Marale

We left for Marale at 6 AM on December 16, 2010. It was a long, but beautiful drive. People were already outside starting their daily routine when we left.

The roads were windy and dangerous. In some places, like this one, the roads were collapsing.

In other places, obstacles like this rock slide tried to keep us from our destination.

We arrived safely and saw some beautifully colored houses like these:

 I thought this picture was pretty.

The lady on the right is bringing in a cake for the event. When children heard that we had arrived, they started running to our building, like the boy on the left.

 Gracie and I went to talk to the mayor for a few minutes. I got to meet all sorts of officials.

When we returned, I found this young man standing next to the truck waiting on the event to begin.

 Gracie introduced us at every event. Here she is introducing Shari.

Gracie talking to the children of Marale.

All of the kids come dressed in the very best!

These two boys waited by the wall in hopes of receiving a gift.

This little guy was just too cute!

Love the hat!

 

 This young boy never smiled or spoke. He didn't have shoes and hadn't bathed in awhile.

Entire families patiently waited...

Bare feet were everywhere.

This little girl and her brother came. Neither had shoes.

Me giving a gift to a young, handicapped boy.

Kristian giving a gift to a boy with Autism.

These 4 boys each received gifts.

Kristian giving a gift to a girl in a beautiful red dress.

 Me giving a gift to a little person. She was so sweet.

 Officer Bustillo & Gracie

 Gracie said she thought Bustillo had a thing for me, lol.

 He & his partner stayed for the entire event. Here he is with Shari.

Gracie & one of our lovely helpers in Marale.

I love this picture of Shari reaching out to the little boy.

A view from the road after we left Marale.

The church in the distance.

Lee & Kristian riding in the back, as usual! What great guys!

We went to Marale with 100 children on the list. Many more children showed up though, desperately hoping to receive a gift. They came from all directions, trying to get to us so they wouldn't leave empty-handed. We brought plenty of extras. Thankfully, every child that came got a gift. By the end of the event, 270 children received gifts. After that, we headed to Porvenir for another event!

Porvenir

The event in Porvenir was scheduled for 2 PM on December, 16. Honduras are ALWAYS late though. They have something called the Honduran hour. If you schedule something for 2, you can bet that it won't begin until at least 3. That's exactly what happened in Porvenir. Every day that we had an event, we packed a cooler with bread, mayonnaise, mustard, sandwich meat, and cookies. It was cool when we left that morning for Marale. By the time we made it to Porvenir, it was a warm, sunny day. With our sweatshirts off (we all had shirts on underneath), we made our sandwiches and ate around the truck.

Gracie & the mayor of Porvenir.

These beautiful girls were among the first to come in; they sat on the front rows!

More beautiful girls happily waiting.

Boys will be boys.

Isis came too!

Love this face!

Kids of all sizes were hoping for gifts!

Gracie telling the story of the widow who gave all she had. : )

Siblings

Sometimes we couldn't decide who would give the gifts, so we both would.

Somebody got a new hat!

Kristian, the ladies man. j/k

These girls wanted their picture made with Shari.

Lee & a very happy girl. She has a great smile.

These boys look a little unsure about the gringa loca next to them.

 I love how happy this little girl looks!

This girl stuck by me the entire event. I had to grab her up for a quick pic!

Gracie and a very happy little girl : )

Shari making new friends.

Kristian thought I should take a picture of this alley

The view across the road from the building we were in.

The road back to La Ermita

We had 100 children on the list for Porvenir. Fortunately, the event seemed like it was going to be controlled. There were two doors at the back that were closed while we gave gifts to the children. The doors had bars on them though, so children outside could see what was happening inside. At one point, someone walked outside and the door was opened. Kids literally ran inside. After gaining a little control, 254 toys and gifts were distributed to the precious children of Porvenir.

Psalm 86

I received a beautiful English & Spanish Bible for Christmas in Honduras. I just opened it up and found some scripture that really spoke to me and that I wanted to share.

Psalm 86 (NIV) says,“¹ Hear, O Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. ² Guard my life, for I am devoted to you. You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you. ³ Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to you all day long. ⁴ Bring joy to your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. ⁵ You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who all to you. ⁶ Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry for mercy. ⁷ In the day of my trouble I will call to you, for you will answer me. ⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, O lord; no deeds can compare with yours. ⁹ All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name. ¹⁰ For you are great and do marvelous deeds; you alone are God. ¹¹ Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. ¹² I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. ¹³ For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave. ¹⁴ The arrogant are attacking me, O God; a band of ruthless men seeks my life – men without regard for you. ¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. ¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me; grant your strength to your servant and save the son of your maidservant. ¹⁷ Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me".

I’ve found myself being very troubled the past few days. My heart is heavy. I have so many questions, and I simply don’t have all of the answers. I am so thankful that that I have a God who hears my every cry, counts my every tear, and knows my every thought. He knows it all, and He strengthens me when I’m weak. Oftentimes, He uses others to help do it, which is pretty awesome when you really think about it.

Before I left for Honduras, and while I was there, I asked God to open my eyes. He is definitely doing it. He let me see things in Honduras that I never thought I would see. Now that I’m home, He’s showing me more things; many of which are within myself. He’s letting me recognize my strengths, but he’s also letting me realize my weaknesses. I have a lot of work to do!

I want to learn to have His kind of strength and love. I yearn for Him to teach me. I want to see as He sees. I want my heart to break for what breaks His. My prayer tonight is that I become more like Him: compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness. Please pray that I become all that He wants me to be. That I become someone that He can use. That I will clearly hear and answer any call He places on my life. Be blessed!

Only the beginning

Okay, so I’m going to be honest. The last several days have been difficult. Being home in the U.S. after spending two weeks in a third-world country is strange. Life in Honduras is hard and being back here is hard. I’ve heard it be called “reverse-culture shock”. Maybe that’s what it is…

John, Mom, Randy, & Joy took me to Olive Garden the night I got home. I felt like I was there in body, but not really in mind or spirit. I didn’t eat much. I couldn’t. Being home was a celebration to everyone but me. Three appetizers were ordered, as well as a plate for each of us. Don’t get me wrong; there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. After seeing kids eat out of the trash though, and knowing how many go without… It physically nauseated me to look at all of the food before us and know that so many children in Honduras and throughout the world had nothing to eat.

How do you see those things and go on living as you did before? People are telling me that I’ll readjust. People have told me not to feel guilty for all we have. I can’t help it though. I feel horrible. Why me? Why am I blessed with so much, while so many others have so little? Why do I have 12 pairs of shoes and more clothes than I’ll ever wear in the closet while kids around the world don’t have clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet? Why was I born in the U.S. and not them? Why am I blessed with more love than I deserve while children there are being left on the streets? All of these questions and so many more are swirling around in my head. I keep getting the mental image of Kool-Aid. I made Kool-Aid all of the time when I was kid. You would add the sugar and stir. My mind is like all of those sugar particles swirling around in the Kool-Aid after you’ve added water and stirred.

I got into bed after midnight on Wednesday. I returned to work on Thursday morning. Everyone at work was so kind and glad that I was back. I felt a little overwhelmed. I feel undeserving. So many things didn’t hit me until Wednesday and Thursday. Again, I was there in body, but my heart, mind, and spirit weren’t there. It was mentioned that I should have taken a day off to decompress. What an accurate statement! I was flooded with so many feelings and emotions on Wednesday and Thursday. I was also just tired. By Friday, I just wanted to get away from everyone. I know that sounds terrible. I simply needed some time alone to reflect.

With that said, if you called, texted, emailed, or sent me a comment or message on Facebook and didn’t receive a response, I am truly sorry. I felt that I needed to escape, and that is what I tried to do. I rested Friday night and stayed home all day Saturday. After some time of prayer and reflection, God reminded me that I was no good to anyone closed up in my room. So, today I went back to work. I got to talk to Gracie, Karla, and Cindy on the phone. That really cheered me up! After laying down for about an hour, I had a lovely dinner with Randy and Joy. After that, I went to the funeral home to pay respects to a sweet lady in our church. You’ll be missed, Betty!

This may sound strange, but going to that funeral home was just what I needed. I got to see several people from church that I hadn’t seen in 3 weeks. I got some good hugs and very encouraging words. Several people asked about Honduras, and today, I was actually happy to talk about it. Actually, I was blessed to talk about it. I sincerely hope that I was not the only one who was encouraged. I pray that somehow I was and can be an encouragement to others. More than that, I pray that eyes are opened and that others may feel a desire to go help; if not in Honduras, than anywhere. There are needs throughout our community, throughout our county, our state, our country, and throughout the entire world.

Again, if you tried to contact me and didn’t receive a response, I do apologize. It’s difficult to explain all that’s going on with me. It’s hard to make people understand. So far, I’ve been unsuccessful in doing so. I’ve found myself being sad and maybe even a little disappointed. Before the trip, I knew what I was supposed to do. I was meant to go. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. Now the mission is complete and I’m wondering what I’m supposed to do now. Sure, I’m back at work. Yes, school starts back on January 10^th. But now I know there’s more to do. There is more work to be done; here at home and overseas. I know people just think I’ll go back to normal. Some even hoped I’d be done with this crazy overseas mission stuff. Scripture tells me otherwise though. Romans 12:2 says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God”. I don’t want to just conform anymore. I’m sure I’ll sort of get back into the routine. Nonetheless, I pray I never completely do. I want to be transformed, and I believe this trip to Honduras was only the beginning.

Pots & Boxes

My co-worker, Glenda, shared this with me yesterday. She said it came from the 1^st page of the 2011 calendar by Thomas Kinkade:

“I believe we all have a higher purpose to our lives than merely existing day to day. Each of us, in our own unique way, is called to let our light shine. The unique, one-of-a-kind canvas of our existence is meant to be an inspiration to others – a true joy to behold and a heaven-sent blessing to those we meet and to the world around us”.

When I read that I couldn’t help but think of a couple of conversations in Honduras. Two different analogies were used; one by Gracie and the other by her nephew, Kristian. I hope I do them justice. The first one was that we are all like clay pots. The other is like us being a cardboard boxes. Each time we are wounded, you can put a whole in the box. In the case of the pot, when broken, you can piece it back together. Either way, those places that are broken and wounded leave a place for light to shine through. If we let it, the light and love of God can shine through us. He can use all things, even our brokenness for good.

Think about all of the wounds you’ve received throughout your life. Think about all of those fractures and holes in your heart and spirit that you thought would never be repaired. What has all of that damage done to you? Has it made you bitter and hard-hearted or are you letting His light shine through all of those cracks and crevices to try to do good?

Isaiah 64:8 says, “But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand”. That verse came to mind when having those conversations with Gracie and Kristian. That verse just reminds me that my entire life is in His hands. He created me and when it is time, He will take me home. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose”. Just another reminder than He can use ALL THINGS for good.

I firmly believe that is what He is doing in Honduras at Heart of Christ ministries. Each person there during the holidays has been a victim of some sort of abuse. Each has struggled, but each chose to let God use those bad things to help others… to let His light shine through… to do some good. I can’t help but wonder, what are your wounds? Have you tried to bury them or are you letting God’s light shine through to heal you and to help heal others?

The Road to Vallecillo

The road to Vallecillo was full of narrow, curvy, dangerous roads. Gracie didn't have an easy task. She was the only one among us who could drive the truck, due to the manual transmission. She guided us through rivers and roads that most people wouldn't want to find themselves on. Poor Kristian and Lee had to ride in the back of the truck the entire time. The roads were so bumpy and rough. I know they must have been hurting. They never complained once though. They just kept smiling. Hopefully you can see by some of these pictures that Honduras is a truly beautiful country. The beauty of the green mountains and blue skies is indescribable.