Fotos de Honduras!

We got to join the Doncellas group of young ladies from the church Friday night for a little get-together. I was asked to give my testimony, both salvation as well as what God has been doing in my life recently. Here I am writing out a couple things to remember, especially since I was speaking in Spanish! I was a little more nervous then usual, mainly because of trying to figure out what to say and how to say it in Spanish. There were several times I had to get help on what the Spanish word or phrase was, but I thought it was more important to speak Spanish, then to talk in English, which would have been easy for me, but maybe harder for some of them. 

 Saturday we got to off "gallivanting" - meaning they let us three single ladies go out and explore the city by ourselves. (Within reason of course. We did discuss where we were going ahead of time, and Hna. Maria called for the initial radio taxi for us.) Thankfully, people were looking out for us everywhere. Which reminds me of a funny story relating to the pictures below. After seeing the Cathedral, we went to a recommended Italian restaurant. (I know, choosing Italian when you're exploring Honduras, is a little cheesy, haha!) After our meal, we were waiting outside for the taxi (but still under the restaurant patio/roofed area), and our waitress came out and told the guard to look out for us and make sure we were safe.

 CreeAnn and I have more simple tastes and decided to go for just plain pepperoni pizza. Below, you can see that Joy went for vegetarian.

 CreeAnn had to leave Sunday, so Joy and I had Monday to do whatever we wanted. We decided to go to the beach. (A good choice, since it was 100 degrees basically our whole time there!). We collected some rocks and kept them in Joy's empty Aguazul water bottle.

 Selfie! Okay, not the most beautiful, but you get to see the beach area.

 Paola's dad would say we are crazy Gringas to go off by ourselves to Puerto Cortes, but it was a neat experience, and I needed some of that, since I will be living in Honduras one day, Lord willing.

Feeling very déjà vu. I'm in Dulles airport heading back to Honduras. I started this blog with my first adventure to Honduras and now I am continuing with a second albeit vastly shorter trip. This time I'm bringing a friend... And am ready for the sultry hot air that is going to hit me in the face as I get off that final flight and step into Latin America! Well here goes!!

A bunch of us hiked to the Balanced Rock last week!

Spring is finally here again!!!

Why do people leave the church?

I've moved on to the ecclesiology section of my doctrinal statement - the end is now in sight!!!! - and in the middle of some research, I came across an interesting quote:
"I would therefore suggest that the main reason people leave a church is because they have an entitlement mentality rather than a servant mentality."  
(Here's a link to the full article: http://thomrainer.com/2013/01/21/the-main-reason-people-leave-a-church/ *Please note that though I have cited the source, I cannot at this time give an endorsement of the gentleman that wrote it, since this is the first article of his that I have read.)

I agree with Mr. Rainer on this one; the church has been pervaded by the mentality of entitlement. Quite an accurate description, really. We have mastered the art of self-centeredness, thinking we deserve everything exactly as we'd like it, and not considering what is best for all involved. And when things don't go our way, we feel no shame in moving right along to the next thing, or in this case, church.

I'm not here to condemn but to challenge both you, my reader, and myself. I'm vested in my church; I want it to keep growing. But I know that can only happen if the people that enter its doors have a desire to give and serve and be changed more like Christ. So I ask you, what kind of mentality do you have towards your church? Do you come to church seeking to serve others, to give of your talents and gifts so that other believers can be edified and encouraged? Or do you come to church every Sunday expecting only to get, and criticizing all the imperfections you see? Can I encourage you that you will receive a much greater blessing if you enter the church doors ready and willing to invest and be a blessing to others?

A Weighty Subject

I've been working full steam these last few weeks on my doctrinal statement, the final step of my application. It has been exciting to dig deep and flesh out on paper exactly what I believe, and I am very thankful to have kept notebooks from my college doctrine classes, as well as having the world wide web for resources!

Tonight, however, was quite sobering. I just completed the section on what I believe about hell. Talk about weighty. I didn't write or learn anything new (other than which verses I'm basing my beliefs on), but to sit here and read what I just wrote is powerful. Scary. Because I believe with my whole heart that hell is literal, it's physical, and it's unending torment in a lake of fire. And people I know and have contact with every single day are headed there, unless they know and believe on my Savior.

I can't help but ask. Do you know Jesus? Know the One who chose to die for you, so you could stand forgiven in front of the throne of the Almighty God?

And for you, believer, I have a quote I came across today that reflects both my thoughts and ongoing conversations with a kindred spirit, and convicts after studying what the Bible says about hell. Here it is:

"Perhaps if there were more of that intense distress for souls that leads to tears, we should more frequently see the results we desire. Sometimes it may be that while we are complaining of the hardness of the hearts of those we are seeking to benefit, the hardness of our own hearts and our feeble apprehension of the solemn reality of eternal things may be the true cause of our want of success."      ~Hudson Taylor

The fragility of life

It seems like I'm sharing a lot of poetry right now, but sometimes poetry just has a way of speaking to the depths of one's soul, of gripping one's heart with truth. Tonight I share a poem from Stanislaw Baranczak.

"If china, then only the kind
you wouldn't miss under the mover's shoes 
        or the treads of a tank;
if a chair, then one that's not too comfortable, or
you'll regret getting up and leaving;
if clothes, then only what will fit in one suitcase;
if books, then those you know by heart;
if plans, then the ones you can give up 
when it comes time for the next move
to another street, another continent or epoch
or world,
Who told you to settle in?
Who told you this or that would last forever?
Didn't anyone ever tell you that you'll never 
in the world
feel at home here?"

Life is temporary and fragile. Sometimes we forget that our lives our a vapor that could pass away in an instant. I'm not promised the next year, day, or even the next breath. I don't usually stop to ponder the fact that this could be my last night on this earth. But on another level, as a Christian, the question haunts: "Who told you to settle in? Who told you this or that would last forever?"