Perspectives Adjusted

We cannot believe our year commitment is almost up!  Isn't it crazy to look back at days that seemed to be uphill and difficult and long, to see that they passed by so quickly?  When we came to Honduras we had a view in our minds of what it would look like.  We had an idea in our heads of what a 'missionary' looked like.  We have come to the conclusion that we did not know anything.  Some of these thoughts and feelings are vulnerable and possibly a little too honest.  It is not our desire to be offensive but to be honest with the things we have experienced and seen.

Here are a few of our perspectives that have been 'adjusted':

We thought it would be easy to find a 'project' and tackle it head on, throwing our whole selves into it.
Adjustment- Not all projects are worthy of throwing yourself into.  Not all mission projects ultimately, truly lead to Christ.  They do not all fulfill the Great Commission. Without great focus and commitment, projects can easily fail to meet the criteria of making disciples.

Hope in this - We have felt God impress upon us that you either intentionally pour your life into something or your life gets very unintentionally poured into nothing.  Meaning simply this, life passes fast.  It happens when you are not looking.  We are earnestly seeking where God would have us pour our lives with great focus and commitment.  This is a process that will never end.  God is being faithful in guiding us and we feel very excited about where He is leading us.

We would feel like we were serving Christ in every moment because that is our intention.
Adjustment- Most of the time we feel like we are living life, trying to get laundry done, cook dinner for our family, do plain ol' work... serving Christ the same way we would if we were still in Forney, TX. The reality of living here is much different than the Spiritual high of visiting on a short term mission trip. We came with high expectations of ourselves, that we would accomplish a lot in this year.  What we have realized is that things take time, long term commitment, and work.


Hope in this -  We desire to serve Christ with our entire lives, in all we do.  We will serve whether we are doing the dishes, planting a garden, feeding those who are hungry physically and spiritually, or when we are tucking our kids in at night.  No matter where we are, that is our desire.We are willing to offer our lives to accomplish the things that God would have us do over time, whether we see the fruit or not, trusting that He is in it, because we ask Him daily to guide our steps.  We are not willing to compromise in these ways.  We won't exchange comfort for honesty, truth for easiness, or the appearance of good work for actual good work.

We would agree and have an automatic connection with all other missionaries.
Adjustment- There are different ways of doing things, different gifts, different focus, different methodology, different priorities, and unfortunately politics in all areas of life, including missions.  This is what has really made us sad, and for some reason a bit shocked.  People can be in the same area, for the same purpose, but unity can remain elusive.

Hope in this -  If you are reading this and you support a missionary or know a missionary, whether it be through prayer or financially, please realize this; Your words of encouragement and your demand of accountability cannot be undervalued.

Taking our kids to serve God with all we have should be great for them and their relationship with Jesus and they would at a young age see the great purpose for their lives.
Adjustment- Now ALL the responsibility of teaching our kids about Jesus and His love and desire to have a relationship rests on us.  We no longer have the awesome children's program in our church to help build  them up and reinforce the teachings they need to know and believe.  We definitely did not take into account the pressure that our children would fall under.  Many times we have had to remind Ethan and Olivia of our purpose here and encourage them in their role as representatives as Christ.


Hope in this - This experience has made our relationships with God much deeper.  We have grown because we have had to rely on Him more.  As a family we have become reliant upon speaking of His grace and mercy to each other throughout the day.  We have seen growth in our children in their perseverance, in their faith, and in their interest to know more of God's word and His truths and promises.  We have seen them grow in their love for others and for their desire to serve.  We know that God has a great purpose for their precious lives and it is our job to help them to see it too.

We would see eternal value in our work and fruit in our relationships.
Adjustment- Relationships take time, they are compounding, much like the work you put into a project.  Every moment is not satisfying, showing direct fruit.  Relationships are also hard.  What is a relationship without honesty, trust, and truth?  This experience has helped us realize how superficial so many relationships can be, and given us a desire to have more than that.


Hope in this - We HAVE seen eternal fruit.  God HAS been working in our time here.  We have seen people come to know Christ, we have seen people smile who have little reason to smile, we have seen people filled with hope who appear to have little reason for hope.  It is easy to desire more or to convince yourself you have not done enough.  There is no telling how God has used us in the lives of students at school, the boys in baseball, the farmers in the field, and so on.

It would be easy, through social media and communication methods of today, to stay close and connected to friends and loved ones.
Adjustment - Distance is distance. Photographs and words do not adequately convey experiences.  Whether the experiences are on this end or that end, the way these things impact us and shape us in tiny increments on a daily basis affect and change us in deep ways, and these things are hard to communicate.

Hope in this - While the world sings the praises of technology, to us it is no replacement for face to face, person to person conversation and time spent.  We love our friends and family dearly and this has truly been our largest sacrifice, with no comparison to any item we may have given up in order to move to Honduras.  If the situation allows for our return to Honduras, our home is welcome and open to you anytime. There is not a day that goes by that all of you are not in our hearts and on our minds and we are greatly encouraged when you express that you remember us also.

It would be easy and fun to report back good news and happenings.
Adjustment - We realized early on that we do not want to make the things we do look bigger than they are.  We are trying, just like many of you to serve God, not man.  We also fail.  Honest communications are important.  Each day is built of moments.  Some of them turn out to be great successes that we truly believe God will use to further His kingdom.  Some of our moments are utter and complete failures that hopefully we will learn humility, patience, and perseverance from.  And some of them don't accomplish much at all, adding up to the happenings of life.  All of these things have reason to be difficult for reporting on.

Hope in this -   We desire to have others praying for us. Without knowledge of what we are doing, this can be a difficult thing to ask of anyone.  We will continue to push ourselves to report back the good and bads of our life and service, praying that those reading will read, knowing we are trying to be sincere and open and honest.

So what do we take from this?
Now that we have almost finished the year, we look back at the accomplishments and the failures and we see how much our thought has changed.  What does it mean for the future?  How might we learn from these things?  How might these experiences shape us into better servants to the King?

Antigua, Guatemala 

We will be back in the United States at the end of June.  Travis will be preaching two Sunday evenings, July 1 and July 8, at First Baptist Forney.  We hope that our friends and family can come to hear more of what we have been doing, of our hopes and direction for the future, and to get a glimpse into what in the world we are thinking. While some of the lessons we have learned in Honduras have been difficult, we are so thankful to have learned them and for our roots to be continually growing deeper and deeper into the service of Jesus Christ our King.

Travis and Julie