Estrellas y Luciernagas

Friday night (viernes 25 de Julio)
When I was a little girl, I thought about magic alot. I found many things to be magical (and still do), two of which were estrellas (stars) and luciérnagas (fireflies). Yet the magic of these things is never quite as strong as when one stops to gaze upon them and wonder about from whence comes their mysterious beauty. Something must have bit me, because I´ve had this sense of wonder, these stars in my eyes, all day. Today I did not teach inglés. The kids had the day off for the Festival of the Dia de Lempira in the park (which sadly I had to miss because of my other job.) I spent a quiet morning with the Lord, reading and walking in the national forest that surrounds the Hospital Evangelico where I live. Then after lunch I went to La Carita de Angel.

This is a school for students with special needs. In total they have over fifty students with a variety of needs, the severly mentaly handicapped, physically handicapped, autistic, the blind, the deaf, some with mild learning disorders, and I´m sure more that I am unaware of. This is one of those places, where you go and you almost feel the presence of something Sacred. Mother Teresa says that “we cannot do great things, only small things with great love.” I sense the truth of this statement when I visit La Carita de Angel. There really are not good schooling options for people with disabilities in this city. The mothers that started this program have been through excrutiating battles with the government to keep the school in existence and run by caring people who have the best interested of the child in mind.

I´ll admit that I was really nervous upon arriving at La Carita. My Spanish langauge skill is very, very basic. I was concerned that I wouldn´t be able to help in the ways they needed. Yet I really wanted to be there, just to soak in the work that God was doing in that sacred place, and be changed by it. God is always faithful to show me that He is far greater than my fears. Despite the language barrier, the teachers and moms graciously let me help out with the kids. We only had 7 students the afternoon I was there. I got to play playdough with a little girl named Yulissa. Yulissa is almost completely blind and severly malnourished due to neglect by her caretakers. I also got to run around in the backyard with a cute little 8 year old boy (Melvin) who is deaf and mute and Melvin´s younger brother who is functionally fine, but refuses to talk because his older brother doesn´t talk. I met moms and young teenage sisters, who go to La Carita de Angel everyday with their son or brother. They give one on one attention to help their loved one learn new things. One young girl learned sign language from a book so that she scould teach the class at La Carita for the deaf. She is only 16. She taught me some signs so I could talk with my buddy Melvin. We made a pact that I would teach her English and she teach me sign in Spanish so I could help her in her class.

When I returned home, I played with Daniel and Diego (my host family´s gradnsons, and two little boys who´ve stolen my heart) for a couple of hours. We had a family dinner. Then we (Norma, Doris, and the three kids, Daniel, Diego, and baby Allejandra) spread a blnaket out on the drive way to look up at the stars, and the flirty fireflies that are everywhere at night. Thats when I remembered the magic of estrellas and luciérnagas. It was another sacred time of quiet and reflection. I thanked the Lord for the day and prayed for my friends at La Carita de Angel.

I wanted to share this day with all of you and once again say thank you for your prayers and for sending me here to Siguatepeque. Please keep La Carita de Angel, PRODIM (where I teach English) and the Hopspital Evangelico in your prayers.
Con todo mi amor,
Tecuida y Dios Te Bendiga!

Un Dia La Vez

One day at a time,
This is one of my favorite Spanish worship songs. It is constantly in my head. One day at a time. Each day is different. So I must wake up each day, release what happened the previous day and thank God for one more day to praise Him, to serve Him, to have breath.
Today, Lune 20 de Julio, I began my second week at PRODIM teaching english. I am growing to love my students more and more. I want to focus this week on teaching them well, but also on getting to know about them and their lives. Pray for one student, she is in the middle of a custody battle between a big-hearted church member who wants to adopt her and an abusive father. She is a quiet sweet little 11 year old, with an older sister (13 years old) who is living in a govt. home, because she is pregnant by her father. I keep hearing stories like this. Please pray for the staff of PRODIM as they will be the ones who will be able to be there for the kids throughout the years.
My life here consists of constant interaction with Spanish and trying to keep up and my clases at PRODIM. This Friday I hope to help put in the afternoon with a school for children with special needs. I am very excited about this and will write more about it later. This past weekend I was able to take a day away with Norma, Aldo (her son), and another visiting gringa named Erin to a small mountian village called La Esperanza. Its a traditional Honduran village, because it is population mostly by the Lenca people. It was absolutely gorgeous! Plus I am very grateful for the blessing of speaking English with others.
I have been thinking about how much I love to worship God through song, prayer and Bible reading with the Body in my own language. My heart feels most refreashed by this. I guess I have a great appreciation for the different language churches in the states by feeling within myself the struggle of not being able to proclaim praises to God in my heart language.
Another thing that I has been occupying my thoughts lately has been my future. This may be a great time for the Lord to express to me a clearer visión for the future, as I am isolated from my normal comfortable life. Please pray for this. I have been talking with the Martinezes about what it is to live a life dedicated to serving God by serving the poor, which has been their life thus far. I believe that God has called me to work for and with the poor, but in what capacity (specific calling) I am still unsure.
Thank you for you prayers and for all your love! And I am praying for you too!
God Bless! Dios Le Bendiga!

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Right now I am sitting at the computer in el restaurante de La Hospital Evangelico, where I live with Enrique and Norma Martinez. That song ¨Girls Just want to have fun¨is playing on the radio. Its funny to listen to a playlist of 80s and 90s classics in a place like this... Anyways, I wanted to post and let you all know that I made it safe and sound, after two flights and a 2 hour bus ride flipping through my little diccionario to be able to talk to the attendants. Though my spanish is very poor, I´ve been able to survive up to this point. Hopefully I will come home in 6 weeks speaking more easily.
The last couple of days I have been basically tagging along with another team from my home church that has been helping out with medical things. (this has been such a blessing, as I adjust to my new surroundings) Next monday, after they leave, I will begin my real assignment which is to take over for the english teacher at PRODIM who left just a few weeks ago. PRODIM is a after (or before) school supplementary program. Supposedly they will give me a copy of one of the students text books from school so I can figure out lessons to supplement what they are already learning. I will have classes ranging in age all the way Kindergarten to eigth grade. Please pray for me in this. I want to be a good teacher, but I don´t really know what I´m doing :)
Norma and Enrique are the perfect hosts. THey are extrememly hospitable, while freeing my up to have some freedom to move about as I need to. One thing I´ve learned is that time is a relative concept to the Hondureno. He respects it but he seems to respect relationship with people more and so that is why in the words of the principal of our bilingual school here ¨HOndurans never get anything done, but they have alot of friends.¨
Thank you so much for your prayers and support.
Please continue to pray for peace, language skill, my ingles clases, deeper relationships with people in my community, and a freedom from fear.
Thank you all!!
Y Dios Le Bendiga!

cause I'm leavin on a jet plane

Tomorrow is the day... well actually my flight is 1am Tuesday morning, but really my trip starts the minute I leave for the airport Monday night. I just talked with Norma Martinez on the phone today about final arrangements for my ride from the San Pedro Sula airport to my city of Siguatepeque. It was so good to hear her voice instead of talking through email. It made everything much more real.
Today we had the final get together of the four day wedding event to celebrate the marriage of my brother Seth to his new lovely bride Mrs. Emily Jenkins Osterberg. :)
It was quite a party. Now however, i am trying to focus on the next step at hand, going to Honduras... I will admit that I have been rather distracted by this whole wedding thing, that even now as I write this to you on sunday night I have not packed my suitcase. Something strange about this departure is that on the same day my brother got married a close relative of our neighbor friend died. I will spend the morning before I drive to LAX at the doctor's for some tests for my mom, and oddly enough, last summer, when I went to India, I spent the morning before the flight in the hospital because my grandmother was sick. Isn't it strange the seasons of life so close, life and death, sickness and health? Only the Lord understands and I am content to trust Him in this season of my life. He is the only one who has been and will be there to sustain me and be present with me throughout all the seasons of my life. He truely in a God of comfort and a faithful ever present friend.
I am SO EXCITED about this new adventure the Lord has placed in my path. I want to honor Him while I am there, in service however possible, and when I return, in testifying to you of what the Lord did there.

Ways you can pray for me:

- safety in travel
- initial adjustments to the culture, community, and language
- not to be a slave to fear
- to walk in the Spirit and to learn to love as Christ loves
- to know God truely and more deeply
- to gain some insight throughout the course of the trip in regards to my future, as right now, I have no idea what the Lord wants for me, even for the next step I should take after college
- for the other Trinity Church team currently there doing medical work, and who will leave a few days after I arrive, as well as for the second Trinity team coming at the beginning of August to do teacher's training

Gracias a todos!
y Dios te bendiga!

almost there

Hello my friends and family!! You can check this blog to receive my periodic Honduras updates! I can't believe that in less than one week I will be in Honduras. Its the middle of the summer, and I have friends serving the Lord all over the world right now, from Ghana, the Philippines and Nicaragua to Hong Kong, Germany, and Nepal. I'm so excited to join the workers, for the Lord of the Harvest says that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.
Thus far, however, my life this summer has been anything but uneventful. For the past five weeks I have been working at Trinity Church in Redlands as an intern for the junior high pastor. It is bitter sweet leaving this place, for though I long to go to Honduras, my heart has really grown to love these little junior highers. The other big event in my life is my brother Seth's wedding. He and my soon to be sister-in-law, Emily,are getting married this Saturday, July 5! We are so happy for them! The next few days will be a like one big party to celebrate this new marriage.
I feel very strange at this point in my life. I am saying good bye to one minsitry; Packing and preparing for school (which starts right when I return from Honduras); Looking forward to this great unknown adventure which will begin in just a few days; all the while reuniting with distant relatives and gathering to celebrate my brother's marriage.
Would you keep me in your prayers? Here are just a few points...
- to walk in the Spirit and have sensitivity to His voice everyday
- a continuing knowledge and growing love for God
- my brother Seth's wedding and their new marriage
- physical and spiritual health as I prepare for Honduras
- safety in travel and against spiritual attacks
- Spanish language learning
- deep connections with the community I will be living/working in
- guidance for those deciding where to place me in what projects (I know I will be working with PRODIM, an after-school care program for children from the slums, but there still is some unknowns about my schedule.)
- divine appointments and no fear in order to preach the gospel, in both word and deed

THANK YOU SO MUCH FRIENDS!