When the Plow Breaks

Things break. It’s simply a part of life. People have made millions….heck, maybe billions…on selling warranties for items you purchase because of the known fact that sometimes, things break before they’re supposed to. We’ve all dealt with the dreaded busted hot water heater that floods the basement, the AC going out, or a lawn mower that won’t start. I know we’ve dealt with all of the above and then some. I’ve even witnessed my dear sweet husband throw a brand new weed-eater clean across the back yard because it wouldn’t start. 

Man, life would be really awesome if all of our gadgets and machines functioned perfectly 100% of the time. Unfortunately, that is not the case. No matter how well you take care of something, it will eventually wear out….much like these ol’ bodies of ours. I’m only 26, and I am convinced that 26 is the year your body begins to turn on you. I won’t go into detail, but after two kids and a lifetime worth of stress packed into the past 5 months, my body hates me. Living in survival mode is exhausting. Spiritually rewarding….but physically exhausting. As the old saying goes, I’ll rest when I’m dead. 

We are still adjusting to this “missionary life”. As I’ve said before….there’s no “how-to” book for this type of lifestyle. We are in uncharted territory. Some days, it’s everything we dreamed of. Other days, we’d love to pack up and move out. I wish I could really explain the emotions that come with learning a new language and culture. It’s a wonderful, awful, exciting, and terrifying roller coaster. But we choose to climb aboard that roller coaster every day and take every turn, curve, and loop-da-loop in stride. 

Most of you may be familiar with Luke chapter 9 and verses 57-62. Jesus shares about the cost of discipleship. Quite frankly, his words here are hard to digest. There were men expressing their desire to follow Him, only they had business at home they needed to take care of first. One man says he needs to go bury his dead father first, to which Jesus replies, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God!”. OUCH! Can you imagine the shock on this dude’s face? After that, another man chimes in with, “Lord, I’ll follow you, but first let me bid farewell to those in my house.” In my mind, I’m thinking….If he didn’t let that other guy bury his own dad, he’s definitely not letting this guy off easy. And sure enough, Jesus says, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  Wow. Now let that sink in. No, really. Let it sink in. I’ll give you a minute.

We all know how Jesus ministered. He never pulled any punches. He was real and to the point. There was never any sugar coating. Jesus was straight up honest one hundred percent of the time. Oh to be a fly on the wall during that time. I would have loved to have seen the faces of these two men when Jesus said what he said. Talk about a perfect moment to drop the mic. Evidently, they chose to follow Him because they were appointed as part of the seventy men that were sent out starting in Luke chapter 10. I’m glad to know they did the right thing. 

Following Christ should not be an easy task. When you decide to answer a calling on your life, it should not be a cake-walk. You’re going to make up your mind to put your hand to the plow. You will feel excitement. You will feel the empowerment of the Spirit. You will feel a strong passion to plow the land in front of you in order to reap a harvest of souls for the Kingdom of God. You will feel strong and encouraged. And then….the plow breaks. You were plugging along so well and it just broke. Wait a minute. This isn’t supposed to happen. God put you on this journey. Why would he let something go wrong? Why would he send you out with faulty equipment? You are in unfamiliar territory. How will you get this fixed? You want to turn back and run to what is familiar. Unfortunately, running would make you “unfit for the Kingdom of God”. Don’t get mad at me. Those aren’t my words. Those words are in red. 

It’s so uncomfortable and frustrating when something breaks. It’s down right inconvenient. If I had a dollar for every inconvenience we’ve experienced in this journey, we would never have to ask anyone for another red cent! The plow literally breaking has happened about three times so far. The first day Steven went out into the field to finally work with the tractor and plow up some land for a poor pastor in the territory, a disc on his plow broke clean off. It was discouraging. It was just another thing to add to our list of broken things we’ve dealt with. We’ve had a broken fridge, washing machine, dresser, bed, shower head, laptop, kitchen chair, and the one spatula I have broke clean in half one day. (I still use it.) Let’s just say, if something doesn’t break….we’re surprised. In those moments, “woe is me” begins to set in. We begin to think about how easy life used to be. For me, I begin to think about how I used to be able to jump into my little SUV and drive to the store for groceries. Now, if there’s not someone to give us a ride, Steven has to walk a very long way in the hot sun to get to the store. Sometimes in those moments, we begin to turn our heads to get a glimpse of our old lives. We lose focus and we forget there’s still land left to plow. Our hands begin to loosen their grip on the handles of the plow and our necks begin to turn. The plow is broken. What’s the use? In that moment, God whispers, “My Kingdom.” And that’s all it takes. We shake ourselves and do what it takes to repair the plow to continue the work. Whenever the plow breaks, there’s always an important lesson to be learned. He teaches us. He strengthens us. And above all of that, he humbles us. He breathes new life into our spirits to keep pressing forward in the field.

For us, this calling was never an option. It wasn’t a decision of “hey, let’s go live in Honduras. That sounds fun”. It was an appointed mission with our names on it. We could have chosen not to accept it, but oh the misery that would have followed. We could have chosen to hesitate and give excuses as to why the timing wasn’t right. That would have been disobedience and He would have used someone else in our place. He called. We answered. That’s how it works. We have made many mistakes in this journey and are sure to make many more, but I pray our outcome is like the seventy that were sent out in Luke chapter 10! When they returned, they returned with JOY and AUTHORITY, and their names were written in heaven. I know more things will probably break…(Steven’s plow is actually at the shop being repaired as I type this.) but God is working a plan and He knows how that plan needs to be executed. If that means something has to break in order to teach a lesson, so be it. I’m glad my hope is not in the material things of this world. My hope is in Christ Jesus. And He’s guaranteed to function for all of eternity. Even Sears can’t offer a deal that good.

Daily Bread

The past four months have been quite a journey for our family. At this point, I could write a 300-page book. Maybe I will one day, but a blog post will have to do for now. Let me just put it this way: There's not a "how to" manual when it comes to living on the mission field and there's especially not a manual on how to raise kids on the mission field. Maybe that's the book I need to start writing. Needless to say, we've dealt with our fair share of language barriers, culture shock, unexpected expenses, and more than our fair share of things not going according to plan. We've been hit with a lot, but yet, here we are. That's the beauty of God's calling. You can be hit a thousand times, but yet there's a passion-driven purpose so deep within you that you refuse to give in. 

We've been attacked mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and financially. If it would have been up to us, we would have left. Everything was being challenged. Our marriage felt cold because we were too exhausted to invest in it. Our patience was short with our children because stress consumed us. 

We doubted. 

We questioned. 

We looked at each other and wondered if we had just made the dumbest decision of our lives. We would be surrounded by people, but feel so alone. We knew people loved us here and at home, but no one knew what we were feeling. That overwhelming feeling of loneliness can be dangerous. As believers, we are promised a life where we know our Heavenly Father will never leave us nor forsake us. Deep down we knew that, but the enemy was fighting and we could not escape our flesh to trust in the truth of God's Word. Again, it's a dangerous place to be. I remember having a conversation with my mom where my voice had no life and no matter how much encouragement she spoke, my spirit could not receive it. I felt trapped in the reality of our situation and didn't have the strength to see beyond it. I couldn't see how God was teaching us...how he was molding us. I lived like a zombie. I went through the motions and began to tell myself that if I could just be numb to everything, then nothing could hurt me. I would have moments of happiness, but when a new day would start, it hit me all over again. At the time, I called it depression, but on the other side of it, I realize I was in the midst of spiritual warfare. I was being zapped of everything so I would't have the energy to fight back. I would look in the mirror and would not recognize the shell of a person I saw in the reflection. Who was she? She was not the strong woman that everyone kept telling her she was. She was worthless. She was a failure. 

In a pile of self pity, I began to shake my head and say, "wait a minute." Before we left, God had been teaching me about the authority I have in Him over any and every situation. I had learned that if the enemy can make you forget that you possess authority through Christ Jesus, then he can cause you to think yourself into a dark hole of misery. I felt like I had been in a trance and I was beginning to snap out of it as God flooded my memory with what He had been teaching me prior to our move. Like a flood, tears ran down my face and I grabbed my Bible that hadn't been touched in weeks. I opened it and my eyes immediately fell on James 4:11... "Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord - that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." I lost it. I ugly cried like nobody's business. That very day, Steven and I had a conversation about Job. We could in no way compare our struggles with his, but we identified with the feeling of things being taken from us left and right. We were thankful that we still had each other and our children, but we felt like we were being bullied all because we stepped out into what we felt God was calling us to do. God led me to that very passage to remind me to consider the story of Job again, but in a different light. He beckoned me to look at the story and see a man of perseverance. A man who, with all odds stacked against him, pressed onward. And he didn't just press onward...he did it with praise on his lips. The second part that got me was that the end of his story was just as God INTENDED. God spoke to my spirit very clearly in that moment and reminded me that I must let go of my ideas of how everything should play out and trust that the ending of our story will play out just as He intends. He then asked me, "Do you trust me?" In a blubbering mess on the floor, I declared, "Yes. I trust you." Immediately, the darkness that had engulfed me for weeks fled. I stood up and began to declare the word of the Lord over our household. I began to speak to the devil like he was an unwelcome house guest. I made him get out. Joy flooded my soul and I was ready to press forward. 

A few days later, I felt like calling my Daddy. He's always a wealth of wisdom and I needed to hear from him. We had a wonderful conversation. He shared with me how mom had wanted him to call me after my conversation with her because she was worried. He told her he would call me when God moved on him to do so. In the meantime, he prayed. As he prayed, God dropped a word in his spirit the very same night I had my breakthrough. The scripture that came to him was, you guessed it, James 4:11. He used it in a message the following Wednesday at church. By the time I called him on Friday and shared everything with him, it was clear that God was keeping him from calling me so I could learn to lean on God for myself and not depend on my dad's advice. He spoke to me in love, reminding me that I was not a failure, and told me that he didn't raise a quitter. I laughed and agreed that I would not be a quitter. Before we hung up, he told me to pray the Lord's Prayer every day and really think about what each part of it means. He shared that the words, "give us this day our daily bread" is a calling to live by faith. The prayer doesn't ask God to provide for us for a month or even for a week, but just for that day. We must trust that He will give us that daily bread to sustain us both physically and spiritually. We just have to ask. Tears filled my eyes as I thought about moments when I wasn't sure what we would eat and my neighbor came unexpectedly knocking on our door with a plate of food in her hands. That was our daily bread. (Or I should say daily tortilla...) I hung up the phone strengthened and encouraged. 

By the end of that week, our stuff was in route from the port to our house. After it was over, we were given a wonderfully refreshing trip home to the states for a few days. The ending of this very difficult time came just as God INTENDED. There will be more challenging times ahead, but God is equipping us. That's the beauty of a life sold out to Him. 

Experiencing Jehovah Jireh

Life has been busy. REAL busy. Baby Ruby is due in about 6-7 weeks....(depending on if she wants to do things like her brother and arrive early...) These past few months have been a whirlwind and after today, I MUST share how God is providing for our journey to Honduras. 

Fundraising has been going well. With a few speaking engagements, a big community fundraiser thrown by my work, and many wonderful, faithful, and giving people, we were right at $15,000. Not too bad for only 6 months. The reason I say we WERE at $15,000 is because of the events that conspired today. 

I was checking my e-mail today at work....sifting through mostly junk mail and annoying e-mails you get because you didn't want to be a jerk to the lady checking you out at the retail store asking for your e-mail and phone number in order to receive "special offers". Check the boxes and delete. It has almost become an involuntary movement in my daily routine. But today, something caught my eye. It wasn't the excitement of seeing that my Amazon order had shipped....it was different. The e-mail was from PayPal and the subject read "Notification of Donation Received." When I set up our webpage, I added a "Donate" button through PayPal that was linked to our missions account. In the 5 months we've had it, nobody has used it. With everyone doing so much online these days, I was beginning to wonder if it even worked. Apparently it did. A name popped up that I did not recognize from a state that was far away. In all of our networking, I couldn't recall speaking or sharing our story with anyone in this particular location. (The donor wishes to remain anonymous, so I won't be giving further details concerning name or location.) The donation amount? $12,500. A red flag went up. This couldn't be right. Somebody either typed in one to many digits or they've been hacked. Tears welled up in my eyes and I began to shake. My co-workers couldn't help but hear me say, "No way. This can't be real." I looked over every last detail of the e-mail. It was a legit e-mail from PayPal. I logged in and checked the balance. The money was there. I called PayPal and checked my balance. Again, the money was there. Everyone in my office, knowing our journey, was just as curious as I was. We all wanted to know who this person was and if they meant to give this large of a donation. My flesh wanted to question it, but there was something in my spirit that said this was real. In that moment, I heard the Lord speak, "I am Jehovah Jireh. Did I not promise that I would provide?" Trying to hide my emotion, I felt such an overwhelming peace. Having an e-mail address for this individual, I sent a message immediately. I expressed thanks for the generous donation and quickly said if it was done in error, we would do our part to ensure that the money was refunded. I waited. And waited. I checked my e-mail every 10 minutes. Nothing. Finally, after eating dinner, putting Colt to bed, and washing dishes, I decided to check one last time. There it was. This person went on to assure me that the donation was correct and that missions was something they were passionate about. Since the door for missions had not yet been opened for them, they felt that they needed to help support someone who was going out into the mission field. I won't give all the details, but the sincerity of the e-mail leapt off of the screen and into my heart. It was as if I could feel their heart's desire to give to us. I've said this before, but when you come across people like that, the words "thank you" seem to fall short. I have never met this person, yet  they are choosing to be a HUGE contributor to the ministry we desire to do in Honduras. What faith!! I could tell through the e-mail that they knew they were giving to something that was bigger than just sending our family to another country. It was about building the Kingdom. It was about bringing glory to God. It may be going to benefit the ministry of Heart for Honduras, but it was an act of worship for them. Worship that comes through obedience. 

There are many reasons that people give money to ministries. Some give out of guilt. Some give out of sympathy. Some give, simply because they have so much money, that they know they won't miss it. But there are some who give out of faith....the kind of faith that calls them to obedience. Obeying God when he tells you to give large sums of money can hurt. It can hurt real bad. Steven and I have been there. God tells us to give, and our flesh is scrambling to remember all of the bills that will be auto-drafted the next week and wondering if we will have enough to make ends meet. We may have those thoughts, but it's always while the check is being written, without questioning the amount. Time and time again, God has provided through our obedience. There was even an incident where we gave $250 to something in a Sunday morning service and the following day, we received a refund check of $252 from an overpaid doctors bill. I don't say that to boast about how awesome we are, but I say that to boast in the Lord. You can't tell me God doesn't take care of His people. He is truly JEHOVAH JIREH, OUR PROVIDER! 

I pray that is encouragement for you today. God may not be calling you to the foreign mission field. He may be simply calling you to trust in Him. In my walk, I have found that the more I trust in Him, the more He reveals His plans for my life and how that plan will bring Him glory and build His Kingdom. If you need to experience God as Jehovah Jireh, whether it be in health, finances, or anything else that life throws your way, just say OUT LOUD, "God I trust you." There's power in the spoken word, especially when you begin to declare something over your life. Speak it out loud and believe it in your heart. He WILL NOT fail you. Abraham was the first to recognize God as Jehovah Jireh. If you read Genesis 22:1-19, you will find a prime example of God's provision. Abraham had a difficult task ahead of him, but God showed up after He recognized that Abraham trusted Him without hesitation or doubt. 

Needless to say, our hearts are FULL! Through every step of this journey, we are experiencing Jehovah Jireh up close and personal. He's confirming through His Word and through those that are choosing to support us, that He is ordaining every step. He's called us to this, and we refuse to doubt His ability to make it all come together. 

NEXT WEEK, Steven and I will be traveling to Honduras for a week with a team from our church. This team will be building our home and building chicken coops for the community to begin establishing a way to bring in a sustainable income. This trip is also an opportunity for Steven and I to really scope out what our surroundings will be as we prepare to move in January. We will visit the Spanish school in Copan that we will attend and we will be meeting with Pastor Manuel, as he will be our pastor and leader in our time there. Please pray for safety for our team and that God would do BIG things through this group. Also, pray that I do not go into labor while we are gone. I have been cleared by all of my healthcare professionals to travel, so I'm not worried. Whatever happens, I better practice what I preach and trust God! 

Until next time, may God bless you! 

Just for fun....
Here's a photo of our family at our church's Royal Celebration last night for the kid's ministry. We are one hot mess of random Medieval garb found in the costume closet! Although Colt's face may suggest otherwise, it was a fun night!! 

Please Donate to the Oatmeal Canister

It's Friday! I usually take Fridays off to spend with Colt and catch up on church, missions, or any other random projects I willingly sign myself up for. As usual, I've been distracted by housework (or my OCD as Steven calls it), Facebook, and wrestling around with Colt-Man. But now, it's nap time. The house is quiet, the dishes are clean, toys are picked up, and Colt has passed out in his crib after a swift rub down of essential oils to knock his crud out. (Yes, I'm one of "those moms".) I should be working on a website project, but I am overflowing once again from the goodness of the Lord, that I have to sit down and share! 

As mentioned in previous blogs, we are in need of a lot of financial support for our journey to Honduras. Our goal is to raise enough to sustain us for a year and continue to fundraise from there to see where God takes us next. We may stay in Honduras or God may lead us elsewhere. Rest assured...we are in this for the long haul and we don't want to limit our vision to just Honduras. That is the assignment for now, and we will stay there until God says move. 

Without getting too far ahead of myself, our fundraising efforts for now are focused on our first year of ministry. That goal is about $40,000. I want to take some time to be very specific with our needs. I believe when you are specific, it paints a clear picture for everyone and God can move upon people to give in very specific ways. 

Habakkuk 2:2 says, "And the LORD answered me: Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it."

For me, that's a small text with BIG impact! When you make a vision known, people can then run with it! As I share our financial needs, I'm believing that God is already moving on the hearts of people who will choose to run with it! I'm actually going to share about some who have already done that for us! 

But first things first.....

Here is a list of some of the one time expenses that we have to help establish ourselves:

Used Truck (preferably a 4-door smaller truck like a Toyota Tacoma) - If it were just Steven and I going, we would make use of public transportation. However, with small children, it will be MUCH safer for us to have a vehicle of our own. Having a truck will help us with some of the bigger projects we are wanting to do. This vehicle will be shipped to Honduras from Miami and will be placed in Pastor Manuel's name to avoid issues with customs. Plus, we want to be able to give this to them as a gift to have after we leave. We are not asking for anything fancy because it is important that we do not draw a lot of attention to ourselves by driving around a nice car...plus the roads are TERRIBLE! We've budgeted about $6,000-$8,000 for this, but we are praying that God will move on someone's heart to donate or sell it for a lower price. God can do ANYTHING! 

Small Tractor with plow attachment - Our vision for Honduras is not to just go and help, but to help equip them with ways to be self sustainable. Pastor Manuel's vision for the church and community is to not always be dependent on American support. They want to learn things that will bring in income and provide jobs. For some random reason, Steven really got into farming this Spring/Summer. Now I see that it wasn't random at all! God was preparing him for something much greater than a backyard garden! They want to learn to grow tomatoes and watermelons to sell and bring money into the church. Sadly, they do not have access to good quality seeds or farming equipment that would help them really bring in a sustainable and profitable harvest. They have the land, so our desire is to bring in the tools. This will be a gift that will be left there as well so they can continue to plant and harvest long after we are gone. Farming will also be used as an evangelistic tool in the surrounding community. We've budgeted $2,000-$5,000 for a used tractor, but once again, we firmly believe that as we make this vision plain, there's somebody out there ready and willing to run with it to either write the check or provide the equipment! 

Shipping a container - In order to get all of this to Honduras, it has to travel on a truck to Miami and then will be shipped from Miami to a port in Honduras. The cost of the container is about $2,000. We will be able to send the vehicle, small tractor, mattresses, appliances, and any large belongings we will need. We will also have to pay someone to transport everything to Miami. We have a few truck driver friends, so we are praying about who to approach about this big task. 

To keep this blog from getting too long, I will leave it at that for right now. Those are the "big ticket items" that we are really praying for God to move on someone to run with. Other smaller things include our monthly living expenses (about $850/month), round-trip airfare (about $2,500), and we are wanting to designate $5,000-$10,000 that will go directly towards ministry. We want to have the financial freedom to meet needs we may come across on a daily basis. That's what that money will be set aside for. We are also still in the process of getting prices for Spanish classes. We will be attending school in Copan to go to language classes several times a week in our efforts to become fluent. So far, we are finding it to be between $150-$250 per week.

When January 2016 gets here, we are believing that God will have far exceeded our expectations! He's not the God of just a little....He's the God of MORE THAN ENOUGH! He's the God of the OVERFLOW! 

Any donation we receive brings me to tears! (I've turned into quite the cry baby lately!) This month, however, we are praying specifically for God to line up those that will be willing to give on a month to month basis. A steady flow of money coming in will help sustain this ministry. Please pray about being a part of that! If you can't commit to that, no worries! God is pleased with whatever is in your means to do! 

A man at church came up to me Sunday night with tears in his eyes and expressed how he wanted to give to our ministry. He handed me a bill and hugged my neck saying, "It's not much, but it's all I have. I want you and Steven to know that I believe in your ministry." Talk about EMOTIONAL!! I was a wreck! I was completely overwhelmed by his sincerity. I honestly put the money in my pocket without even paying attention to how much it was. When I got home and emptied my pockets, I held in my hand a $5 bill. Some would think, "that's it??", but I began to tear up again and thank God for those that are still so willing to give even when they know they can't give a lot. Some people hold back because they don't want to be embarrassed by their tiny amount. It made me recall the widow with the two mites. Jesus honors her giving in Mark 12:43-44: 

"Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury. For they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty, put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

Jesus. He just knew how to really put things in perspective. After taking that $5 out of my pocket, I prayed earnestly for that man and his family. I prayed that God would bless him 1,000 fold! 

As if that didn't stir up enough emotion, I received a letter in the mail today from a friend of mine. We know each other on a very surface level, so when she told me she would donate, I expected maybe $100. That's what most people are giving. And do not think I turn my nose up to that at all!! I'm blown away by every red cent that comes into us! But her gift was different. As I read the letter, she began to share about how the Holy Spirit moved on her and her husband to give more. Circumstances were going to keep that from happening, BUT GOD showed up and honored their obedience by providing the amount they desired to give. The paper was wet with tears as I sat in my car ugly crying over the amazing way God ordained that donation. It wasn't just another check. This check had a story, and what a beautiful one it was! Just as before, I stopped in my tracks to pray blessings on their household. 

Each passing day, God confirms this calling. After my last post, I was overwhelmed AGAIN (yes, I cried) by the number of people who private messaged me wanting to know how to give! Honestly, we've been collecting money in an oatmeal canister, so I've been really having to get my ducks in a row and establish a more credible way to collect funds! 

 

I'm proud to say that our church has opened up a "Heart for Honduras" bank account and all checks can be made to either LIFEchurch Dacusville or Heart for Honduras. But wait...there's more! I established an online PayPal account so all of you paperless people can donate online! Just click on the link to our page and you will be directed from there. You can also download the packets to hand out from that site. Here's the link: http://www.lifechurchsc.com/#!about1/c1acn

Continue to pray for us and know that if God impresses upon you to give, obey! Even if it is $2.00! God will honor that and we will not turn our noses up at you! We hold your heart in much higher regard than your donation. We will pray blessings on you, and your two dollars, just the same as we would someone who would give thousands of dollars! 

May God richly bless you all! Please take time to share this post and spread the word about our journey! 

But None of These Things Move Me...

It's Sunday afternoon. I would typically be napping right now. For those of you that know me, I am one crabby lady if I don't get my Sunday afternoon nap. Instead of resting, which will happen as soon as I close this laptop, I am overflowing with the goodness of the Lord and the anticipation of things to come!

Today's service was awesome, as usual, and after teaching Sunday School, worshipping, listening to the Word, and helping serve lunch for a missions fundraiser, I sat down to focus on putting together packets of information to give to pastors about supporting our journey to the mission field. I should have been exhausted. Our weekend has been full of church leadership meetings and I should have been REALLY exhausted. Oh and to add one more thing...I'm pregnant and busting out of all of my clothes so I should have been REALLY, REALLY exhausted. But I wasn't. Maybe it was the piece of chocolate cake I was eating in between typing...(I know I'm supposed to be a health nut so don't judge my weaknesses)...or it could have been the power of the Holy Spirit that was causing me to bubble over with excitement!!!

You see...
It is going to cost a lot of money for us to spend our first year in Honduras....A LOT of money! Yet, that doesn't move me. Our theme scripture for this year at our church is Acts 20:24:

"But NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME; nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race with JOY, and the MINISTRY which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify of the grace of God."

WHAT A POWERFUL SCRIPTURE! If you're reading this Pastor Chad, that scripture has been in our hearts since the beginning of this journey and your use of it has been nothing short of God's confirmation! Don't you love how The Lord works!

We have to raise a lot of money. That doesn't move me.
We have to move away from close family and friends. That doesn't move me.
We have to learn a new language. That doesn't move me.
We will be raising 2 children under the age of 3 in a foreign country. That doesn't move me.

Do you get the picture?

Paul was one of the greatest missionaries of all time. He planted churches, mentored amazing men of God, performed miracles, and did countless other amazing things for the sake of spreading God's Word! On the flip side of that, Paul experienced persecution for the sake of the Gospel. He was hated. He was threatened. He was thrown into prison. YET...NONE OF THOSE THINGS MOVED HIM. What if they would have? Would we even know who Paul was if he had tucked tail and ran the other direction the minute things got difficult? That's something worth thinking about...

Thank the Lord for examples like Paul. The man put his life on the line for the Gospel of Christ. Not many Christians can say they are willing to do that today. But it doesn't end there...
His desire was to finish his race with JOY. He didn't want to finish it with bitterness and hate in his heart for those who persecuted him. He didn't want to finish it worn out and weary, despising the sacrifices he had to make. No way Jose!! He wanted to finish his race with JOY! How can we testify of God's grace without joy?? I don't know about you, but when I think about hearing a testimony from someone, the first emotion that comes across is JOY! JOY UNSPEAKABLE AND FULL OF GLORY! HALLELUJAH!!! (Sorry...had a pentecostal moment...)

My point in all of this is that we all have a ministry that we have "received from the Lord Jesus." The question is...will you pursue it?

Steven and I knew that we were both called to ministry very early in our dating relationship. We have served in various ministries, but when the call to the mission field was revealed to us, we looked at each other and knew this was it. This was what we had been seeking God to reveal in our lives. We couldn't help but laugh because we both thought "of course God wants us to go to a foreign country!" This is just me, but I picture God delegating ministries from heaven and saying...."See Steven and Candace there.....they'll do anything for me. I think I'll send them to a foreign country. They don't know how to say no." That's just me being silly, but I hope that is God's thought towards us. Steven and I are far from perfect, but we are so crazy about the Lord and building His Kingdom that we will do anything and go anywhere he wants us to!

We are human. We have been frustrated at times during this process. When people don't respond to e-mails or phone calls, it gets down right discouraging. Don't people realize we need money to make this happen?!?!?! The enemy has tried to convince us that this is stupid. BUT MY GOD, who is rich in love and abounding in mercy....His voice booms louder than any devil in hell! I hear Him as clear as day....

"My child...I have already supplied your need. Take heart and trust. I have called you to this and I will keep you through this. Do not fear. Do not worry. Your lives, and the lives of your children matter to me. I will cover you. I will keep you safe. The boldness of my Spirit will push out any and all anxiety and you will proclaim LIFE over Honduras. You will bring HOPE to those who are weary. You have said YES. That is all I required. Trust me and know that I AM GOD. I've got this."

Many people have asked us if we are afraid to take two small children to an impoverished country to live in a 400 square foot house. What if they get sick? Are you not afraid of...(fill in the blank). To be honest, there are several things I'm a little fearful about. As a mother, you experience a little bit of anxiety every time another kid sneezes near yours. That's part of being a mom. We want to protect our children. But while I'm being honest....I am more afraid of disobeying God than anything that could possibly happen while living in Honduras. I could not bear to live with myself if we chose to deny this calling. What would I hear on Judgement Day? Would I hear well done? Or would I hear God asking us why we chose to disobey His will for our lives? I believe I'll go with option number one, please. Obedience requires trust. It requires me to put my petty mommy worries off to the side, put on my big girl pants and believe that the One who called us will keep us!

With tears in my eyes, I bear my overflowing heart to you. If you could experience the peace that we feel, you would know how God-ordained this journey is. This is new territory for us. We are not seasoned veterans of the mission field. This is all a learning curve. We have a fancy letter with a vision, numbers, figures, photos, and references, but what is in our hearts is far more important than that letter will ever be. It's quite simple: We love the Lord. He called us. We said yes. Our hands will be His hands and our feet will be His feet.

I know I've rambled on and on but we encourage you to seek the ministry Christ has for you. It's there, you just have to dig into His Word and draw close to His heart. He loves you child of God. Through that love...the sky is the limit...

If you would like to help us distribute our information to individuals and/or churches, please talk to me personally, through Facebook, or through e-mail at candaceday35@gmail.com. I can get you a paper copy of everything or send it to you electronically. Please take a moment to share this blog also!

Thank you and may God, in His rich love, bless you more than you could ever imagine!

We're Moving!!!

Life is funny. We have huge expectations for our lives, especially in America. Go to school, get a degree, get a good job, meet the love of your life, get married, start a family, and live happily ever after. That's the "American Dream". I've been wonderfully blessed to be able to achieve all of those things, but my heart was not fulfilled in the way I knew it needed to be.

Steven and I have served in ministry for about 6 years now and we love it. We've worked in just about every church ministry....some have been great, and some not so great. However, one thing that holds true in every experience is that we have always grown and learned powerful lessons on the other side.

Steven and I absolutely adore our church family and fellow pastors we work with. These are people who have helped shape us into who we are, and are continuously challenging us in who we aspire to be. The hard part for us in ministry has been struggling to find what we're truly called to do. Every capacity we have served in feels great, but we have both felt God pulling us to something outside of typical church ministry. 

This summer, God's call became a little clearer. We ventured to Honduras for a week long mission trip. As hard as it was to leave our little Colt-Man behind for a week, something within us knew this trip was going to change our lives....and boy did it!

As our plane took off from Honduras on our last day, Steven and I, with tears in our eyes, knew what God was calling us to. Over time, we thought we were living on the high that most people live on for a few weeks after a trip like that. We prayed specifically that if this was the path God desired for us, the urgency to go back would grow stronger and the doors would be opened. From the title of this blog post, I'm sure you can tell that God answered those prayers in a BIG way!

A few months passed and we were presented with the opportunity to go back for an extended stay. How could we say no?!?! We sought out wisdom, discussed our options and the finances of it all. Through every discussion, our excitement grew! Even after hearing how much it would cost, we did not waver. God's voice rang loud and clear: I WILL PROVIDE!

But it gets better....

We have an almost 2 year old, Colt Silas Day. He's a tornado of excitement and destruction. He's the most stubborn child I've ever met. I know God will use that unrelenting determination for His glory one day, but it sure does try Mommy and Daddy's patience right now. Though stubborn and dramatic, that little boy has me wrapped. When he looks up at me and say's "Mommy, I hold you", my heart melts. Having him gives me a better understanding of how much God loves us. Motherhood is a beautiful thing and I am so grateful that God allowed us to bring Colt-Man into this world. We love being parents, which is good because we're gonna give it another go!

Shortly after saying YES to going into the mission field, I randomly took a pregnancy test and low and behold....two pink lines. Leave it to us to keep things interesting! While some would have an anxiety attack over having a toddler and a newborn in a foreign country, my heart began to be filled with excitement! They would be given such a beautiful opportunity to grow up in a different culture. I began picturing them speaking perfect Spanish, paying no mind to the color of someone's skin, and being able to kick some major tail in Soccer!

Before you freak out...
We ARE having the baby here in the states and will take several months to spend here at home before packing up and heading to Honduras. As of right now, we are looking to move next January. The due date for Baby #2 is July 24th, 2015. Although surprised, we are thrilled to expand our family and even more thrilled to go into the mission field as a family of FOUR!

Through this blog I will give insight and updates on our journey. Financial support is crucial to this opportunity and I would ask you to pray about becoming a partner with us. We can't do it without local churches and believers supporting us. More than finances, we covet your prayers. We ask that you pray for wisdom for us and that we would keep Christ at the center in ALL THINGS. If His presence doesn't go before us, we will not be successful. We desire to impact eternity...that can't happen without His presence. Thank you in advance for your prayers. If you feel led to support us financially, we pray you would be blessed a hundred fold in return! More information will be coming with financial details, but feel free to ask me any questions you may have. If you think your church would support us or allow us to come and speak, we would love to do that as well. I have in depth paper work I can provide to give insight into what exactly we will be doing during our time in Honduras.

Thank you again for taking time to read this and please follow this blog to see our Heart for Honduras grow and overflow onto the pages of this amazingly beautiful story God is writing.

"Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer." 

Isaiah 58:7-9

Blessings brothers and sisters!

Bendiciones hermanos y hermanas!