Home Again!

Josh and I are glad to be home!  We had an amazing time in Honduras!  I've had a crazy few weeks of seeing God show up and let me be a part of what He is doing in Ethiopia and Honduras.  What a great privilege!

Our theme for these trips have been to be at "the end of ourselves."  I definitely believe that Margie, Josh, and I experienced being at the end of ourselves throughout our time abroad.  We couldn't rely on our own strength to get through all God had in store for us while we were gone.  I almost think it is easy to forget about this mindset and lifestyle as we settle back into our daily lives here at home. We are tempted to do things in our own power and strength at home.  We have been gone for quite some time and upon returning there are many things that need to be cared for.  Therefore it is easy to forget to seek God first and to just take care of business.  But I believe the challenge will be for us to carry out this mind set of living at "the end of ourselves" into our daily lives now that we've returned.  If we can live out this lifestyle away from home, when we are in an environment of missions, I don't believe true life transformation has occurred.  Yet if we can live out this lifestyle and total dependence on the Spirt working in our lives at home, I think God gets the victory.  We can point to that in our lives and say, "God you have changed me."  This is what I'm hoping for, praying for!  I'd like to ask that you join me in praying that God would help each of us to live at the end of ourselves in our daily, so that the Holy Spirit can move and work in our lives beyond our time abroad.

On another note, I just hopped on a computer to look at our blog and realized none of our pictures posted from our trip.  Sorry about that.  We were using our iPad and I guess the compatibility with blogger may be a little off.  I'll try to go back and add the pictures in the near future.

Saturday:Siguatepeque to San Pedro Sula

This morning we got to visit with Chica and her family.  It was a sweet time of catching up and enjoying each others company. We were able to communicate despite the strong language barrier.  They expressed their excitement to see us and especially Margie in December!

We visited Pastor Rigo who was teaching his weekly Saturday music class. He teaches a group of children ranging from 5 to 15 years old. The older students learn the guitar and the younger kids learn to play the reorder. It was sweet to see the kids playing together and learning from Rigo. More importantly, PastorRigo leads them in aBible study. He is hoping to plant a church through his ministry with the children. Hope Coffee has partnered with Rigo to provide 5 pilas to the neighboring families. Pilas store and collect clean water. Previously several fa,iLife's were sharing one pila, when the water supply ran out it was gone. Now there is enough clean water for the families due to the partnership of Hope Coffee and Rigo. Hope Coffee has been able to assist and empower Pastor Rigo to do the ministry God has called him to do.

Before leaving Siguatepeque we met with Mark and Michelle to talk about possibilities and plans for the trip we will lead in December. There will be challenges, but we are looking forward to how the plans will unfold.



Tonight we got to enjoy one more evening with the Tomé family. We shared many laughs and encouragement with one another. It was a sweet time with the family we have come to love!

God's Kingdom is Growing!

Today was another incredible day of relationships and seeing how God is working in this small area of the world.

We started the day with breakfast with the Fittz family. Michelle wasn't feeling well, and since they homeschool their kids, Kaitlin was able to be their "substitute teacher" while their mom rested. Josh accompanied Mark Fittz to the store for some grocery shopping. We had lunch and rested a little in the outdoor hammocks.

This afternoon, Mark took us to see what is going on through some Hope Coffee projects. Lanin, a Honduran who works here at the Evangelical Bible Seminary (he went through the pastor training program as well), took us to visit some families he is ministering to. He has an incredible heart for the Gospel, people being saved, and deep relationships where he can help meet needs and disciple people our of darkness and sin and into the light of Christ. With the families he has been ministering to, he has been planting a church, currently meeting in a home.

First, we met Ana and her family. Ana is a 26 year old single mom, has 4 children, and she and her family work in the city dump, sorting trash and recyclables for a small about of money. Lanin met them while he was in seminary and took the trash to the dump. He has been sharing the Gospel with them and helping to care for them. Through Lanin's personal connection with Ana's family, Hope Coffee has been able to build a new home, which is almost complete! Through these ongoing relationships, Ana has come to Christ, and a few days after her, her sister did as well!

Our next stop was to a widow that has 5 children. Her husband died 2years ago. They live in poor conditions and have no clean drinking water. Lanin has been ministering to them recently. We got to sit with Mark and Lanin and talk about the projects Hope Coffee will do to help them.

Later, we ran some errands with Mark, stopped by Alan's new church building to see the completed roof that Hope Coffee built, then headed back to the seminary (where we are staying) for a great night of fellowship with the Fittz's, the Wells' (a new missionary family on the field only 2 weeks!), and Alan's family for a pizza dinner. It was so encouraging to sit and talk about how God is leading us all in different areas for His glory and the strong bond we can all have in such a short amount of time because of the Holy Spirit living in all of us! We were so blessed tonight.

Tomorrow we have a couple of things to do in Siguatepeque before we head back to San Pedro Sula for one more night. Please pray for all of the people we have mentioned in this post. Pray for Ana's family, the widows family, Lanin, and the missionaries that are down here. Pray for our health as we are both fighting colds and sore throats. 

A Day of Seeing Hope Coffee in Action

Today was a fabulous day! We got to spend the majority of our day with Mark Fittz seeing the work God's doing with Hope Coffee.

We first visited Alan's church in the San Fransisco region. He is the pastor of a church who has been meeting in homes for over a year. In March land was donated for the church and within the last three months, through the Hope Coffee's funds, a church building has started to take form. Mark, who is a architect by trade, has designed a building that is functional and provides a clean water source for the community. By designing a concave roof, rain water is collected and stored in a cistern. A pump will allow members of the community to come to the church to get free clean water for their families. This is one of the many ways Hope Coffee is meeting the needs of the Hondurans in creative ways.

Later in the day we journeyed out to Juan's coffee farm at 6,000 feet above sea level. We had the joy of meeting his family and seeing the amazing crops full of berries which will be ripe for harvest this winter. Mark reminded us that we will be drinking Juan's crop next year! Josh and I were able to pray over the farm, Juan's family, Hope Coffee's ministry, and our future evolvement today as we stood among the crops. It was an honor to be able to pray among the crops and know that God is working mightily through this ministry.

Josh and I continue to be encouraged by the ways Hope Coffee is equipping the Hondurans to do God's work. It is a privellege to see it first hand and then be able to share it with those of you partnering with us! Thank you for your continued support and prayers!

From San Pedro Sula to Siguatepeque

Today was a day of going with the flow, but God went before us! He knew the day we would have and He put us in a place to be filled by His spirit. We certainly lived out being at the end of ourselves today. We could have been frustrated or worried many times today, but by the grace of God's Spirit we didn't go there. God worked in and through us and led us to many great conversations this evening. Living moment by moment in step with God's plans! 

Yesterday when we arrived at our car, our back right tire's air level was low. We took it to a gas station filled it with air and it seemed to be fine. Towards the end of the conference the tire was completely flat. Josh and Steve (a man from Campus Crusade's International School Project -ISP- who came to support the Honduran team during the conference as well) put the spare on the car. We drove back to the hotel and everything was fine. We planned to take the car to the rental company this morning and have the wheel replaced and then head out to Siguatepeque. When Josh checked out the car this morning, the spare was flat. After talking with Joaquin, we learned that the company we the company we rented from is notorious for being dishonest and not maintaining their cars.  Joaquin accompanied Josh to the airport to handle the car situation, negotiate with the company and help Josh in finding another company to rent a car from. This put us back a few hours in our drive out to Siguatepeque and it left me back at the hotel alone tying up loose ends from our time in San Pedro Sula and packing up our things. 

Once we got on the road, Josh and enjoyed some good time together. We joined Lissette and Steve as they met with their contacts in Siguatepeque for their IPS training in September once we arrived. Due to our car issues we were too late to make our appointment with Dr. Martinez from Betel Church, but we were able to push it back and still meet with him. We enjoyed hearing how God is working in his life and in the church! We'd thought we would have dinner with Dr. Martinez and his family, but his wife is experiencing some health issues and so we were unable to do so.

Upon returning to the seminary, we wandered by the Fitz home to see if we could get a recommendation for a restaurant. They welcomed us to join them and another couple, Cory and Kirstin, who just moved here 9 days ago. They are following God's calling in their lives to join the mission field here in Honduras. They will live in Siguatepeque for a year doing language training and then head to the coast to work with a minority outcast group. We really enjoyed talking with them and hearing their stories of God's work in their lives.

Later we were invited over to Mark's home, the founder of Hope Coffee. We so enjoyed great conversation with him about everything God is doing through Hope Coffee. It is amazing the ways God is using this ministry! We got to begin to talk a little about plans for our trip in December. Michelle, Mark's wife, was at a prayer meeting tonight and was therefore unable to join us. We will be sitting down with the tomorrow or the following day to talk over possibilities and pray! We are looking forward to seeing how God brings this trip together! We know He has a plan for it and it will unfold before our eyes! We just feel privileged to be able to work with Hope Coffee here in Honduras as God works mightily!

Prayer needs: be praying for us as we journey with Mark tomorrow to different Hope Coffee ministry sites, coffee farms, and churches. Pray that God would illuminate His plan for our involvement here. Pray for Mark and Michelle as they discern how to partner with us when we come down in December as they are expecting their fourth child and Michelle is due shortly after we are to come. 

Josh McDowell Conferemce

Today we served alongside the Campus Crusade Staff as they hosted Josh McDowell for a Conference on Sex, Love, and Relationships from a biblical worldview. It was so encouraging to see over 500 people in attendance from all over the country to learn what God's Word has to say. A diverse eve population was in attendance: politicians, media, students, parents, ministry leaders, pastors, and lay people.

We helped coordinate volunteers, supported the Campus Crusade staff running the event, and even got to have lunch with Josh. Here is a photo of us with Josh McDowell and Crusade Staff.

All in all, today was amazing. We are so exhausted but thankful for a fruitful day. Tomorrow we drive 2 hours to Siguatepeque, where we will meet up with some more contacts (including Mark Fitz from Hope Coffee)!

Thanks for all your prayers,

Josh and Kaitlin

Conference Preparations

Today was a full day of preparing for Tuesday's conference with Josh McDowell. Here was our day:
- Made signs and posters for Josh McDowell's arrival at the airport
- Picked up the printed material for the conference and placed another order for materials.
- Bought 400 individual cans of Pringles! Haha. We went to a Costco type place to get snacks for conference attendees.
- Greeted Josh McDowell with the entire conference team at the airport.
- Ate lunch with the conference team at Wendy's (haha).
- Went to the university where the conference is held to train volunteers for their conference tasks.
- Set up the conference auditorium and assembles packets for attendees.
- Came back to hotel with team and enjoyed some pizza hut (had all American meals today... Made us laugh).

Tomorrow we will wake up at 5am to get started with conference. It starts at 8am and goes till 6pm. We are an hour ahead of California time, so please be praying during the conference. We are praying for lives to be impacted as youth and leaders attend Josh McDowell conference about sex, relationships, and bible. Please pray also for Kaitlin's stomach (still some ongoing pain since Ethiopia).

Thanks so much! Goodnight!