Meeting one...getting started

We had our first team meeting this morning to review our plans for this summer in Honduras!! We got to see who was all on the team and we have 23 total! I am getting excited about all the wonderful things we will be doing. July will be here soon. 

Planning and preparation is underway for the children and women's ministries both weeks. We will soon be cutting out the activities for the children's ministries to take with us. We will have to make some new costumes for our play we do for the bible story.  Our story is the healing of the Centurion's servant. Children's ministry is always fun. Coloring, putting on plays, songs! 

I am going the second week of the team's mission trip. I will be assisting with the 3 medical clinics. I am happy to get back into helping with the clinics. It has been a long time. I feel a little nervous about being on the clinic team since it has been a while. But I have the knowledge to care for people, it is just getting there and doing it! I am so glad that God can use me in this way. This will be my 8th trip to Honduras, and 5 of those have been with medical clinics.  I was going through my storage box with my mission essentials and sorting through it all. I have "mission clothes" that I have stored up that I wear just on these trips. Skirts, scrubs, t-shirts. I think I need to renew some of them. They are looking a little worn. My clinic medical equipment is still working. And I still know how to use my trusty stethoscope. Hubs is having me practice on him taking BP checks!

Please, Keep praying for our team as we prepare our hearts, minds and spirit for the trip. Pray for our families too that help support us state side. 

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant; Luke 7:1-10

7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant[a] who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion[b] heard about Jesus, he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When he was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.

Blessing to all,

Getting prepared for Honduras 2026

 

I have been working on preparing my heart, my mind for our trip this summer. It has been a few years since I have been there, and I have to say.. I miss it. I miss being there. I miss being able to be a part of something so much bigger than me. I think I got a little burned out on trying to manage the medical clinics, that I lost sight of what we were doing. I was concentrating on what had to be done and not on what we were doing.

So now that I have taken a step back, I can see what our true purpose is. To help others. Their spirit, mind and body. I am getting excited about going back into the medical clinics. I am not sure what to expect, but I am being flexible. I will be there to do whatever job is handed to me. I know God can use me in whatever he leads me to. 

And I am sure God will place me right where he wants me to be. And I know it will probably be something that is definitely out of my comfort zone, that will challenge me and will definitely scare me!

So as I prepare my heart, mind and spirit, I am preparing my inner anxiety to anticipate something big and to train myself to give it to God. 

Isaiah 41:10 ESV; "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Blessing to all, 

I have an answer...

 

I am sorry to keep you all waiting to see what my answer is regarding going back to Honduras in 2026. I have prayed a lot, and have looked internally at why I want to go, what I can do and is it what God wants, not me. After much thought, and talking it out with the hubs, I SAID YES, I AM GOING!

It helps so much that I have so much support from my hubs. So you ask, what helped me decide? Well, glad you asked. It was like God was talking right to me. Everything from the songs I heard on the radio to my daily devotions, seemed to point me in the direction to serving others. But it was like my personal prayers were getting answered, right there in front of me. I was kinda shocked, but not sure why. Because God will speak to you in ways only you understand, ways he can get through to you.

One devotion was about being fully committed. Not halfway committed, not when it is convenient for you or when you feel like it. Full commitment is a direction. "It means you have set your heart fully toward God and you're pursuing Him with all you have."

Then I got the email, the email with the application. Just before this, I was leaning toward not going. I was talking myself out of it. A lot of things came to mind....time (I am getting ready to move to a new house and my parents are moving in with us), money (it will take all my mission money I have saved, I was thinking I could do 2 send relief tours with it), and then there is traveling internationally. But that application, reading it, put a spark in my heart. A spark that couldn't be ignored. So I mustered up the courage to talk to the hubs, and with his support and blessing, I sent it in.

What will I be doing? I signed up to be a nurse! haha, yes I am a nurse, but it has been a few years since I have worked with the medical clinics. The last time was in 2023, and I kinda of miss it. So I am going back. And I am so excited to see what work we will be doing. Our trip is in July 2026. It will be for one week in LaCampa Honduras.

God can use anyone, no matter what our past is like. God is using me to do something great in my life and he can do the same for you. Now it is time for me to brush up on my Spanish. I have 7 months!

1 Kings 8:61; "And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”

Blessings to you all, 

Should I stay or should I go?

 That is the question I am asking myself....should I stay or should I go? You see, now is the time for me to decide if I am going back to Honduras this July. I am torn. I want to go, but I want to start something new with missions in the states, close to home.

You see, our team does some great things in Honduras. I want to do those great things here in the US too. 

I just don't know what to do! I have so many great memories of God leading me in Honduras through so many different ministries. I have helped with the medical team, the children's ministry and prayed over people on our prayer walks. It is so rewarding to see and feel God working through me. To have people I have met one year, then go back and see them again, in church, happy and trusting in God. All because our team listened to that voice of God and went when he said GO.

I hear ya God. I want to make sure I am going for the right reasons, to be the light of Jesus, to be the hands and feet of God. I don't want to go just because I love going, I love the people there, and want to see them again, like a family reunion. I need to go because God has more plans for me to be part of the team.

You see my dilemma? My brain is crazy! But you know what I am going to do? I am going to pray. Pray that God will lead me and guide me in my decision. I know he has plans for me, no matter where I am.

Jeremiah 29:11; ""For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"

Blessing to all, 

Mission at home

(faces blocked for safety)

Today I had the honor to join and volunteer with the Women on Mission group! These ladies represent 2 Baptist churches in our area and work hard with gifts God has given them, to be able to sew!

Me and the amazing 5 ladies of this group packed 354 pkgs of washable, reusable sanitary pads and underwear along with 31 pillow case dresses. Each package had 4 pads and 3 underwear for the Samaritan purse shoeboxes. All of these (except the underwear, of course) were hand sewn by these ladies!

I am thrilled to be invited to be a part of their group today and be a blessing on the kids that will receive these gifts in their shoeboxes. Total completed by these ladies are 6,262 reusable pads for Africa &  Honduras mission teams, Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child.  Not everyone is able or can go on mission trips, but these ladies lead by example to show us, and me, that you do not have to go somewhere. Your mission is your gift God gave you and how you use it, will be your mission. 

What a blessing today was for me! And the fellowship with these ladies is something that I am glad I didn't miss out on. The small things you do, will be a blessing for others, whether directly or indirectly.

Acts 1:8; "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 13:47; "For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”

Romans 10: 13-14; for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? "

Blessings to you all, 

 

We all have been given a mission

 

I just love when I find the little, subtle things in the Bible that only God can do. Like the verse John 3:16 and 1 John 3:16.  See if you can see what I see.

John 3:16; "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

1 John 3:16; "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters"

Do you see it? First is that they are both chapter 3, vs 16. Second it refers to: Jesus came and laid his life down for us. I love when I am reading and I am shown these little things that only God can do. But not everyone knows this, that Jesus came for us and laid down his life to give us life. We must be the ones to go out and tell the story. We are all on mission. We all have been given a mission for God. And through faith, we will complete our mission that God has given us.

Pray, and ask God where he can use you. But when you ask, be prepared for the answer. Because God can and will use you. And it is scary once God answers you. I asked God 12 yrs ago where he can use me and guess what? He sent me out to Honduras working at medical clinics. I had no idea what to do , but I just let God lead me and it worked. He gave us the tools (we had nothing to start out with and I needed to find out what type of supplies and medications we needed), people (I was the only nurse but he used the local nurses and doctors for us to work alongside to give care), knowledge (I am an ICU nurse, with monitors and equipment, clinics do not have those, so I had to rely on basic skills) and guidance to help others through those clinics (God worked through everyone from nurses to our pharmacy to our runners). And we were able to lead people to Christ through the clinics. 

Don't be afraid to try something new. I know I had the fear deep in my gut, shaking fear, of working in the clinics. But I did it.  You can do it too. Ask where you can be used, listen and GO. God will use you to Go, support others that can go or to help with the much needed supplies for the mission. Do what you can, God will make it work for his good.

Blessings to all,

Craft time!

It's fall and that means Craft fairs! I use craft fairs to help me fundraise for my mission trips. I do not do many and I am hoping to be able to participate in 2 this year. I love doing crafts and this gives me an avenue to show off and sell my "goods". 

I make bracelets and essential oil roller balls. (see pictures above). But this year, I learned a new craft, dog necklaces. I have a bougie dog and thought that I can't be the only one. So I made some beaded and paracord doggie necklaces. Hopefully, everyone will like them!

And I can't forget PICKLES! I always have pickles since that is my biggest fundraiser I do. I do not have many jars left from my pickle making season, but what I have left, they will be there for sale! They are always a favorite.

Whatever you are called for, just know you can do it! I save money throughout the year but also raise funds to help. Use your gifts you have to help you raise funds for your mission. Don't be afraid to do something. Even though I am not a "professional" crafter, I get out there. This opens the door and gives me the opportunity to talk about what I do, what my team is doing and to tell the stories of the people that we help and touch. 

So get out there! Dig deep for that courage to go and do!

1 Peter 4:10: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's varied grace".

Romans 12:6: "We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us".

Blessings to all,