I have been nervous about this trip to Honduras for months. I was assigned to write for a big project on animal and agriculture programs this past summer. And like many other areas in my life, I began to worry. I came up with a vision of how I wanted to write about the projects, but wondered if the stories I would gather in Honduras would actually match that vision. Since I got here, I have felt very tense about everything as a result.
But God had plans.
I seem to always forget about this. God always has a plan. He always works it out long before any problem hits me in the face. A story I covered today reminded me of that fact.
I woke up at 5 am and somehow made it to the car 15 minutes later. Then we drove to the community of Yoro, which had a bad harvest season this year because of the scorching heat. Many families became desperate for food. But this problem is not new to Yoro. For years, they have been struggling to earn enough money to survive and have been praying for someone to help them.
When I hopped out of the car this morning after a long, early-morning drive, I was ready to go at it and start talking to people. I was excited to be at a real animal distribution. Samaritan’s Purse was giving out 18 cows to families. Instead of hearing the stories months after the main event, I would finally get to see everyone’s reaction in the moment.
Cristine, the program manager, introduced me to a mother of 7 children, Lydia, who was about to receive a cow. I found out later, after I interviewed her, that she was a part of the reason Samaritan’s Purse began working there.
One of the SP staff members, Carlos, came to Yoro a few months ago to survey the area and see if they could start an animal project. As he was walking on the streets, he saw a woman sitting on the side of the road with 3 children. She was reading the Bible to them. Carlos said he felt in his heart that he should go up to her and talk to her.
She said that her family didn’t have a lot of money, and life was hard, but that she was thankful for Jesus Christ and believed he would provide for their needs. Carlos was happy to tell her that Samaritan’s Purse would like to answer their prayers and help them.
The woman Carlos talked to was Lydia.
This was no accident. God had clearly orchestrated that meeting, as well as my conversation with Lydia about that important day. It seemed like a miracle that I discovered that aspect of the story.
I also talked to the pastor of the local church. He told me:
“We felt God had plans for us for a long time; we didn’t know what they were until today.”
I think that this is often the case in the struggle of our faith in God’s plans. We have a sense that God has something special in store for us, but still wonder if He will come through.
God has really come through for me on this trip. Of course there have been problems, unforeseen complications, and even some danger. But, God had plans.
Once again, he has shown me that His love and concern for me will never fail.
