As my 5:45 6:45 a.m. Sunday flight looms, I’m a little stressed. Let’s hope it’s the “eustress” I learned about in high school health class--that happy stress that leads to getting things done.

I bought over $20 in stamps. Now I just have to write that letter. I have to do laundry, but first I need to pick the jeans up off the floor. Oh no, those granola bars need to be in neat rows in a Ziploc bag… It’s go time.

Lucy, my dog, helped reduce some of the butterflies. I was deflating a “Made in China” $5.95 soccer ball so it would pack better. I got distracted and later found the yellow ball on Lucy’s pillow. The soccer ball, meant for the youth of Honduras, had a love puncture.

So Lucy, in her innocent way, potentially ruined three years of fun for a group of Honduras youth. She rolled over with her legs up in guilt, but only because of my deep voice. She didn’t realize the implications of her crime.

Lucy’s act set the mood. I have another soccer ball—another $5.95.

I may be stressed, and love punctures may change the course of things, but I feel confident in letting God be God. I will be Nathan and I will pray for strength.

Posted by Nathan at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last spring, all I wanted to do was to go on a mission trip. I was about to graduate from high school, and I wanted to spend half the summer overseas serving the Lord.

What better way could there be of furthering His kingdom? I thought.

Hours of searching the Internet and praying to find the exact place God wanted me to go resulted in nothing. I had no peace about any of the trips I read about.

Not now, He told me.

It was heartbreaking, but I trusted God knew best. He could use me just as much in my hometown as He could in another country. The summer turned out wonderful. I had a fantastic internship with the local newspaper, I got to often do my favorite hobby (swing dancing!) and I grew in my relationship with Jesus. In the back of my heart, though, I still wanted to go on a mission trip.

In two days, my wishes are going to come true. By Sunday afternoon I will be in Honduras. I had to be patient, but now I know God didn’t put the desire to serve overseas in my heart for no reason.

Am I really going? I keep asking myself. It doesn’t seem real yet.

I want to send out a heartfelt “Thank you!” for your support and prayers. Satan certainly won’t be happy that we are coming in Christ’s love to serve in Honduras. With your prayers and God’s strength, though, the trip can go smoothly. May God bless you, and may He bless the people of Cane, Honduras.

MY PRAYER FOR THE DAY:
Father,
I don’t want to go just because I’ve wanted to serve overseas for so long. I want to go because you’ve already begun a good work there and have graciously allowed us to join You in it. This trip isn’t about me getting to go on a trip. It’s about You, Father, and about Your love for the Hondurans.
Please work out the details of the trip. Help us get over there safely and with no delays. Help us not get sick. Help us not lose or damage our belongings. Help us get along within our group. Help us communicate easily with the Hondurans. Help us be helpful. You know what needs to be done. Thank you!

Posted by Chansin at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Why does someone travel far away from home to do mission's work when there is so much need close to home? It is a fair question and one that I have asked in even greater depth: Why this particular Honduran village and not one of the many regions of the world suffering the after effects of a natural/political/health disaster? Take a look at the picture on the left. For next week's journey, my answer to these questions comes from the heart and prayers of this special woman.

Clemintina Martinez lives and works in the village of Cane (pronounced KAH-nay). When she first began teaching, she recognized that her students struggled to concentrate and learned that most arrived at school each morning hungry. A daily breakfast program evolved into a breakfast and lunch program...often, the only food that her students would receive during the day. Fast forward through 30 years of school-day meals for 90 children. Clemintina prays for help to sustain the soup kitchen. It is a struggle. The KidSake Foundation and the work of Jenny Rogers is an answered prayer for Clemintina. Clemintina calls Jenny her "angel".

Back to answering my burning questions. I am completely humbled by someone who has labored and sacrificed for 30 years who calls someone else an angel. Clemintina has watched 3 generations benefit from her soup kitchen and has prayed for help to keep things going. I see God's hand in the example Clemintina set. She planted seeds and faithfully cultivated her efforts for 30 years. Wow! Now, there is an opportunity to see the fruits of her labor grow into a sustainable model for other Cane's of the region and we are blessed to be a small part of that. If we are any part of God's answer to Clemintina's prayer, then there is absolutely no other place in the world that we need to be next week. My confidence in that belief has grown each day as the departure day grows closer.

TEAM PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord, bless Clemintina and her ministry to feed body and soul for the children of Cane. Help us to be your eyes and your voice as we walk among the children of Honduras. We humbly ask that you guide us in everything we do next week that your Love will shine through us. Give us strength and vision to identify needs and ways those needs can be met. We promise that all we do will be for Your glory. Thank you for showing us how to love and how to share your Love.

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 06:09 AM | Permalink

“He went out, not knowing where he was going” – Hebrews 11:8

This morning God told me the exact thing I needed to hear. Isn’t it exciting when, in one of His subtle ways, He reminds you that He knows all your anxious thoughts and that He’s ready to take care of them?

It was when I read an entry from Oswald Chambers’s “My Utmost for His Highest”. The title for the day was, “Will You Go Out Without Knowing?”, and it referenced Hebrews 11:8 which talks about Abraham leaving his home to go to a place he did not know. Abraham simply obeyed God even though he had no plans.

I’m a plans-oriented person. I make goals. I plan out the hours. I have to work it all out beforehand because I want to know what’s going to happen. I want to be in charge. It troubles me when things are unorganized or don’t end up how I planned.

That’s why this trip to Honduras is a leap of faith for me. We have an idea of what we’re going to do, but it’s quite clear that “flexible” will be the word for the week. Although this usually would make me uneasy, I’m actually excited about it.

The Holy Spirit moved the apostle Paul from place to place on his missionary trips. I want the same for us. God normally doesn’t reveal everything immediately. He’d rather us rely on Him to walk with us each step of the way.

Also, I’m somewhat afraid to have too many expectations for the trip. Why? I don’t want to limit God. If I expected or hoped for God to accomplish something in particular, I could completely miss the even greater thing He has in mind.

Chambers was right when he said one of the most difficult questions to answer in Christian work is “What do you expect to do?” But like the old hymn, “His Love Can Never Fail”, says, “I may not know the way I go, but oh, I know my guide.”

MY PRAYER FOR THE DAY:
Dearest Lord,
How I’m filled with joy and anticipation! How I’ve longed for so long to serve Your name overseas and bring the blessing of Your love to other nations! How complete my heart feels! This trip is exactly what I want to do with my life! I can’t believe I get to start already. Please may it be successful in Your eyes.
Please, Father, may my heart be pure and prepared before I go. I worry it will not be. I am anxious about the struggles I may face ... namely, the communication barrier. Other troubles are sure to threaten us because I know Satan will not be pleased with this mission. Guard us against him, and strengthen us through it.
Plan the way. We don’t know exactly what we’re going to do while we’re there and what will be accomplished, but You know. Help us to be sensitive to Your voice and leading.

Posted by Chansin at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Chansin, Nate, Matt and I chatted for a couple of hours last night about our upcoming mission adventure to Honduras. Adventure seems to be an appropriate descriptor. There are many unknowns, a few concerns, and several things for which our preconceived notions may be completely erroneous.

We do know that there are stories to be told. I expect that Chansin, Nate, and Matt will carry the majority of the load when it comes to gathering notes, converting those notes to text, and tying images to copy. Some of those stories will appear here (we hope). Some of the stories may be reserved for future print production projects associated with the KidSake Foundation. My particular challenge is to capture these three creative students doing journalistic activity...some of which may be beyond the comfort zone of most journalists. But from all of that, there will be adventure and we expect to learn and grow from that adventure.

(Photo by Nathan T. Baker)

Posted by Paul Chenoweth at 02:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (1)