Bam!!

I am so thankful for the body of Christ. I have been spiritually dry lately, running on fumes. As you can see from the last post, I am blessed to be a part of many good things but in doing so I have been neglecting my time with the Lord. I got to speak about our mentoring program at church tonight to try and recruit some support. It was good to share with the congregation but more importantly it was awesome to be in God's presence. It was so good to be refreshed in worship and prayer. I was super grumpy this morning and i felt so bad because Kendall had to put up with my bad attitude but tonight the Lord brought cleansing and peace. I praise the Lord for every moment I spend in His presence. I don't understand why I continually pull away from Him or neglect him when I know that is where my fullness dwells. I pray for God to call me near and fill me with a desire that only he can quench. I pray the same thing for you. Get alone with Him.

Wham.....

School: I came into the 3rd quarter with a fresh attitude and drive to put my all into my job. I have done better but can still use a little work. We just finished Volleyball and Wiffle ball units in my PE classes and this upcoming week we will start Soccer (the kids will be teaching me). My elementary boys soccer team has played and won 2 games since Christmas and we have another one scheduled for March 11th. Now I just need to get more than 5 to show up for practice. The kids have been really good for the most part and my relationship with a lot of the high school students is continually going deeper. One of my 10th graders approached me the other day to talk about purity and saving yourself for marriage. I got to encourage him and let him know that it's not "gay" to wait for the woman God has planned for you. I was just standing in the hall when he approached me and I realized how important it is to remain in the moment and acknowledge the opportunities to serve that God has placed right in front of you. I'm working on that too. Zach (my roommate) and I have gotten the high school boys to become members of the gym and we have them on a solid weight training plan. This is the first time most of them have ever touched weights and they are loving it. Its not unusual to see them walking the halls now with their sleeves rolled up or talking about their next max out, its a beautiful thing.

Mentoring:

Our mentoring program is blowing up! We have had to move locations and split into two time slots. Today at 3, we had 13 kids and at 5 we had another 9. We are now meeting at a local church where I will be speaking this sunday to try and raise financial support as well as volunteers to help us mentor/tutor. As of now we are meeting Tuesday's and Thursday's at 3 and 5. We tutor in reading, writing and math then hang out for a bit and eat bologne sandwiches. It is an awesome opportunity to love these kids, give them a meal that they can depend on, encourage them, teach them and pray with them. The Lord is blessing this ministry emensly. Please continue to pray for us and all the boys we work with throughout the week. Most of them lack supervision, beg for their food and are surrounded on a daily basis with drugs and violence. Brandon is a 17 year old boy who just got out of jail. He was in jail for 5 months for stealing a cell phone (jail here is not pleasant). He does not know his alphabet and WILL become a drug dealer or continue his criminal activity if nothing is done. As I was sitting with him today helping him learn to read an analog clock, I realized the importance of what God has brought before us. These kids are at the bottom in this culture and do not have much of a chance to climb up. They don't know any other way and they won't unless someone shows them. Brandon has come both days this week and I am excited to see the way God uses our time together to open him up and heal the dark places in his life. I love serving these kids and I love being with them. They are in all honesty some of the most fun people I know. I feel blessed to be their friends. Thank you for your prayers.

Home Build:

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for all the support! We will be starting the build next monday!!!! The posts are in the ground and the family is super excited! Continue to support in prayer and giving.

Home Build

Much Love

Mi Vida en Fotos

Free time!

Down by da sea!

Beautiful Cindy. She lives at the children's home where Kendall works, everyone that comes falls in love with her!

love ya sis!

Mom and sister visited for a week! It was so perfect, I miss y'all

Volcano boarding aftermath

Kendall and I went through Nicaragua on our way back from the states. This is us volcano boarding!!!

Oh how I love our time in the car!

This is my island family/teacher crew/community/neighbors and roommates!! I love them

Arise

I know I haven't updated in a while, I haven't been in the writing mood. Last week I was sick from drinking bad water and I have been really busy trying to get life in order and plan Kendall and My wedding! Anyway hopefully I will have some good things to say soon. Until then here is some scripture that hit me hard the other day:

Jesus walked up and touched the coffin of a dead man. He said, "young man, I say to you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak. Luke 7 :14-15

Have faith, the Lord is all powerful and all good!

"All Flesh will Know the Salvation of the Lord" Luke 3: 6

My Heart

"Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through Him" -Colossians 3:17

I have had a hard time teaching this year because my heart has not been in the work I am doing at the school. I have not put any time into planning my classes and I have done all other preparations last minute. Last year the Lord spoke clearly to me that I was meant to stay on the island but I felt like I had the option to teach or not. I decided to come back to the school because it made sense and it was safe, not necessarily because I really wanted to come back and teach PE. Luckily I haven't put the kids at to much of a disadvantage because of my lack of effort (its not hard to get kids to play games). My passion is not PE or coaching soccer, but over Christmas, the Lord reminded me that this is the responsibility I have chosen and it is an honor to serve Him here. It is a beautiful mission field that I come to everyday. I encounter over 160 kids and teenagers everyday who are in need of Gods awesome touch. I am here to teach PE in the name of the Lord. I love the work I am able to do in the community here, with our mentoring program to street kids and with the home build but my first priority is to love the kids who are right in front of me 7 hours a day! My heart aches for the lost on this island, in the drug infested streets, in this upper class school, in the resorts, at the cruise ship docks and for those who have been shoved in the dirt with no hope. Its easy for me to get caught up in doing things and taking care of peoples physical needs, but the Lord is continually reminding me that its the heart that needs the most work. My Fiance (!!!) reminds me of this often as I am able to watch and hear about her loving the kids around her. She works at an orphange here on the island and is seeing breakthrough with multiple children who have undergone unimaginable abuse physically, mentally and spiritually. These kids have a roof over their heads, food, toys, and safety and some of them have had that for years at the orphanage but they have not undergone healing and restoration of the heart. The Lord has given Kendall an opportunity to listen, love and watch his spirit heal these kids. She is a reminder to me that I must slow down and look at the person right in front of me. We all have places in our lives that need Gods touch and we should be honored to reach out as his hands. My heart is to Love God and Love people! I am refreshed after Christmas break and going into this new year excited about PE, excited about Soccer, excited about the kids in the street, and excited about the ways God is moving in all of these places. I pray that God will open my heart and yours to see the world around us the way that He does, Amen!

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters" -colossians 3:23

Money, Prayer, or Spreading the Word

We Have 73 days left to raise over 7,000 dollars, please contribute through donations, prayer, or simply by sharing this link with someone who you think would like to support this cause! Thank you and Much Love!

Click Here to Donate

Merry Christmas a little early!