3/18/12

So, I've been back in the States for over a month now. Unfortunately I still have no job, and over the past few days, Satan was really letting me have it with that, and a few other things. But fortunately, last night I had the opportunity to hang out with a group that has been meeting on Saturday nights at a local coffee shop. I never had any doubts regarding God's goodness or the fact that He would see me through this current trial, but it was still discouraging. One of the great things about God is His unfailing love. "Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me."

On a related note: I've been offered several thousand dollars worth of carpet cleaning equipment for the low low price of nothing. A brother in the Lord has expressed His desire to give away the tools that the Lord allowed him to use to provide in the past for his family. He has recently been asked to be the full-time pastor of a church and his new congregation has a heart to pay him a salary. After much prayer and consideration over the matter he felt the Lord putting it on his heart that "When Colin returns from Honduras, he's going to be looking for something to do for work." I felt overwhelmed when he told me the first time. It didn't really register or make sense to me. Why would this guy give so much? What is he smoking? Lol. The truth is God has given him much. This brother feels that the blessing that the machinery has been for him, should continue to be used and not just left in a basement to fall apart. I don't fully understand it, but then again God's ways aren't our ways. I'm still going to try to find a job for the time being until carpet-cleaning starts to be able to sustain me. I'm not looking to get rich off this, I just want to provide my needs for living and ministry. I hope through this blessing to me that I can simply continue to bless others.

Well, may grace and peace be with you and your house.  I got nothing else.

Day 89 2/12/12

Well. Here I am. My last night in Honduras. Day 3 of 5 beds in 5 days. Haha.

I don't feel I have much to say right now, but I'm not so sure it's that as much as I just don't know what to say.

If there's ever something to know, it's this: don't expect what you expect. When I was much younger, my mom told me that I should not have high expectations, because then you won't be let down. And personally, for most things, I believe that's correct. But fortunately (and by the way, this topic just took a turn I didn't plan for it to take), we don't have to worry about expecting too little from God. He is a God of abundance. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (so scripture says, I'm pretty sure it's ALL His, though). One cannot out-give God. One cannot out-bless God, for it is by God's grace that we are even ABLE to give or bless. It is by His grace that we have breath in our lungs, for the believer and the unbeliever alike.

You know what scripture keep coming to mind recently? The ones about loving God above all, and your neighbor as yourself. And in addition to that, loving other's as Christ loves us, and when we give even to the least of these, we are giving to Jesus Himself.

I heard a message this afternoon about rewards, and the pastor was speaking on how he never was a huge reward type of guy, but he's coming to realize that God enjoys giving rewards, and speaks much of them. If God likes to give rewards so much, shouldn't we be excited to receive them? First, I am NOT saying we should only do things for the rewards we will receive, but for the fact that in and of itself, the GIVING is the reward. If God is a God of giving, and a God of abundance, shouldn't we then expect MUCH of God? I know I have a tendancy to think way too little of Him. But the truth is that this God that we serve, the God that we try to fit in a convenient little box, a box that we can keep on a shelf, or in a closet, is the God that formed man from dirt. Breathed life into him. Spoke, and the stars in the sky were created. Think about it: we live on earth, two planets from the sun, not even close to the largest planet, and the sun is not anywhere NEAR the largest star man has discovered. And we in our ignorance, try to conform Him to OUR standards. Who are we? What makes us so great? I'll tell you what makes us so great. We have a great big God, who has such a great love for us, that even though we are evil, and that our good works are as filthy rags, that He sent His son to bridge the gap for us, so that we might be the inheritence to His kingdom. Wow. What a great God we serve.

Thank You, Father, for each person reading this message. I pray that You would draw them each closer to You. I pray that they would be convicted of trying to manage You into their schedule, where the truth is, You should BE their schedule. Lord, You don't want just a piece of our lives here and there; Jesus didn't die so that we could live for You on our terms. I pray that You would show us all what it means to truly be a slave for Jesus Christ, and that we would commit all of our works unto You, Father. This life was not meant for us, but for Your glory. Father, I just again thank You for this time to come before You in prayer on behalf of my friends, relatives, and those I may not even know, but I pray that I would be able to call them my brothers and sister in Christ. Thank You so much for Your mercy, for Your patience, and for Your kindness and generosity. Amen.

Day 81 2/4/12

So, on the 31st, I started writing a blog, which still hasn't finished. It may get scrapped, it may get a big overhaul, it may just get added to, but I felt God didn't want me to finish it, because the words after a while just stopped coming, and when I get to that point, I'll normally just paint myself into a corner. I feel one of the reasons He wouldn't let me finish was because there were/are things He wants to me to learn or read, or watch, but in some way, experience, something more pertaining to the subject matter. It talks about good works, and what the point, or lack there of, is of them. A day or two after starting, I ended up watching a video sermon for Francis Chan from the Desiring God conference, which played right into what I was getting at. Said post may take some time before you get to see it, supposing you'll get to see it. I hope you do, It'll be a good one, and I'm certain, worth the wait.

Through my blog, I've remembered how much I enjoyed writing in High School, although, ask any of my family about my grades and they would have never known. Yes mom, I enjoyed writing papers. I find great joy in being able to write what comes into my head, because normally it's a lot better and a lot wiser than what comes out of my mouth. And it's sentances exactly like the last one that makes it even more fun. I love to be able to laugh when I write, and if I can laugh at something I write, I know that at least one other person will as well. There have been times where I've wanted to go to college for no other reason than to expand my vocabulary. Sure, I could pick up a dictionary, but I find the writer's style very bland and boring. A - Aardvark - description of said word. Yawn. Where's the flare, the pizzaz? How do you spell "pizzaz"? What was I saying? Oh yeah. Here's annother random paragraph, although not actually random at all, because it was mentioned not too long ago.

College. Do I want to go? What would I go for? Suggesting I could pick something to go for would it be something God would use? I'm sure He would, that last sentance was mostly filler. The truth is, I could never decide what I would want to go for. What's worth the time? What's worth the money? Did Peter, James, John, Paul, Ringo, or Jesus go to college? Ringo may have, but I can't say I recall hearing about Paul attending Harvard. I have no recollection of seeing Cambridge in the scriptures, but I could be wrong. I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again. I promise. Sure, I could go to school for writing, but here's how I see it: I had intended to go to the upper crust of automotive service schools, it was between Universal Technical Institute in Joliet, IL, or WyoTech in Laramie, WY. I ended up not going to either. After that decision was made, I ended up working at a dealership, and thought I'd just go to Fox Valley Tech for it. I've heard their program is great. But you know what I learned working at the dealership? I have absolutely NO desire whatsoever to work on other people's cars for the rest of my life. I don't mind working on mine, or helping a friend, I rather enjoy it, but when you're doing your hobby for a living, at least, in my case, it quickly becomse old, boring, mundane. It's all the same. So if I were to go to school to be a writer, who's to say the same wouldn't be true? Sure, I could get a good job at a newspaper, but I can't stand the news. It's so sad and pathetic. I could write books. Wait, how many people out of a thousand who write books actually make money off of it? I don't know, but I doubt it's many. Personally, I like writing, but I haven't done enough of it in my life to know just how much.

I just got finished reading three amazing books, and they've worked together, and I hope they truly change my life. Cast, in order of appearance: "Not A Fan" by Kyle Idleman, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, and "Under The Overpass" by Mike Yankowski. The Lord is really giving me a heart for the needy, the homeless in particular. I'm hoping when I return to be able to spread love to them in tangible ways.

I've been playing guitar just about every day, thankfully. And I'm working more and more to play and sing at the same time. Unfortunately the worship songs I know are difficult to sing along to, (I have a big problem with the fact that I lose timing when I'm concentrating on keeping a strumming pattern and singing, and it quickly, within a second or two, all falls apart) but right now I can more or less get through several Dylan songs, and maybe a Beatles song or two. I'm working on it though.

I've got 7 full days left on the ranch, 8 full days in Honduras, and 9 til I'm back in the States. I'd be lying if I said I weren't ready to come home. I love it here, and I will greatly miss the kids and the Beards, but as I see that my time is nearing it's end, I am seeing other needs at home. Please pray that as I transition back that I would not be discouraged by an "apathy" of fellow believers. I know I will have the feeling, and probably even unconsciously, have an air of pride in the fact that I just spent three months on the mission field. But the truth is, it isn't what I've done on the mission field in Honduras that matters, it's what I do on the mission field at home that produces real fruit, and truly changes lives.

To my brothers and sister back home, I love you and miss you all, and I pray that Jesus Christ would be working in you, and through you, to bless all the people He so loves.

P.S. Sorry for posting this several days after writing it. Haven't had much time to get online, and when I have, I just forgot to post this.

Day 68 1/22

Wow. Three weeks from tomorrow, Monday, I will be arriving back in Chicago. The more startling facts are that I will only have three more classes with the young adults, three more guitar classes, three more soccer practices, three more Thursday mornings with the kids from the orphanage, three more children's church services, and three more soccer games. It's scary, really. But comforting as well.

I feel confident in my return to the States. I'm looking forward to hopefully ministering to people I haven't intentionally made more time for in the past. I look toward the things that the Lord is working in my heart. I don't know what my life will look like when I get back. I don't have a job lined up, and yes, it's sometimes unnerving, but the overwhelming reality is that it's all under control. I know I can trust my God to provide the things I need. I am excited and nervous for the new challenges I will face. The sacrifices I want to make, even most Christians would think I'm crazy. Ha, I think I'm crazy. I just hope I'm not afraid to make those changes. I need prayer in that. But Jon brought something to my attention today: "I don't think it's likely you'll ever say 'I wish I didn't give so much to Jesus.'" Thanks Jon, for the laugh, and for the encouragement.

Our game yesterday was, well, it was horrible. The team we played was the team we beat in the first half of the season. But this time they beat us. The boys let one goal go in the first half. That's not bad, but the second half they let six more go. Jon (in the flesh) wanted to call it quits for the season, and just try to have a fresh start next season. But the reality of it is, God has the boys in our lives for a reason. Many reasons, but we believe that one of those reasons is "Don't give up on these boys I have given you." Everyone else rights them off. They probably don't get attention at home. They certainly don't get disciplined. That's obvious. But this Wednesday at practice, we're going to try something new. Please pray for us to persevere and be strong in this decision.

Also, something worth praising the Lord: I've been learning and having desire to learn worship songs. Please pray for further desire in such things, and pray that I would have the patience and perseverence to learn to play and sing at the same time. It's so hard to play a worship song with people around when you can't even sing it while you play it. Lol.

Love you all. Thank you so much for all of your support. I can't wait to see you.

Day 62 1/17

So I was just reading my devotionals for the night. I was reading Ezekiel 46, and the Lord is describing how the offerings are to be brought to Him, when the Lord revealed something to me. Something I've known and that many of us know in our minds, but when the Lord opens it up and plants it in your lap it's so amazing. The Lord opened my eyes to see that when He is describing intricate details, and repeats them, He is showing us that He wants things His way. Including the way we come to Him, the way we worship Him. He wants us to give up control to His desires. He wants us to give Him our lives, not so that we may live for ourselves, but so that we can live for Him. That is, after all, why He created us. I was reading in "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan last night. In the second chapter he describes how you or I may know someone who's been in a movie as an extra. They get all excited, call their friends, tell their family, for that split-second where you see the back of their head. They're acting as if they're the main character, but they aren't. They're just an extra. We live our lives like we're the main character. But we aren't. God is. It's everywhere in the bible. GOD created the heavens and the earth. The people rebel against GOD. GOD calls out Abram. GOD picks Joseph and Moses and directs them and works miracles through them. GOD sends prophets and judges because His people won't give Him the one thing He askes of them, obedience. He wants things done His way. Not ours. The truth is, when we've given our lives to Christ, well, we've GIVEN our LIVES to Christ. They are His to do with as He pleases. So if you're complaining about you're situation, it's not because God wants you to be miserable. Quite the opposite actually, Philippians 4:4 commands: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" It doesn't finish with "so long as you have a job," or "unless you're stressed out with family, or bills, or just like being miserable." No, we are to be obedient, and to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, as the verse states. So please, "offer you bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your reasonable service." -Romans 12:1

Day 55 1/10

What an interesting day. Yes. Two posts for this day. After Jon and I left the cafe, we went to the post office and grabbed mail, and went to immigration to get another month for the Beards. Unfortunately the manager wasn't there to sign the forms so we have to come back later in the week.

Once we left immigration we headed to where the Durango was getting fixed. We hadn't gotten a call, but figured we'd just head over anyway. Here's how it went. When we dropped the truck off at 7:30, they said it should be done by about 12. We arrived at 2 and walked in and let's just say they weren't working on the car. Problem? Yes and no. I can understand needing a break. Anyway, 4:30 comes and the guy who's supposed to be working on the truck is working on something else. Finally Jon says something and 20 minutes later the car is back together and ready to go. ...Or not. I don't know wwhat happened, but I know cars are not as predictable as we'd like them to be. For some reason the odometer is saying "no bus" which means 1 of several problems with the PCM (Powertrain Control Module), and it's not getting spark. Hmmmm. So Roberto (owner of the shop) called our friend who recommended, Ivan, a cuban mechanic who has a shop that specializes in EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) systems. So Ivan is going to sttop by Roberto's tomorrow to check it out. So, realizing it's 5:30, and won't be able to catch a bus to Ojojona anymore. Fortunately they offer to bring us to our other mechanic (also named Ivan) where the bus is. So we pack up in one of Roberto's customer's cars and head on our way. And we all lived happily ever after. ....Oh wait, I forgot something. This car died on us. It seemed to (rather ironically) have a similar problem with it. Remember the Idle Air Control motor I mentioned? I think that's what the problem was with this vehicle as well. So next we had Douglas, the gentleman giving us a ride, call Roberto and let him know. So they sent another car, and while waiting for this one, we turned the vehicle we were in at the time around and pushed it down a hill as Jon steered to a local mechanic shop. So after we get the new car, we put in some gas, grab a snack, and head to Ivan's (the one where the bus is.) We arrived about 7:15 to Ivan's, and we are just about to enter Ojojona as I type this.

Today didn't phase me. But unfortunately we needed to go to PriceSmart to pick up food for the dogs, which were never able to do. So Jon has some anxiety regarding that. Please pray for  him, and for good news from Ivan and Roberto as they work on the Durango.

We'll need to go into Teguc again because we need to go back to Immigration by Monday, but the dogs need food soon. So please pray that by Thuursday everything will be sorted out.

Oh, one thing I am majorly bummed about: I lost track of time and wasn't able to call mymom before she went in to work. Sorry Mom. Maybe Wednesday or Thursday.

Days 54-55 1/9 - 1/10

Well, Jon and I are sitting in a cafe in Teguc. We're waiting for the truck to get the transmission fixed. We've been here an hour, and we're already tired of surfing the internet. You can only check your Facebook and text messages so many times before you get bored as you wait for music to download.

Yesterday I replaced the Idle Air Control motor in the Durango with what turned out to be an old used part which somebody must have returned. It happens from time to time. Somebody wants a free part, so they buy what they need, replace it, and clean up the old one and return it, getting their money back. So this morning on our way to Tegucigalpa, the truck stalled, so I replaced the "new" IAC motor with the one that I had taken out of thee Durango yesterday. Haha. Apparently God needed 15 extra minutes to prepare Teguc for us.

We're hoping we can get a lot of the grocery shopping done for the month today. We could use your prayer for deals, for good traffic, and for the truck to get done in a timely manner so that we can do these things. You probably won't be reading this in time, but it's still good to get out there I feel.

Prayer requests for myself: That I wouldn't feel discouraged about how soon I'll be coming home. I feel it's so soon, and I love it here. But please pray that I would be after what God wants, and that He would clearly reveal that to me, as opposed to seeking my selfish desires.
In fact, pray that I would look forward to coming home, yet not be discouraged that I still have several weeks remaining here.

Random thought: If I knew how to do accents and such, I might consider doing a blog post in Spanish, or bi-lingual posts. Hmmmm....

Thank you guys for ALL of your support: prayerful, financial, and just being there to read/see what's going on in my life and what God is doing in aand through me. It's weird to think that you have this insight to what's going on as I'm here, so chances are when I come home you'll hear stories I've already told.

Love you guys. Miss you all much. May the Lord smile upon you this perfect day which He has created.

Days 52-53 1/7 - 1/8

Well. The Wisconsin team is gone. While they were here, it seemed as if they brought winter here with them. It was in the 60's probably most of the time they were here, and at times it was only in the 50's. Now that they're gone, yesterday reached about the mid 70's, and today was low 70's. Hmmmm. Glad they took it back with them.

Yesterday we had our first game of the second half of the season. The boys played extremely well, however we lost 2-1. It SHOULD have been a tie, as at one point the ball crossed into the goal, but because there was only one referee, he could not see it from where he was. It was a fantastic game which we actually should have one. We only had one crucial error in the game. What I personally believe may be happening, is that the boys just need to learn humility this year, and next year they may do quite a bit better. But only God knows, and only time will reveal it to us.

Today we had a great morning of worship. We did probably 5-7 songs with just the family. For those of you who have encouraged me to learn to lead worship *coughLandoncough* we'll see. Keep praying. But I am getting more confident, and I my heart is opening more and more to learning songs which direct praise and worship to our King.

Mare has been very tired today. Please pray for her as she is still trying to recover from the hecticness (is that a word?) of having had a team here.

That's all for now. Love you guys, and for those of you back "home" (Wisconsin) I miss you guys very much.

Oh, and a special "Thank You" to Kurt Theyel who it seems replaced my battery when I wasn't looking (which never held a charge, it HAD to be plugged in) for my netbook, with the one that he had. You rock brother!

Day 34-51 12/20-1/6

Christmas was a very interesting day. And as long as I wasn't thinking too much of what I would be doing if I were at home (which fortunately I was pretty successful at) I didn't get too bummed out. We had an authentic Italian lasagna with a red sauce as you would normally prepare, but this also included a white sauce which was cooked by none other than myself. It was amazing. But enough about the food. The company was awesome. We had Oscar and his son, Fernando over for dinner. It was a very blessed day. Jesus rocked the house.

Onto our Christmas presents. On the 27th, my home church, Freedom Fellowship came to Honduras for an 11 day mission trip. Grant, Charlie, Jon and Olivia,  Kurt, Rebecca, Jianna and Samara, and Kristen and Meribah (sorry if I butchered any names). While here, the plan was for the men (5 including myself)  to work on Oscar's home for an addition onto his house. Unfortunately we incurred a few glitches (according to our plans, not the Lord's): Grant found out that there is a complication in the pregnancy of his wife, Kelly, and boarded a plane 4 days earlier than expected. Please lift the family up in prayer as we do not know what will happen with the situation. And then there were 4. So the next day, after working a good half day (we were working at Oscar's in the morning and doing VBS in the afternoon) Kurt and Charlie headed back to the ranch (a little earlier than Jon S. and myself). Kurt lost his footing on a rock and dislocated his hip. Fortunately Charlie has watched enough movies to know how to pop a hip back into place. Kurt was not able to (nor allowed to) do any more "strenuous" work at the ranch. And then there were 3. Fortunately, we were able to bring the foundation up to the point it needed to be at, and level out the area where the floor would be. Praise the Lord for getting so much done in so little time. It would have taken a lot more time if he were to do that all himself.

Today we were bringing the team to Tegucigalpa for their departure flight. We made it about 2/3 of the way and wouldn't you know, the bus dies. For some reason the battery hasn't been charging. We weren't able to get it started with either of two vehicles that stopped to try to jump us, so naturally, we shipped the team to the airport in the back of a flatbed. Welcome to Honduras. Adios Wisconsin Team!!!!!

P.S. Hot Pocket. -please forward any questions or comments regarding this to Charlie, Jon S, or Grant. Thank you.

P.P.S. In case you were wondering, we laughed so hard it hurt on many occasions, as well as laughing so hard we cried. Much love to all of you. Jesus loves you more.

Days 31-33

Saturday our soccer game could have gone better. It seems that our Wednesday practices always seem to go very well, but when game-day comes, it all goes straight out the window. Thankfully the important thing isn't winning, although it does help keep the boys' spirits up. Please pray for Jon, Oscar and I to be able to encourage the boys, and how we can better minister to their needs.

That evening we went to Benjamin's (Ben-ha-meen) home dowwn the road. A very kind gentleman with a great amount of beautiful property and a beautiful home. Definitely the most Amercanized home I've been in. We had a very encouraging talk with him, although I don't believe he knows the Lord. Please pray for his salvation. But thank God for the encouragement that he has been now and in the past to the Beard's.

Sunday wasn't too exciting from what I recall. Went to Teguc for the English service and a couple other things.

Today just Jon and myself went to Teguc. We had to bring in the Durango to find out what the issue is with the transmission. It's probably the input and output speed sensors, and if memory serves me correctly, there part numbers are 4800878 and 4800879. Lol. Common issue with Dodge transmissions. It was my first time getting to drive off the property, I drove the Durango down to Ojojona with Jon following me in the bus so when we came back without the Durango we wouldn't have to walk the 5 km (about 3 miles) back to the ranch. It's pretty exciting to go off-roading on the main road. Lol. After we found the shop we stopped at a grocery store for a bit so I could pick up some ingredients for making some of my favorite Christmas cookies. I'm taking a few liberties with the recipe, but I think it'll still be just as delicious if not moreso. When we got on the bus (the "city" bus this time, Teguc is about an hour ride from Ojojona) we saw two Mormon gentlemen board the bus (Jon has seen them in Ojojona, which we found is where they actually "live") and were able to minister to one of them nearly the entire time! One was a Costa Rican and the other, you guessed it, another gringo from Iowa (what is it with the Iowa people and Ojojona?! Lol). His name was "Elder" Snow. The Costa Rican (much to our surprise) ended up going back to the front of the bus (he had to have been the more experienced, which we came to realize after speaking with Snow) leaving Snow alone with two Christians. He was very open to hear what we (mostly Jon) had to say, and the scriptures Jon pointed out. Please be praying for "Elder" Snow and that he would be asking the tough questions, and that his curiosities as to why he can't give out his information, or take for that matter, from other people, and why he can't read the literature of other faiths, etc, etc, etc. Please pray that he would seek out truth. Because as the bible says (and I'm paraphrasing) "If you seek out the truth, you will find it."

Also this everning we had a great time with the young adult group. Jon asked if I felt comfortable enough with speaking Spanish yet to lead in prayer, and I figured, "eh, what the heck." I had actually been practicing either last night or the night before praying in Spanish to the Lord before I went to bed. Haha. I'm definitely getting more comfortable, and as I believe I've said before, I understand most of the conversations I hear, but there are still some tings and some parts that continue to allude me.

Pray that I would be able to better minister to the teens, the kids, and anybody else that God puts in our path. Please ask for his wisdom, and we can never have enough prayer for travel mercies, whether it be to Ojojona or Tegucigalpa, there's always that chance that we can puncture a tire, or something mechanical could go wrong with one of the vehicles.

Today was an amazing day. One thing I didn't mention is that the Beard's are all officially Hondurans now. So praise the Lord that they won't have to be forking out $80 American a month anymore for extended visas or whatever the terminology is. God is so good. He is so faithful to bring encouragement just as we need it.

Oh, and what is God teaching me? Well, I suppose the most simple, yet profound way I can put it is that "He is worthy of all our praise, all our thanks, and all our lives." Please pray that we would all be more thankful for the thankless things our Lord provides for us, and to give our lives over to Him more and more each day. Thanks guys. Love you all so much!

Days 29-30. The One-Third Mark.

Well. It's day 30 of my being here in Honduras. One third of my internship is already complete, and frankly, it's hard to imagine leaving. I really enjoy being here. Much fewer distractions between God and I, feeling like I'm starting to get a grasp on speaking the language, building relationships, getting to know my way around the small town of Ojojona. It's hard to imagine coming home.

I want to give you a rundown of the weekly schedule, so that you know the things that rarely change.

Monday: Young adult study in the evening around 4:30. We normally play a game of Uno, then bible study, followed by tea.
Tuesday: Guitar class at 2:30. Jon is teaching some of the newer kids chords and songs. I'm teaching some of the more experienced kids (that could lead worship) more intricate things like hammer-on's, pull-off's, some songs using those techniques, and some practice exercises to build up speed and strength in their fingers.
Wednesday: Soccer practice from 9:30 to about 12:30 sometimes later. Then we bring about 5 of the kids back to the ranch for lunch and a more personal bible study.
Thursday: In the morning some of the kids from the orphanage (children's home is more polite) come and help out with the horses: learning to clean up their stalls, feed and take basic care of them. As they come more, we will do more with them.
Friday: Children's church in the morning. We incorporate a game and try to have it correspond with the teaching.
Saturday: Soccer game in the morning. Often times we don't get back to the ranch until around 2 or 3 in the afternoon.
Sunday: Day of rest. Every other week we go into Teguc(igalpa) to an English-speaking service at 4 pm.

Each of these activities contain a bible study. Children's church also includes worship.

Yesterday (Thursday) when the children from the children's home (Rosa, Anna, Bryon, and Antonio) helped take care of the horse and goat stalls. Afterward we took Zoeva (the mother horse) and had the kids lead her for a barrel race. There was no riding, we want the kids to get used to being around the horses, and to gain confidence with them, first. We ended up having each of us (the four kids, Jon, Mare, and I) lead the horses around the cones we had set up. The first ttime just to get used to it, the second time (and sometimes third time) were timed for a race. I ended up beating out even Mare at 24 seconds. She initially had a time of 25, with a 5 second penalty bringing her time to 30 seconds. Tehe. If you're a horse person and wondering why it took so long, Zoeva did NOT want to run, Hahaha.

The leadership at the children's home even decided they wanted Bryon and Antonio to be on the soccer team! Praise the Lord! I look forward greatly to getting to know these two. They speak pretty good English because missionaries often stay there. Unfortunately many missionaries don't have wisdom in not just giving things to kids, so there may be issues of selfishness and "give me this" or "give me that." Pray for wisdom for us in how to deal with these issues if and when they arise. Also pray for missionaries around the world to have wisdom in what they give to people or children.

Today we had Rick and Kim Beck (last Thursday we had them over for lunch to get to know them. They seem to have a vision very similar to the Beard's for working with horses, but their vision is for something closer to Teguc, so PLEASE pray for wisdom and provision as to how we can work together), a couple from Memphis who work with kids in Teguc, bring a group to help with the crafts we did after children's church. For Christmas we are having the kids that we minister to make some crafts for their family for Christmas. We will also be giving out some gift baskets to families who really need it, and showing "The Nativity Story" to some of the locals. Pray for wisdom in how to prepare for all these things. It's very busy at the house right now with these things.

Days 12-28. Woah. Missed More Than I Thought!!!! Sorry!!

28 days? I've been here 4 weeks already?! Wow!!!!

It's been a while since I've blogged. Sorry about that. Picking up where I left off, sort of, the game after that practice where we split up the boys, we played incredibly well. The next week I was unable to attend practice because I was sick, more info on that to follow.

I've been sick twice. The first time I had a fever one night and was completely useless the next day (a Wednesday, soccer practice day). We ended up winning the week I couldn't get to practice. Hmmm, maybe I shouldn't go to practice. Hahaha. I was finally feeling better, and a couple nights later (Saturday night, after the game) I spent basically the whole night on the toilet. Including the next day. It was on a Sunday because we were all supposed to go to the English speaking church service, but I, obviously, couldn't. For the next couple days I had to eat only bland food. I heard about two weeks prior to the bland diet Jon reading the girls the story of God giving the Israelites manna from heaven. I noticed I was being an ungrateful, as they were, and realized I needed to be thankful that I was able to eat at least something that would stay in my stomach. God is so faithful to remind us of just what we need to hear right when we need to hear it.

I'm getting more confident in my Spanish. I'm able to understand most parts of most of the conversations I'm hearing, but speaking is still difficult. I'm trying harder to make conversation, but I have no idea where to start most of the time. Lol.

This past Friday we were getting the local soccer field ready for the game the next day (using sawdust to "paint" the lines, and clearing cow-pies from the field) when I saw another gringo walking around with some kids kicking around a ball. After we finished prepping the field, Jon and I went and introduced ourselves. His name was Andrew and it turned out he's actually from Iowa in the Quad cities. How ironic (RO4Y's home church is in Iowa). He ended up coming with his friend whom he was visiting, Iris, to the ranch on Monday for lunch, and stuck around for the young-adult study in the evening. It was a huge blessing to have them. He spoke better Spanish than even Jon. Haha.

Andrew has been living in Guatemala for 6 months out of the year since I believe 2008. He works with kids that live in the city garbage dump in Guatemala City. The largest garbage dump in Central America. I can't remember how many people he said live there, but I know it was in the 1000's, but I'm pretty sure it was a LOT more than that. For some reason 20,000 comes to mind, but I really don't recall. Anyway, please pray for those that live there, and Andrew's use as God calls him.

Yesterday I had my head in the clouds all day. Literally. There isn't fog here, just clouds. Anyway, we went to Tegucigalpa, because Mare had a cookie exchange to go to. She made Candied Orange Peels. They are fantastic. Oh, and she brought home a ton of goodies too. So far my favorite I believe are the mint brownies. Yummmmm. Anyway (sorry Landon, if you're coveting, lol), while she was there, Jon, myself, and the girls went to find the zoo. Unfortunately it was closed because of the weather (stuck in a rain cloud), but thAt didn't stop us from going on an adventure in the National Park (in which the zoo was located). We ended up finding a lot of cool stuff to take pictures of, so we did. Haha. I should hopefully have pics of that up on my Facebook soon, or if I'm able to figure out how to do it here, I'll do that as well. Part of our journey was a quest to find Jesus. Did we find the Christ? You'll have to wait for the pics. :)

Today's soccer practice was... intersting. It went very well. Jon taught the boys on Philippians 3:10,11. He also incorporated the easy way which leads to death, and the hard way, which is the way of Christ, dying to self and such. On Saturday after the game, we provided the boys with lunch. We got 100 tamales for like, $5 American (nice, eh?). Anyway, after we ate, we still had to bring the bags to the truck to head home. Jon asked some of the boys who were walking away to help out, and they just laughed and said "No". So today for practice we decided those boys shouldn't get to practice with cleats. Seems fair, doesn't it? The boys didn't like it, and ended up leaving practice, and walked home down the mountain (about 5 km, or 3 miles). Those boys will not play on Saturday if they should decide to show up, but if they ask Jon's forgiveness, they can remain on the team, and maybe play the next week. The boys chose the hard way. They chose not to die to self. That's ok. God knows what's going on, and the wins don't matter as much as a change in life and attitude. Of the 5 boys that walked out today, 3 of them probably would have started on Saturday. Two of them were our goalies. So this Saturday should be interesting. It's ok though. Jon isn't concerned about it, and neither am I. Neither should you be. :) Just pray for wisdom for us in how to deal with these boys.

That's all for now. So until next time, Hasta luego!

Days 6-11, Jumbled in a Not-So-Orderly Fashion

This was a really cool week. On Wednesday we had a really good practice with the boys.
He tried something different with training this time: we divided the boys into 3 groups of
seven, one group for me, one group for Oscar, and one group for Jon. We basicly had it
separated into stations, Jon was practicing passing, Oscar was practicing with receiving the
ball, and I worked with the boys on ball control. The team that showed up the Saturday
before to the team that showed up this Saturday was a totally different team due to that
practice.

On Tuesday we had guitar practice. Most of the boys were new this year, so we started
teaching them chords. It's interesting, because the chords don't go along the lines of
letters, rather "Do, Re, Mi, Fa, So, La, Ti".

Saturday: Some of the boys' dad's aren't around, like Jose Francisco "Chilo", Joel, and Elam. All
three are brothers. Elam is very smart. He's a smartass too. But he's probably one of my
favorites. He's very active with the ministry. He comes to bible study groups, soccer and
guitar. Chilo lacks much discipline, but I honestly see a very bright future for him. I
really hope I get to meet the man that he becomes. Today at the game he "snuck" (in the
reality of it, he stole a banana from the team) eating a banana. Jon chewed him and the
team out for it, because they need to realize that selfishness has no place. As Jon was
disciplining Chilo, he also asked him to look him in the eyes, but Chilo was joking around
about it and looking away. Jon didn't get on him too much about the eye contact because
Jon saw something I didn't through Chilo's jesting: Chilo obviously felt bad, and knew he
was in the wrong, because he was crying. I have a huge heart to disciple Chilo, but my
Spanish vocabulary is horrible. Please pray that even despite that, that I would
step out of my comfort zone and try anyway. "There is no 'try', just 'do'". Thank you, Yoda.

Marillyn's cooking is amazing. I can't really describe it other than "The most healthy food
I've probably ever eaten consecutively, and some of the most delicious food I've ever eaten
as well."

I'm going to weep like a baby when I come home. I'm going to miss these kids so much. It's
been 11 days and I alrady love them all.

It's so hard (to say goodbye to yesterday... couldn't help myself) to recognize people. I
have trouble with people's faces as  it is, then add on top of that (yes it's stereo-
typical, but) they all seem to look the same!

I may have said this before, but I see a definite need of at least one extra person here to
help out. I'm afraid that God will want me to be one of those people, honestly, because I
1. Don't want to leave my friends and family (I do wonder if that's partly just because I'll
feel guilty leaving all of them), 2. don't want to be dependant on other people to donate
for my existance down here. I hate taking money if I haven't worked for it, 3. I suppose
I'm afraid of the unknown. Yes, I know God will take care of me, I don't need to hear that.

The Lord's Day (Day 5)

Sunday. The Lord's day. :)

After breakfast we had a time of worship with Jon playing guitar. It was awesome. :)
"Our God is Greater"
"Hosanna"
"Surrender"

After our worship time we had a bible study through Psalm 143. It amazes me at how much
Tabi and Naomi know about the King of kings. They each wanted to sing a praise song for
Jesus after the study. It was really adorable.

Today for the English speaking service in Teguc we were celebrating Thanksgiving. Know what
that means? Potluck! Lol. Pastor John gave a sermon showing what he was thankful for. God's
faithfulness, His love, and His gift. Really, everything the He has done for us. It was
really a blessing.

During the potluck we got to meet lots of people, including a deaf Honduran girl named
Jenny. She couldn't speak, but she could sign, however, it was Honduran sign, which is
basicly a mixture of ASL and Mexican Sign Language. So not everything could be understood
between Jon, Mare and Jenny. Although I have to say, that was the most fascinating
conversation I've ever seen, because they were able to communicate some things. I really
have a heart for this girl, and am sure I will be praying much for her, because there isn't
a huge ministry serving her needs.

People I met: Harland, a man and his family who are from the states and about to move back
around May. They tried moving back in 2003, but they ended up here once again, so only
the Lord knows if they'll be back again. Haha.
Fernando, don't know much about him, but may be seeing him again this week.
Pastor John, only for a moment.
Cathy Carryon, a sweet American woman who was curious as to my story, and what intrigued
me. I really wish I had more time to get to know her. Very kind older woman.
Sumaya. Haha. This lady is awesome. Born and raised in Teguc, she once went to the US
Embassy in Madison, WI. The man there asked her how long she had been in the states "I
just got here" she replied. She said he looked like he was going to hit her for lying to
him because her English was so precise. He asked once again, with the same answer, before
concluding, "You must have gone to a good school." "Yup," she answered. Haha. She knows
I believe five languages. Very intelligent, and very funny woman.

Day 4

Today was the first time I got a sunburn this entire year. Including the summer in
Wisconsin. Weird thing is, it'll only get hotter from here.

The boys had their second soccer game of the year. The first while I was here. But first
we had to attend a meeting in Santa Ana where the mayor was giving a speech about how they
were giving out about $1000 dollars. About $125 for each team in the soccer league. Also
there was more money for other projects in the are. Fixing up the school, etc. The mayor was
45 minutes late (not surprising, this is Honduras). And the meeting took longer than
expected, which also meant the games started later than expected. Our game started about 3
hours late. Haha.

The game was kind of a mess. We put in a goalie we weren't too familiar with, and he let 5
goals go in the first half. Jon put someone else in for the second half who only let 1 goal
(that he and I saw, apparently according to the officials they ended up with 7 points at the
end of the game, when we only saw 6) past him. It was a much better second half.

The boys definitely have discipline issues, and don't listen very well. Have you seen "The
Bad News Bears?" That's our team.


Fortunately that was all we really had going on that day, so when we got
back to the ranch we ate lunch (it was like, 3:30 I think) and rested some.  We did a few
small things that needed to be done but it had already been a long day, since we left the
ranch around 6:45 am.

Day 3

Note to self: Do not look for spiders when going to bed. You will find them, and they will
be huge. Let's not even discuss "Are they poisonous?" because, frankly, the less I know,
the less I'm concerned. Either way, I don't want to wake up and find myself snuggling with
one. I'm not necessarily afraid of spiders, but I'm not exactly happy to see them. And when
they're encroaching on my direct vicinity, they need to go.

Anyway, this morning after breakfast Jon and I took the Ranch bus into Ojojona (rather, we
tried, but there was a construction crew putting some pipe in the road) to pick up the kids
for the first day of resuming classes. I can only hope to remember their names, because
often times when I meet people the first time, I recognize their clothes before their face.
I had a wonderful time watching the kids playing around on the bus together, being able to
understand some of what they say. I feel I'm catching on quickly listening to the Spanish.
However speaking is a whole 'nother matter. I was very quiet most of the day with the kids,
but they had fun talking to me nonetheless.

We went over the rules with them, and Jon did a devotional and tied the rules into
Galatians 6:7-8. Until this "class year", the rules were never really discussed, and there
were basicly unwritten rules of conduct, but nothing solid. The kids were pretty receptive
and we did an excercise so that the kids could get an idea as to why we are doing this.

Jon dropped off the kids and I took care of a couple more things and rested a little before
he came back for a quick lunch. After that, it was back toward Ojojona to pick up the boys
for soccer practice. Oscar came by togive us a hand, seeing as he is the assistant coach
for the boys. They ran. We strecthed. We ran. Did some drills. We went over the new rules
with them before unveiling to the boys their new home jerseys! We then watched part of a
movie about the 2006 World Cup and the teams involved. After that we did some more drills
before Jon brought them home. I tore down the setup from the movie, and from the classes
while he was gone. I also helped Tabi and Naomi set the table for dinner and talked with
Mare a little bit regarding the background I came from.

Jon got home and we packed up the bus for the soccer game tomorrow. Ate dinner after that
and played a little guitar once the post-dinner chores were done.

Well, tomorrow's gonna be an early one. Waking up at about 5-5:30 so we can eat at 6, and
head to Ojojona by 6:30 so we can make it to town before we get stuck by road construction.
Oh, and by the way, here, when the city does road construction, you can't get by for an
hour or more. Just remember how blessed you are in the US that you are still able to get to
your destination when there is construction going on!

Day 2

Today wasn't as bad as last night seemed. And I know that's how it'll be while I'm here.
There will be times when it seems to be dragging on, and the only place I'll want to be is
somewhere far from here, and there'll be times where I'll see that this is right where I
want to be.

This morning after breakfast I helped Mare with dishes. Once we finished with that it was
time for some work. Road construction. Jon, Oscar and myself hopped in the Durango and
headed down the road a mile or two where we started picking up rocks ("dulce" as Oscar
would call them. He apparently worked with rocks at one point, and he and his co-workers
would refer to the rocks as candy, or "dulce") and loading them into the truck. We brought
them about halfway back to the ranch where we unloaded them into some giant potholes which
the recent (and uncommon) rains have left. (It's actually raining right as I write this,
and normally it would be totally dry this time of year.) We proceeded to repeat the
procedure once more, and then we covered the rocks with the mud/dirt/clay mixture which
are the roads here.

When we returned to the ranch Jon and I hung up the boys soccer uniforms on the clothesline
to dry while we waited for lunch to get done. Beef, rice, and salad. Oh I must tell you
it tasted sooooo good. Mare's cooking is amazing. And it's really healthy too. After lunch,
it was time for a siesta. The morning work made Jon and I tired, so we slept for an hour,
and then proceeded to start taking care of getting uniforms ready for the soccer game on
Saturday. Jon also had me make out a spreadsheet for the team including the boys birthdays,
ages, ID  number (basicly a Social Security number), and a couple other things. The league
they are part of is pretty strict. The ages are only for 10-13 I believe. Definitely only up
to 13, though.

Dinner was salmon sandwiches (like tuna sandwiches, only salmon instead, uber yummy), and
some slices of tomato. Desert consisted of a brownie and banana ice cream. Frozen bananas
pureed. That's it.

Well, that's all for tonight. See you tomorrow.

Biggest Mistake of My Life (Day 1)

I've made the biggest mistake of my entire life.

That is exactly what I've been thinking for the past 10 minutes. Jon and I just got to the ranch and I've gotten my things situated for the night. I'm not ready for this. I don't know why I'm here. ...I'm in Honduras. Freaking Honduras. A country most American's couldn't point out on a map, (myself included in the beginning of the year). And I'm here for 90 days. What have I gotten myself into? I hardly speak the language. I get quiet when I'm nervous or uncomfortable. 90  days. All I know is at this point, it has to be God, or 1, I wouldn't be here, and 2, I'm screwed without Him.

Leading up to this trip, I've been very ill-prepared. I haven't regularly read my bible in... probably months. I haven't been praying regularly in like manner. I've been a total wreck. And I've been looking forward to this opportunity to get away from my job, learn some Spanish, help some kids, and Seek God. But now that I'm here I'm like a dog who caught a firetruck and has no clue what to do with it.


Highlights of the day:
1. Checking my bags 3#'s over weight and the guy telling me I can tip him what I feel is fair for
saving me $100.
2. Being in air traffic trying to pass another plane headed for Miami for 10-15 minutes.
3. Meeting the awesome Belize Team: Jeremiah and Brittney Peters (newly married earlier this year, congrats!), Anthony Gomez, Tony Ghironzy, Akeem Darnell Gonzales, Rachel Rozzi, and Ray. Also got to meet Brooke and Wayne Goranson, Mare's parents, who surprised her last week by showing up at the ranch unexpectedly.