A look back at January (through Tyler's eyes)...

Wow, it has been a very long time since I have blogged. We are now working on doing it once a month because we are so busy and it is going to be a look back at the previous month about what God has been doing through us and through the ministry.

I started out the new year on eating right and drawing closer to the Lord. I have been struggling here in Honduras on food overwhelming my mind and overeating on multiple occasions. My plate size was slowly getting larger and larger. I gained weight and was choosing to fry a lot of things. I felt I needed a change in my life from my eating habits and to truly draw closer to God through this addiction of food. I started out for the month of January only eating vegetables, eggs, some fruit, and dairy. I left out red meat, pork, chicken, and carbs, like rice, bread, and pastas. During the month of January this new eating habit has really renewed my spirit within me to seek out to be healthy for the kingdom of God. After January, I only have added in chicken and I have decided to only eat when I feel the burning sensation in my stomach and not when everyone else is eating. I don't want to feel obligated to eat when everyone else eats, so that is why I have chosen to go down this path of freedom from food addiction.

Here is a plate of veggies and eggs.

Another thing I wanted to mention about is during the time Lorenda went back to the states, to see her brother who had cancer, and I was here in Honduras with the boys, I fell back into a temptation of an addiction (pornography) that I have had since I was 10 years old. The Lord has truly delivered me from this addiction, but it is when you get in that comfortable stage that you feel this will never happen again to me. BUT, that is when Satan comes in seeking someone to devour and ruin their life. Shortly after her returning it was brought to the light, and we went through a long study on Right Now Media called "At the Alter of Sexual Idolatry." This study was extensive and has really opened my eyes to new things and more on why this is wrong and why I should not let this satanic thing enter into my marriage. God is so good and he can use something that was meant to harm for his greater purpose. I have also started reading another book called, "Intoxicated With Babylon," to help with this because like we say in Celebrate Recovery we are never to far from Satan's hands of destruction no matter how long we have been clean from an addiction. I also have an accountability partner that I can talk to at any time. He has truly been helpful and a great listener. My wife is such a gracious wife and very patient with me through my hurts, hang-ups, and habits. She has been with me through every step of the way during this process of my life being completely free from this addiction. I thank God everyday for the wonderful helper he has blessed me with.

My wife and I on a date together!!!

God is so good. During the month of January so much has happened. We have had a few more salvations at the rehab. The rehab is flourishing so much that now they are at max capacity and have to start a waiting list for people to come into the rehab. We have been teaching on some really deep topics and it has been changing their lives. Some of the topics are having a daily quiet time with God, fasting, fornication, and many more. These are some really deep topics especially fornication because that is how most of the people of Honduras live. Every Monday night at the rehab we have a celebration of everyone celebrating their recovery. When the people finish their time at the rehab and graduate they are allowed to come back to the rehab to celebrate their recovery. They get up and share their testimony to the new ones that are in the rehab so that they can know that there is freedom if you seek Jesus as the solution to your recovery. Because without Jesus the recovery will never be successful. So we ask that you continue to pray for the rehab that many lives will be changed and that they will follow Christ in their recovery to a better life.

We also go to a life group, which is a small group outside of the church. We are studying Stepping out of the Boat. We need to honor the gifts that God has given us and step out of the boat out of confidence and not out of fear, so that God can use us to further his kingdom and for his glory, not our own.

I have also started back college this month. This spring semester I am taking four history classes. This will be a tough semester. I am taking Old Testament Survey 2, Old Testament Backgrounds, New Testament Survey, and Foundations 2. These are some very tough classes and through all four combined I have to read 300 to 500 pages a week. It would be different if I was only doing school and nothing else, but we are also in full time ministry. We teach at the rehab four times a week and we are now starting up a new Celebrate Recovery for all of the people of the island.

We have been trying to meet with the part owner of the resort our church uses every Sunday, because one of the guidelines of CR is that we have it at a church and affiliated through a church. Well our church meets every Sunday in the big conference room of Infinity Bay, so that is why we have been waiting to meet with this guy because we are wanting to use the same facility the church uses to start a Celebrate Recovery. We finally were able to meet with him, and we are starting Celebrate Recovery at the resort on Monday the 15th of February. We are so excited!!! It will be from 6pm to 8pm every Monday night. We ask that you pray for us that we get this going and that many people come to know Jesus and get healing from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups.

What are we doing for fun here on the island?

We decided as a family that for Christmas we will get certified to be scuba divers. We have already had our first dive and need to do a few more so that we can be certified, but as you know our ministry comes first before our fun. So, we are waiting a little bit before we do our next dives because we have a lot to do to get this CR started and running well. We ask that you pray for us that we also do not forget to have fun as a family, too.

Thanks for all your prayers and support, we could not do this without you.

REMEMBER: OUR DOORS ARE ALWAYS OPEN FOR VISITORS TO COME AND VISIT AND SHARE TESTIMONIES AT CELEBRATE RECOVERY....

Love you all,

Tyler Adams