Going where He leads

A little over 5 years ago Todd and I stood outside Eagles Nest orphanage in Solola, Guatemala, looked each other in the eyes and said “one day we would love to come back and serve full time."

Now as you all know, a lot can happen in 5 years... time goes by, we change, we grow, the days pass by and life gets in the way.

But God.

Through a series of events over these past several weeks God has been working and redirecting our path back to a place where it all started. A place where God first revealed His plans... only at the time we didn’t realize how serious He was. He began to lead us back to the place where we first said, yes Lord, all those years ago. To a place where we are honored to one day soon call our new home.

For those of you who know me in real life- know how much I love Eagles Nest orphanage and the families who have put their hearts and souls into the lives they have touched through their ministry there. Larry and Claire Boggs have been serving in Guatemala since 1978- their hearts for the people in Guatemala and the work they have done is amazing. Their daughter Felis Patlan, her husband Pedro and their three beautiful children have returned to Guatemala to serve along side Felis’s parents. For years now we have called them our friends and now and we are thrilled to announce we have been given the privilege of being a part of their team. The Radford family also serves at Eagles Nest and we are thrilled to now have the opportunity to meet them.

There are so many reasons why I love Eagles Nest. I love the beauty, I love the fact that it is the place where I first met our daughter Mya, I love that they serve 60+ children each day there through the Manna feeding program, I love that they serve over 124 children a day there at the New Day Christian school and that there is a sports ministry as well. I love that there are apartments there for mission teams to stay when they come serve there. I love that is reeks Jesus- which is exactly what we longed for.

But most of all, I love that it is a safe haven for children like J and E.

I love that Eagles Nest is a place where these children have had the opportunity to grow and thrive and learn about the love of Jesus. Because you see, J and E are children just like yours and mine. They are precious to the Lord and they matter in this world. They have dreams and talents and now- because of Eagles Nest- they have hope.

J and E moved into Eagles Nest in June of 2010 as a court rescue situation. J and E had both been abused by their mother and step father. J was born tongue tied and is partially deaf. Their biological father died several years ago leaving them with a mother who loved alcohol and drugs more than her children. When J and E would misbehave, as all children do, as a form of punishment their mother and step father would leave them outside to sleep in the rain with no shelter. I cannot imagine what must have gone through their little heads. I cannot imagine how lost and alone they must have felt at that time in their lives.

And due to that kind of upbringing, when J and E first came to Eagles Nest orphanage they had many, many scars-they were hurting and they were afraid. They had become hardened to the world and those in it- as a form of survival. Their scars would, of course, effect their ability to have a healthy relationship with others and effect their ability to love. Yet over these past several months of living in the safety of Eagles Nest orphanage something inside of these precious children has started to change.

They found hope.

They are in a place where they know they are safe and they are experiencing the love of Jesus first hand. There is a light now in their eyes because they now realize they are precious to the Lord- and they have worth. For those of you who have heard the saying Jesus heals- J and E are the perfect example of this.

Yet for J her healing doesn’t stop at a spiritual level. Recently some of the missionaries at Eagles nest took J to have her tongue clipped. Through the ability to now move her tongue there is hope that J will be able to communicate easier and be able to grow and thrive.

Healing. Hope. Restoration.

Only God.

Todd and I are so thankful for the staff at Eagles Nest and we are overjoyed that we have been given the privilege of working alongside of them serving the children in Guatemala. We would love for you too to become invested in the lives of children like J and E. We would love to have you partner with us to help bring Jesus to the children in Guatemala. I heard a speaker once say “There is one thing worse than being lost… being lost and having no one look for you.” We are going so that we may look for them. We are going so that we may bring them hope. We are going so that they will know they are worth being found. We are going so that we may bring them Jesus. We are going because they matter.

"If a man has 100 sheep, but one of the sheep becomes lost, then the man will leave the other 99 sheep on the hill. He will go to look for the lost sheep. Right? And if the man finds the lost sheep, the man is happier about that one sheep than about the 99 sheep that were never lost. I tell you the truth. In the same way, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost." Matthew 18:12-14

If one lost soul is important to God, then one lost soul should be important to us too.

Many of you have asked if I will continue to blog when we are in Guatemala. Absolutely. I can not wait to show you all the ways the Lord is working in these children’s lives. I cannot wait to show you how much He cares- not only about working in their lives- but working in YOURS as well. There are so many ways for you to become involved- whether through sponsoring a child, going on a mission trip, sponsoring a missionary, advocating or prayer support. We would love for you to be a part of this journey with us. Our going isn’t just about our family- it’s about the body of Christ coming together and doing what He has called us all to do- some as goers and some as senders.

We would love to have you on the Eagles Nest team in whatever way the Lord leads you. Would you consider praying about how God might use you?