An "official" endorsement

I would like to recommend to you a blog written by fellow blogger (and B.Falls resident) Russ Warren. In his blog "The Beaver Falls Manifesto, Part 2" Russ outlines some wonderful insights concerning the "C"hurch in our area. I would recommend that you check out his post, as it got me thinking, and even led to a wonderful discussion today. Check him out by clicking on his blog in my blogroll. Happy reading!

Honduras Two

Some more photos...

On Tuesday morning we felt more prepared.  We had learned what to expect (buses never showing up on time, school times changing, transitioning between skits on-the-fly).  In short, whatever we had planned would ALWAYS be changed.  It was Island time (which is ironic, since I never saw a clock), and we were learning how to trust and be faithful even when we had no idea what was going on.  It was, in a word, incredible.

Tue Morning.  Playing with the school kids

Isn't she cute?

Dave and I lost in Honduras.  So, we took some pics.

For some reason our power went out every night.

Tue. Afternoon. The biggest high school we went to.

John Love giving his testimony.  About 1,000 in attendance at this God-Man showing.

By Tuesday evening we were tired, but beginning to adjust.  The heat wasn't as bad as it had been, we were getting used to the food, and most of us had embraced that fact that "the runs" were here to stay.  We knew we'd only have one more day of ministry, as Thursday would be a travel day back to San Pedro Sula.  We were looking forward to hitting it hard, and were surprised to hear that we'd have a nice break Wed. Morning.  We had handed out nearly all of our Books of Hope, so we were able to have a "resort break." at Turquoise Bay.  It was BEAUTIFUL.  By far, one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been.

Wed. Morning at the resort.

Nice, much needed break.

Wed. afternoon, back to work.

Our second sweet ride.

Logan with Ivonne and Ingrid.  The two girls were our interpreters.

Our last school.

Playing with the kids before the final God-Man showing.

Jitters blowing bubbles with the kids.

Walter, our fearless Honduran leader.

Me with my buddy Austin.

And, so, we arrived back late Wed. night.  We were tired and thirsty, but energized by all that we had experienced the past few days.  In fact, as we talked, many of us wished we could stay longer.  However, we knew it would be "goodbye" as we would leaver shortly after breakfast the following morning.  On Thursday we would head back to the boat, and then have at least a 4 hour bus ride back to San Pedro.  

Group photo in front of the restaurant following breakfast.  Thur. Morning

Thur. Morn.  Dave and Anne wait for the boat.

Thur. Afternoon.  Back on the mainland.  

Once back on the mainland, we said goodbye to some of our friends we had made on the trip. They had flights out either late Thursday night or early Friday morning.  This left Friday for us to hang out in San Pedro with the Michigan team we'd worked with all week.  It was a fun day to unwind as we went to an open air market, the mall, and even saw a movie!

Fri. Morning, open air market!

Fri. Evening.  The Mall!

Saturday morning it was up early and off to the airport.  We made our way through Honduran customs and waited for our plane to Atlanta.  The rest of the day was spent in airports, carting luggage between custom agents, and a LOT of sitting.  It became very apparent that, especially on this trip, part of the ministry WAS traveling.  I've never moved luggage so much in my life.  

We landed in Pittsburgh at around midnight Saturday.  Back home, and never the same!

Honduras One

Several folks have been asking about our recent mission trip to Honduras.  Our main goal on the trip was to work with local churches to spread the message of Christ.  During the day we would travel around to local schools, perform skits, and pass out the Book of Hope (the gospel of John in an age appropriate magazine form).  In the evening we would show the God-Man video (story of the life of Christ) at a local church.  It worked out really well as we would oftentimes see many of the same kids and their families at the God-Man that we had met at school earlier in the day.  It was also nice to get them plugged into a local church.  I would love to tell you more, but, since a picture is worth 1,000 words, I decided to post a few on the blog to tell the rest of the story.  I hope you enjoy!

Friday Morning. Getting ready to leave from Pittsburgh!

Honduras from the air.

Honduran housing.

Gas anyone?

Our "hotel" in San Pedro Sula

Mmmm...Power Chicken.  Our first meal in Honduras was incredible.  And, we discovered banana pop.  Yeah, it sounds icky, but it's amazing.

John and Emerson

Beth and Angie

Our sweet ride

By the end of Friday night we were def. in culture shock.  Plans had changed and many of the skits we'd learned were actually not the ones we were going to use.  Oh, and we had to learn a few new ones...in Spanish.  In short, we felt overwhelmed.  But, I've never been more proud of our team.  Faced with some pretty great adversity, the marched stoically on.  They were willing to change on the fly and looked toward the new challenges in a mostly optimistic light.  I, as the group leader, felt a bit sick.

5:00AM Saturday Morning.  3 Hour bus ride to Port

Ah, yes, the Barf Boat.  Only a 1 and a half hour ride!

First view of Roatan from the boat.  Saturday Afternoon.

On Roatan.

Yay!  Time to eat.

We don't know either.  But, it was good!

Waiting for the bus.

Skit practice at a local church.

John being John.

By the end of Saturday we were pretty worn out.  It had been a long bus ride followed by the boat ride, where nearly everyone got seasick.  Oh, and did I mention it was hot?  Add to this that we didn't have any down time, and most were nearing the end of the rope.  It was physically, emotionally, and spiritually demanding.  I was praying, and hoping those back home were praying as well.

We were able to show a God-Man that evening, get some food around 10PM, and head to bed. Sunday was spent helping to run Sunday school at a local church, more skit practice, and then back to church in the evening.  By Sunday evening, we were exhausted.  We were ready for ministry to start on Monday morning.

Our first school, Monday morning.

Our second school.

John and Em, sick in bed.  Heat+Travel+Little Sleep=SICK!

Fish head soup, anyone?

Some Roatan scenery

By Monday night we had completed our first 4 schools, and had the opportunity to show our first God-Man with only our team.  The ministry was re-energizing.  It was awesome to worship with local Honduran Christians, and it was amazing to see how hungry others were to hear about Jesus. John and Emerson were on the mend (thanks to over-the-counter purchase of some antibiotics), and the team had a higher moral.  We went to bed Monday tired, but hopeful.

Why Suffer...

I have the honor and privilege of preaching this Sunday.  I'm speaking on the topic of suffering using Isaiah 53 and Romans 5 as my main passages.  The main gist of the sermon is to point to the fact that suffering is not a bad thing.  It seems that in Western Culture we view suffering as evil; or that suffering is some sort of divine punishment from on high.  We avoid or attempt to quell suffering at all costs.  Rather, suffering (no matter how much it makes us squirm) is oftentimes used by God as a tool to deepen us, mature us and/or to allow us to sympathize with others.  

So, I was doing some sermon prep. today and stumbled across some great quotes.  The first three are from a wonderful little compilation of quotes and scriptures entitled "A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Those Who Serve."  It's specifically geared for ministers and is meant to be used on spiritual retreats.  I personally have used the book several times and highly recommend it to you.  The final quote is obviously from C.S. Lewis' classic "The Screwtape Letters."  I originally fell in love with this quote during a Freshman Lit. class at Toccoa Falls.  I haven't really used the quote until now, but I feel it fits well with the theme.  However, I've droned on enough.  Without further adieu, the quotes...

“Suffering is the highest action of Christian obedience and I call blessed, not those who have worked, but all who have suffered. Suffering is the greatest work in the discipleship of Christ.”

- Hermann Bezzel

“God wounds deeply when He wills to heal.” - Hermann Brugge

“One of the fruits of solitude is an increased capacity for compassion--the ability 'to suffer with' another’s pain. It comes about as the result of an increased sense of solidarity with the human family of which we are a part. When Paul talks about 'suffering with those who suffer,' he is talking about compassion, that supreme gift without which we are less than fully human. It might well be that the greatest threat to human survival now confronting us is not the loss of energy or the increase of pollution, but the loss of compassion. We are confronted daily with the pain of human tragedy--the breakup of a family or the sunken face of a starving child--to such an extent that we soon learn to turn off what we see. In order to cope with our feelings of helplessness, we teach ourselves how not to feel. the tragedy in this response, which is probably more widespread than we dare believe, is that we also deaden our capacity for love. For Christians, the cross stand as a ever-present reminder that love an suffering are two sides of the same coin.” - James Fenhagen

And my personal favorite...

“And that is where the troughs come in. You must have often wondered why the Enemy does not make more use of His power to be sensibly present to human souls in any degree He chooses and at any moment. But you now see that the Irresistible and the Indisputable are the two weapons which the very nature of His scheme forbids Him to use. Merely to override a human will (as His felt presence in any but the faintest and most mitigated degree would certainly do) would be for Him useless. He cannot ravish. He can only woo. For his ignoble idea is to eat the cake and have it; the creatures are to be one with Him, but yet themselves; merely to cancel them, or assimilate them, will not serve. He is prepared to do a little overriding at the beginning. He will set them off with communications of His presence which, though faint, seem great to them, with emotional sweetness, and easy conquest over temptation. But He never allows this state of affairs to last long. Sooner or later He withdraws, if not in fact, at least from their conscious experience, all those supports and incentives. He leaves the creature to stand up on its own legs-to carry out from the will alone duties which have lost all relish. It is during such trough periods, much more than during the peak periods, that it is growing into the sort of creature He wants it to be. Hence the prayers offered in the state of dryness are those which please Him best. We can drag our patients along by continual tempting, because we design them only for the table, and the more their will is interfered with the better. He cannot ‘temp’ to virtue as we do to vice. He wants them to learn to walk and must therefore take away His hand; and if only the will to walk is really there He is pleased even with their stumbles. Do no be deceived, Wormwood. Our cause is never more in danger than when a human, no longer desiring, but still intending, to do our Enemy’s will, looks round upon a universe from which every trace of Him seems o have vanished, and asks why he has been forsaken, and still obeys.” - C.S. Lewis “The Screwtape Letters”

Home at Last!

As I write this post I am increasingly more aware of how happy I am to be home. It's nice to be back in a place of comfort, friends, and a bit of a routine. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy my time away (my time away has changed me in more ways then I can count), but it is nice to sleep in my own bed again.

For those of you who are unaware, I just spent the previous month balancing my time between Sr. High Summer Camp, a mission trip to Honduras, and then another week of camp, this time for Jr. High. Was it fun? Oh heck ya. Was it worth it? Every minute and every penny. Am I exhausted? More then I have ever been. =) Am I complaining? Not in the least. My new phrase has become, "They're will be plenty of time to sleep in heaven."

I can't begin to describe in detail how vital I believe experiences like camp and mission trips can be in the overall faith development of an individual. In fact, it's too late at night for me to even try. But, I can tell you this; an entire year's worth of teaching can culminate in a single moment at camp or on a trip. It's as if the light bulb I have been hoping for finally decides to turn on above the head of student. They finally get the concept! "And," in the words of Monty Python, "there is much rejoicing."

So, with all of that being said, I hope to fill everyone in on what exactly went on (maybe even complete with a few pictures!). Just give me a couple of days to get caught up on everything else, haha. Until then...