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this was one of the best days of my life!
watching the villagers of Mt Olivos join us in making this video was such a thrill!!
Sunday, March 24, 2013
we made it and it is just a smidge hot here!
WOW! 105 degrees has never felt hotter! I cannot believe the progress that has been made the past year! The last time I blogged about Honduras, we had built a well and one house. Now there are 16 houses and they are FABULOUS!!! Yesterday we spent the day building houses. We dug ditches for the footing of the houses, tied rebar, mixed concrete and poured it...needless to say, we were dehydrated and absolutely EXHAUSTED by the time that we made it to Copprome childrens home for our Easter egg hunt! We made the mistake of allowing the older children to hunt with the younger ones and they filled their bags and left none for the little ones! AND they were NOT going to share what they found, so we had to open a few more bags of candy for the little bitties!
Kim Nunn (the master story teller) shared with the children how they would hunt for the eggs in the grass ( little hidden treasures) but that THEY are a TREASURE to Christ! you could see the light bulbs go off in their heads as she spoke of His love for them..it was a sweet sweet blessing to my heart.
While in Olivos i has the blessing of visiting a man that just had surgery. He just returned from 5 days in the hospital from hernia surgery. As he lay on his bed in his new HOUSE, tears stung my eyes as i thought how much easier his recovery will be in a home where rain will not pour in on him and the heat will be less from the cool concrete instead of hot metal panels propped against each other. As we prayed over him, I could feel the Holy Spirit in his house. My heart felt so full.
I have only been here a day and a half and I am overwhelmed with gratefulness that God has allowed me and my family to have a small part in helping here in Honduras. The compassion that I feel in my heart for these families is SO divine. Compassion is not one of my gifts ( i will freely admit it:() BUT, when I am in the village working alongside these people and holding a child on my hip, I LOVE them and it can only be divine because I do not KNOW them.
Joshua is doing great. He has been REALLY HOT, but other than that, has has made many friends. I was lecturing him on the way here about how he has to stay close so I do not lose him and he very bluntly said " mom, dont worry! Ill be the little brown boy running around!" now that we are here, he has discovered that there are quite a few "brown boys" running around!!
We are now heading to the pool with all of the children from the childrens home...pray that we will continue to minister to the families in the village and that we can give these children of Copprome long lasting love!
Kim Nunn (the master story teller) shared with the children how they would hunt for the eggs in the grass ( little hidden treasures) but that THEY are a TREASURE to Christ! you could see the light bulbs go off in their heads as she spoke of His love for them..it was a sweet sweet blessing to my heart.
While in Olivos i has the blessing of visiting a man that just had surgery. He just returned from 5 days in the hospital from hernia surgery. As he lay on his bed in his new HOUSE, tears stung my eyes as i thought how much easier his recovery will be in a home where rain will not pour in on him and the heat will be less from the cool concrete instead of hot metal panels propped against each other. As we prayed over him, I could feel the Holy Spirit in his house. My heart felt so full.
I have only been here a day and a half and I am overwhelmed with gratefulness that God has allowed me and my family to have a small part in helping here in Honduras. The compassion that I feel in my heart for these families is SO divine. Compassion is not one of my gifts ( i will freely admit it:() BUT, when I am in the village working alongside these people and holding a child on my hip, I LOVE them and it can only be divine because I do not KNOW them.
Joshua is doing great. He has been REALLY HOT, but other than that, has has made many friends. I was lecturing him on the way here about how he has to stay close so I do not lose him and he very bluntly said " mom, dont worry! Ill be the little brown boy running around!" now that we are here, he has discovered that there are quite a few "brown boys" running around!!
We are now heading to the pool with all of the children from the childrens home...pray that we will continue to minister to the families in the village and that we can give these children of Copprome long lasting love!
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Hey y'all! It's Grace here. I know it's been awhile since I've blogged, so I'm not really sure where to begin but I'll go ahead and give it a shot...
Lately, I feel like God has laid the word "contentment" on my heart. Ever since my first trip to Uganda when I was in 7th grade, I've learned to be content with what I have. The things I've seen and heard and experienced there have caused me to, whenever I find myself complaining, step back and think about whatever it is that's wrong, and 99.9% of the time I'll realize that it's about something that is SO irrelevant in the long run.
What's hard for me now is being at home in one of the wealthiest counties in the country, where people complain when their slightest needs are not met. Whether it's about a flaw in their billion dollar schools, their friends, family, houses....the list goes on. It's hard for me to sit here and hear that, when all I can think about are my friends in Uganda's smiling faces, so happy with the little that they have.
BUT, the good news is...I've had a solid 4 years to learn patience (it is indeed a virtue) and I have learned how to keep my calm instead of getting frustrated and going on a rant about how good we have it here. And hear me out, I'm not saying everyone's life is perfect and there's never anything to complain about. It's just the little, unnecessary petty things that could use some perspective.
It's also hard for me to be content here when I have so much more joy when I'm in Uganda. I don't know what it is, but something about serving over there, not distracted by petty problems or social media or materialism, connecting and forming long term relationships with people that CRAVE that interaction and appreciate it just causes you to be so simply content. One of the coolest things for me is to be able to talk to my friends over there (I email 2 of my friends, Agnes and Prossy, on a regular basis) and to think that we've been friends for FOUR years...and I consider both of them two of my very best friends. And, to know without a doubt that we can continue to be friends and they can know that I'm coming to visit them (Lord willing) every year.
Although it's hard, God has shown me that it's WORTH it. Over the past four years, I've learned that I can be a light here in Brentwood as much as I can in Uganda, even if it looks different. I can encourage my friends and family and love people to the best of my ability. It's in our human nature to long to feel loved and cared about, and the way I see it, if someone feels loved enough they shouldn't have a reason to always be complaining, right? Although I fail Him on a regular basis, Jesus calls us to love like He loved us and that's what I strive to do.
Speaking of loving others, I'd like to present an opportunity to all of you to show ME some love on my birthday. On March 14th, I turn 17! I know alot of you have probably seen on Gwen's blog where Elijah did this for his birthday, but if you didn't, here's what I'm trying to do...
As most of you probably know, 147 Million Orphans is building a medical clinic in Gressier, Haiti, and I'm trying to raise at least $1,500 to help build it. It's really easy to donate. Just go to http://grouprev.com/graces17th?saved=1 and click on GIVE NOW on the right side. It only takes a minute and even if you only give a little bit, you're still helping make a difference in honor of my birthday!
And remember, the deadline is March 14th. Thanks so much!
Til next time,
Grace
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About Me
- suzanne
- I am a lover of Jesus. I have the most fabulous husband that anyone woman could ask for. The Lord has blessed us with 7 beautiful children. I started this blog so that friends and family could follow our trip to Uganda to visit Katie Davis. I have decided to keep blogging to help bring orphan awareness to the world around me.