We have made it safely with no issues. These past couple days I have really been worried and afraid. I had bad anxiety about the trip but as I was on the planes and the bus, I noticed God took that fear away from my heart.  I cannot wait for this expierence to start!

Arrived Safely in Honduras

It has been a long day of travel, but at 5:00 pm local time the team pulled in to Choluteca.  The yellow school bus that normally meets us at the airport, did not make the trip this year due to some mechanical issue.  So we were picked up in an air conditioned rental bus that made the 3 hour bus ride a little more comfortable.   I said a little, because the 2 lane curving road through the mountains that can go from a 2 lane to a 3 lane road (pass slower trucks with on-coming traffic shifting to the shoulder) still makes the ride a little breath taking. 

  We are about 30 minutes from boarding our flight out of Detroit to Tegucigalpa, Honduras with a layover in Atlanta.  This is pretty much the first chance I've had I sit down in about a week.  Life can get very busy just before a mission, and boy did it get busy. I had an impromptu driving trip to Southwest Missouri and back for a funeral.  This led to getting about 4 hours of sleep the last two nights.  Still, I am high on hope and excitement for what God has in store for our mission team. A tall cup of Airport Starbucks Coffee doesn't hurt any either. 

  If you get the chance, google "Tegucigalpa airport landing" and play the YouTube videos. Apparently, it is one of the most dangerous airports in the world at which to land.  I spent part of my sleepless night last night playing the videos over and over. The view is stunning, but so is the shortness of the runway. 

  Exciting!!!!

Loaded up the Truck. . . . Next Stop Honduras

The truck is loaded with 450 lbs of crayons, playdoh, assorted school supplies, clothes, shoes, drills, and saws that will be part of our teams donations to the mission of  Choluteca Grand Commission Church.  Our goal this week is to work together to show that the love of God is alive in each of us and to touch and be touched by the people of Honduras.  Knowing the body of Chris is praying for the 10 of us is a true blessing.  Thanks for everyone's support.

John

Ready to go!

Tomorrow at this time I will be on a plane to Choluteca Honduras waiting with anticipation to see what God has planned for our mission team. I pray that God will protect our team and allow us to step out of our comfort zones so that we can experience everything God has to offer.

Below is part of my devotion this morning and I know that it is so true.
"Jesus himself is our hero. He said once, “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). If the omnipotent Lord finds fulfillment in doing things that bring benefit to other people, maybe that’s a clue how I will find satisfaction in my life. Isn’t that just like Jesus’ way--that I will find joy in giving joy? That I will get by giving?" -"Joy in Serving" Time of Grace Devotional

My prayer is to overcome fears, find joy in all I do and know that God will be by my side.
-Julie

STAY ALERT, PREPARE, AND REPEAT...

It is one short month before the mission to Honduras, and as I look over the past month, I can only wonder where all of my momentum went.  Life is full of distractions, and those distractions have a way of taking over and stealing your mojo, so to speak.  You blink and you suddenly realize that you have a month which has gone by that you can never get back.  This waywardness can simply be from our own nature to wander, but STAY ALERT, the devil knows us and our nature well, and he is at work too! 

SO STAY ALERT!!

“Stay alert!  Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.  He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.  Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith.  Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.  In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus.  So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on firm foundation.  All power to him forever!  Amen.” – 1 Peter 5 : 8-11 

Prowling he has!  My early success and momentum allowed me to have my guard down.  And he pounced.  I am going through a season in my personal life where there was an expected reaping.  Years of hard work and sacrifice should have led to a proud moment, a moment of reward.  The reality was just new challenges were waiting on the other side.  There was no cheering crowd or end-of-race relief station waiting for me at the end of the race.  For the race continues.  That was just one leg.  And oh, by the way, this next leg… well it mostly uphill!  If the dauntingness of it all doesn’t get you, the distraction will.  And to the prowling roaring lion, a distraction can be just as good!

AND PREPARE!!

So as I sit a month out from the mission, I take a self-assessment and look to step my preparations into high gear.  “Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones.  Learn from their ways and become wise!  Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter.  But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep?  When will you wake up?” – Proverbs 6 : 6-9  So like the worker ant, I just need to set my tasks out before me, whether it is raising the last small amount needed for the trip, organizing materials donated, acquiring prayer partners, or other tasks and just attack each one systematically until they are all checked off. 

THEN REPEAT!!

But, like the personal experiences over this last month, checking off that mission to-do list is not the end.  For there will be no relief station there either, just a new leg of the Journey.  So in similar fashion to the (wash, rinse and repeat) instructions on a shampoo bottle, I will Stay Alert, Prepare, and Repeat!!!

God Bless!!!

Aaron N. Mason

Santos Leonor family in Choluteca

We have received a picture and some information about the family Elevate will be helping on this year's mission trip.

The picture to the left shows Santos Leonor’s house. Santos is a 47 year old lady that lives with her two sons. She is from Namasigüe a town near Choluteca but she moved to Choluteca when her husband kick her out of the house. The mayor of the city provided a piece of land for her to live with her sons and they have built a shack made of tin metal, plastic and cardboard. Santos has been part of our church for 6 months.