A Huge Success

By in Events 2 Comments

Let the Chaos Begin

This past Saturday there was a garage sale at my parents house in Lynden, where all the proceeds were given to our Honduras fund. My sister-in-law, Allison, and my cousin, Jody, decided to put this sale together to help us raise money. So they, along with countless others, began to collect items to sell.  About a month prior to the sale, items were being collected at my parents house, in their extra bedroom. The room was packed full! And this was just my siblings things. As of Wednesday, other people began to bring items and the chaos began. Organizing and pricing would be no easy task, and would take 3 days to complete. There were tables filled with candles, picture frames, toys, dishes, books, movies, CD’s, clothes, and more! There was no way this would all fit in the garage so we put tables in the driveway too. Now our biggest prayer was for sunshine and lots and lots of people!

Rain, Rain, Go Away

The weather forecast did not look good for Saturday, April 24. We all prayed that the sun would come and the rain would go. But bright and early Saturday morning, the rain decided to come…and stay.  However, living in Washington state always makes one prepared for the rain, and rain or shine, this garage sale was going to happen! My dad had got tents from the fairgrounds as well, just in case. And it’s a good thing he did! We used about 5 or 6 tents in the driveway to keep things dry. We were concerned that the rain might keep the people away. But our God is so much bigger than we give Him credit for and once again, He proved it. The people started coming first thing in the morning, and they kept on coming and coming and coming. Despite the rain, there were tons of garage salers out and about.  And in the end God blessed us with $3000! He is good!

A Heartfelt Thanks

Chad and I cannot even begin to describe our thankfulness to all who helped make this event possible. Thank you to Allison and Jody for orchestrating this whole thing and choosing to bless us in such a huge way. And a special thank you to my parents for allowing the garage sale to take place at their home. And thank you to my sisters for being there for the past 4 days to help set up and price everything. And to countless others who donated items, as well as those who spent their time and effort to make the sale a huge success. We are so grateful and appreciate of your kindness, generosity, and love. May God bless you richly!

The Crying Children

By in Personal Reflections 1 Comment

The other night our son Asher, who is 6 months old, woke up around midnight sobbing. Trina first got up with him and after a half hour couldn’t get him to stop crying so she put him back in bed hoping he would fall back a sleep. Instead he cried harder and louder. After 10 minutes I got up with him. I held my son and rocked him as he cried and cried. After another half hour Trina got up again and took over for me. We tried everything help him. We changed his diaper, gave him some baby Tylenol, and rubbed Orajel on his gums. Nothing worked. We were at a total loss as to why he was crying and what we could do to help him.

After Trina had taken over for me I stayed in the room while she rocked him an held him so tenderly. I sat there and watched as she ran her fingers over his head and whispered to him trying to comfort him. You could see the love and concern she had for her son. There was nothing in that moment that she wouldn’t do to comfort him or alleviate whatever it was that was bothering him. As I watched I said a silent prayer thanking God for her and that my son has a mommy who loves him so much. While I prayed something came to my mind that I haven’t been able to shake. This happened two weeks ago. Asher cried for an hour and a half before finally falling back to sleep.

Tiny Houses

While I sat there in that dark room at 1:30 in the morning with my son crying and Trina rocking him I started thinking about a place called Casitas, which is Spanish for Tiny Houses. Casitas is in Honduras and it is the place where the Child and Family Services of Honduras bring children who have been abandoned, neglected, or abused. It is not an orphanage. It is more like a warehouse for children. The lucky ones will be taken to an orphanage but the orphanages in Honduras are all filled to capacity.

The facility is made up of a number of small housing units, which is how it got it’s name – Tiny Houses. In the infant house there are typically between 12 and 20 infants at a time and maybe 1 or 2 ladies to look after them. It is one of the saddest things you will ever see. All of these babies are starved for love and attention. When we are there we try to hold each one. These babies just hold on to you and don’t want to let go.

As Asher cried I was transported to this place. I thought about these babies. What happens when one of them wakes up crying in the middle of the night? Who is there to hold it and comfort it for an hour and a half? If Asher was at Casitas he would have cried and cried until he finally fell back asleep on his own. And I can’t get this out of my head. My heart is broken for these kids.

The ministry we will be working with does a lot of work at Casitas. The children there get no schooling but because of the ministry teachers are brought in for the kids. When we get to Honduras, part of our work will be with Casitas. Part of our work will be to hold babies who don’t get held.

**Feel free to stop reading here because in the next paragraph I’m going to be asking for support.

Our work in Honduras will be totally self supporting. We will not be paid by any organization or ministry. The only way we can go and do this work is if we have people back home who support us by funding us and praying for us. We’ve had a number of people already say they will support us but we are a long way from what we need. As of right now we need 25 people who will commit to supporting us with $100 a month. I know that is a lot. I know God may place a different amount on your heart. Whatever you can do to support us we are grateful. You are a champion for us. Without your support we cannot do what is on our hearts.

It is uncomfortable asking for money. I don’t like to do it. But Trina and I feel so strongly that this is what we are called to do, we are willing to do what is uncomfortable. I keep asking myself the question, if we don’t go and help these children, who will? If you feel led to support us you don’t have to give anything now, just go to our support page and fill out the form letting us know of your intention.

Melvin

By in Stories from Honduras No Comments

Here is another video I shot during my trip to Honduras in January. You’ll have to forgive the sound and the lighting. I didn’t have my sound equipment or a light kit with me. This video is an interview I shot of my friend Melvin. Before you watch it let me tell you a little about Melvin.

I first met Melvin during a mission trip to Honduras a couple of years ago. He worked with our team for part of the week as our translator. What is amazing about that is he never graduated high school but was able to teach himself English. He is a smart and likable guy who everyone loves as soon as they meet him.

Melvin also has a great testimony. He grew up, like many Honduran kids, without a father in the home and without his mother because she was busy working long hours just so they could survive. Left to himself, Melvin soon turned to a life of using and selling drugs. But it was a dangerous life where he saw many of his friends die. He came close himself a couple times to being killed. Melvin knew his life was empty so he finally took up an offer to go to church. The church was the one run by the ministry of Manos Extendidas, the ministry Trina and I will be working with. There he met the Lord and started a new life. Since then Melvin has been volunteering in the church and is now on staff with the ministry and has led many others, just like himself, to the Lord.