Honduras 2013

Me and Brittany with our sponsor child, Yefry (Jefry)

Thanks to everyone for your prayers over our Honduras mission trip last week. This was my fifth year visiting Orphanage Emmanuel, and Brittany's seventh. God has blessed us both with great favor among the staff and a strong friendship with the kids! Emmanuel is well established in the country and the staff are often overwhelmed with raising nearly 500 kids on a daily basis. Lots of money pours in from American churches and contacts, but both the staff and kids are in continual need of encouragement —and we were able to provide that!

Little boys getting ready for the new zip line.

John and Armando

During the week we traveled down, the kids were out of school for their winter break so that allowed for some great time spent together. Between our Snowbird staff and families, our group brought 74 people down this year! This large number gave us the opportunity to build the first two zip-lines on their property! We were able to provide countless first-time experiences for the kids and solidify their trust in relationships at the same time. 

My week was spent primarily hanging out with Yefry, our sponsor child, and helping him cut and erect fence posts around the outside of their property for the cows they raise. There is no better tool for building friendships with guys than doing manual labor in the hot sun — especially when my Spanish still needs work! The week proved to be a huge step forward in our relationship with Yefry, and I was able to talk with him even more about Christ and push him towards the Gospel. I do not think he is a follower of Christ yet, but I asked his older cousin, who is also at Emmanuel, to keep speaking truth into his life at every chance. Angel is going to spend more time teaching him about the Bible and I am excited to hear more about their progress! 

Tegucigalpa, Honduras (On the way to Emmanuel)

Wednesday afternoon, I was able to teach a Bible study to the teenage boys from Colossians 3:1-11 and used Paul's analogy of new and old clothes to explain the difference between people who have been raised with Christ (new man) and those who are still enslaved to sin (old man). I pray that the boys who have known me for several years felt the urgency of my words, and will be driven to go back and study through the passage on their own.

Brittany spent each morning working with some of the older girls in one of the kitchens. She's been able to continually build a solid relationship with them for the past several years. She spent most afternoons visiting some of the girls who work with the babies and toddlers (most of whom are mommies themselves). She also was able to teach those girls on Wednesday afternoon about living for glory of the God in all things, even when circumstances and outcomes are not what we hope for. All of the children at Emmanuel loved to rub Brittany's baby belly. It was clear they don't see pregnant women that often. They were so curious!  

It was an eventful trip that kept us very busy and tired, but it is such a blessing to build on those same relationships every year. We are thankful for those of you who were able to financially support us. Our time at Emmanuel is so important to us and the children, and we're grateful for your encouragement, prayers and support for the glory of the Father.

Orphanage Emmanuel, Guiamaca, Honduras

New Beginnings

These first two weeks of January are always celebrated for new beginnings. Unfortunately, most resolutions are focused around making life healthier, more enjoyable, and better for ourselves and our family. As a follower of Christ Jesus, we already have a permanent new life through the blood of the cross. Let's accept it as such and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our minds and hearts through study of His Word this year!

"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
(Colossians 3:1-4)

At the point of salvation, the believer’s life is hidden with Christ—bathed in the blood of the Lamb. We are now secure in His sovereign hand! We are immediately hidden from the clutches of death, from the eternal hold it has on all those who reject Christ. Those who are newly identified with “Christ in God” share a common fellowship with the Father and Son. 1 Corinthians 6:17 tells us, “But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” And we read in 2 Peter 1:4 that believers are “partakers of the divine nature.” This oneness with Christ cannot be taken away by any man or any spiritual force. Our adoption by God the Father is final and unchangeable; “…an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:4-5). Jesus boldly states in John 10:28, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.”

"...and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator."
(Colossians 3:10)

The Colossian believers (like us) have a new identity in Christ! Romans 6:6 says, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” They have already become the new man, the new self. “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). Paul urges the Colossians to take hold of the new identity they have the through the death and resurrection of Jesus. They are already indwelt with the promised Holy Spirit, but now they must understand the gravity of it and begin living in the knowledge of that.

A holy life flows directly from a mature knowledge of Jesus. We are told in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind...” There is no growth in the Christian life without increased knowledge. Our increasing knowledge of God and His character is what grows us into in deeper fellowship with our heavenly Father. “And to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:23-24). Our source of knowledge is scripture! The new self grows by an immersion in the Word of God, how can we so easily neglect it? God is glorified as we are made more into the image of Christ!

John