Two of my favorite guys!
Joshua and Fernando.
It's been a rough day of playing!
Monday, August 21, 2006
This is the famous doocha! (I am spelling it like it sounds) I took these pictures for everyone who kept saying I was going on vacation. Mmmmm, last vacation you went on, did you have one of these in your shower?
I am just glad I finally learned how to work it! It was my second trip to Honduras before I learned how to get the water to be hot. Patty taught me!!
Each day we would pass out a congratulation award to each child who passed their test the previous day, and give them a star for completing that Pace. All the kids anxiously await to see if they passed and can get their new Pace. They all applaud for their classmates and ooohhhh and aaahhhh when someone passes with a 100!
This is my dear friend Rosie who I helped while I was in Honduras.
Rosie is a fantastic teacher. She is fluent in English. The children all love her!
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Enjoy some icecream! During my weekend at the orphanage we took all the kids into town to go to the movie. (how many people can you fit into a van in Honduras? - this is not a trick question!)
Going to the matinee movie was quite an experience. There were probably 150 kids in the theater and maybe 5 adults. They were running and screaming. Throwing gum (just ask Paula!). . . throwing popcorn . . . it was a wild time. So we watched Cars in Spanish. Our boys loved the folicula . All our kids behaved perfectly at the movie. Afterward we walked to get icecream. What a fun treat for all the kids!
Reynaldo! This boy can steal your heart with his smile! It will take him a few minutes to warm up to you, but once he does, you will be in love with him! Reynaldo's older brother is Fredy.
Reynaldo loves the water! The day we went to the swimming park, Reynaldo was jumping in the pool to me and he kept telling me to move back further and further when he would jump in. He would come up out of the water with the biggest grin on his face! He is a doll!
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Some of you may have heard that I am moving to Honduras. Some of you may have heard this before I even knew for certain I was called there. But it is true. . . I am planning to move to Honduras.
That's the short version. . . for the long version, read on. . .
Let me back up a little. . . While I was in Honduras in July, 2005, I kept thinking "what is the day to day" like here. You know, you go on a mission trip and it is constant activity, constant focus on God, constant focus on stepping out of your comfort zone to do all He has planned for you. . . then you come home and back to life as usual. But while I was there last year I kept wondering what it was like to be there every day, and I wondered how I could come home and continue to live as if I am on a mission trip. Those thoughts and questions are why I went this year for 3 weeks. When I arrived Annette asked me what I wanted to do, did I want her to take me to do touristy things, did I have something special in mind that I wanted to do, did I want to do something special with the kids at school? All I wanted to do for the two weeks before the team arrived was live there, be there for the normal day to day activity of being a missionary in Honduras.
My first few days there every time I would begin to write in my journal I wrote question after question and one question turned into three more and those three turned into six more and on and on. . . My first question was "Is it ME who wants to move to Honduras or is it God who is calling me?" Which led to more questions like. . . "Why would I want to move to a country where you have to wash vegetables with bleach?" . . . "Why would I want to move to a country where you brush your teeth with bottled water?". . . ".Why . . . country where I do not speak the language. . . where you cannot flush your toilet paper. . .where your house is surrounded by razor wire?". . . you see how the questions began to snowball. Finally I felt as if God was telling me to be quiet if I ever expected to hear an answer. I was doing too much trying to figure it out on my own and trying to rationalize the passion that I was feeling for the country, people, and children of Honduras.
It was Thursday evening when I went out on my own that I felt like I needed to be quiet and listen. That evening I sat looking outside of the mall (aka the small) at the mountains and the sky and the beauty of the country, just taking it all in. That evening as I prayed and waited I realized that whatever the answer, it was going to require sacrifice. If He was not telling me to come to Honduras I would be sad because I have such a passion and desire to be there, but if He did tell me to come there that would mean leaving friends and family and the comfort of my home to move to a third world country. I made peace that night, that whatever the answer I would accept it.
The next morning I was getting ready for going to the school, and I was thinking about all the chaotic dreams I had during the night, dreams of me running, being chased, fear, chaos and confusion. As I was remembering these dreams I thought of something else, and in my mind I thought it had actually happened. As I was thinking about it, I realized that it had been a dream too, I had to keep reminding myself that it was not real. In this dream, I was outside of the mall, just as I had been the night before, and was looking at the mountains and sky and enjoying the beauty, and then all the clouds in the sky began to move and formed the shape of a cross. I knew that I had my answer, that it was God that was calling me there, that I was hearing Him correctly.
Joshua is a senior this year so sometime after he graduates I will be moving to Honduras. I plan to put my house up for sale shortly. Please pray that it will sell quickly - this is the biggest stressor I feel currently. I will be helping at Ruach Christian School, the school run by Annette and Lance Turner. I have such excitement in my heart for the work that can be done in Honduras. I have a heart for the children. Whether kids in the U.S. or in Honduras, or any other country, they are so important. The kids can make a difference in the next generation, they can effect the world for Jesus. We are teaching the future pastors, prayer warriors, teachers and prophets. What a difference these kids can make at home and in Honduras.
So that is my heart. I am excited, I am humbled to be called, I am overwhelmed at times thinking of all that will need to happen before I go, and I am struggling with leaving Joshua. I will need your prayers and encouragement over the coming months. Thank you for standing with me over the years and for walking this part of the journey with me.
That's the short version. . . for the long version, read on. . .
Let me back up a little. . . While I was in Honduras in July, 2005, I kept thinking "what is the day to day" like here. You know, you go on a mission trip and it is constant activity, constant focus on God, constant focus on stepping out of your comfort zone to do all He has planned for you. . . then you come home and back to life as usual. But while I was there last year I kept wondering what it was like to be there every day, and I wondered how I could come home and continue to live as if I am on a mission trip. Those thoughts and questions are why I went this year for 3 weeks. When I arrived Annette asked me what I wanted to do, did I want her to take me to do touristy things, did I have something special in mind that I wanted to do, did I want to do something special with the kids at school? All I wanted to do for the two weeks before the team arrived was live there, be there for the normal day to day activity of being a missionary in Honduras.
My first few days there every time I would begin to write in my journal I wrote question after question and one question turned into three more and those three turned into six more and on and on. . . My first question was "Is it ME who wants to move to Honduras or is it God who is calling me?" Which led to more questions like. . . "Why would I want to move to a country where you have to wash vegetables with bleach?" . . . "Why would I want to move to a country where you brush your teeth with bottled water?". . . ".Why . . . country where I do not speak the language. . . where you cannot flush your toilet paper. . .where your house is surrounded by razor wire?". . . you see how the questions began to snowball. Finally I felt as if God was telling me to be quiet if I ever expected to hear an answer. I was doing too much trying to figure it out on my own and trying to rationalize the passion that I was feeling for the country, people, and children of Honduras.
It was Thursday evening when I went out on my own that I felt like I needed to be quiet and listen. That evening I sat looking outside of the mall (aka the small) at the mountains and the sky and the beauty of the country, just taking it all in. That evening as I prayed and waited I realized that whatever the answer, it was going to require sacrifice. If He was not telling me to come to Honduras I would be sad because I have such a passion and desire to be there, but if He did tell me to come there that would mean leaving friends and family and the comfort of my home to move to a third world country. I made peace that night, that whatever the answer I would accept it.
The next morning I was getting ready for going to the school, and I was thinking about all the chaotic dreams I had during the night, dreams of me running, being chased, fear, chaos and confusion. As I was remembering these dreams I thought of something else, and in my mind I thought it had actually happened. As I was thinking about it, I realized that it had been a dream too, I had to keep reminding myself that it was not real. In this dream, I was outside of the mall, just as I had been the night before, and was looking at the mountains and sky and enjoying the beauty, and then all the clouds in the sky began to move and formed the shape of a cross. I knew that I had my answer, that it was God that was calling me there, that I was hearing Him correctly.
Joshua is a senior this year so sometime after he graduates I will be moving to Honduras. I plan to put my house up for sale shortly. Please pray that it will sell quickly - this is the biggest stressor I feel currently. I will be helping at Ruach Christian School, the school run by Annette and Lance Turner. I have such excitement in my heart for the work that can be done in Honduras. I have a heart for the children. Whether kids in the U.S. or in Honduras, or any other country, they are so important. The kids can make a difference in the next generation, they can effect the world for Jesus. We are teaching the future pastors, prayer warriors, teachers and prophets. What a difference these kids can make at home and in Honduras.
So that is my heart. I am excited, I am humbled to be called, I am overwhelmed at times thinking of all that will need to happen before I go, and I am struggling with leaving Joshua. I will need your prayers and encouragement over the coming months. Thank you for standing with me over the years and for walking this part of the journey with me.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Hello! After I left the internet cafe last night I remembered one big event that I left out of my update. . . Daibe, Pastor Felix´s son, is here with us this week. He took a bus, another bus and a taxi from Dan Li to Comayagua to spend the week with Joshua! Jim Faber asked Josh on Monday if he would like Daibe to come and of course he was thrilled. So it has been good for Joshua. It was very hard for him to think of coming and not getting to see his Honduran Family. So at least he got his brother for the week! We will see Bessie Friday when she is awarded the Amy Pack Memorial Scholarship. It will be a special time.
Did every read Romans 12? The weekend I was at the orphanage God took me to that chapter. I read it and read it again. Many times when He gets me to a passage He keeps me there for a while. There were many things that popped out at me while I was reading it. The first thing being that in my Bible the title of the chapter says Living Sacrifices. I felt like this chapter really spoke about this mission trip for everyone on the team. The next thing that really popped out at me (I am paraphrasing because I do not have my Bible with me). . . was in the first part of the chapter it talks about knowing God´s will. That was a big part of my trip, my first week here I was talking to Him about what his plan was for me in the future and in Honduras. The next thing that popped out at me was . . . I don´t remember the verse number, sorry, but it talks about having zeal, keeping the zeal. So I have been reading that chapter over and over since I was at the orphanage. Last weekend I had filled up my journal, so while Helen and I were out shopping we stopped in a little shop and I bought a spiral notebook to continue journaling in. The words on the front were in Spanish. I didn´t think much about the words, I just began writing in it. Then on Monday evening as I sat down to write I noticed that the front of the notebook says Romanos 12:1-21. I thought now how strange is that. . . God is definitely telling me something. So the next morning I asked Jim if I could share at breakfast for our devotional time. I had planned to read the first part of Romans 12. Before Jim had me speak, he said he had something he wanted to read. . . he read Romans 12:9 -21 . . . Now I am really going WOW!!!! So I shared that I thought it was so cool tha he read that section because I had planned to read at the beginning of Romans 12. I shared with everyone that I do not believe all this was a coincidence, but it was all orchastrated by God. . . me reading that chapter at the end of my first week here, then buying the notebook and later seeing that passage on the front, then Jim chosing that to read Tuesday morning.
This morning we were at the water park with the children at Ruach and the small boys from the orphanage. The older boys, with Mark, Hannah, Faith and John went with our teenages to San Pedro Sula to Wonderland the water park. I am sure they are all having a fun time!
Before I left Deanna gave me an amount of money. She told me that God have told her to give me that specific amount and that she felt there was going to be need in Honduras for that specific amount for me to give to someone here. One of the teachers at Ruach, Mary Cruz, she is so sweet! She has wonderful children, one of them you may meet, he is traveling to the states with Annette and Lance later this year to help them as they go to churches to talk about the school and their vision for their ministry here in Honduras. Well, Mary Cruz´s son, Celestino, thought he had lost his while a month or so ago. Well one day at the school they had someone there working on one of the toilets that was stopped up. They had to take much of it apart, and ended up pulling Celestino`s wallet out of the pipes. When this happened, everyone knew that he had not lost his wallet, but that someone had stolen it and then to hide the wallet had flushed it at the school. (we all laughed since you cannot flush toilet paper but some kid thought he could hide a wallet by flushing it). I do not know how much money was stolen from him, but God put it on my heart at that time to give Mary Cruz the money that Deanna had given to me. I had expected something like someone to say I need this specific amount of money, but after this happened, I knew that I didn´t need to know what it was for, but just that God had a plan for the money. Today I explained to Mary Cruz about the money, how God had spoken to Deanna about sending it with me, and how He had put it on my heart to give it to her. She began to cry and said that she had been praying for provision for her family, and that God had answered her prayer. What a beautiful moment! It was`t even so much about the money but that she had the faith to pray and that she would be so much encouraged because her prayer was answered. Answered through someone in the states who she doesn´t even know. Mary Cruz is a wonderful lady, with a wonderful family. Her son, Celestino, wants to be a preacher. He has come to the states for competitions with the sermons he has written. Some of you who have worked at the school before will know Mary Cruz.
I will miss my kids so much from the school. I was going around the pool this afternoon telling them all goodbye. I had fun playing with them today. I don´t think they realized my goodbye was goodbye, they will probably be looking for me on Monday.
Rosie came with us after we left the pool to hang out with us this afternoon. I told her I will miss her so much. I have worked with her everyday at the school. She made me feel a part of the teachers and not an outsider or a visitor. She really made my time there special, and easy to adjust and fit in.
Tommy`s teaching is going great! Last night they had all the students there, which I have been told is unusual, so that is good that they are there to learn much from Tommy. Lydia was there with him last night to help with ministry time after he taught,because many of the students are ladies. She said it was so awesome how they responded and received ministry. Several ladies from the team will be going to the school tonight as Tommy preaches to intercede during the teaching and help with ministry after class.
Joy, the English teacher at the ministry school, told me that one of the students is not a christian. He delivers the chips and snacks to the school, and heard that there was good teaching and that he could learn English so he just started attending. I do not know his name, but pray for him that he would receive all God has for him. We have all thought it was incredible that someone not a Christian would come to a Bible school, what an awesome experience I am sure he is having this week with Tommy`s teaching.
There are so many things from this trip I could tell about. . . I know I will be journaling for weeks after I arrive home.
Well I should close now.
Love you all!
Did every read Romans 12? The weekend I was at the orphanage God took me to that chapter. I read it and read it again. Many times when He gets me to a passage He keeps me there for a while. There were many things that popped out at me while I was reading it. The first thing being that in my Bible the title of the chapter says Living Sacrifices. I felt like this chapter really spoke about this mission trip for everyone on the team. The next thing that really popped out at me (I am paraphrasing because I do not have my Bible with me). . . was in the first part of the chapter it talks about knowing God´s will. That was a big part of my trip, my first week here I was talking to Him about what his plan was for me in the future and in Honduras. The next thing that popped out at me was . . . I don´t remember the verse number, sorry, but it talks about having zeal, keeping the zeal. So I have been reading that chapter over and over since I was at the orphanage. Last weekend I had filled up my journal, so while Helen and I were out shopping we stopped in a little shop and I bought a spiral notebook to continue journaling in. The words on the front were in Spanish. I didn´t think much about the words, I just began writing in it. Then on Monday evening as I sat down to write I noticed that the front of the notebook says Romanos 12:1-21. I thought now how strange is that. . . God is definitely telling me something. So the next morning I asked Jim if I could share at breakfast for our devotional time. I had planned to read the first part of Romans 12. Before Jim had me speak, he said he had something he wanted to read. . . he read Romans 12:9 -21 . . . Now I am really going WOW!!!! So I shared that I thought it was so cool tha he read that section because I had planned to read at the beginning of Romans 12. I shared with everyone that I do not believe all this was a coincidence, but it was all orchastrated by God. . . me reading that chapter at the end of my first week here, then buying the notebook and later seeing that passage on the front, then Jim chosing that to read Tuesday morning.
This morning we were at the water park with the children at Ruach and the small boys from the orphanage. The older boys, with Mark, Hannah, Faith and John went with our teenages to San Pedro Sula to Wonderland the water park. I am sure they are all having a fun time!
Before I left Deanna gave me an amount of money. She told me that God have told her to give me that specific amount and that she felt there was going to be need in Honduras for that specific amount for me to give to someone here. One of the teachers at Ruach, Mary Cruz, she is so sweet! She has wonderful children, one of them you may meet, he is traveling to the states with Annette and Lance later this year to help them as they go to churches to talk about the school and their vision for their ministry here in Honduras. Well, Mary Cruz´s son, Celestino, thought he had lost his while a month or so ago. Well one day at the school they had someone there working on one of the toilets that was stopped up. They had to take much of it apart, and ended up pulling Celestino`s wallet out of the pipes. When this happened, everyone knew that he had not lost his wallet, but that someone had stolen it and then to hide the wallet had flushed it at the school. (we all laughed since you cannot flush toilet paper but some kid thought he could hide a wallet by flushing it). I do not know how much money was stolen from him, but God put it on my heart at that time to give Mary Cruz the money that Deanna had given to me. I had expected something like someone to say I need this specific amount of money, but after this happened, I knew that I didn´t need to know what it was for, but just that God had a plan for the money. Today I explained to Mary Cruz about the money, how God had spoken to Deanna about sending it with me, and how He had put it on my heart to give it to her. She began to cry and said that she had been praying for provision for her family, and that God had answered her prayer. What a beautiful moment! It was`t even so much about the money but that she had the faith to pray and that she would be so much encouraged because her prayer was answered. Answered through someone in the states who she doesn´t even know. Mary Cruz is a wonderful lady, with a wonderful family. Her son, Celestino, wants to be a preacher. He has come to the states for competitions with the sermons he has written. Some of you who have worked at the school before will know Mary Cruz.
I will miss my kids so much from the school. I was going around the pool this afternoon telling them all goodbye. I had fun playing with them today. I don´t think they realized my goodbye was goodbye, they will probably be looking for me on Monday.
Rosie came with us after we left the pool to hang out with us this afternoon. I told her I will miss her so much. I have worked with her everyday at the school. She made me feel a part of the teachers and not an outsider or a visitor. She really made my time there special, and easy to adjust and fit in.
Tommy`s teaching is going great! Last night they had all the students there, which I have been told is unusual, so that is good that they are there to learn much from Tommy. Lydia was there with him last night to help with ministry time after he taught,because many of the students are ladies. She said it was so awesome how they responded and received ministry. Several ladies from the team will be going to the school tonight as Tommy preaches to intercede during the teaching and help with ministry after class.
Joy, the English teacher at the ministry school, told me that one of the students is not a christian. He delivers the chips and snacks to the school, and heard that there was good teaching and that he could learn English so he just started attending. I do not know his name, but pray for him that he would receive all God has for him. We have all thought it was incredible that someone not a Christian would come to a Bible school, what an awesome experience I am sure he is having this week with Tommy`s teaching.
There are so many things from this trip I could tell about. . . I know I will be journaling for weeks after I arrive home.
Well I should close now.
Love you all!
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Hello!
Well I made it to the internet cafe tonight. I made it here last night too, but I obviously did something wrong because it did not post. I must have entered it as a draft and not actually pulished it, because it is not here.
I was rushed last night, Jim ran me up here, and I was trying to send an update but they were closing. . . so I guess I will start again.
The team arrived Sunday. It was great to see Joshua. I did not realize how much I missed him until I could see him on the other side of the glass when they were coming through customs. We rode on a school bus to the airport, which didn´t sound like fun originally, but it was a great trip, you could see much more I suppose because we were sitting higher on the bus. It was a good trip.
The teams are meshing together great! The team from Colorado had prepared some activities for the children at the church in Tegucigalpa. We went there after everyone arrived. They had some fun activities, with salvation bracelets, memory verses, and fun games for the kids.
Angel, Barbara Lee and Jim Faber stayed behind with Tommy and the rest of the team headed back to Comayagua.
Monday evening we had the teacher appreciation dinner for the teachers of Ruach. Everyone had a great lesson in FLEXIBILITY! After arriving back at the hotel people were getting ready, with showers and the electricity went out, then the storm hit. Down pouring rain and lightening, and then we did not have any more water. The teacher dinner was supposed to be outside at Annette´s house. We had decorated with Christmas lights, and set up table and chairs for 50 that afternoon. It got moved to Enlaces, thanks to Annette`s friend Autumn. We arrived, wet and in the dark, but with candles the festivities still happened. Power came back on during the last 10 minutes.
Tuesday the teenagers started their activities. They had some good response from the Honduran kids during the ministry time. Joshua did his teaching Tuesday afternoon. I was proud of him, I hear he did a good job on his teaching about perseverance.
We have played games with the kids 1st through 6th grade. Today was the end of that activity, and tomorrow is the water parks. The teenagers going to San Pedro Sula to a water park, pray for their safety, it is a 3 hour trip both ways. And the rest of us will be going with the younger kids and the kids from the orphanage to a local water park.
Friday we go to the orphanage for a cook out and then back to Comayagua for a time to share and end the trip.
It is hard to believe it is almost time for me to come home. It was hard today, being in the class with the kids this morning and I kept thinking that it would be the last time to do that with these kids. I will miss them all so much! I will miss everything about my days here helping at the school.
I have more to tell you. . . read Romans chapter 12. . . Lydia and I took a taxi here to email home before we meet the team across the street for dinner, so I better end now.
Look for more abut Romans chapter 12. . .read it while you wait. It has a lot to say!
Love you all!
Steph
Well I made it to the internet cafe tonight. I made it here last night too, but I obviously did something wrong because it did not post. I must have entered it as a draft and not actually pulished it, because it is not here.
I was rushed last night, Jim ran me up here, and I was trying to send an update but they were closing. . . so I guess I will start again.
The team arrived Sunday. It was great to see Joshua. I did not realize how much I missed him until I could see him on the other side of the glass when they were coming through customs. We rode on a school bus to the airport, which didn´t sound like fun originally, but it was a great trip, you could see much more I suppose because we were sitting higher on the bus. It was a good trip.
The teams are meshing together great! The team from Colorado had prepared some activities for the children at the church in Tegucigalpa. We went there after everyone arrived. They had some fun activities, with salvation bracelets, memory verses, and fun games for the kids.
Angel, Barbara Lee and Jim Faber stayed behind with Tommy and the rest of the team headed back to Comayagua.
Monday evening we had the teacher appreciation dinner for the teachers of Ruach. Everyone had a great lesson in FLEXIBILITY! After arriving back at the hotel people were getting ready, with showers and the electricity went out, then the storm hit. Down pouring rain and lightening, and then we did not have any more water. The teacher dinner was supposed to be outside at Annette´s house. We had decorated with Christmas lights, and set up table and chairs for 50 that afternoon. It got moved to Enlaces, thanks to Annette`s friend Autumn. We arrived, wet and in the dark, but with candles the festivities still happened. Power came back on during the last 10 minutes.
Tuesday the teenagers started their activities. They had some good response from the Honduran kids during the ministry time. Joshua did his teaching Tuesday afternoon. I was proud of him, I hear he did a good job on his teaching about perseverance.
We have played games with the kids 1st through 6th grade. Today was the end of that activity, and tomorrow is the water parks. The teenagers going to San Pedro Sula to a water park, pray for their safety, it is a 3 hour trip both ways. And the rest of us will be going with the younger kids and the kids from the orphanage to a local water park.
Friday we go to the orphanage for a cook out and then back to Comayagua for a time to share and end the trip.
It is hard to believe it is almost time for me to come home. It was hard today, being in the class with the kids this morning and I kept thinking that it would be the last time to do that with these kids. I will miss them all so much! I will miss everything about my days here helping at the school.
I have more to tell you. . . read Romans chapter 12. . . Lydia and I took a taxi here to email home before we meet the team across the street for dinner, so I better end now.
Look for more abut Romans chapter 12. . .read it while you wait. It has a lot to say!
Love you all!
Steph
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
