i don’t know even know how to begin to explain this month so far. i guess first, i’d have to let you know that our plans changed, as they almost always do, from unsung heroes to a ministry working with children rescued from gangs. we were in a place in honduras, that we weren’t allowed to share, because the kids were in hiding. we were working with mostly teenagers and a few little guys, helping with school and living life with them. it was incredible. most of us agreed that it was one of our favorite ministries of the race. we felt like we were developing good relationships with the kids and were enjoying life with them.
then, some things happened outside of our control, and it became unsafe and unnecessary for us to be at the ministry. throughout the circumstances, i saw a lot of tears, from both little kids, teenagers and my teammates. i saw fear in their eyes as they were heading into the unknown and i felt their fear and worried for them.
i don’t really understand why there has to be so much hurt in the lives of the innocent. the world is broken, yes. but to be honest, it seems unfair that the people who have to experience the pain of brokenness aren’t necessarily the ones who created it. someone told me in the midst of all this, that the Lord was in control of all these kids lives and He had good things for them. and i didn’t believe it. as i had teenage boys, tough, ex gang member teenage boys crying on my shoulder, i didn’t believe it. i’m still trying to believe it. i know it’s true….but i’m still trying.
that messy situation opened my eyes to what real life ministry looks like. i’m thankful for getting to meet the people i did and work with the family that we did.
and then the Lord provided everything we needed. we had worked at a school and met a lady who is letting us stay in her yard ON THE BEACH. we are asking the Lord what He wants us to do everyday and then we go do it. I feel like most of our team has heard clearly from the Lord and it is exciting to be able to dig into what He has for us. we’re taking it week by week for the rest of the month and just listening.
one day this past week we bought cookies, took them into town and handed them out to kids and people on the street because everyone loves cookies. we were able to pray with people and tell them what we were doing in Honduras. as we were walking we ran into a hospital. we looked at each other, said why not – and walked in. doors were literally open, to both us and the cats that were roaming the hallways. we went in and prayed for every patient in the hospital. we believe people were healed. in fact – we know people were.
one little baby, 19 months, had an infection and a fever and they didn’t know why. i talked with her mom, kayla, and asked if i could pray for little alejandra. our team placed our hands on the baby as i prayed. after praying, brooklynn said she felt heat on her hand as we were praying…we went around to the other kids in the room and prayed with their families and for them. as we were leaving i noticed the nurse had just taken alejandra’s temperature so i asked kayla if it was any lower. she responded by saying it was back to normal and giving the glory to God.
this is just one example of how listening and following the Lord this month is providing us with some pretty sweet, unplanned ministry.
month 9 is not what we expected, but we have learned so much. somehow, we’ve gone from 11 months to 11 more weeks. and honestly, i’m having a hard time accepting that i’m going to have to come home. for lack of a better way to say it – i feel like i’m living my dream and i don’t want to wake up. i’m praying that the Lord keeps me completely invested where I am and he keeps me confident that He has some kind of plan when all of this is over for me that will be just as good.
thank you guys for praying with me and loving me.
