Finally on the ground ... and hit it RUNNING!

Can you believe it?!  We have been in Honduras for over two weeks now.

Time is flying.

Honduras is hot.   (Really, really hot...)

And we are tired!

But The Lord continues to show us that He is SO good.

Things have been so busy for us since we arrived here in Honduras, but it has also been so full of excitement and encouragement.

Here is a recap of the last two weeks of our journey!

The Big Move

The move from Costa Rica to Honduras went well & we all ended up together safely in Honduras as expected.  Praise The Lord!  

We were so thankful that Daniel's friend and former coworker, Jeremiah Sullivan, came to make the drive from Costa Rica to Honduras with Daniel.  He speaks Spanish & is familiar with the Latino culture because he has been married for almost 20 years to a lady from Mexico.  It was a huge blessing to have his knowledge and language experience for the big move!  He also stayed for a week with us to help with VBS & the youth camp ... we were so excited to have him here!

A new friend that the guys made as they entered into Honduras!

The adventure with crossing borders to move to Honduras from Costa Rica was a long one for Daniel & Jeremiah.  They ended up doing the trip non-stop - 22 hours straight.  There were some hiccups and frustrations along the way, but for the most part they had a good trip.

When they arrived at the Honduran border leaving Nicaragua, the Honduran police talked with Jeremiah and Daniel for a while about where they were coming from and where they were headed.  They shared with the police that Daniel was a missionary to Honduras that had been coming and serving the Honduran people for the last 6 summers but now would be living full time in Honduras.  The police asked Daniel for proof that he was a missionary.

Daniel said that he was a little caught off guard & went to the jeep to find "proof" ... only to realize that he had nothing on him at all to prove that he was a missionary.  His phone service wasn't working at the time so he couldn't even pull up our Youth For Christ giving page as confirmation.  He felt a little nervous and unsure what he was going to do ... he opened the back door and sitting on top of a suitcase was an EvangeCube.

An EvangeCube is tool we have used before with mission work to share the Gospel.  We found the cube in our things while packing in Costa Rica and we decided that he should take it with him on the drive to Honduras.  We even kind of joked about where it would fit in the jeep with everything else that we had planned to pack in there (the cube is the size of a Rubix Cube but the jeep was SO full).

Somehow, in the hustle of moving things around along the way & packing the jeep, the EvangeCube was sitting on top of a suitcase in plain sight.

So, he grabbed the cube and went back over to the police to share the Gospel with them.  Jeremiah translated as Daniel shared the story of Christ & when they finished the police asked to keep the EvangeCube.

What a beautiful reminder of our identity in Christ!  When asked for proof of his identity, Daniel was able to use the Gospel as proof.  What could be better?!  What could have been seen as an interruption and hold up in their border crossing was clearly an invitation from The Lord to share the Gospel with these men!  Just so amazing.  From that moment on, the guys said the rest of the drive through Honduras to the Camp was peaceful with without any issues.  Thankfully, they arrived safely to the camp around 1 am Monday morning!

Our First Week

Our first week on the ground was unbelievable.  We are still talking about the ways that The Lord used that week to encourage our hearts and strengthen us before beginning full time ministry here at the Camp.  We spent our first week here with a team made up of 10 incredible people from all different walks of life.

A team of 6 traveled from our home state of South Carolina to serve with us & welcome us to Honduras!  We thank The Lord every single day for the way that He has used Pastor Adam & Restoration Community Church to encourage us in our journey this year.  The team of six from Restoration was amazing.  Each person was "all-in" and ready to serve & love the people of La Entrada.  We will always be thankful for our time with each of the members from Restoration ... Pastor Adam, Rena, Ashley, James, Michael & Rob ... we can't wait to see you all again in November!

Also on the team was Jeremiah Diehl, our life-long friend from Maryland.  Laura and Jeremiah met when they were just kids & Daniel quickly became best friends with Jeremiah when they met years later.  Jeremiah and his family have recently returned to the States after serving in Kenya with Africa Inland Mission.  We have always talked and dreamed about the day that Jeremiah would finally get to come and visit us in Honduras.  It was an emotional reunion as we were reunited here at the Camp!  We are excited to see what the Lord has in store for the Diehls and trust that He is going to bring them back to Honduras to serve with us again in the future!

We spent months before language school praying for The Lord to connect our hearts with people while living in Costa Rica that would become lifelong friends.  He went above & beyond with Jeff & Kim Oeder.  They have interceded for our family in prayer & weathered the hard times with us this year.  We are so thankful that they offered to fly from Costa Rica with Laura & Josie to make the big move to Honduras & spend the week at the Camp with the team.

This couple is incredible, y'all.  Truly.  They each have a testimony of God's redeeming love and grace that will leave you speechless and in awe of Our Savior.  They are not our friends ... they are our family.  We know the best is yet to come and we will see The Lord use our families together to bring people to Him!

It was so clear that The Lord formed this team of people to be here for us in such a specific way.  We felt encouraged and loved by each of the team members that week ... we could not have asked for a better kickoff to living at the Camp!

Here are some pictures from our time together!

Team Building

Vacation Bible School  

Face Painting

Obstacle Course

Shields of Faith

Game Time

Games in the field

Sweet Kids!

Super Hero Lesson

Visiting the school ... the kids were wearing their tie dyed shirts
from the team that came in June!

Bus ride!

Pastor Adam surrounded by kiddos!

The guys were such great sports! 

Luna teaching 

Josie enjoying her girl time :) 

Face Painting

Indoor Game

Saying see you soon!

Teen Weekend Purity Camp

Team building obstacles

After a skit in the talent show ... these two are always making a mess!

 

Kimberly sharing her testimony ... so powerful!

Sunday morning devotion with Pastor Adam

Vowel Renewal Ceremony ... absolutely beautiful!

Such an amazing couple ... we are so thankful that they
are now such a huge part of our hearts!

There are no words for the memories that we have from the week with this group.  We are still praising the Lord for the work that He did during that week in our hearts as we prepared for our first few months here in Honduras.

SO ... what now?

Well ... we have finally been able to start settling into our life here in La Entrada.   

Last week, we were able to get Josie enrolled at her new school, purchased a bed & a fridge, and found our way around the town for our basic needs.  While running errands last week, we had three encounters with people in town that called out our names in the store, came over to greet us, and shared that they had never met us but had heard we were coming to live in La Entrada & had seen our pictures on the JPC FaceBook page.  We felt so encouraged to meet new friends & see that The Lord had gone before us to make a way in our new town!

On Saturday, we moved into our YFC director's living space here at the camp until our home is finished.  So this week, we are starting to finally feel a sense of "normal" as we are able to cook meals, organize our things, and enjoy our beautiful view at the Camp!

Our sweet girl swinging in her new front yard!

We will be staying here in Honduras through November 14th.  We will be working on building relationships in the community, at the local schools, and developing our vision for full time ministry at the Camp.  We also will host a few weekend camps & also a team from Virginia the first full week in November.  We are excited to see what The Lord has in store for us in the next 9 weeks here!

On November 14th, we will be flying to the States.  We will spend 12 weeks in the States visiting churches to share about the ministry, attending some required Youth For Christ training, and finishing up with raising the rest of our monthly need for support.  We have a very full schedule for those 12 weeks & we are trusting The Lord to encourage our hearts and exceed our expectations!  

Here is a peek at our schedule for sharing about YFC Honduras incase you would like to join us & hear all about what The Lord is doing in & through our family!

Please continue to pray for us as we adjust to the climate and culture here in Honduras, for Josie as she continues to adjust to her new school & new friends, and for the ministry as we continue to make connections and build relationships in the community.  

We know that our life is really just getting started ... and we can't wait to see what's next!

But ... how do you know?

Those words have echoed through our house more than any other phrase in the last two weeks.

Josie has recently claimed that as her new favorite question.

No matter what we say, she responds with the loaded challenge :

"But ... how do you know?"

It has been comical at times to hear those words come out of her mouth in context of some of our conversations.

But it's also been really frustrating as I have tried to explain choices and consequences to her ... and she responds with sincere wonder.

"But ... how do you know, Mommy?"

Believe me when I say that I have had my share of moments where I just want to reply with a firm response like "Because I said so". 

Even though I swore I would never be that mom.

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The Lord has revealed to my heart some raw truth as I have struggled having patience with Josie as she doubts me.

I am often asking Him the same question.

But Lord, how do you know?

How often am I the daughter that is challenging My Father?

More often than I would like to admit.

Any time I hear from the Lord or read His word, I am so quick to ask these sorts of questions in response.

But, how do you know, Lord?  or How can I know for sure, Lord?

And now I am seeing a reflection of myself in the face of my sweet girl.

It's hard & humbling.

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But, I am also seeing just how long suffering the Lord is and has been with me as His child.

He doesn't struggle with being patient with my doubts and questions.

I can confidently go to Him with my doubt, worry, & fear and exchange them for His wisdom which He gives generously and faith that He will keep His promises.

This season of our life is full of change & uncertainty.

It can feel very overwhelming at times as we begin planning the logistics of our upcoming move across two borders.  There are so many unknowns and what-ifs that cross our minds.

There are a lot of times in the few weeks when we have been asking each other, those around us, & The Lord ... "But ... how do you know?"

The same question that our sweet girl is asking us.  We have realized in the last two weeks that we are all seeking security & answers as we journey forward!

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Lately, as we have prayed for friends both here & at home, we are interceding for them for peace because they are struggling with the same types of doubt.

Friends who are sending their babies off to school soon ... whether it is to PreK or College.

How do I know they'll be ok without me?

People that I love who are stepping out of their comfort zones into the unknown but sense God leading them to trust & walk by faith.

How do I know that this is the right decision?

Fellow missionaries who are beginning new chapters in their lives with new beginnings.

How do we know that our needs will be met?

Former youth students who are leaving home and starting life on their own away from all they have ever known.

How do I know that everything will work out and I will find my way?

As we all enter into the next chapter of our story that The Lord is writing for our families, I pray that  we intentionally fix our eyes on the unshakable truth of who The Lord is & deepen our confidence that He will do what He says He will do.

It may not always be comfortable.  It may be scary and even seem impossible at times.

We may hear from Him and immediately doubt or question Him.

There will be a temptation to resist what He is doing in our hearts.

But we can rest knowing that He truly does know best.

And maybe ... just maybe ... Josie will learn to trust our hearts a little more once she sees us trusting His heart & standing on His word.

Because You said so, I will, Lord!

Luke 5:5

Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

Holding On Loosely ...

One month from today, we will graduate from The Spanish Language Institute and finish up our time living in Costa Rica.

That was not our original plan.

We boarded the plane in December thinking that we would be graduating near the end of 2017 after a year of studying Spanish.

But The Lord slowly began to show us that our plan for 2017 didn't line up with His plan for 2017 for our family.

And that's when the posture of our hearts began to shift ... and it has changed everything.

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Since leaving life in the States behind, we have had to loosen our grip in every area of our lives.

What started with letting go of physical belongings & our possessions, later ended up shifting to letting go of some relationships, positions at work and in ministry, and our sense of belonging.

Some things were easier to loosen our grip on than others.

But through it all, He has given us peace that is unexplainable and joy that is indescribable.

We were silly to think that we had completed the season of "letting go" when we arrived here in Costa Rica.  The truth is that it had only just begun.

Life in Costa Rica has required us to let go of our pride and comfort on a daily basis.

Simple things, like food cravings or a need for peace & quiet, are quickly left behind when you make a decision to move to a new country.

You realize how much "self" still needs to die when you are frustrated & exhausted from all of the pressures of life here.

We have slowly learned to embrace the feeling of letting go as a new "norm" for our family.

We have quickly realized that we are thankful that we have let go of some things in order to follow Him.

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A month from now, we will be boxing up what is left of our possessions & moving it all again to our next assignment in La Entrada de Copan, Honduras.

With all of the excitement that comes with finally being able to call Honduras home after 6 summers of serving on short term trips there ... it is another season of "letting go".

Costa Rica has become our home and it has been so, so good to us.

We have learned so much in our time here.

Lessons as a husband and wife, as parents, and as followers of Christ that far outweigh any amount of Spanish that we have learned.

We have developed relationships with fellow missionaries & Ticos that have challenged us, motivated us, encouraged us, and left us praising The Father for His sovereignty in bringing us to Costa Rica for "such a time as this". (Esther 4:14)

But now, it's time to begin to loosen our grip & prepare to let go as we wrap up our time here.

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The Lord has been teaching our hearts so much this year about holding on loosely.

To plans.  To people.  To things.  To comfort.  To routine.  To this life.

He has used so many different circumstances to open our eyes to the need to loosen our grip on this life and release everything to Him.

We have realized that we need to hold on loosely to the things we love greatly because they were His first.

And we have realized while yielding to His plan over our own, that He truly does know best.

He loves our loved ones more than we do.  He desires for them to know Him more than we do.

He wants what is best for our family more than we do.  He knows how to give us His best.

He desires to be on display for all to see His goodness as we take daily steps of obedience to surrender to His plan for our family.

We have loosened our grip on following our own plan and instead tightened our grip on our confidence in Him.

Now that we are embracing and living these truths outloud, they have changed the posture of our hearts as husband and wife, as mommy & daddy, and most importantly as followers of Christ.

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What we are realizing about loosening our grip is that it makes our heart more available to give to The Lord and receive from Him.

When we loosen our grip, we are also more eager to give to others and receive from others.

We find ourselves taking advantage of the blessings that we have been given in such a way that we are actually enjoying what we have been given ... instead of holding on so tightly that we lose sight of what we are even holding onto & the value that it truly has in our life.

With open hands, we are able to see each struggle as an opportunity for The Lord to give and take away for our good and His glory.  And He's doing just that every single day.

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For the first time in our lives, we are going to enter into this next season in Honduras with our grip loosened.  

We find rest and peace knowing that the worst situations that we may face will now find us with our hands open.

Ready to receive what we need from The Lord.

Willing to freely give what He asks from us.

Surrendered fully to His plan.

Lord, we open our hands and our hearts to your perfect plan for our family.  We walk in confidence knowing that you have chosen us as vessels to declare your praise and share your love with the world.  We are choosing to hold on loosely to it all - for You to take from us whatever You choose.  The only thing that we will not let go of is our hope in You, Lord.  Strengthen us for your glory! 

In Jesus' Name - Amen. 

James 4:13-14

"Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money".  Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.  What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes".

What He didn't promise ...

Today marks 7 months that we have been living in Costa Rica.

It has been unlike anything we have ever done before.

Not only have we felt The Lord's presence more than ever before, but we have seen Him first hand as "The God Who Sees" as He has kept every one of His promises to us in this season.

His promise to protect.

His promise to provide.

His promise to strengthen.

His promise to sustain.

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In the last 7 months, we have also come face to face with the reality that there are things that The Lord never promised us.

He never promised that obedience would come without a cost.

He never promised that life with Him meant life without grief or suffering.

He never promised that we would live a life of comfort.

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We have had days that have been just plain ugly.

We have questioned ourselves, doubted The Lord, and felt so isolated & alone.

We have missed birthdays, family cookouts, and other exciting events with our nieces & nephews that we can't get back.

We have been thrown into a culture that is totally different from what is "normal" for us.

We have been humiliated & frustrated as we have done our best to communicate and make life happen day-to-day here.

We have both had days (thankfully not at the same time) when it seemed easier just to quit & go back home.

What we have decided to do as a family is by no means easy.

It is the hardest thing we have ever done ... and we know that it is only going to continue to be hard.

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The last five days have been the hardest days we have had as a family since we left home in December.

Heavy hearts, tons of shed tears, & raw conversations.

Our home church family in SC is grieving the sudden loss of an incredible man.

While we are a world away, our hearts are there grieving for their family & everyone at our church that was impacted by Mr. Larry's legacy of love.

We want so badly to be with our family & friends today as they celebrate and remember the life of a man who touched so many of our hearts.

If we ever felt like getting on a plane to go home, it was definitely this week.

Moments like these make the reality of being away from home SO real.

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But ... this week has made the reality of the Gospel SO real.

There is not a single person alive right now that is promised even the next moment of their life.

As we have all heard before, "We aren't promised tomorrow".

At any second of any day, our time could come to an unexpected end ... leaving our loved ones behind facing grief & suffering.

And apart from the Gospel, there is no hope in the midst of grief & suffering.

There is no comfort found without discovering the true source of peace that passes understanding.

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THIS is the reason why we made the decision to GO.

Because there is a hurting world out there that needs to hear the message of hope that Mr. Larry carried in his heart.

Because Mr. Larry had that assurance, his family, loved ones, friends and church family now have assurance that one day they will be reunited with him.

Each new day, they do not have to see it as one more day apart from him.

They have the power & confidence because of the Gospel to believe that they are one day closer to seeing him again.

And that is a promise that we DO have in Christ!

Lord, we thank you for the reminder this week for the reason we have decided to GO.  While it hurts to be away & our hearts long to be home, we know that you will bring comfort to us and strengthen us to continue to carry out the works you have had planned for us from the beginning.  Renew our spirits, remind us of your purpose for our lives, and reveal to us what needs to change in order for us to be used more by You.   In Jesus' Name,  Amen.

New Plan. Same Purpose.

"What's the plan?"

Those three words come out of my mouth more than I would like to admit.

Truly, it is part of my daily vocabulary.

There is a running joke between us & our pastor from SC that I am the "world's biggest planner".

While that can be a really great quality to have in ministry, it is not always a good thing.

It has been the running theme in my relationship with Christ ... He is constantly teaching me & reminding me that MY plan is not THE plan.

We are finding ourselves yet again in the position to have to walk by faith & trust that The Lord's plan is bigger & better than any plan we may have for our lives.

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We started our year in language school with a "plan".

We knew that we were stepping out in faith in January because we were not fully funded & did not have the entire amount needed for a full year of tuition at language school.

We have waited expectantly for the Lord to provide & meet our needs in the last 6 months.

He has been SO faithful.

As the first trimester came to a close, we took a look at our account & monthly giving.

We realized that we did not have enough in our account to cover a third trimester.

We began to pray & really seek Godly counsel on how to proceed.

As the last two weeks have unfolded, it has become very clear that our time in Costa Rica will come to an end after the second trimester ends in August.

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So what's next?!

We will be MOVING to Honduras 

at the end of August!

(well ... hopefully!)

In order to transition directly from Costa Rica to Honduras, we must be 100% funded.

What does that mean? 

We have a monthly need in order to maintain our cost of living & ministry expenses while living full-time in Honduras.  That monthly budget covers our cost of living, ministry expenses, retirement, and health benefits as well as administrative services through Youth For Christ.

What have we raised?

As of May 15th, we have met 74% of our monthly need for full-time ministry in Honduras.

So how does that work?

We currently have 49 monthly partners on our ministry team.

Those families, individuals, and churches have all taken a step of faith & made an investment into the ministry that God has placed on our hearts.

We are SO thankful for the amount of encouragement & support that our ministry team has shown us over the last year.  God has been so faithful to lead others to join us on this journey of faith!

We need monthly partners to help meet the remaining 26% of our monthly need for full-time ministry to be able to begin in August.

If we do not reach 100%, we will have to come back to the States to finish fundraising.

That would really be hard on us because we would not have easy access to continue learning Spanish or to practice what we have learned in language school.

We ask you from the bottom of our hearts to please pray with us that this need is met by August 1st.

If you will commit to praying with our family,  please leave a comment on this Facebook post to show us that you are joining us in prayer & believing The Lord to meet our need!

It would be such a faith builder for us to see a community of loved ones rallying around our family & God's ministry!

While you pray for our need, please also pray for The Lord to lead you to possibly partner with us in one of the following ways:

• Connect us to any pastors/churches that may have an interest in learning more about Youth For Christ's ministry in Honduras

• Connect us to any individuals/families that may have a desire to reach the nations with the gospel & would like to partner with us financially or by coming to serve in Honduras

• Organize a team from your Sunday School Class, Small Group, or Church to come to serve at the camp in Honduras so you can see the ministry first-hand

• Partner with our family on a monthly basis by giving any amount!  Each monthly gift (right now our monthly gifts are ranging from $20-$500) is one step closer to reaching 100% & starting full-time ministry in August

Our giving site is:  https:///yfc.givingfuel.com/32216 

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This is SUCH an exciting time for our family.  

The Lord placed His calling on our lives 5 years ago when we first served at the camp in Honduras.  

To see it finally coming together & to know that our life is FINALLY going to begin there in 3 months leaves us without words.

Thank you for praying with us!