Back From Honduras

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I wanted to provide a follow up to my previous article now that I have returned from Honduras and decompressed. It has been just about a month and truly I am blessed. The trip was everything I imagined and more. Incredibly the itinerary was exactly how I had prayed for it to be. If you followed my blog or wish to view my overall reflections they are there. I did however want to bring some closure to my trip here on this site:

1. Honduras will always have a special place in my heart. The people I have met and become friends with are like family. Gaby, a translator from our 2009 trip, took her own time to meet us at the airport and make sure we got to the hotel OK. We were able to have a birthday dinner with her later in the week and enjoy her company. Our host Scarlett and her daughter Goldie (another translator from our prior trip) went above and beyond their duties. They were our translators and transportation. However on the one free day we had they took us sightseeing and shopping. They also took the time to take us to the Compassion country office in Tegucigalpa which was unplanned.

2. Satan did try to ruin the trip at the beginning. Three of our four suitcases were delayed in Miami. Our daughters suitcase made it but the ones with our clothes and the one with the gifts for the families we would visit spent an extra night. It was just a nuisance but we overcame.

3. Linda is an amazing young woman. She has grown up so much and every time we go to Honduras she gets more beautiful. She is doing great in school, helps out at the project and is part of the worship team. She is learning to play the guitar. Her party was small but awesome. We played a special part in the ceremony and I am sure it was everything she wanted. One of the cool things is (she knows I love Disney) that she used the Disney font on her invitations. It is small things like that that endears us to her. Her home is better than I could have hoped. It is safe and structurally sound. She is my princess.

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Summer Rain

By Lauren D

I went on a mission trip to Tennessee with my church youth group last summer. We worked on several houses that belonged to eldery and low-income families. We spent the week painting, cleaning, clearing debris, and making repairs. After one of our work days, we went back to where we were staying to take showers and get out of our work clothes. When everyone was done, we went outside to play Frisbee until it was time to meet up with the leaders and go to dinner and Chapel.

After about ten minutes of play time, we were hit by one of those summer downpours. It felt so good just running around without a care in the world, it was amazing. The rain eventually started slowing down and then came to a stop, all of the teens were sitting in a circle on top of a hill. We started talking about what a blessing water is. One of the other things we were doing while on this trip was collecting money for a charity that builds wells all around the world. We spent some time wondering how many lives could be saved by bottling up the water from just one rainy day.

I think we get too used to having water whenever we want it. We don't appreciate what a real blessing it is. Not only can we drink as much as we want, we don't have to worry about getting sick from drinking it. My friends and I agreed to hold each other accountable for not wasting water all during this trip, and even after we got home. We agreed to try and continue to support people who are bringing clean water to those who don't have it.

So here I am, asking you to help Ginny and her friends this month as they try to raise money for charity: water. So that they can go build some more wells for families who don't have clean water. Ask yourself... then go and ask all of your friends and family:

How important it is to you to have clean water?

Then ask yourself (and others) how much you could sacrifice to help to provide that same blessing for other people around the world. It doesn't matter what the dollar amount is. Every little bit helps. You may only be able to give a few dollars, but if you can get all of your friends and family to donate, too, all together it can really add up.

Go. I challenge you to make a difference in the life of a family. Be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Lauren is finishing her freshman year in high school. She loves drama, music, crazy nails, frogs and anything green. She's not a "get your hands in the dirt and dance with bugs" kind of person, but if you need someone to love on your kids or scrub your walls, she's your girl. Like most teens, her life pretty much revolves around school work and friends, but she has a huge heart for Jesus and takes every opportunity to serve His kingdom.

WWW ~ (World Wide Worship)

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

" As it is, there are many parts, but one body."  1 Corinthians 12:20

Having been out on the country several times on mission trips or sponsor tours I have come to appreciate the fact that no matter where you go when you are with believers there is an incredible sense of fellowship and Spirit. My first journey was to Mexico in 1998 travelling with a church youth group. My fondest memory is being in San Diego right on the coast and overlooking the Pacific. There we worshipped and sang. It was an incredible experience just looking out at the vast ocean and feeling the prescience of God. I can remember singing "In the Secret" and just feeling moved by the words of that song.

In the secret, in the quiet place
In the stillness You are there.
In the secret, in the quiet hour I wait,
Only for You, 'cause I want to know You more;

Seven years later I would travel to the Dominican with another church group to work on a church in Monte Cristi. At night we slept on the roof of our home. Laying there just looking up at the stars I listened

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LEAD Uganda

By John

There are many aid organizations in Africa, but most of them can only provide the most essential needs of survival - food, shelter, and perhaps the most basic of educational resources. Of course, there is a definite need for these things, and it is appropriate to address that need first and foremost. But what we sometimes forget is that the bare necessities of survival are not an end unto themselves. They are a means to an end, and that end is not mere survival, but prosperity. And for many, that end is still much too far out of reach. Too often a child is provided with tuition fees for school, but cannot complete or utilize his education, because he still must work 8 hours a day to eat. Too often a family is provided with food for the week, but still is left with no way to provide food for themselves.

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