See Something More

Spending just one week in Honduras is like spending only 30 minutes in Disney World - it wets your appetite for more. Over the course of seven days, our team covered a lot of ground and accomplished many great things, but we also saw just how much is still to be done in that city. I saw God work in amazing ways, but I also see how desperately His presence is needed there every moment, not just over spring break. That's why it was so hard to leave. When you see God working in a place and are able to join Him in loving and serving, you end up leaving a piece of your heart in that place. It just doesn't feel right to leave. When Lacey and I pulled up to Searcy Dorm on Harding's campus Sunday night after driving back from the airport, we sat there motionless and in silence. We kept looking around at where we were, like it was part of a long-ago dream. "This is weird." Lacey finally said. "Yeah, it just doesn't quite seem right, does it?" After a we

The Casa De Esperanza (House of Hope) is a home in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, that rescues children from abandonment, abuse, prostitution, and neglect. Brought out of hopeless situations, these children are welcomed into a beautiful home where they are told every day how much they are valued and loved. They are taught that they are precious in God's sight, but it is even more amazing how they are shown it. Today, I got to be a small part of that showing of love and value. Our team spent the morning at the casa with the single purpose of playing and laughing with the kids there. Here are a few of the precious children whom I want you to meet and pray for. First, allow me to introduce you to Cindy. She is a bright, cheerful, bubbly little girl who will grab your hand and not let you go. She will pull you around with her wherever she goes, showing you everything that she knows how to do. She loves to sing, color, and cook. And I also think that she really liked those sunglasses.

Today we loaded up the truck headed for Santa Rosa to build another house for a family in need. Using the same system that we used for our first construction project, we began with a plot of dirt and finished with a house approximately six hours later. This is a picture of Gloria (far left) with her family and friends. She and her four children (I am not sure which four are hers) will live in this house, warm and dry. With hugs and tears, we dedicated the house to this precious family, prayed with them, and gave them a Bible. I pray that the little house will be a place of warmth where God's love will be dsicovered, learned, taught, and shared. The best part of my day was not building a house. Although I enjoy hard work, I actually spent a lot of time today on the sidelines. I met a precious boy named Nixon with whom I was able to communicate very well in spanish. We had a wonderful time talking, getting to know each other, asking other questions, and laughing at each othe

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me ." Then the righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you ?" The King will reply, "Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:35- 40 I had never been to a prison before, but for some reason I was not in the least bit afraid. As we walked around the compound and looked into the eyes of the inmates, the only thing I could do was smile. It didn't occur to me until afterwards that the thought never even crossed

The hospital room seemed extra dark and damp since the only light that entered it came from a dingy window. All heads turned in our direction as we peeked our heads in the door and then stepped inside. At first, they seemed apprehensive of our visit, unsure of what we were doing as we stepped into their hospital room. But all it took was a wide, bright smile and an enthusiastic "hola" to send a beam of bright light into the darkness. As soon as we reached over and touched the hand of the sick child in bed and gave her a lollipop, all apprehensiveness vanished. When we patted the mother on the shoulder and introduced ourselves, her worried frown transformed into a gentle, relaxed smile. At the presence of love and compassion, the darkness in the room fled. I could almost see it run into the corners and try to hide as we pushed it out with our joy, generosity, and loving care. I think the light streaming in from the window even shone a little brighter. We spent our fourth d

My heart began to beat faster and faster as the truck ascended the hill to the city dump of Tegucigalpa. Silence filled the cab. All eyes stared out the windows at the trash that accumulated on the sides of the dusty dirt road. My friend, Lacey, had been to the dump before, so she attempted to prepare me for this event as much as she could, but I still knew it was going to be difficult. I knew that it was going to stink unlike anything I had ever known. I knew that there would be huge buzzards, cattle, and grungy dogs scavaging around the trash heaps. I knew that dust, dirt, and trash would blow up into my eyes and face. I was prepared to enter one of the nastiest places that I have ever been. But that's not what made it so difficult. People live there. Men, women, children, babies, little old ladies, girls my own age, pregnant mothers. One thousand people. They wake up every day and compete with the buzzards to find food, or at least some sort of something that they might could

When arrived at our build site in Mololoa, we found an old house that resembled more of a shack. Just like in the show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, we began our project with the demolition stage...which only took approximately ten minutes. But out with the old and in with the new! You have to tear down before you can build up again.  The "before" shot of the old house As soon as we began our work on the new house, the whole community began to gather around us. But they did not gather to watch, no, they gathered to help. At one point, I do believe that we were all standing around watching the men, women, and children work proudly on their new house. I will never forget watching a row of young boys as they nailed down the floorboards. You would have thought they were at Disney World by the smiles on their faces. By the end of the afternoon, we had built a complete 16x16 wooden house with an elevated floor and a tin roof. This kind of house is very well-built, sturd

Seven days in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, deserves at least seven blog posts, so for the next seven days I will be posting a daily report on God's greatness as revealed to me in Honduras over Spring Break. Thank you so much to everyone who prayed for this trip because God heard your prayers and mine. He has been actively working in Honduras. It was such a blessing for me to see His fingerprints and join Him in His work for a week. My stories are small pieces of a larger picture of God's kingdom advancing in Tegucigalpa. To Him be the glory! Our first stop in Tegucigalpa, the capital city of Honduras, was to a place on the top of a mountain called La Cruz de Chatarra. It literally translates to "the cross made of trash", which is exactly what it was. If you were to fix your attention at just one piece, you would see a scrap of metal, a shard of glass, or a rusted piece of old junk. However, if you took a step back and looked at the cross as a whole, you would see a work o

The countdown is on: in approximately 12 hours and 6 minutes, I will be Hounduras-bound. So much has been going on these past few weeks that I have hardly had any time to think about going to Honduras, nevertheless get excited about it. But now that the projects are done, the assignments are complete, and Spring Break has arrived, all the anticpiation that should have been building up over the past month has hit me like an explosion. I simply can't wait to be there! I will be working in Tegucigalpa, the capital city, with Torch Missions. Over the course of the week, we will build houses, help with VBS, encourage the church, serve at a children's home, feed the people at the city dump, and play some soccer, and so much more. Our purpose in going is really quite simple - to exhaust ourselves with loving others. I invite you to please pray for me and our team as we venture to Honduras this week. I believe with all my heart that God is already actively working in Tegucigalpa, a

Once every week, I drive around town with a friend of mine in order to help her do some errands and shopping. Because she loves to sew, I often find myself wandering through the fabric store while she browses. I'm not a seamstress by any means, and I wouldn't know what to do with a sewing machine if you put one in front of me. One day, as I wandered aimlessly through the aisles, I drifted towards the pattern section and began flipping through booklets and magazines. A certain pattern labeled "very easy" caught my attention and sparked my interest. My friend came up behind me, noticing my intrigue, and said, "Would you like to make that dress?" I almost blurted out, "No, no, I'm just looking at the pictures," but I hesitated. Instead I turned to her and asked, "Would you help me?" "Of course!" She replied, and before I knew it, I had purchased fabric, interfacing, ribbon, and a zipper to go along with my new pattern. Over

Thousands of people gathered in one place for one purpose: to lift up a shout of praise and a song of joy to the Lord. I am so thankful that WinterJam came to Little Rock and that I had the opportunity to go with some of my fellow Christian-music-loving friends. Even though we sat four rows from the back in the upper bowl of the arena, we still had a wonderful worship experience. In fact, sitting at the very back allowed me to get an aerial view of the thousands of people waving their arms, lifting their hands, and bursting into applause at the name of our God. I can still feel the floor throbbing and my heart beating to the rhythm of the bass as David Crowder band sang "How He Loves." I can still see the the thousands of hands raised as voices joined the Newsboys in singing, "All God's people singing glory, glory, hallelujah, He reigns!" I just love Christians music and the messages of hope, truth, and encouragement that it speaks to my heart. And I loved b

When the alarm clock buzzed at 5:30 AM, I popped out of bed with an amount of energy that no person should have that early in the morning. I jumped into my white scrubs, slipped on my white lab coat, and proudly hung my stethoscope around my neck. I took a quick glance in the mirror to admire my Harding Nursing Student patch and name badge, and then I bounced out the door, ready for my first clinical day at the hospital. Since it was just my first day to actually work on the floor of a real hospital as a real nursing student, I spent most of the day orienting myself and learning the ropes. However, I did give several baths, change several beds, take vital signs, give a bedside assessment to my assigned patient, and document all my nursing activities on the offical computer system. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I learned how to empty a foley catheter - now who can say they did something as exciting as that today? I have never been so thrilled to be working beside real nurses at a

I'm almost bursting with excitement for the Israelites as I read the first chapter in Joshua. As I have studied their story this year, it has become so real to me that I feel as if I have practically traveled with them from Egypt to the mountain of God and into the desert. Now, as I read the first chapter in Joshua, the Promised Land is visible on the horizon, and I can almost feel the throbbing excitement of the Israelites as they are about to claim God's promise that has been waiting for them for a long, long time. As God appoints Joshua to lead the people into the land, He makes a promise I had never noticed before: "I will give you every place where you step your foot." (Joshua 1:3) Picture the feet of thousands of Israelites marching boldly into the Promised Land. Every step claims a promise. Every footprint marks victory. Every step is a gift from God, given to them in His mercy and love. I want my footsteps to be victorious and meaningful like that. My