https://www.crowdrise.com/emptythebucket/fundraiser/averymezzanotte/setup_success/member

Wanted to share a page that my Great Aunt is hosting. I've been to Honduras the last 3 years and every year it becomes more and more influential in my spiritual life. The Lamb Institute has been working within Tegucigalpa since 1999. It's run by Suzanne McCall and seeks to provide shelter, education and a Christ centered life for children and adults that would have difficulty finding it, or even surviving. The gang violence in Tegucigalpa is notorious nowadays, but Lamb has responded by introducing the Alonzo movement, which is an alternative group for men who want to be out of gangs. Most importantly however, is it's development of Casa Hogar, a children's home just outside Tegucigalpa that is home to 65 kids from ages 2-18. The most recent developments have been to provide a consistent water source for the children. Water missions has come down, but we're determined to give these kids warm showers instead of washing out of cold buckets.

Praying for growth

I wanted to talk about prayer for a bit. Prayer is one of the most important factors in building our relationship with God, other than reading in the bible about his nature. In John 11:25 it is written," Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live...'"this passage is showing how Jesus is the only way to salvation, that in any other path we would live in darkness, through studying his way and living to his doctrine, we are saved from the world outside. Let us be thankful this is clearly written for us to find in our journey. So I want to ask: How do we grow in our faith and find a balance between what is temporary and that which is eternal? In Corinthians 13:13 we are told,"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." Now a man or woman is defined by his actions, but how does he or she develop the discipline to act in a Christian way? The answer, though I am but a messenger, is to pray and allow God to transform us into the way that we are really meant to be in his image. God wants us to find clarity in our hearts so that we can bring clarity to others who need us. Christianity is not a sterile machine, it is an always growing network where a disciple goes out to teach the way of Jesus so that it may be passed on through the generations. In order to have a strong network of Christians, we must be confident in knowing what God has intended for us and to grow our unique talents to glorify our Father. Take a moment, and really think: what are my talents that I can use to glorify my father in heaven?
Don't be scared if you haven't found your way yet. This is where prayer comes in. We want to pray well and be thankful for our opportunity to learn what God wants us to do. In this sermon I'm mainly focusing on growth through prayer, and there are so many kinds of prayer that we can practice. But this practice is a way to grow into a person of faith, hope and love, as the bible shows us what is true.
First in this specific practice, we are getting rid of some prayers which are bad habits. Lists of things we need, material things (cars, toys, and accessories) are of less importance. In lamentations it says this,"You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through. " Though I'm not exactly sure if this truly applies to prayer for specific things, imagine if a man prayed daily for the things of this earth and rather directly to know Jesus and to grow with him. What would benefit his spirituality more?
A big impact I want to leave in teaching you is the value that prayer can have. Its in one way the measure of our faith and trust in God, who's the creator of the universe. Every time you sit in a room whether you're with brothers or sisters or on your own,m youre communicating with the creator of the universe, who in one sentence," let there be light" created everything that exists today. He is more knowledgable than any creature imaginable, in the extent that he knows time, the past present and future all at the same time. I`m just giving an example of his oneness,  his plan is for us to come to him in heaven and this is the kind of love that is understanding, but also hard if we recognize but choose to ignore. Forget the last part, just take from this that whenever you pray, you're talking to the biggest, most significant presence the universe will ever know. In our time with Him, we should show our gratitude to be able to be in his presence. We should ask for his wisdom and guidance to show us where we have gone wrong, and where we can improve. We should ask for blessings to our brothers and sisters who are also seeking the way of Jesus that they receive God's insight and learn his wisdom too. We can also listen and wait for the voice of our God to come to us, and learn to recognize it. Its exciting that we are able to even have conversation with a higher self, but to talk to an almighty power which knows everything and everyone to the deepest parts of self, where every secret to the human is an open book to him. That is a wisdom we need to take from, and learn from, because where would we grow otherwise if we had a way which was not dressed in positive for the human spirit?

It's been a long summer but right now I'm writing about some of the interesting experiences I've had travelling. I hope y'all can send me some of your stories of God, or if you are just searching, tell that journey too. I'm going to put a new email down
Mezzanottej1@owls.southernct.edu

Also watch the movie God's not Dead! It's really amazing. Hope you all had an amazing Summer, God bless.

I want to move in every direction,
Where the stars are simply beside me,
where my limbs are memory,
ancient memories which can never be practical
in presence, but brightened with compassion
Selected by the yes, or the no,
I may drift endlessly,
through the endless space time that extends infinitely,
I say Yes to Jesus,
And his hand guides me to where I am truly meant to go,
I am no longer drifting,
I am floating through the river of his fearless peace,
Through every sort of danger and peril that flies past my essence,
 Be it material or ether
I  cannot be persecuted with him beside me,
I can only walk in his love and be guided in his way.
What choice is there?
To float for eons in no direction,
To seek what is temporary and based upon material?
Or seek a way which has no alternate, which unites me with
who I really am.
A love which is always changing, but never ceasing,
for in every moment, nothing is the same,
everywhere we walk in our bodies is a new perception,
even if we walk in the same areas each day.
The people you see, the cars that pass by,
the birds which fly over head,
move differently every time,
fluctuating like bacteria
meshed together like metal
but such a progression, has its purpose,
You are not alone, and what is within you is greater than you can imagine,
trust in Jesus, and you will see

God’s Love is a star.

A shining light which never ceases

If you look up, no matter the time of day, you shall see stars

And each of them is a shining light which never ceases,

God’s love is a star which never ends,

On a rainy day, the clouds are thick and the rain falls down,

 God’s love is hidden,

When you are sad, and lost in the world,

God’s love is hidden,

But through the clouds,

His shining light is eternal;

Waiting for your heart to rain no more,

Only too long to see the star

How much do you long to truly see the stars?

No matter how I fall,
I look and see a hand raised toward me,
And as I look what a sight do I see,
No man can lift me up, 
I am dirty, and God stands by me,
No one can see His face, 
No one can see his Form, 
For no one can truly contemplate his Face, 
Nor contemplate his Form