How do you eat an elephant

James 1 : 27
Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

What does that mean in todays terms?

We can reason in our minds that we could never make a difference, that the problems are far greater than we could ever take on ourselves.  The large numbers of children without parents in the world is an issue for governments to take on, not individuals, right?

Matthew 17: 20
Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have the faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.


The lasting saying from the trip in November will be "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

On day one of the work at the orphanage there was a pile of dirt that was going to have to be moved by hand and spread throughout the interior of several rooms.  The dirt had the consistency of play-doogh, and the shovels we had just bought seemed to break like toothpicks.  The work was, to say the least discouragingly slow.  As the day progressed one of the team members made the statement that we where eating an elephant.  We laughed until he explained that the only way to do it was simply one bite at a time.  What a statement,  one bite at  a time.

Since God has given us this project their have been days where we have been overwhelmed.  Their has been times of frustration.  Days that we just felt to small to make a difference.  It is on those days I pray that we all realize it is not us who will make a difference, but Christ alone.  You see in the parable of the mustard seed the truth isn't that you just need faith.  The truth is you need faith in Christ and His power to do all things to bring glory to the Father.  As the dirt pile disappeared as the day went on, God was reaffirming that we are on the right path with this project.

From the blessing of seeing a family rescued from a hillside shack, to seeing God raise walls from a corn field.  The little bites only seem little to those on the outside looking in.  You see to the 250 families that received food, or the families who are no longer sleeping on the floor, to the new brothers and sisters in Christ who are no longer headed to eternal suffering there where some very big bites taken out of the elephant.

You see we can't fix the hurts of all the orphans in the world, but it isn't our job.  God calls each and every one of us to minister as He has gifted us.  For some it means building.  For others it may be singing.  Yet others will teach.  Whatever your spiritual gift may be, use it for the glory of the Lord.  As we celebrated Thanksgiving I wondered why has God given so much to my family, and the only response I can think of is that God gave to us to give to others.

We are just around $5,000 short of finishing the block work on the orphanage site.  God truly has blessed this year to see so much of the elephant be eaten away, yet there is more to do.  If you have been blessed by God this year would you consider a donation to this project.  God may not have called you to Honduras, but that doesn't mean He isn't calling you to take a bite.  Pray for this project and the leadership team to stay in the center of Gods will.  Give if you can to this project, every day spent in construction is a day that we are unable to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and care for the fatherless.

Help us move this mountain and make a difference in the lives of those in Honduras.   Donate today through check @ PO Box 1220, Weaverville NC, 28787 or online via paypal @ www.carpentersheart.org.