Worship Day

It is a beautiful morning in Honduras and I am alone in the apartment trying to wake up and get ready for worship. God is good, I say that a lot but that is such an understatement. My God is so magnificent it is truly beyond my comprehension. His unfailing love sets a standard that we as humans come up so short on. He loves me without reservation, no matter how many times I screw up. The fact that he sacrificed his son for me is incomprehensible. The fact that I sacrifice so little for Him is truly pitiful. But for today I will be thankful for this awesome, tremendous gift and be honored to be called His.

The rain returns

It rained off and on all night, sort of a comforting sound on the metal roof. Towards morning I did hear the "lizards" that Karen told me about. It still worries me that Dorian calls them scorpions but he insists that it is not scorpions like I think? Right before bed karen told me not to worry that they stay on ceiling, the only problem is they sometimes find droppings on bed in the room I am sleeping. Talk about focusing on keeping my mouth closed while sleeping:). So when i heard them, I just pulled sheet over my head and went back to sleep. The children were already at school when I go up. Just Josue, Marjorie and Nohemy were here. and the girls went to kindergarten at noon. School here is over at 12:30 for others, unsure how much they can learn is such a short time. Wish there were funds to send them all to private school. Karen and the three were "sorting" beans. Looking for worms in the beans actually. I can't see well enough that close up to tell the good from the bad but the children enjoyed it. Marjorie sat on my lap and let me love on her a lot today.
Josue lost one of his shoes and Karen was looking for it. She looked behind the tv and yelled mouse. Those of you who know Karen know that snakes, spiders, etc do not scare her but mice, she screams like a girl and runs! The mouse was dead so I got it and took it out and threw it in dumpster area. I came back and moved tv to clean up it's nest and yep, there were five babies under the tv. Reina and me were trying to sweep up the babies into a dustpan but a couple decided they could run and would run under the tv and we would move it again and off they would run. Well Dorian came to see what was going on and he took care of the babies in a somewhat violent matter. Then it was discovered that something had a small nest in bottom of tv and Dorian had to take off covering of tv and we cleaned it off.
I got to go with Dorian to pick up the children at school and then we had lunch. Rice, beans, and a shredded sort of barbequed meat. It was good and I cleaned my plate. I then came back to Karen & Dorian's apartment to check email and lay down on couch and fell asleep. We later ran into town to pick up a few items. I was desperate for caffeine and in search of tea. It was so foggy, it was hard to see the road and the dozens of people walking the roads. No regular tea bags were to be found where we went but found some other goodies. Returned home and Karen and Dorian went to church. Stacy, a lady who is staying here and helping at Casa, must have heard me moaning as she came to door and offered me some Liption tea bags. Life is good once again and I have a new best friend!
I think Karen is getting off tomorrow and we will go to market. We got some bananas today but cant wait for more fresh fruit. Karen gave me a piece of a fruit here today that might be guava? It was good. Always an experience here. Saw some of the OSU Marshall game, and although it is only 8pm here my body feels like it is 10p like at home. Can't wait for another day of adventure tomorrow.

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days.

I woke up really excited to be on my way to visit Karen and Dorian. Beautiful day, wonderful flights and Dorian was there at airport to meet me. He told me that Karen still had no idea I was coming. that was a really good day
Dorian and a minister from Ojojona and his wife were on their way to the the tegucigalpa dump where hundreds work digging through garbage for plastic bottles and other things to recycle. Some actually live at the dump. Oh and you see men, buzzards and cattle all fighting for scraps of food that have been thrown away and are rotting. To get to the dump was a lengthy process. The road that is usually taken is washed out due to all the rains. On the road up mountain to dump, there were numerous places where hillsides have slipped into the road. The trash seemed to be everywhere as the rain had washed all down to the bottom and it lie in ditches where some were setting it on fire to get rid of it. There were people everwhere working, trying to shore up the foundations of their home, their hillsides, etc. and mud everywhere.
We eventually reached the dump and the smell seemed much worse than ever before. There was two to three inches of mud that smelled like poop everywhere. Dorian had me take off my watch and leave camera so it would not be taken from me. As soon as we pulled in the crowds started coming to the vehicles. I was privileged to be allowed to place tortillas on top of bowl of rice and beans and insert a plastic spoon and hand to those gathered there. Dorian was also passing out water. they kept coming, mostly men but lots of boys and women also wanting some food. There seemed to be so much more trash there, and oh the stench. Dorian had brought me his boots to wear to keep me somewhat clean. The food was all gone and I found myself really sad that just this morning I was in a society where we throw away everything and at noon, I was amongst seemingly "throw a way people" I simply cannot fathom what it would take for me to rummage through rotting garbage, trash and dead animals to find plastic bottles that I could turn in for a few pennies. And if it was a good day, maybe find some lunch amongst the debris? There was a lady with a baby there and another one who is very pregnant. There are little boys that should be in school and having hugs and kisses from loving parents that instead jockey for position amongst the men. We left and made our way slowly back down the mountain. It was the worst of days..........
Then Dorian and I finally made it to Santa Ana and he took me over to the clinic and walked in the back way and hid in their apartment. He then went back out and entered the other way and called karen (who was with the children) to tell her he needed something from their apartment asap. Well I was standing in their bedroom when she came through the dcor and I scared the poor girl half to death. It was priceless as I hung onto her and hugged and hugged. It was the best of days.............
OH and Karen said if i hear anything during the night it is just these little lizard like things crawling around eating mosquitos and such. Welcome to Honduras!

I made it through the day!

Yep, I made it. No candy either. This is hard but I will overcome. Did pretty well with eating today and not really hungry. that isn't to say that I am not craving candy, chips or even a bag of marshmallows. I can almost taste the sweetness as I think about them. Oh well that won't help so I will quit naming what I can't quit thinking about.
I was able to exercise today by spending 40 minutes on my "gazelle".
tonights meeting of SEALS at church was exciting. Can't wait to dive in a little more.
I am so blessed that God is beside me in my journey.............I can do this, I can do this, I can do this..............

How many times can you start over?

I almost hate putting this in writing but I need to so that I can't back out of this. I need to start over with so many things, but at the forefront is my weight and health. So here is the plan. I am going to Honduras in November sometime and I am committing myself to losing some weight before I visit Karen and Dorian. So I have September and October, two months to buff myself up.
I know I can do nothing without God and with Him I can do anything so I am also starting over with my commitment to a reading plan of His word instead of what seems interesting at the moment.
So here goes:
I intend to each healthier
exercise more
spend more time in prayer daily
read consistently with a purpose, God's word

I will struggle and I need all of you to support me, pray for me, and hold me accountable. Even when I try telling you I didn't really mean it or I have had a hard day and want excused.
So how do I expect to get there?
well as for eating healthier, I will not eat any snacks out of the machine at work (ouch that is going to be difficult) I will not eat any potato chips and no candy. Oh I can already hear the gum drops calling me.
Those who doubt me, I don't blame you, but get this: I start a tai chi class this week. I don't know what it is but it is a start and it is free so I am taking a step of faith. So I am inviting any of you who want to follow me on this journey of insanity, Ok, even more insane. So when November rolls around and I land in Honduras, I will be so transformed, that the children will no longer pat my belly and call out "gordo".
For today, it has begun and I will win this battle one day at a time.....

I Need To Be A Better Servant

Jesus measures greatness by service, not status by Rick Warren

Whoever wants to be great must become a servant. Mark 10:43 (MSG) "Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you. " The world defines greatness in terms of power, possessions, prestige, and position. If you can demand service from others, you've arrived. In our self-serving culture with its me-first mentality, acting like a servant is not a popular concept. Jesus, however, measured greatness in terms of service, not status. God determines your greatness by how many people you serve, not how many people serve you. This is so contrary to the world's idea of greatness that we have a hard time understanding it, much less practicing it. The disciples argued about who deserved the most prominent position, and 2,000 years later, Christian leaders still jockey for position and prominence in churches, denominations, and parachurch ministries. Thousands of books have been written on leadership, but few on servanthood. Everyone wants to lead; no one wants to be a servant. We would rather be generals than privates. Even Christians want to be "servant-leaders," not just plain servants. But to be like Jesus is to be a servant. That's what he called himself. While knowing your shape is important for serving God, having the heart of a servant is even more important. Remember, God shaped you for service, not for self-centeredness. Without a servant's heart, you will be tempted to misuse your shape for personal gain. You will also be tempted to use it as an excuse to exempt yourself from meeting some needs. God often tests our hearts by asking us to serve in ways we're not shaped. If you see a man fall into a ditch, God expects you to help him out, not say, "I don't have the gift of mercy or service." While you may not be gifted a particular task, you may be called to do it if no one who is gifted at it is around. Your primary ministry should be in the area of your shape, but your secondary service is wherever you're needed at the moment. Your shape reveals your ministry, but your servant's heart will reveal your maturity. No special talent or gift is required to stay after a meeting to pick up trash or stack chairs. Anyone can be a servant. All it requires is character. It is possible to serve in church for a lifetime without ever being a servant. You must have a servant's heart. How can you know if you have the heart of a servant? Jesus said, "You can tell what they are by what they do" (Matthew 7:16 CEV).

National Lampoon has nothing on me!

I have laughed endlessly at National Lampoon Vacation movies. Well let me tell you that it is only funny to because it is about someone else. Well I am living one myself right now. Being an adventuresome person, Sharon and I decided we would take Brennen home to North Dakota instead of her and him flying. Lisa and Brian decided to join us for this trip. Well I worked all day Tuesday getting off at 4 and hoping to by pulling out for the start of the adventure by 5 . Work was wild and crazy and very fast paced. I came home to find out that Sharon's jeep would not start as she tried to leave her work to come home. She had to have her brother come rescue her and bring her home. The Jeep was left to fend for itself. Well all it takes is something like a change of plans to start the dominoes to fall. Luckily we were not planning on taking the Jeep so we could deal with that. Sorta of a stress inducing start but it could be overcome. I literally backed out the door of house while keeping Griswald from nipping us as he was angry that he was not going with us.
We were off to Columbus and picked up Lisa and Brian. Actually got their luggage in the trunk and it closed! Brennen was wanting to watch his dvds. With great anticipation he opened his transformers dvd to fine Annie and not Transformers disc in case. He then opened another one and it was High School Musical. He looked downcast and told us that sometimes his mama gets the discs confused and puts them in the wrong cases. He simply exclaimed "Nuts!" and watched High School Musical.
We were cruising right along leaving Columbus when we screeched to a halt and then crept along and made maybe 5 miles in 45 minutes. I was beginning to wonder if we were ever going to make it out of Ohio. Lisa saved the day for Brennen by bringing some of her dvds. Brennen evidently has not seen Lion King. Well we nicknamed him Karen because he spent the entire time asking questions and Lisa very patiently answered every question. It was non stop questions. We made it through the night by changing seats and drivers every few hours. During my shift, we stopped for bathroom break and I had a little difficulty finding how to get to parking place I wanted and before we were done, I think I circled a fast food restaurant three times and the employees were looking out ready to call cops. We drove all night and survived. Lisa took over driving this morning and as a few sprinkles hit the windshield. Well as Lisa turned on the wipers, the driver's side wiper blade flew over the roof of car. We were all sort of dumbstruck for a while. Hopefully the cars following us survived the flying blades. Well guess what? I had an extra driver's side wiper blade and we stopped to have Brian put it on. As we pulled to a stop in front of a closed business, Sharon mentioned that we had stopped there before. But we had never even been in Wisconsin before. This is just kind how it went. We thought we had it made once we made it to Minneapolis but I think we entered a time warp. No matter how far we drove it seemed we remained two hours from out next stop. In fact our last two hours of travel felt like it took us 12 hours. We were so excited to finally reach Grand Forks but the drama was not over. As we got there, my cell phone was dying and beeping. We were trying to talk with Amanda to try to find our way to her house. Sharon was talking to Amanda and I was driving . Lets just say our nerves were on edge and we were all cranky. Lets just say it is a good thing I do not have a concealed carry permit. But we finally made it and all was well. I think we brought the Lampoon spirit to Grand Forks. Amanda put up a canopy for the children to play under and within 15 minutes, the wind blew and broke three of the legs. I love vacations, I am no so sleepy, cranky and slap happy that I am afraid of what the evening will bring.