This was my eighth trip to Honduras and Owen’s fourth. There always seems to be one major thing that stands out every year from this experience. This year there were two, “worth’ and “community”.

We have early morning and evening devotionals. On the first night one of the dads lead us in a very thought provoking and impactful devotional. Without going into great detail, he talked through the different generations of our culture (Millennials, Gen X, etc.) and that studies are showing that many people from those generations are struggling with their “self” worth.

It made a lot of sense as he discussed how many people are investing so much of their time seeking acceptance and worth on the many social media platforms that are at our exposal. Clearly our youth are growing up in a “see me” through a screen culture.

All people want to be known, seen and accepted, but most often what is posted is the best version of ourselves and experiences.   The stuff that we don’t want people to know, we don’t share. But the truth is, if people don’t know the “all” of us and they are accepting only the best version of us, we are really never going to feel known or accepted.   Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is anything wrong with sharing the “good stuff” with other people through social media platforms. It is often encouraging, thought provoking and just nice to hear about people’s experiences, but those are not the things that give us our worth.

We are all given our true worth by God our creator. He made us exactly the way we are perfectly in his image.  He knows the “all” of us and gives us our worth.  To know him and understand his love for us is a worth that no one else can give us.

Being able to feel and know that worth comes only from community with God the Father that is made possible through our personal decision to accept the sacrifice that his son Jesus Christ made on the cross for each of us. A good friend, whom I trust, recently said he knows that there is a starting point for some people’s experience but that making a decision to live your life for Christ isn’t a moment in time, it’s a lifetime.

God allowing his son to be severely beaten, then he allowed him to sacrifice his life on the cross, so that we could have eternal community with him, makes it so clear to me how much we are all worth to him.  I am at such peace knowing that God knows everything there is to know about me, the good, the bad and the ugly and yet still desires to be in community with me.  I know that I am completely known and unconditionally loved by him, that is where my true worth and value comes from.

After that there is more.  As I am in community with him, I am in community with others that have accepted his grace, which also gives me an additional sense of love and worth. That becomes so clear to me as I unplug from my normal routine and plug into the experiences this trip gives all of us every year.  The reality is I see most of this group only once a year as we come together in Honduras and yet because of our common bond through Jesus Christ, there is an undeniable sense of love, grace, acceptance and ultimately “worth”.

I am so thankful for how this trip has influenced me as well as my sons over the years and grateful to be able to share it with others.

If you would like to donate, know that your resources are spent wisely to help these children:

All God’s Children

PO Box 5909

Villa Park, IL 60181

 

 

Dump at Tequcigalpa where families scavenge to make a living

Owen causing trouble of course along with our leader John PAll our kids on the tripChurch Sunday morning with all the childrenOwen and Griffin with one of the women from Casa Misericordia which is the facility that houses and cares for mentally challenged womenOur group getting ready to leave Tequcigalpa for Comaya Gua A school started for the children to attend while their parents work at the dump Girls at the AFE- School at the dump Owen with one of the boys from the farm orphanage Owen and I at the hotel courtyard where we stay  Jimmy, amazing young man going to the university to be an architect.  He has been at the farm since he was 8.  Owen and his buddy Brian Owen and Pamilia I first met Pamilia 8 years ago when she was 5 Our last evening devotional lead by Ray Carter.  A tradition we all are blessed by.  

Evening at the town square in Comayagua

Owen building a lego helicopter with the boys

Boys at the farm playing a game before Awana

Owen playing with one of the boys at the farm

Outdoor shelter for the girls to play under, built by the Band of Brothers