Yo-ho yo-ho the missionary life for me!!!

Yo-ho, yo-ho the missionary life for me!!! -So I was all excited about coming to live at this farm/orphanage here in Palmira, Colombia thinking "Yes! Now I finally get some real time with orphans!" On short term trips we usually only have a few hours with the kids and when we do get to visit an orphanage it seems like the only question I ever get asked by the kids is "Do you have to leave today?" It kills me every time I have to look at the hopeful kid and say "Yeah I do..- but maybe I'll be back one day.." I was SO looking forward to being able to say "No! I'm here for 2 months!" I thought FINALLY my time had come! - Well I get here only to find out that there were not going to be any orphans living here for another year and we were only going to be fixing up the home and farm. That killed me! Especially after already being homesick for my Honduran family and half way wondering why I had to leave Honduras in the first place. The first few days here have been a struggle with my heart. I feel like most of my prayer time has been arguing with God. It's not knowing that most of what I'm gonna be doing is just cleaning and scraping old paint off walls and stuff like that that frustrates me, I honestly enjoy that type of work and would be happy to do it any day, but it's how pointless it seems after everything else I've been doing and with having everything I had planned to do in mind. ANYONE can paint a wall but EVERYONES heart passion isn't for the kids here. I know without a doubt my life was made for working with those kids, I KNOW that's what I'm chosen for. Lot of people are called but only a few are chosen. So I'm sitting here asking God -"Why have you given me such a passion for those kids but not let me work with them yet??" I feel like I'm a little kid that someone took to a candy shop, bought them the biggest best tasting peice of candy and it's the only peice like it no one else will even get to try it, and all the while the person is telling me how its just gonna melt in my mouth and how if I eat it how I'm suposed to nice and slow waiting for it to melt that it will be the best thing ever! But then the person said "Oh wait a second, you can't eat that right now!" just as i was about to put it in my mouth! I feel like thats what is happening God has me on this path and He is showing me all these different things about my life right now and He has made it evident in my heart what I'm suposed to do with my life and I'm the only one who gets this life everyone else has a different peice and to me none are as good as mine and if I am walking on HIS path it will be AMAZING. I feel like I was just about to get that first taste and then He said "Hold on there, not yet!" Talk about dissapointing! But then I realize, the work I'm doing now getting ready for the orphans and preparing a place for them to live in is really gonna impact so much more in the long run. I could have had my impact on a few kids for the 2 months I'm here and I would never forget it and then that would be that. But making this home ready for the orphans means there will be a place where year after year kid after kid is gonna come here and have a safe place to live and they will have food to eat, they will learn about Jesus here and grow up knowing there is SOMEONE who really loves them! This is gonna impact SO many more kids! I think sometimes CHOOSING to rejoice in the Lord isn't easy, especially when God has you in a place where in that moment you don't want to be. I know God chose me to be a missionary and the "Yo-ho, yo-ho missionary life" for sure is not all its dreamed to be, but it IS being able to live wherever God puts you and do whatever God has for you to do all the while being full of the joy of the Lord and to be able to see what eternal pleasures come from doing that. EVEN when it might not look like what you think you are suposed to be doing. Missionary life is saying "Here I am Lord, send me!" to anywhere to do anything, and I LOVE IT!!! 

"You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with ETERNAL PLEASURES at you right hand." -Psalm 16:11

Last part of Honduras -till next visit anyways. =)

So I have not been able to write, seems like everytime I had time to write the internet was not really working! The rest of my time since my last blog in Honduras was really awesome.  We had the team come from our church and we got to minister in schools, an orphanage, the team took a visit to the dump and was able to give out around 320 bags of food and we also had a suitcase full of flipflops and we had a bunch of T-shirts to give out.  One of the days we went up to San Juancito, a little village in the mountains and we gave out 150 bags of food. AND we had the pleasure of doing our dramas in the rain and in the mud. It was a blast! some of my most favorite memories have been when I've gotten to minister outside in the pouring down rain in the middle of nowhere ;). Also my Dad gave out 70something hearig aids there in San Juancito and in Tegucigalpa.  The crusades we had at the end of the week were different from other years, not a ton of people were there especially the second night in Comayagua.  However, it didn't matter the size of the crowd God still moved in incredible ways! One little deaf boy got completely healed! And many accepted Jesus! Then to top it off we had two concerts with DC Reto both of which were hype! =) and then last Monday on the last full day with the team we went to Pullahpanzak, which is a huge waterfall that you zipline over and swim down under. It is incredible to say the least! It's probably one of the most thrilling things I've ever done in my life! and that was my second time to do it! Elizabeth, Ashlyn and I said goodbye to the team on tuesday morning and enjoyed a couple more days with our Honduran family and friends. Had to say goodbye thursday afternoon took a bus to San Pedro Sula then our flight left at about 12:30am we had a couple hours in FLL airport then Elizabeth and I told Ashlyn bye and headed to Armenia, Colombia and arrived there about 1 in the afternoon got through customs and had a 3hr bus ride.  Now I'm here in Palmira, Colombia now living on a farm/orphanage.  It's very different here, we are living in the house with our American missionaries from our church back in K-town so its like switching cultures again. I'm excited to see what God does while we are here though and what more adventures are in store!
Thanks everyone who has been praying for me and this trip!
-Jess-