God Is Love

God is love. If He is in me, and I in Him, then I should be love... but how can I love if I do not accept the love that was first given to me? While in Honduras this past summer, working for Signs of Love Ministry, I experienced love, like I never have before. I experienced the out pouring of love onto others that I never could have given out from my human body. I experienced super natural, eccentric love that only could have come from the Almighty himself.

While on this beautiful journey I began to learn that I wanted everyone to know how much the God of the Universe loved and cared for them in such an enormous way, yet I refused to believe in my heart of hearts that that same God would deem me worthy of such love. I realized I had to be living a lie if I didn’t believe that the God Job described as the one “who laid the earth’s foundation, who gives orders to the morning and shows the dawn its place, who brings forth the constellations in their seasons, who sends bolts of lightning on their way, who knows when the mountain goat gives birth and watches as the doe bears her fawn” truly loved me. I began to beg God, the God whom I am unworthy to serve, whom I fail time and time again, the one who chooses to use me as a part of His mysterious plan, to reveal to me why, and how he could ever love me. As I see these words on a page, it seems ridiculous to even think that God wouldn’t love me, of course He loves me. Yet it was still hard for me to grasp in my heart, however, God began demonstrating His love for me in beautiful ways.

Love through Rubis: It was the last night of Deaf Camp that God gave me an example of His love. It was snack time, and the Signs of Love team was handing out a late night snack of a bag of chips and cans of juice. After we’d handed snacks out to almost all the kids, we realized there would not be enough juice for everyone. As I handed the last can of pineapple nectar to a girl named Rubis, I told the only girl sitting in the group that did not have a juice (Cecelia) that I was sorry, that was the last juice, and before I could tell her that we would have more juice in just a few moments, Rubis handed her juice over to Cecelia wearing the most generous grin I’ve ever seen. I immediately turned to walk away before I burst into tears in front of the girls. Obviously worn out from the days of planning and lack of sleep from the nights preparing, God pushed me to a breaking point as I received an amazing picture of a girl who had absolutely nothing, an orphan who was undoubtedly made fun of by hearing children since she was born, gave away what she didn’t know could be given back to her. I saw the love of Jesus in that little girl’s face that night. And it will stick with me forever. I have to wonder, if Rubis could understand and be a part of God’s love, then why couldn’t I?

As I reflect on the many things God showed me during my short time in Honduras this summer, I am slowly embracing and accepting this deep, vast, astounding, and consuming love that is for me that I may in turn love everyone else around me.

“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know that His love surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all  the fullness of God”  - Ephesians 3:18-19


Kathryn Groseclose

A Ministry of Love

  The first time I met Robin, I was fifteen years old. I was in La Ceiba on a medical mission trip with my parents that summer, and my mom was determined to find someone who worked with the Deaf in Honduras.  My mom succeeded. I was sitting at the food court in the mall when the lady with the big red hair came up and introduced herself. Something hit me in that instant. It’s like I just knew that the ministry this woman had begun was going to play a very important role in my life.

My mom began bringing groups of college students to work with Signs of Love the next summer and she hasn’t stopped. I have had the incredible privilege to tag along for most of those trips. When I look back on all those years and I take a look at the ministry now, I am filled with warmth and amazement. It has grown in incredible and God-breathed ways. And I’m not talking about growth in size (although it has grown in that way too). It’s about the growth of each individual Deaf that has been touched by this ministry. Two faces pop out in my head as I sit here writing this: Amanda and Enrique.

            When I first met Amanda, she didn’t say much. She was quiet and timid. Ten years later, Amanda has grown into one of the most expressive and strongest people I know. And it’s because of this ministry. It’s because someone didn’t give up on her. She is now working for Signs of Love full time, and impacting many lives.  She is taking all that love and encouragement that someone has given her, and she is now pouring it into other Deaf children. It’s beautiful.

Enrique was 9 years old when I first met him. Like Amanda, he was shy and passive. Now, ten years later, Enrique is much more confident and animated. And when they play games at their monthly village program, he is the one telling everyone what to do. He glows. And again, it’s because someone believed in him.

That’s what I am learning this ministry is all about. Yes, we teach language to the rural Deaf. But what this whole thing is really about is believing in those who no one else believes in. The Deaf here are craving for someone to be Jesus to them: to love them, to hug them, to tell them and show them they are special, and to never give up on them.  That is what has been going on here in these past 12 years of ministry. The Deaf are being loved, empowered, cherished, educated, touched, defended, protected and taught the love of Christ.  It is incredible to see the kingdom impact that these 12 years have made on so many lives. And I can’t wait to see how God uses the organization in the next twelve years.

 “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier. “     - Mother Teresa