HPC Shakedown

The clinic the bay before the brigade.

Michelle, Kelly and Blair preping meds.

Kevin and Sam hooking up a new otoscope.

Michelle, Mary Beth, Kelly, Charie and I.

Elida is now a Cooking for Christ member!

Maci chased Mark up a tree.

The interns hiking to the coolest swimming hole ever.

So, I have been shaken to my core. I have been challenged more this week alone than I have been in my life, but I have also been loved beyond reason and encouraged to continue my obedience to the Lord. 

There are so many feelings in my heart. There are so many things I wish I could share, so many things I wish I could explain...but they are all jumbled up in my heart and my mind and I can't get them to come out of my mouth in the right way. 

God is working on me. He is pressing me. He is shaking me. 

The earthquake this week is so symbolic of my walk with God right now. I am shaken up. Shaken in a good way...the way that brings people together. 

I won't lie. I feel a bit empty now that everyone is gone. I was blessed with so many friends in one week, so many miracles, so much progress on the building, and a natural disaster. Now they are all gone and we have another group. 

I don't want this group to get any less of me. 

But I am still looking for Bro. Larry in the kitchen. I still expect to see Mary Beth and the crew upstairs painting. And I expect to pass Mark and the guys on my walk home and hear them joking on their lunch break. 

I know I will see them again...hopefully sooner rather than later. I didn't realize how much I loved them all. I feel sad. I miss their expectant prayers and their challenging devotions. I miss their passion and their joy. 

They accomplished so much in the natural and so much more in the spiritual, and I am praying for them like crazy, not to forget their time here. I hope they are praying for me because I miss them so much. 

I guess I didn't realize it would hurt like this. I am leaning hard on the Lord today. I am trying to let Him comfort me. I am trying to let Him be my everything. 

Earthquake in Honduras

Hey guys, it is 4:04am in Honduras and we just experienced a 7.1 scale earthquake. I wanted to let you all know that everything is good here in the cuenca. Please pray for us and all of Honduras during this time. We are still waiting for news reports to fill us in on what is happening in the rest of the country and in the surrounding areas. 

Just a quick praise on the sovereignty of God. Last night we had a painting party in the dorm so I decided to sleep over with my HPC friends. Our dorm in by far the strongest building in the village, so God moved me and my roommate out of harms way. Our house is fine, as is the dorm and the hospital...praise God!

We definitely felt the quake in Rio Viejo. Some of us slept though it...Mary Beth...and some people woke up and asked me what was happening. Apparently I answered them in my sleep and told them it was only a strong wind and there was nothing to worry about...haha. We all had a good laugh in the dining room of the dorm at about 3:45am, as my bunk mates recounted the story.

Please be in prayer for the medical and cooking part of our team, who traveled to the village ofLas Minas yesterday morning. They don't have anyway of communicating with us to know that we are ok, and we can't check on them either. Please pray for their peace of mind, that their faith would be increased that God would be glorified in all of this. 

As always we trust in God for protection and we praise Him for keeping us safe. Stand with us in prayer for our friends and family in Las Minas, as they prepare for their medical brigade tomorrow. They may be preparing food and seeing patients for people who are in greater need than we anticipated. 

It

HPC Has Landed!!

HPC is on the gound in Honduras!!

Talk about a miracle getting 23 people from USA to Honduras on time with ALL of their luggage!

I am so blessed to have my church family here and they are ready to work...HPC Style. 

Chicken Massacare

Quatro Pollos Muerte

It all started when one chicken was found dead in the back yard of the HHIM Medical complex. There were definitely signs of a struggle, as there were feathers surrounding the crime scene. No suspects had yet been considered, as the shock was still too new.

The very next day, four precious pollos were found dead in the side yard between the Williams' new residence and the dormitory. Again signs of a struggle were present, but we noticed something very peculiar...the chickens were still there...where they fell dead. So what ever killed them, wasn't trying to eat them. The suspects narrowed. 

When the neighbors were questions about any suspicious pollo activity Senora Consuelo mentioned that she had seen the clinic dog Kaiser chasing a rooster a few days before. The story was confirmed by Wendy who saw Kaiser that afternoon with an innocent look on his face but feathers stuck to his bottom lip. The rooster managed a narrow escape that day, but was unfortunately not as lucky the second time around. 

Before the animal could be quarantined, another chicken was found dead. Again it lay amidst a pile of feathers but otherwise intact. That evening 6 eye witnesses saw Kaiser and Dot (the "innocent" puppy) corner a chicken and use strategic double-teaming tactics on the poor soul. Fortunately for the chicken the attackers were called off by the onlookers and the chicken was spared. 

So after a killing spree that left 6 chickens dead the murderers have been separated. The authorities feel sure the murders were the result of Dot being allowed to sleep outside with Kaiser and the two "innocent" doggies getting bored during the night. Dot has since been locked up in the evenings to prevent further chicken killings and to prevent the two from moving to a more challenging prey...the clinic cats.

Dot the innocent

So farewell chickens. If there is a chicken heaven you deserve to go there, I guess. Even though you did poop all over the porch, lay eggs in my shoes, and peck me when I walked by you. All is forgiven, and I will try and take good care of the chicks you left behind by occasionally feeding them corn. I will however continue to chase them off of the porch. 

Antonces, adios pollitos. Que la via bien!

 

Fun on Skype

My family has finally found skype! Woohoo! My sister and I are having way too much fun making faces at eachother on the video phone and now Skype has the feature where you can take pictures of the person you are talking too! haha

My sister sent me this one of myself...I just thought I would share! haha

You can see all of the calendars on the wall behind me...so I really do get some work done most of the time! haha!

The Switch is On

If you are an avid reader you probably remember my blog Everybody Poops Sometimes...well the switch is ON right now! Look out!

Blitz

So we are definitely getting ready for the upcoming groups! We have 9 groups on the books for the next 4 months...do the math...that means we have like 4 days off the whole summer! ha ha, yes I think we are a little crazy!

But you know...God's hand is moving! He is all over this!

Last night as we were painting the second floor bedrooms (which need to be finished in like 3 days) I was praying for the dorm, the ministry and all of the people that would be coming through the dorm this year. God really spoke to me through the work. 

Somethings move fast...like when you have the roller...you can cover a lot of ground quickly. It looks effortless when you are watching someone roll the paint on the wall, but when you pick up the roller you realize how much pressure you have to put on the brush and how careful you have to be to keep it from getting all over the floor. Then there are areas where you have to use the brush...and the trim takes FOREVER! You can't cover a lot of ground at one time but it looks unfinished and messy if you don't do the trim.  

Sometimes we have periods of rapid spiritual growth, where the people around us can really see a difference in our lives. Then other times it slows down and we are polished and refined, and only those who are close to us can see the changes. I want to remember this about my walk and about those around me too. 

It's not about instant fruit...it is about fruit that remains. I pray that all of you will see fruit in your lives. I pray that you will stay close to Him...like you are balancing on the top step of the ladder on your tippy toes painting trim kind of close...put yourself out there. Risk it...love Him unconditionally, and see what happens! He won't let you down!

Short Seasons

I realized something this week...I have a few boundary problems. Not the capital B kind, but they get in my way nonetheless. I tend to keep people at bay, I watch their character before I confide or before I really let them into my life.

For a while I think this was OK, but now what I am realizing is that I am about to enter into a season where people are going to come into my life and leave a lot quicker than I am used to. So I am going to have to decide whether or not I invest in them or let them invest in me during their short stay in Honduras. 

Claire has gone home, and Allison is leaving this weekend. Now I am expecting 2 new roommates to arrive within the next few weeks and we will play this game all over again. Whitney is coming to help at the school for the summer and Rani is coming to be our new nurse at the clinic for a year. 

As the Lord brings new people here to serve I want to be open to build relationships with them and not keep them at bay until the end. I need the Lord to teach me to open up and invest even if I don't have a lot of time. So I guess I need some help, right? 

If you want to pray, pray that I would listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit when it comes to relationships. That I would rely on His guidance and timing and that I would hear Him so well that my relationships would bear fruit even in the short seasons. Thank you all so much. 

Striving

Sometimes I don't want to read about Him. 

There are times when I don't even want to talk to Him. 

Times when all I want to do is crawl up into His arms and be held by Him.

Let us not forget that He is our father, and fathers like to rock their children to sleep. Of course we need to read and we need to pray, but we shouldn't miss out on the times when we lay our head against His chest and hear His heart beat. 

Take some time this week to cease striving and hear Him. 

It's Inevitable

With the help of Wendy, I have realized that I now speak 3 languages. I speak English, and Spanish and the third...it English in a Spanish accent. Let me explain. 

Driving down the road I see a Burger King sign for a new special, it reads, "Chicken Crisp con queso y tocina." I giggled and told Wendy that I love when the North American restautants do a combo of English and Spanish.

She said, yes but you wouldn't pronounce it the same a "Chicken Crisp" is not the same thing as a "Cheekin Crreesp." I busted out laughing, cause I knew it was true. 

I notice that I speak this third language when I am teaching my students. I speak English with a Spanish accent and they seem to understand it better. I also change my intonation...I sort of sing it. Spanish is very sing-songy, so I speak English with a Spanish accent in a Spanish intonation. 

I think I will be ruined, from now on. So be prepared...I am forgetting how to spell things, I am forgetting how to pronounce things, and I am forgetting words I don't use very often.

Oh yeah, I have to add in my fourth language...Louisianian...a mix of the country twang, and the ghetto flare with a sprinkle of creole spice for good measure. Haha...talk about a mouthful!

So stay tuned, with 4 languages coming out of 1 brain I am bound to invent some new words while I am here. 

Home, Again?

It would seem that I am home again. 

Or maybe I have more than one home.

What if my definition of home is changing. 

Home is no longer bound to a place, or to people either, but bound to the call of the Lord. I did not come to Honduras because of the need here...there are needs everywhere. I did not come to Honduras because of my skill-set...pleanty of people can do what I do. I didn't even come here because I thought it would be fun...even though it is.

I came to Honduras because God asked me to. 

Simple, right?

I am at home, when I am where God wants me to be. 

Going to Louisiana last week was an incredible blessing. I was able to see family and friends, and see God work in new ways. I am refreshed. I have renewed perspective. I have dreams and ideas of how to fulfill them. 

I have a front row seat...well, actually it is even better than that...I get to be a part of something incredible, something new, something the Lord is doing. 

Thank you, Lord. For reminding me that you are the reason I am here. You are the reason I do anything at all. Thank you for your provision and your protection. Thank you for your grace and your mercy. 

Gracias por todo.