Where Is My Heart?

It’s hard for me to know what to blog about because so much goes on everyday. Everything is always changing, like a roller coaster ride going up and down. So I put it off while trying to figure out what story to share and then even more happens! It’s almost as if I need to blog everyday but even then I’d still have so much to say! I realize also that I need to put pictures up, it’s just very time consuming but I will try some soon. There are some on Facebook if you wanna check them out.

Okay so lets see…

On Sunday after church we (Nat, Kay, Tony, Nidia and I) went out for lunch at Little Ceasers. Carlos had stayed in Los Pinos and none of the other boys were with us so we had a very quiet, relaxing time together. Afterwards we went back to Los Pinos to pick up Carlos and Ronnie’s family before heading over to visit Ronnie. We’d brought Carlos a
couple pieces of pizza and a cup of coke because he now lives with us. All the kids were in the back and I turned around to see what was going on when I heard bursts of laughter. The sight that met my eyes brought great delight to my heart. Carlos, who was probably very hungry but knowing that the others were hungry too, shared with Ariel, Dania and Amalia instead of eating his food all to himself. He even passed around his coke! Not only did he share with them, on top of it all he was joyful. He didn’t look annoyed that he had to share or
upset because he was still hungry. I was beyond impressed and blessed by the situation unfolding behind me. What a testimony! It reminded me of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with the boys 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish… on a much smaller scale of course. Guaranteed Jesus was looking down and smiling at Carlos, filled with love and joy seeing His son following after His own heart. A few days later I was reading Crazy Love and found this verse-
 Isaiah 58:6-7 Is it not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

These verses fire me up for so many reasons! Jesus wants to lose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, He wants to set the oppressed free and break every yoke!
Hallelujah! How many times have I cried over the injustice of this world- for the starving children, for the ones who are being forced to kill their families and the families of others, for the women who are sold into sexual slavery and for the ones who choose it, for the people in this world who don’t know love in any sense of the word, for the kids who are on the street sniffing paint thinner because no one believes in them. Jesus wants to see this redeemed so much more than I ever could. All of this hurts His heart more than it ever could mine. Praise the Lord! The second reason is He is telling us to share our food with the hungry and that’s exactly what Carlos did. No one asked or told him to, he just did it. A 13 year old boy.

Wow. How many times do I even consider going hungry in order to feed someone else who’s hungry and probably hasn’t eaten for a while? Sadly, not very often. Is it so much for Jesus to ask of me, me who has been blessed with so much? It shouldn’t be. This is where Jesus heart is. So where is mine? Where is yours?

I'm Back!

The first few days here in Honduras have been wonderful. My sisters and I were met at the airport by Tony and a few of the boys. Oh it was so good to hold my boys in my arms again. Carlos is living with us right now and it’s going super well. He brings so much joy and entertainment into our lives. He has started calling me his mama and nati and kaleigh are his tia’s (aunties). Yesterday we started English class with Carlos and he did Spanish class for us. So fun :)

Tony and Nathan have been telling us of their plans and dreams for the new property and we’ve been able to help put them into action by raking, and picking up garbage and glass bottles.

On Tuesday we went with Tony to take Ronnie to Rehab. Ronnie was so excited and so ready to change his life for the better. On Sunday we get to go visit him and see how his first week went. Please keep him in your prayers!

It seems as if everyday, even within minutes plans change. We think God is doing one thing and the next thing we know He is surprising us by doing something different. Our constant phrase seems to be "never a dull moment". God is doing so many amazing things here and I feel so blessed to be apart of it all. Please keep all of us in your prayers!

Miracles Happen

A couple weeks ago I went to Kelowna and I stayed with my Aunt and her family. I was blessed by her eagerness to hear my stories, experiences and how God moved in my life the past year. She asked a lot of very good questions that got me reflecting on my adventure. She asked me if I saw any miracles or healings and there were a few things I told her, but I knew there was something big that I was missing. I was fustrated that I couldn't remember something so amazing. Since then I've continued to rifle through the filing cabinets in my brain and now I've finally remembered! This story is too good to keep to myself so I'm sharing it with you.

It all happened on the very last day of the race... Guatemala was a particularly hard month for our team but we had struggled through it with God's help and were now on our last day. With no specific ministry planned we headed out to buy a few last minute souveniers. (A couple weeks earlier Tracy and I met a lady who owns a thrift store that used to be a drug addict but is now a christian. We had the opportunity to encourage her and pray for her and told her that before we left we'd say goodbye.) So we planned to make a stop and do just that! While we were there, her cousin came in and asked if we could pray for her mom. Honestly, once she told us that she'd take us to her house I didn't really want to go because we had so much other stuff to get done. I kept my selfish thoughts to myself and went anyways.

She took us down a cement path to a group of dorm type houses. Hers was the first door and it had a big blanket over it blocking out the light and a little heat. Ithe back right corner her mom was laying on a bed. Darkness was visible in both realms and it reflected in her eyes where pain and rejection also lingered.

We spent about an hour with her listening to her story and then praying for her, speaking words of truth into her life, singing, and crying out to God. They are christians but felt bogged down by the witchcraft community that surrounded them. Crippled by physical and emotional pain and sickness this woman lay in bed leaving her daughter to care for everything. Their needs were so great. My heart broke as they wept and cried out to Jesus. I felt His feelings for these people deep inside my being. His love for them was and is so incredibly strong

There was a stone wall and I kept hitting it. I clawed at it, I pushed against it with all my might. It wouldn`t budge. I knew that Jesus wanted to set this wounded woman free. Free from sickness and from emotional scarring but there was something inside of that woman holding her back from letting it all go; holding her back from accepting Jesus' healing power. I wished that this woman could feel and see what God has for her the way I could. Nothing compares. And yet, even though I knew she wasn`t completely free yet, I knew that God was holding her steadfast. I had peace and overwhelming joy, feeling how great His love was for her; For her in that moment even when she couldn`t let go. Even when she didn`t fully believe, He had amazing plans for her. Plans that she couldn`t yet see but I knew that one day she would. I prayed for His love to wash over her

Knowing that the battle wasn`t over but having the assurance that we`d done what God brought us for, we said our goodbyes.

After we'd left, Lili noticed that she had forgotten one of her bags so we went back get it. As we peered through the opening door into the common area joy lept in our hearts. I felt like I was soaring. I wanted to run screaming through the streets how amazing is our God. (I probably should have). This woman who could barely turn over or sit up for more than a minute was now outside walking around with the biggest smile on her face eating some m&ms that one of the girls had given her. Gloria Dios lept from my lips. Praise the Lord!

What a prefect way to redeem the month and the perfect way to end an incredible year. God's plans are far bigger and far greater than my own. How many times do I miss out on all He has to offer because I'm too busy?

He's calling me to put Him and His plans first. He's calling me higher. Higher than this world and higher than myself.

Listen, He's calling you too.

Final World Race Blog...

http://ashleyvanhouttum.theworldrace.org/?filename=i-remember

Pictures

I haven't posted pictures of this year yet but I hope to do that in the near future!

Another Chapter

Hey everyone!

SO as you might know, I am almost finished The World Race! I can't hardly believe it. I would like to continue blogging when I get home and when I am hopefully in Honduras in September. Please continue to follow me to see what I'm up to and what God is doing in my life and the new things He is teaching me!

Thanks :)