Genesis

This is the beginning of my blog. I'll be posting updates here as to what I'm up to and such.

For the last couple of years, as I grew closer to God, my heart began to break for the things that God's heart breaks for. Specifically for me, it was hungry children and brokenness. I prayed continuously to get more of God's heart, and also to find a way to do something for the things I cried for.

I'm currently finishing up a two-year discipleship program at Wildwood Ranch. One of the focuses of the program is community. To make that community happen, the other interns and I would go places and just sit and talk about our lives. I was complaining a few months ago that I didn't know where I'd be going after the internship, and my roommate blurts out, "Melody, get out of the country! You know your heart breaks for kids in other countries, so don't sit here and say you don't know what to do after this. Go out and go after what's breaking your heart."

She was totally right. That night, we went to a women's service at the Freedom Center, the church I attend up here. As they talked about orphans and being loved by God, all I could think about were the orphans I'd met in Honduras and the brokenness that was there. The next time we had our intern talks, I said, "I think God's calling me to Honduras."

For a while, I wasn't sure what exactly that meant, or what to do with such information. One day, I finally sat down to write it out and figure out precisely what God wanted me to do in Honduras. As I started writing what I knew, the truth of what He had called me to poured out onto the paper. He was calling me to bring restoration to Casita.

Casita is a girl's orphanage that mainly houses teenagers, and there is such a hopelessness there that you can almost feel it when you walk in. Many of the girls are there simply because they weren't wanted, and others ran away from abusive situations and lived on the streets, selling themselves, before they were picked up and brought there.

After some discussions with the director, I went to Terry and Shari, the missionaries I'd stayed with on my two trips down who are old family friends, and told them exactly what God had called me to. They agreed to let me stay with them, and gave me some helpful hints on forming a budget and getting around in the city when they're not able to drive me. They also had a meeting with the director of Casita about allowing me to help out, and the director is excited to have me come.

So, that's how I came to be in the position I'm in now. I've got some exciting things going on with the mission board at my home church, Grace Community, but I'll save that information for another post.

Thanks for reading! May God bless you as you follow Him!

-Melody Joy