Freedom

I was skimming my journal and came across this entry from about a year and a half ago. When I spend time with the Lord, I often go back to the times when I have felt closest to Him, enjoying his creation........

The rocks cry out for glory! There is freedom in the mountain, there is freedom in the climb. Something says, "push on." "Hit the ridge and keep on going." The path is sometimes difficult and the load is sometimes heavy but I must push on. I feel a burn in my legs and exhaustion creeps in. There is freedom in every step. The peak comes into view and begins to draw me like a magnet. Every step is a gift, essential but taken for granted. My breathing is heavy and my muscles burn but my mind stays focused, one step at a time. The climb is steep and the path sometimes unclear but there is a constant whisper that says, "follow me." There is freedom in the path, there is freedom in the whisper. The peak is deceiving, its tricks me and beats me down but I know the distance, I know the truth, my maps don't lie. The heavy breathing dissipates and the load becomes light. With summit under foot, I look up to hear His voice gently say,

"I AM," followed by the cry of creation that says, "all glory and praise to my maker."I am free when I am close to you.

Out of Order

So I was sick for 3 weeks here on the island which was no fun. I went to the doctor twice, each visit took over 4 hours, they put me on malaria medication which I took for 5 days and didn't get better and after many calls from my mom, my dad, and Kendall who love me and care for me so well, I got a plane ticket home to go to a doctor in the States. Turns out I have Mono which blows but its better than something serious, so I am counting my blessings. I have been doing my best to lay low and rest but that is probably the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I have been able to look at the positive in all of this as well though, right before I went home I had been struggling for about 2 weeks emotionally spiritually and obviously physically so I take the trip home as a gift from the Lord. Kendall is no longer here on the island so it was so good to be refreshed by my family and the woman I love. I have been back here now for about 4 days and I feel mentally and spiritually refreshed, I am trying to finish the year strong or at least as strong as I can. I felt great the past two days and pushed it pretty hard taking 8 kids from French Harbour to play a soccer game VS. the local orphanage, going to school, building a few things, and catching up with people then this afternoon I hit a wall and fell asleep for 3 1/2 hours, it was so good. I still feel pretty good and I think I am on the tail end of this sickness so if you think about it please keep me in your prayers, I have a lot on my mind and heart to do before I leave and I only have 1.5 weeks.

On another note, I am super excited for my wedding and am learning so much about Kendall, myself and the Lord through this engagement process. Its amazing how much you can learn about the Lord through a relationship with another person. Much love.

Life and Truth

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

Romans 10:14

The Gospel can be told using the most basic words and still manage to cut to the very root of a person. It is the most beautiful and life changing message on earth! I have had the opportunity to share the gospel a few times this week and remembered how simple words can bring Life! One of my friends shared his conviction with me after church on Sunday. He was convicted of the sin in his life and didn't know how to express it. Gus looked at me after church and said, "I feel sad." Later that day I took him out to follow through on a promise I had made him to teach him how to drive stick shift and I asked him what he meant in church. This it what he said, "I feel bad when I go to church because I sometimes fight people and do other bad things that I know I shouldn't do. And I just wonder, when am I going to change?" In that moment I was able to share the Gospel of grace with Gus. I simply told him that we will always mess up but God loves us and the beauty of what Jesus did 2000 years ago is that God forgives us of everything we have done and He will continue to forgive us for the rest of our lives. All we have to do is believe that and Love Him. A part of loving Him is doing what you know you should do, so even though God forgives us, we can't do as we please. We must try our best to honor God and do what He wants us to do. Gus is a soft spoken 18 year old guy who I have been building a relationship with for about a year now. He spends a lot of time thinking and is very careful with his words so when he says things like that, it is not taken lightly. The Lord is after his heart and I believe Gus is a lot closer to redemption that he realizes. Please pray for Gus! Keep your eyes open throughout your day for opportunities to share the love of Christ through words and actions. We must open our mouths and share the truth! This is our call.

Red, yellow and sometimes white

Martha hands Alejandro a hot dog at mentoring last week and says "do you want ketchup and Mustard"

Alejandro - What?

Martha - Do you want Ketchup and Mustard?

Alejandro - What?

Martha - C'mon man

Alejandro - You mean the red and the yellow

Martha - yea, the red and the yellow

Alejandro - I want red.....

Martha - ok, got it

Alejandro - No I want red and yellow............. you ain't got no white?

Limited vocabulary, we are working on improving that.

Living up to the name!

Yesterday was my first time taking some of our boys climbing. It was awesome to see these teenagers get so excited about climbing! They have never done anything like this so it was awesome to get them out of their boxes and get a little uncomfortable. These kids walk the streets everyday and pretty much fear nothing, but when they got about 15 feet off the ground, I thought they were going to pee in their pants. I chose three kids who have shown some leadership qualities in our mentoring program but who still need a lot of guidance. We were able to relate trusting in the rope to trusting in God and having to let go of our problems sometimes trusting God to take care of us. It was Gus' birthday, so we all went out for pizza after climbing with one of the other teachers and replenished our bodies with grease and soda. It was the perfect day!

FH

The above picture and following pictures are a glimpse into our work on the island!

Fe Y Amor, Hasked ran up to me the other day with the biggest grin on his face and started examining my wrist. The next thing I knew he was holding his arm up to mine and giggling like a school girl!

French Harbour boys, trying to look hard

This is Jarvick, he has been hanging out with me for over a year and is really close to my heart. He can be one of the toughest kids to work with because he is all over the place all the time but he has a great heart and has come along way from constantly begging and hitting everyone he sees.

This is Ricardo on the left and Drestin on the Right. They are both 14 years old and have just received their reward for completing their first month of tutoring/mentoring. The first full month a kid comes to our program they get a soccer ball and every month following they get $2.50 which they can choose to save and put in the "bank" or take it that day.

This is Denzel, enough said.

Most of these boys have been written off as a waste of time or a threat to people on the island of Roatan. They spend most days begging for food and looking for something to keep them occupied. Many of them are can't read, have nothing to eat, and sleep in unreal environments. One of the families I work closest with has 8 people living in a one bedroom home; no running water or refrigerator. The community these kids grow up in is saturated with drugs, sex and violence which is inescapable but these kids have not been ruined. They are still full of life and the Lord is changing them. He is calling them one by one to rise up and become the leaders their community needs. I pray that God will continue to guide us as we pour into their lives. Join me in prayer for these kids and the community of French Harbour in Roatan Honduras.

Honor roll!

If you have been following my blog, you will remember the 4th grade girl we supported to come back to school this year. Her name is Alison and she is one of the sweetest girls I know. Her parents have worked exemely hard to pay for her to go to my school. They own a vegetable stand that they run out of their house and her dad picks up odd jobs wherever he can. The first two weeks of school Ali was not here so i asked our principal where she had been. I was made aware that her parents were 6 months behind on payments from the year before and that Ali would not be returning to school. I was extremely bothered by this becaus i know the environment Ali lives in and i can forsee where she will end up without a positive environment to push her forward and mold her into the woman God wants her to be. My mom, dad and many friends pitched in money to support her education this year which has blessed that family in crazy ways. When we sat down with Ali and her dad 8 months ago to tell them that Ali could come back to school without worrying about payments for this year or the debt from last year he burst into tears. He told us how hard he has worked to get her into our school and about ceasless prayers for God to provide for them financially. Ali had the biggest smile on her face and it hasn't faded since. The third quarter just ended and Ali ran up to me at the end of the day yesterday with a giant grin. She looked like she was going to explode with excitement as she yelled out, "I got on honor roll, I got on honor roll.". English is not her first language so she often struggles to keep up in reading and writing so this was a huge accomplishment for her. I was so proud to see her recieve her award this morning and i am so thankful to God and everyone who provided for her this year. Thank you!