Bahia Black Bean Soup AWESOME!!!!!

The following recipe was a huge hit at our Honduras Mission Team Meeting.... You can add meat, but I suggest trying it without first as it is great without and already high in protein from the beans.

* 1 Onion
* 1 red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced
* 2 garlic minced garlic cloves
* 1 T olive oil
* 3 15-oz cans black beans, drained
* 2 C stock
* 1 1/2 t. oregano
* 1 yellow chili, seeded and chopped
* 1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped (brave souls leave the seeds)
* 1 15-oz can whole tomatoes with liquid or 18-oz can sauce
* 1/2 lime, squeezed for juice (critical)
* 1/4 c. sherry (I use red wine)
* fresh cilantro (1 1/2 t. if fresh isn't available)


Sauté onion; bell pepper and garlic in oil until onion is translucent. Add beans, stock and oregano. Heat thoroughly.

Seed and chop yellow and jalapeño chilis and put into blender. Add lime juice and tomato. Puree to finely mince the chilis.

Add black bean mixture to blender (in batches) and puree. When everything is pureed, return it to the soup pot. Simmer at least 1.5 hours.

Add wine and fresh cilantro to taste.

Garnishes: Rice, grated cheeses, diced onion, salsa, sour cream, plain yogurt, grilled sausages.

J. David Panther & how I got here

A few weeks ago, I wrote a brief overview of my story, about how I enjoyed serving and how God had worked in my life over recent years, and how I wanted others to join us in being "Boldly Compassionate."

Senior Pastor, Rev Dr. J. David Panther, or just Pastor Dave to most, has been the single most influential person in that transformation, and one of the most influential people in my whole life. If not for David, I very much doubt my family would be taking a mission trip this summer. I doubt I'd have had my kids in serving programs, giving out dinner to others on Christmas Day or thinking up ways to show kindness in secret to others. Or looking forward to each Sunday as the best day of the week as we got to hear David's stories, wisdom and his relevant and easy guidance on the Word of God; when you felt like he'd thoughtfully prepared that sermon just for you and what you needed to hear that week.

Pastor Panther launching
The Discipleship Pathway

David is an amazing man of God, a remarkable example of how to live a life of faith. Having been pastor of our church for 21 years, he has touched the lives of many thousands of people - his current & past congregations, the thousands he has fed through community meal, the hundreds he has helped with addictions, the lives transformed through his prison ministry, the lives saved eternally through his discipleship, the thousands inspired to become better and more faithful servants - to "Be The Church" to others, the daily lives changed as Dave helped us recognize the difference between God's "Upper Story" and our "Lower" one. David preached at 5 services every weekend - various styles of service to meet people wherever they were at in life - a treasured gift to each one of us. Under Dave's guidance and influence our church has more than half of its members in disciple classes and serving in over a hundred ministries.


David spent the past year battling lymphoma. Last October, more than 100 people walked through Pittsburgh in his honor at the Light The Night event. We were led by David himself, standing strong and courageous on a Segway, just hours after being in a hospital bed.

Jeremiah 29:11
 For I know the plans I have for you,”declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future

Even in sickness, he taught us well. How to have strong faith and surrender in all things to God. How to be a loving husband, father and adoring grandfather. How to still reach out to others even during those times - even from his hospital bed, after a life-flight to Pittsburgh, he called our family to ask of our son's health and our well-being.

This Memorial day weekend, David lost that battle with cancer and he returned to our heavenly father. I am completely assured of where David is today. I am completely assured that when he stood at the throne of God for his accountability, God was well pleased with this servant. As I listened to his words from past sermons about heaven, I know how excited he was to one day meet his Savior, to hold on to him and to marvel and rejoice.

Still, for me, I am heartbroken at this loss, as I know are so many more. It seemed like David still had so much more of God's work to do, and oh so much more to teach us! And of course, the bigger the impact of the blessing, how much more we feel it when it's taken from us! What an ache I feel in my heart. I am calmed by what he explained many times: this is God's plan. And David taught me to trust God's plan and promises as a rock to stand on.

I am so thankful for the few years I have known David. God led us to David, and if I was only allowed to know him for a short while, I know God picked which years they would be for excellent reason.
He has left a legacy in our family of BOLD COMPASSION but so much more too. I turn forward to see where the Lord will be taking us all next. Our church is strong, David made sure we knew that he wasn't the head of our church, Jesus was and still is. David was led completely by the Holy Spirit, which is exactly why he was so effective and genuinely loving in what he did. I will miss him tremendously, but his vast impact on my life won't be lost and I am eternally grateful for knowing him.

God bless. In Christ, Danielle

Honduran Food Night!

Last Friday, we had a team (plus families) get together and Jason prepared for us all some Honduran recipes! He did quite a bit of research and shopping for this, and he can tell you about that in his own post! He might share some of the recipes if we ask nicely :)

The food was great and the evening was very relaxing and a good way to bond, also. We even had perfect weather!  Not only was it a good way to get to know each other better, but also to include family that cannot travel with us, and to prepare ourselves for the types of food we will be eating - especially the teens who were nervous about trying it out.

Some of the photos:

 

I am the one furthest away, in the blue top

 

Manuelito Project: donate a fruit tree

It's coming up to Arbor Day, and the Manuelito Project has started a collection to purchase some fruit trees.  Long term missionary, Justin Guest said they'd love to have trees covering the campus. Fruit trees are a great way for them to have trees, an extra food source, and yet another way to teach the kids life skills.

If you would like to donate by Paypal or Credit Card click here

Serving Without Complaining, Part 2: Teenagers

Yesterday I wrote about Serving Without Complaining, how I am meditating on and contemplating Ph 2:14-15. Since it bears relation to this post, I will repeat it:

"Do all things without complaining or arguing, that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as stars in the universe."

Other translations (and my regular ESV) use : "shine as light in the world".

Towards the end of yesterday's post I wrote about what complaints I anticipated feeling, one of which was "If my daughter is not on her best behavior, will I stress about it?"

I hadn't thought much else about that comment, imagining myself explaining to her how she needed to be a good example and so on, dealing with it and moving on.

Apparently my thoughts on that weren't good enough and needed some more examination. Today in my Facebook newsfeed was an article shared by a friend Amy. The article was from a blog, Chatting at the Sky by author Emily Freeman, and was entitled "One thing your daughter doesn't need you to say".

Emily wrote about the unintended mask we place over our daughters' faces when we express that they need to be setting an example of a 'good Christian' to others. That mask ultimately does much more harm than good to the person wearing it, and usually has non-believers labeling us as hypocrites instead of running to the arms of Christ.

[Ironically, I wrote a short article recently about removing the mask to be authentic in faith. Easy to see it in relation to self, but harder to acknowledge that we may be putting the mask onto our children.]

Emily says (and this is where the reference to this bible verse hit me across the head):

"But what about holiness?!  I can hear the protests now. Don’t we want her to be a light in a dark place?

Yes. But telling her to be an example won’t let her shine, it will just cause her to shrink.

She already is a light in a dark place, but here is the part most of us forget when we’re telling our teenagers to be an example: Her light comes from Jesus, not from her awesome behavior."

Bingo!

Maturing in faith can only come from being authentic in that faith, and relying on Him not self. Great displays of fruits and gifts only come from the Spirit, not of ourselves. Striving to be a good example instead of striving to grow can only lead to anxiety, covering oneself with a mask that also covers those fruits and gifts making it harder to shine.

That means, like me, she can own mistakes and put them right, seeking help from the One who gives her the light & gives her fruit. Like me, she will have things that worry her, upset her, challenge her, stress her, scare her. But she doesn't have to pretend. And ultimately, isn't that the better testimony to non-believers -  showing an example, not of perfection but of relying on and praising God? 

My conclusion? My daughter is not going to Honduras to set an example, she is going to humbly serve. Her role will be the same as mine: servant; not "how to be a perfectly behaved model Christian teenager".  I put that worry to rest. 

Serve without complaining

One of our preparation meditations is on Philippians 2:14-15.

Image source

Do all things without complaining or arguing, that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as stars in the universe.

It goes without saying that when someone is helping you, if they spend their time complaining while doing it, you don't really want them there doing it. When my kids complain about chores, rather than hear them whine, it's tempting to say, "Leave! I will do it myself!" But doing so teaches them nothing, and I am still not served. The whole experience ends up miserable for all.

And so it goes when serving others. If one is to serve, do it willingly. If one is to give, do it generously.

I do complain at times - especially when others are miserable or mean, ungrateful or when they assume the worst.  I am contemplating some of the things in Honduras that might bring out my whiny side so I can be prepared to shine through my 'hardship'.

Some things that concern me are the humidity and the mosquitoes, and I am a little anxious about other people, if they complain or argue, how will I deal with it? If my daughter is not on her best behavior, will I stress about it?  What about unexpected things that happen... say we have a power outage, or I have to work with someone I struggle to get along with? [Actually I am not so worried about the power outage. We have at least one a year at home, and have had them for more than a week in the height of Summer.]

I know one way to cope will be to remind myself why I am there (serve, God, grow) and that for me, this is temporary - be so grateful that it is so, when for others it is their life.

Over the next few days, I will be thinking and praying about those things so that when I experience them, I can do so without complaint or debate, but smile through and shine my light. I will be praying the same for my family and for our team.

Manuelto Project TV Report

The Manuelito Project was the focus of a Honduras news report a couple of months ago. If you have 10 minutes, this great report is worth watching - it shows some of the achievements of the project and what it does for the street kids of Honduras. (In Spanish with English subtitles)

Video: (email users may have to come to http://boldlycompassionate.com/ )

Team Car Wash

What fun we had. The weather held, no rain but dark clouds & the 'look' of rain probably kept quite a few away. But our car wash went pretty well and it was a good exercise in team work and getting to know each other a little better.

4 of the team: Christina, Jessica, Mandy and Maddie

Our Director of Discipleship, Rob, doubles as a billboard

Our next Fundraiser is a 10% Donation Night at Texas Roadhouse, Clearview Circle. Wednesday May 22 from 5pm till 8pm.  Present a flyer and 10% of your food bill will be donated to the team.

Honduras as a visitor

We've been checking out the area online - other than mission teams, it's really not a place traveled by foreigners or tourists. There are no straight roads in or out to nearby places, and traveling 200 miles can be a 5 or 6 hour trip. By all accounts, it's not a place a tourist would choose to travel; poor roads, dangerous driving and high levels of crime and corruption versus the sunbathing and diving in the northern shores of the Carribean or visiting the Mayan ruins to the west.... these central areas are not much more than shading on a map to most of us.

As for our team going there, certainly we will take many precautions and we won't be leaving the project area unaccompanied or at night. Honduran cities & towns are not safe places. We pray for the safety of all going, and will be using our God-given common sense for staying safe!

Seeking prayer partners

I will be seeking some dedicated prayer partners to pray for us from now onwards. Specifically we covet prayer for:

• preparations - that we are prepared spiritually, physically, mentally and emotionally
• everyone's safety on the trip
• the kids we will be visiting, that we will be able to make a difference to them in some way and for their blessing
• for us to be good servants while we are there, and deal with any difficult situation with humility, good sense and with the fruits of the Spirit
• the kids we will be bringing on the trip (four between 12 and 16) - for their safety and blessings. 

The Reach... My Heart... My Mind... My Body

Perhaps the first thing people think about when going on a Mission trip is that they are going to change and improve the quality of they people they are going to serve. Oh wait, did I say going to serve? That is correct...

As I keep moving forward with loosing weight, now at just 30 pounds of weight loss, there is more to this than what is seen at the surface. It has taken discipline, hard work, change of habits and a reasonable weekly goal. At every level of 10-12 pounds of weight loss, I have rewarded myself with a reasonable dinner out as a reward.

The tropical region is nothing to take lightly, and so the weight loss will improve my quality of living everyday here as well as my days/week there at the orphanage. I know that changing my weight will improve my mobility and will allow me to operate better.

If I could save the world from all the ugly it has in it, I would.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13 (NIV)
and so if my life, as I have placed before, down for others, I would offer myself and my own life down. True, there is no greater love, as the reality of combat has taught me. But I can not save the world on my own. I realize that God has many mission's in my life, some I understand clearly, some are made clear as time passes, some I am still learning and being taught. 

I have to remember, as I need to express to you, that some people don't want you to come "save" them from what they going through. We (Americans) often want to improve our standards, where some people are happy where they are at. Let me explain this. If we are hot, having access to a fan or air conditioner, we will turn it on to cool ourselves. In other countries like a third world country, they are fine with being hot. We want to bring on a better comfort level no matter what, and some people are very content and quite happy with just living from day to day.

There is nothing wrong with either perspective depending what your life goals and living conditions that you are happy with. 

My mind set isn't to go down there and teach/improve the quality of their lives, my goal is to go serve and assist the Missionaries that are established already. They know their goals, needs and demands. They know we are going there to help them, and if asked, I will teach if I can improve their conditions if I am asked too. Whatever is asked of me, whatever role I am to be in the team, I will serve/be where/what is needed from me. 

I will not be a bump on a log either, when I see something that needs to be done, cleaning and repairs and such, I will make the effort to complete that task. As a Missionary to them, I am going to serve/work and I am mindful that I am not going there to be on vacation. This isn't a holiday week for me, that will come later this summer. 

My heart will be open, filled with love, but I have a feeling they will teach me more than I understand/know. 

Learning children's songs... in Spanish

This is our latest endeavor: to learn kids' bible songs in Spanish.

I cannot sing. But I can get over that if everyone else can.

Bigger problem is me remembering them. Though none of us speak Spanish (we are being taught by a Spanish teacher), others in the team have one advantage over me: they know the songs in English, so at least know the melody. I grew up in England, so these are new to me. 'Twill be fun!

10 weeks to go!

In 10 weeks we will be en route to Honduras. That time will go so quickly, I know!

I am reading through our book on successful mission trips, writing questions as I go for our team leader:

will our family be sharing a room or be split male/ female (good to know for packing); will we need to take mosquito nets and what kind - and should we take extras for the kids;
what activities will we be doing there and what to take for those;
what items do the long-term missionaries need that we can take with us?

It's important that we go prepared - we are there to serve, not be driven around looking for stores to buy things once we are there, or offend the locals because we are dressed or behave inappropriately.  I am considering mailing a few things down ahead of time. Save weight in our bags and so on.

I am getting a little nervous about the language barrier. I mean, I speak NO Spanish beyond please, thank you, hello, goodbye.  Tomorrow at our team meeting, someone is coming to teach us a few phrases to help is get by. Languages were not my forte in school - I could read them okay, but unless the other person speaks very slowly and with an English accent, I don't understand much when it's spoken. Jason picked up a 'learn Spanish' CD so we will give it a try!

Fundraiser: Car Wash & Eating Out!

We have 2 events coming up, so if you are in the area, mark your calendars!

 

On Saturday May 11, from 9:30am we will be at Wendy's in Clearview Mall (map) doing a car wash for donations.
We'll stay as long as cars keep pulling up and we can keep washing!

Click to enlarge then print

Then on Wednesday May 22, 5pm-8pm, come to Texas Roadhouse at the same mall (Map). When you present this flyer when you arrive, they will donate 10% of your bill to Team Honduras!! Now, we have 13 people on our team so obviously we need lots of people there for those 10% to add up!! Invite anyone.
Flyers: you can print the flyer below, but we also plan to be there to hand some out too so it won't be a disaster if you forget!

We look forward to seeing you!!