Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Overflow

This morning started at 5 55 am for Jess and I, we had to be at the Hospital at 7 am to be able to go with the Mobil Clinic. So we met up with the crew and drove about 30 minutes to Agua Dulcita, a small village on the outskirts of Siguatepeque. We helped pull files, check vital signs, clean and pack up the equipment :) That was pretty much all we were good for! BUT it was interesting to observe and learn from what the others were doing. The Dentist that went with us was set up in the main room so we were able to watch her doin her "thing". This woman is INCREDIBLE, she pulled like 4 teeth and did a filling in ONE HOUR... and that is not counting what she did the rest of the day! The Doctor saw 25 patients from 9 am to 1 pm.





While these amazing people were in beast mode, Jess and I were probably frolicking about enjoying the scenery and our time in the village. Evidence...








After our time in Agua Dulcita, we drove back to Siguatepeque. Our friends dropped us off near our house so that we would not have to take a taxi all the way from the hospital! How awesome are they?? On the walk home we stopped for some icecream :)



I had a divine appointment on the walk home today.. Jess and I were walking along eating our icecream and someone said "Jessica!!!" and I turned around and it was the Pastor at the church that has the clinic that I worked in for the past 2 years! It was so good to see him! And even more divine that Jess and I needed to talk to him about starting work there some during the week! He said that they would be so glad to have us and that we could start tomorrow! I cannot wait to see Thelma and Dr. Suazo again! Praise the Lord for His provision!

We also made a Honduran meal tonight, well we really only made the tortillas but watched Jennifer make the rest. Here is a picture from the tortilla making extravaganza!



Bec... we painted Rebeca's fingernails and toenails with the polish that you sent! She loves it and says "Gracias"!



Today was such a good day, and I am VERY excited about being back at Hermon tomorrow! And being able to share this experience with Jess is indescribable, I have love watching her interact here! We serve a Great God!

Monday, May 26, 2008

Whoever Loves Much, Does Much

Day One:

We left Siguatepeque around 8 45 am and arrived at the airport just about the time the plane landed in San Pedro Sula. The team did not get through immagration and baggage claim until around 12 but I was there waiting on them when they got out! After greeting everyone and sitting down for a bite to eat we headed off on the bus to Olanchito. It was about a 5 hour drive but Jess and I had no problem using that time to catch up on our missed time together and to talk about how great of a week we would have. It was also a good time to snag a nap :) We got to the mission house around 5 30 pm and found that there was no one there to let us in! To pass the time we walked down to the river, took fun jumping pictures off of the chapel's stage, and just enjoyed one another's company. During our fun, Wally pryed the door open with a medal wedge and we were able to get in only to find another problem, NO WATER!!! So, our Extreme Missionary Adventure began! We settled in for the night and began to prepare to hike out at 7 am the next day. All of the boys went to bed, and around 9 pm, there was someone knocking at the gate. The girls flipped out because it was strange and so I wondered outside to find my sweet friends from the church! Leonardo, Kerlin, Fredy, Claudia, and Odelle were there to "let us in" and I also informed them of the water problem. We went to bed at 10 30 and set our alarms for an early morning.




Day Two:

I awoke to my alarm at 5 30 but found no one else to be up, so my happy self went back to bed! Everyone began stirring around 6 45 so this put us a little behind but HEY thats part of being FLEXIBLE! Dario, Dunia, Kerlin, Leonardo, and Fredy met us at the mission house to head out with us for the week. Our drive into the village where we would park our cars was 2 hours but we stopped along the way to pick up some pastor friends, Fransico & George. We parked our cars at Agua Blanca and set out to hike. The scenery during our hike was breath-taking and it was such an enjoyable experience! Not really tough but not really easy either, I enjoy myself ALOT! There were a few up's and down's but for the most part there was a good path and we were able to walk through some small rivers. Compared the Olanchito, the climate was cool and bearable, what a difference that made! When we arrived at Quebrada de Arena all of the people were waiting on us. We were able to sneak off for a minute when we got there to freshen up and wash off our dirty bodies and nasty clothes. The precious lady that was going to let us stay in her yard, opened up her wash area for us to use. We had a clothes washing session on the stone and quickly ran back outside to be with the people. As soon as we returned there the people gathered around and I was given an opportunity along with my team mates to share Discovery Stories. I shared with them the study of Creation and then later shared Old Testament Joseph's story with them through a drama. In the midst of the commotion, there was a man that had approached us with a terrible wound to the hand from an accident with a machete. He had completely severed the ligaments linking his bones from his fingers to his hand. We had no suture kit or anything so I cleaned the wound with normal saline and removed all of the debris, butterflied it together the best we could, and put a stick under his hand to prevent moving of the joint. We are praying that even though we did not have the proper supplies that the Lord would heal him and give him complete use of his finger again. We also showed the Jesus film around dusk and there were many people in this unreached village who gave their hearts to the Lord! A team has not visited the village in 5 years becuase of its hardness but God seems to be toiling the soil in this precious village! After the video we prayed with many of the people and announced the medical clinic and games for kids that would be going on the next morning. Our next adventure was going to the bathroom in a village who had no outhouses, which meant we went down the mountain in a secret place, haha. We set up tents and headed for bed, however, Jess, Sarabeth, Rachel, and I stayed up a little later than everyone else :) Gotta love girl bonding time! We talked about the things that the Lord had shown us just in the short time we had been there and shared life! Great times of fellowship :) Going to bed wasn't too difficult because of being exhausted and knowing that we would need rest for the busy day ahead of us.




Day Three:

The roosters began crowing at 3:30 am and the cows were making some AWEFUL noise right oustide of our tent! All the girls in my tent woke up with achey backs and pretty much on the ground! Haha, talk about having no comfort! It was fun to wake up to each others laughter about the situation at hand and to see how each other was interpreting it. A sweet woman, Rosa, invited us into her home to eat breakfast (rice, chicken, and tortillas). I have never been in a more hospitable village in all my life, which is suprising because of the history of the village. It still blows me away that these people seem to have so little but yet they have so much to give! The medical clinic began at 8 30, some sang songs and shared testimonies while we set everything up. I was actually to do most of my own translating and speaking with little help from Dunia. We saw about 45 families and were able to give everyone vitamines and the majority of the people parasite medication. Anything else that the people needed we were able to provide for as well with in reason. After we finished the clinic we hung with the people and then prepared to hike back down to Agua Blanca. On the hike down we stopped for a while besdie a small river to rest and had a blast! When we arrived at Agua Blanca we ate the food they provided: rice, beans, tortillas. After finishing the meal we set off to bathe in the river! This is probably one of my favorite memories :) Because I was the only one out of the girls who had ever bathed in a river, I had to teach Jess, Sarabeth, Rachel, Caitlin, and Krystal what to do. I found a rock out in the center of the rapidly moving river and sat down on it and washed off well. We acted crazy, enjoyed one anothers company, laughed, joked, and enjoyed being CLEAN and COOL! Two precious girls from the village joined us, Jansy and Lela. We washed their hair for them and spent some good time with them. As we were bathing we really felt so in touch with nature that the Lord created. We felt like it must have been like this for the people who lived when Jesus did. Sarabeth stated my FAVORITE quote of the whole trip "I feel like I am in Jesus' time except for the fact that we have on all of this under armor!!" It was the truth! After all of the fun in the river we went back up to the houses and spent some more time with the kids: painting finger nails, throwing the football, and playing the name game in spanish and english. The church was packed out for the Jesus film, so much that all of us were outside! It began to rain so we took cover at a school nearby and enjoyed each others company for a while. When the movie was over we went back to the church and prayed over people and everyone in the village was so excited that they wanted to watch another movie! We were so utterly exhausted that we put out our sleeping gear and prepared to get into the bed as soon as the other movie ended. There was some girl bonding time but not as much as the night before. Brother Dario told me we would have another clinic the next morning, in my mind I knew there wasn't enough medicine or vitamins for the people that needed it but we planned to have it anyways. All you can do is meet each need with what you have until you can't do it anymore. So I went to bed wondering how God was going to work the next day...





Day Four:

I woke up to the faces of little children staring in their schoolhouse wondering what all of the "gringos" were doing in there! We quickly woke up and exited the facility so the kids could get to work, BUT it turned out that they ended up playing with us for the first half of the day anyways! Haha, who needs school?? How many schools do you know in the states that would call school off to allow strangers to share Christ with their students? I know none. We set up for the medical clinic and much to our suprise, there was the EXACT amount of vitamins needed for each family that came in. It was a miracle, kind of like Jesus feeding the 5,000! Sarabeth and Jess shared with me that they spend the morning praying as they were bagging the vitamins, and their prayers were heard! I am being honest with you when I say we may have had enough for 10 people, but My God said NO, I want all of these peoples needs to be met! God is so good, He is the true provider! We said our goodbyes to the people of Agua Blanca after passing out toys, shirts, and hats, and drove to another village. This was the village that George pastored in! As soon as we arrived we went out into the community to visit the people. Some stayed behind to cook (dang boys) and the rest went house to house inviting people to come see the film. The second house we visited was a man who had accepted Christ just the year before. He invited us in to his home and we were able to share how great our God is through testimony and through song. I translated my first testimony there, it was Jess Young's, how awesome is that? He offered us a few treats: something that looked like a sweet potato, candy squash (suprisingly really good), rice, beans, tortillas, coffeeand a place to wash off! The next place we visited I shared my personal testimony in the spanish language, which was a goal that I set for myself for the summer. These people that I shared my testimony with were not believers, but I was thankful that the Lord opened up a door for me to share what He has done in my life. The last house we visited was the house of a local man that seemed to have things together. Sarabeth and Rachel shared their testimony there and I was able to translate for them. The man spoke to use about ways that he was trying to reach the community and they sounded good but something about his home and what was being said sounded a little off. We spent some more time there after being offered coffee and cookies and prayed with the family before leaving. Turns out, this man that we had visited where Sarabeth and Rachel shared their testimonies, had been acting as a false prophet in this particular village...adding things to the Gospel and making up a bunch of crazy rules. On the road back to George's house we met up with our team mates that had stayed behind to cook, Brett and Daniel shared with us that when they went into the school and they were given an opportunity to share discovery stories. The teacher and a few students personally asked them how they could know Jesus! They were able to pray with them and give them a spanish bible :) It was so awesome to meet them and fellowship for what little time we had, I know that I will see these people in Heaven one day! George's wife cooked a great Honduran meal for us and we played soccer for the rest of the evening. It was a pretty intense game, but we hung in there :) The Jesus film began around dark and the team retreated inside the school house for some time of prayer and to share what God had been doing in our lives. We prayed for a while for the people and then the Lord opened up doors through Clint for us to share what He had been showing us and to be COMPLETELY honest with each other. It pretty much turned into a "love fest" , courtesy of Jess Young :) It was a time of encouragement and fellowship, GREAT TIMES!!! Many of us felt uncomfortable in the village at one time or another so most of the girls were asked to stay inside during the invitation and time of prayer for the people. It turns out that we were definately a distraction, not our fault, the Devil was just after them. We were of harrassed a bit but were well protected by the walls of the school and the lock on the door. We lifted up our concerns to the Lord and prayed until it passed. God is my Protector! To make things even better, the false teacher that I mentioned above, came to repentance and shared that he wanted to join Pastor George's ministry in Janito. We had some great girl talk at bed time this night as well, I really LOVE my friends :)




Day Five:

Woke up on Thursday with a feeling of complete exhaustion and inadequacy. We stayed for a while longer and played games with kids, and met some needs medically. One little girl sticks out in my mind, she was being malested by her step dad and had some sever problems. My heart just broke for this precious child of God, I know that He has big plans for her life. I am still praying that the Lord would deliver her from the situation she is in and that He would be her true Father. After a morning spent ministering we began the drive back the mission house. Sarabeth and I enjoyed singing praises to the Lord on the IPOD and eventually we had the whole vehicle singing! When we got back to the house, as filthy as we were, there was still no water!!! Well I say none, but there was just enough to bathe with a trickle of water, which we were VERY GRATEFUL for! So we washed off and went to lunch at Pollo King. After our lunch/supper we went by the hammock place and then straight back to the mission house. It was a good evening but the Lord brought me into a rough situation later that night. Through this difficult situation I learned to truely love people no matter how they react towards you and what words they may use. My sweet friends were a huge blessing that night and the Lord gave them words that affirmed me and brought me back to where I needed to be. ANOTHER wonderful night of fellowship :) God is so good my friends!




Day Six:

Sarabeth, Rachel, Jess, and myself decided to get up early on Friday morning to make breakfast for the whole team and the locals that had been with us throughout the week. So we woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed and cooked pancakes, french toast, eggs, fruit, and some home-made syrup. By 9 30 am everyone was there and we had a great meal fellowshiping with one another and enjoying some familiar food :) The plan was to go to 2 orphanages so we left out at 11 am and spent about 2 hours in the first. We played games with them and then shared God's word through stories and drama, the kids really seemed to enjoy it! The hot weather in Olanchito was taking a toll on all of us, so around 1 pm we headed to eat some lunch. It felt so good just to have a cold drink! After lunch we went to the church that Dario pastors and played some games with the children there and then the rain came! It was fun to talk with them and teach them the stories of the Bible. A sweet little boy at the church asked Jess to be his girlfriend :) We went across the street to the hospital to visit Leo's little boy, Leoito that had been sick with pneumonia. We made it just after visiting hours and the Lord still made provision for all 15 of us to go into the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit to see him and pray over his little sick body. It was a pretty emotional experience but we knew that the Lord strengthened Leo and his wife Vanessa through our visit. The ride home was so good as we spent time fellowshipping with Fredy and Dunia. The girls in my car: Jess, Rachel, and Sarabeth, and I talked about the love that we all felt for these people and a call just to come back. It is so good to know that the Lord is still moving in the hearts of His children to reach the nations! We spent the night saying goodbyes, another emotional experience for the first-timers. I know that I will see these beautiful people again, whether it be on this side of eternity or not is up to the Lord.


Day Seven:

We were up and out of the mission house by 7 am. Arrived in San Pedro Sula around 12 pm and checked into Grand Hotel Sula. McDonald's was across the street so we headed towards familiarity again :) Turns out that this was the nicest McDonald's we had ever been to! Talk about great service! The canopy tour was on the agenda next, and none of us were very excited. I think we were nervous and thought it may be a cheaply made thing so we weren't sure if we wanted to do it or not. BUT when we got there and saw everything, we got REALLY excited! It turned out to be one of the funnest things I have ever done! There were like 9 zip lines and 3 or 4 other courses. Being like 100 ft in the air and jumping off the edge of the canopy can give a pretty big energy rush :) The Lord opened up doors for me to talk to our guides, neither one of them were Christians. I told them that I would pray for them and they told me before they left that they wanted me to pray for them! Before we left, our group prayed with them and lifted their names up to the Lord! Another great experience shared with AMAZING friends! We got back to the hotel and got showered and met everyone downstairs for dinner. Afterwards we all took pictures dressed up and had some great girl talk again back in the hotel room! Jess, Rachel, Sarabeth and I stayed in the same room...definately enjoyed our last night together :)





Day Eight:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!!!--- she was serinated at 4 am :)

Woke up at 3 45 with the girls to help them get packed and downstairs to catch the bus to get to the airport. We said our goodbyes and hugged their necks and off they went! Jess and I went back to our room and slept what we could until time for Osmany to get us! We went to Cinnabon across the street and ate breakfast and caught the bus back to Siguatepeque with Osmany. Bless precious Jess though, she was sick the whole day and on her birthday! Stupid parasites...


TODAY:

I am happy to report that Jess is feeling much better today! Praise the Lord! We have just been celebrating her birthday today instead of yesterday :) Today has consisted of movies, blogging, catching up on facebook, and just enjoying not being sick! We have a pinata for Jess's birthday and a cake that we will be able to enjoy tonight! Praise the Lord for days like today and for my sweet friend Jess!


So.. If you can't tell, I had a PHENOMENAL (2 words PHE-NOMENAL) week :) God has shown Himself to me in ways that He has never done before. There are more brothers and sisters in Christ because of this team's obediance to Him this week! I feel like I have bonded closely with my friends from NMBC and we will be able to share this for a lifetime! Please pray for Jess and I as we start work tomorrow, I cannot wait to see how it goes! I love you!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

AMAZING WEEK!!!

I am not even sure where to begin, or if I want to try to put such a week into words. As a matter of fact, it will probably not be tonight. I have some prayer requests for you though.. Jess is sick. We got up really early to send the team back to Monroe and she has been sick ever since. I am assuming that it was something she ate last night at the Hotel. We were able to get some medicine in her pretty quick after it all happened so she has been sleeping most of the evening. Please pray for her, I hate to see my precious friend sick! The other request is not so major, my allergies are giving me all sorts of problems. After spending time in the mountains this week, I have a terrible cough! Since I am sure my patients will not want me coughing on them, I am praying that this will pass soon. We are taking the day off tomorrow after a hard week and a hard day. I will give you the details of the NMBC Crusade in the mountains of Olanchito tomorrow, so get ready! Thank you all for your prayers, I am confident that they were answered! I love you!

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Eagerness :)

Another day of relaxing... I do have to admit though, I am getting a tad bit stir crazy :) Went into town today for a bit, it was so busy that we just decided to turn back around! So when we got back to the house, we pulled out Rebeca's swimming pool, cleaned it out, and played in the water :) The water was cold, but it was fun! Tonight we made pupusa's for supper. A pupusa is a cheese stuffed tortilla, sounds good right? I probably should have refrained from them, but I just couldnt resist :) The rest of the evening has been spent packing my things for the week ahead! I am so ready to see Jess and the rest of the crew from North Monroe Baptist Church!

Please pray for us this next week as we serve in Olanchito and in the mountains. The members of the NMBC's team are: Clint Sheppard, Jessica Young, Josh Bumgardener, Krystal Quetant, Sarabeth Johnson, Tyler Hebert, Daniel Herring, Rachel Deas, Caitlin Carbrey, Brett McClelland, and myself. Pray that we will be bonded as a group, that we will be obediant to share God's word wherever the doors may open, and that the Lord would reveal Himself to us and the people of Honduras in a new way. Pray that He will be glorified through us!

I will not update until I return from the crusade in the mountains, but please be in prayer for us this week! I love you guys!

Spanish word of the day:

Tesoro --> Treasure

Friday, May 16, 2008




Today was one of those days in Honduras where we thought we were going to do something productive, but it fell through!!! Haha, gotta learn to love it! We were supposed to go to Panes today, but the car is still not fixed! As of this afternoon we were supposed to be going tomorrow and I found out tonight that the truck is still not fixed and won't be fixed until tomorrow afternoon! So I guess Panes will have to wait until I get back from Olanchito!


I rested most of the day, all of the sleep that I missed out on all semester, yea well I am recovering :) It has been amazing to be able to rest and just be still and know that He is God!


Rebeca and I had a fun evening! She started off mad at me because she knows that I am leaving to go to Olanchito on Sunday but she got over it quickly. We played on the bed for like an hour and a half! Gotta love the simplicity of life for small children :)


Spanish word of the day:


MONO --> Monkey

La Clinica Communtario








After a day like yesterday, I felt very fortunate to have a day like I did today! I had such a great time with the people from the Community Clinic! The Community Clinic is in a small village called Porvenir, outside Siguatepeque. It was very personal and I did not feel overwhelmed as far as responsibility goes. I was given opportunities to give shots, nebulization treatments, take vitals and even talk with some patients :) Jess you better get ready sister!!! The girl that I worked with today is also a nursing student, but she pretty much runs this community clinic as far as the nurses job is concerned. Her name is Ludis and we became good friends today :) We had about 20 patients today but we still finished early! For about an hour I was able to talk to Ludis about life, faith, family, friends, and school! I still need lots of practice with my spanish but I had the spanish dictionary out and we were going to town (thank you Christin!!!)!! To get back into town we had to take a taxi, all 5 of us! 4 of us were on the back seat, and it wasnt an easy fit nor was it a short ride back into town :) The other two girls pictured are Patty (left) and Vanessa (right), precious women!
Some friends came over tonight and we spent time with them after supper. Leo (the Doctor I worked with at the Mobil Clinic), Lela (Leo's wife), Leoito (their son), and Lela's brother Daniel were a fun bunch! More time to pracice the spanish :)
I did not write much yesterday but I want to talk about what happened yesterday at the hospital. All I can say is that I will not be working there anymore this summer because of 2 main reasons #1 Communication is an issue; when you are that sick, it is not good to have someone taking care of you that cannot understand exactly what you are saying all the time. Communication is very important in the nursing profession. #2 I felt as though the tasks that I was going to need to be able to do to work there were out of my scope of practice as a student nurse. I am not yet that comfortable working by myself doing the things they were asking me to do. So with that said, we are going to try something else! We are still going to do the Mobil Clinic and the Community Clinic the two days a week with the Hospital but instead we are going to go to either La Clinica Hermon ( I have worked there the past 2 years) or go to Panes for those days. We will already be going to Panes every Friday but it is possible for us to go on those days as well. I am still not sure exactly where we will be but we will be serving the Lord SOMEWHERE!! Please pray with Jess and I as we are trying to be sensative to the Lord's leading. I know that the doors will open so that we will know where to go!
Spanish word of the day:
(this is for you Jess!!)
JUGETE SENSILLA = simple toy :)

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Working, Changing, Following ....

I am not going to write much today, just know that the Lord is leading elsewhere as far as medical service is concerned. Hopefully I will know more after work tomorrow. Please pray that the Lord's direction would be clear and that His peace that passes all understanding will reign in my heart as I try to make the best decision. Get after it my faithful prayer warriors :)

Spanish pharse of the day:

Escuchare --> I will listen.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Mobil Clinic













I learned all about the "mobil clinic" today! 2 days a week, I will be working with them and I loved what we did today! We left the hospital at 7 am to go to Santa Rosita, a village about an hour away from Siguatepque. I rode in the "ambulance" with Dr. Leo, Dr. Miguel, Alex, and Roscelia, all of which are WONDERFUL! When we arrived, there were about 20 families waiting on us at the Centro de Salud and immediately the team began to take action. Not in a way that one would think by being busy but instead ministering to the people. A story from the Bible was shared in their native tongue and we were able to pray with them. The unloading of boxes, setting up stations, and the gathering of information from patients, and beginning to meet the patients needs immediately followed the time we gave to the Lord. My job was to take their blood pressure (pression aterial) and their weight (peso). After I finished with all of the patients, which was around 30 people, I helped Roscelia in the pharmacy. We did not eat lunch until around 1:30 but the morning went by quickly! After eating we packed up the boxes, loaded the "ambulance", and said our goodbyes we worked our way back down the mountain. Speaking spanish for 8 hours straight with no english was quite interesting! Kind of a bittersweet deal, I am glad I got to practice and I liked speaking with the locals BUT I had a major headache when I got home!

Jennifer and Rebeca picked me up at the hospital today. After they picked me up, Rebeca and I went back to the house while Jennifer went to her class. We had fun :) Max bit my ankles again.. I just thought he had matured! HAHA (Jess, these pictures of Max and Princess are for you!!!)
Our line is hooked up here at the house... Osmany found a Linksys product that allows us to call out of Honduras to the states for a very cheap rate and for anyone who has a (318) area code to call us just like it is a local call, which means it is free for you guys! I would love to hear from you! Our number is (318) 402-0784.

Tomorrow I will be at the hospital all day, or at least that is what it is looking like. I am not really sure what to expect but I'm sure it will be wonderful! Thank you for all of your prayers, they are being answered! Please continue to pray for language fluency, relationships, and for the team from North Monroe that is coming in 4 days! Ah, what a week this is going to be!

Spanish phrase of the day:
"No Se!" --> I don't know!

Monday, May 12, 2008

this is how it is going to look...

I had my interview at the hospital today with Dr. Velasquez. While we met we talked about my schedule, what my interests were, and then he showed me around the hospital. I am excited about being given an opportunity to volunteer at this hospital! Dr. Velasquez shared with me that they have a nursing school at the hospital, the girls that are in training stay there on campus and they are there for 3 years. They are not as qualified as nurses in the states.. this being true, the Dr. wants me to teach them what I know! All I could say was WHOA and WOW! 2 days a week I will be working with the mobil medical clinic that goes into the villages to care for the people who cannot pay for medical treatment. The other 2 days I will work in the hospital, hopefully getting to see some births! I unpacked today and got some rest before I start work tomorrow at the hospital. I was very thankful for a relaxed day!

Please pray that my nerves will settle down before tomorrow! I am nervous about starting work at a new place, speaking the language, and about all of the new people! I know it will be good but it is just hard to be going at this alone. I am praying for relationships to be formed as I work alongside many Hondurans and a few Americans in the hospital. Pray that the Lord will use me in whatever way He sees fit!

Spanish word of the day:
RELAJANDO--> relaxing

Sunday, May 11, 2008

I Made It!

I am here!!! Made it to Honduras around 8 45, and they were waiting on me! Rebeca is not a bad sight to see after being exhausted from a day of waiting and traveling :) I thought there may be a warming up period, but she ran right to me! And of course I brought some Great American Cookies from the States so that really did her in :) Jennifer and Osmany are great, so good to see them as well! Last night we stayed in San Pedro Sula in a very nice hotel with a pool and everything! Too bad we didnt get to enjoy it! We checked out before lunch and went to "Diunsa", kind of like a Wal-Mart, and ate lunch at Pizza Hut.

San Pedro Sula is HOT, almost unbearable! The air is thick and it is so muggy! The truck had no air even after trying to fix it, so the 2 hour ride to Sigutepeque was an interesting one. Sweet Rebeca slept on me most of the way, she sweated so much.. well we both did! I wish I had a picture to share with you from that ride home, it was a sight for sore eyes! Amazingly enough, the longer we rode, the cooler it became! I LOVE SIGUATEPEQUE! We are higher in the mountains so it makes the weather much more bearable. Don't get me wrong, it is still hot but this is a hot I can handle!

Max and Princess greeted us at the gate as we drove in! Max is much more calm, praise the Lord! I have not had my ankles bitten one time :) HAHA We unloaded everything and headed to the grocery store, always a fun adventure! There we ate supper and shopped for a while. Rebeca and I attempted a shower tonight but that turned out to be disasterous! She ended up with soap in her eyes, we had water all over the floor and YES you guessed it.. she busted her behind on the wet floor! Jennifer had to come in and I had to hold the screaming child to get the soap out of her hair. Bathing has never been a successful process for Rebeca and I, every time we attempt to do it together it never turns out right! AHH good times!

I have an appointment tomorrow at 7 am with a Doctor from the hospital. Please pray that everything goes well, as I am sure that it will. They are giving me a schedule and everything! Jessica Young, I am already ready for you to get here! So is Rebeca :) We have been talking about you!

Back by popular demand... the Spanish word/phrase of the day is:

HACE CALOR : It's hot!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

A Curve Ball..

FUN stories to tell already!!! so.. I am updating from Alexandria, Louisiana at 9 47 am, this morning I woke up thinking the next time I would update would be in Honduras. I got to the airport this morning around 4 45, checked in and they asked me if I would like to move to an earlier flight that was leaving at 5 30. I told them that would be good because I could have a longer layover in Houston. We got on the plane, they went through the whole spill about safety adn what nots if the plane were to crash... and then we just sat there. We sat on the plane from around 5 10 until 7 20. They were having technical difficulties on the plane and couldn't get the maintenance crew out there to get us to Houston on time, so we evacuated the plane and went BACK into the airport! From there we all had to schedule new flights, some of us were blessed to be able to make it to our destination today, others were not able. During this whole "escapade" I was able to make some friends on the plane. Some folks sitting across the isle from me were Becky, 4 year old Tanner, and 10 month old Mason. Everyone was pretty frusterated about the situation but the Lord clearly revealed to me that I was not supposed to be on that airplane! Becky and I talked some about the Lord and she shared with me about her life. If that was the only reason we were put in this situation then it was worth it :) Many people called and texted me during this time and had no idea what was going on, just wanted me to know that they were praying for me. I am confident that the Lord has me right where He wants me, and thankfully I will be arriving in Honduras around 8 40 pm, Lord willing! I have no way to get in touch with Osmany and Jennifer about this delay, pray for them as this will be a long day of uncertainty. Please pray for me as I try to fly out again at 5!

Friday, May 09, 2008

1 MORE DAY!!!


Leaving tomorrow :) I am so excited! My flight leaves from Alexandria at 6:35 am and I will arrive in Honduras at 10:52. Please pray for safe travel and that my luggage makes it to Honduras with me!


Monday, May 05, 2008

5 Days Before Departure

HELLO EVERYONE!! So... it is only 5 days before I leave! I cannot believe that another year has come and gone and I am on my way to serve yet another summer in Honduras! I am excited and I feel honored to be returning to serve with these people! Here is how the summer is looking thus far:

May 10-17 : Siguatepeque
May 18-25: Olanchito
May 26-June 21: Jess will be with us in Siguatepeque
June 28: I will leave Siguatepeque
June 28-July 12: Serve with FBC Swartz in Nicaragua
July 12-July 19: CROSS CAMP 2008 -- in Alexandria, LA

To all of my faithful friends, please continue to pray! I am confident that the Lord has some amazing things in store for this summer, He always does :) But I am expecting for Him to blow my mind and just do things that I never thought were possible, all for His glory! The situations and testimonies leading up to this summer are amazing, and I know that after I return I will have many more!

Please pray for me the rest of this week as I finish up my school work and prepare to leave! I will update one more time before I leave with more prayer requests :)