I have been in Honduras for two weeks now. I've been writing up all of these blog posts and saving them until we have internet so some of these posts will probably come at the same time!

 We were told at training camp to drop any expectations and I didn't exactly do that. After a week of rest at Zion's Gates four of the teams, including my team, split off from the group and left to go about two hours away to a different ministry run by a woman named Gracie. She and her husband moved to Honduras pemanently 8 years ago and they have expanded their ministry to be a home for special needs children and girls with children through rape or incest. Honduras is known as the "fatherless nation" because on 97 percent of birth certificates there is no listed father. 7000 women and children were killed last year in Honduras. Gracie is out to change the heart behind this. She rescues girls who have been raped or beaten or kidnapped and she trains police officers and schools about preventative actions. She is completely in love with Jesus and has such a passion for his children. It's shocking to see 12 year old girls breastfeeding their babies...it's children raising children. Gracie sees the hope that Jesus declares over these heartbreaking situations.

Moving to Gracie's ministry was hard for me because any change is hard for me. It was harder than I thought it would be. I realized that everything I learned during our time at Zion's Gate was going to be put into action. Jesus is still pusuing me and calling me to hear his voice and I am still having to let go of everything for his sake. He is still calling "Come unto me" to my heart even in this hardness.

We started ministry Tuesday and it's been construction for about 8 hours a day. We have been building walls and trenches, mixing and puring cement, laying bricks, and doing house work. This is not what I expected ministry to be, to be perfectly honest. Cue the drop expectations phrase from training camp. Something I've clung to every day is choosing joy. I have to choose to be fully here and choose to have joy. The crazy thing about choosing joy is that it is usually followed up by genuine joy. This construction is ministry because we are helping Gracie expand her ministry and we are taking care of her needs. Our teams are bonding and growing and producing life in each other. We are being so well fed, we have dorms to sleep in, we have worship sessions at night... Jesus is so good! Joy is here, I just have to choose to see it. I'm excited to see where God takes us these four weeks here. Please join me in prayer.