Oh My Goodness, I Went To Honduras

So at the beginning of this month, I took a little break from my hectic life to find some peace and goodness at Orphanage Emmanuel in Honduras. Now, if you are anything like me… you may need a quick geography lesson.

Just to really brag about my awesome geography skills. I got a little surprise on my first flight. I thought I was flying from LAX to Panama City, Florida, then from Florida to Honduras. Which would totally make sense if you thought about it! So you can imagine my surprise when I landed in Panama City, Panama. Check your itineraries!

I jumped on this trip with my friend Suzanne. Suzanne works for World Orphan Fund. They provide assistance to orphanages in need around the world. That can include medical assistance, clean water, housing, anything to help meet basic needs for the kids. They are an amazing organization that is 100% staffed by volunteers. Their most recent project with Orphanage Emmanuel was a water filtration system. I was personally so thankful for that! If you had seen this post of mine, you know much strongly I feel about staying hydrated. Over the years, Suzanne has developed a relationship with this orphanage and I was honored to join her on this most recent trip. 

Here we are with some of the small boys

That little guy in the green sure was a charmer!

A lot of people asked me "So what did you do there?" I never had a good answer. I guess the short one is… we played with kids. We lived on the orphanage grounds, so we got up every morning to the sound of kids playing at 6am. Who wouldn't want to wake up to this view!?

This was called "big circle". Every Friday morning all 500+ kids get together to worship before school. 

After drinking the most amazing coffee I've ever tasted, we spent our days running around with kids. Orphanage Emmanuel is the largest orphanage in Honduras. They fluctuate between 500 and 600 kids, from infants to seniors in high school. I was amazed to see how well these kids were taken care of. Outside the gates in Honduras is a scary place. It is filled with political unrest, gangs, poverty, prostitution, and general fear. But inside, every child is taken care of and loved. And this whole place started because one couple from Oxnard, CA heard God call them to Honduras. They started with 5 kids in a barn without any electricity or running water, and now they take care of over 500 kids. That is 500 kids being taken off the streets and out of pain. That is 500 kids being able to hear how much God loves them and see it in the works of the staff. That is 500 orphans that are orphans no more. 

And what could I possible call that, but good? It's just all so good. 

We live in a topsy-turvy world, so it's easy to try to complicate it. We think in order for something to have movement, it needs to be complex or hard or take a while to explain. But what if it's simpler than that? The best things on earth and in Heaven are not complicated, but that are good. The Spirit is just good. And it's fruit is just goodness being spread around. 

I could have, and probably already have, used every single adjective to describe my week at Orphanage Emmanuel. Everything from challenging to amazing to humbling to magical. But in the end, it pretty much comes down to two…

It was beautiful. 

And it was good. 

Patience Has Never Been My Strong Suit

Three more Fruits of the Spirit to talk about, and this one is a toughie for me. I have never been a patient person. Sometimes, I like to blame it on my strong will. Or maybe my confidence in gut feelings. Either way, I like to make decisions quick and jump right into them. The world likes to tell us that this is a good thing. You find something you want and you RUN after it.

So why is patience a good fruit of the Spirit? 

Because it is directly connected to faith. Many times, when I jump right into something, it is because I am afraid it will be taken away from me if I don't make it happen. I am doing it out of fear that my life will be "less good" if I don't do that thing… whatever it may be. I am so afraid of losing a "what could have been" that I miss out on the TRUTH.

TRUTH: If it is meant to happen in my life, there is nothing I could possibly do to mess it up. No matter how much I suck, God is bigger and better than my mistakes. 

Right now, I am re-analyzing my life. I feel restless. So much of me just wants to just take a 180 and make some life-changing decisions.

And I might. 

Or I might not. 

But for right now, I am just [working on] being patient. I am being prayerful and waiting for the right opportunities to arise. I have to choose to have faith in how the Spirit moves in me and in my life. With that faith, comes peace. And when I am at peace, I can be patient.

So what's a girl to do? Just sit around and be patient for something to just magically fall into her lap. Heck no! I am going to work hard. I will continue to seek out new opportunities and grow. I will be content with the place God has me now, while I get ready for the new adventures to come. And believe me… there WILL be adventures! Not a single one of us was created for a mediocre life.

Speaking of adventures, here is a little taste of my recent one. I got back from Honduras a little over a week ago and I am soooooooo excited to tell you all about it soon!