Reflection

I've been in Honduras for 9 months now, so I thought I'd do a little reflection on my time here. First, I've gotta say that I am so happy here. I know this is where GOd truly wants me to be right now in my life. And if that means I'm here for another 9 months, 9 years or the rest of my life, I'm fine with that.

What I've learned.....
1. I can't always make everyone happy, sometimes I got make decisions that might hurt or offend someone else, but I have to what I feel I need to do. And I can't be everywhere at one time, I have to manage my time, and sometimes I have to leave some things out.
2. Joy in the Lord doesn't always mean happiness. There are going to be times of anger, depression, and loneliness, but the Lord is always there to get me through those times. And I need to learn what the Lord is doing in my life at those times. When I have a bad day, I look at the kids I live with. I see the smiles in their faces, the joy that is in there life, then I think of the situation that their in. What's they've gone through in their young lives, and I realize that I have nothing in my life that compares to their lives. They have found joy in the Lord after all they've been through, and they live with smiles on their faces. My problems are nothing compared to theirs. The joy I have now, I can't compare it to anything else in my life. The Lord is awesome.
3. Patience.... I've always thought of myself as a patient person, but life moves at a different pace here. I've had to learn to more patient with learning the language, I want to know all know. It drives me crazy when I'm trying to have a meaning full conversation and not being able to understand whats being said. I know the Lord is working in me and in His time this language will roll off my tongue like a fluid river.
4. Some foods will grow on me. When I first got here, I barely ate beans, definitely not by themselves, the tortillas were okay, the cheese was too salty, and the cream looked like sour cream but tasted nothing like it, and tasted like crap. Now, I can't wait to have tortillas with beans, cheese and cream.... it's actually one of my favorite dinners. Dinners aren't big here, lunch is the big meal of the day. And there's an array of other foods I wouldn't eat before that I eat now. But there are some foods, i.e. - coconuts & avocados, that I still won't eat. I could use some fried green banana chips with mayo & ketchup right now.
5. Time with the Lord is so important. In the states we get so busy with "life", we forget about the Lord. We don't mean to forget about Him, but we put Him into the back of our minds and go on with "life". I've learned that the more time I spend with Him in prayer, the Word, and just everyday worship, the more I see what He has for me in my life. I see more of what He is try to show me that is all around me. I realize the moments more often when He's trying to use me. I realize the blessings He is pouring out all around me and in me. I notice that in the times when I slack in my time with Him, less is happening around me. Or atleast I notice less.

Moments I won't forget....
1. My first 24 hrs in Honduras.... from the checkpoint with the police at 2 am, to seeing the kids in the morning and hearing "Gordo" for the first of many more times to come. Seeing the smiles on their faces and receiving their huge hugs.
2. Learning to drive all over again in Honduras. The rules of the road are different here, people pass where ever and you always have to be ready for the truck passing on a corner.
3. Preaching - It's not easy preaching with a translator, definitely much harder.
4. The heat.... finding my starburst on my dresser, melted into a liquid, it gets HOT and HUMID in the summer.
5. Prayer for a man on my second Saturday here... The feeling I got while praying for that man's salvation is a feeling that I can't describe.
6. Meeting four sisters that speak english, and have become great friends.
7. Going to the beach outside Tela with Korey.... Changing a flat with a soldier carrying an M-16 standing over us and the SHARK!
8. The MOUNTAINS.... the mountains here are beautiful and each trip in them is a different adventure. Nothing like looking over the edge of a mountain, 1100 ft over a river, or seeing the mud homes, or meeting the kids that walk over an hour a day up a mountain to go to school, rain or shine. The hike to the waterfall with friends. And the bike rides or walks I've taken alone, spent with the Lord.
9. Friends.... I've meet some really good people!
10. Picking up Korey from the airport... as I was trying to open the trunk of my friend's car to put Korey luggage in the back, I broke the key. So I had to call my friend to drive 2 hrs to bring me her spare key. Then we had a flat tire, we found while trying to leave the airport.
11. Father's Day.... the hugs I got from our kids and them calling me "papi". Those felt so special....
12. AK-47 rounds hitting a wall about 50 ft away from me. Stray rounds from a shooting just at a home behind my friends house that I was sleeping at that night.

The connection I've made with the people I minister to, especially the kids, is so incredible. I'm happy when they're happy, my heart hurts when they're down... I have caring feeling for others that I've never had before. I know it's the Lord working through me, to connect with these people, to help these people, to help me understand more what these people go through everyday in their lives. I pray the Lord continues to use me in this beautiful country for many years to come. David and Dialis are great people to learn from and minister with. Their ministry is incredible and I thank the Lord everyday for bringing me into their lives and helping them.

My life @ Proyecto Alcance is just beginning......

Please visit proyectoalcance.org and sign our guestbook.