Fabulous Friday

Proverbs 15:30 - A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones

Today was a today of celebration.  Celebration of God's work that was completed in Honduras.  Celebration of the seeds of faith that were planted in the lives of the people that we encountered.  Celebration of a uniquely woven team that has worked arm in arm throughout the week and has encouraged each other each and every day.  For this, we are honored to have served the Honduran community and a heartprint has been made that will remain a lifetime. 

We took the time today to enjoy each other's company and ventured to the market to do some shopping and experience more of the Honduran culture.  There was so much to see and the Honduran people were very enthusiastic about sharing their crafts with our group.  It was there that we also bumped into other missionaries from the United States.  What a small world!  All that market time really built up an appetite, so we went to Papusa Express for an authentic Honduran meal.  Yum!  They really take pride in feeding us very well! 

Our meal refueled our energy and were ready to embrace our final mission for this trip.  Pastor Victor Hugo of Sinai Church invited us to visit his school, Las Brisas.  We were able to use his campus to serve children from the river community.  The children came in droves to enjoy pizza, coloring, a story, soccer, sidewalk chalk, and the bubbles were a huge hit!  Some of our team turned into human jungle gyms as well.  The children were well-mannered and energetic and was a perfect way to spend our last afternoon. 

Finally, we ended our celebratory day with lots of thank yous and a fantastic meal together with our entire mission team.  Our Orphan Helpers staff, translators, and policia were all there to share this joyous time before we depart for Pittsburgh in the morning.  They were appreciative of our group for serving their country.  But, words cannot express how deeply grateful we all were to these groups of people who showed us kindness, direction, and compassion during our time in Honduras.  May God bless them always!

Thanks to all of our families, friends, and Northway Christian Community for prayerfully supporting us during this life changing experience.  We are humbled and grateful!

Thursday

Proverbs 19:21 - Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.

This was our last day visiting all Nueva Esperanza, ABC, and Mujeres.  Our time here has seemed so short, but God showed us bits and pieces of our influence throughout the week.  As we began our last day at Nueva Esperanza, again, we were greeted with the same joy and excitement from the children. They don't have a lot, so they are very creative in taking nothing and making into something.  We had flat cones with the intention of creating field boundaries and they made them into scoops to catch and throw bean bags or balls.  Genius!  Another surprise that we received was that they remembered Bible verses and thanked us for helping them learn more about Jesus.  It was very humbling.  If we have helped them to remember scripture through music, stories, games, conversations..., then we know that we have served them well with the Word. 

Finally, our whole team was able to go back to the ABC Center and witness the fruit of the labor of our skillful construction team.  Amazing!  The spaces now had several shelving units, benches, Kara's closet and desk... it was incredible to see how much was accomplished this week.  Praise be to God for the materials, knowledge, and the willingness of our team who had the vision for these items and made it a reality at the ABC Center. 

Our entire team was able to stick together the rest of the day and we went to Mujeres.  The goal was to have as much activity time with the girls as possible and fix the roof in their community center.  As we drove over, we had some light, misty showers.  By the grace of God, upon our arrival, the showers stopped and the roof that the team was working on was dry.  That was huge for their progress, since a metal roof would be very slippery.  Our relationships with the girls deepened and their personalities shone even more today.  It was bittersweet.  We felt sad leaving some of our new friends, but joyful at the same time for the relationships built, memories made, and the love and laughter that was shared..  These young women will forever be in our hearts and prayers. 

As we debriefed about our experiences at the end of the day, we saw how God worked in and through us to serve as His hands and feet in Honduras.  We saw Him move and touch all of our lives in miraculous ways.  For this, we are humbled to be used as vessels of His love. 

Wonderful Wednesday!

1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.  But the greatest of these is love.

What a beautiful morning in Honduras!  It was very sunny, clear skies, and hot!  We entered Wednesday with a renewed sense of determination to go forth and plant seeds of love in faith.  We always want to see the harvest, but we know that God is ultimately in control and knows when and how each person will receive Him.

The awesome construction team was in full effect.  They headed off to the ABC Center to begin work on more furnishings for the future of it's residents. Things went smoothly and were able to build several benches in the facility.   This is another huge accomplishment for this trip.  We can hardly wait to see all of their final products. 

Our other group was at Nueva Esperanza. We were greeted by several children in the driveway.  They get as excited to see us as we do to see them!  Again, we were able to interact with all of the children throughout our morning routine of activities.  These children have a wide variety of talents and interests.  Its a special treat when we see their giftedness shine through during a lesson, game, or simply in the way they treat other people. 

After a short break for lunch, we journeyed to Mujeres.  We were planned and ready to go until God had another plan.  Some things in our schedule did not work out as we expected, but we felt as if He perfectly orchestrated an afternoon that was specifically focused on building relationships with the girls.  Relationships are our mission's focus, so we were happy to have a change in plans.  Our group would collectively agree that this highlight of our day was more important than any man made agenda.  We still were able to make hair ties, scrapbook pages, and play games, but more time was built in for conversation and sharing lives.  Thank you Lord for helping us be flexible! 

As we are getting close to the end of the week, we ask for a very special blessing on our security, translators, and Orphan Helpers staff.  They have been most helpful for our protection, communication, knowledge of the area, and leading us to the children that we are serving in Jesus' name. 

Groovy Tuesday

Mark 9:35-37 - Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."  He took a little child and had him stand among them.  Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me: and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.

Each day we begin our day with devotions.  We are able to have them in the restaurant of our hotel, which is a blessing in itself.  The owners are so gracious and treat us so well!  We began our day by talking about being a vessel to be used by God.  It is something that each of us takes to heart and that we are able to be the hands and feet of Jesus each day. 

So, we began our day at Nueva Esperanza.  Our team was greeted with lots of Tia! Tia!  With Kara's help we have found that this is a loving term for aunt and refer to most women that way.  We prepared for a round robin of games, music, story telling, and coloring!  Coloring is a big hit with the kids!  This round robin enabled us to be able to make contact with all age groups and interact with us in the activities that we planned for the groups.  The sun was shining so we were able to take the kids outside for games!  The only group that is not as mobile are the babies in the nursery.  What a precious bunch!  Some raise their arms to be held and some sit in their cribs to observe what's going on around them.  It's hard to leave them at the end of our time.  Please keep this group in your prayers as we try to reach out to all of these children.

Again, our group split up today, so our determined construction team could devote their time and energy to remodeling the ABC Center.  They made huge progress by building benches and a desk and were able to paint Kara's future room.  Praise God!  Please keep lifting them in prayer... they have the momentum and the energy and want to keep putting forth their best efforts to complete as much as possible during this week. 

After our morning sessions, we went to the food court for lunch. A Honduran soccer game was on and it was cool to see how excited everyone was when they scored a goal...very similar to a Steelers touchdown!  So, on we went to Mujeres.  Again, the worship blew us away!  Olga, one of the Orphan Helpers staff, does an amazing job of leading these girls in preparing their hearts for the message that follows.  The girls were willing to show us some dance moves to one of their worship songs...talk about groovy!  It produced a lot of giggles and so much fun for all of us!  Elizabeth delivered a beautiful testimony of transformation orchestrated by the grace of God. The message of forgiveness and redemption was powerful! And, reminded that his mercy and grace is available to everyone and will use each one us to show His love if we allow Him into our hearts.  Crafts, scrapbooking, and games were on the afternoon agenda.  The girls loved getting their picture taken and found that playing soccer with them is like speaking a universal language.

We are at our halfway point for the week.  We ask for your prayer support to maintain our strength and focus as we continue on in the next few days. 

Monday, Monday...

Isaiah 61:1, 3 - The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord  has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom  for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. 
And provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty  instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.

We packed up this morning and were ready to venture to the ABC Center and Nueva Esperanza.  Part of our group went to Nueva Esperanza.  Our team brought the message of Christ's love through singing songs, playing games, holding babies, changing diapers, sharing laughter, and teaching lessons throughout the morning.  The children were so attentive and soaked up all of our love and attention.  Glory to God what a beautiful morning! 

While one team was at N.E., the fantastico construction team made their way to the ABC Center.  They began to paint and build in the efforts of providing a new face for the building.  How crafty they are!  We are asking for prayer for our team to accomplish what has been set before them during this week.  The team has the knowledge and skill and now we just need the breakthrough to proceed with the solid work that we know that we can produce. 

Our group joined together for lunch at the food court and traveled to Mujeres.  This was a new orphanage for us to visit this week.  Some of our group had been there before and looked forward to seeing familiar faces.  Mujeres is an orphanage for adolescent women between the ages of 11-18.  Some of the young women have arrived in this community after being abandoned or from living on the streets. The girls have found a safe haven for themselves, and in some cases, their babies as well. 

We began our time at Mujeres with worship.  What a sweet, sweet sound, even though we were not speaking each others' languages.  Only God could create such a beautiful scenario!  The girls had the chance to ask questions of us Americanos.  We made nametags, played basketball, and began our scrapbooking project.  Some girls quickly connected with our team by sharing their stories of their lives and despair.  This is exactly what we hope for these girls  - to bestow on them a crown of beauty for their ashes.

More on Sunday...

A few of us, Pastor Bill, Jason, Gary, Colleen, and Jeremy, attended the church service right around the corner at P.I.E.R, aka The First Reformed Church.  We were welcomed with open arms and lots of smiles.  The worship was incredible with lots of energy!  They made us feel extra welcome by singing "Breathe" and including verses in English specifically for us.  During the service, a young man behind us offered to interpret the service for us.  It was so kind of him!  After the service, we started talking with him and found that he had visited Northway in 2006 and attended Kansas State for some of his education.  Amazing!  We talked with some folks after the service... the people here have been very friendly!

Later that morning our entire group went to Suyapa's house.  What a beautiful home!  We were so blessed by the warm hospitality of her and her friends and family.  She made a home cooked Honduran meal for our group and provided a place for fellowship and relaxation as we get ready for a busy week. 

The remainder of our day involved visiting 3 of the orphanages - El Carmen, Nueva Esperanza, and ABC.  El Carmen is a place for only boys.  We were able to only say hello and speak words of encouragement in our very short visit.  Nueva Esperanza has boys and girls from newborns to 12 years of age.  We will be visiting there tomorrow as well to teach and play with the children. The last place that we visited during our journey today was the ABC Center.  It is currently abandoned but will house some young women and provide a place of education for the children from Nueves Esperanza.  And, Kara will be living there as a house mom in a few months.  Our intrepid Pittsburgh construction team took this opportunity to evaluate the area and measure the spaces for some future pieces that they will create specifically for the future of the people that will reside and utilize this space. 

At the end of Day 2, all is well.  We will start up early in the morning to begin Day 3 and see what God has in store for us.  We are planned and ready to go, but we know that His plan will prevail. 

We've Arrived!

Our arrival yesterday to San Pedro Sula, Honduras was quite successful! As soon as we got here, our suitcases were piled onto the top of our vans (quite tediously I might add!) and we were off to eat lunch! After stopping at Wendy's to eat, we headed to our hotel.

We're staying at the Hotel Gran Mediterraneo which is gorgeous. We unpacked a little and then went to visit the Iglesia Gran Comision (Great Comission Church) for their Saturday night service. It's incredible! We all decided that it is the Honduran version of North Way! We worshipped and sang our hearts out and then went back to our hotel to rest for the night.

This morning, a few people headed to a different church service this morning at the PIER (Primera Iglesia Evangelistica Reformada which means First Church of the Reformed). After we take some time to unpack our supplies, we will be going to Dona Suyapa's house for brunch! She is a very influential woman in the San Pedro community and loves inviting mission teams to her house for a homecooked meal. We are all very excited to eat some delicious Honduran food and enjoy her hospitality.

While we wait to leave, Lori K. was enjoying a theater group that was performing on the streets outside of our hotel. They had been staying in our hotel, and while waiting to leave were dancing and having a blast.

Our equivalent to North Way!

Suitcases! Eek!!!

Dancing in the streets!