Week 1. Where do I even start? I could start by telling you about all of the blessings the Lord has poured out over our team since we arrived late Wednesday night. I could start by telling you about the beautiful scenery right outside the front door of our community house that we get to marvel at every single morning when we wake up. I could tell you about our ministry and the energetic, spirited 22 girls we get to love on this month. I could tell you about how gracious and welcoming our hosts have been. I could tell you about the most incredible kayaking adventure we went on as a team on Saturday where I got to share my testimony with my team in the middle of easily the most beautiful lake I have ever been on. I could tell you about how close our team has gotten within a matter of days and how I have already gained new family members. Truthfully, the list goes on and on and every single one of those things is true. I could probably write a blog about each of those things.
My heart is overwhelmed, to say the least. My goodness, God is so good. There are no words that can truly describe this place, this ministry and the way God has already showed up for us over the last 5 days. It’s hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we have only been in Honduras for 5 whole days. It’s hard to truly understand just how much God has stirred up in my heart since landing in Honduras. It’s hard to grasp just how much He is going to do in my heart over the next 11 months.
There are a lot of things that I don’t understand already, but what I do know is that God is good and that He is in control. Even in my moments of doubt and fear, He is in control. We are 5 days into this journey, and I already know that this won’t always be easy. There will be days where it’s hard to get out of bed in the morning to go to ministry. There will be days where my heart will be uncontrollably longing for home and the people I love. There will be days where it will be a fight to stay present and engaged in community with my teammates instead of just checking out and withdrawing to myself. There will be good and bad days. There will be ups and downs. There will be highs and lows. There will be trials and triumphs. But through it all, God is good and He is in control.
Something I have been struggling with recently (especially in the weeks leading up to launch) is choosing joy. Even when it hurts, I want to choose joy. Even when it’s a fight, I want to wake up every single morning with a yes in my spirit and joy in my heart. A joy that can only come from the Lord. A joy that allows me to love others wholeheartedly every single day. A joy that allows me to give out of my lack. A joy that allows me to see these girls at Eternal Family Project the way that He sees them… as beautiful, precious daughters of the King. A joy that allows me to humbly serve everyone I come in contact with including my teammates.
At launch, the Lord clearly spoke those words to me. He wants me to wake up every morning with a yes in my spirit and joy in my heart. I wrote it in the front of my journal as a reminder to what I heard Him say. And truthfully, He wants that for all of us. He wants all of us to say yes to what He is asking of us, no matter how crazy or out there it might seem. No matter how uncertain the road ahead may seem, He just wants a yes from us and to give Him the room to do the rest.
My goal for the next 11 months is to do just that… to say yes to God and to always choose joy.
I’ll keep you guys posted on how that goes.
ps: I sometime over the next few days, I promise to write a post about our ministry, our first week, the girls, our hosts, and my teammates. Be patient with me, it’s coming.
