Well this is a conclusion to my Houston trip but not the end to this blog or my mission work. I have another mission trip coming up in November to Peru but I wanted to put a few last thoughts on my trip to Houston. My trip to Houston was a life-changing trip. It was the most 2 powerful months of my life. Although I was away from my family, God gave me a family there of the most wonderful Critters and staff. Each one of them touched my life in some way. There were days when I thought I couldn't go on whether it was me being tired or of being discouraged. Every time I felt like that God filled my cup and reminded me that He had me there for a reason. I learned to depend on Him with everything even things I thought I could handle. I learned that there is a real need in the United States. I always heard about hungry people, homeless lying on sidewalks, abused children, teens in gangs, but I never really understood until I actually saw each one of these situations with my own eyes. I learned how to be compassionate towards everyone. I took time to hear so many stories from hurting people and to unconditionally love them even if their in the wrong. Something that I heard was that I could be the only Jesus with skin that they ever see. I cherished every moment because I know in the blink of an eye a life could be gone. God showed me how He could work in every circumstance and how powerful His work really is. I feel so blessed that God chose me to work with Him in Houston. He gave me an opportunity that changed my life forever. I will continue to pray for Houston and everyone that still lives there. Even though I can't be there in person....my heart will always be in Houston. Something that I kept telling myself over and over was that I'm giving Faith to the Faithless, Love to the Loveless, and Hope to the Hopeless...that's what my life is all about.
I'm going to keep updating my blog on my mission work so keep checking back....
Thank you everyone for praying with me through this experience. Your prayers truly helped!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
kids from kid's club
Eliana-Eliana is so precious. I taught her in my Bible story group. She's such a story teller. We would be on the playground and everyday she would have a new story that she would be so fascinated about. When it came to our Bible study time she would know the answer to every question I asked about God. We taught the kids about prayer this summer and at the end of class Eliana always wanted to pray. By the end of the summer all the kids wanted to pray :) To hear a 5 year old pray is a sound that would never get old!
Destiny- She told Mrs. Dora one morning that her tummy hurt because she didn't eat anything all day. She came with her grandmother to get food from the food pantry. Her grandmother had been washing her hair wish dish soap. One of the hardest things for me this summer was the food. I would eat amazing meals where we would have so many leftovers but the families I would work with are trying to just get through each day. I worked with forty some kids and you have to ask yourself how many of them are hungry.
Tito- He came towards the end of the summer and I was teaching on when we could pray to God. Anytime. Day or night. To explain day time I put my hands around my face and said sunshine. It reminded me of the smiley sunshines kids see. The cutest thing was when I said "sunshine" Tito said sunshine back with his little hands wiggling his fingers beside his face. I showed everybody in the gym what he was doing because it was so precious. He's precious. He was one of the few kids that didn't know spanish.
Jollette- Everyday she would find me to give me a hug. It didn't matter if I was on the other side of the property, she would find me. The last week she gave me something everyday. One day was a pack of gum. Another day was a mexican candy that they make. The cutest thing was letters that she handed me one day. To me it looked like a four year old scribbled on pieces of paper. Her mom said when she was working on the letters she kept saying "i love you" over and over. I love little Jollette and I'll never forget her smile everyday!
There are so many kids that I worked with in Houston that will always have a special place in my heart. Each and every one of them taught me something new, made me laugh, and let me be a kid Monday through Thursday from 3-5.
Destiny- She told Mrs. Dora one morning that her tummy hurt because she didn't eat anything all day. She came with her grandmother to get food from the food pantry. Her grandmother had been washing her hair wish dish soap. One of the hardest things for me this summer was the food. I would eat amazing meals where we would have so many leftovers but the families I would work with are trying to just get through each day. I worked with forty some kids and you have to ask yourself how many of them are hungry.
Tito- He came towards the end of the summer and I was teaching on when we could pray to God. Anytime. Day or night. To explain day time I put my hands around my face and said sunshine. It reminded me of the smiley sunshines kids see. The cutest thing was when I said "sunshine" Tito said sunshine back with his little hands wiggling his fingers beside his face. I showed everybody in the gym what he was doing because it was so precious. He's precious. He was one of the few kids that didn't know spanish.
Jollette- Everyday she would find me to give me a hug. It didn't matter if I was on the other side of the property, she would find me. The last week she gave me something everyday. One day was a pack of gum. Another day was a mexican candy that they make. The cutest thing was letters that she handed me one day. To me it looked like a four year old scribbled on pieces of paper. Her mom said when she was working on the letters she kept saying "i love you" over and over. I love little Jollette and I'll never forget her smile everyday!
There are so many kids that I worked with in Houston that will always have a special place in my heart. Each and every one of them taught me something new, made me laugh, and let me be a kid Monday through Thursday from 3-5.
Cultural Day
I'm going to do some stories from my summer. They may or may not be in order but I want to make sure that I share as much as I can.
On July 11th all of the Critters(the missionaries) took a day to go visit different areas of the city where people worship their gods. We learned about the Hindu, Buddhist, and Islam religions. Our first stop of the day was the hindu temple. One of the problems is that they make these temples so glorious and beautiful and they make their religion sound so easy. They have a million "gods" that all look the same to me but that's besides the point. The guy that was giving us the tour even knew the number of pieces and how they interlocked. He did talk about how they treat their "gods." They have a schedule for their feeding time, naps, bath time. Walking through the temple was so eary. These people are so blinded to the truth and it broke my heart that somehow their going to realize that their religion was a joke and none of the gods are real. The next stop was the Buddhist temple. One of the monks sat down with us and told us how the religion of Buddhism works. He questions the beliefs and we could all clearly see that he is searching for the truth. We also learned about the islam religion. I could make this blog all about their religion but all I have to say is they need the truth. The truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing that I learned on that day was that they have such devotion for their gods. They have special times to talk to them and spend time with them and that's something that I slack on. I can talk to God anytime of the day, why don't I take advantage of that? I say that I get bored but reality I always have something to do. That's something that I've been working on, really being dedicated to have quiet time with my Lord Jesus Christ!
On July 11th all of the Critters(the missionaries) took a day to go visit different areas of the city where people worship their gods. We learned about the Hindu, Buddhist, and Islam religions. Our first stop of the day was the hindu temple. One of the problems is that they make these temples so glorious and beautiful and they make their religion sound so easy. They have a million "gods" that all look the same to me but that's besides the point. The guy that was giving us the tour even knew the number of pieces and how they interlocked. He did talk about how they treat their "gods." They have a schedule for their feeding time, naps, bath time. Walking through the temple was so eary. These people are so blinded to the truth and it broke my heart that somehow their going to realize that their religion was a joke and none of the gods are real. The next stop was the Buddhist temple. One of the monks sat down with us and told us how the religion of Buddhism works. He questions the beliefs and we could all clearly see that he is searching for the truth. We also learned about the islam religion. I could make this blog all about their religion but all I have to say is they need the truth. The truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. One thing that I learned on that day was that they have such devotion for their gods. They have special times to talk to them and spend time with them and that's something that I slack on. I can talk to God anytime of the day, why don't I take advantage of that? I say that I get bored but reality I always have something to do. That's something that I've been working on, really being dedicated to have quiet time with my Lord Jesus Christ!
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