Finding God in the Chaos of Everyday Life

There are moments in life where we get so caught up in our day to day routine, stress, and a to-do lists that we forget that God is constantly surrounding us. One of my favorite things to do is go somewhere outside that is peaceful where nature surrounds me and everything God created is singing to Him. This last week was probably the craziest by far. You’d think that after being here for several weeks we’d get into the groove of things and have everything under control, but that definitely hasn’t been the case for me. Once camp is over for the day you have to go back and plan for the next day, get your supplies, and head to something else. Monday nights we have worship night with the interns, Tuesday nights are youth nights, Wednesday is community night where we spend time bonding as interns, and Thursday nights are teaching nights where someone comes and speaks to us. It is all great and I’ve enjoyed all of them because I think they have allowed us to all grow closer together  but there are times where I wish there were more hours in a day. After feeling overwhelmed all week I went to the Bird Park Saturday morning with two friends from Harding (Abigail and Lynette). It was GREAT!! I felt like we were in a rain forest the whole time surrounded by God and His creation. We got to see a lot of really cool birds and even hold and talk to a few J In the park there was a short nature walk, which really the whole things was a nature walk the only difference about this one is it wasn’t paved so you felt more like you were hiking!! It was so peaceful and quiet, as I’m thinking “God knew I needed this time just to meditate and relax away from noise and crowded streets” I realized I’m surrounded by God’s creation EVERYDAY!! During the nature hike we came upon a family playing in a river and washing clothes.  When I saw them my immediate thought was God created them too! It was at that moment that I realized that after praying for quiet time where I could be surrounded by God all week that I realized God blesses all of us with being around him 24/7. Even in the chaos of being around people running from place to place you are still surrounded by Gods creation and I think we take that for granted, or at least I do. 

After the bird park we all went as a group of interns to the Hot Springs!! It was also really relaxing and definitely the best way to spend Saturday midway through our time here. We enjoyed rubbing this clay mud all over us and letting it dry while vapor that smelled like rotten eggs blew past us and opened our pores!! Lol we def. looked like crazy Americans and at one point we thought do Hondurans even do this and does it even work or is this just a way for them to make money and laugh at us!! Either way we had a good time!

This week is going to be another crazy week full of activities but with only two weeks left its impossible not to want to do everything and soak it all up before it’s over. In class I am teaching my students how to make main dishes so we are going to try to make mini pizza’s, smiley sandwiches, and quesadilla’s! My youth leader Rita who I’ve enjoyed working had to quite today. It’s really sad because she had an aunt pass away last Friday and her Grandpa has been in the hospital so she doesn’t have the time and her family really needs her at home. I enjoyed getting to work with her and watch her become more of a leader, I wish she could continue to help me teach the class but I know she’s going through a lot right now! I just hope that she had a positive experience as a UPH youth leader and I hope I can find a way to communicate with the youngest class since she helped translate! I would really appreciate it though if you would keep Rita and her family in your prayers!! 

I can't believe its halfway over!

So a lot has happened this past week and a lot is going on this week as well. We are all always going somewhere, getting something, or needing to be doing one of those things!

Last week in cooking class our theme was “drinks”, so Rita and I taught the class how to make chocolate-banana smoothies, fruit smoothies, and horchata. The problem was….I’ve never made horchata or drank horchata and Rita was sick the day we were supposed to make it. I think the school administration ladies who randomly walk past my class or sit in the kitchen overlooking thought I was some crazy Gringo who’s never cooked in my life! My first problem was my class blended the rice in water the day before so it could CHILL overnight, but it definitely FROZE in the refrigerator. So we had to thaw it out and add more water. The next problem was I added too much cinnamon…I didn’t know the difference but someone told me the color of the drink was darker than it should’ve been. Who knew? In the end though with A LOT of help from Marta and Alejandro (youth leaders) it turned out great!! J

Friday night UPH had their 4^th annual Locos Futbol Tournament!! There were a lot of teams mixed with full time staff, summer staff, interns, and youth! It was a lot of fun just to have everyone together in one place at the same time cheering each other on and playing! I was on the Northern Ireland team and we actually made it to the semi-finals…none of the girls on my team had ever played I don’t think so I was expecting us to get out early but we survived and I actually made a goal! 

On Saturday we went to the Mayan Ruins! It was really cool to get to see where and how the Mayans used to live and why Copan Ruinas is such a touristy town. I wasn’t feeling the best so it was hard for me to pay attention to the tour guide but I caught a few things here and there that I thought were interesting. The ruins are spread throughout this area and the river divided the rich from the poor. The rich always wanted to distinguish themselves from the others so they would do things to make themselves stand out. When a baby is born up until they are 20 months they would strap a board to their forehead to make from the tip of their nose to the center of their head flat. So they had flat foreheads and a point in the top of their heads. They also would get teeth pulled or decorated with jade so their teeth were green. None of these sound to me like they are very healthy for anyone but when He was talking about it I thought “you know what, we do that too”. As Americans we go on crazy diets to be thin, we dye our hair, we tan, ect…..what are people going to think of us in a thousand years when they hear that?

This week we have a lot going on…in class Rita and I are teaching how to make appetizers/sides, we are going to watch one of the local public school spelling bees where some UPH staff do an afterschool program and tutoring, we are having a talent show with our youth leaders, Our fun Friday camp theme is “costume party”, and Saturday we are planning a trip to the hot springs.

One thought I want to leave you with is Rachel N. who help found UPH gave a devo. the other night and talked about how God chose you. He chose you to go through everything you’ve been through and everything you will go through, He chose you to be where you are right now, He put people in your life for a reason, and every interaction you have even if it’s a simple “hello” to a stranger was for a reason even if you never know why. God says, “I, the Lord, chose you”…it’s not a mistake because God knows you fully. We don’t even know our whole selves because we are constantly changing and growing. BUT God sees the full picture. He knows who we will be when we are whole and His timing is perfect. One scripture we used was Isaiah 29:16 “You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it ‘He did not make me’? Can the pot say to the potter, ‘He knows nothing’?”  So instead of wondering why something’s happening, why you are where you are, or even changing yourself to try to be what you think you’re supposed to be in a situation instead of who God created you to be remember that GOD CHOSE YOU TO BE THERE AT THAT MOMENT WITH YOUR SPECIFIC HEART MIND AND SOUL  FOR A REASON. No one understands you completely not even you do, but God does. 

Love, Love, Love!!

This weekend was our first weekend we stayed here in Copan Ruinas. It was nice just to experience what life is like and what people do for fun! Some of us went Saturday to La Pintada (a small village outside of Copan). It took us about an hour to walk there from the office and then we met up with a few children who showed us the way to the waterfall!! The hike was uphill most of the way which was hard for us Americans, but those sweet kids would run up ahead barefoot and stop and wait for us! The view was gorgeous and the waterfall was so clear. We enjoyed eating lunch up there and playing with the kids. On the way back down I held Franky who’s three and the cutest little boy!!! I felt like he was the first Honduran I’ve been able to communicate well with, probably because neither of us know very much Spanish!! J He would point and count the cows but he could only count to three so I helped him out. Then I would point to other animals like chickens, a horse, a dog and say “Que Es?” and he would name the animals!

When we got back down to the houses a few of us went to Harleen and Franky’s house because their mom wanted to show us how to make dolls. On the streets in Copan Ruinas little girls will come up to you with a bag of different size dolls and try to sell them to you. I was soo excited that we finally had the opportunity to sit in a true Honduran home with a family!! When we got there the mother was very hospitable and found us all chairs to sit in and then asked who wanted to make one. No one volunteered so I decided to do it and I’m soo glad I did. She was really sweet and showed me step by step what to do and when I definitely didn’t do it right (most of the time) she would take it and help me! (The dolls are made out of dried corn husks that have been dyed).

After we left her house we went to a local fabric store run entirely by women who use a loom to weave scarves, purses, headbands, ect. The money they earn goes toward feeding their families and buying school supplies.

On the way back to Copan we took a different trail and passed by a mini Mayan ruin. The main Mayan Ruins are located right outside Copan Ruinas on the drive to Camp Peace but apparently there are random Mayan remains scattered throughout this area that are free to explore! The one we saw was a bunch of large rocks that at one point probably had carvings on them but the only one we could identify was a frog. Frogs in the Mayan culture symbolize fertility.

                This past week we’ve all really been focused on love. How important it is, what your intentions are, and making sure you love all people. It’s easy to get caught up at camp thinking “oh it’s just another day that we have to occupy the children” but really it’s another day to demonstrate God’s love to one another. This last weekend at a devo we talked about 1 Corinthians 13 which most of us have heard multiple times in our lives but it was a good reminder. One girl brought up the fact that when you read it different points pop out and certain ways to love are harder than others at different times because of what you’re going through at the moment in life. You may struggle with patients one week and being boastful the next. Another point that was made was how it’s those who you struggle to love the most that really need it and in the process of showing love to them you grow closer to God. For example at camp their might be a child who really just doesn’t pay attention and acts out a lot but because of it you pray to God more for the strength to love that child and due to that dependence on him you are strengthened. Not to say that these kids here are bad, that was just an example. Really the children at camp have been great! I’ve loved getting to teach them, play with them, and just find out more about them. But the next time you’re asking God “why am I in this situation, or struggle” instead of asking God to take it away we should be thanking him and running to accept the challenge because in the end we will be strengthened in Christ and more prepared for the next trial ahead.

                Please be praying for all the interns this week. We’ve had several get sick and we are all definitely running low on energy. Pray that we will be strengthened through the trials we have ahead of us and remember to thank God for your own personal trials and growth. 

The Boy Who Stole My Heart

There comes a point where you can’t do everything yourself and you know God is the only one with the power to fulfill every want and need in this world whether it’s through you or someone else. UPH is a wonderful program that serves God in great and wonderful ways but it’s just impossible to reach every child here in Copan Ruinas. The camp I’m working at is for the private school children because the public schools go year round and those that don’t have the privilege of attending either school can’t afford necessarily to take off of work because the money they make helps feed their family who depend on them. This hit me pretty hard on Wed, the 1^st day of camp. I was teaching my class. We were singing songs and having a good time and I look over and the sweetest little innocent eyes were looking at me with interest. They were wondering “Who is that Gringo” “What are they saying” “It looks like they are having fun”…but never jealousy! He would smile at the thought of imagining himself being a part of our class and then get back to reality and start to work on the school building. This sweet boy is maybe seven and works alongside 2 grown men to help keep the school grounds clean and add on! I feel really bad that we are practically right in his face showing him what he’s missing out on and I wish I could just say “Hey why don’t you go play with them while I do your job” but I can’t because it’s out of my control. I pray that he knows Jesus and benefits from us being there. I know God has a plan and purpose for him, I don’t know what it is but I do know that this boy with no name has stolen my heart!

Okay enough of that emotional stuff! Camp has been great. It’s hard for me because not very many of the children know English like I was expecting. The camp is a bilingual camp and is taught in English but soo many of them don’t understand me, especially the youngest who have only been attending a bilingual school for a couple years. I have learned though that I can connect with older kids. Naomi, Stephanie, and Marlon are some of the kids I’ve connected the best with and they are going into 5^th and 6^th grade….def. not the age I expected to be spending the most time with, but I love it! And you don’t have to speak the same language to have fun together!...Thursday during recreational activities I was down by the futbol field playing with some of the kids and noticed little Mario who’s 5 going over to the playground. One of our jobs is to make sure no children are off on their own so I snuck up on him underneath the slide said “Boo” and tickled him. HE LOVED IT!!! After that he would run and try to get away from me and I would attack him and it would start over and over again. Next thing I know Diego, Aleph, and Harvey joined in and they would point at me and say “Esta Lobos, Esta Lobos”. After running around so much I got tired and decided to pretend to play dead. Then they would sneak up on me and I would wake up again and trick them!! All we did was run and laugh and connected even with the huge language barrier! Martha came over about halfway through and told me that they were calling me a wolf! J

On Friday’s we don’t teach class and we call it “Special Friday” because we do different activities with the kids! Today we had a futbol tournament along with jump ropes, basketball, and water games! We started the day off in our camp teams which are equally divided into colors, mine being Green, and we made a poster and a cheer! My team named ourselves the green monsters and we totally dominated in the tournament, just saying!! Lol I was very proud of them. They were very positive and cheered on their teammates. We had a blast!  

We don’t have camp on the weekends so UPH planned a hike to a waterfall tomorrow and we get to swim!! I’m excited to get out and see what it’s like around Copan! 

He Makes Beautiful Things

Today is our day off because Camp starts tomorrow!!! Im excited to get started into the routine of camp and am blessed to have a relaxing day to enjoy by myself and become rejuvenated for an ENERGY filled next 5 weeks! Since I have some time I will update ya’ll just about random things that might be interesting!

                We went on a staff retreat Sat. and Sun to Welchez coffee farm and reserve about an hour away. It was Beautiful! It’s a family owned business where they grow coffee beans but haven’t completely done away with the natural landscape because they said the land needs its natural resources so they have preserved the land and grow the best coffee possible. They drove us up a hill and we took a walking trial around part of the land. It felt like I was in a rainforest!! It was gorgeous! There were giant trees and vines everywhere. We even crossed a wooden bridge over a small waterfall that had crystal clear water.

The path took us to an open restaurant where we ate a meal similar to what they would eat when they have special guests or during holidays. They served us tamales as an appetizer; rice, beans, and meat as a main dish; and a small thicker tortilla fried with honey and sugar as dessert along with coffee! After lunch we walked back to the house we were staying in and walked past the machines they wash the coffee beans in. They wash it about three times to get different layers off and then it dry’s and goes into another machine and comes out ready to sack! The rest of the time there we spent going over UPH’s core values, having devo’s, and enjoying each other’s company! (The Welchez have a café in Copan Ruinas just down the road from the UPH office with is where im sitting right now)

                Not really too much has happened besides the retreat because the rest of our time has been spent preparing for camp. We’ve gotten our class rooms decorated and our materials ready for the first couple days of camp. We’ve also been coming up with different games, songs, and activities that we want to do at camp…just a lot of running around and meetings!

                But I can’t end on that more boring note so here are a few random facts:

·         The power here goes out at least every few nights. Sometimes it flickers and other times it goes off for maybe an hour.  

·         20 Lempiras is $1 and things here are pretty cheap. You can get a Honduran meal for anywhere around 40 Lemp.s unless you go to a more touristy restaurant and then a meal is more Americanized and costs about $5.

·         It is the beginning of rainy season so it is pretty hot and humid. You can’t go anywhere without sweating, or at least I can’t J the good thing is its more cloudy than sunny and when it does rain it’s in the evenings and it cools the air down a lot!

·         Oh and I held a baby parrot!!

 

Bienvenido y Copan Ruinas

Week 1:

                I arrived at the airport at 11a.m. along with about half the interns. There are 10 of us from around the world. It’s very interesting to think that people who are so different (we have different homes, lifestyles, hobbies, ect.) were brought together to minister to children in Honduras because we have two things in common our faith in God and our interest in Latin America. While we waited at the airport we ate our first authentic meal, Baleadas. Baleadas are similar to quesadillas. They are tortillas folded in half with frijoles y queso in them, but the cheese here is a little different than back home. It is salty and sweet and looks like sour cream when it’s melted but has a little bit of a grainy texture….it’s hard to explain!! Some of the interns aren’t very fond of it, but I don’t think it’s too bad!

                Once all the interns arrived we drove to Copan Ruinas which was about three hours away. Copan Ruinas is a touristy town because it is right by some Mayan Ruins. Because of the tourism the economic level is very diverse. There are wealthy hotel owners and bankers and there are poor street venders. The population is about 7,000 so it is a small town and everything is within walking distance. We definitely get a workout every day!! J There’s a central park in the middle of town and from there everything is within about two blocks in all four directions. We’ve learned if you need to go north you go uphill and South is downhill…it’s pretty easy to remember!

This first week had been orientation, a lot of team building and preparing for camp to start next week. It has been a nice transition instead of jumping right in and not knowing what to do they have given us a lot of time to get to know each other, the staff, and the youth.

There are two camps, Camp Joy and Camp Peace, which are generally the exact same except for their locations. Camp Peace is in Santa Rita which is about a ten minute drive away. At each camp there are four different classes Bible, cooking, art, and discovery/science. I was assigned to Camp Peace and am the cooking teacher along with my Lider Joven who is Rita. Rita is fifteen years old and from Santa Rita. A Lider Joven (Youth Leader) is basically an interns partner. They help prepare and teach the class. One Goal of UPH is to help children grow up with hope and experiences that will help shape them into leaders to change their families’ future. A lot of the Linder Jovenes were campers at one point and now they are leaders at camp and hopefully someday they will be the interns and directors.

Blair, one of the founders of UPH gave a devo and talked about the importance of interactions with children. Some statistics he said are there are over 7 million people in the world and 2 million of those are kids (don’t quote me on that, I didn’t write it down when he said it so it may not be true…but something like that). And before the age of 13 a child can be impacted enough to change their path or direction and have hope for their future. After the age of 13 though it is more difficult because he/she has become, I guess more engrained into their minds of who they are and what they can be good or bad. One quote Blair used was “Every encounter with a child is a divine appointment”. Its our job at camp and everyone’s job really in their daily lives to always be positive, encouraging, and smart about what they do and say when a child is around because children are so moldable. Blair also referenced Exodus 2 when Moses was saved by Pharaoh’s daughter. Moses could’ve been eaten alive by crocodiles, drowned, killed in anyway but she saved him and raised him as her own and because of that he was able to do amazing things and fulfill God’s plan for him because he had Faith. At UPH they strive for what Blair calls “moses moments” when you encounter a child and see the unfulfilled future they have ahead of them but with the love of God are able to change that childs future and give them hope!!

I could go on and on about so many more different things but this post is probably long enough. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers. Pray that we can be light to those children at camp next week and go out and experience your own “Moses Moments” 

Leaving the U.S.

Tomorrow I embark on a new journey! I am headed to Honduras with people around the world to be an Intern at Urban Promise Honduras. I don’t know what to expect but I trust that God has a plan for me there. I will try to blog when I can for those of you who want to follow and who knows…maybe I’ll post a few pictures on facebook if I get a chance!!

Thanks so much to those of you who have given me support and have already begun praying for our team. I really appreciate it and without you I wouldn’t be able to experience what God has in store for me these next six weeks.  Please continue to pray for those of us traveling there and the Hondurans we will be building relationships with.