God’s Goodness

HEY! The Grays here, we are 2 months and 9 days married, and I (Chase) am several months late on writing a newsletter. Regardless, here WE go, with an update about how we have seen the Goodness of God, in our work, play, community and our marriage. 

Note from Chase

This morning, 7:30am, I found myself in a kayak, in what felt like the middle of the Caribbean. Normally on a Saturday morning I prefer to still be asleep at 7:30, but I made a promise to our Children’s home boys to go to the ocean, in hopes to explore the vibrant aquatic life on a reef not too far from shore. However, this morning the current was strong, the waters too dark to see the reef that we had paddled out to explore. Exhausted from swimming, paddling, and fighting the current we had stopped to rest. I was seated just right, the sun was beaming down on my shoulders, my feet were submerged in the salty water, and a huge school of jellyfish was swimming under me (literally rubbing against my legs and feet, but not stinging!). I was facing our coastline and  taking in God’s creation. Gazing at a world that He could have made black, white and flat. But instead, He gave it color, definition, and grandness. The Honduran mountains make a breathtaking silhouette, the deep greens and the radiant blues of the sky and ocean are like no other. The northern coast of Honduras is where I have called home for the last several years. I had set off to a foreign home to explore the world and share the love of Jesus, but I was not prepared for the countless ways I was going to see the goodness of God. It was His working and His goodness to bring me to a beautiful new home where I would meet my wife, develop a passion for working with fostered youth and learn a deeper reliance on God than I had ever experienced or imagined. This makes me reflect on James 1:17 that says “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” It is so important that we acknowledge and keep our hearts open to the goodness around us, not being quick to forget that we have a God who sustains us each day.

Note from Reagan 

The Goodness of God is a popular song right now in the Christian world. It pops up on our Christian playlist and to be honest, is often stuck in our heads. This goodness that we sing about means something different to each child of God. A lesson I’m continually learning is to name the goodness of God when I see it as an act of worship. How often do we attribute God’s goodness to our work when in reality, it is only by God’s goodness that we have air in our lungs each morning when we wake? In Psalm 127:1, we read that “Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” He is faithful to show us His goodness in countless ways and may we be people who call it what it truly is, His goodness and generosity. It is by no other power that we live and move and have our being. We rely fully on God to show up, and He does, time and again. 

A few weeks ago I  was going to a weekend women’s conference with our local church so we went to dinner at a little beachfront restaurant about 45 minutes from home to spend some time together. Nearly the whole drive to dinner and while we were eating it was raining but we paid it no mind riding in our dry car and eating our dinner under a roof. The restaurant closed and it was starting to get dark as we made our way to the muddy parking lot and much to our surprise we found our car with one very, very flat tire. Not the kind that you put a little air in and hope it will make it home. No, completely flat. The scene around us was dark, rainy, muddy and silent. We were the only souls in sight so Chase began lowering the car’s spare tire while I did the very important job of holding the flashlight. After a while of us struggling on our own, getting muddy and wet in the process, the restaurant's guard popped up with his flashlight to check on the situation. While he could have walked away, wished us well and gone somewhere dry and warm, he stopped to help us for the next 45 minutes to change the tire. This is the second time we have gotten a flat tire here in Honduras and both times God has used a stranger to show us His goodness. Someone who went above and beyond to help us, showing love that was completely undeserved.  

The School

El Camino started our school year on August 2nd, meaning as we write this we have had 7 weeks of class. Reagan is teaching 3rd grade and working on our administrative team. Chase is teaching 1st through 9th grade Bible, chapel and Philosophy for 10th grade. This year we have 185 students enrolled for Pre-K through 10th grade and an amazing teaching team of about 20 people. We have a wonderful community in our cross-cultural teacher community at school.  

Children’s Home

The children at our home continue to grow up before our eyes! This year we have kids enrolled at school from kindergarten all the way to university. It is a blessing to get to live so close to our kids, teach them at school, attend our local church together and just live life together. Eight of our children’s home girls attended the women’s conference with Reagan and sweet memories were made. The same weekend Chase took seven of our boys to a waterfall in the national park about two hours away. 

Life

Our new home is finally complete and we moved in the last week of August and it has already housed movie nights, Bible club, Bible study and dinner with friends. We are so so grateful for this place and look forward to the many memories that will be made! We pray that we will shepard this new home as a gift from God and hope to share meals with many of our supporters if you’re able to visit in the future!

Prayers & Praises

-Praise that we are in our new home!

-Praise that our school FINALLY received our National licensure after 10 years in process! This is HUGE for the sustainability and growth of our school

-Chase was really sick for about 9 days earlier this month but has made a full recovery. We are so grateful to the amazing community we have around us for taking such good care of us. 

-Pray that our marriage would grow and be a blessing to all those we minister to around us!

-Pray for our kids at the Children’s Home as they mature and grow! It is such a blessing to walk along side them during these years.

-The Cornerstone Foundation and Loma de Luz are going through a challenging time and we ask that you be in prayer for all involved. Please let us know if you would like to know more specifically how to pray. 

-We have felt so loved and blessed by the people who have joined our prayer and support team. If you’re interested in joining our support team here is the link to our page: https://www.cten.org/central-america-and-caribbean-missionaries/chase-gray

THANK YOU!

The Grays