I remember growing up, this was the mantra we would repeat frequently in church services. It became so routine I rarely thought about the words I was saying. But as I live my life day by day I seem to come back to this reality over and over and over again. God is good… all the time.
We all hear the questions… “If God is good, then why did He let an earthquake destroy thousands of lives in Haiti?” “If God is good, then why did my dad have to die and leave me and my family alone?” “If God is good, then why do cancer and AIDS and human trafficking exist?” I’m not going to go into a long discussion to try to answer these questions. Indeed, some situations are impossible for our finite minds to find answers to, at least in the context of our time frame. But despite all of the sin and hurt and death in the world, I continue to believe that God is good… all the time.
Sometimes it’s hard to see through the tears and pain. Sometimes it’s hard to believe God’s promise to “work all things together for good…” But I can testify that at least in my life, that promise has proven itself to be true over and over again.
It has been months since I have written to you all, but I want to thank you for your continued faithful support and prayers in the meantime! They have been needed and have not gone unnoticed. God has been good, all the time, and I’m grateful that He has used YOU as conduits of His goodness towards me and towards the Micah Project.
I will briefly update you on the latest things that have been going on with me and the project since I last wrote in February. That month we had the pleasure of seeing God bring yet another young man, David, off of the streets and into our home. David has now been living at the Micah house for 5 months and although he has his conflicts here and there he is quite the joy to be around and can rarely be seen without a smile on his face. At 14 he is the youngest in his 4th grade class, and is a joy to work with.
In March, God was at work once again and we welcomed 12-year-olds Axelito and Miguel Angel into an already overflowing Micah house. These boys had been living on the streets since their infancy and were already addicted to yellow glue, the drug of choice for poor street kids here in Honduras. These two little guys are balls of fire, ready to explode at any minute. In their first few months with us we had to break up so many fistfights that I lost count and even a few rock-throwing instances as their bodies have gone through the confusing and sometimes overwhelming process of detoxing from the glue. Thankfully they are now learning to resolve conflicts in a healthy manner and have really become such sweethearts and love to give and get hugs as frequently as possible.
“April showers” could not have been more true or more welcome this year! After many months of drought and rumors that we would not see rain until mid-July, April was looking to be a painfully hot (and smoky) month. However, on the evening of Good Friday, we had just finished sharing a meal with a group from Biola University (my alma mater), when God opened up the heavens and poured down water from above. The Micah boys were so excited that they played soccer on the patio in the rain for hours, slipping and sliding all over the place and enjoying every minute of it. And with that, the much-needed rainy season had begun! Within a couple of weeks the hillsides had turned from a deathly brown to a beautiful luscious green, the smoke from all the brush-fires had been washed away and we could once again breathe free and clear. God is good, all the time!
The month of May was a pretty typical month at the Micah project: boys being boys. Classes continued as normal, we visited a few parks on the weekends and rested a bit before all of the mission teams started coming down for summer break. Something exciting that happened in my personal life in May is that I started dating Israel! Israel (Izzy) is from El Salvador and has been working as an intern at the Micah Project since January. He is a really great guy, very responsible and respectful. He loves Jesus and enjoys helping to lead worship at our Sunday night worship meetings at Micah. He speaks very little English, so it has been a fun challenge having my first relationship be in Spanish… forcing my ability to communicate in Spanish to increase by leaps and bounds.
June was a difficult month at the Micah Project. We had the joy of seeing Marvin (who I’ve written to you about before) enter a 6-month Christian rehab program, only to see him give up and walk away after just 4 weeks. We also walked the hard road with little Miguel Angel as he saw cervical cancer take his mother’s life. But again, God was being good through it all. We were reminded of His sovereignty as we realized that He had brought Miguel Angel into our family merely 3 months earlier, so that he would have so many people to love on him and encourage him through this tragedy.
And now, July! But this month has been full of its ups and downs as well. We are hosting group after group after group, which is a blessing because they are providing manual labor to take on projects like repainting the Micah house and replacing the leaky roof. But at the same time, having a group here means a lot more work for us, and a lot less rest! We have been doing our best as a staff to make sure everyone gets the rest they need. Two weeks ago a 21-year-old man from our neighborhood was shot and killed on the steps in front of our apartment building. It was a huge wake-up call to us, and we are now working even harder to take the steps necessary to move the project out of our dangerous neighborhood and into a safe place about 20 minutes from where we are now. Also this month we have seen Hector hospitalized for four days with dengue fever, but praise God he is finally getting his energy back and is recovering well! And now we are praying for Axel, a tall gangly 13-year old who left the Micah house on Saturday for a one-night home visit and never returned. We think he may fear that someone is after him due to past gang activity. It is a strange situation, but as we look back at God’s faithfulness over the past few months, we continue to trust Him to protect and care for Axel wherever he may be.
Praise be to God that even in the hard stuff, He continues to make His goodness evident in our lives. He truly is good… all the time! It’s hard to believe it has already been nearly a year since I started working at the Micah Project. And daily I continue to learn and experience God’s goodness and faithfulness in my life and in the lives of everyone at Micah. I hope this update can be an encouragement to you and a reminder that God truly is good all the time. And these triumphs I share are YOUR triumphs as well because it is your financial support and your continuous prayers that make all of this possible. I continue to firmly believe that this is the place God has me for now. He is using me daily, stretching me, testing me, loving me and calling me to be a faithful steward of the gifts and talents he has given me. And I want you to know I consider each one of you as a gift given to me by my good God. So be blessed and encouraged, because God is good… all the time!
If you are interested in supporting me financially in my work with the Micah Project, checks can be made to World Outreach Ministries (Attn: Jenna Miller #41) and sent to World Outreach Ministries - P.O. Box B - Marietta, GA 30061, OR you can donate online at www.worldoutreach.org
