June 25th

Today the blog will be short and sweet, but don't think it's for lack of anything to say. It's hard to put into words for an audience what we are experiencing and feeling. Everything is so complex, and yet, at the same time it can be beautifully simple. Our hearts are undergoing a marvelous change right now, and I know each of your friends and family members will want to tell you all about their personal story when we get home.

Today we rotated projects so that everyone will get the opportunity to experience all of the wonderful things Hope for Honduras is doing here.

The construction group was able to finish the latrine and the house, so all that's left is painting, purchasing furniture, and making the finishing touches. Emily's height was put to use as they put her up on a ladder to finish nailing in cement board at the top of the house. Did I mention the ladder was on a two-foot ledge with a fifteen-foot drop off?

The kitchen group made beans and rice for the kids who attend school at Hope for Honduras and to pass out to the kids on the street. They also helped prepare a delicious lunch of homemade tostadas, chicken, pico de gallo, and all the fixins'.

The kids' craft group helped the kiddos make prayer boxes after a lesson about how God listens to our prayers.

The women's bible study group made treasure boxes after a lesson on how we are God's treasures. Those ladies LOVED the lesson and craft; they have been nicknamed "The Glitter Girls."

Caden and Jenn were able to join some locals for soccer this afternoon (and got caught coming back in the afternoon rain storm).

Several of us were able to go out into the streets in the afternoon before we left and just play with some of the local kids. They passed out bubbles, chalk, and plastic flutes.

We are almost finished bagging the food that we will be passing out to families on Thursday. Each week the families gets a five-pound bag of corn, rice, and beans each. Today we almost finished but were a few bags short of corn. I kept thinking to myself, "Don't panic. God will provide." When we told Shelly of the situation, she promptly handed us a scale and told us to go back and weigh all the bags because the corn was there in the too-full bags. So yes, God did provide and there is enough corn.
But apparently an engineer, a teacher, and a professional cannot count so we will be going back through all the bags tomorrow to weigh and count and find the missing corn.

The faith of people in these mountains is palpable. Everything and everyone gives glory to God for his mercies and grace. It's easy for me to think that certain situations or blessings in my life are just coincidences or a result of my hard work, but I am convicted of my selfishness and ignorance around my teammates and the team of Hope for Honduras as they constantly thank Him for his sovereignty. It was no coincidence that Emily happened to switch project last minute today and went with the construction group; God needed her height to finish the house for a family of his children who are desperate for a piece of hope. No one else in that entire work crew was tall enough, even on the ladder, to finish the job.

It is heart breaking to walk these streets and see the little eyes peaking through the slats of pieced-together houses that you and I would probably not consider for a shed in our backyards. It's so overwhelming to think of the need there is here in Mogote. And the rest of Honduras. And the rest of Central America. And the rest of the world. There is so much brokenness and so much hunger for food and for life and so much need. But Jesus is the bread of life and he is faithful.

Jenn talked this evening about feeling the overwhelm-ness of being here. She spoke straight to my heart when she relayed a lesson that He has been teaching her: He has asked us to come here and do these things. We are planting a small seed for him. We must remain faithful that he will water that seed, that he will take care of his children, that he will continue to be the bread of life for them long after we have returned home.

The faith in these mountains is all around us. The people speak it with their mouths and perform works of faith with their hands.

In all of this poverty God has left little "love notes," as Jenn called them, in his beautiful creations that are smack-dab in the middle of hunger to remind us that he IS faithful:

And even though the toddlers, barely old enough to walk, are given the responsibility of running to Mario when he calls out, "Comida!" to receive their food (and possibly their siblings' food) for the day because their parents cannot provide, you still see this on latrine walls:

"Cristo vive"- Christ lives.            "Dios es bueno" - God is good.

Yes, he is.