Whew....it's a busy time of the year!

It is hard to believe that it is already the middle of March. The reason we haven’t posted a blog in so long is because it is my turn to write it. I am not a writer, but would like to keep you updated on our service here in Honduras. I would also like to thank you for your continued prayers and support. We believe that the Lord hears our prayers. Living in Tegucigalpa, rated #6 in the world for highest crime rates (http://borderissues.us/2010/01/21/8-of-the-worlds-most-dangerous-cities-in-latin-america/), we believe that we have been protected and safe because of your prayers. Speaking of crime, just the other day, as our bus pulled up to drop us off for the weekly grocery shopping, about 50 yards away there were two men wrestling and playing with a gun. Early in our stay here, we stood and watched a dead body being pulled from the river. Nearly everyone on our street has been robbed at some point during their stay here including the house right next door. Weekly, we hear of kidnappings. Some students have body guards who pick them up from school and go with them anywhere off the school campus. This is normal life for many in Honduras. We pray that we don’t become numb to the violence and crime, but value each precious life that God has created . We praise God every day for keeping us safe. We also rejoice in the safe return of a student’s father who was kidnapped for over two months. He was very weak and lost a lot of weight, but he is alive. Praise God! I don’t mention these things to provoke fear, but to thank you for praying & let you know that your prayers are making a difference.

On a lighter note, we have participated in many festivities in the last few months. In January, our church had a wedding celebration. Four couples were joined in marriage on that happy day. Many couples in Honduras don’t get married because of the expense. Couples may live together for years or migrate from one relationship to the next, producing many children along the way. Unfortunately, there are many single mothers here in Honduras. In an effort to encourage marriage and obedience to God’s Word, our church works together to provide a wonderful ceremony and potluck. It was such a blessing to see God’s people serving one another in this exciting event.
Click here for wedding photos

The teachers and administration of ALP went away for their annual “Teacher Retreat” at Lake Yohoa the last weekend in february. We were able to bring our children to this event. We enjoyed times of worship, teaching from God’s Word (led by Mark & Serena Dunbar – career missionaries in Honduras), fellowship, and fun. We came away from this retreat with a renewed sense of purpose, a challenge to minister to our students, and a common goal and unity among the staff.
Click here for retreat photos

March 2 - 6, we traveled to San Pedro Sula, a 6 hour bus ride from Tegucigalpa, for a national soccer tournament. Pinares was one of three teams from Tegucigalpa who qualified for the tournament. Bryan coaches the juvenil (11th & 12th Grade) boys soccer team who ended up placing 4th in the tournament. This was an event of great pride for Academia Los Pinares. It has been many years since they’ve had a boys soccer team qualify for the tournament. The Pinares girls team also participated in the tournament. The girls and I took a few days off from school to accompany Bryan and the teams. We enjoyed the pool at the hotel and the hot and humid temperatures.
Click here for San Pedro Sula and Soccer Tourney photos

After many hours of preparation, the “Family Fun Day” was a success. Each grade in the secondary has carnival type games to raise money for their class. Bryan and I are advisors for the 7th grade class. This is a first for us, so it has been a learning experience (especially with my lack of organizational skills). We had a “Sponge Toss” and “Go Fish” game. I had the pleasure of getting my face soaked by a few wet sponges. The girls enjoyed ice cream, face painting, bouncy house, games, prizes, and Maddi got her nails done.
Click here for Family Fun Day photos

The Lord has been challenging me with two themes recently.

1) Salt and Light and the “lukewarm” Christian
Salt: Matthew 5:13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”
“You are either being corrupted by the world or you are salting it.” George Truett
There is no middle ground.
I’ve had to sit and ask myself, which one am I? I know that there have been seasons where my life didn’t look much different than the world. Am I adding salt to my surroundings & those I am in contact with? Does my life add flavor or is it bland? How can we be “salty”? “The Christian life is a matter of living out a God ordained life, fulfilling God’s ordained function. If I neglect to do this, I have no value in the kingdom of God.” Kay Arthur
Lord, give us courage and strength to be salt and light in this dark world.
Light: Matthew 5:14 – 16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
“You cannot walk in darkness and continue to claim a share in the Lord Jesus. You can’t share fellowship with Jesus if you are walking in darkness. Light doesn’t fellowship with darkness. Light dispels darkness. The two are incompatible.” Kay Arthur
We are just a vessel created to allow Christ’s light to shine to the world. Am I allowing Christ’s light to shine through me or am I hiding it? Am I afraid of what others will think if I boldly proclaim Christ’s love? What is more important to me, obeying Christ or what people think?
Lukewarm: Revelations 3:15-18 “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm – neither hot nor cold – I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”
Jesus wants all or nothing. There is no middle ground. I was convicted by the chapter “Profile of the Lukewarm” from Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love. Many of those profiles hit too close to home.

2) Do Not Worry
Matthew 6:25 –34 – I won’t write this all out.
Matthew 6:33-34 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things (food, clothing, drink) will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of it’s own.
1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
Anxiety and faith are incompatible. If I am worrying, I am not trusting in Him. If I am worrying, I’m sinning. If I am worrying, I am calling God a liar. I do not want to do this. God says He will take care of me. If I believe He is the Creator of the universe, the All Sovereign, powerful, loving God who cares about the sparrow, then I must believe that He will provide for all my needs. What are my worries? Are they too big for God? Am I trusting Him with my life?
I find it interesting to see that the word for worry in Spanish is “preocuparse”. How fitting when the fears of our future preoccupy our minds. I was starting to worry about next year. What freedom to know that the Lord knows where we’ll be next year. He knows where we will work, live, serve, etc… My burden has been lightened as I handed it over to Jesus. He cares. Just absorb that for a moment. The God of the universe cares for you.

This is probably our longest blog yet. I get excited about God’s Word! Let me wrap up this post with prayer requests and praises.

Praise

- We thank God for you and your faithfulness in praying for us.
- Praise God for our health and safety.
- The ALP juvenil soccer team that Bryan coached placed 4th in the nation.
- Family Fun Day was successful.
- The ability to view each day as a blessing from the Lord.
- We’ve had adequate financial provision.

Prayer
- Our neighbor Timmy Wood (age 4) swallowed wart medicine and is in the ICU. He has been in the hospital for 2 days so far.
- Timmy’s father hit a motorcyclist on the way home from the hospital. The motorcyclist is okay. It has been a very rough few days for the Wood family.
- My 4 secondary choirs are singing in the Music Festival March 25-26.
- Maddi has a skin issue that she has struggled with all year.
- Our water tank has a problem. We have been without water for an evening and morning about 3 times a week for the last 2 months. Now, the country is rationing water, so there will be even less. Please pray that someone will figure out the problem with our tank and be able to fix it.
- Continued safety.