It continues to amaze me how God works through people, places and opportunities. Laura reminded me the other day that out of all the impoverished countries, and all the orphanages, and all the wonderful organizations reaching out to the lost, we ended up at Jovenes en Camino. We were recently blessed to make a return visit to Honduras where we spent the week at Jovenes with the beautiful faces of our loved ones there. It seems like every time we return there, we are further assured that Honduras is where we are meant to be. But we also realized something else this time that we had never really thought of before.
We were talking one night before we went to bed about how much we loved these boys and how we wanted to move back here and really be able to be missionaries in Honduras. We talked about our fears and about our excitement. One fear that we found out we both shared, was not feeling good enough; not feeling like a strong enough Christian or a strong enough evangelist to be a "missionary". The comment was made that if we were really mature, strong Christians, then we should feel the same passion and desire to serve anywhere, even in our own community. At first this was a big bummer to the both of us. What if we are wanting to move here just to fulfill our own selfishness? What if this is some way of making ourselves feel better or seem happier? And then we began to read Ephesians. It must have been a God thing, because we just began reading it out loud and God spoke to us. One of our jobs as Christians, as followers of Christ, is to bring the Kingdom of God to earth. So what is the Kingdom of God? What does God's Kingdom really look like? If we are supposed to bring the Kingdom of God to earth then what exactly does that entail? God put us in Honduras to continue our maturing process. We are not perfect Christians but we are learning. We are learning about our selves and about God. When we are at Jovenes, we see God's Kingdom. We are learning more about our wonderful Father when we are there. So we both agreed that, in order to bring the Kingdom of God to earth, don't we first need to glimpse a little bit of that Kingdom ourselves? So how cool is God, that while we are serving others and showing them God's love, God is using that to make us more spiritually mature. I am so glad that our Father can multi-task.
On another note, we want to continue to share our passion for Jovenes en Camino. Some really exciting, God things are happen at Jovenes right now. We were only there for eight days this time, but it was enough to see how God is working there. I don't have time to write down every story but there are so many boys that I have seen grow and mature. These boys are learning about relationships, and they are learning to trust. They are happy and taken care of, and during this trip I could see that some of the boys who had once taken this for granted were beginning to see how blessed they really are. I am so proud of them. I am so excited for the future these boys have. But more than that, I am so thankful for the house parents at Jovenes en Camino. I have never met such humble, strong, loving people. These men and women have put their own lives aside and have taken on the role of "super parents". They love these boys like they are their own. They cry when the boys cry and hurt when the boys hurt. They are such an inspiration to me and even more so to the boys. I thank God for putting these couples in the boys' lives.
So many wonderful things are happening and I wish I could really tell each one of you individually about them. For any of you who have been on a mission trip, you can understand the feeling of having so many things to talk about and explain but not really having the words to do so. Laura and I have some major planning and decisions to make in the up coming months so we ask for your prayers and support. We are planning some fundraising opportunities this summer that we will let you know more about when we get all the details. We would love to be in your prayers, but more than that, we want the 56 boys at Jovenes to be in your prayers. They need your support more than we do, so please check up on their facebook page or website when you get the chance. If you have questions about Jovenes, PLEASE ask us because we LOVE to talk about it and the wonderful work that is happening there right now.
Last thing, please share our blog with friends and family. Since we are getting more serious about mission to Honduras we would love the extra support. So like our blog, share it, and leave comments.
"As a prisoner of the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received". Ephesians 4:1
"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of God". Ephesians 4:11-13
"Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me..." Ephesians 3:8
"In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence". Ephesians 3:12
