The Dividing Wall

The Excellencies of Our God - On Mission in Honduras

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."  1 Peter 2:9-10

Our God is all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, or as I like to teach my fifth and sixth grade Sunday School class: omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent.  He is never changing - His word and His promises are true and amen.  He is good and He does what pleases Him.  Because of who He is and what He has done - that is the why and how I can go on a mission trip.  I know that whatever circumstances are going on around me, whether for or against me, I can trust Him.  While I could never fully plumb the depths of God's nature and character in His word, I do love learning about them because the more I learn, the more I know Him.  Actually going on a mission trip is putting into practice my faith and trust in Him and what I am learning about Him.  The organization, IC13 (I Corinthians 13) www.ic13.org is about sharing God's love.  What I love about this organization is that we return to some of the same places each year and establish relationships with the local people of Honduras and encourage them to continue in the faith, hope and love of the Lord!



As I have been blessed to return from my third short-term mission trip to Honduras, I feel I have  both a great duty and great privilege to share a few of the many excellencies of our God that were on display throughout our trip.  This trip, along with the two prior, had numerous difficulties and distractions that the Lord brought us safely through.   We faced difficulty at the airline check-in, some injuries and illness (mostly heat related), strikes and blockades of the city, to name a few.   While we should have been easily discouraged, we looked to and prayed to the Lord to go before us and get us through those difficulties and obstacles.  In fact, on what was to be our third day of work, we weren't able to get out of the city.  So we returned to our hotel and joined another mission group in praying and singing and worshiping the Lord.  By noon, He had removed the blockade and the strike did not affect us the rest of our time in Honduras!

This trip, as the two prior, also had some great spiritual (and physical) mountains, where the Holy Spirit worked in and through us to accomplish His work.  A few of those mountains were serving the people of Monterrey and helping them with the installation of a water system that was started earlier this summer.  A lot of our work was up on the side of a mountain overlooking the village.  It was up at the top of the mountain where I met up with Daniel, a local who has been present working with us during the last three years.  It is amazing to realize that he remembered me!  I certainly remember him, and I enjoyed working with him again.  He may not speak or understand English, but I hope that through our working together we will have to opportunity to share the Gospel with him.  I also look forward to seeing our other friends from Honduras (Raul, Lola, Sammy, Keyce, Eduardo, Melvin and Pastor Alvin), they are a big help and blessing from the Lord.  Another mountain was evident when the gospel of Jesus Christ was presented, both in Vacation Bible School, as well as in our small group devotion.  A third mountain that I will mention is one that was not scheduled at all.  While we were in Honduras, it just so happened that a shipment of medical supplies was being delivered from the U.S. and the entire shipment needed to be unloaded that day.  It is amazing to think how the Lord moved and worked to end the strike so that the equipment could be delivered and how He placed us there at just the right time.  It was all His doing.  The director of IC13, Ty Hasty, told us later that this hospital in El Progresso, Yoro, Honduras, serves over a million poor people and the equipment that we helped unload was replacing 35 year old equipment.  The hospital staff were coming out and giving us hugs and thanking us for helping to unload the equipment.  It truly was a humbling experience to participate in the Lord's work there.  But that is not the best part - I really loved working side by side with the local Hondurans who where unloading the truck with us.  I got to meet Flaco, Abraham, Henry, and a few others.  If you know me, I like to joke and have fun when I work - and I think those guys did too!  I spoke to them in the little Spanish I know, and they laughed and cut up with those from our group.  Then we all got to share a meal together of local Honduran food!  It was a great time, and I thank the Lord for it.

This trip also had some spiritual (and physical) valleys, but again the Lord was with us. One of our team members lost her father the morning of our last full day in Honduras.  I know it was a difficult time for her, but I saw the Lord give her the strength and courage to continue on that could only come from above.  I know that all of our team prayed for her, and I am still amazed at how the Lord comforted her.  He truly will never leave us nor forsake us!

That brings me to a final mountain - the fellowship that the Lord provided on this trip.  Every year for the last three years, the Lord has provided awesome fellowship.  I have started the trips in most cases as a stranger to some team members, but every year I have ended the trips with new friends - another great thing that the Lord has done!  Most tell me that I smile a lot - I guess that is because the Lord has given me a reason to!

I would like to close by saying thank you to the Lord, first and foremost, for the opportunity, the work, and the safety during our trip.  I would like to thank my wife, Angie, and my girls for their prayers and support.  I would also like to thank Ty, the director of IC13.  I would also like to thank Brandon and Holly Greely for their leadership of our team.  Thank you to all of my team members, friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ.  And last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank each of you who prayed, gave, and supported me and our team on this mission trip - you, too, are a blessing from the Lord! 

It is my hope that you have seen a glimpse of how excellent our God is - but don't just take my word for it.  I would encourage you to follow the Lord as He may lead you to serve on a short-term mission trip and experience Him first hand!