Christmas parties and costumes...

Our dorm had a Christmas party on Friday. I went as the Grinch, and my friend became Santa Claus... 

A Hymn by Watts

I was redoing my RA bulletin boards today, and I came across an old hymn text by Isaac Watts that I put up on my "serious" Christmas board. It's not a Christmas song by any means, but the words stuck out to me, and I wanted to pass them along to my girls who might read the board, and any of you who read my blog. May it be a blessing to you!

Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly Dove,

With all Thy quick’ning powers;

Kindle a flame of sacred love

In these cold hearts of ours.

Look how we grovel here below,

Fond of these trifling toys;

Our souls can neither fly nor go

To reach eternal joys.

In vain we tune our formal songs,

In vain we strive to rise;

Hosannas languish on our tongues,

And our devotion dies.

Dear Lord! and shall we ever live

At this poor dying rate?

Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,

And Thine to us so great?

Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove,

With all Thy quick’ning powers;

Come, shed abroad the Savior’s love

And that shall kindle ours.

Ready for Christmas

It's down to 1 1/2 weeks until Christmas break, and you can tell it. In the meantime, we resort to Christmas decorating when we don't feel like studying. 

Tonight is going to be the best ever - Christmas Lighting Ceremony and Carol Sing! Yes! So wonderful to dress up warmly and go stand out in the cold and sing Christmas songs, all the meanwhile wishing there was snow on the ground... 

Hymn Arranging

This semester I started arranging my second hymn solo for piano (with the help of my teacher to help me make it even better). Just this week I think have finally finished it, and I am excited to be playing it for an offertory at church tomorrow. The arrangement is Here is Love, originally by Robert Lowry. Feel free to get in touch with me if you would like to view a copy of it. :)

I am finding it very exciting to arrange my own songs... it makes it even more fun when you realize that there are two of me... Well, two pianists with the exact same name and at the same college. Only difference is that the other one is piano faculty, and I am just a senior with a music minor... I've started putting my middle initial on my arrangements to differentiate them, although that could still be problematic since we both have the same middle name too.

Well, happy day to you all.

Living is...

Today's chapel message today was very thought-provoking. Actually, all of the chapels this week have been. It's Missions Emphasis Week at school, so we have had one missionary speaking the whole week. Today Dr. Hunt spoke on Phil. 1:20-21 about a God-Exalting Philosophy of Life, and his premise was that our philosophy should not be materialistic or even religious. Life isn't all about satisfying every pleasure or a list of do's and don'ts. It's about Christ, or it should be. Yet Dr. Hunt said that so many times we live Phil. 1:21 as if it said "For me to live is gain and to die is Christ." We want to live life as we want and have Christ at the end. But that's not what Paul's life philosophy was, and it's not what ours should be. "For to me to LIVE is CHRIST and to DIE is GAIN." So the question is, what am I living for? Have I given up all my life and rights to God, so that I don't mind if God chooses to place the expense of ministry on my account? It was convicting to me. And so I pass the thought along to you to meditate on personally. Oh that you and I would believe and live in light of the reality that living is Christ, and dying is gain!

A Minute of Meditation

I was reading this verse in my Bible and wanted to share it with you.

2 Corinthians 12:8
And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.

Our lives our to be categorized by good works. Not that works save. But good works back up what you believe. And God wants us to abound in good works (of which giving - see context of verse - would be a part). The cool thing is, He also gives us promises. So if you are feeling hopeless about this whole abounding in good works when life is just so frustrating some times, look at the rest of the verse. Promise #1 - God is able to give us an abundance of grace. That alone is pretty special. But we also have Promise #2 - We have the sufficiency we need for everything. If you are remembering back, Paul just emphasized that a couple chapters back in Chapter 3:5. My sufficiency is of God, not mine own. That's how we have all the needed sufficiency. Because God's giving it to us. Pretty cool, huh!

Senior Year

Roomies...

Ponderings from my dorm room

I'm sitting in my dorm room enjoying the peace and quiet after a hectic day of yet more people moving in to the dorms and the many questions they have brought with them. It's been nice though. Coming back to campus Monday, it was pretty empty around here. So to have everyone back is great. And meeting all the girls as they have been moving in, I'm super excited about this new year and the girls God's given me on my hall and in my room. And I feel better prepared to be an RA after the 2 1/2 days of training we had this week. My but that was encouraging. This new semester is going to be busy, so posts might not be so frequent with classes and all starting soon... But we shall see. 

Something I've been thinking about the last few days has been Psalm 107:8-9,43:

"O that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! For He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness. ... Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the lovingkindness of the LORD."

 That's my God. And I hope that that is YOUR God too. Everyone always goes around saying that God is good, or that God is merciful. It becomes a cliché or platitude. But the fact is, it's true. He is good. If you want to be satisfied, He's the answer. And He gives us so many good things in His mercy. Take some time to think about how much He's done for you. Think about how He washed the disciples' feet even though He knew that Peter was going to deny Him three times, that Judas was going to betray Him, and that all the others would run away because they were too ashamed to associate with Him when He needed them most. And think about all He's done for us. And when I understand that, when you understand that, the answer is praise. Those things aren't just cliché anymore. They are real. So praise Him for His goodness and all His other good works.  

"It doesn't seem possible..."

So many people have made this statement in the last week, voicing my sentiments exactly. It doesn't seem possible. Really, it doesn't. I'm a senior. And I'm leaving home this week to head back to college to finish my last year. I guess it's always seemed like time flies, but at the moment, it's going about the speed of light.

Today was my last Sunday at church for a while. A blessing as always. Worshipping God together with an amazing church family, talking to some pretty awesome people, and playing the organ again. :) I love playing the piano, but there is just something about an organ that I just can't get past. Changing the volume with the pedals, playing around with the stops, it's a pretty cool instrument. And I'm gonna miss getting to play it for church while I'm at college.

Now, the week of packing, goodbyes, and last details is upon me. Once again, I'm brought back to the words of James - "life is but a vapor." Truer words could not be spoken. Time marches on. And we only have one opportunity to use that time. So the question is, how will I use the short bit of time I have? How will you?

August 1...

Why was today different than any other day? Well, for one, I got to be in church. And that is special... even if I did get a headache and find it hard to concentrate. Going to church has always been important to me, but the last few weeks have served to give me a renewed gratitude for being able to be at church. I don't go to church because I have to. I go because I want to. Because I need to.

And God answered my prayers. I should be at all the rest of the church services between now and the day I leave to head back to Greenville and my senior year of college. From the stories I'd heard about scheduling at work recently, I didn't know what to expect. I asked off both Sundays to be involved in the music at my church. But you know how God is a really good God and just likes to show us how good He is? Not only did I have both Sundays off, but I will be able to be at church the next two Wednesday nights, too!

Second reason, roommates!!! I laughed to see all the Facebook posts and know that all the student body (well the half that lives in the dorms, anyway!) was as eagerly awaiting today as myself. Why? Today on Student Central, they finally posted the info about who our roomies will be for the next year of college. I'm outnumbered. One senior, 3 freshman. But that's okay. Because we are going to have the best year ever together.

Home from Honduras

Monday morning found me at the airport getting ready to leave the wonderful country of Honduras. After checking in and paying airport taxes, I had my last Honduran meal - a baleada - with the Conovers before heading out through security. 

My first flight was delayed, so I missed my second flight and then had several more delays on the new flight they put me on. However, I finally landed in Dulles at 2 A.M. Tuesday and made it home safely early afternoon, Gracias a Dios. 

Although I've finished my internship (other than an 8 page paper due in 1 1/2 weeks!), life's not back to normal. In some ways it is. I'm back at home and working again. But in other ways, I've been shaped by my time in Honduras. I left some of my heart in Honduras. I want to go back. I've learned a lot of things during my 9 weeks living in Honduras. And right now, I guess I'm sorting through all that. How is all that I've learned (about God, ministry, and more) going to change my daily life? How does it influence my future? This post might be ending now because I've run out of time, but somehow, I don't believe I've finished...

Boda y last Sunday

I'm very thankful for the chance to be able to stay and play piano for Hector y Paola's wedding. What a lovely ceremony and a lovely couple!

 My last Sunday at Faro de Luz. I'm so thankful for the chance to serve here and be a part of this church family for two months. Tonight I'm giving my testimony and also sharing about my experience here in Honduras. I still don't know what I'm going to say about my time here. How can I put into words and sum up all that is in my heart from my time here these last few months in just a couple minutes? And in Spanish?

I'm flying home tomorrow! Bittersweet... I want to be home again, but saying goodbye is always hard.

Last week in Honduras

Our next few days will be filled with practicing music for the wedding, wedding rehearsal, and the actual wedding. And that means that I have only a few days left here in Honduras. And as much as I'm looking forward to being home again, I'm really gonna miss this place... And these special people. 

 My 9-11 year olds sang in church last Sunday morning. I was supposed to accompany them on the piano (teclado), but the power went out 15-20 minutes before the service, so we practiced and sang without accompaniment. They sounded great too. It was wonderful to hear them singing the hymn and see them serving in the church through special music. I'm going to miss all these wonderful kiddos.

Siguatepeque trip

Wednesday we left San Pedro to go for a short trip to Siguatepeque. During our time there, I got to stay with another missionary couple. It has been interesting to meet several other missionaries here in Honduras and learn how God has been using them and different lessons they have learned through life. I think one of the many blessings I've had here is getting to listen to so many first-hand accounts and insights from different people about different life-lessons, ministry, living in a different country, and much more. On Thursday, I got to go to the Open Market and learn about buying produce and the skill of trying to get things for lower prices. 

 This is Siguatepeque. It's up in the mountains and a lot cooler than San Pedro Sula. Wednesday evening in the rain it got down to 66 degrees. COLD! For the first time during my internship, I put on a sweater. A lot different than the 100-115 degrees in San Pedro...

 Friday we went to La Esperanza, a town higher in the mountains. We visited Baptist missionaries up there and had a wonderful time talking with them. We also got to ride their horses a little bit. My first time ever!

 This is their church up in La Esperanza. Beautiful place and wonderful missionary couple.

 A Catholic shrine at the top of La Esperanza. They have all this outward beauty but lack the true beauty of a place where the Gospel is preached.

Copán

Hermano Carlos and his family took me to Copán to learn more about the wonderful country called Honduras. We saw the beautiful Mayan ruins on Monday and then Tuesday went to Macaw Mountain before heading back to San Pedro.

 

 They had some macaws and parrots flying free that we were able to hold.

EBV (VBS)

Whew! We finished VBS tonight! After a crazy morning of running errands and eating lunch in the car to get to the church on time for our worker's meeting before VBS, we made it right at 1 and set to work on final details for today. We had VBS as normal, but afterwards, we brought all the kids in and practiced for the Parents' Program. During the Progama del Padres tonight, the kids sang the songs they learned this week and shared some of what they learned during teaching time. There was also a short time where Pastor Sam shared the Gospel with all the parents. Afterwards we gave out gift boxes to pretty much every child that came, giving priority to those that had received diplomas for attending all 5 days. 

This is Carmen and Marjorie. They were in the class I taught and helped with. During their snack time towards the end of VBS the last two days they have been constantly by my side talking to me and asking questions. Such sweet girls. I can tell my Spanish is improving by the fact I can hold decent conversations with so many of the kids. And also, I'm thankful because I was able to teach the lesson all in Spanish one day this week and have been leading the class in learning verses, reviewing the lessons and such on my own.  

 A picture of all of the kids practicing for our Parent's Program. What a blessing to be a part of this VBS here and seeing so many kids here the Gospel several times. The seeds have been planted in many hearts this week.

Honduras Happenings

Lots going on here the last few days...

Friday was our youth rally - we had about 168 youth from 5 different churches in attendance! I helped with running some of the games and then the group from Florida had some special music and their youth pastor preached. They are here until this Friday and have done a couple puppet shows for the kids at VBS and are helping wherever is needed.   

 Sunday, one boy was baptized.

 We had about 103 kids Monday at VBS and today were at 130 or so. I counted 51 in the oldest class where I am helping. We said kids could come up to 11 years old, but the class also has some that at 12-15 years old and have come. Today after Hermana Maria taught the lesson, I worked on reviewing the songs with them - both singing and then asking them what the one song meant when it said we will win  victory with Christ. We had a good talk then about Christ and how we are sinners and need Him as our Savior. That was a stretch to my Spanish skills - all on the spot. I hadn't planned ahead of time what songs we would do or that I would be asking what the song meant.

Tomorrow I will be teaching the lesson - wouldn't you know it's on Naomi and Ruth! Pray for me to have the words (I know it well in English, but teaching in Spanish is another story) and for the children here to be learning from the lessons.

 This is Angie and I. She is Mrs. Conover's niece.

More VBS preparations

This is Hector, our ant. He used to be Oscar la Ormiga, but everyone was aghast at the fact that Pastor Sam had actually written "Ormiga" instead of "Hormiga" so they asked me to repaint new wording for our lovely ant. Since Hector was one of the ones saying about the missing "h," we thought it would be fun to rename the ant to Hector, just for him. 

 Here's a picture of the inside of the church. Hoping to feel these pews up with tons of kids next week for EBV (VBS)!

 Wednesday's task was to finish painting this sign and get it put up at the church.

San Marcos trip and other ponderings...

We left at 7:30 this morning for San Marcos of Santa Barbara. I did my demographic survey there, so we learned a lot about the town and people there. It is a poor town, but many are poorer. Pastor Sam said you know it's a small town when asking directions consists of finding out where the pavement begins. We also checked up on the farm for Hermano Carlos. It is also a possible sight for a camp in the future. My but it was an adventure getting there - crossing a creek and several mud puddles. No doubt about it, if I end up living in Latin America someday, I most definitely will have to break down and get a 4 wheel drive vehicle. No little car would ever survive the roads and floods!

Something I was struck by again while in San Marcos was the hospitality of the people. A lady who'd never met us before welcomed us to her house with the words "mi casa es tu casa" (my house is your house). And the pastor of the Baptist church there told us much about the place. His church is 80% women and 20% men. Oh for more men interested in serving the Lord! 

Catholicism is dominant there, although we met Mormons and JWs today as well. Speaking of Catholicism, tonight I saw a parade from the Catholic church here in San Pedro Sula. So many walking down the road with a statue of Mary singing "ya alegres los catolicos" about how happy the Catholics are and they joy they have. It was an interesting and sad sight to me. To see so many from tiny children to adults following on in this parade believing they have true religion when false teaching casts a pall over them and leaves them in spiritual darkness. I have been reading a little Spanish booklet by a Catholic priest who read the Bible and how God brought him to the light. What gets me is how he said in his testimony that they are taught (even the sacerdotes) that they cannot understand the Bible. It is sin to try to interpret the Bible on your own, so while they have Bibles and the people are allowed to read it, the vast majority do not at all. There is no point to read a book you are told that you cannot understand. And in this way, the people are left depending on the church and the interpretation of the priests, bishops, and pope. And in this way, Satan keeps so many from finding the truth. Oh how I want them to know the truth that gives true joy. I don't know what joy they were singing about having in the Catholic church tonight, but it's not true joy, the kind Jesus gives.   

Tuesday's trip

Tuesday we went to Melgar and visited a pastor. Then he went with us to visit an orphanage!

 Here is a picture of Joy and I - the 3 of us rode in the back of the truck on the last bit o the trip home. Since there isn't a law that we knew of against kids riding in the back, they were allowed back there sitting down with me the whole time. We had a good time and sang a lot of hymns and songs while we rode.

Saturday's Project

VBS DECORATIONS!!!

We are using the same theme (Bug Zone) as they are using back home in Huntingdon for VBS, so these lovely insects will be some of our decorations for the church. 

Lessons from the trip to Choloma

         Yesterday after meeting up with a native pastor and his wife in Choloma, Pastor Sam taught me a few more things about ministering and living in the Honduran culture. First of all, did you know you can learn a lot about a people by their driving? Well, I certainly am. Central is a selfish attitude. "I am the only person on the road" is the mentality. This means very little precaution for what your driving might mean for others on the road. And if I want to stop in the middle of the road and jump out to buy some fruit quickly, others just have to wait. Wow! And parking so close to another person so that they can't get out of the parking space they are in? (If you want to go to Latin America, be thankful for all those parallel parking lessons to get your license!)And driving on the sidewalk. Pastor Sam told me I'm not official until I've driven up on the sidewalk to get around other cars as the Hondurans do here.

        1 Chronicles 16:35-36 - For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: He also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.

  But it was what he said about his talks with a Catholic lawyer that really got me thinking. They've been meeting, and he's been answering questions the man has. Well, he told me that one day, they met in the food court in the mall where the guy's office is, and the last half of the meal, the guy's phone was going off every two minutes and one time he even said he had to go work on something in the office quickly and was gone for 20 minutes. I voiced my thoughts aloud. "They just need to turn off the cell phones, right?" Mrs. Conover said no, and Pastor Sam explained. Here, being always "on call" means you are a good worker and dedicated to your job. And if you are available 24/7, you have the chance of making more money. To turn off one's cell phone would be unthinkable. Always on call for the world. Then he began commenting how money is the god here. Church and God are not the first priority; they are just something to be fit into the schedule around work. Work and money is the god, and education is a close second. Pastor Sam mentioned about how people bring homework to church and work on it during the service, or they even skip church because of homework. And when this happens, money or education has just become your/my idol. So the question is: in my life, in your life, does God have first place? Is God really God of my life? I read in my Bible 1 Chronicles 16:25-26 last night, and it was amazing how these verses (above)  fit so well with what I'd already been thinking on. The gods of this world are idols. Vain, useless. But the LORD. He is God, my Creator, and He deserves first place in my life. Actually He deserves more than that, but knowing we are but frail human beings, He only asks us to give our all, to give our best to Him. So, where is He in my life? In your life?

Pictures :)

This is Hermano Edu Gutierrez. I believe he is one of the deacons at Faro de Luz and preaches regularly (I think both at Faro de Luz and Fuente, the downtown work). The front of Faro de Luz. Such a wonderful church. The singing is always a blessing - everyone singing out their very best in worship. And the special music is normally done by different families in the church. Whole families come up and sing together. We hiked to the Coca Cola sign this morning. I think it took us 1 1/2 hours to get to the top with a couple rest breaks for the girls. I think I got my work out too, because I carried Aida for a while when she was sore and after she fell the one time. (She wanted to hold the dog's leash, but he took off when a runner came by and she was knocked down). It's a nice hike - mainly paved road - and there's a beautiful view of the city from the top.

a trip to Cofradia

Sunday 3/6/12 Something I am learning is that it is very important to be prepared for anything and be flexible if you want to be a missionary. Case in point, Saturday. In the afternoon I changed houses (to the house I will stay with at nights for the rest of my time here). Saturday evening we all went to Cofradia to attend the anniversary service of another church. This town is 35-45 minutes away. The daily rain began right after we got into the car and started trying to find our way back to the main road. After some exploration, we finally found paved roads and made it to the street we needed to head back towards SPS. However the heavy rain and fog slowed us down, so it took double the time to get back than it should have. I was thankful that both girls fell asleep on me in the car with it being so late and all. After dropping off another hermano that rode with us, it was too late to take me to my new house (I don't have keys to that house yet) so they decided I'd stay at the Conovers' house overnight. Gracias a Dios, I had decided to put my toothbrush in my bag, so at least I had that! Hermana Maria gave me clothes to sleep in, so I was set. Thankfully they were able to take me over to my new house in the morning before church though. But I'm learning I can be very flexible if I need to be. I also learned we are ever spoiled in the US to have most roads with painted lines and street lights. It was especially noted Saturday night during the rain and fog over the mountains... And, if there are lines on the road, it doesn't mean anything. A two lane road here can mean at least 3 lanes, and you never know when a motorcycle or bike is going to be riding in between the cars. Oh, and the police do not enforce any type of speed limit, so have fun!

Wednesday

This is Ebenezer, the huge Pentecostal church a half mile away from Faro de Luz. Many people we talk to say they attend this church, and you can see the church sticker on cars all around.

The Conovers, minus Joy, who was taking exams at school.