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Preparing for Honduras
May 20, 2013 by sportymama70 | Edit
Sometimes things just happen in our lives that are so amazing and so incredible that there are no words to explain. Things that we know…are not about us!
That’s how I feel right now. Some of you know, but many of you may not, that in June (in 19 days to be exact) Greg and I will be taking our first mission trip to Honduras. My heart races, and my belly fills with butterflies every time I think about it. The closer it gets, and the more I pray and think about it, the more excited I become.
The hubs and I have always tried to live an unselfish life. This can be a hard thing in this day and age, of compelte selfishness, of everyone wanting what they want, when they want it. In a society of “it’s all about me!” Get what you can get. Get more, get better, get bigger. Trust me, before you think I am being judgmental or goodie-two-shoes…I struggle with this as well. Everyday, I have to wake up, and remind myself that it truly “isn’t about me all the time.” There is so much more to life than….me.
It is SO, not about us!
As I pray about this journey everyday, I learn more and more about the life God wants me leading. Set-apart. Different. Not hypocritical, not judgmental, but loving, giving and self-less. I now realize that LONG ago…. years ago, God was preparing my heart, exactly and precisely, for this trip.
I have always known that someday I would be leaving this country to do this trip. I just had no idea where, what I would be doing, or what it would look like, but knew that God had planted that seed in me. I now see that the many years Greg and I have gone to Costa Rica, and how we fell in love with Central America, was in preparation for this. I see how God changed us from traveling and sitting in resorts, to wanting to “live among locals” on our trips. To go with the flow. To expect the unexpected. To meet, speak and eat with the locals….and not just sit among other American, sipping umbrella drinks.
I know that God can do extraordinary things. Unexplainable things. He can take this little, blond headed, once shy, type-A, clean freak, that doesn’t know the difference between a hammer and a wrench (joke) and turn me into a builder. A girl that can handle a flexible schedule, that isn’t afraid to get dirty. A girl that is strong, reliable, and optimistic, that can wield a hammer, tape measure or pair of tweezers for a splinter. That knows, God can and does change lives, in both, small ways, as well as big. A girl, devoted, humble and completely open to God’s calling. I stand, arms wide open, for what He has in store for us. And I already know, that He will equip each and every one of us, on this trip, for exactly His use, in whatever ways He sees fit. Giving us strength and perseverance to do the work He has called us to do.
I, with my team, will be building a house while in Honduras. A HOUSE!! A house. If 10 years ago, someone would’ve told me that I would be doing construction in another country, I would’ve laughed. Like I said, I always KNEW there was a calling to missions for me, but building never crossed my mind. God works like that!! And it’s not about me.
This house we will be building is for a family that currently lives in the dump in Tegucigalpa. That gives me a lump in my throat the size of a watermelon. This house is in no way, the standard home that we would see in the US. It cost $6000 to build from the ground up. It has no indoor plumping. But to a family, living in a landfill, this will be a mansion. It just shows how really little we need in life, for true happiness.
When the house is completed, we get to take the family in for the first time and be present while the house is blessed. Can you say, halleluiah!
Sitting in my home, with all of the modern conveniences, the gorgeous view, the abundance, I sit and cry about this. I am pre-crying over what this day is going to feel like. Taking this family from the dump, into their own home. My gosh, my heart swells! I am completely over-come by God’s goodness and provisions. I am in total awe of the privilege of getting to go on this trip and share God’s love. To share His compassion. To share His mercy and tenderness. To serve Him in this way is such a pleasure to me. A complete honor and joy.
We also have a day that we get to serve in the local school. To play soccer. To love on the kids. Bring treats and treasures to them. And once again, share the goodness and love of God with them.
God has been so faithful in preparing Greg and I for this. Given us such compassion and such soft-hearts for those in need. He has brought us to a place of knowing everything we have, our belongings, our family, our friends are not ours, never were, and never will be. Every “thing” is His. Over the years, He has shown us to just, “let go” and in us doing so, He has blessed us beyond belief! He has shown us how to be bold for Him and how to be the best example of love, relationship, marriage, family and faith that we can for Him. To “be” about Him, and not us! I am so thankful, that God not only planted that seed within me years ago for this trip, but in Greg as well. God knew from the beginning the couple he was bringing together!!
I already know this trip will be life-changing for all of us. I know we will grow a bond between the people we are traveling with (our team) that will be amazing, and life-long. I know that we will have days while we are there, that will astound us, overcome us, and render us so affected by God’s love, grace and mercy, that we will never be the same.
I am so excited to share this journey with you and appreciate, incredibly, your prayers and all of the finacial support you have given for our team.
~‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Matthew 25:40
