The Third Week in Honduras

Yeah, so God had us meet some AMAZING people from Chatanooga, Tennessee. They came down to Honduras with their youth group, and I was totally jealous because I wished my youth group was there too! They were an increadible group of people that are in love with Jesus. Haley, Mandy and I joined them in visiting the poorest of the poor in a place called Cerro Grande. (Big Hill in Spanish.) The director of this ministry told us how the vision for the ministry was started in 1998 because of Hurricane Mitch. That was one of the most devastating hurricanes ever to hit Honduras. Around 14,000 people died. There were massive holes dug in the ground, and many bodies put in trash bags and just thrown in there. It was like a massive grave. So, God gave him Isaiah 4:6; and there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a cover from storm and from rain.So, that led him to rent out a farm for $500 a month! God opened the doors, and donations came pouring in! He was able to build up a school and house for the street kids of Honduras. This is just a house for boys. They provide food, school, clothes, and more importantly, they provide them with a clear picture of the love of Christ. Each one of us three got SUPER attatched with the youth group, we felt like they were our youth group. We exchanged e-mail, and phone #s, and were really bummed when they left today. Yeah, it has been an AMAZING week! I am blown away by how these people respond to salvation. I gotta go, so I will blog later. BYE GUYS!!!!! WE ALL MISS YOU SO MUCH!!! WE WILL BE HOME SOON!!!

HONDURAS!!

So, here we are. Honduras has been amazing for the first week and a half,. What is amazing is that, we havent been out of the house much. As many of you have heard, there is a huge political mess here in Honduras. We are not allowed to be out after 6 pm, and the trip to the mountains has been cancelled for now, just in case war breaks out. You wanna know what is amazing though?? God has taught us all amazing lessons through this chaos. He has given Haley confirmation that we are called to stay here in the midst of this crazyness by giving her Ecc. 10:4, commanding us to stay at our posts, and remain strong, even if the ruler of the nations rise against us. Mandy has drawn closer to Jesus, and has given Him her anxiety and nervousness about the whole trip. And with me, He has really taught me to depend on Him 150%. The Lord does EVERYTHING for a reason. Last Saturday, we were supposed to be going to this place called "Casa Aliansa", which is a home for the youth that has been on the streets, but the trip got cancelled last minute. Instead, we went to a senior citizens place, and prayed with 2 really cute seniors. The next day, we found out that there were over 30 cases of Swine Flu in the youth place. We were FLOORED!! God protects His children. We serve an AMAZING God. Honestly, I know that this trip is going to be a life changing experience for the tree of us.

God's Plans

Well, God's ways are really amazing. I was listening to a pastor on KWAVE, and he was talking about Joseph, and how something as simple as a coat was used by God to impact the lives of not only Joseph's family, but Egypt was saved because of Joseph's faithfulness to God. Well, as you know, I had planned to leave to Honduras on Tuesday, June 23 at 6:10 in the morning, but prov. 16:9 "a man plans His ways, but the Lord directs His step". So, I found out 2 hours before I left my house to the airport that my passport was expired. UGH!! So, I had to cancel my flight, and buy another one for Wed. june 24th. So, in order for me to get out of the country, I need a valid passport, so, my papa and i went to the federal building in Los Angeles all day on tuesday in order to get a new one. While we were there, we got the opportunity to pray for this lady named Ana, who's father is in a coma in El Salvador. She told us how it encouraged her that we had prayed with her, and she felt a bit more hopeful in Jesus that her father would be alright. Overall, we payed for God's will. As my dad and I were driving back from L.A., I started thinking about Ana. If I had gotten on the plane on Tuesday morning, we probably never would have been able to pray with her. See, like Joseph's coat was used by his brothers to cause pain to their father, supposedly, the delayed flight was used to make me upset, but God had different plans. He had plans to prosper us, and not just my dad and I, but Ana and her family as well. Sometimes, He uses the craziest situations to show us how amazing He is.

3 DAYS AWAY!!!

Ok, so I have 3 days left. Man, I am seriously SUPER excited! Well, I have to confess, I have been a tad bit sad. This is going to be the first time away from my parents for a long time. Usually, when I go to Honduras, I go with my entire family. Not this time! I have been thinking though, this is going to teach me and Hayley and Mandy to completely depend on Jesus. I am not going to have a mommy to run to, or a dad to hide behind. We are going to have the Daddy of all daddies with us the whole time. I know God is going to show hayley, mandy and I some AMAZING things on this trip. :)

Honduras!!

Well, I am counting down the days left until the trip. There are 17 days left. God has taught me so much just in the preparation for the trip. The one thing that He keeps reminding me of is Philippians 4:6,: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." See, Hayley, Mandy and I are going to Honduras for 6 weeks. The one thing that I kept "worrying" about was making sure that we would be occupied the whole time there. So far, we only had like 2 places "planned". (a man plans his way, but the Lord directs his path -prov. 16:9)So, I started praying for more doors to open,AND THEY DID!! So far, we are God willing, going to an orphange, the mountains, a clinic, the coast, 2 outreaches, and a week long youth conference. when I found out about all of these plans, I immediately thought about my moments of worrying and anxiety. I felt like God was telling me, "SEE!! WHY WERE YOU WORRYING??!!". Man, I think about it, and those were serious thoughts wasted!! (wait... can one waste their thoughts?? arent thoughts endless???? chelsea says you can spend your time thinking about like important things than like pointless things... (like her quote) HAHA!! she is sitting right next to me...HAHAHA!!! well, now she is denying the fact she said that, BUT ITS TRUE!!! I WAS RIGHT NEXT TO HER WhEN SHE SAID IT!! Anyways, I am really excited about the plans He has for the three of us. Please, keep us in prayer. WOO HOO!!!

.Scare at the Sleep Over.

Well, so after the graduation, we went to my house and had a water fight, In-N-Out, and an awesome time of fellowship! It was so much fun. After everybody went home, (except for chelsea's family, they always leave last...)Chelsea and I thought it was a good idea for me to sleep over at her house, so i did. It was fun, until around 2:30 in the morning. You see, Chelsea and I have (by the strength of Jesus)stopped watching horror movies. Well, we are picky about the movies we watch. So, we made a dumb decision and decided to watch the movie Godsend. If you have not seen the movie, dont watch it. It is about this kid that died, and doctors use his dna to bring his clone to life. Yeah, the movie got scary after a while, and I was paranoid about every sound I heard. (chels closed her eyes the whole time... she is such a cheater..) So we decided to go to her room and go to sleep. When I got up into her room, it was dark. no lights. All I saw was the shadow of an arm coming through her window, holding a knife. I FREAKED OUT! I thought i was gonna die like the kid in the movie. It turned out to be chelsea's mom stuffing a sweater and a glove holding on to the knife. It was horrific. So, this taught me a lesson. ALWAYS GO TO SLEEP BEFORE MRS. LINDA! im just kidding. Be careful, and wise about what you choose to watch. Fear is not from God. I am just the world's biggest retard.

Class of '09!

Today is GRADUATION!! Everybody in my house is running around like decapitated turkeys!! Wow, high school went by so fast. I am glad it is over in a way, but I will kind of miss it. My best friends are in high school, and i won't be going to school with chelsea anymore... But its cool, I am exited fro the plans God has for me, and everybody that is graduating today! Congrats Class of 09!!