, meaning the money for the ministry comes from people like you and from churches like ours and though we give to the Cooperative Program, ministries like these still need our support as well, and as you can tell by the 175 who have now began their own long journey, these ministries are still very much effective.
Good morning, and goodbye from Comayagua, Honduras.
However, 107 is also the number of professions of faith our team has witnessed in these last few days. 107 souls, if they truly were sincere were added to the kingdom. That number alone is greater than the attendance of many of our churches on any given Sunday. 107 people, who I may never lay my physical eyes on, I will be able to once again see in heaven one day, where we will no longer need an interpreter to speak for us.
I thought it was fitting as I looked for things on the internet that represented 107 and Psalm 107 appeared. I was in awe by what it said…
Psalm 107:1-3 says:
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary and gathered from the lands, from the east and from the west, From the north and from the south.
As we gather here in the South, I challenge you to do the same.
My heart broke today as we were told that there was not enough food to feed all of the children who showed up for our Mini-VBS and Feeding Ministry. We sang with the children, we divided them into groups and did crafts with them and played games with them. We then had the opportunity to act out the parable of the Lost Sheep and use it as a way to share the gospel. We were amazed once again as God added 18 more to HIS Kingdom. As this was happening, Brother Wes Hahn took a translator and went to talk to a group of teenagers who had gathered outside, who the locals described as members of the local gang. By God’s power and to the amazement of us all, and literally through much trembling and fear, 7 of the teenage boys prayed to receive Christ. But then came the announcement about the food.
It was decided that only the smallest children would get food, which for us meant passing by children who were begging and pleading with us for food in order to deliver a plate to a younger child. Plate after plate I watched these sad faces grow more and more sad as they were passed by, and then…the plates just kept coming…and they kept coming…and they kept coming. Though the portions may have decreased, and though I am sure that they did not eat their fill and have 12 baskets of leftovers, I am sure that God extended the depth of the serving pot in order to feed those who came. Everyone ate!
Many of us, especially those of us in the States, take for granted the importance of a meal. For us, skipping a mean is not something we do often but we also know that we will have 2 others throughout our day. For these children, skipping this meal would have meant not eating at all that day. Open Eyes Ministries (openeyes.org) which is the ministry we are here serving with, currently feeds around 100 children lunch every week day throughout the month at an expense of $500 a month. Many of us spend more than that on a monthly basis for a family of 4, let alone 120. And without trying to sound like an advertisement, I want you to pray about what you can do to help. The reason I say this is because I was told today that when January ends, so does this feeding ministry as the money has run out.
Will we, who easily drop $30 or more at a fast food restaurant, allow this to happen? I pray not, just as I pray that the commitment of these 49 people, the 49 who we have witnessed make a profession of faith, will grow into full discipleship with Christ as their Lord.
