art.

first want to apologize for my major lack of blogging. thankfully, sarah and mary elizabeth have been better than me in keeping everyone updated. it is safe to say that teaching english is not what i expected to be doing. yet, the Lord saw fit to put me right smack dab in the middle of one of the poorest areas in tegucigalpa. each morning, 50 kids [ages 8-11] greet kimberly and i with "good morning teacher!!" absolutely adorable? maybe just a little. the Lord has also blessed us with the opportunity to minister to the orphans at casitas kennedy. because we usually don't know what age group we are working with or what activities we are doing until we arrive, each day is an adventure.

what has the Lord been teaching me?

right before we left for honduras, all of the interns at buckner had a sweet time of worship and prayer. during that time we sang the words, "your will above all else, my purpose remains; the art of losing myself in bringing you praise." as i stumble through teaching english, speaking spanish, and painting countless toenails the Lord continues to refine me.

"and I will put his third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested." zechariah 13:9a

the Lord has revealed sin upon sin. fear, selfishness, pride, discontentment, and anger are just a few. the reveling of this sin is painful, it hurts. i have mourned, and i have been comforted. i know that the trials will still come and sin will continue to be mourned. but i am confidant that God is refining me and all believers to be more like his son.

the one doing the refining is truly an artist. the only way he knows when the process of purifying is complete is when he sees his own image reflected in the silver. i know that the Lord has a lot more refining to do until he can see his own image when looking at me.

here's to sanctification!!

"therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. the old has passed away; behold, the new has come." 2 corinthians 5:17

three of my students.

we're here!!

i first want to thank all of you for your prayers!! we arrived in dallas on wednesday (early) morning. we met up with our fourth intern, kimberly. she is too precious and has such a sweet spirit. honestly, i am hoping she can handle us haynes sisters. i think she is up to the challenge. training was wonderful. i can't speak highly enough of buckner. not only did they prepare us physically for the challenging month ahead, they made sure to prepare us spiritually, emotionally, and mentally.

we arrived in tegucigalpa with all of our luggage. woohoo!! sidenote: did you know that the tegucigalpa airport is the second most dangerous airport in the world? well, we didn't until after we landed. we were picked up by nettie, our in country missions coordinator, and louis and karla (our translators for the next month). all of them were so welcoming and even laughed at my jokes...BONUS!! we quickly checked into our "apartment" and headed off to casitas kennedy orphanage. when we arrived we were told that we would not be allowed to take pictures. at first we were all bummed, but God has a purpose. i can tell you that each individual there is absolutely beautiful!! although you won't be able to see their faces, rest in the fact that God knitted them together and he sees them.

hopefully i will be able to update every few days. thank you again for your prayers!!

rejoice in hope.

"Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:1-5

two weeks. fourteen days. 336 hours.

in two short weeks i will be traveling back to the beautiful country of honduras!! words cannot describe how truly humbled i am that the Lord has chosen to send me back to the country i love so much. the past two summers i have worked in san pedro sula, honduras. however, this summer the Lord saw fit to send me to honduras's capital, tegucigalpa. although my heart aches at the thought of not holding and loving on my sweet babies back at nueva esperanza and talking and praying with my precious girls at casitas, i am beyond excited to meet more of God's precious creations in tegucigalpa!! i will be serving at casitas kennedy orphanage and ctc-el eden [a community center]. did i mention i get to serve along side my two best friends? that's right, sarah, mary elizabeth, and i are all heading down to good ol' honduras together. how sweet is the Lord to allow us this opportunity?

honduras be prepared. the haynes girls don't mess.

"...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." Ephesians 3:17-19

abide with me.

ABIDE with me! fast falls the eventide,

The darkness deepens: Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O, abide with me!

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile;

And, though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,

Thou hast not left me, oft as I left thee;

On to the close, O Lord, abide with me!

I need thy presence every passing hour:

What but thy grace can foil the tempter's power?

Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?

Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me!

I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;

Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness:

Where is death's sting? Where, grave, they victory?

I triumph still if thou abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes,

Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies.

Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee:

In life and death, O Lord, abide with me!

Henry Lyte, 1847

july 29, 2010

“to belong to Jesus is to embrace the nations with Him, that He will one day rule entirely…your heart was made for this.” -john piper

july 29, 2010 is a day that will forever be etched in my mind. it was on this day that the Lord revealed his heart to me through three orphaned boys. i, along with two members of a mission team from texas, was making my way through nueva esperanza orphanage delivering a coke (a rare luxury) to the workers. as i opened the door to one of the rooms i heard mumbled yells coming from the corner. the room was separated by a locked gate. i opened the gate to find three severely mentally retarded orphaned boys. each one of them was painfully malnourished and each of their heads were full of lice. they had no food, no toys, no sunlight, and what seemed like no hope. i could feel the heat rushing to my face; i was so angry. why weren't these boys getting the care they needed? why didn't anyone fight for them? why were they not receiving the love they so desperately needed? although i couldn't find the answers to any of these questions, i found peace in knowing that "the LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit." i didn't have much time with them, but i am so thankful that the Lord allowed me to love them and pray for them. the Lord used these three little boys to bless me more than i could ever bless them. i felt such a strong love for them, and i didn't even know their names...

in his book Radical david platt writes: “Orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” my friends, i take comfort in the fact that God knows their names, He has seen their faces, and He has held them in his arms. i must tell you what a humbling experience it is to hold something so dear to His heart in my own arms.

"Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." Proverbs 31:8-9

romans 12:15

"Rejoice with those who rejoice,

weep with those who weep."

Thank you sweet Maryuri for living out God's word in front of me, and for teaching me more than you will ever know.