One of my dear friends on this trip, Nayane, has been wearing a feminist shirt that bothers me. It prominently displays the statement that follows,

A wise man once said
"I don't know
ask a girl"

Now, I'm all for girl power (you know, as long as it doesn't leave the kitchen). This shirt, however, bothers me a lot. I actually even find it very funny. What young Susan B. Anthony didn't realize that she has no concept of English when she created the shirt? Any English book will tell you to put commas before quotation marks. Any English teacher will tell you to put a semi-colon between two independent thoughts, and where is the punctuation to end the sentence? This is how the shirt should look according to grammer.

A wise man once said,
"I don't know;
ask a girl."

What bothers me the most about this inflammatory shirt is that this sex is supposed to be quite skilled in their use of language. You always hear these females jabbering about something. How can they not realize their shirt about girl power does not convey girl power; rather, it conveys girl incompetence? Oh well.

I'm sure I will get a letter from N.O.W. for this,
Hoss

Since the day we went to sunday school, many of us have been trying to outpreform each other. In our first class, the teacher hung up an attendance sheet. If we were good little boys or girls, our names would be accompanied by nice pretty stars under the dates. We tried to come to sunday school as much as we could, so we could be good little children. This unfortunate pattern continued as we got older. As we aged, our struggles became more difficult, and we tried to hide them more. This destructive pattern must reach a point where we realize that this fallacy just is not possible. We can not convince others or ourselves that we are good enough for His love.

Because we aren't. We will never be good enough for this great love/grace God has given us.

This is something that we must come to terms with. Each day that I am living here in Honduras, I am forced to realize my inadaquacies.

I can not stop hunger; let alone hammer nails instead of my thumb.

I can not stop people from living without homes; let alone use a tape measure sometimes (I have screwed up so much the past week for some reason).

I am not able to walk a blameless walk; neither walk down a mountain and not fall on my face.

If I can’t even control my own life, how can I affect the lives of others.?I am literaly useless. Every time I try to accomplish things by my self, I am forced to realize that I am unable to do anything. I guess that’s the beauty of this whole grace thing. Through Christ, some loser like me can do many things that kings can’t dream of.

There are days when I feel that if all I can be is a jar of clay, than that’s what I want to be. Maybe the breaking of me (as a jar of clay) will bring Gideon and the Israelites his victory. Maybe my openness (as a jar of clay) will enable Jesus to turn water into wine. My flexibility (as a jar of clay) creates the possibility for the potter to design his master piece. And if I am nothing but an ugly jar, then I pray God will help humble me to accept the breaking of myself for his glory.

Because a broken jar can be beautiful. Beautiful through God. And I’m fine with bumbling through life if God is with me.


II Corinthians 4:7 "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

Whoever thought that a kid telling you,

eres un hombre de su palabra (you are a man of your word)

would mean the world to you. I told a village kid that I would return (just wasn't sure when) and he was excited that I really did come back the next day.

Whoever thought that a kid telling you,

me recuerdas (do you remember me),

could make a frustrating day brighten up? Some kid from a city I did vacation bible school last year, ran up to me in the street. He remembered me from a year ago!

I believe I understand why Jesus saw the kingdom of God in the children. Jesus thanked God they could comprehend things wise adults never could about his Father's kingdom (Mathew 11:25). He also said, "Let the little children come to me.... for the Kingdom of God belongs to these (Mark 11:14).

The poor children of Honduras, who have little to no hope of ever living beyond dirt floors and empty stomachs, are blessed more richly then I will ever be. I see in them a faith, a hope, a love that saints lack. They truly are independent, free from a materialist world whose dark foundation is based on an insatiable greed and jealousy. I pray God will bless me with the faith of babes. Because its these kids whose faith helps me make it through on those days.


those days when I see kids scavenging for food in dumpsters.....
those days when I see the son of my friend looking out from his shack.....
those days when I see kids looking for toys in dumpsters....
those days when I see mothers looking for wood for their houses in the rotten trash heap behind the saw mill...
those days when I see a girl with 6 toes on one foot, 7 toes on the other.....
those days when Satan reminds me of how inadaquate I am....
those days when hope seems foolish...
I am reminded, that living without hope, is, well hopeless. So let us all depend on the hope that brings us together.... the hope, no, the faith, in our salvation through Christ. Let's live out this hope, by bringing it to others. Because the Honduras children sure are. Let's follow their example.....

Hoss