You need many things to prepare for your trip, but none are as important as preparing your heart. This trip is about God working in your life. If nothing else gets done, but you are touched by God’s hand it will have been worthwhile.

As you work to plan, pack and prepare, take time each day to pray about His will, ponder what the Word says and perceive what He is saying to you.

This section on spiritual preparation is both here on the website and in the Fieldworker’s Manual that you will receive (or perhaps you already have it.) It is meant to be a guide to help you prepare yourself spiritually. We’ve provided scriptures about poverty, devotions to study and a prayer calendar to follow. Set aside time each day or two to focus yor heart on what God wants for you this trip.

Pages 12-19 of the 2011 Fieldworker’s Manual provide a seven week preparation schedule. Find someone to partner with in this journey. It is often helpful to have an accountability partner from within your group. you will discover that God will begin to transform you even before you arrive in Honduras. Each day He will open something new to you as He continues to work in your life.

PRE-TRIP PRAYER PARTNERS

Prayer has alwas been an important part of Heart to Honduras. Without prayer we can neither know the will of God nor learn to depend upon Him. It is in that open communication with God that we are truly molded and shaped into the image of Christ. We strongly encourage you to make prayer a priority in your life and trip preparations.

Some teams that have traveled with us have formed Prayer Partners for the trip. These pairs pray for each other before and during the trip. We strongly suggest that you do this with your team. It is important that these pairings be made carefully so that pairs can truly develop into close relationships.

The prayer partners should start meeting prior to the trip. The pairs should share prayer requests, concerns and act as accountability partners for the devotional readings. As the trip gets closer they can pray specifically for their partner’s personal concerns.

You may also want to ask people in the congregation who are not going on the trip to adopt one of these Prayer Partner pairings. This extra prayer support is not only an encouragement and support for the people traveling, but enables those who cannot go to be a valuable part of the team.

Another version of this mutural support that some teams have found beneficial is drawing names for Secret Prayer Partner upon arrival in country. These Secret Prayer Partners then slip notes of encouragement to the team leader which the leader then passes to the addressee. The Secret Prayer Parnter is intentional about observing the other person and finding ways to compliment and pray for him/her.

SCRIPTURES ABOUT POVERTY

The staff of Heart to Honduras has felt that God is strongly reminding us that we are to serve the poor. Our focus is to find that urgent burden for those who are in need. Sometimes it is easy to forget that God has spoken quite extensively about the need to serve the poor and the needy. In the North American Church we have at times gotten wrapped up in worship styles, building, and self-help programs. We have occasionally lost the burden to serve the world and those in need. but the Bible has a lot to say about caring for the needy.

There are over 100 verses in the Bible that deal directly with the care of the poor, the needy, the ones who cannot care for themselves. Some may seem like strange guidelines for an urban society, but all of them point us to God’s compassion and care for those in need. There are 35 of these 100 verses listed below.

As you read, God’s words speak for themselves. His Word expresses His heart beautifully. It is best to read them aloud if possible, as there really is something in the hearing of the Word. Consider these Bible versus as the seeds that God wants to plant in your heart. From them He will bring forth an abundant crop of good works and abounding grace.

Reflect on what the verses say to you, what God is saying through them, how they may speak to you in a new a way, how they are intended to change your life. Pray for forgiveness if you have overlooked those in need. Ask for God’s guidance to better serve the needy both in Central America and in your local community.