So I prayed, earnestly and feverishly, and then I waited.  Last year, I felt the Spirit’s nudging to join Him on an adventure in a country not my own.  This year, I wanted to go, but I wouldn’t unless it was His will to send me.

And then one day I went for a run.

And He said, “Yes. October”.

And I smiled.  Big.

I’ve had a chance to reflect a bit on the the trip last year.  I’m still am a loss for words as to all that He revealed during this special time of serving.  The sheer fact that I GET to travel again is a miracle.  It’s not an entitlement, it’s a gift.  A gift only made possible by a team of prayer warriors and financial contributors.  I’ll say it again, it’s not possible without the “team”.  The Lord did not place us on this Earth to live separate lives.  He gave us each other for a reason.  And though I’m physically there, I’m traveling with an army.  I count it a privilege to simply represent the stories of His world-wide reach.  And while there, His reach extends out so personally that I’m never the same.

I read a book this evening.  In her writing of Mended, Angie Smith describes her experience overseas in such a way that it was as if she penned my own heart:

In Kolkata (Choluteca) I was her. And here, I am me again.  They didn’t know anything about me except that I had hands and that I was there to help.  It was a breath of fresh air to be used by the Lord in this way.  Everything that I have tied myself to in this life became beautifully, naturally, and completely irrelevant.

And I want to be her.

Here.

So how do we manage to combine the beautiful calling the Lord has on our lives while actually living our lives? Do you ever feel like you want to make an impact but your life doesn’t feel big enough?  This isn’t right thinking, but it is natural.  Up to this point, I hadn’t met the faces that taught me about her.  The girl who lived inside of me and wanted to be better, not because of the accolades, but because of the most exquisite peace that came from going where He led me.  Trusting Him relentlessly, with great joy.

And I liked her.

And I believe that’s where I last left off on my return to the States.  I found myself desperate to hold onto the lessons learned in a life of simple gratitude and mountain-top faith.  To feel the presence of the Lord in such a tangible way, making decisions in a spontaneous, audacious, moment-to-moment way was invigorating.  And then I returned home, and desperately grasped at ways to fit my new heart back here.  And I missed her.

And the reality is that the Lord HAS placed me here.  The truth of the matter is that impact comes from obedience – and in that case it doesn’t matter what the scope is.  I don’t have to fly around the world and rescue orphans in order to bring the Lord glory.  If that is my calling, I certainly want to be obedient to it, but it might be something on a smaller scale.  And that is okay.  In fact, it’s more than okay.  We all have “assignments”, and we aren’t being graded on how enormous they are.  We do have a responsibility to be good stewards of the situations and people that He has entrusted to us, and perhaps that needs to be our goal.

And so, I will walk around the neighborhood with the kids on a prayer walk, and we will leave special drinks for the men and women who serve us our mail and remove our trash, and we will respect our authorities, and ask the lady at Kroger how her day has been.  We will follow Christ, control-freak tendencies and all.  And until October 19th when I will GET to visit my brothers and sisters in Choluteca, I will continue to strive…

To be her.

Here.

We had a chance to enjoy a fun day!  The land, sights, and sounds were breath-taking!  While standing, toes in the sand in Honduras, I could look to the right and see El Salvador, and look to the left and see Nicaragua.  Three countries, one view.  Unbelievable beauty.  So surreal.

To top it all off, the ocean water was warm, there was an ever-rolling gentle breeze, and the place we visited housed several hammocks!  Quite a piece of heaven.

Revelation 14:7
Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

First thing we did?  Made our mark.  Oh yeah, Rock City was here!  Good thing we did, because we didn’t see much more beach as soon the tide came in.

I just loved these kids.  Their big hearts carried so much of Christ with them wherever they went.  They worked hard, they played hard, I never once heard any complaints.  They were a joy to meet and simply hang with.

These ladies… so wise, so mature in leaning into God through crazy life circumstances, such hard workers and givers in ways so unique to their God-given personalities.  It is a pleasure and an honor to call you friends.

This father-son combo are an awesome duo.  They worked so hard on the construction sites.  They have a language all their own, forged through life circumstances and choices.  They love life, love each other, and care for the souls of others in a passionate way.  They are rock stars in my book!

Aren’t they a darling couple!  They will be married in November.  She came to Honduras on a mission trip, and little did she know how her life would change!  I can’t say enough about these two.  They have a faith that trusts God, in all circumstances, for all that He is, and all that He asks of them.  They put in full days, and accepted it joyfully.  His ability to communicate between two language is simply astounding.  Her love and support of him and the vision the Lord has given them to share is rock solid.  They have a beauty together that defies obstacles.  Christ is the center of their relationship, and they are building a life together, working in ministry, with Him.

We sat and broke bread together for lunch… well not quite bread, but fried fish.  Eyeballs and all!  And it was good… or so they tell me.  I have a seafood allergy, and I just wasn’t sure I should chance it.  God did protect me, and I’m so grateful.  He is a true Provider, and the food served was just perfect.  I absolutely loved sharing meal times together.  We ate.  We shared.  We laughed.  One big family.

And then, it was time to go.  To everything there is a season… and this was a life-changing one.  Honduras is a beautiful country.  Hondurans are beautiful people.  The privilege to go was nothing short of humbling.  We serve a Big God.  And He loves us all the same.  I am so thankful to have taken this journey with Him and his people.

Since returning, our life circumstances have changed.  My husband and I find ourselves entering a new season.  We have questions and no answered.  But the same God who “traveled” with me to Honduras is the same God who sits on His throne today.  Glory be to Him, who was, and is, and is to come.  He is my provider, He is faithful, and He is true.  Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Challenge:  If  life pulled the rug out from underneath you, where would you land?

Our very last work day in Honduras led us up to the mountains, not far from the community of Casa Hogar Vida where we worked on building a home.  A family had a need.  Their “roof” had many leaks and was in desperate need of repair.  They’d had this need for quite some time, and today was the day.

So up the mountain we rode.  After picking up a few ladies from a nearby neighborhood, our amazing bus driver, Luis, expertly maneuvered this massive vehicle as if we were in a VW bug.  It’s barely a one-lane path and we’re carting a bunch of people AND supplies up a mountain, and I’m assuming back down in reverse.  And then, we stop.  Right in the road, we stop.  And one by one, like little ants, we grab something needed and start hiking up this… driveway.  What are we carrying?  Tables, chairs, tools, a cooler, ladder, and even a speaker.

It’s humorous in looking back, but on this last day, none of us even asked a question.  We didn’t know who these lady passengers were, we didn’t know where we were going, we didn’t know what our items we were carrying would be used for, and somehow none of that mattered.  Later we would learn that these precious ladies were from the church, and they’d come to help prepare our lunch.  We brought our own tables and chairs so that we could all sit around together “Thanksgiving-style” at meal time.  We brought our own purified water to use for cooking, and we would use the tools to demolish the old and build the new.  All while sharing some tunes together!  Community.  Family.  In real life.

I loved capturing this photo to the left.  See the “grill”?  It was build just the day before.  Why?  Because people were coming.  See the man with the hat?  That’s Luis.  Yep, the bus driver.  He’s now the grill master, and I’m telling you, that carne y pollo was hmmmm-hmmm good!  It got me thinking… doesn’t matter where in the world you are, men seem to gravitate to the grill don’t they?

While the meat was cooking, we had a variety of groups serving.  Some girls helped the ladies with the meal.  They chopped and chopped, and wow was that fresh salsa delicious!

Other groups helped with the demolition of the old roof (literally sticks woven together basket-weave-style), cleared materials, dug holes for the new posts, cut beams, and nailed a new frame, all while it drizzled.  The tiles they used were made of asbestos.  We cringe.  It’s all they had.  It will insulate well.  No codes here, just needs.

While another group walked down the hill to do some evangelizing, I felt drawn to get dirty again!  During our work projects, we’d learned to watch and then simply jump in.  So, if someone is cutting wood, step in and hold it; if chunks of dirt and clay need moved, use your hands to move them; if said chucks needed to be broken up and leveled out, use a heavy log; if a post needed to be leveled, use a string connected to the house and get at eye level.  It was so simple.  And the work was hard. And I loved it. It reminded me of following my Dad around the house as he would undertake projects.  I learned by watching.  I learned by listening.  I learned by participating.  I had forgotten just how much I love that.  Until today.  True apprenticeship does still take place in this world.

Ask Anthony.  He followed his Dad to “work” today.  He has become accustomed to white people as his family.  It was beautiful.

And the skilled workers that helped lay the tile and built the frame?  We worked alongside them too, limited language to limited language.  And at lunch, we talked about Jesus.  And I met Edwin.  Edwin lived in Texas for a few years.  He greeted us in English.  While eating, we found out a bit more about his life.  He’s made several decisions in his life that led him down a path with a wheelbarrow full of regret.  He feels that he needs to clean himself up before he can go to church (one block from his home).  He reads his Bible 15 minutes every day, as penance.  Maybe one day he will have done enough to pay off his guilt, and earn his right to come back to God.  And beneath all the “coolness” he so desperately tried to exude, a deep battle raged.  And we spoke of scripture.  And I prayed.  I’m still praying.  One young man, on a roof in Honduras, trying to pay a debt that has already been paid.  One lost sheep.  And Jesus left the 99 to find the 1.

After lunch, we worked some more.  And then we were done. As we turned to continue our trek down the walkway, I felt compelled.  One way I had learned over the week to show love, despite my language barrier, was to embrace.  I’m telling you, nothing like a Honduran hug.  No words necessary.  I decided to greet the lady of the home with a smile and leave her with a hug.  I truly appreciated the lunch they worked all morning to prepare (picking food, washing food, cutting food, cooking food), and as I turned to go, she reached into her apron and she pulled out a gift.  She smiled and handed it to me.  And I smiled back.  I clutched it to my heart, said, “Muchas gracias”, held eye contact for a moment longer, then turned to go.

SHE had a gift for ME.  And she was so happy to give it.  It wasn’t something store bought.  It was made.  Time, energy, heart, and soul was donated to me – someone she may never see again, this side of heaven.  And it inspired me.  I spent the rest of the day handing out small tokens – nail polish to the ladies on the bus, candy to the workers and villagers, a necklace to our cook at the hotel, small toys for her girls that my girls had given to donate – the joy just kept multiplying.  Could I have an in-depth conversation with these wonderful people? No. But I could give, and they could receive.  No strings attached.  And it was beautiful.

God, however, arrested me one more time before leaving the mountain.  There was a woman, standing near the bus.  We had just learned that she had buried her son just two days prior.  And there was a need.  Again, beyond the physical, right to the soul.  And everyone was already on the bus, and Luis, the driver/grill master turns and says, “This would be a great time to talk about heaven don’t you think?”  Well, yes I do.  And, with the assistance of my fabulous friend Debbie, I was able to hear an English translation of the entire exchange.  Time didn’t matter.  Nothing else was more important at this moment than engaging this precious woman in a conversation about her beliefs in a loving, eternal God and Savior Jesus Christ.  She now owns red nail polish (to compliment her newly-washed feet), a reminder of the blood shed for her and for all.  I’ve prayed for her every day. And for Edwin.

And I can’t imagine ever forgetting my mountain-top experience.  And I pray that as I return to the “valley of Ohio” that these stories convict me and convince me to share the news of Jesus with those He brings my way as if their life depended on it.  Because in all reality, it does.

Challenge:  Who has the Lord placed in your path to ask – Who is God to you?  If you were to die today, where would you go?  Why?

This past Sunday, our pastor, Chad Fisher shared a quote from Rick Warren that I just love.  Warren says, “Worship is focusing my attention on God, expressing my affection to God, and using my abilities for God.”

Chad went on to say that when worship is all about God, it’s not about anything else.

This sums up the Honduras trip to me.  Since our return, God has created ways in which we have been able to share and process our thoughts, emotions, dreams, and desires.  We’ve each found that as God removed us from our “normals”, and placed us in a new, and foreign land, suddenly everything became all about Him in such a heightened fashion.  The closeness and presence of the Spirit was so tangible, you could feel it to the touch.

After a full day of travel to Honduras, we did not pass go, nor collect $200, we went straight to church.  And I’m telling you, Honduran people can worship!  Somehow, the hours it took in arriving all melted away as we lifted our voices, unknown Spanish words and all.  We were welcomed, and we were received with open arms!

We shared times of labor in love, we shared many moments of adventure and laughter, yet my favorite times were some of the quiet ones.  To simply sit and be still can be a little uncomfortable and awkward when you live life in fast-forward, or “what’s next mode”.  In the quiet, I find I can hear and see so much more clearly, as if a blurry lens suddenly finds its focal point.

Each morning after breakfast, we gathered for a time of devotion.  I found this to be a tremendous way to start the day.  The Lord truly gave each person assigned for the morning a message, or song, or testimony, or reflective question to ask that prepared our hearts and minds for His will in such a unique way.  That never grows old for me.  My personal God meets me, and at the same time, meets every child of His with a message that touches and draws a soul closer to His heart.  What a love.  What is does is refreshes, rejuvenates, refocus, and sets you on a laser-focus setting. Worship.  Amen!

In the afternoons, we spent time evangelizing in the neighborhood of Limon, those that surrounded the Nutrition Center. Let me tell you, these were my favorite moments.  Not because it was easy.  Not because it was comfortable. But because, in stepping out, I actually had the utmost honor of seeing, with my own eyes, hearts and lives changed for eternity.  Nothing like it.

Prayer was a big part.  We began with large group prayer, we entered with small group prayer, we prayed while we shared, we prayed after sharing, and again prayed in small groups after leaving.  Just. So. Powerful.  It was hot.  We had to draw on patience with language barrier and pauses with interpreting needs.  We asked some challenging questions.  We read some scriptural truths, en Espanol.  And my life perspective changed.

Melissa Ransom described the experience as one which drew her to a connection with Old Testament times.  In walking the dirt streets, seeing the children gather, hearing the needs for food, water, and healing, it definitely was indeed a glimpse.  In fact, I often found myself in a group with several of the “youngins”.  Teenagers – 14, 15 years old.  You could have fooled me.  They shared with the same passion and knowledge of a seasoned preacher.  No fear.  In fact, one evening, two of the boys decided to take on the challenge of 2 others tough looking chicos hangin out on the corner.  They began to engage in conversation, and before we knew it, a lady with a cake on her head stopped and began listening in.  The rest of us girls approached her and began to share, then noticed another lady had walked outside her home and sat on a chair, leaning in.  The girls rotated our little group her way, and engaged her and a friend in our conversation.  We listened and prayed with them, and as we turned back to the four boys previously mentioned, my heart dropped.  I counted.  19 total young Hondurans were now gathered around Edgar, one of the interpreters.  As we joined this flock, I had one thought.

This is what is was like to live in the time of Paul.

Truly, it was a sight to behold.  It is permanently etched in my mind’s eye.  The young adults were asking questions, and Edgar was reaching out the Bible for them to read particular truths.  He spoke in a tone that was dripping with love and patience.  He acknowledged their doubts and questions, then redirected to the truth.  Here he stood, as a Honduran teenager, standing in the dirt streets, not giving a hoot about the opinion of his peers, but focusing his attention on God, expressing his affection to God, and using his abilities for God.  Such a tenderness for lost souls.  From a 15 year old.  Worship.  And it was a beautiful sight.  And I gave him a hug.  And I cried.

I cried for all those times I’ve chosen to focus on things that simply waste away.  I cried for those moments I’ve spent worried about what others would think of me.  I cried for those opportunities that I missed because of fear.  I cried for the souls of those around me who appeared empty and hopeless.  I cried for the many voices I heard that believed the only way to get to heaven is by working to earn it.  I cried in gratitude for the free gift of grace Christ offers to every single soul.  I cried over the fact that I was a lost soul in need of a Savior and that while I am sinning, Christ died for me.  What a gift.  What a Savior.

We also worshiped by gathering in the home of one of the founding families of the church in Choluteca.  They invited us to their weekly life group and we laughed during the ice breaker, participated in a discussion about those who suffer for Christ, and shared a snack and some fellowship time together.  Worship.

Yet another opportunity came in listening to our Rock City leader, John Ransom, give a message at Saturday service.  No pun intended, but he rocked it out!  He was so cool calm, and collected, you never would have guessed that somehow, just before boarding the bus, his shoes mysterious walked away on their own!  He spoke about God being more interested in changing me, than in changing my circumstances.  Yowzers!  Did THAT message hit home.  He spoke of hope.  He spoke of peace.  He spoke of running!   We worshiped.

Hebrews 12:28
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

Challenge:  How do you respond to this statement?  – I was created to find satisfaction in Christ alone.

The Great Commission of Latin America (GCLA) continues to plant churches throughout Central American nations.  The Pastor of the church in Choluteca is a man by the name of Geovany Granera.  I’m telling you, they are just as precious as their picture reveals.  The strength of the Lord in this family is unlike anything else I’ve seen.  We had the wonderful privilege of spending the week with their oldest son Edgar to the right, who is truly an amazing man of God, so much like his father.

I wanted to share this precious family with you today for two reasons.  First, I’d love for you to take a moment to pray for them.  Prayers strengthen the weary.  I’m telling you they do.  Secondly, if you’re interested in finding out more about their growing church of 500+ and or GCLA, please click here and follow God’s prompting.  Muchas gracias!!

What I wanted to share with you today is another part of the outreach projects instituted by the church called the Centro de Nutricion de Infantil, the Child Nutrition Center and Childcare facility.  I’m telling you, this place blew my socks off.  Another well though out, well executed, top notch program that meets the needs of so many children in the community that are malnourished.  Within this gated facility, one will find an office building for staff, a workroom area that is currently used as a wood-working shop, previously used as a tortilla factory, and the future home of a new library resource center.  You will also find a fabulous futbol (soccer) field, a building that shelters the children from rain as the infants and toddlers enrolled are given nutritious food and taught about healthy eating habits and good hygiene practices.

This facility also accommodates a classroom for children ages 5-8, and 9-15.  Part of the day they attend their public school, and part of their day they receive instruction here.  A patio for large group activities, including families, has been built by teams over the past year.  And the playground area was something we scraped and painted during our week visiting.

In addition to all this, there is also a computer lab available, and a class that teaches English to those able to enroll in the program.  Pretty amazing huh?  Where there is a willing heart, there is God.  Staff member after staff member we met, all with different talents, personalities, and love languages, each embodied the words of Isaiah,

Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

Challenge:  Is the Holy Spirit asking you to “go”?  How will you respond?

In the previous post, I mentioned a community that is developing in Choluteca, Honduras named Casa Hogar Vida.  Not only are homes  being built, but several others community needs are being built as well.  Along with the brick-making factory, they also produce and bag coffee, there is a gentleman that is raising chickens, a woman opened her home to sell her beautiful hand-made jewelry, purses, and bags, and they have building materials on site to cultivate and retrieve with an ATV (no power-steering, ahem).

Along with these opportunities for work and trade, they are in the process of building a beautiful complex for missionary teams to reside in while visiting with their teams.  It’s a well though out, beautifully designed building complete with several bedrooms, each with a bathroom, and patio attached in which to sneak away for some pride “mountaintop” time with Lord.  Their is a cooking and dining area in which meals can be prepared, a laundry facility, and a beautiful garden oasis open to sky within the heart of the building.  Their is a rooftop area overlooking the community, dropped in the beautiful setting of surrounding mountains.

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Outside the facility is a garden, and also a building that houses it’s own water filtration system!  No need to brush your teeth with bottled water!  To describe the feeling of this place, I listened to those around me use words I was thinking a well – a sense of love, peace, joy, awe.  Truly, teams that will come in the future will not only be able to stay right in the community they are serving, but they are invited to meet with the God who drew them here to His people in the first place.  The God who wants to meet missionaries right where they are as well, in the midst of our brokenness.

To do just a small part in making this dream a reality was nothing but a privilege.  We pulled some weeds from the garden, center patio and exterior room patios, we took breaks, drank water, and shared life.  We bonded as sweat ran.  And it was beautiful.  I found myself praying over each room in thinking of the teams yet to come.  And I cried.

Another part of this community is the orphanage.  They currently house 6 orphans in a beautiful, simple home within a large fenced in area.  Here we interacted with 2 twin boys whose mother died of Aids, and several beautiful girls who loved to sing.  They have a woman who also lives with them and cares for their needs.  A large field resides adjacent to their home, and while touring the Missionary facility we watched them play together from our rooftop view, laughing and running while a gentle breeze blew — such a picture of God’s love, mind you, in a land that was desolate just 5 years prior.

They continue to dream big for the orphanage as the need is great.  This home is named for a fruit of the spirit – Casa Amor love), each home built will be named for a fruit accordingly.  I had to chuckle as Frank told us that patience and self-control might be saved for last.  Chuckling.  In the midst of great need.  In a city of suffering.  Here we sat surrounded by youth, sensing love and peace, laughing.  That’s MY God.

Their future dreams for this community also include a medical facility, a place where ESL can be taught (English as a Second Language), and a computer lab for training and access as well.  They wait on God’s timing as He provides the resources and the labor and they continue to, above all else, to pray that God may drawn their fellow countrymen unto Himself, that they may know life and know it to the full.

John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Challenge:  How may God be drawing you to partner with Him in serving those of your community?

Micah 7:11
The day for building your walls will come…

Dirt, sand, bricks, cement, wheelbarrows, shovels, rakes, and a hoe.  Not sure about you, but these words, nor the tools themselves are a part of my daily vocabulary, nor daily life.  But in Honduras, they were.  It was a different type of day.  It was a different type of work.  And you know what…. I. loved. it.

It surprised me actually.  Physical work?  The Lord had prepared me, in a way, with running training.  Laboring in the hot sun?  Again, the Lord.  Most of you know that Ohio has had it’s fill of days in the 90′s.  Sweating?  Been there, done that.  Working with tools, with my hands, alongside others in teamwork?  Not my daily life.  And, I loved it.

And may I just add, these tools were awesome.  We’re talking hand-whittled wood handles.  We’re talking brick brigades to move them from one location to another.  We’re talking a rock sifter made with chicken wire, a wood frame, and a nail to hold the frame up at an angle.  They use every resource available to them, and they waste nothing.  For example, the scraps of wood left from the bed frames were painting with watered-down, thinned out, even chunky paint for the kids to have blocks and words to use as a teaching tool!  It. was. beautiful.

No Home Depot to run to, no shorts cuts to engineer a shorter time frame.  Just simple natural resources.

And with these, we helped in the process of building a house.  Strike that, a home, a casa.  Not sure about you, but I’ve never done that before.  It didn’t require experience, just willingness.  With the assistance of monetary donations, willing hands, and some skilled laborers,  I watched dirt being moving inside the skeleton of a small, three room, cement block home.  Cement block created right there in the community of Casa Hugar.  This home is number 45, by the way, and growing.  It is built on land that in 2005 was swampy, infested with ants, snakes, barbed wire, completely uninhabitable, but again, no excuses.  God gave a vision, and men said yes.

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So, here we are.  Lots of sun,  lots of water, lots of scooping and dumping, scooping and dumping, pounding, leveling (with a long wooden board just the right size), and sifting.  Working with the earth, feeling strength in our muscles, and just enjoying one another’s company through silly phrases and songs, all for a family.  A family who we were told later by the pastor, would be stepping out of misery into poverty.

As God’s graciousness would have it, we met the family.  At our final church service before leaving the next morning, we met Orlin, Wendy, and their precious, very malnourished little girl, also named Wendy.  Pastor spoke to our group of their stories. We listened to stories of how hard he would work for his family, laboriously scooping sand from the river, in hopes everyday that someone will want to purchase it for a small price.  During the rainy season, all his efforts of a days work would simply be washed away.  And again the next day, he would try again.  He stood before us with shoulders slumped, speechless, yet with an ever-so-slight glint of hope in his eyes.  Wendy’s eyes seemed lifeless to me as she held her baby wrapped in a blanket while she cried small cries of what sounded like achiness.  Her small feet could be seen protruding from her covering, bony and small.

And we prayed.

And I cried.

And I chuckled at his Toledo Zoo hat.

And I inwardly begged, “God, meet your children here, right here, in this moment tonight.  May they know it is not our loving arms wrapped around them, but yours.  Holy Spirit, may your words intercede for them, as words escape me now.  May they know that you love them.  May they find joy IN you, in this life, YOU as life.  Lord, blessed are the poor in spirit, for they have taught me more of you this week than I’ve ever known before.  Lord, continue to unsettle me, break my heart with the things that break yours.  Bless this home, bless this community, bless this ministry throughout the generations to come.  Amen.”

Challenge:  When this family comes to mind today, would you say a prayer for them as their home  nears its completion and as they transition to the Hugar community where neighbors are helping neighbors?  God Bless.

Honduras is a beautiful country.  The mountains, the vegetation, the fruit bearing trees, animals that simply roam, a sky of stars, all fit together to paint a picture unlike anything I’ve seen before.  The beauty and majesty of His creation left me motionless and in awe at times.  Well, most of His creation.  I didn’t quite have the same love for our next door neighbor, Mr. Cock-a-doddle-do-all-night-long neighbor.  I may or may not have uttered a prayer for his demise a time or two.  Yet, he lived and we learned to cling to His strength and energy while laboring in the hot sun.

There is one particular story that will be permanently etched in my mind for a long time to come.  The funny thing is… I wasn’t even there to witness this event.  I sat mesmerized at a late dinner table and listened to others share about the event. And the glory of God was so present that I could hardly contain my amazement.

And the neat part about that is, though I was physically in Honduras, I wasn’t an eye-witness.  Much the same that God’s plan was not for You to be in Honduras, but to hear from another – the power of His glory, the power of His story.

So, the story goes, there once was a man who went to work one day, and fell out of a tree.  As a result, he became paralyzed from the waist down.  Without a job, without the ability to work, he turned to trusting in the generosity of others by daily sitting outside the local Maxi Dispensa (Walmart) in hopes of gathering money to be able to afford a surgery.

Two weeks prior to our arrival, a man from the Great Commission Church was prompted to stop and talk to this man whom he had recognized from years past.  A man he knew to be a good man, a hard worker.  When asked what his needs were, he replied that he needed a bed.  It’s been extremely painful for him to sleep on the floor.

The church worker, named Levi, smiled and said, “We just happen to have a team coming that will be making beds.  We will get you a bed.”

And sure enough, on a Wednesday evening, after a late afternoon of evangelizing in the neighborhood of Limon, a bed was placed in the back of Levi’s pick-up truck, several people jumped in, and off they rode.

Not too far into the drive, it started to drizzle, and before long, the skies opened up and it just poured.  With nothing to cover themselves with, the truck drove on – destination Maxi Dispensa.  They pulled in, sopping wet, caused a traffic jam, and our leader Todd said, “We’ve come to give you a bed, join us and show us the way to your home.”  The gentleman in the wheelchair, Fransisco his name, appeared a bit shocked and apprehensive.  He didn’t want to leave his post.  This evening  happened to be his most successful night of the week.  Didn’t matter to our crew.  Without batting an eye, they pulled out some lipera (dollars), and told him, we’re picking you up.  And they did.  Soaking wet, a full truck bed, car horns honking, it didn’t matter.

You see, the bed was a need, but there was an even greater gift that was the priority, the focus.

Two men, one on each side, scooped up this lame man.  Another two ladies got a hold of his wheelchair.  In the rain.  Amongst traffic.  They honored this man by asking him to take them to his home.  And to his home they went.

They arrived and soon learned Fransisco didn’t quite live in the house, he lived outside, in somewhat of a lean-to.  This house was home to several relatives, and they were very welcoming to their guests. One woman had a partial arm.  Another woman, they would learn, had just come through a bout of breast cancer.  Another young child with special needs began running around, and there the group sat, soaking wet, late to dinner, and they talked… for an hour and a half!

They talked about Jesus.  They talked about salvation, by faith, through grace.  They talked about heaven and eternity.  They talked about the cross.  They read scripture en Espanol. They listened, and they prayed. The message was clear and understood.  And. Each.  Member. Of.  That.  Family. Received. Christ.

God knows each of their hearts.  God knows the moment when that seed of truth is ready to be dropped, watered, planted, and harvested.  Our command is to go and to share.

The Great Commission (Matthew 28)

¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

And THAT is the priority of the Great Commission Church of Latin America (GCLA).  Each member practices with a heart of love and a desire to bring light into the darkness.  Honduras is a place where hopelessness is prevalent.  In the midst of this, there is a greater Hope.  There is a Light.  There is a Word.  There is Christ.  Faith lived out like I’ve never experienced before.  No excuses.

The bed was a gift, but a means to a greater end – an ultimate gift.  The free gift of salvation, by faith, through grace as Jesus willingly died in our place.  It is what life is all about – a life with Christ.

This is the light that I saw in the faces of those who ate a meal, late.  They ate in wet-to-the-bone clothes.  No complaints.  Just the light of Christ, sharing one story of one family, changed for eternity.  And I cried.  And somehow I understood the Spanish spoken, because love penetrates any barrier.

Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.

Challenge:  How can we share this Light, His story with someone today?