Our Journey and Growth as we prepare for Honduras - Spring Break 2010

WOW, our Lord God is almighty! His undying and unconditional love constantly takes my breath away. I have had the privilege to witness God's love in some extremely powerful situations this past year. Through this witness of how miraculous our Lord truly is, my heart has been opened. God has called me to reach out to the Fatherless and the Widows in this world. James 1:27 tells us that "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." I have never felt as pulled towards a cause as I am for this mission.

Once I embraced the fact that God was calling me to serve Him in minstering through missions (even if it is short-term missions, for now...) I knew that I had a lot to do to prepare myself. I decided I needed to study God's word so I could understand more about why he is calling me to Honduras, I had to listen to what He was putting deep into my heart, and I had to be open to the plan that He has for me.

I started by studying 1 Corinthians 12, this is an eye-opening chapter over Spiritual Gifts. Every single child of God has been blessed with a gift from our Lord. 1 Corinthians 12:27-31 spells it out very clearly to the body of Christ: "27 - Now you are the body of Christ, and with each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers,....those able to help others, those with gifts of administration,....31 - But eagerly desire the greater gifts." Verse 31 has taught me that the greater gifts are those that are more beneficial to the body of Christ. Paul previously made it clear that one gift is not superior to another, but he urges the believers to discover how they can serve Christ's body with the gifts God has given them. Our spiritual gifts are not given to us for our own self-advancement; they were given to us to serve God and to enhance the spiritual growth of the body of believers.

This March 13th-20th, I will be traveling to Puerto Lempira, Honduras on a short-term mission trip. A group of 9+ people including my husband, Brian, and I will go with our friends the Waits family who are moving to Honduras for long-term ministry. During the trip we will visit three children's orphanage homes: Familia Alastero, House of Hope, and Mama Tara's Orphanage.

Among the many goals we hope to reach through this mission trip, we aim to devote ourselves to loving on the children there, we commit to sharing Christ's love with the people in Puerto Lempira, to teach the orphans by reading and doing crafts with them, there will be physical labor in the possible construction of bunk beds for the older children whom dwell in these orphanages, we hope to put on a sort of soccer camp for the children in Puerto Lempira (this is an exciting way that Brian will be able to use the amazing talent and passion that God has given him!) and we promise to do all of these things in service to our Lord God Almighty.

For more information about the ministry, check out the website Reach Out Honduras.

Did you know that Honduras is the 2nd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, only slightly behind Haiti? The region that we are going to is called the La Moskitia region. This region is considered poor and remote even by Honduran standards. Medical care is close to nonexistent from the country's government and it is left primarily up to charity and missions to care for the people who reside in this region. (Missionary Air Group – Honduras and Reach Out Honduras)

Puerto Lempira is the largest town in the La Moskitia region of eastern Honduras. There are not any paved roads throughout the entire town and there is an overwhelming amount of poverty here. (Reach Out Honduras)

I believe that God is calling me to serve Him on this mission because of the gifts He has given me; I have a talent in teaching, speaking, loving, and sharing with others my passion for Christ. I know I can reach out to the people in the La Moskitia region to show them God's grace, love, and compassion. I pray that I am able to make a difference. I hope that God will work through me to make an impact on even one soul.

I need your help. I need your help in supporting us in prayer, praying us along these next few weeks in preparing our hearts and readying our minds.

There are already SO many ways that we have literally seen God’s work on this journey. Please check back very soon to read more about our testimony in how God has worked in marvelous and phenomenal ways, even to enable us to make this mission trip a reality...in a way that we NEVER imagined would be possible!!!

In Him,

Amy