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Broken. I spent weeks praying for God to prepare my heart to see the things I was told I was going to see in Honduras. Families crammed in homes that were barely homes. The creek from where the people of Los Quiscamotes got their drinking water. Trash and stray dogs at every corner. Brokenness. I spent weeks praying for God to prepare my heart to see brokenness.

I learned a lot in just one short week. I learned that any conversation could spark by asking “Como se dice….” and then pointing in a random direction. It was phenomenal. I learned that in Honduras, people associate Roosters with the noise “keekeedeekee” and not our usual “cockadoodledoo”. I learned that there are about a million ways you can serve beans, tortillas, and rice. I also learned very quickly that the people of Honduras love so well. From the people of Great Commission Church-Danli, to my host family, to the random person at the market that screamed at me in Spanish to zip up my purse to hide my money- Honduras is truly a place overflowing in love.

From when I was a kid, I have always been passionate about making videos. I love the idea of capturing moments that mean a lot to me and being able to share them with people that mean a lot to me. So, I was very intentional throughout the week to record everything from boarding the planes, to the team packing food bags, to carrying water filters, to blowing bubbles with the kids at the daycare, to beat boxing on the roof, to the team looking out at the sunset on bus rides. I got it all. Well, had it all. It was about 4 days in, and my camera was completely wiped.

We evangelized to a lot of houses in that short week of being in Honduras. But there was something dramatically different about the two houses I went to right after my camera was wiped. I saw God use me and the rest of the team to absolutely transform those two houses. I saw truth be spoken and believed in 20 minutes. I saw God work miracles- with my own eyes, and not through the lenses of a camera. I came to realize that what God did within the walls of those houses were moments that no camera would ever be able to capture for its true entirety.

Beautiful. I spent a week seeing ways of which Honduras was not broken. Kids hugging everyone they could before saying good-bye. Two women crying and embracing me out of pure gratefulness for God’s relentless love and grace. An entire church community prepping all day leading up to presenting the Lord’s word for His people. I spent a week realizing that we live for a God who makes the broken, beautiful. A God that knew it took gruesome death for glorious and eternal life. A God who chooses us to help His will be done but does not need us. I spent a week coming to the realization that the brokenness I prayed for God to prepare my heart to see, was the thing that God is already making beautiful.

-Tabitha

Something new we are trying this year on our Honduras trip is distributing household water filters.  They each cost $35 to make, and we are hoping to take ~10 filters with us this year.

The basic concept is this: Pour water into the top bucket, which gets filtered by the main filter device.  Clean water drips down into the bottom bucket, and can then be used via a tap at the bottom.

The filter and tap are from Amazon for ~$19 and ~$4 respectively.  The science behind the filter itself includes a ceramic layer to filter out particles down to a 0.2 micron size.  Inside the ceramic is activated carbon, a common component of many Brita filters, which attracts little ions that (when removed) will improve the taste, color, and odor of the water.  Finally, the filter includes colloidal silver which will kill any bacteria that gets in the filter.  The entire design of the system is based off of a colleague’s referral to Safi Filters used in Africa.

We are planning to distribute these filters in the small neighborhood of Los Quiscamotes and see how receptive people are to them.  We also just found out that the buckets can be purchased locally in Danli for $5-6 each.

So, would you like to sponsor a filter for $35?

If so, you may email me ([email protected]), and pay NLCF via:

• Venmo (@NewLifeChristianFellowship)
• E-giving
• Cash or Check given to NLCF

This past month, we focused on others over ourselves in “Not-About-Us November”.  Each week we directed our attention to various ways to serve the people around us and across the globe.  We wanted to take a look back to see the impact of your time, talents, and finances…

 

Rise Against Hunger

On the first Saturday of November, 85 volunteers came in shifts to 130 Jackson in order to pack meals as part of the Rise Against Hunger program.  With the help of many and in partnership with the New Life congregation, we raised over $7,000 and packed 24,192 meals.  That’s enough to feed 66 children in Haiti for an entire year!

 

Donut Dash 5k

It was a chilly morning, but the 2nd annual Donut Dash 5k was a great success!  We had 43 runners participate the morning of, over 25 volunteers, and raised over $1,050!  Our goal was to raise $1,000, and we met that!!  The money will be put towards team expenses and projects for the 2018 Honduras trip.  Some of the possible team projects this year include building beds, plastering walls of the church’s new clinic facility, finish tile work on the clinic, ceiling work in the clinic, and supplies for the clean water project.

 

 

Hokies for the Hungry

Before the Virginia Tech vs. Pitt football game, we teamed up with the Marching Virginians in order to collect canned food and donations to support the Montgomery County Christmas Store.  This year, despite a smaller game crowd and an earlier kickoff time, we raised record numbers!!  There were 3,475 cans collected and an all-time record, $12,496 in cash donations.

 

 

Operation Christmas Child

Before Thanksgiving break, individuals, small groups, and more gathered supplies to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.  The idea is that each shoebox would be packed with toys, hygiene items, school supplies, etc. in order to be shipped to a child across the globe.  This year, we collected nearly 60 shoeboxes!  NLCF will also be taking a trip December 1-2 to the processing center in Charlotte to get first-hand experience seeing how the boxes get processed from our hands and sent across the world.

 

 

 

When Jesus met Peter, He borrowed his boat to teach the people. Then Jesus filled their nets overflowing with fish, calling out to Peter to follow Him. What is Peter’s response? He falls down in front of Jesus, overwhelmed by his inadequacy, and tells Jesus to flee from him.

“Don’t you know what you are signing up for, Lord? Don’t you know my many sins? Here is your chance to leave, to choose someone better; I would understand.”

Jesus replies, “Don’t be afraid.” I imagine Him saying this tenderly, and maybe with a little laughter, like when someone tells a child they don’t need to be afraid of the monster under their bed. “Don’t be afraid, Peter; I know you completely. Don’t be afraid, Peter; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Don’t be afraid, Peter; I have a special purpose for you. Don’t be afraid, Peter; I have loved you with and everlasting love.”

The monster under our bed is no match for Jesus. In the face of all our inadequacy, He calls out to us, “Don’t be afraid! Follow Me and I will make what you have more than enough.”

Are we willing to listen?

-Elle Humes

(Luke 5:1-11)

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1

There is so much truth in this verse that I often missed as a new believer. When singing the popular song based on this verse, I would get annoyed with the repetition. My head filled with criticisms like, “no duh, we were set free for freedom. I get it. Shut up already! Time to move on!” One day though, it finally clicked. I wasn’t set free to be perfect. I wasn’t set free to perform or to make God happy. I wasn’t set free for anything other than freedom – that’s how much Jesus loved me. My freedom, no matter what I chose to do with it, was the gift He died to give me.

After that day, freedom became so precious to me, and I wished other people could see what I saw in this verse. I wanted everyone to be as excited about this gift as I was. But, in my excitement, I neglected the whole second half of the verse. Every time I would mess up, fall back into sin, or be harsh with someone, I would feel worthless. To me, freedom still meant I had to be perfect. Freedom was fragile and had to be guarded carefully, or it would break. Anytime I failed to stand firm, I became a failure. And of course, that is exactly what the enemy wanted me to believe. I messed up, so now my freedom was gone and Jesus couldn’t possibly love me. What a heartbreaking lie!

Today, I am learning that while freedom is precious, it isn’t fragile. I may fail to stand firm, but I still have a choice. Galatians asks me, will you choose to submit only to Christ, and not to slavery? When I fail to stand firm, I don’t have to give up! Satan may back me down a few steps from the summit, but slavery is in the valley. I refuse to back there.

~Elle Humes

I graduated college last May and felt very accomplished…for about an hour. Almost as soon as we finished taking pictures and moving out, people began to ask me “well, what are you going to do now?” I imagine most people were genuinely interested in my life and wanted to connect with me; but as someone with a chronic illness, answering this question became more and more difficult. The truth is, I’m not up to much. Not much that people can see anyway.

I believe God often takes people through a time of great trial before they can be ready for what He has in store. He took Jesus into the wilderness, He takes our staff through support raising, and He might take you to LT this summer. Only Jesus knows exactly how to shape you for your specific purpose. I don’t know why my wilderness has to be poor health, but it is, and I have been asked to share my journey with you, NLCFers!

This week I am beginning to talk with God about how to learn patience. I know I am going to have to use a lot of it in this season. I know it’s important. But I don’t know how to become patient. When I think of patience, I think of a mom teaching her kids to read. What do you think about? Do you know anyone who is extraordinarily patient?

~Elle Humes
2017 NLCF Alum