We're bringing serving back.

Today at 2pm I'll be heading up to O'Hare with 14 friends for a week-long missions journey in Honduras. If you think of it, please remember our team when/if you pray to God this week. We're in for quite a weather transition. 40 degrees in Champaign today. About 98 degrees in Choluteca, Honduras last time I checked. So why Honduras for spring break?

Starting with my first missions trip several years ago, there has been something beautiful and mysterious that has happened on that and each successive journey. I've become more closely tied to the friends that I serve with on those trips. I've seen God move to restore lives, reinstill hope, bring smiles to kids faces, magnify the name of His Son, unite diverse peoples and awaken exciting dreams that lie deep inside some. On man, whom we were helping to reconstruct his little inner city church in Memphis, TN, helped put it all into perspective: "You're my miracle." I don't take any credit for this. Major props to God.

So, when I had another opportunity--this time to help lead--to go on a short-term trip this spring break, I jumped at it. Matt and Lacey, a young couple in our church, went to Honduras last spring break and they had a vision to lead a team down there this year. So, after several months of team meetings, raising financial support and gathering donated items for Hondurans, we are all packed and ready to go. (okay, not packed yet...) I could tell you myriad cool stories from how God provided for us. (e.g., a huge financial gift that I got in the mail, virtually unsolicited from a Honduran woman in Chicago, whom I had met several months ago).

The plan is this: we'll begin construction of a home for a woman named, Esperanza, and her children, we'll be serving at a Malnutrition Clinic, two of our team members will be assessing the nutrition needs and training the mothers to feed their unhealthy children, we'll be helping out the local church with whatever needs they have and hopefully we'll be living out the good news of the kingdom of God through our words and actions.

I need to start packing! Now where's that sunscreen....