Next Time I Go To Honduras I Want Some Ice Cream

Ice cream bar regret

While in Honduras, the team took an afternoon to walk the streets of downtown Choluteca.  I like walking their streets, experiencing how they live, seeing life in the middle of the day.  We had stopped by a local mom and pop restaurant for a much needed bathroom break.  I stayed outside and watched our trip leader skip rocks across the water.  It wasn't long before the competition grew to three kids and two adults on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

As I watched the skipping rocks competition, two boat drivers sped towards us, making waves from the opposite shoreline.  They didn't miss their opportunity to ask the Americans if we wanted a ride.  They hurried to ask too, as their boats cut a deep giant "V" into the water, causing waves that lapped at the feet of those skipping rocks.  There were no boat-floating takers on that day.  

It was about time to go, the buses where waiting, and here comes Mr. Ice Cream Guy, selling his cold wares.  Ashamedly, I thought "him too"?   What I didn't see at the time was he was just a dad, taking opportunities to support his family.  Several of the team members bought ice cream after getting the go ahead from our trip leader.  Mr. Ice Cream Guy had many varieties that he offered from his awkwardly heavy freezer box attached to a specially made bicycle.  He was just peddling his wares like the boatmen.  Who doesn't love ice cream on hot Honduran day??  

But this "snap-insanely-blind-Chica" missed it.  I missed my opportunity to love that man like Jesus loves.  He wasn't an opportunist he was a survivalist.  He was doing what he needed to do to take care of himself and his family.  He was making a living at what he knew to provide for his family.  Even if that includes loading up an old rickety bicycle with a freezer box on the front, buying small treats of cold sweetness and pedal the streets in hopes you can sell a few that day.  

What joy he must have had when he saw a group of Americans.  He must of thought..."Thank you God, it's going to be a good day!"  If everyone would have bought an ice cream bar, it would have made his whole week!  I had the opportunity but was distracted in how hot I was that day.

Why am I telling you this?  This was one hard mission trip lesson learned.  If I could, I would go back and buy them all.  And I tell Mr. Ice Cream guy to keep the change.  Don't miss the love opportunities that God brings you in simple sweet treats peddling down the middle of your street.  

"If we want to live like Jesus lived, we have to love like Jesus loved."

Music Monday - {Always}

Very rarely do I re-post a song for Music Monday, but the song "Always" is hitting repeat in my mind.  There are so many songs that are speaking to me right now, and this is one of them.

I actually posted this from almost a year ago.  

One valuable lesson that God has been teaching me as I prepared for my mission trip to Honduras and now..applying it again to life at home is the word "unchanging".  One other team member talked about her word for the trip was "satisfy".

I can see how God works these two words together in our life.  

Only...God satisfies...and He is unchanging.

Always.

When we have trouble surrounding us, when chaos abounds, when fear hits like an anvil in our hearts...

God is always there and He is the only person who satisfies.  He gives us peace in place of fear, he gives us strength in our dependency, He gives us rest in our trust.

These unchangeable truths go hand in hand, or work independently too as we journey through this life.

Our help comes from the Lord, He is our portion. God helps in good times and bad.  In sorrow and joy.  In peace and in war.  God satisfies and is always there for us.  He never leaves us alone to battle or wage war on our own.

Whatever you're facing....know that God knows...and He won't abandon you or leave you to figure things out by ourselves.  If we ask, He will help.  

And what I have always found...is ...HIS answers are always better and satisfying.  Always.

The Blocks That Build

During the mission trip to Honduras, we had floors to pour, walls to build, and bathrooms to finish.  And in Honduras there are no cement mixer trucks or even machines that mix.  They do things the old-fashioned way.  Needless to say there was a lot of sweat equity in each layer of blocks.

The teams mixed bags of concrete, water, rock together to make a kitchen floor, a cinder block shower, some bathroom stalls and walls for some classrooms.  This team of strangers worked together like a well-oiled machine to make the living conditions of families better and improve the Mission of Mercy Child Development Project.  Even though we loaded up with our best tools and muscles, we know that God made things the construction possible.  He worked through each pair of hands as His plan came together.

God made much out of our little.   

They don't have much in the way of building supplies.  We even scraped the extra cement from the layers of mortar that plopped on the ground and recycled it back into the mix.  What's a few blades of grass or a few more dirt crumbles?  Outside of using our hands we used a plastic scoop to collect as much waste as we could.  Every drop of mortar was important.

Before the crew actually started though I took a few minutes to reflect on the foundation of the projects. It was well planned and mapped out with forms and strings to keep the blocks aligned.  There was some rebar to strengthened the corners.  The foreman took some time to make a plan for the best result.  A firm foundation is critical in the strength of the building as a whole.  

He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  Luke 6:48

There is a layer of prayer that bonds foundations too and God reminded me that prayer is the secret strength that makes our faith foundation strong.  He has His best plans laid out for us, held together with His lovely disciplines and great rules for living as lined out in His Word.  All we need to do is live according to His blueprint as he has designed.  His truth keep us aligned.  He even gives us glimpses of His power with miracles that strengthen our walls.  As we look to Him as our Foreman, He makes His wise plans painstakingly beautiful.  

God makes much out of our little.

Even when He has to scrape our leftovers.

That's a firm faith foundation built on trust in the Master Craftsman.

A Lesson From The Book of Honduran Hospitality

This past week I traveled to Honduras on a mission trip.  I didn't expect to meet such hospitality but the Hondurans are very welcoming people.  I was surprised by their open door policy and ironically a lot of homes don't have doors.  


The Honduran community in which we served was very open to our presence all week.  They were the most gracious hosts.  Maybe they were just curious about two bus loads of white Americanos driving down their dirt roads.


Whatever the reason, as we were there to serve them with our open hands, they received our help.  They weren't too proud, offended or insulted in anyway.  Some even opened their homes and set out chairs for us to sit and chat with them.   The kids came in close to play.


We made some community visits while we were there and one father made a decision for Christ.  He graciously invited us in as we asked him a few pointed questions.  In his humble kitchen he invited Jesus to come into his burdened heart.  He invited the Savior in as the gospel flooded his home.


Our supervisor at the Mission of Mercy project was most hospitable and tolerant of our girl-power-cinder-block-laying-abilities.  He didn't say a word about how the blocks might have been a little crooked.  He was very understanding of our lack of construction skills and didn't say a word.  He graciously let us invade his work space for four days of sweaty toils.


The mission team felt at home in the community of Choluteca.  The Hondurans opened their homes, they opened their hearts, they opened their church doors to worship as one.  The team held many kids in their laps and they were open to the kindness of Christ.

"Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Romans 12:13

It was evident that God is at work in their little community, with the Mission of Mercy staff on the ground, and with the work He is doing through the church.  God opened their hearts to welcome strangers in, we welcomed their hospitality and brought the gospel message.

These hospitable Hondurans' challenge me to swing wide and prop open the mission-minded-doors of my heart for God to build faith in me.