You only get one life...

I have now been working at the Micah Project in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for six months, and boy have I learned a lot! I can’t even put into words all of the lessons I have learned in my first 6 months here at this ministry. Things like… a hug is the best way to start and end any day… you can never tell someone enough times that you love them… it takes a lot of positive comments to counteract one negative one… God is merciful and generous, and we should be too… There are so many more lessons I have learned, but I want to focus on one in particular.

You only get one life…

A quick google search of this phrase, completes the sentence in a variety of ways: …don’t waste it on video games. …what to do with it? …so paint it in bright colours. …so don’t let anything get you down.

If I had to choose a single word to complete the sentence, it would be: THRIVE.

The dictionary defines the word thrive as “to grow vigorously and healthily, to do well.” I think to thrive includes many aspects… to thrive in life means you figure out what God created you for, and you do it. You don’t do it half-heartedly; you do it to the very best of your ability. God created each one of us uniquely and has given each of us unique talents, skills, and passions. And when we use the talents, skills and passions God has placed within us to bring glory to Him by serving others, it is then that we THRIVE! When we take advantage of the opportunities that God has given us, we thrive.

In my six months at the Micah Project, I have seen boys that have come from unfortunate circumstances, seemingly destined to a life of drug addiction and failure, but given the opportunity they have chosen to thrive! I have also seen boys who have been given opportunity after opportunity to live and succeed and thrive, but for some reason that I cannot understand, they reject it. It makes no sense to me why anyone would choose death and destruction over life and growth, but sadly I see it on a weekly basis and it breaks my heart.

Marvin is one such person. He entered the Micah project in June of 2007 after living many years on the streets addicted to yellow glue. At age 15, he has already lived a life more difficult, and filled with more pain than most people will ever experience. Abandoned by his mother as a child, he has hardened his heart to the possibility of experiencing love again, for fear of getting hurt again. He is a funny kid who loves to laugh and smile, but he cannot seem to thrive. He picks fights and just can’t let himself be loved. Two weeks ago, Marvin made the decision to leave the Micah project after two and a half years of opportunities to do something with his life. After running away at least 5 times in 2009, it was clear that if he wanted to continue with the project, he was going to have to fight for it. All this time we had been fighting to keep him there, but he had been leaning the other way. It seems like an easy decision for most: The Micah Project with 3 square meals a day, an education, structure, staff members who love and care for each of the boys; or the streets with their false idea of freedom coupled with rampant poverty and drug abuse. He chose “freedom.” It breaks our hearts to see these kids with such great opportunities in front of them and then see them throw them away. Sometimes we imagine how their lives would turn out if we could just make their decisions for them for 6 months. But God gave each of us a free will, and we have to make our own decisions, whether they be constructive or destructive… whether we choose to thrive or to wilt.

All that being said, I want to ask two things of you, my friends.

1.) Please pray for Marvin, who is currently choosing destruction over life. Pray that God will break down the walls Marvin has built around his heart, penetrating it with His unconditional love.

2.) THRIVE – Please, please, please use the unique talents, skills, resources and passions that God has given you to bring glory to His name! Take advantage of the opportunities you have in front of you.

Oh, the characters… (part 1)

My plan is to make this a series, so that with each new blog post you can start to get to know some of the amazing people that make up the Micah family. Each and every person has such a unique personality, and they all do things that make me laugh all the time. I wish everyone could have the chance to come down and meet all of these people, but since I know it’s not probable for many, I will give you a little introduction to some of the characters that I have the pleasure of sharing life with! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Junior is one of the newest members of the Micah family. He is 18 years old and will be starting his junior year of high school tomorrow. He can frequently be found in the Micah computer lab watching hours of Smallville (in 8-minute segments) on youtube. Junior loves dogs… so much so, that he will occasionally cuddle on the floor with the Micah dogs and even pretend to be one! He is learning English on Rosetta Stone, and can happily spend up to 6 hours a day sitting in the office conversing with the computer. When he’s not watching Smallville or practicing English, you can usually find him hanging out with the micah moms, watching them sew or helping cook and clean in the kitchen.

Mochacchino Supreme (Mocha for short) is a 115-pound, 3-year-old chocolate lab. He is maybe the biggest Labrador you’ve ever seen. His collar tells all passers-by that he is on a diet, but he doesn’t do a very good job of following it. His favorite thing in life is to have his butt scratched. When he has something in his mouth (a wallet, keys etc.) he will literally sing out of excitement! He is super loyal, loved by all, and does an amazing job of putting up with the two puppies that try to torment him.

Nelson has quite the unique sense of humor… it is very rare that you can spend time with him without you and him both cracking up. He is 13 years old and in Kindergarten, but he is really very bright… he just came from a background that didn’t value education, so he never went to school as a child. He is an excellent Frisbee player and will happily play for hours with a group of people who are all at least ten years older than him. He makes friends very easily, regardless of age or gender. He is missing a front tooth, which makes words difficult to pronounce, but it makes him even that much more precious! He absolutely loves taking photos, and will walk around the house taking pictures with special effects of everyone he sees. Although his older brother lives at Micah, you won’t easily confuse Nelson for anyone else because he wears the same outfit for a week at a time.