A Bright Sunday

Honduras. Day 20.

It's Monday, the 16th of June, as I'm writing this. The manager of the apartments had promised our apartments to someone else for a week, so Saturday afternoon we moved out and I'm now at the manager of the apartments' house for a week (and it's a huge mansion of a house at that). I stayed home today because I woke up and was fine at first, but then started feeling pretty bad. I slept for a while longer, then got up and took some medicine. I just finished making some cinnamon-vanilla pancakes in the kitchen while listening to Weezer's blue album, and now I'm feeling a little better and sitting down to reflect. It's been a pretty cool sick day so far. But I want to talk about yesterday (Sunday).

Saturday night I had a good talk with Karis about what it means for us to be Christ to the people here. And as I was talking with her, things began to unfold more and more in my heart and my mind that I have let myself become a little too hardened to all of the stuff that I've been seeing go on around me here lately. I haven't been as spiritually focused, I haven't been looking for Christ as much any more, and I haven't had the compassionate attitude that I believe He would have were He in my shoes. And I realized: something's gotta' give.

So I woke up on Sunday, and I woke up early so that I could go sit out on the hammock on the second floor balcony and just listen to whatever words God might have for me. And I opened to the Psalms, and was blown away at how it applied to me: to stop being proud or materialistic or worldly minded and to start being pure in heart and focused on being led by the right hand of God. And then we went to church in Santa Ana. I couldn't understand a word they were talking about, and it was packed inside so I was sitting on the sidewalk outside with a few others, and then I just opened my Bible and kept reading again. I remember reading the phrases, "Though, O LORD, are a shield around me. You are the One who lifts my head," and "Lord, let the light of your face shine upon us." And as I read, I was feeling better with every comforting, life-changing word that jumped off the page and into my heart.

Because no matter how callous our hearts may seem, or how far we may think we are, we are never too far that the word of God can't break us and begin a transformation again in us.

So then after church I got some money from Marc. Me, Karis, and Nolan were going to go get pupusas but Nolan decided to stay. So just me and Karis went, but we met some of the TORCH group there at the store (unfortunately we were behind them, and they had ordered 70 pupusas; ay!). After pupusas, I made the effort to try and spend time with the TORCH group outside of Casa de Esperanza. They were really a lot of fun, and I found out they were going to El Patio and then to devotional at Santa Lucia's Catholic Church that night. So I went ahead and made plans to go along because I someone knew I needed to be there at that devo.

We got back to our house in the afternoon, and everyone else went to sleep. But I just took Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell and got back in my hammock until I finished it (and if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it; has a few controversial points, but overall it is phenomenal). Then I did a little laundry, and then got everyone up to catch the bus to El Patio. Only 6 of us wound up going, but I think I can speak for all 6 when I say that we're glad we went. El Patio was not only some of the best food ever, it was a ton of fun with this TORCH group. There was a mariachi (sp?) band, who one of the translators from their group sang with, there were Christmas and disco lights from the ceiling, and there was just a whole bunch of people goofing off (it was the last night of their trip, so this was their big, energetic celebration deal).

Afterwards, we went to Santa Lucia for devo. The singing was beautiful; it felt so good to be surrounded by that many voices giving such praise to God. Matt, one of the TORCHers who is my age and went to Tulane this past year, gave the devo. He did an awesome job, talking about the fact that God takes care of us and we have no need to worry about a thing. It was the uplifting and recharging night that I needed, and it definitely makes me want to keep the zeal burning within me to continue to see and be Jesus everywhere I go.

Thanks to all of those who are praying for me. Being here is demanding sometimes, but your prayers, I believe, are what gets me through. May God bless you richly, and much love.