Mission Honduras-Night #7
Good evening everyone! We just awoke from a nap from our day today and I wanted to write about our last night of mission work here in Honduras. We weren’t able to go to the CTC this morning because they are only open Monday-Friday so we spent our last morning of work at the orphanage getting to see our kids one last time. It was a great day, but was also very sad as well. We spent the morning sharing the gospel with the kids. Most of my group are too young to really be able to understand and make a personal decision to follow Christ, but I know we planted seeds for those children that will last a lifetime. We are the second group of Americans at most that these children have gotten to interact with and the privilege to share the gospel with them today left me floored at God’s grace and mercy on my life and overwhelmingly thankful that He has given me the opportunity to share the best possible news with those who have such a hunger and a desire to love and be loved. We left our kids with bracelets reminding them about the story of Jesus. My prayer is that they hold them close to their hearts and that the message of love that we shared with them would be something they never forget and that as they grow older they would choose to follow Christ above any other option because a group of American teenagers and adults loved them enough to share the love of Christ with them.
It was also so awesome just to be able to spoil our kids today with so many of the toys and things that we take for granted back in the states. Seeing their eyes light up to have a little squishy pool ball that they could call their own, jumping for joy to be able to blow up their own balloon, smiling so big to be able to have their own bubbles to blow and their own marbles to play with. The necklaces and the bracelets that so many American kids wouldn’t even consider wearing they loved more than anything. It didn’t matter what color, what size, or anything except that they had something to call their very own in a life where so little is theirs. Their very own spiral and crayons to draw on. I could go on and on but seeing such pure thankfulness and gratitude pouring out of those kids left me sitting there appreciating all that God has blessed me with like I never have before. I pray that both myself and the rest of the group would return home Monday with a new set of eyes and a new mindset, never forgetting all that He has blessed us with and never forgetting the children He gave us the opportunity to minister to and fostering in us a love for them and for millions of other children around the world who need to hear the love of Christ.
As grateful as I am to have had the opportunity to minister to these children, saying goodbye to them today was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I would give anything to trade in my day of shopping to be able to see them and play soccer, color and give them piggy back rides one more time. I never imagined the attachment that could develop in a few short days. But when you see the amount of love that they have and how much they are truly glad you are there, you can’t help but fall in love with them. I will pray for each of them every day, for their safety, for their health, for their parents, for their life in the orphanage but most importantly that as they grow that they will accept Christ as their Lord and Savior. I would love to come back to the same orphanage again next summer if that is God’s plan for our group. However, I know even if we don’t that God has His eyes over those children and will care for them and love them like only He can.
I pray that each member of our group comes home changed as much as I have been to how the world truly is. I pray that it would begin to cultivate a mindset and a lifestyle for missions rather than simply a trip. I pray that we would see our schools and our friends and our families as our mission field every day while never forgetting the children like we have been blessed to meet this week.
I ask that you continue to pray for our group. We have a couple different people now battling health issues. Pray that God would heal them over the next day and a half and that we could all be healthy and feeling well enough for our flight back home. I am ready to be home and see my family and friends but honestly would give anything to be able to stay here longer. I hope that as we return home and share the pictures and stories of our trip that it would encourage you to fulfill the command of Christ to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Thank you again for all of your prayer and support, we couldn’t have made it thus far without you.
Humbled by His grace and mercy,
John
