Tuesday in Honduras

For me, Tuesday was the biggest day...it was emotional - good and bad. My journal starts at the end of the day, it was easier sometimes to process at the end rather than during. Plus, I think I'm still processing.

Sitting right now in the hotel courtyard and it's raining. What a beautiful sound. It's hitting the green and yellow tarps above me. At our first distribution, we were at a camp. It was gorgeous...similar to Hawaii I was told. When we would present the puppet show and songs, sometimes you just clicked with a few of the kids. Granted, I had limited Spanish, but as a teacher, you just know when you click. I had wanted to take a photo with these two kids, but once one kid heard the word photo, this happened.

At the camp, this grandma had approached me and wanted something...anything. However, since she wasn't on the pastor's list, it wouldn't be wise to go against their wishes and it could also start an uproar. It broke my heart.

However, my brain got the best of me and by the time we had finished lunch and had our free time before the next distribution, I was thinking negatively and needed to get out of the funk. Before getting back onto the bus, I picked up a stick, put my negative thoughts onto it and threw it to symbolize letting go of it.

I'm so glad I did because God blew me away at the next village. Our team leader asked me to pray for Iso who had had some pain and by the end of the prayer, she said it was gone. It was such a privilege to pray for her and with others praying simultaneously in Spanish. (That was one thing I noticed different there than here. When others prayed, many voices prayed at once. Here, my friends and I tend to do popcorn prayer rather pray all at one time.)

God didn't stop there. I ended up talking with the pastor's wife in Spanish to the best of my ability. I found out she was a Sunday School teacher, so I ended up giving her chalk and crayons. They were so thankful that after we had taken them part way home, they requested me and a few others to be in a photo with them. It was an honor!

However, as we were packing up the boxes and getting ready to leave, a man came up and asked if we had any shoes. Unfortunately, we were out. He needed them. His shoes were coming apart at the seams. I could see his skin through the cracks. Since I had big feet...I thought maybe he could try mine. Through a translator, I found out that he was refusing the shoes because he was more concerned about what I was going to do. Oh precious man...if he only knew how many pairs of shoes I had back home that I don't even wear. After loosening up the laces, I am pretty sure he was able to wear them. It was such an overwhelming, amazing, giving feeling...not because I gained anything for it, but just knowing that I was being obedient. And while I wanted to have a photo taken (not to show off, but for remembering), I chose to let it go. Without me knowing, my friend had taken some photos and I stole them off Facebook. I'm so glad I have these now...to remember that I have so much. I can give. Selfishness does not become me. Life is really not that bad.