Hello Friends,

     I want to apologize for the overdue blog post. I have no excuses : / I slipped up. And boy do we have lots to cover! Thank you all so much for being intentional about learning about my life and what God is doing in, through, and around me. It is truly amazing and overwhelming, with God's help, I pray that you can begin to see His amazing transforming work in my life.

     God is in the process of teaching me some very basic yet crucial aspects about Him, myself, and our relationship. There are so many dynamics to it that my thoughts are still a jumbled mess like disorganized puzzle pieces. I recently read the book Fathered By God by John Eldredge where he encourages men to step up and step out; to not be afraid or thwarted of the hard walks of life but to pursue them, for it is in these times of struggle and strife with life that, by God's grace, we can grow to be better men. I am so thankful for a program like Kairos where I am forced out of my comfort zone. It is agonizing for me to watch people float by in life like chaff in the wind, affected by it rather than yielding up the victory and authority given us by Christ. If only I were able to articulate my experiences and passions so that they might be encouraged by God's glorious and majestic present and working hand. "We should attempt something large enough that failure is guaranteed unless God steps in." Dang! Imagine the impact we could make on the world for God with faith like this!

     One of my struggles lately is my assumed inability to hear God. I pray and think and ask and still I hear nothing. Has He already spoken to me? Does He not speak to me to prevent me from hurting myself if He knows I wont obey? Is He not speaking to me because it stretches me, or perhaps He wants me to pick? Or when the tides turn and the consolation, God's comforting grace, turns to desolation, God's unseen and un-felt presence in my life, I am flustered. Have I done something wrong to hinder my unity with God? Is this desolation wrought by God, so He can stretch me? I am discovering over and over that many of the issues that come between my relationship with God and I are merely lies. Please pray for me that God would reveal His truth to me. The list goes on and on of what I am learning in Christ: what my grace really means and that nothing I do can twart it, God's immense heart for me and longing for me to be in unity with Him, God calling me to give everything up to Him... EVERYTHING... all my stresses, fears, insecurities, blessings, actions, thoughts, longings, desires, dreams, faults, sins. Everything. Here is a daring prayer:

Father, I want you to take me and break me until you mold me and make me into the man you want me to be.

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     I recently returned from Honduras. It was incredibly beautiful, incredibly divine, and incredibly challenging. The picture above on the right is of a lice clinic my team did. We washed, combed, and braided hair. We also painted the girls' nails and gave them physical touch and love. We tried to non-verbally tell them how beautiful and loved they are. There is a culture in Honduras that requires no responsibility of men (Satan sure knows how to attack leadership to break down systems, ie family systems). The boys grow up not knowing their father or just seeing Him drunk on the streets or when he comes by the house for 30 minutes to spend time with the wife. Many fathers don't hold down jobs and use their money on alcohol. They have numerous families and numerous women they make their rounds to. The women grow up seeing their mothers work for food and upkeep for the house. The mothers have 5 to 10 kids each from different fathers. The kids are kicked out at an early age and must fend for themselves. the vicious cycle is passed down and not much changes. The small mountain villages we went to are also remote and unrecognized by the government. The people live in the moment for pleasures, whereas America tends to live to the future for comfort. Many Hondurans don't understand to look and plan ahead so when crops are harvested they eat too much and starve for the remaining months during crop growth. They also dont think to solve problems like leaky roofs or detrimental issues.

     The ministry my team partnered with is called Mercy International and they are a long term mission group there to equip the locals to have a faith of their own, to problem solve and correct issues like lack of schooling for their children and planning. They invest in kids (through certain requirements and the Holy Spirits leading) and send them to college and encourage them to learn tools to help their community and to pursue professions such as becoming teachers or doctors or lawyers, which are all needed in these small villages. They also build houses for people and are friends of the locals so they can have a Christ like model and grow. They do many amazing things: marry people, support single moms, invest in local businesses, and the list goes on. They bring in short term mission teams like Kairos because the teams bring a passion and energy and resources that they cannot always get a hold of, and they understand the impact of short term missions trips have on the team and the effect of the discipleship making in the experience. While we were there we put a roof on a church and built a house for a family, we visited 2 villages and spent time building relationships, hosting health clinics, doing activities and teachings for the children, held and attended their church services, played soccer with them. It was an awesome experience and I thank God for taking me there and for growing me in more ways than I know.

     I am now back in Kansas for a small number of weeks learning about leadership and ministry and before I know it we will be back on the road going to Arkansas, Minnesota, and overseas once more. I am so stoked and need to be constantly reminded to enjoy one day at a time, to enjoy the small gifts of love God gives me to enjoy with Him.

     "God is most glorified when you are most satisfied in Him."

The picture on the left is of 4 kids that brought Erika, Dalton, and I to their house to show us around. The picture below is of a house we saw on our 6 hour Cloud Forest hike from one village to the next. Bugs nest in the thatch roofing and bite and infect the host thus tin roofs are very necessary.

Please continue to be praying for me and my team. For financial support, for Gods blessings and leadings, that I continue to grow more in love with Him, that Satan has no power over the group, and that God continues to make me the man He desires me to be. Thank you all so very much for all you do. I am so blessed to have people loving on me and supporting me through this season of my life for it is very much needed. I am so thankful for God's way of love and relationships. I will write back very soon and keep you posted with more!


                                       Its all for Him,
                                                 Stephen Reynolds