Luna

The light of the moon glistens in the tears rolling down her cheeks as she looks back, wondering when she will ever come to see her home again. The fear in her eyes is sharp and striking, but she valiantly keeps moving forward, gently placing each foot on the ground, with each step taking her farther away from where she wants to be. It takes all of the strength within her to keep her from running back to the comfort of what she knows, but there's no going back. The car door slams shut and like the switch of a button, her whole world vanishes before her, abandoning her in the dark: alone, scared and lost. If she keeps her eyes open and focused and doesn't turn from what she's learned, I know He will carry her through. She need not have fear of what lies in front of her because the Lord Jesus Christ is with her, He loves her, He will never leave her alone.

Stop.

Things are so much easier said than done. Is it really that easy to let things go and trust to make it out okay in the end? Can you just give it up and let your burdens rest on the shoulders of someone else?

Yes.

With faith it is possible. although it might not be easy, it is attainable. She's starting a new phase in her life, physically and mentally farther from anywhere she's ever been or anything she's ever done. With much prayer and faith, she will adapt. She will learn, she will grow and she will achieve, because this is where God has lead her. With more bravery and faith than I can understand, her presence in my life has taught me gratitude. Accepting wholeheartedly the blessings from a Father who cares and only asks for our love in return. Choosing to move forward and use the gifts we receive, whether it takes us out of our comfort zone or not. Are you comfortable yet?

(ps- Mommy y Daddy, gracias por todo me han dado, ahora yo entiendo un poquito mejor los bendiciones he recibido de ustedes.)

Sun-kissed

Deep, dark eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun, freckles gently dusting his nose, looking in his eyes, he seems to be screaming out for help. As if his heart is breaking in two and he doesn't know why. Everyday is a journey for him, fighting the world around him, trying to allow the good to shine through. The emotional scars taunting him daily, constantly reminding him of where he was and what he could be. The spiritual battle going on inside of him is fierce, it's difficult for him to choose the right way to go. Everyday he decides who he wants to be. Waking up, it is hard to know what challenges he will encounter. He's sweet, he's vicious, he's sincere, he's sarcastic, he's kind-hearted, he's insulting, he's warming, he's malicious... unbeknownst to him, I am continually praying for him. For many of the kids that surround me, everyday is a battle, much different from the one you and I know. With emotional baggage weighing them down, some of them wondering why they weren't 'good enough' for their parents to love them, others wondering why did their parents have to die, why couldn't another kid's parents have died. The other night I was putting the boys to bed, we were joking around and having fun as usual, when all of the sudden I heard the sound of a fist pounding someone's body, quickly followed by the sound of someone crying. As I ran over to see what was going on, I yanked the one boy from on top of the other and began to interrogate him as to why he was hitting. He pushed and pulled, trying to free himself from my grip but I wouldn't let him go. Finally he gave up and I stood there with my arm wrapped around him, my hand laying over his heart, feeling it stomp at a racing pace against his chest. We stood there in silence, my mind searching for the answer as to what could have possibly set him off. I asked him again 'Why were you hitting him?' He pulled away and ran to his bed, his breathe steady, but hard. I left the room, still in thought over what had just happened. I've seen these boys fight before, but this time it had been different, it was something deeper. I have yet to find out just what went wrong. But thinking about the other night reminds me of a different kind of love that you learn while living here. The kind that allows you to stay when you want to walk away the most, the kind that holds on even when you don't want it to. The kind of love that no matter how heavy the weight gets that you are carrying on your shoulders, it is always there to help share the load.

Message Bean

My plant...

Incredible

Since I last wrote, much has happened. We've started the new school year, added another volunteer to our list, made some interesting decisions, had some good days, and some bad days. Yesterday, Sabbath, was a really good day! Really good! A group from Andrews is working in a place about an hour and 1/2 from here so yesterday Sherin, Onilzon, Ioana and I went to a town called Peña Blanca to visit them. The entire day was really relaxed and very much how a Sabbath day should be. It was just such a good day, I can't fully explain it! These are the kinds of days that make me feel like I could stay here forever... After church we went and saw another Adventist orphanage and ate lunch there and got to spend sometime with our friends from Andrews. On our way back home we stopped by Lake Yojoa. It was the perfect day. The wind brushing my face, the water smoothly rocking the pier, the sun gentling warming my skin. How amazing, the creation of God, imagine what Heaven will be like! I can't do it justice to try to describe it. I just wanted to share how amazing He truly is. I couldn't have asked for a better way to breathe some fresh air, to rejuvente my sense, to make me come alive once again, to prepare myself for another week of teaching and working. As the sun slowly sank below the horizon, my heart was content and I felt renewed, rested and prepared to continue on with the work God has set out for me. This week, try to open your eyes to the things He has created for us all around, allow His creation to speak to you, I think you'll be amazed at how much He's trying to say to you.

I am teaching english again, but this school year only in the elementary school and this time around I'm teaching by myself. Some aspects of the job are easier and better, but others are still difficult. I'm learning and growing, every morning praying to God, telling Him I have no idea why I'm here or why He has sent me to do this, but I know He has put me here for a reason, I ask Him to use me how only He can.
Thank you again for taking the time to read this. God Bless!! :)
--
I've thrown myself headlong into your arms; I'm celebrating your
rescue. I'm singing at the top of my lungs, I'm so full of answered
prayers. - Psalm 13:5-6

Cambia Tu Vida

Last Sabbath evening, January 17th, finished the evangelistic series "Cambia Tu Vida", Change Your Life. The 8 volunteers here at the hogar, have been planning this since mid-September. It was an eight night series starting on the 10th of January. This was a full-blown evangelistic series, not just some meetings. We wanted to something different than had ever been done in this area before, and that we did! We had t-shirts made, went door-to-door, put up posters all over town, announced/advertised on the radio and t.v. and even set up a website (www.cambiavida.com). Every night, there was a full children's program that taught the topic for that night in a more kid-friendly way. The program was broadcast live on both the internet (audio and video) and the radio; was shown on the main t.v. station every night and played on two other main radio stations in town. 

Besides the actual program running every night, we also had 3 buses transporting people for free to and from the meetings. The featured speaker was none other than: Vlady Daddy, with song service, theme song, special music, question and answer time, crowd interaction, a short video segment and Emcees.

Planning an evangelistic series involves a lot more details than we had originally thought, but in the end we all learned so much, about ourselves, about each other and of course about our Almighty Creator! It ended up being pretty awesome and we were proud of how well it went for none of us having ever done before. But in the end we couldn't forgive who gave us the original idea in the first place and who led us through the whole process, nothing would have been possible without Him. 

Not as many people ended up coming as we had hoped, but we know that the Holy Spirit sent the people there who were supposed to be there, and we were told that an estimated 2,500 people were watching and listening in their homes. The whole thing went really well. By the 8th night we were all exhausted, but it was well worth it! Thank you for your prayers :)

Christmas/New Years/my birthday were all really good, really good :D I would even go so far as to say that this was my most favorite Christmas ever! and New Years and my birthday aren't far behind that. I loved all three days... there were soooooo good! I wouldn't mind spending another Christmas or two here...

Very surprisingly, my mom and sister paid a surprise visit the week before my birthday, it was soo weird! haha but I'm glad that they could come, it was really nice!

The new school year is fast approaching (Feb) and new job assignments will be given soon. When I find out, I'll let you know. 

I'll try not to let is be so long next time before I write another blog... I'm just getting lazier!.. but in the meanwhile, I hope you enjoy the pictures! Email me sometime  :)

Much Love, MC

Que Tal?

Not very much has happened in the past month or so. School ended the first week of November, the school years here are kind of opposite of ours in the states. Here, school is in session from February thru November. It's been really nice not having to make lesson plans.
As a result of NO SCHOOL (!!!) I've gotten to spend more time with the kids here at the hogar and I think I've decided that maybe they might like me. They ended up having a small Thanksgiving dinner here for us, so that was nice. I ate a lot of mashed papas, I had to make up for the lack of turkey! We decorated for Christmas the other day, that was fun. Christmas is going to be different, I've never not been home/with my family for Christmas... it will be really different, but I think it's an experience I need to have, something to help me gain a new perspective.
During break, I'm still having to teach english two days a week, then on the other two days of the week I teach choir. It's actually kind of exciting! I think it was 2 weeks ago now that we had our first performance and it was so good!! They did so well, I was so proud of them. Right before, I was a little nervous, I have to be honest, I was really nervous about looking bad in front of the people at the church, but then I decided that I didn't care what they thought about me and I gave it up to God, I had to remind myself that the kids were singing for His praise and glory only, not for their praise and definitely not for the praise of their director, mwa, and then it ended up turning out really good! I just couldn't help but smile. That's a lesson that God has been teaching me lately, in order to get something, I have to let it go. I have to be willing to give it up and in the end He'll decide what's best for me and when it should happen. I am constantly reminded that I don't control things, He does! It's a good thing He does, other wise this world would be in chaos!
We're also well on our way to planning the evangelistic series that I told you about. So please continue to pray for us as we continue along with that.
Happy Holidays and God Bless!
xoxo
C

En Serio?!

UPDATE: Mandy no longer has lice (I actually haven't had it in a long time, I found out I had it on a tuesday or something and on Thursday when I had someone check, it was gone!). No need to worry, Mandy is still alive and well, a little disturbed, but ok.
Honduras is good. It's been cooling down lately. We're in rainy season now so there has been a lot of that going on lately. Actually we found out that this is the most rain they've had since Hurricane Mitch which hit them 10 years ago in 1998, so in other words there's been a heck of a lot of rain! The main bridge going into the capital, Tegucigalpa, which is like 3 0r 4 hours from here, was actually run over (or however you say it) by water and 4,000 people have died so far from drowning. In other parts of the country there are floods as high as 2 or 3 feet. It's pretty serious. Pray for them, who ever knew rain could do so much damage.

Ok next topic of discussion, we, the volunteers, have officially decided that we would like to put on a evangelistic series here in Santa Barbara. Now this will not just be your ordinary evangelistic series, we're putting a lot into it. We are planning it for late January/early February for right before school starts (the school year here is Feb-Nov). It is going to be eight days long Saturday night to Saturday night. The program will consist of a short sermon, singing, special music and other such things. We will also be providing transportation to and form the place where we are having it in hopes that more people might come. There will be a children's program as well so that people can bring their kids. We are also hoping to have some kind of snacks to pass out every night as well. It doesn't stop there: we are wanting to advertise on the radio, the local television station and by passing out fliers. We are also wanting to broadcast the programs on the radio and/or t.v. Big goals, we know, but we know that nothing's too big for God and we feel that He has big plans for this. The kids, volunteers, and staff members here at the hogar will be involved in all of this as well. Ok, now you ready for the catch? - We need two things: fervent prayer as we go through the planning process and you guessed it = $. In the next week or so we are all going to be making/sending short videos back to our churches to ask them to help us raise the money for this. This is a way that you too can get involved! 

I am now praying that God gives me something to do that causes me to think, stress out a little bit, gain/use some skill, work hard on, initiate, stretch my ideas and most of all point to His work within me. 

hmmm... that's it for now. Thank you once again for reading :)

Mandy (Taco Bell deprived in Honduras)