The Prayer of Faith

"Is anyone among you in trouble?  Let them pray.  Is anyone happy?  Let them sing songs of praise.  Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.  And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the lord will raise them up.  If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.  Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

-James 5:13-16-

I have recently finished a book by John La Noue called Walking with God in Broken Places.  For the majority of his life, he was involved in Baptist disaster relief projects all over the world.  He was one of the first Americans in Iran after Desert Storm and he willingly went into North Korea while we were technically still at war with them.  His book testifies countless stories of his faith and God's provision.  He is most definitely a man of prayer.

Towards the end of his book, he gave specific things to pray about while on any mission for the Lord.  I'm going to share those with you so that we can pray them together.  And, the fact of the matter is we're all on the mission field whether we're at work, at home, at school, or in some crazy foreign country.  So start praying these prayers for yourself as well.  I'll be praying them for you.

• You must pray that God will protect your mind and prevent it for accepting confusion, negativity or depression.
• You must pray for your personal safety and the safety of your crew, this includes praying for Angel guardians to stand between you and violence from the enemy.
• You must pray for every aspect of your day's activities everything from drinking water, food, transportation and places where you might go.
• You must pray that God will lead you in every casual and intentional contact.
• You must pray that God will make you alert and sensitive to every situation He has prepared for you to give a witness.
• You must pray that God will put a filter on your eyes, ears, and mouth; because the Devil will try to distract you with what you see and hear, and you might pollute the situation by what you say.
• You must pray for God to give you genuine love for the people among who you walk, and pray that His love can be seen in your eyes and His compassion be seen in your face.
• You must pray for God to put a covering of the blood of Jesus and the power of His name over the mission, missionary families, your team, and your family at home, because Satan can work in any of these areas and debilitate your effectiveness.

Now for a little more personal prayers...

• There is a team coming in to do construction work on a church as well as evangelize in the village next week.  Pray for travel, health, and Kingdom impact.
• I'm starting to work with children at a house church! (major excitement!) Pray that Father will lead in which lessons to teach.  Notice I said teach, not tell.  I think there is a difference.
• A new group of first year American teachers are coming in the next few weeks to teach a year at the bilingual schools close to Gracias.  Pray for their spiritual and logistical preparations before they arrive as well as their adjustment once they get here.

But I'm not just a prayer receiver!  How can I pray for you?  Pleeeeease let me know if there is anything I can lift up to the Lord on your behalf.

What's Behind Door Number One

For those of you who have been keeping up, you know this is my kitchen.  I just thought I would give you a run down of what I buy at the grocery store every week.  The nutritional value is equivalent to what I ate when living in the dorms at college, so don't freak out about my simplistic menu.  It's not because I lack food, it's because I'm only feeding myself most of the time and I'm easy to please. 

Let's get started... 

Coffee.  The most important thing in any person's kitchen.

Peanut butter and tortillas.  I don't typically get roasted honey nut pb, but I was paying too close attention to the super crunch to see the rest of the label.  It's even in English.  I need help.

             

Pasta, some version of tomato sauce, and ritz crackers.  If you can't already tell I'm grouping things in meals.  Ritz and pasta?  Works for me.

Pancake mix and orange juice.  Obviously I'm not putting these meals in any particular order.  I don't own any measuring utensils, so I just mix the pancakes up the Honduran way.  Or the grandmother way.  They're the same thing.

Milk and cereal.  I don't think I need to explain this one.

Eggs.  I like them scrambled and hot.  They're easy...and if you put milk in them they're fluffy!!  It took me coming down to Honduras and eating supper with a native Minnesotan to figure this out.

Then there is the occasional can of nuts or bag of pretzels or whatever else looked good in the store.  I have yet to buy meat and cook it myself.  Someday I probably will...maybe.  When I go out to eat is when I get my ration of meat.  Just like college, I'm telling you.

The First

Today is the day the first (and oldest I might add) of us three musketeers gets married.  My dad affectionately calls her Blondie.  She's part of the family.  Doesn't even knock when she comes over.  We've been best friends for the majority of my life, some 15 years.

When we were younger she was terribly mean to me.  She beat me up all the time.  One time she had me convinced we couldn't be friends because I had temporarily lost our friendship necklace.  I'm starting to wonder why I stayed friends with her...

In all seriousness, she's a wonderful friend.  Her advise cannot be matched.  Her defensive driving and directional skills are always welcome...as well as her decisiveness.  Is that even a word?  The list goes on, but basically I love this girl.

Anyway, congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Cap!  That is so much easier to spell.  I wish you all the best in your journey.  It's been great seeing you two grow together and I'm looking forward to seeing what God has in store for your future.  I'm sorry I couldn't make it to your wedding.  But, thanks for letting me go see your dress and help with your flowers and hear some of your music!

Kari promised we would watch your wedding video while eating popcorn and drinking pepsi when I get back.  Just saying.  Until then, I'll just be creeping your facebook page for pictures.

Dia de Lempira!!

Say hello to Lempira, leader of the Lenca Indians somewhere around the 1530s.  There are several different stories floating around about who Lempira was and what he did, but all in all he was a great warrior and leader who I think eventually died fighting for his people.  Or maybe I'm just making that up.

This entire week has been a celebration with today being the official Day of Lempira.  The central park has been home to vendors selling clay pottery, jewelry, and food.  A festival similar to a small county fair has been open all week as well.  There was a parade yesterday, and last night there was the longest firework show I've ever seen.  I hope to get a video of the parade up so you can see it, but it's being difficult.

Here are some of my finds from today.

Earring.  Mine didn't make it into the suitcase.  I miss them.

Purse.  I soon found out I have too much stuff to carry without one.  It has nothing to do with my obsession.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

A child's coloring book.  This I got because I think it talks about deforestation and conservation, or at least that's what I've gathered from the pictures inside.  Obviously it's all in Spanish.

Who is Everyone?

Again last night I came off the mountain to the lightening show of the one and only God.  It reminded me of the Revelation Song.  You've probably heard it before, but check it out anyway.

I don't have much to tell you this morning.  I just want to leave you with a scripture I just read and then read over again about 15 times.  It's so beautiful it hurts.

But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

-Hebrews 2:9-

Jesus tasted death for everyone.  When my Sunday school kids say general answers like everyone, everywhere, or whenever I make them give me specifics.  So that's what I'm going to do for you.

Who is everyone?  It's you and me.  It's the drunk guy passed out on the side of the road.  It's the girl who wears bracelets to cover her scars.  It's the family sharing the last can of food in their pantry.  It's the kid with leprosy which is still a disease here in Central America, not just one in the Bible. It's just as much those we cast out of society as it is those we idolize.

Jesus died and rose again for everyone. 

I'll now get off  my soap box.  Thanks for reading!

Tour Time!

Okay, so I was going to give you a tour of my apartment the second night I was here, but then the tragic accident happened were my camera card got shoved into my CD drive.  Yesterday I went to a mall in a town called Santa Rosa and got a new camera card...now I have pictures to show!

This is Amy, me, and  Melissa at said mall after eating at Pizza Hut.  Amy is a teacher at the bilingual school and Melissa is working towards becoming a doctor.  She taught me how to stitch someone up in case I ever needed to.  Let's hope I don't.  They also are my next door neighbors and of course my friends.

Oh, sorry.  Back to the tour.

Walking up the stairs to where I live, this is the first thing you come to.

This is where I do my dishes.  There is always water in there and I just scoop some out with the pink dish to wash and rinse with.

Right next to that is my kitchen aka a wooden cabinet.  This is what it looks like when the doors are shut.

And this is what is inside the mysterious wooden cabinet.

Electric burners, mini fridge, coffee pot, dishes, a pot and a pan, food, laundry soap, bleach, oreos.  The oreos were a birthday present to myself.  I won't tell you my freezer is full of chocolate I brought from home.  Oh, wait.  I just did.

Now on to the dining room.  This consists of a large table and benches in the middle of my balcony.  I should have checked to make sure I wasn't facebook stalking someone before I took this picture.  Let's hope not.  I often sit on the railing with my back against the beam.

And now for my bedroom.....

That's as much as you're seeing.  My door.  I live in apartment number 4 which is cool because that's my favorite number.  I will tell you my room is the average size of an American bedroom and it consists of a bed, two night stands, a table/desk, and a small nook for a closet. 

The bathroom is nothing spectacular.  It has a toilet, a sink, and a shower.  Oh, and a plastic shelf to store everything on.

And that's the end of the tour.  I hope you enjoyed it.  Much different than what you're used to, huh?

Thunderheads and Stars

I love the villages here.  If I could teleport myself to them it would be much better, but I still love them.  The people are extremely nice.  Seriously, every house we go to greets us with a cup of coffee and some version of sweet bread.

The wife of the Honduran missionary said to me, "Meagan, you want to be a missionary right?  You have to like coffee."  My response?  No problem!  The coffee here is delish, but they do put sugar in it so I'm ready for some straight black dark roast coffee.

Some houses up in the mountains do not have electricity so they use what I think are kerosene lanterns.  Others have solar panels that are able to light a few bulbs.  One thing is for sure, there are no street lights.  And it is pitch black at 7.

Coming off the mountain in the dark after a service is an experience everyone should have.  Think billions of stars.  Stars that can't be seen at home, even in the darkest of places.  Last night it was also brewing up a storm so there were flashes of light that showed the silhouette of the mountains for just a second and then it was black again.  Beautiful.

I want to paint a picture of what the services are like too.  Most gatherings are held in homes made of rock and some kind of cement.  The floors are uneven and the chairs are few.  Even in this humble place, they make sure to have a decorated table at the front to act as a podium.  The table is covered with the nicest table cloth they own and maybe a can or bottle of flowers and tree limbs they found a few hours earlier.

Some leaders own a guitar.  Some don't; the only instrument they have is the clapping of their hands which is off beat a good portion of the time.  I fit right in.  What can I say?  I'm a white girl. 

They might start off with prayer where everyone prays their own prayers at the same time.  This is one of my favorite things.

After that volunteers lead in a song or two and then people are asked if they want to share from the Word, share their testimony, or sing a special.  That is then followed by taking an offering and eventually preaching.  An invitation is taken and then those who need prayer come to the front and are prayed for.

Often after a service the adults sit around for awhile, drink coffee, eat some sort of sweet bread thing, and chat.  I don't know what they are chatting about.  Then I get in the four wheel drive truck to make my way down the mountain over a few creeks back to my place.

When I get home I just lay still for a few minutes because I'm so tired of being jolted around by crazy mountain roads.  But it's worth it.  Way worth it.

Church in the Rain?

Okay, I didn't actually have church in the rain, but I secretly wanted to.  I love the rain.  On a scale of 1 to 10, one being I hate the rain and ten being I want it to rain everyday I'm setting at a good 12.7.  Yes, 12.7.  Maybe it's because I'm a wanna be farmer, or because I've lived through an Oklahoma drought, or because I'm part Indian (which actually has no logical reason for being in this list other than the fact that one of my favorite childhood movies is Man of the House and the tribe learns to do an Indian rain dance). 

Moving on.

I did however go to church today, and it was raining.  The only bad thing about the service was it was in Spanish.  But I did pay attention and by the hand motions of the preacher I deduced that it was the story of Elijah and the rain cloud that started off the size of a man's fist.  You can read it in 1 Kings 18:40-46. 

Instead of writing about the rest of my day I'm just going to tell you some things I have experienced/seen while I've been here that took me a little by surprise.  Or things I just want to tell you.

• The kids have a miniature panic attack when they don't have black crayons to color Adam and Eve's hair.
• In the states kids often color mountains grey with a snow cap.  Here they color them green because the mountains around them are covered in green trees.
• This one older man was eager to color, so I gave him a color sheet and some crayons.  He might have enjoyed it more than the kids.  Actually, I think he did.  My guess is he's never had the chance to color before.
• When people pray here, they all pray their separate prayers at the same time.  I like it.
• Occasionally I'll see a sign that I can actually read and it throws me off guard.  Why is that sign in English?  I have no idea.
• When trying to tell a child what to draw for a certain day of creation, I pointed to a picture that also had words in Spanish and English.  What did the kid do?  He didn't copy the picture, or write the Spanish words; he wrote the English words. 

And that's all for now. 

Happy Fourth...I Mean Fifth!

Okay, so the Internet quit working last night, so happy belated fourth!

Firecrackers are common here.  Actually they go off all day every day.  Even at 4 in the morning.  Don't ask me why.  But, they're not pretty fireworks; they just make a lot of unnecessary noise.  I blame them and the rooster for any inability I have to sleep.

VBS is still going strong.  Today was our first day.......WAIT I HAVE TO TELL YOU ABOUT LAST NIGHT!!!  I almost forgot!

Okay, last night we were up in the mountains when it started to rain.  Best mudding experience ever.  Shannon and the Good Lord (words of my grandma) got us off the mountain safely.  Best of all, there was one salvation...an adult...while we were up there.  Praise the Lord.

Now on to today.  We went to another village to do the same Bible stories over the course of two days.  Again, today was the story of creation.  I helped a six year old boy named Jason during crafts.  He is quite the adorable little kid.  I learned some Spanish words:  luna is moon, sol is sun, luz is light.

The entire group from the U.S. that is doing VBS and the missionary I'm working with are all from Texas.  I have heard countless Oklahoma jokes over the past few days and it would be amazing if I could shoot a Texas joke right back at them.  I need your help!  If you have a good joke about Texas write it as a comment.

9 Miles in 45 Minutes

Yes, you read correctly.  It took us 45 minutes to get to a town 9 miles off the main road.  Think of the Jeep commercials with the rocky terrain and multiply that by 17 and that is what I've been through today.  Twice.  I might not ever get into another vehicle again.  Okay, that's a little dramatic.  I might not get into a vehicle for a week.  Still over exaggerating.

Yesterday, I rode to San Pedro Sula to pick up a team from Texas; they're doing VBS in two different villages around Gracias.  We went to the first village, Mataras, de La Campa, today.  I will never again complain about country roads or pot holes in America.

Bible school went great.  There were 76 kids total.  I think they were only expecting 50, but more and more kept coming.  The lesson was on creation.  For obvious language issues that's all I understood.  I gave plenty of smiles and thumbs ups though!

I almost forgot to mention I drank this ground up rice mixed with sugar drink.  They have a name for it; it's pretty popular.  It's odd, but not totally disgusting.

Oh, Glorious Day

Title of today's post borrowed from the song Glorious Day.  It's been stuck in my head all day.   You should check it out.

If every Sunday was like today, I would be one happy girl.  I spent the entire morning with my Father.  You know the holy, loving, faithful one who is always present?  It was glorious.

I made breakfast: scrambled eggs with cheese, a slice of bread, and some frozen grapes.  Oh, and coffee.  Yeah, buddy.  Everyone who knows me right now is dieing in unbeleif because I typically don't eat eggs.  Never, ever.  But they're easy to fix and readily available so I've added them into my diet.  I would have toasted the bread, but I have yet to find butter.  No big deal.

After breakfast (because I can't listen/read while I eat) I listened to a sermon via podcast.  My friend introduced me to this church out in California called Cornerstone Church.  If you're familiar with Francis Chan I believe he either started this church or was one of the founders.  Anyway, their messages are always right on target.  I'd recommend them if you would like supplimental preaching during the week.  There is a link to sermons on their website.

I still don't fully understand the water situation here.  I always have water, but I think it's because they store water during they day.  From my understanding water doesn't always flow into the compound where I live.  Only at certain times of the day.  So, there are blocks of time I can do laundry.  The only one I remembered is 11 a.m.  Good news:  all dials on the washing machine are in English!  Bad news: I forgot my clothes were on the line to dry and it rained.  But, a lady who works here was kind enough to bring them to me.  I kept talking to her in English and remembered she couldn't understand a word I said.  I'm blonde, what can I say?

The plan was for me to go to church tonight, but I told you making plans in Honduras are futile, right?  So, now I'm letting you in on my glorious day.  Seriously, today was great.

It's still really early here, like 6:30 early and it's already dusk.  Yeah, definitely the most difficult thing to get used to.

My sd card for my camera is still lodged somewhere it should not be.  I'm going to take my computer to some computer savvy person and have them remove it at some point.  Until then you'll just have to live with me rambling.  Sorry.