Tuesday

June 10,2008

This was a thought shared with us at devo yesterday morning. It was so appropriate for the day we just had and the day we were getting ready to begin. 

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships,
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppressions, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done,
To bring justice and kindness to al our children and the poor.

 Amen

We left the mission house after devo and headed to Good Shepherd children’s home.  This is one of the most beautiful places in Honduras, from the landscape to the people. It seems in such a desperate country that the Lord has placed His hand over this place and poured out His love over these children who have been abused, neglected, abandoned… but in this place, you would never know. They are taught of God and loved by  Him through His people.  The children are kind and Christ’s love that has been shared with them in their moment of deepest need, is shared by them with those of us who visit.  God is certainly present in this place and respected as Lord.  With 230 children living at Good Shepherd, our team of 35 had plenty of children to share their love with.  Many of our girls sat and colored with the kids, blew bubbles, and played with toys.  Many of our boys played soccer with some of the older boys… this is such a blessing for the boys… Healthy interaction with our young men is such a gift to these boys who can easily get overlooked when people come to see cute little kids. These boys had a full day of interaction that they will not soon forget. We had some returning boys on our team who were anxious to play the Hondurans in soccer again after an embarrassing loss last year. But they found their win this year on the field. They played hard and we had 1 injury to one of our boys-  Evan Davis- his mom, Jama,  is on the trip with us and so we took him directly to the clinic on the grounds of Good Shepherd where his leg was stitched and bandaged.  He is doing quite well nowJ Please pray that he continues to do so well as we finish our week of service. Also join us in prayer for the places like Good Shepherd that are literally God’s hands in this country that has so much need. Greg and Eva, the couple who run this children’s home in obedience to God giving full glory to the Father. It is beautiful.

 

After Good Shepherd, we loaded the bus and went to Hospital Escuela. This is the free hospital in Honduras. It is were the people who have no resources will take their sick if they can get transportation to the hospital at all. It is not very clean. It is not well stocked as far as supplies. It is dark.  I know that many of us in the States do not like hospitals. This gives me a whole new perspective on places that people go to be healed.  We split into 4 groups, each one containing a person who could speak Spanish and we walked among and sat among the suffering. We visited the cancer ward where children were undergoing chemo while their mothers sat by their side. We visited children who were sick and children who had been injured. One little boy had been hit in the head with a machete and a little girl who had been shot in the head with a pistol… and each of them were alone.  We visited with some sweet gals and their newborn babies, and we visited with a sweet lady who had miscarried her baby and had not yet delivered the baby. Her name was Teresa. She was a single mom and only 27 years old. She had already been in the hospital for 9 days and they had not yet told her how long she would have to wait for the operation that she needed. So while she waited and suffered, she did it all with a woman who just had a healthy baby in the very next bed.  It was tough to be with them as they suffered but we sat with them and talked with them. We gave them small things out of our bags. And, the thing that seemed to bring the most comfort to them, whether big or small is when we gathered round and joined hands or put hands on them and prayed for them. And so through God’s strength, this team stepped into rooms of grief and brought hope and peace to the afflicted… and for a few moments there was Light in the darkness.  And again, God is faithful.

 

Then we came back to the mission house and filled 250 food bags to distribute on Wednesday!  Our hearts and bodies worked hard this day, and we are so blessed to have opportunity to be here as the body of Christ. Please keep praying! You are carrying us with your prayersJ