How we got here (Honduras) today....

When I was going through my Facebook memories this morning, I was reminded of what was going on in our lives just 2 years ago. We were starting to sell our house and everything in it to GO share the gospel with the nations....no regrets, it was the most freeing experience preparing us for the work of the Lord here in Honduras. We're still in awe of a holy God who uses sinners like us saved by grace to share his LOVE with the world.

These past two years have been a roller coaster ride of events, but it was all worth it!!!! It all started with a complete surrender (August 2017) to God's plan for our lives and for us that involved selling everything we owned to serve the Lord where ever he wanted us to GO. Our first vision trip (August 2018) was to a country in Asia where we learned so much of how much we didn't know about cultural differences, but we felt the presence of God during our time there as well as his hand of protection. After coming back from that vision trip realizing that God was changing locations for us to serve in, but not being sure of where that would be....we were in God's waiting room. I am going to be honest with you...I had an intimate, tear filled conversation with God asking him, "God, why did you have us sell everything to not have this opportunity/location work out. We obediently sold everything to serve you and now here we are wondering what's going on. Why would you have us sell everything to not have this work out? Why God? Why?" And he gently spoke to my heart, "Now Lorenda, you know that if you didn't sell everything before going on this trip, that I knew wasn't going to work out the way YOU planned, you would have taken the house off the market and you would have never served me again overseas." And let me tell you, he knows me best. That's absolutely right. I would have came back, panicked and upset, and tried to control the future by saying, "Well maybe God didn't really want us to sell everything, maybe I was wrong." For that reason, immediate obedience was and still is CRUCIAL...because if we didn't obey when God said to sell everything, we might not be where we are today. I don't know the bigger plans of God, but I trust Him. So step by step, day by day, I walk in obedience to His sweet voice (not perfect by any means, so sometimes He needs to repeat himself to me). I wish I could tell you he quickly reassigned us to a different location, but he didn't. It was a waiting game and trusting him in the midst of the unknown. All we knew was that he called us to GO and to sell everything. The next step was not yet revealed to us. We waited, somedays not so patiently, but being in God's waiting room was exactly where we needed to be to work on our trust in God to guide and direct our every step. We almost went to another country in Asia through a contact from friends...all paperwork was sent and we were working on visas, but in the midst of that..God stopped that process too. So here we were again, in God's waiting room. But let me tell you, the wait was worth it!!!

Ready for Honduras...

Now here's how we ended up in Honduras. Tyler felt led to contact some friends in his church that used to help in his youth group when he was a teen that were currently serving in Honduras. We (randomly in our eyes, but not in God's eyes) talked to them a few months back about missions, NGO's, and just picking their brains about missions...but never thought we'd be calling them back to schedule a vision trip, BUT God knew! Come to find out it was a right fit...they felt Celebrate Recovery (the program we were wanting to bring to the churches of Honduras) would be highly beneficial in this country. So off we went for a 3 month vision trip. We learned so much in that 3 months and came in contact with so many amazing people along the way. We fell in love with Honduras and the people!! Realizing that this was where God was leading us to serve Him at this time, we went back to the states and began the 120 day journey to raising support...and yes I said 120 days/10 states. It was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. A book called "The God Ask", recommended to us by friends, helped guide our support raising process. God was faithful to provide as the saying goes...."Where God guides, he provides!" Now listen to this...the missionaries that were bringing Celebrate Recovery to Honduras, whom we didn't know at the time, we later found out that they were leaving Honduras as we were coming to Honduras to serve...totally not knowing each other's situations, that's all God. They have been so helpful and were the ones that recommended taking language classes and recommended taking it for the full time to complete the program. That was the best advice!!! Speaking Spanish has been so helpful and allows us to get to a deeper level with people than if we only relied on a translator. God has been so faithful to lead just the right people, at just the right time, to give just the right advice/counsel.

So that brings us to today....31 days straight in quarantine in Honduras due to the coronavirus. What that looks like for us is no leaving your home unless needed/emergency. Needed (bank/groceries) you can only leave 1 day a week depending on your ID number, but for a few weeks it was deliveries on groceries only and we couldn't leave at all. No we can't go out to exercise or drive around...we have to stay on our property which is gated and topped with barbwire for safety.

grocery schedule...we’re ID number 6

But we are thankful for a lot....

*We have a great support group here (HFMM Honduran Fellowship of Missionaries and Ministries, local missionaries close by, local Hondurans here who have become family, and a local church we are blessed to be a part of).

*We have a house/power/water/internet/food/fans (it's 90 degrees and they don't have air)

*We are able to connect with our church and friends/family online.

*We have each other (our small little family of four loves to hang out together).

*and most of all we have God who we can still freely worship even in this crisis

Sweeeeeet friendships...

love my little family of 4...

So if you are wondering if we wish we were in the states right now, all four of us say, "No". We are where God wants us to be and we desire to be exactly where he wants us to be for however long he wants us to be here. We love it here in Honduras and are still committed to serving Him here for as long as he desires. Thank you for faithfully giving and praying and being a huge part of the team of what God is doing here in Honduras. We can't thank you enough! We love and miss y'all and hope to see y'all face to face in July/August, Lord willing.

All for HIM (Jesus)...because eternity matters!