Thursday, June 20. This is our travel day & more than likely our devotion will be done just after we arrive in Nacaome Valle. Please be flexible.

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2 This is our travel day & more than likely our devotion will be done just after we arrive in Nacaome Valle. Please be flexible. Thursday, June 20 We re here; this is where God has sent us! Well we finally made it, we are here. For me it has been a year of anticipation. This trip, I am sure for most of us is a lot like the first Mission Trip we took to Honduras. We are here in a strange land, unfamiliar faces, uncomfortable sites, different smells, poverty, trash, and on the surface this place can feel and look God forsaken. On my first trip, I can tell you that was just what I was thinking on the first day. I only saw the trash, sewage running down the street, children dirty, barley clothed and bare footed, a crazy man interrupting worship. Even the dogs made me feel bad. I was thinking what am I doing here? That trip took me way out of my comfort zone. We went to the work site and all we had to work with was a big hole and a pile of rocks, the conditions of the houses around the site were worse than I could image and God sent us there to build a church or that was what I thought I was there for. I can still remember saying to myself God, I need something to focus on and then as we started to move that big pile of rocks I looked up to see the cross on the hill. Now I had seen that cross already, but at that point it gave me something to focus on and that frantic feeling that I had had from the time we landed was now gone. As the week went on, my eyes were opened; I began to see the beauty that was all around me. I first noticed the beauty of the land, the hills, the foliage, and the clouds in the morning covering the tops of the mountains; sunrise on the roof of the hotel was really special. Sounds of the little town starting up in the morning, watching

3 the donkeys in the square, we watched the lady next door at the work site wash her young son at least 4 times a day, the children going to school in their clean uniforms, WOW, I could go on and on. Matthew: 6:26 Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren t you more valuable than they are? 6:27 And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? 6:28 Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. 6:29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! 6:30 And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won t he clothe you even more, you people of little faith? 6:31 So then, don t worry saying, What will we eat? or What will we drink? or What will we wear? 6:32 For the unconverted pursue these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 6:33 But above all pursue his kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 6:34 So then, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own. At this point in our trip, this scripture may be hard for us. At this point it is hard to see the beauty of the fields or understand how these people cannot worry about food or clothes, yet God has provided. God has sent you here as part of His provision. It s your job this week to provide, God has sent you here to give the people you touch this week His love, to feed them spiritually to give them Hope and to live your Faith. Alan Pierce

4 Friday, June 21 Be An Answer to a Prayer Mark 9:36-37 The Message (MSG) He put a child in the middle of the room. Then, cradling the little one in his arms, he said, Whoever embraces one of these children as I do embraces me, and far more than me God who sent me. The year after Katrina hit New Orleans, 30 of us from Bethel spent a week in Biloxi repairing storm damage. I would like to share a blessing that I received during that trip. On Thursday night John Per-Lee told us that as he said his personal blessing at Dinner, God told him that he had forgotten something. The night before he had asked God to send him somebody to finish sheetrock. I had been the sheetrock finisher that helped him. Each of us has put themselves in position to be used by God to answer a prayer. I encourage each member of the team to find some quiet time to reflect on being used by God to answer someone s prayer. Harold Moore

5 Saturday, June 22 Giving God Your Best Numbers 18:29 New International Version (NIV) 29 You must present as the LORD s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you. As I was thinking about my devotional for this year s trip to Nacaome Valle, Honduras, I was thinking about previous years and the heart touching experiences I have had. I thought about a lady about my age who lived in a house that was not much better than a horse stable. When we walked by her house I asked her if I could take a photo, and through an interpreter I was told that she wanted me to come back later so that she could put her best clothing on. That really touched my heart, here was a woman with nothing compared to what I have, but she wanted to put on her best for me. Me, who often does not know how much God has blessed me and is blessing me everyday. What do I do with those blessings, Do I try to be a blessing? Sometimes, but not often enough. I hope that this woman whose name I do not know reminds me of this everyday, that God deserves my (and your) best in all we do. Jeanette Moore

6 Sunday, June 23 Build My Church Thank you Lord for another day to praise you and do your work. Amen I don t know how this trip to Honduras is going to be. I do know that the group we are traveling with feel compelled as I do to help build His church. Yes we are helping a man with a desire to build a home for he and his family. I hope that this gets done in a timely manner. I appreciate the fact that we have found others that want to go to Honduras and do the building we are called to do. To Introduce God s love to just one that does not know Him may grow a seed, which hopefully will help grow a flourishing crop. He is SO great why wouldn t anyone want to share with everyone. I follow Him because He is the wisdom of the wise, the power of the powerful, the ancient of days, the ruler of rulers, the leader of leaders, the overseer of the overcomers, and is to come. If that seems impressive to you, try this for size HIS GOAL IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH ME! He will never leave me, never forsake me, never mislead me, never forget me, never overlook me, and never cancel my appointment in His appointment book! When I fall, He lifts me up! When I fail, He forgives! Thank you again Lord for this glorious day with an opportunity to praise you and do that which you have instructed us to do. Go and build My church. Amen Jennifer White

7 Monday, June 24 If It Happens, Be Thankful I Thessalonians 5: Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God s will for you in Christ Jesus. I was praying on my motorcycle one day, immediately after what seemed like a close call, and I came up with a phrase I ve adopted as one of my main tenets. The phrase is If it happens, be thankful. I ve repeated that phrase and I really do believe it, but sometimes I realize I only think about it when God has done something nice for me. I rarely respond to trials with If it happens, be thankful. I think the scripture above reminds me that to be able to give thanks in all circumstances, (italics added) I need to pray continually. I need to be always aware of Jesus love for me and his sacrifice and his sovereignty. I also need to have such a relationship with him, that I can see his hand even when life gets messy. I know He s there, even as events cloud his presence. Dear Lord Jesus, Please help me to always sense your presence. Please give me strength and guidance to be joyful always, even when dealing with events that are going differently than I, in my limited wisdom, would have them go. In your holy, mighty, and loving name, Amen. Lance Brooking

8 Tuesday, June 25 P.U.S.H. Matthew 6: Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? I frequently find that I worry about assignments on the horizon. Instead of doing them right away, I worry about having to do them later. I also wonder if my parents will be able to send me to the college I want to go to. Those are my two biggest worries. I recognize that worrying about having to do an assignment gets in the way of getting it done. And that s just silly. My bathroom mirror reminds me every morning to rely on God. I put the following quote from Christian Atheist on my mirror - PUSH Pray until something happens right beside a quote that Justin gave me Have you prayed about it as much as you have talked (thought) about it. (I added the word thought ). These two quotes help me realize that God is in control and I can grab hold of His implied promise in the verses above. Dear God, Thank-you for always being there and living up to your promises. Please help me to trust in you. Love you Amen. Clarice Brooking

9 Wednesday, June 26 Coincidence or Providence Philippians 4:19 My God shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in Glory. We needed pants and t-shirts to work in while in Honduras, and they would really get dirty from the work we would be doing. Mom said that convertible pants that had legs that zipped off would be the best thing. If the bugs were bad we could leave the legs on, but if the heat was worse than the bugs we could take them off. Catherine Johnson told us at a Honduras Mission Team meeting that she recommended we get clothes for the trip at Goodwill Industries. So my mom and dad went to Goodwill in Jonesboro. But no pants were to be found. There were lots of pants, but they were all really heavy or wouldn t have fit us. The next day after school she took us to Goodwill in Stockbridge. We found 3 pairs of convertible pants, and they we just our size, too! Two of the pairs look unworn and are from REI outfitters. God supplied our need with the perfect pants. Was it a coincidence or Providence? If you say coincidence, I challenge you to go to Goodwill and find 3 pairs of convertible pants in your size. Paul & Edward Mauger

10 Thursday, June 27 Devotion for Honduras Mission Team Galatians 6:7-10 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith. As I write this devotion, in my mind s eye I see our mission team completing the building project and celebrating a successful week of ministry in Honduras. Building a house is hard work. It is a project no one undertakes without planning, especially when the plans include a few inexperienced laborers. We could easily get caught up in trying to determine who is worthy of our labor, and force all types of measuring sticks in place to make the decisions. We also could become territorial and controlling when deciding how things will run and who will be in charge. Fortunately we realized this mission was not about us. We were merely vessels to be used by God. We allowed the Holy Spirit to orchestrate the events of this week and look at God s great work. There has been joyous fellowship, new home and changed people, for none of us are the same. We are thankful to be co-laborers with God, the Honduran families and every member of this mission team. Yes, this has been a week of hard work. Yes we leave with a few bruises, aches and pains. However, every scratch and scar has been worth it. This has been a labor of love. As we leave this place we ask God to bless the work of our hands, and bless the people of Honduras. We know good seed has been sown this week and lives have been changed for the better. We pray that the seeds planted this week continue to bear fruit in years to come. All thanks and praise to God Almighty! Amen! Amen! Pastor Candy

11 Thank you so much for all the support over these past years. Your prayers have made these mission trips possible. The hard work of so many have supported the trips each year. On behalf of each one of us we say THANK YOU. We hope you get as much from these devotions as we do. It is very comforting to know that you are following our trip each day. We feel each of your presence. Please consider this an invitation to you to join us next year in person. The Lord has planted the seed and the harvest is only twelve months away. We ask that you continue your support with your prayers and your gifts as we even prepare for next year. Again, please accept our gratitude for your continued support. It is truly a blessing to each of us. Your 2013 Honduras Mission Team

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