Monumental

So much has changed on the mountain of Mogote since I first began serving there 14 years ago.  The people no longer hang their heads in inferiority or avoid our eyes when they see us. The roads were paved in 2016, which means that even the Honduran government recognizes the work being done. The community of Nueva España has prospered and the joy is palpable in this place.  Hope for Honduras continues building houses, feeding mouths, and educating minds in the name of Jesus Christ. But the mission no longer does feeding during school here, or in the streets here, as this Colonia is sustaining the transformative work of the Lord.  Though it still remains the central hub for education and much of their mercy mission work, Hope for Honduras has transferred feeding programs to another Colonia.  This Colonia, Las Cabañas, feels much like Nueva España used to.  

Other things have grown up, too, like our Genesis. 💕

When I met Genesis and her mother in 2013, I had no idea of the wondrous work God would do. Billy and I simply felt called to give. We gave a little a month at first. Then, we gave a little more a month to help Genesis start her education at Hope Academy.  And 11 years later, she continues to make honor roll after honor roll.  She knows English and speaks it clearly.  She is a smart little girl, but she is really no longer little. Our “little” gal recently celebrated her quinceañera! (15th birthday) 

What a beautiful color on a beautiful dress.  Beautiful Jesus, it has been our blessing to watch her grow into a young woman. 

But this past week, God gave to me the blessing of a lifetime.

Fridays are the perfect ending to a perfect week in Honduras, because we get to give a house we build to a family in need. This is a life changing blessing for both parties! And as we give, we remind them of the One who gave His life for us on the cross. Along with the house, we give tangible elements that symbolize Him and His provision. Bread, for the bread of life.  Water, for the living water that quenches a thirsty soul. Flowers, for the reminder of God’s glory through creation. The Word of God, for the equipping and the sustaining of His saints. This ceremony, filled with so much meaning, captures every eye, and pulls every heart string of the ones present. We leave with the abounding elation that only the Lord could bring.  

But this time….this time. As we approached the house we would give, a love so deep and so tender swelled in my heart, it could have exploded.  This time, we gave the house to a family I know. 

As we walked up, the family I know was playing a tune I recognized instantly: “La Nina De Tus Ojos.”  It literally means, “The Little Girl of Your Eyes” and it describes the way God looks at us. This was the same song we sang and played in 2013, when Genesis captured my heart. When she became the Little Girl of My Eyes.  She had been the Little Girl of HIS Eyes before the foundation of the world.

You don’t have to be a mama to have kids.  You don’t have to be a mama to have a spiritual legacy to leave, or the love of the Lord to give. Genesis is my kiddo, and she will be no matter how old she gets. Here are Genesis and I in her brand new house, with me holding the first letter she wrote me in 2014.   

I just don’t even know what to do with the blessing God has so tenderly provided to me in building a house for her and for her family. All I can really do is weep.  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for making my heart OVERFLOW.