Amor del Nino 5.30.08

     Today was a very wet day.  We are getting the side storms of the hurricane that is near Nicaragua.  This morning for devotional, Tiffany (my brother's girlfriend) gave her testimony.  If was amazing.  She made me cry.  This week has been a very emotional week.  I love her to death and I'm so glad she is with Matt.  We got to the orphanage around 9:30 and immediately left with Augustine to get the supplies to build the house for the single mother of 6.  It took about 3 hours to get all the wood and supplies.  One thing I have learned this week is that Guatemalans are in a hurry to do absolutely nothing.  Nothing at all.  We had to carry the supplies up and down these narrow paths in the village to get to this woman's house.  It took over 3 hours just carrying the wood and the posts to the work site.  I probably walked over 10 miles today, for real.  My legs are weak and exhausted.  We didn't get near as much done today we had hoped.  We didn't realize that so much needed to be done before we even got started.  Other small things happened to us today to slow us down.  Mr. Denny (Ryan Johnston's dad) broke a window in the truck that we were loading the wood into.  The guy driving the truck ran into someone's fence and broke a post, so we had to fix it.  That was an ordeal.  The homeowner flipped out.  We got it fixed though.  We did get all the posts laid for the house and got it leveled off for the next team to come in and finish.  I hate that we couldn't finish the house.  I hate not being able to finish something that I had started.  We were also cut short by the rain that once it started it came hard.  It was freezing rain also.  We had to carry all our building supplies back to the truck and then we went back to the orphanage.  That was the first time that we had an opportunity to see the kids.  When I saw Danny, he came running with his hands held up.  When it came time to leave I knew it was going to be ugly.  I told him Adios, and that I had to go, and he shook his head no and grabbed hold of me tightly.  I was so upset.  I finally got away from there.  Once we got back to the orphanage, the electricity was out.  That means cold food for dinner and no showers.  No showers because the water pressure is run from electricity so we couldn't get pressure for the showers.  It finally came on about 4 hours later.  As soon as it came back on, it was a mad rush for the showers.  

     Today was our last day working and it was sad.  I would be really depressed but I know that I get to leave for Brazil Tuesday morning.  Please pray for safety traveling home and that God would continue to put his hand of blessing on this area of Guatemala.  He can and he will because he is an awesome and loving father.  Have you talked to him today?

Amor del Nino 5.29.08

     Yesterday was probably the most laid back day of the week.  I went back to Amor del Nino (the orphanage).  We got there and there wasn't much to do.  The kids were in school so we couldn't play with them until they got of school around 1.  Steve (the man that runs and owns the orphanage) got us connected with this single mom of 6 who lives on somebody's front porch.  He asked if we would be willing to build her a house.  So we went and looked at the house she lives at now and where we were going to build.  The supplies to build her house weren't delivered yet so the only thing we could do was level the small 8 x 18 foot piece of land that we were planning on building on.  After we did that we went back to the orphanage and the kids were out of school at this time.  I spent about 30 minutes jumping on the trampoline with some of them.  I spent about 45 minutes hanging out and talking to Hannah (the little girl in the wheelchair in my first Amor del Nino blog).  She is so funny.  She took 48 pictures while I sat there and talked.  Blair gave her her camera so I posed for her.  She thought it was the funniest thing.  

     Finally my favorite little boy Danny (the one that made me cry for so long because he didn't want me to leave) came outside to play.  He had been sick so he had been in bed most of the afternoon.  As soon as I saw him I jumped up to go get him.  I held him the rest of the afternoon until we had to go.  This time when I left him he screamed.  He didn't just cry, he screamed.  It was worse than the time before.  Thankfully, this time there was someone else to pick him up.  I love that boy so much.  I would hold him forever if I could.  

la familia de dios 5.28.08

Yesterday I went to la familia de dios. There I cut wood to build shelves. In the morning it was kind of slow moving. There wasn't a lot to do so I felt like I probably should be doing something right now but there wasn't nothing really to be doing. Some of the ladies at la familia de dios (local church pastored by American Ron Carruthers) made us lunch. I was very skeptical about eating the meat. I know that I have to leave for Brazil on Tuesday and I didn't want to take a chance at eating the meat and then getting sick. I finally gave in and ate the country fried steak. It was amazing. After lunch we headed to a local community center which was no bigger than a class room in the states. We had 200 kids show up plus probably 50 adults. They were out the door and around the corner. It was crazy but a lot of fun. The kids loved it and all were asking about when church was. Pray that they will come. In the area we went to to do the VBS, poverty is stricken for many reasons. One of the main reasons is because of gang violence. So for families and kids to go to church isn't the easiest thing. So keep them in your prayers.
Please pray for the group. Pray for strength and endurance throughout the week. The stomach virus has officially hit this group. Tiffany Parrish and Mollie McKay both aren't feeling well at all. Pray for them. Pray for me because those are the two that I have been hanging out with all week. I do not want to get sick before I go to Brazil. Thank you. I'm looking forward to coming home and seeing many of you.

Amor del Nino 5.27.08

     Today was a day that I was emotional and physically stretched like never before. I got up early again and watch God's amazing sun rise from the east. Today we went to Amor del Nino which is the orphanage here in Guatemala. It is a place that God has his hand on and is working in miraculous ways. Today I got the opportunity to write a Bible verse in the concrete that was just put in. It happened to be my memory verse for the day. Psalm 73:23. It rocks. After that we spent hours laying more concrete for the floor of a bathroom. That was absolutely exhausting. I carried probably 50 5 gallon buckets of rocks and sand. Once we finally finished we got a chance to play with the orphans. This one little boy had no expression. The battery is about to die so I will finish tomorrow. sorry.
     It is tomorrow now so I am finishing this blog. I was telling you about this one little boy who had no expression. He just wanted to held. There was another team from Atlanta, Georgia at the orphanage also. This one girl held this little boy all afternoon. There team left before ours to go to the volcano. She sat the little boy down and he started to cry. She immediately picked him back up. Knowing that she needed to leave, I walked over took the little boy away from her. I held him for about 20 minutes before it was time for us to leave. I sat him down and he began to cry. I knelt down beside him trying to comfort him. A couple of minutes later I stood back up to leave. I looked down at the little boy who had this teary eyed look on his face. The look asked this question, "Who is going to hold me know? Who is going to love me know?" It broke my heart. I dropped to the ground, wrapped him up in my arms, and then began to cry. The boy barried his head in my chest and didn't move. I held him and cried for 20 more minutes, refusing to put him down again. Eventually, after everyone else had gone back to the van, Ryan came and took him from me letting me know that he would take him to a worker and we needed to leave. I let go of the boy, got up, walked to the van, and never looked back. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Once we got in the van and drove off, the crying didn't cease. It only got worse. I began to sob like a baby. It was a very emotional night. It was very humblying and I spent a lot of time asking why?. That boys face and that question of, "Who is going to love me know?" God challenged me with that question.  If I don't love on people and show them God's surpassing love, then who will?  As Christians we are called to love on those people, because if we don't, nobody will.

This little girls name is Hannah.  She has brittle bone disease and is confined to a wheelchair the rest of her life.  She is brilliant though.  She knows three languages and taught herself all three of the languages.  Please pray for her and her little brother who also has brittle bone disease.  Her and her brother are just two of the helpless children that live at Amor del Nino.

The day at Panamaquin

Today was one awesome day. It all started with God answering a prayer of mine. As I was laying in bed last night I asked God if he would wake me up at 5a.m. so I could see his majesty in the sunrise. I woke up at 5:03a.m. Man my God is good. I immediately got up, got a shower, and went up the hill from our house so I could sit and watch the sun rise over the mountains. There was light by the time I got up there but the sun had not come over the tip of the mountain yet. I sat there and just prayed and worshipped the creator of all things who loves me. I sat for about 2 hours this morning watching the sun come and light up the valley below and the mountains above. It was amazing. Our mission today was to go to the Panamaquin, which is a school about 8,000 feet about sea level and straight up a mountain. It was crazy scary going up that mountain on a dirt road knowing that I am about 2 ft. from being right back at sea level. The ride took about an hour and a half. Once we got there we sat down with some of the female students and just introduced ourselves. After that Stephen Shelton and I got on a tin roof. We brushed the roof and then painted it red. We were on that roof for about 3 hours. I am a little sunburned. I blend in with that roof right about now. Once we finished our group hosted a VBS for the kids. At one point in the day I walked out to the edge of the mountain to look at the view. I sat down because I was dog tired after playing soccer with the kids. I was playing with some dirt squeezing it between my fingers and all that good stuff. I soon realized that it wasn't dirt. I'm not telling you what it was but I'll give you a clue. There were a lot of cows around. Yeah! Gross! I washed my hands don't worry. More than once. We are back at the mission house now after another long drive back. The oddest thing I saw today was a man relieving himself on a sidewalk in the middle of town. That's about all the interesting stuff that has happened to me today, but the day isn't over yet. Please continue to pray for the team and myself. Pray that God would teach and show us new things everyday. Pray that he would show us his love like never before on this trip. Pray for miracles to happen. I thank you in advance for you prayers. Get into God's word today.

We are in Guatemala

I lived up to my blog theme this morning when I rolled out of bed at 2:30a.m. to head to the airport. We flew out of Memphis at 6a.m. to Atlanta and eventually to Guatemala City. We got here in Guatemala around noon. Then we rode in 4 vans for a little more than an hour to our current location Chimaltenango. Traveling was very smooth and we had no problems with security or customs once we got into Guatemala City. We are all exhausted and are just relaxing waiting for the lovely ladies to finish dinner. The view from the mission house is unbelievable and the view alone will make you put your faith in Jesus. I want to thank you all of you who have prayed, are praying, and will pray for me this summer. Thanks to all of you who financial supported me this summer. I will do my best to keep you updated on how I am doing. I want to challenge and remind everyone that Christ is sovereign and rules over everything, so serve him with all your might and strength. Love people the way Christ loves us.

Dwight Moody quote

Dwight Moody once said, "It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who is fully consecrated to Him. I aim to be that man." This quote was introduced to me by a huge mentor in my life Ryan Johnston. Ryan is my boss, college pastor, and close friend. Ryan, with this quote, has challenged me time and time again to make this my quote. To take this quote and make it my desire. To become a man that will do anything for Christ, no matter what. A man that gives every breathe that he has to honor, worship, and give glory to Jesus Christ. I make this my prayer. I give everything to him. If it doesn't give honor and glory to Him, then it is utterly worthless. Phil. 3 states that everything is rubbish apart from the glory of God. I aim to be a man that is fully consecrated to him, no matter what. That means that he controls all relationships, actions, habits, desires, needs, and future. I give him my family, future family (if He desires to give me one), and my physical life. I give him my body to do as he pleases. I beg him to use me, a man desiring to give everything to him to impact this world for his Kingdom. I pray that this summer he will allow me to simply love on others and find Jesus in every eye that I look into. Loving others is easy if you find Christ in every person that you come into contact with. This summer I challenge everyone to devote their entire life, every breathe to give glory, honor, and expansion to the kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The only contradiction with the beginning quote is this; we have seen what God will do with a man that has fully given himself to God. One man did and he changed the world as we know it. We can never do what Christ has done, but that doesn't stop me from trying because I have Christ within me and all things are possible through Christ Jesus our Lord. So take up your cross and follow Christ wholly and completely and with all your might. He is worth it. He showed us that we were!

Please Pray!

I have a major need for you to pray about. For those of you who read my blog before this one, I am leaving for Guatemala on May 25, come back June 1, and then leave again June 3 for Brazil. Well I sent off my passport today with my visa application to Brazil. The visa takes around 12 business days and then whatever time it takes for mailing. Needless to say I am afraid that my passport won't be back in time to go to Guatemala. Today Mrs. Kay (an Administrative Assistant at Faith) called the travel agency that does all of Faith's travels and told them our problem. They told us to call someone else who told us to call someone else. The last person we talked to told us to send the application to them and they would have my passport back in time. So that is where you come in. I need prayer! I took a leap of faith and sent my passport out today, praying that it would be back in time to go to Guatemala on the 25th. So please pray that God would put his hand on that package and return it to me on time. Thankyou and I will let you know how it goes.

Almost Summer

I am almost done with AP tests! Government Exam was on Monday and I am very confident about that test. I took the Calculus AB Exam yesterday and most likely did not pass it. It was the hardest test that I have ever looked at. I have Psychology Exam on Tuesday and then I am done. So please pray for me and that I would simply remember the information that I have studied and concentration during the test. Also on Tuesday I registered for classes at Memphis and I have really excited about that and looking forward to it. I declared a major of Sports and Leisure Management.
For those of you who do not know about my plans for this summer I am going to Brazil all summer long. I graduate from high school on May 24 (booyah), and then leaving for Guatemala on the 25th. There is a team of about 45 that I will be going with. We will be there for a week and will get back on June 1. In Guatemala we will build houses, lead VBS at a local school, and work in the orphanage near by. We will serve the community and simply loving on people.
I will leave for Cuiaba, Brazil on June 3 and will be there until June 28. There I will be working with the local church as an intern. Throughout the month there will be short term mission teams that will join me from Faith. I will help prepare the teams and then do follow up after they leave. On June 28, I will fly to Manaus with Barry Lane ("Bear") and David Beigle. There we will spend the majority of our time on a boat going up and down the Amazon from tribe to tribe spreading the Gospel. I am really looking forward to this.
I will get back in the states Aug. 10 where we will stay the night in Miami and then fly back in Memphis on the 11th. I am begging everyone to pray for me, the team, and all the people that we will meet on these trips. Please also pray that God will provide the money to cover the costs of these trips. I'm still a bit away from covering the trip costs. I will do my best to keep you all updated on my summer and how Christ is rocking my world! God Bless!