Things. Las cosas.

This blog has nothing to do with my trip this summer. But it does all at the same time.

Este blog no es en respeto de mi viaje este verano. Pero, al mismo vez, lo es.

Why is the world hurting? Why, as much as we try, can't we make things right? We're Christians. We know a greater joy. Why can't everyone realize it? We have a hope. Why can't everyone feel it, too?

Por que el mundo tiene dolor? Por que, tanto como tratar de, no podemos hacer las cosas bien? Somos Cristianos. Conocemos un gozo mayor. Por que el todo mundo no pueden realizar lo? Tenemos una esperanza. Por que el todo mundo no pueden sentir lo, tambien?

Think of the Kingdom of God. The place where God rules and reigns and is in control of. The place that was, is, and will be. The Kingdom that came to earth when Jesus came the first time, in which He broke Satan's power. The place where we live now, the places we take the gospel of Jesus Christ to. And the Kingdom that will come in its fullness when Jesus Christ returns a second time, and complete destroys Satan's power. 

Piensen sobre el Reino de Dios. El lugar donde Dios gobierna y reina y tiene el control de. El lugar que era, es, y sera. El Reino que venia a la tierra cuando Jesus venia el primero vez, en lo que rompió el poder de Satanás. El lugar donde vivimos ahora, los lugares traemos el evangelio de Jesucristo. Y el Reino que vendra en su totalidad cuando Jesucristo regresara por la segunda vez, y completamente destruira el poder de Satanás.

"Then they gathered around him and asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them: 'It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'" Acts 1:6-11


"Entonces los que estaban reunidos con él le preguntaron: —Señor, ¿es ahora cuando vas a restablecer el reino a Israel? —No les toca a ustedes conocer la hora ni el momento determinados por la autoridad misma del Padre —les contestó Jesús—. Pero cuando venga el Espíritu Santo sobre ustedes, recibirán poder y serán mis testigos tanto en Jerusalén como en toda Judea y Samaria, y hasta los confines de la tierra.
Habiendo dicho esto, mientras ellos lo miraban, fue llevado a las alturas hasta que una nube lo ocultó de su vista. Ellos se quedaron mirando fijamente al cielo mientras él se alejaba. De repente, se les acercaron dos hombres vestidos de blanco, que les dijeron: —Galileos, ¿qué hacen aquí mirando al cielo? Este mismo Jesús, que ha sido llevado de entre ustedes al cielo, vendrá otra vez de la misma manera que lo han visto irse.'" Hechos 1:6-11


So, Jesus left. When someone you love leaves, you miss them, right? Things are different when they are gone, no? Look at the story of Robin Hood. The rightful king, Richard, leaves. And his brother, John, takes control of the kingdom. John does not care about the people in the kingdom, so he steals from them and they become peasants. Robin Hood becomes the hero by stealing from the rich, the king, to feed the poor. Until one day, King Richard comes back, takes his throne back, and restores the kingdom.

Entonces, Jesus salido. Cuando alguien que usted ama se va, se extraña, verdad? Las cosas son diferentes cuando se han ido, no? Mira a la historia de Robin Hood. El rey legitimo, Richard, irse. Y su hermano, John, toma el control del reino. John no preocupa por la gente, entonces el roba de ellos y se converten en pobres. Robin Hood se converte en el heroe por robando los ricos, el rey, para alimentar los pobres. Hasta un dia, Rey Richard regresa, toma su trono, y restaura el reino.

Same thing with Christ. A friend showed me this song a while back and I've been thinking about it ever since:

There is coming a day when the Bridegroom is taken away
And in that day they will mourn; in that day they will fast

Things as they are are not okay
When Someone is missing, Someone is absent

I’ll stay here and mourn for You, I’ll stay here and fast for You
I’ll stay here and watch for You, I’ll stay here and wait for You

Things are not okay right now, things are not okay right now
Things are not okay right now, things are not okay right now

And they won’t be till You come back
And they won’t be till You come back

I will embrace the ache of a lovesick heart
I will embrace the ache of a lovesick heart

Es lo mismo con Cristo. Una amiga me muestra esta cancion hace un tiempo y he sido piensando sobre la desde entonces:

Hay una dia viene cuando el novio es quitara

Y en esa dia los llorar; en esa dia los ayunara

Las cosas como son, no estan bien

Cuando alguien esta perdida, alguien esta ausente

Yo quedare aqui y llorar por ti, qudare aqui y ayunar por ti

Yo quedare aqui y mirar por ti, quedare aqui y esperar por ti

Las cosas no estan bien ahora mismo, Las cosas no estan bien ahora mismo

Las cosas no estan bien ahora mismo, Las cosas no estan bien ahora mismo

Y no estan hasta regresas

Y no estan hasta regresas

Voy a abrazar el dolor de un corazon enfermo de amor

Voy a abrazar el dolor de un corazon enfermo de amor

Changes the way you think about the world, doesn't it? 

Things here are not right, because Jesus hasn't come back yet. And until he does its our job to tell whoever He puts in our path that He is coming back. That there is hope. That it won't be like this forever. That one day His Kingdom will come and His will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Se cambia el manera que piensa sobre el mundo, no?
Las cosas aqui no estan bien, porque Jesus no ha vuelto todavia. Y hasta entonces es nuestra trabajo decir cualquiera en nuestra camino que El esta regresando. Que hay esperanza. Que las cosas no sera como este para siempre. Que un dia Su Reino vendra y Su voluntad se cumplira en la tierra como se cumple en el cielo.

Until then I will embrace the ache of a lovesick heart.

I will live like He is coming back.

Things are not okay,

but that's ok.

He's comin back.

Until then, you can call me Robin Hood.

Hasta entonces voy a abrazar un corazon enfermo de amor.
Voy a vivir como El esta regresando.
Las cosas no estan bien,
pero esta bien.
El esta regresando.
Hasta entonces, puede llamarme Robin Hood. 

Let's go! Vamos!

Ok, from here on out this blog will be bilingual. There will a paragraph in English, then one in Spanish, etc.
Ok, desde este momento este blog será bilingüe. Estará un paragrafo en ingles, un en español, y etc.
Let's go to the Nations!
Vamos a las naciones!

Sounds great, but if you're not careful, the planning can become overwhelming. If you like being independent, like I do, its hard to step back for a second and let God work. Its hard to remember whatever you do with your life should be His plan, and therefore, He has the power to do it.

Se parece bien, pero si no tiene cuidado, la planificacion puede llegar a ser abrumadora. Si se gusta ser independiente, como me gusta ser, es dificil a parar por un segundo y permita Dios trabajar. Es dificil recordar que lo que sea hace con tu vida debe ser Su plan, y por lo tanto, Él tiene el poder para hacer lo.

"Then the Lord spoke to me: 'They [the church] cannot speak what you will speak. They will not go where you will go. You are called to be their servant. You must go where I will send you on their behalf....
   I am not in any trouble,' He [warned], 'that I need someone to beg for Me or help Me out. I made no promises that I will not keep. It is not the largeness of the work that matters, but only doing what I command. All I ask of you is that you be a servant. For all who join with you in the work, it will be a privilege- a light burden for them.'
   The words echoed in my mind. This is his work, I told myself. Why am I making it mine? The burden is light. Why am I making it heavy? The work is a privilege. Why am I making it a chore?" - K.P. Yohannan in his book Revolution in World Missions.

"Entonces el Señor me hablo: 'Ellos [la iglesia] no pueden hablar lo que hablarás. No pueden ir a donde tu irás. Eres llamado ser su servidor. Debes ir a donde te enviaré en su favor....
  No estoy en problemas,' Él [me advirtó], 'no nesecito alguien a mendigar por mi o ayudarme. No hice promesas que no voy a mantener. No es la amplitud de la obra que es importa, pero solo hacer lo que te comando. Todo lo que te pido es que serás un servidor. Para todos los que se une a ti, será un privilegio- una carga ligera por ellos.'
   Las palabras se hizo eco en mi mente. Este es Su obra, me dijé. Por que estoy haciendo la mia? La carga esta ligera. Por que estoy haciendo la pesada? La obra es un privilegio. Por que estoy haciendo la una faena?" - K.P. Yohannan en su libro Revolucion en Misiones Mundiales.

In making the plans for this summer into reality my mind set was: I have to do this. And I have to do that. I knew God could do it. But I still had my doubts that I could make it work. Then I read the passage from Yohannan's book. It was like one of those "DUH" moments. God is powerful, nuff said.

En haciendo los planes por esto verano a la realidad mi mentalidad era: Yo tengo hacer este. Y Yo tengo que hacer eso. Yo sabia que Dios podria hacer lo. Pero todavia tuve dudas que Yo podria hacer lo. Depues, leí la pasaje del libro de Yohannan. Fue como un momento de "YO SABIA ESO". Dios es poderoso, este es suficiente.

Speaking of God is powerful, the Honduras trip was amazing! Everything came together, logistics were taken care off, and for details that weren't taken care of God has given us great people to leave in charge. And we have been given open doors to minister. We met with the minister of disaster relief who has connects to 400 schools and we met with the vice-minister of education who told us he would help us with anything we needed.

En respecto de Dios es poderoso, el viaje a Honduras fue magnifico! Todo salia bien, la logistica esta en orden, y por los detalles que estamos trabajando en todavia Dios nos dío buena gente dejar a cargo. Y nos dado puertas abiertas para presentar el evangelismo. Nos reunimos con el ministro de alivio de desastres quien tiene conexiones a 400 escuelas y con el vice-ministro de educacion quien nos dijó va para ayudarnos con todo lo que nesecitamos.

We had the opportunity to go to a town about an hour away from Tegulcigalpa called San Juancito. Last year there were 8 teens who committed suicide because of the hopelessness in the town. The first time we were in San Juancito we were able to minister to a few high school students and one of them got saved and is now attending the Christian church that was just started in the town. We visited the church the second time we went to the town on Sunday. There are some pictures of the church below.

Tuvimos la oportunidad de ir a un pueblo casi un hora afuera de Tegulcigalpa se llama San Juancito. En el año pasado era 8 jovenes quien se suicidó por causa de la desesperanza en el pueblo. El primero vez que estuvimos en San Juancito nos eramos poder hablar con unos jovenes en el colegio y un de ellos se convertió un Cristiano y ahora esta asistiendo la iglesia que se acabo de establecer en el pueblo. Visitamos la iglesia por el segundo vez cuando fuimos a ahí en domingo. Hay fotos de la iglesia abajo.

When we take the youth in June we plan on spending a whole day, maybe two, in San Juancito to minister in the schools and give food bags to the poorest families in the town. 

Cuando traemos los jovenes de nuestro iglesia en junio planemos pasar un dia, quizas dos, en San Juancito para presentar el evangelismo en las escuelas y dar comida a las familias quien son los mas pobresas del pueblo.

Our "wrangler" for the week was Alfonso. It was great getting to know him and hearing his story. He went from a life of drugs and alcohol to a life totally committed to Christ. Its amazing what God can do in someone's life and the change that can happen. I'd like to ask you to keep him in your prayers. Before he was saved he lived in the States with his now ex-wife and two kids. But then got into some trouble, got deported and was told he could never come back to the States. So now the only way he can see his kids is if he can get the money to send them to visit him in Honduras. He now lives with his brothers and he does his best to serve Christ, even though his brothers don't always make it easy for him. But you'd never hear him complain. He is determined to live a life as a servant of Christ. 

Nuestro "commandante" por la semana era Alfonso. Fue grandisimo a concerse y escuchar su testimonio. El tuvó una vida de las drogas y alcohol y ahora tiene una vida completamente entregado a Cristo. Es asombroso lo que Dios puede hacer en la vida de alguien y el cambio que puede pasar. Yo quisiera pedirles a mantener él en sus oraciones. Antes de él era un Cristiano, vivia en los estados con su ex-esposa y sus hijos dos. Pero él se metió en problemas, fue deportado y se dijieron que nunca podria regresar a los estados. Ahora la unica manera puede ver sus hijos es si él puede obtener el dinero para enviar sus hijos a Honduras. Él vive con sus hermanos ahora y hace su mejor a servir Cristo, aunque sus hermanos no siempre hacen lo facil por él. Pero nunca se oía quejar. Él esta decidido a vivir una vida como un servidor de Cristo.

Alfonso, Jessica and Me.

The few days I've been back have seemed to be none stop. So much planning, so many thoughts, so many prayers prayed. And only three months until we leave. Oh my goodness... O_O But don't get me wrong, I'm SO excited.

Los pocos dias que he sido vuelto ha parecido pasar sin parar. Tanto la planificacion, tantos pensamientos, tantas oraciones rezadas. Y solo tres meses hasta salimos. Ava maria pues... O_O Pero no me malinterpreten, estoy MUY emocianada.

And I have more pictures of Honduras on my Facebook.

Y tengo mas fotos de Honduras en mi Facebook.

Adventuras. Adventures. Mission trips are definitely that. You decide to go and God does some pretty amazing stuff. I was thinking about my past mission trips, and life in general, and you could compare them to a game of chess. We are the pieces, He is the player. Each piece is moved in a different way for one purpose: to win. Each person lives a different life for one purpose: to win... by bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

I want to introduce mi amigaza (my super friend) Jessica Evans. We both have a desire to live the life God has created us to live, as missionaries. So we chess pieces are off to Honduras and Colombia.

TOMORROW!!! (I'm a little excited) We're going to Honduras for a week for a preliminary trip for our church's youth trip this Summer. There are nine of us going all together. We will be going to Tegucigalpa, Honduras to set up things like where we will be staying, transportation as well as meeting with local pastors and school leaders for ministry opportunities when we take the youth in June.

After the youth trip in June is when me and Jessica plan to stay in Colombia. We'll be in Pereira, Colombia for two months with Kevin and Christine Cunningham. Kevin and Christine are a missionary couple from the U.S. who have lived in Colombia for almost 5 years now. We will be helping them with an evangelistic project they are putting together for the World Cup which is in Colombia this year.

We will also be in Barranquilla, Colombia for two months. Me and Jessica had the opportunity two go to Barranquilla twice last year and we really like the city and the people there and are very excited that we get the chance to go back. We will be staying with our friend, Magdalena. We'll help her with the ministry she does in the schools. And we have many friends in the local churches there so we will no doubt be helping them with the evangelism they do in the city.

I'm hoping I will be able to keep this blog updated with new developments about our trip. Plus the many stories have that will happen between now, then and beyond. But right now it is time to pack for Honduras and try to keep myself from bouncing off the walls with excitement.