South

I always joked I'd go south….it was too cold in Michigan. I never thought I'd end up this far south, in Honduras. This past weekend, I traversed across mountains and valleys, past palm and mango trees, farther south to San Lorenzo. Melissa, a student here at the seminary and an English student of mine, invited me to visit her house. Five hours by bus and a drastic temperature change later, I arrived in the hot south.

It is a different culture down there—I'm surprised at the changes in such a small country. You'd be proud of me—I ate shrimp in their shells, sardines, and even a fried fish head—including the brains of it. Luckily, Melissa did not make me eat the eyes!

Not only was the culture, climate, food another experience, but I was also introduced as the "special visitor," the missionary. I shared a little bit of my testimony with the youth group, went to church, and met all kinds of people. I got to touch the Pacific Ocean! I had a great conversation with the pastor (yes, in Spanish) about his visions and dreams for the church…Once again, like at the beginning of my trip here, it was beautiful to see how God works through prayers and how he leads people across oceans together for such a time as this.

The church is poor in resources, but rich in love and vision. Like other pastors here, they are not waiting for everything to be set and planned and to have all the money in the bank before they move ahead….They dream. They trust.

And I'm trusting God, trusting that He has a purpose in all of this. I don't see it all, but He does. And he works across time, across oceans, and in human hearts. Great is his faithfulness, even in the heat. I'm far from family, far from the US, far in the south, but with him.