Good Things

This year on January 1^st I began a few resolutions for the New Year. As tends to happen with such resolutions, they haven’t all panned out like I would have liked – I definitely haven’t eaten two servings of vegetables every day. But today I am feeling grateful the return of running water to Tela after 24 hours without, and with that in mind I would like to share one resolution that I’ve stuck to.

At the beginning of the year, I decided that I would start consciously thinking about the positive things I see happening. I began making little notes about good things that happen and things I am grateful for and putting them in a box that I keep on the bookshelf. I pasted a few Bible verses to the outside of the box to remind me of why I am doing this.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” – Philippians 4:8

“Every day I will bless you, and praise your name for ever and ever” – Psalm 145:2

“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” – Psalm 118:24

And finally, “I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!” – Psalm 27:13

That last verse has really stuck with me over the last few months. I think it’s easy to think about the goodness and greatness of the Lord that we will experience after our earthly life. However, the psalmist reminds us that God created the earth, and everything He made was good. There is a lot of pain, hurt, and suffering in the world, and I have seen some of this in a different way since coming to Honduras. Still, I believe that I will, and I already have, seen the goodness of the Lord here on earth, in the land of the living.

Here are a few of the things I’ve written down since the beginning of the year:

- My internet came back on just by turning the router off and back on again.

- We had a surprise Monday holiday.

- My neighbor offered to carry a 5 gallon bottle of water for me from the market to my house.

- Fresh avocadoes.

- I got cable just in time for the last two days of the Olympics.

- Air conditioning

 

The Beach

Care Packages

My guitar

Friends and Cinnabon in San Pedro Sula

Beautiful Sunsets

My Students

Science Fair!

A couple weeks ago the school where I work hosted a science fair. All the students worked really hard to prepare, and they did a great job. Here are some pictures!

El Miércoles de Ceniza – Ash Wednesday

English:
“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

Today in the life of the church we begin a forty day journey to the cross of Christ. Today we remember the frailty of our lives – we are dust.

Lent has long been one of my favorite seasons in the church year, not because it’s fun, but because when done right it can help us focus on our relationship with Christ. The longstanding tradition during Lent is to give something up or take something on. Often times, people will give up chocolate, desserts, or meat on Fridays. Others might give up watching T.V. or Facebook/Instagram. I personally like to give up something that frees up time to take on a spiritual practice, whether it is prayer, praise, studying the Bible, or reading a daily devotion.

This year’s Young Adult Service Corps volunteers have decided to work together to create a daily Lenten reflection, which we are calling “Meditations from Millennial Missionaries.” It will be filled with lots of interesting reflections from young adult missionaries living all over the world – in Tanzania, El Salvador, South Africa, the Philippines, Brazil, Hong Kong, Panama, South Korea, Haiti, Japan, and of course Honduras. So if you’re looking to take on a daily practice during Lent, please visit our communal blog, http://yasclenten.blogspot.com/.

Below are some pictures from this morning’s Ash Wednesday service at the school.



Español: 
“Recuerda que eres polvo, y al polvo volverás.”

Hoy en la vida de la iglesia, empezamos un camino de cuarenta días a la cruz de Cristo. Hoy recordamos la fragilidad de nuestras vidas – somos polvo.

La Cuaresma siempre ha sido uno de mis temporadas favoritas del año de la iglesia. No porque es divertido, sino porque cuándo se hace correcto se puede ayudarnos a concentrar en nuestra relación con Cristo. La larga tradición para la Cuaresma es que renunciar algo o agregar una nueva practica. Muchas veces, una persona puede renunciar chocolate, postres, o carne para los viernes. Otros pueden renunciar mirando televisión o Facebook/Instragram. Personalmente, me gusta renunciar algo que resulta en tiempo adicional para empezar un nueva practica espiritual, si es orando, haciendo alabanzas, estudiando la Biblia, o leyendo un devoción.

Los voluntarios del Young Adult Service Corps de este año hemos decidido a trabajar juntos para crear una reflexión diara, que se llama “Meditaciones de los Misioneros del Milenio.” Estará llenado de muchas reflexiones interesantes de misioneros jóvenes viviendo por todo el mundo  - en Tanzania, El Salvador, Africa del Sur, Las Filipinas, Brasil, Hong Kong, Panamá, Corea del Sur, Haiti, Japón, y por supuesto Honduras. Entonces, si está buscando un nuevo practica espiritual para la Cuaresma, visite nuestro blog comunal,  http://yasclenten.blogspot.com/.

Aquí están unos fotos de la misa del Miércoles de Ceniza en la escuela.

                         Tenga una Cuaresma bendita y santa - have a blessed and holy Lent.