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The power of youth

In the last 30 days I've served in both San Jeronimo, Honduras and Mattoon, Illinois (USA).

Each time I'm amazed at the willingness from the kids to jump in and help.

Painting desks in Honduras

Washing cars at West Park Plaza in Mattoon, IL.

We need to empower, equip and train our children and youth to take ownership in improving their world. Let's set them up to succeed. Let's help them understand they are significant.

Imagine the power harnessed in the youth of the world.

Meet Louis

Thursday, June 11, was our day off in Honduras. We ended the evening with a meal with the pastor's family and our entire team at Pizza Hut in Comyagua, Honduras.

We were really looking forward to the pizza after a week of some home-cooked authentic food.

Our team gathered in the typical looking Pizza Hut. We excitedly ate some bread sticks, and then anxiously waited for our pizza. Then it arrived. It was so good!

Then I noticed a boy standing behind me the entire time we were serving up and eating our pizza.

He just quietly stood and observed our team eating.

His name is Louis.

And we found out he was a street kid. He was by himself. He had made it past the door greeters. And he stood by my side watching us eat....over eat too much pizza.

We pulled a chair up. Invited him to sit with us. We poured him a drink and got him a plate of pizza.

I broke. I teared up as I sat next to Louis. I watched his little dirty hands cherish each peice of pizza that he picked up off the plate.

In broken Spanish I told him my name, asked him his age, and asked him if he lived in Comyagua. Then I asked him if Jesus was His Savior. He nodded yes, as he ate his pizza.

I put my arm around him, and just TRIED to imagine my son on the street fending for himself for dinner.

Lord, take care of Louis. Feed him. Clothe him. Educate him. Protect him. Help others step into his world and bless him.

I left an hour later and headed to a hotel.

He walked down the street...

No Power

The power went out on my side of town this morning as a thunderstorm rolled through East Central Illinois.

It was inconvenient ...for about 45 minutes.

I had to get a flashlight to find my clothes in the basement.

I wondered if I was going to shave today with my electric shaver.

My wireless router didn't work.

And my water and ice cube dispenser didn't work on the door of my fridge.

Then it happened.....

I had a flashback of nine days ago.

Last Tuesday I was in the village of Ireland just outside of San Jeronimo, Honduras.

No one in the village has electricity.

Here's an inside look at a humble kitchen with no electricity, no running water, and no sewage system. Just a table, some containers for transporting water, and wood stacked in the corner for cooking and light.

We used a generator to power a sound system for a bunch of kids' activities, including an evening movie presentation of GodMan on a large 10-foot screen.

I have lived a life blessed with more than enough.

Yet, I get irritated when my power temporarily goes off because of a storm.

I need to learn to be appreciative of what I have.

I need to learn to thank God for my blessed life.

And I need to learn from my new friends in the village of Ireland that joy comes from much more than a power outlet.

I continue to ponder all the lessons learned on my trip to Honduras.

www.the1814project.com

Holistic Love

Food

+

Water

+

Toys

+

Jesus

=

The Good News

We need to love our neighbor, even if she's 1814 miles away.

The 1814 Project Update

After an all-night travel day we arrived in Honduras safe and sound, landing in Tegucigalpa Airport... known to be one of the more dangerous airports to land in because of the nearby mountains and landscape.

Since then we have:

• Been interviewed on Honduras Channel 28 for coming to Honduras to help in a community transformation project.
• Opened a ribbon-cutting ceremony up in prayer. I was seated by the Catholic priest, mayor, a local pastor, city police officer, principal, and another city official.
• We hosted children activities during the first-ever San Jeronimo Project Market Day. We painted faces, played games, did the El Sapo dance, and got beat by kids in soccer.
• Saturday night we participated in a church service where God moved in great ways. Our team did an excellent job in their THREE HOUR children's church time.
• Sunday we taught a leadership class and did children ministry at the same time. Great morning.
• I taught the leadership class under a Mango tree next to a rooster, a dog, a broken down car, a nursing mom, and a family doing their laundry five feet away.

For some pics go to www.evancourtney.com

He's blogging and twittering this trip more regularly than I am.

The Virtue List for San Jeronimo, Honduras

Respect

Kindness

Courage

Forgiveness

Wisdom

Love

Purposefulness

Service

Trust

Honesty

Thankfulness

Self-discipline

We're developing curriculum and practical ideas for how these virtues can be instilled in the youth and children of San Jeronimo, Honduras. We'll be using God's Word as the platform to teach these virtues.

Got ideas?

the 1814 project: update

Last week in Honduras was amazing.

In less than 48 hours in San Jeronimo, Honduras, we were able to meet several key leaders and rally together the support and coalition needed to bring about transformation in the small Honduran community.

The lead transformation team will be Pastor Olman from a local church in San Jeronimo, One Hope (formerly Book of Hope International) and First Assembly in Mattoon. The Partnership coalition will consist of San Jeronimo school principals, teachers, the mayor, community leaders, other faith leaders, and some special help from our new friend who is a Peace Corps Volunteer working in the community. (Shout out to Dora!)

From time to time I'll introduce you to people in the community. I'll share their pics, a brief bio, and a few prayer requests. I want you, my online friends, to join me in praying for the leaders of San Jeronimo, Honduras.

I would love for you to join me on this journey as we make a huge difference in one little community in Central America. (Who knows, maybe you'll actually go there someday with us and see it in person.) Who doesn't want to make generational differences in an entire community?

Meet Pastor Olman and His family

Pastor Olman with his wife, Karen, and two sons, Alexi and Estephen.

For more information, go to www.the1814project.com

The1814Project: Climate Change

I'll have a bit of a climate change as I travel to San Jeronimo, Honduras this week.
Makes packing kind of interesting.

The 1814 Project: initial trip

I leave for Honduras next week to begin this amazing journey of partnering with a small community in Honduras to help bring about community transformation.
The1814Project blog is here.

Here is the purpose and agenda for this trip:

Meeting with the Surveyors:
research teams have been going to homes and asking a lot of questions and gathering data in San Jeronimo, Honduras. Because this is the first time that we are doing this particular program we want to see what their feed back is about the things they found while doing the survey in the community. It is going to help us improve our skills and methods.

Luncheon with the Stakeholders:
We will meet with influential leaders/people (i.e. Mayor, business men, school directors, etc) in the community to find out how we can best serve them. we want to build a coalition with the community to show them that together we can make a difference.

Real Life Collection:
To get a better feel for the community and what their needs are but also so that your church can feel like they are connecting with this community even when they haven't been there yet, we want to collect bios/needs/pictures from about 50 different people in the community. People who have influence (teachers, policemen, etc). This is a time we simply meet a lot of people personally and begin to build a relationship with the community.

Partnership Presentation/Ceremony:
This is going to be a time when the vision is cast to the pastor's leadership. Book of Hope leadership will share a little bit, I will share a 10 minute message/vision/story that night as well. We will then take time to read and have parties sign and will frame the commitment for the local pastor who serves as the liaison.

Planning Breakfast:
We will begin to organize and target a few different areas we want to see change in the next few years. This will be a major planning time.

This is a huge two days on the ground in Honduras. Every single meeting and vision casting opportunity will be important. Follow the blog to keep up with all the updates.

Take the Missions Poll

What moves you to get involved in missions?
	Poverty
	Injustice
	Joining a great cause
	Partnering with a trustworthy missions organization
	Salvation for those disconnected from God
	The adventure of going somewhere cool
	The joy of giving something big
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The 1814 Project has been announced

Today I had the humble pleasure of announcing to the great people of First Assembly that we were beginning an adventure that would impact an entire community.

Exactly 1814 miles away is a small town of 4,000 people who desperately need someone to come along side of them and help transform their community.

Welcome to The 1814 Project. Our church will gather its resources and local connections to make a difference in San Jeronimo, Honduras. One church in this friendly Latin American community is praying today that our people will be excited about this newly formed friendship.

Together, with God at the center, we will change people's lives...on this earth, and for eternity.

We will strategically invest in the school, the government, the faith community, local families, and every single child.

This is not a one-time missions trip. This is not throwing money to a poorer church far, far away. This is a partnership. This is an alliance. This will become a friendship. In fact, over time, this will become family.

Join our adventure. Pray for our partnership and alliance.
Pray for San Jeronimo, Honduras.

The 1814 Project...begins today!

Launching on Oct. 5

The 1814 Project Launch from firstassembly on Vimeo.

This will change lives...

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