Back From Honduras

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I wanted to provide a follow up to my previous article now that I have returned from Honduras and decompressed. It has been just about a month and truly I am blessed. The trip was everything I imagined and more. Incredibly the itinerary was exactly how I had prayed for it to be. If you followed my blog or wish to view my overall reflections they are there. I did however want to bring some closure to my trip here on this site:

1. Honduras will always have a special place in my heart. The people I have met and become friends with are like family. Gaby, a translator from our 2009 trip, took her own time to meet us at the airport and make sure we got to the hotel OK. We were able to have a birthday dinner with her later in the week and enjoy her company. Our host Scarlett and her daughter Goldie (another translator from our prior trip) went above and beyond their duties. They were our translators and transportation. However on the one free day we had they took us sightseeing and shopping. They also took the time to take us to the Compassion country office in Tegucigalpa which was unplanned.

2. Satan did try to ruin the trip at the beginning. Three of our four suitcases were delayed in Miami. Our daughters suitcase made it but the ones with our clothes and the one with the gifts for the families we would visit spent an extra night. It was just a nuisance but we overcame.

3. Linda is an amazing young woman. She has grown up so much and every time we go to Honduras she gets more beautiful. She is doing great in school, helps out at the project and is part of the worship team. She is learning to play the guitar. Her party was small but awesome. We played a special part in the ceremony and I am sure it was everything she wanted. One of the cool things is (she knows I love Disney) that she used the Disney font on her invitations. It is small things like that that endears us to her. Her home is better than I could have hoped. It is safe and structurally sound. She is my princess.

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Back to Honduras

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

In less than three weeks I will be returning to Honduras to complete a promise I made over four years ago.  Those of you that know me understand that my journey with Compassion began in 2007 when I met my first sponsored child Linda. To make a long story short I looked into her eyes and my heart was broken. I understood we could make a difference! I became an advocate and Area Coordinator for Compassion and the focus of my life changed because of this one little girl. Back then she made a special request of me. She told me that she had no father and she thought of me as "her father." Talk about an honor. She asked me to attend her Quinceanera when she turned fifteen. For those that are not familiar with this occasion it is similar to our "Sweet Sixteen." It marks the transition from childhood to young womanhood. I promised I would do my best to be there.

We returned to Honduras in 2009 to visit then our three sponsored children Linda, Jeyelly, and Jorge. Number four was to come shortly after the return from that trip. We knew Jeyelly's sister (Sofia) was available for sponsorship but we would not be able to sponsor her until the end of May. I debated having Compassion bring her to the meeting day but did not want to get either of our hopes up. Therefore we kept it a secret until it could actually happen. I took the time to sit down with Linda and tried to tell her (through a translator) how important she was in my life and how she had changed my focus. She was just as responsible as me for getting other children sponsored. I promised I would be back for the Quinceanera.

So here we are just about 17 days until we return back. This time we are taking our daughters Courtney and Stephanie. Our flights are made and the hotel confirmed. All I am waiting on at this point is our itinerary from Compassion and the Honduras Compassion Country office. We are hoping to spend one day with each of our children. We want to visit their home (and pray there) and their projects. We want to take them to lunch and just have a special day with each of them. Then of course we have a day set aside for the Quinceanara. We are actually hosting and paying for this. Compassion will assist with all of this including in country transportation, translators and other things. I am excited that both of our daughters are excited about going. I had kind of felt we were forcing them to go along with us but it is a blessing to know that they are just as excited as we are. Everything is starting to fall into place. I am asking for prayer that this trip will be everything God wants it to be. I have looked forward to this for the past four years and am just afraid that our enemy will try to mess things up. You know how sometimes things you really look forward to just don't live up to expectations? Pray that this trip is truly special for all of us. There is a bit of a political situation developing in Honduras over the next two weeks. Pray that this does not change or affect our trip. Most of all this is about Linda- Pray that this day is truly special for her. 

In 2009 I started my blog to allow people to experience my second trip to Honduras. This time I will again be updating it with daily experiences and pictures so please check it out between (6/11-6/17) as well as my Facebook. In the meantime we covet your prayers as we begin our final preparations.

Chuck is a Christian husband and father who has served in part-time ministry for 18 years, and is a deacon at his church. He has been a Compassion International Advocate/Area Coordinator for several years, finding families to sponsor Compassion children throughout the world. His passion is letting others know how important it is to release children from poverty. Be sure to check out his blog, Sharing Compassion.

Are We There Yet?

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

Those that have had young children will recognize those words in the title. Many times we have packed the car and settled in for a few hour drive to a vacation spot. It seems we have gone only the first few miles and a voice from the back proclaims those words: "Are we there yet?" it is a voice of impatience and anticipation. They cannot see the big picture and only want to see the end result. I can't think of any parents that have not heard that question. It just seems to be part of parenting.

I wonder as Christians, how often we have asked that question of God in our hearts? We know our final destination and we know it is better than any favorite vacation spot. We look forward to eternity with anticipation. How often though do we get bogged down in everyday life? We get frustrated by running in every direction with never enough time. We struggle with trying to keep things balanced. We get disappointed by others and broken promises. In our frustration don't we sometimes whisper that phrase within our hearts? Not that we want our lives to end but we yearn for the peace, fellowship and perfection that heaven will bring. We know the promises that await us and our hearts yearn for that.

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Keeping Up With The Joneses

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

I am guilty! I admit it! It is just so easy to get caught up in the materialism of this world. I don't have the latest 4-G phone but the one I have is not shabby. I don't have a 54" plasma television but I do have a 28" high def version. My lap top may not be the best available right now but two years ago it was one of the better ones. Even recently when my step-daughter turned eighteen we new we had to get her something special. The problem is she has almost everything you could want. The other side of the family is not Christian and they have made sure that she wants for nothing. We ended up getting her an iPad. She has a laptop, an iPod touch and and iPhone....did she really need an iPad? We so easily get caught up in the trap. We see something and we want it. The Joneses next door get the next latest and greatest thing and we begin to wonder how we can do without it.

I have been to Mexico, the Dominican and Honduras. I have seen poverty and I have had my heart broken. In fact at one point I felt so convicted that we ended up downsizing from a four bedroom colonial to a more modest split foyer. I have come back from those trips feeling so changed. I see families of seven people living in a home the size of my family room. I have seen four adults sharing a bed. I have seen these people cooking over an open flame and I worry how long it will take to cook my dinner in the microwave.

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Making Room In My Heart

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

So if you have been following my musings around here you know the following:

1. I am an advocate for Compassion after meeting my first sponsored child in Honduras and seeing how well the ministry works.

2. I love children especially those considered "the least of these." I believe that children should have an opportunity and it is my ministry to try and make that happen.

3. My heart is in Honduras~ all of my sponsored children are there though I encourage others to seek sponsorships in any of Compassion's 26 countries.

As of January 11th my wife and I made a conscious decision to make one of those statements false. Obviously for statements 1 and 2 to become false would require a complete change in my faith and ministry. The world would be turned upside down for those that know me. However for statement 3 to become false would require a change in my heart and direction. Easily said but not easily done. My wife and I had made a decision to sponsor all of our children in Honduras. We had fallen in love with the Country and many of the people we met there. Having all our sponsored children in one place would make it easy to visit them. We have done this twice and are planning to see them all again this summer.

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