It's Been Awhile

So, I haven't blogged for quite some time. I have some good excuses and some others that aren't so good. I cannot go back and write so I will give you a (short) recap of our last few weeks (They have been busy).

From June 16-23 Ashley and I visited the USA and got to spend quality time with our families. We attended a family reunion (Ashley's dad's family) for a few days and also got to see Ashley's parent's new house and spend some time with my family as well. All in all, our trip was great but short. We had a lot of fun catching up with brothers and parents and aunts and grandparents and we had the privilege to meet 3 nephews/nieces for the first time. We spent time with 35 different relatives!

1 of 3 nephews & 5 of 5 nieces

Seeing family was much needed. I know I was missing them a lot and was feeling the weight of the time apart. I am so glad the Lord gave us this opportunity. The only drawback is that know I may want to spend time with them even more that I did before we saw them. It was great to talk and laugh with our family!

When we arrived back home after this trip, we had a 14 person short term team waiting for us. So, we jumped right back into ministry and long hours. The team from Raleigh, NC was a huge help to our ministry and we are thankful they could come and love the people of La Fe last week.

That brings us to this week. It is a week in which our team has zero teams. This is a much-needed break for our team since we hosted five teams in the last four weeks. So, this week is much quieter and slower paced. We will host five more teams in the next three weeks.

We are thankful for this week of partial rest. We have much to do, but are making sure we mix in a healthy amount of rest into each day.

Home

Where is home?

I don't have an easy answer to that question. It has been on my mind lately, because we are about to travel to our home country. On Saturday, we will fly to the USA for a week. We are going to a family reunion (Ashley's) and are also going to get to spend a little time with a big portion of my family! We are very excited to see them. For most of them, it has been over a year and a half since we have seen and spent time with them.

So, back to the idea of home. Ashley and I both feel at home here in La Ceiba, Honduras. We have been here for six months and our house feels homey and the city is getting to be more and more that way as well. I think a big part of this feeling comes from our ministry in La Fe. We feel at home with the people in La Fe. We are getting to know some of them on deeper levels and building trust with them. This, brings a strong purpose to us and causes us to feel that we are exactly where the Lord wants us to be. Thus, making us feel at home.

Sometimes, when talking about where I grew up, I say "back at home" (or something like that). My parents still live in the house where I did most of my growing up, so in a way, when we go see them I am going home. I am sure that many things about this house and town will not feel like home, since it has been so long since I have been there. I also know that family and friends play a huge factor in feeling at home somewhere.

One thing I know for sure is that none of us really are home yet. We have an eternal home waiting for us that will be far greater than this world. I love that we can rest in knowing that because of the finished work of Jesus Christ we have life and we have a home with Him forever!

For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. -Ephesians 2:18-22