Sunday, June 30, 2013

West Wilderness Camp Service Project


This past Saturday was the last day of West Wilderness Camp, at our church, and the lesson of the day was on service.  To teach the kids about serving others, we had them decorate boxes, write notes and fill the boxes with school supplies.  When we go on our trip, we will deliver the boxes to the 23 kids at the new school.  The kids had a great time doing it and I will be excited to show the children in Honduras pictures of our kids getting everything together!






"For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don't use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "
Galatians 5:13-14

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Something New in Me

Recently, I have been looking for words that would explain the overwhelming feeling I have had lately.    I have felt a peace in my life that I have never felt before.  Happy to be right where God has put me at this very moment in time.  On June 13th, my daily devotional said it better than I ever could have.  


I am loving the joyful feeling of being used by the Lord.  I am excited each day to see what he has in store for me.  I have been in awe of Him, His wonderfulness, and how much He truly cares for every single one of us.  I have been amazed by the work He is doing in the lives of those around me, as well as my own life.  Having the opportunity to occasionally see parts of His plans working out, right in front of me, has been such a blessing.  Knowing that He has a wonderful plan for our future has brought so much peace into my life.  I have been feeling so blessed!

"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."
Phillipians 4:6-7


Thinking of Others


We received these letters today and they definitely brought a smile to my face.  How sweet of you to think of us and the people of Honduras, Coen kids!  What giving hearts you all have!!

"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
Hebrews 13:16

Monday, June 10, 2013

Garage Sale Update


We had a garage sale this past weekend to help raise money for our trip.  We weren't as busy as we had hoped, but we ended up making about $500 anyway.  Thank you to anyone who came over and made some purchases.  We are so thankful to the Minters and our neighbor Sherry, who brought some things over for us to sell and let us keep the profits!

We also were excited to be able to bless someone else who stopped by the sale.  Another neighbor's brother and his wife have been trying to have a baby for years and are finally able to adopt a little girl from Albania this fall. Our neighbor came over and took ALL of our size 4 and 5 clothes and we gave her a really, really good deal :)  She was so excited about getting all the clothes and this little girl will be well outfitted for the next two years!  It is so neat to think about this little orphan girl coming to America and finally having a home and a family, and this couple who have desperately wanted a child, to finally have one.  God is so good!!


"For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, show no partiality and taking no bribe.  He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing."
Deuteronomy 10:17-18

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Newsletter From Honduras


Keren sent me this newsletter from Honduras.  I thought I would share so that you can get a little idea of what's happening there.


HI FROM HONDURAS

Have you ever thought about living in a place where you will enjoy summer all year round?          Well that is the weather in Honduras most of the time. During the summer, temperatures start in the 90’s and in the months of March, April, and May, temperatures can reach up to 120 degrees.  The coolest months are November, December and January, with 70’s and 80’s. No matter what the weather is like, we enjoy the nice life in the community, outdoor activities, school, projects and social events. Here at Ministries of Faith and New Life [Ministerios de Fe Vida Nueva] we try to enjoy every single moment, even those hot, humid days when you want to stay outside because the shade under the tree has cooler temperatures than inside the house. 

Many Honduran families live in small shacks made of cardboard, plastic, mud, sticks, rubber, adobe, and whatever they can find to build a place where they can survive. Most of the children attending our feeding program come from a poor neighborhood named “Nazareth”. Some of the children live in shacks. Even though their every day surrounding is extreme poverty, they are happy and enjoying every single day. They do not worry about what to eat, what to wear, they just go with what that day brings. To some of you this might sound sad and hopeless, but it is not. Most of these kids have come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Here at Ministries of Faith we understand the importance of providing ways for them to have more options for a better education and a better life. In our feeding program we have served up to 95 children Monday through Friday. The meal provided to them is sometimes the only good meal they get that day.

With the new school we are trying to provide scholarships for poor kids.  We have four students on scholarship this school year and are planning on adding more next year. Our goal is to have 40% of the students on scholarship.

As many of you know, this year we began our community outreach program called "My House Project".  The idea came from different mission teams that have visited Ministries of Faith.  The premise is to build a small house for a widow or a poor family at no cost to them.   Funds are raised by the teams that want to work on the project.  Last February, we finished building the first house, which was given to an older lady and her granddaughter.  This June, we will build a second house for another needy family.  There are three groups involved in this project, a group from Prairie Ridge Church, Ankeny, IA and two groups from First Baptist Church in Marshalltown, IA.  Through these actions, we are saying to the community of Azacualpa, "We love you and God loves you too."  The presentation of the Gospel is not just words but actions that show our love, care, and respect for others, especially the less fortunate.




We want to say thank you for supporting and loving God’s people and thank you for every single dollar that you give with love and compassion.

May God continue to bless you.


Chelly and her children, recipients of a new little house.

Friday, June 7, 2013

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Getting A Taste Of Honduras



The missions team went to a Central American restaurant were they served us a delicious Honduran meal. They had red shells with hamburger and vegetables then we had tortilla pockets with cheese and plantains with cream and sugar. The place we ate at was called El Salvador Del Mundo. We are having a garage sale and other fundraisers.  I’d like to say thank you to the people who have already sent money.  It’s exciting to go down to the mailbox and find money!

-Ella


"Taste and see that the Lord is good.  Happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!"
Psalm 34:8

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Confirmation

After the first meeting about the mission trip, Clint told me that he didn't think that he could go on the trip because it would be a lot of time off work.  Ella expressed a strong desire in going, but I just wasn't sure that we should go without Clint.  The date was approaching when we had to make our deposit for the trip and I just wasn't sure whether we should go alone and leave all the boys to fend for themselves at home.  

This couple used to be in our small group at church for a couple of months before they decided to switch churches. We hung out with them a handful of times at small group and saw them occasionally at church. The two of us connected and had great conversations about raising Godly children, the power we have been given by Christ, the power of our words, etc. Kristi sent me an email a little before Christmas to tell me that they were pulling their 4 kids out of school because they felt that God was calling them to homeschool. She wanted to get together some time so the kids could play and we could chat. 

We finally ended up getting together in February.  We were catching up and I told her that Ella and I were planning on going on a mission trip with our church to a children's home in Honduras. She just started to say, "Now it make sense! Now it makes sense!" I was so confused. S
he ran to the kitchen and brought me an envelope.  She told me that she really has a heart for orphans and that this morning during her prayer time God was telling her that she needed to give me some money. She was confused about why and how she would even bring it up to me, but had put the money in an envelope and written a bible verse on a paper inside. She had called her husband and discussed what she should do, but really felt like she needed to be obedient to God. She wondered if maybe we needed the money to fix a car or something. We sat and cried about how awesome God is and how this is the God that we serve and He loves us so much!! It was so neat to bring Ella and her daughters up to tell them about it and to show them the power of being obedient to God. 

When I got in the car, I opened the envelope and the amount they had given us was the exact amount we needed to put down as a deposit! This was just confirmation to me that God is wanting us to go to Honduras.  I can not say how thankful I am that Kristi was faithful and obedient to what God was asking of her.  If she had not been, neither of us would have this testimony to share.  After this experience, I have been praying that God would help me to be as obedient as Kristi was, even when it might be really hard or really uncomfortable.  A lot of the times, we will never see the results of this faithfulness while we are here on Earth, but occasionally, He gives us a little glimpse of His plans through experiences like this and it is oh so sweet.  God is so good!


 

It All Started With A Video...

You might wonder how our desire to go to Honduras got sparked, so I thought I would share.  One night at our connection group last fall, our leaders asked a couple from our group, Keren and Andrew Terry, to share about the work that Keren's parents, Pastor Dago and Dilia Zelaya, are doing in Honduras.  She shared this video with us and it touched my heart.


When it was over, I said, "When can we go?!?" In the next few days, I talked with one of our pastors and found out that our church was planning a trip to Honduras.  I told him that day that I was going.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalm 34:18

Welcome!

Hello from the Patterson ladies and welcome to our little blog!  We hope to be able to share all the amazing things that God is doing in our lives, to bring glory to Him and hope to His people.  I asked Ella to write a little bit about the mission trip we will be taking in August, so here you go :)


We are going to Honduras we will be staying at New Hope an orphanage in Azacualpa, Honduras. We will be working with local schools, their lunch feeding program, spending time with the orphans and people in the town.  We also will be learning about their culture. I am hoping that I will get some time to spend with just the children. I always like the feeling that we are making a difference in a different country.  

-Ella