August 20th, 2018
Monthly Update: August Newsletter 2018
Feet
"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!" Isaiah 52:7 This was the theme for the July 2018 team who went to Honduras. I was fortunate, along with my husband and 13 others, to be a part of this wonderful mission trip. We handed out more than 400 Witness bracelets to people that we met: school kids, business owners, church leaders, families, etc. We spread the message of God's love and salvation in Comayagua, La Villa, San Nicolas, in airports and on the plane!
Our first evening in Comayagua had us washing feet of missionaries. Feet...tired feet of those who are there every day helping those who need Jesus' love.
The senior citizens in La Villa showed off some dancing talents, played a competitive game of BINGO, and colored a mountain scene with our verse written on it. The team interacted with these gracious people and helped serve their meal.
On each trip, this was my 4th, I learn new things about myself. New and different opportunities come along side the familiar activities. This trip had me: Co-leading with Tina Wallace (neither of us had led a team before, so we were relying on God more than ever-Lisa Engh was a GREAT help prepping us for this task!), having to step up and pray first, filling in that awkward pause (totally out of my comfort zone...on other trips I tended to wait my turn), using my experience as a substitute teacher to come up with activities quickly when we needed to fill extra time (yes, this 51 year old did the Hokey Pokey a couple of times, sang Head Shoulders Knees and Toes opera style) and also had to improvise when the crayons did not get packed and one of the main activities was to color! The whole team came out of their comfort zone when we were at the Medical Clinic for a lice check. Everyone stepped up and did their part. We knew that these kids and families needed our help and if by chance we would get lice, we could deal with it.
We led activities at both feeding centers including bubble making using yarn, popsicle sticks & a metal washer, had the kids decorate feet and put these on a mural telling them about using their feet to Follow Jesus, and of course games!
I finally got to visit the library. What a wonderful space that is used by many school groups. We read The Foot Book and talked about how our feet need to Follow Jesus. Helped the 2 groups make their bracelets learning about how the different colors of the beads remind us about our journey to salvation. We ended out time with each group playing Bingo. I am so happy that the team had room to bring all of the books that had been donated. Pastor Peter Isaac's Sunday message was about us being a seed and we need to nurture it in order to grow in Christ. We all start as a seed, but when we give our life to Christ we break open the seed and grow. We are in a process to become a fully grown plant. We don't know what lies ahead. We will go through struggles, but as Pastor Peter sang, "God Will Make a Way" for us. We need to trust in Him.Our team had so many times when we knew that God was with us: falls, stomach troubles, transportation strike, free checked bags, strike paused for 2 days (& one being the day we were traveling back home), being in La Villa early due to strike to see the celebration parade, & just knowing that we were all there for a purpose. There were 12 out of our 15 member team who had not been to Honduras before. It was so exciting to see their compassion & passion for these people who I hold dear in my heart. We prayed. We laughed. We cried. We shared. We drank lots of water. We gave lots of business to the Pulperia. We tied leather cords. We met so many new people. We painted. We served. We were sweating. We trusted. We grew. We were the feet that spread the Good News for 1 week in July. This was a very special trip. There is still more to do in this one little area of Honduras. They still need kids to continue their education into High School and beyond. They REALLY need good drinking water. They need prayers. They need more days to come and find a good meal & friends. I can't wait to go back, hoping in January, to continue ministering to these dear people. I go on these trips to serve the people in Honduras, but every time I feel as though they have served me. ~Anne Van Kleek Board Member
The library is still in need of books. If you wish to donate a book or two, please see the following website:https://smile.amazon.com/.../ls/13DX023IE7RX7/ref=cm_go_nav_hz
