Using talents to build God's Kindgom

I wanted to introduce you all to Mary Yates (standing in the middle in the photo above). Mary and her husband Malcolm are from the Bristol region of southern England, but Mary has left part of her heart here in Honduras! Since 2000, when Mary first came down to Honduras on a missions trip, she has felt called to make a difference in the lives of street kids in this country.

Mary started a foundation, called Friends of El Hogar (www.foeh.org.uk), and part of the funds that Mary raises are donated to the Micah Project. What is really wonderful about Mary's efforts, though, is the way that she uses her talents for God's glory! As a classically trained musician, Mary organizes several concerts a year so that she can continue to raise funds for the children of Honduras. This year, she has ten concerts planned. The first one was on April 19th, and featured music from Handel, Mozart and Pergolesi. It was a great success!

One of the things I love about Mary is the way she views the world. Every aspect of God's creation is a source of wonder to her. On her last trip to Honduras, I took her to visit Zamorano University (she was instrumental in helping our Zamorano grad Darwin Pavon set up his internship in Bristol last year). I think Mary could have spent days observing all of the trees and beautiful flowers on Zamorano's park-like campus! She truly lives life with her eyes wide open.

Mary is one example of how God puts a burden on someone's heart to help the suffering children of Honduras. Instead of letting that burden rest in her heart, however, she has used her tremendous gifts to create action. That, in turn, is creating hope in the lives of many children here in Honduras!

Thanks, Mary! And thanks to all of you who have given your time and resources to build God's kingdom in these young lives.

Su hermano en Cristo,

Michael