Loving the Least of These

Can you lay your life down, so a stranger can live?
Can you take what you need, but take less than you give?
Could you close every day, without the glory and fame?
Could you hold your head high, when no one knows your name?
That's how legends are made, at least that's what they say.

We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, 'cuz you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down, and never let go.

Can you lose everything, you ever had planned?
Can you sit down again, and play another hand?
Could you risk everything, for the chance of being alone?
Under pressure find the grace, or would you come undone?
That's how legends are made, at least that's what they say?

We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, 'cuz you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down, and never let go.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down, and never let go.

We say goodbye, but never let go.
We live, we die, 'but you can't save every soul.
Gotta take every chance to, show that you're the kinda man who;
Will never look back, never look down, and never let go.
Will never look back, never look down, and never let go.

Lately I've been reading Rob Bell's new book ' Jesus Wants to Save Christians'. And yesterday I sat on my bed reading the fifth chapter entitled 'Swollen-Bellied Black Babies, Soccer Moms on Prozac, And the Mark of the Beast' when I ran across some world statistics that didn't really surprise me, but did break my heart. These statistics aren't meant to make you feel guilty about what you have been blessed with as an American, I just want to share with you how the rest of the world lives in hopes that as you say your prayers tonight you will remember to thank God for the things we take for granted every day, like clean water.

America controls nearly 20 percent of the worlds wealth. There are around six billion people in the world, and there are roughly three hundred million people in the US. That makes America less than 5 percent of the world's population. And this 5 percent owns a fifth of the worlds wealth.

One billion people in the world do not have access to clean water, while the average American uses four hundred to six hundred liters of water a day.

Every seven seconds, somewhere in the world a child under age 5 dies of hunger, while Americans throw away 14 percent of the food we purchase.

Nearly one billion people in the world live on less than one American dollar a day, and another 2.5 billion live on less than two American dollars a day. More than half of the world lives on less than two dollars a day, while the average American teenager spends nearly $150 a week.

Fourty percent of the people in the world lack basic sanitation, while fourty-nine million diapers are used and thrown away in America every day.

One point six billion people in the world have no electricity.

Nearly one billion people in the world cannot read or sign their name.

Nearly one hundred million children are denied basic education.

By far, most of the people in the world do not own a car while one-third of American families own three cars.

One in seven children worldwide [ 158 million] has to go to work every day just to survive.

Four out of five American adults are high school graduates

Americans spend more annually on trash bags than nearly half of the world does on all goods.


God bless America?

He has.

Yesterday afternoon Ashley, Reina and I loaded up in the Rhino...its like a 4-wheeler type thing. and Reina took us to see a beautiful waterfall thats maybe two miles from the house. We had to drive through village to get there which was fun because we were able to stop and talk with some sweet kiddos that were walking down the road. So here are a few pictures from that. :) And apparently there's another waterfall that's less than a mile away..so Reina wants to take us to see that one as well...apparently its bigger and prettier. :)

Upon my arrival in this country I promptly began having what I've come to know as ''welcome to Honduras" moments. Once I got through customs at the airport the day i flew in, I worked my way to the TACA airlines counter to begin checking in for my next flight to Teguc. Once there the guy informed me that they were canceling that flight due to bad weather in Teguc. So I quickly began asking if there was another flight, or any way that I could get to Teguc that day because I certainly wasn't keen on the idea of getting a hotel room by myself, that just isn't safe here. So the guy tells me there are no more flights going to Teguc because they were shutting down the airport in Teguc. So I began to panic. I called Gina and she assured me that I could get a bus from the airport to Teguc so she began calling the bus company trying to get me a ticket. So while she was working on that I called Jen on the brink of tears because I was exhausted after a long day of travel already, and just all around emotional from leaving family and loved ones behind. So she had be go to the bus station counter at the airport and helped me get a ticket and at that point I was told I had 10 minutes to get to the bus stop at the airport so we could leave for the bus station. So I took off sprinting across the airport with all four of my bags. I made it just in time to board and then we left. I finally made it back to Teguc around 8pm that night and was greeted at the bus station by Gina and Papi. I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to see some familiar faces. :) So we loaded my bags and headed for Gina's house to pick up her things before going to our house on El Hatillo. I couldn't wait to get to the house to unpack and get some sleep...well we made it up the mountain by 11pm only to find that there was a large electrical cable down in the driveway from all the wind and flooding we had been having. So we parked the car Papi and I got out, opened the gate and went inside to find that there was no electric in the house. So we went back to Gina's for the night. The next day one of Mami's friends came to the house to pick me up and run me all over the city to get some errands done that I needed to do. He's such a sweet guy, and came as a huge blessing since the suburban was in Santa Ana and I didn't have any way of getting it that day. So he took me back to our house on El Hatillo and as we pulled up I was stunned to find that the gate was wide open since I had double checked the night before as we left to make sure it was locked. Well as we walked onto the driveway inside the gate I looked to the left to find that a huge portion of our gate was laying in the yard because a tree had fallen on it the day before and our landlord had seen it and sent people to start fixing it for us that day for security reasons. So I thanked the sweet guys that were working for us on a saturday, and went in to unpack and see what other things needed fixed in the house. The electricity had come back on so that night I was able to stay there and clean up the house, and unpack and just settle in a little. Which was a blessing for sure because the next morning I had to be packed up and ready to leave for Yamaranguilla. So we met Porter and Ashley in Seguatepeque and from there came out to the orphanage where ashley and I have been staying the last week and a half while Keith and Joanna are in the states fundraising [ the couple that lives on the property and cares for the children]. And we have LOVED being here. The kids are great and we have come to love this place. Monday morning we had another 'welcome to honduras' event when we realized that we had no running water. Porter began investigating the situation and making phone calls to try to get this fixed. And we think both of the pumps are broken. So the past two days we have been getting water from the creek to flush toilets, and using jugs of purified water to do the dishes. Which has been a fun adventure in and of itself. :) So this morning Porter went into the city at 6:30 and picked up 3 guys to come and try to fix this problem. So Porter sent Ashley, Reina and I into the city to do the grocery shopping for the childrens home and pick up some purified water and other various errands while they try to fix the water. So as of right now they are working on it, and hopefully we'll have water this afternoon to take showers and all that. ;) So there you have it, a day in the life. Through all the frustrations I have certainly been learning a lesson in patience, and learning to go with the flow. :) But looking back on all that now, it just makes me laugh. I sure do love this place and all the things I learn from being here. Heavens, there's never a dull moment around here! It's always an adventure learning new, creative ways of doing things. :)

Please keep the kiddos at the orphanage in your prayers. There are 6 total and they are sweet as can be. But they certainly have had their share of things to overcome in their short lives. Three of them are actually orphaned. All of their family has passed away. So for them, say a special prayer tonight.









The creek

Yesterday afternoon Porter came to talk to Ashley and I for a while and he mentioned that he knows a family in La Esperanza that lives in extreme poverty and asked if Ashley and I would like to visit them this morning to take some food to them while Any was at school. We both agreed to come because, for me this is one of the things I love to do the most. I love being out in the mountains among the people here. So we headed out this morning and drove out to their house, parked the car and walked a little ways till we found their little house. Once we arrived the single mom came out and greeted us and all her children weren´t far behind her. The oldest is twelve and the youngest was two. They showed us their home that consisted of two small beds with one blanket. But the beds were made of wood, no mattress for comfort. They had very little food in the house and a small pile of dirty, torn clothes was beside their bed. The sad part of this is that this is how many hondurans live. These conditions arent uncommon among the people here. So please be praying for this family. The kids are very sick, malnourished, and the two year old has bad diarrhea. All of the kids have light colored hair which is a sign of malnutrition. We´re going back in a few days to take more food and some medicine for the kids. So hopefully I´ll get more pictures then.

Playing soccer














I adore this girl.














me with all the kiddos. :)














Playing Hide and Seek. We won that round. :)






























Daniella, Angelina, and Yolanda













Selena and Yolanda




















Daniella and me
















Philipe. We LOVE his smile.