Home in Honduras!

After a delayed flight from Ft Lauderdale to San Pedro Sula, we finally arrived in San Pedro, and enjoyed our first night in a comfortable hotel downtown. We didn’t get to our hotel until 4am, but were able to still get about 7 hours of sleep before getting picked up by my cousin Chris and his friend & driver, Elmer. We had lunch and picked up some necessary items for our home & food items at a grocery store before making the hour long drive to our new home.
None of us really knew exactly what to expect, but Chris had found us a home that is very nice for the area, and we have grown to really like it. Our home has a kitchen, dining room, living room, and 5 bedrooms –they are literally only BED rooms, with barely enough space to walk around after a bed is in place, and one of them is up a spiral staircase that is only accessed by going outside. We have a cooking stove inside the house, which will be handy when the power is out, and we also have a “pila” – a Honduran washing machine, which consists of a cement slab with a drain and a big basin for water. It’s kind of like a washboard, and of course, still works when the power is out. Our housekeeper, Karleni, does an amazing job of getting the clothes clean with it!

It rains here just about every day, and we have a tin roof, so when it rains, it is extremely loud. It kind of helps us sleep better and masks the sound of the numerous chickens that are very noisy. I think all of our neighbors raise chickens! The benefit to this is that we can buy fresh chicken and eggs whenever we want to, but they do make a lot of noise. At first Conan would bark at the chickens, but he is already comfortable with them, and they don’t seem to mind each other. We also have cows living in the field directly behind us… about 3 steps away from our back door. They have a bunch of calves right now and are really cute. I think Conan likes hanging out with the cows, and they don’t seem to mind him most of the time. We also have geckos sharing our home with us and helping keep the bugs under control. The other night we were treated to a “National Geographic” moment when a gecko (we call him Marty) quickly ran down the wall to catch a large bug about half of his size. We watched him kill, eat, & digest the unsuspecting bug… somewhat disturbing but interesting nonetheless.

We have a housekeeper to help keep our home safe and to help us adjust to the many changes around us, and she is a really hard working and sweet girl named Karleni. We are getting better at communicating, but still need a lot of work with our Spanish. We have met a lot of really wonderful people already in the week that we’ve been here, and that has helped make the adjustment go a lot smoother also. The people here are very friendly and helpful for the most part, and we have received a warm welcome.

We have enjoyed 2 Sundays at our new (bilingual) church, and it has been really nice. We are hoping to learn the Spanish praise songs so that we can worship a little better, but the music is beautiful, and the services have been very helpful and uplifting. The girls have attended the young adult group, and are enjoying making some friends there. Every time we have gone into town we have run into people we know, which is really cool.

There is a lot of need in the area, so please pray that we will be able to discern who to help and what we should do to help them. We have an abundance of children living near us, and they absolutely love the girls! The girls have played with them, and they will come to our door yelling, “Natalie, Venga! Chantal, Venga!” (Come here Natalie! Come here Chantalle!) Most of them come from very poor families, but they are very sweet and adorable kids. We had to hang a curtain (it’s a shower curtain, but it looks really pretty, and we noticed that our neighbors also have a shower curtain for their front curtain!) in our front window so that we can have a little bit of privacy.

We are still working on getting the kitchen equipped to start the food program there. There haven’t been enough funds to get the kitchen completely equipped with a stove and refrigerator and all of the necessary utensils, so we are praying that the funding for that will be available soon, and we can get that underway. In the meantime, we are forming relationships with local people and fellow missionaries, helping out at Sister Maria’s, where she feeds children lunch every day, and helping with things in the church as needed. We are really excited to see how God is going to use us here!

Galatians 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing what is right, for in due time you will reap a harvest if you do not grow weary.

We're leaving on a jet plane... don't know when we'll be back again....

Well, the day we never thought would come is here! We are actually sitting in the airport waiting for our delayed plane to Honduras right now!  All of us are excited and nervous, and thankful that we are finally in this place.  It is so hard to believe that we will be sleeping in HONDURAS tonight!  But getting here was not without a few incidents....

After many emotional farewells, and last minute nightmare of getting all of our stuff in the truck, we went to the Will's home, where we had a relaxing evening with some of our closest friends.  Conan got his ear pierced by the cat, and we cried a lot, then we began our 48 HOUR car drive... First, we dropped Jesse off at University of Iowa. He gave us a tour, and of course, I cried... it is always hard leaving family behind, and I knew that there were still many more goodbyes.

We continued on from there to Ohio to visit the Trowbridge family (Gordon's sister & family), and had a really wonderful time with them - we only wish it could have been longer!  We were able to go to the Amish country, play games, and just have some family fun.

Next on the agenda was a visit to Aly at Mercy in Nashville.  We had a wonderful visit with her, and it was great to see how she is flourishing in that environment - Mercy really is an amazing ministry, and we are incredibly thankful for everything they do. 

After leaving Nashville, we saw a car fire on the highway to Florida... pretty amazing to see!  We were so close that we could feel the heat and smell the fire - no one was hurt, thankfully!  We made it to my parent's home in Pace, Florida, and it was such a relief to just relax for awhile.... kind of.  We had a ton of last minute things to take care of, but in between the work, we were able to enjoy some wonderful time with our amazing family.  We are truly blessed to have such incredible people in our lives.

On Wednesday morning we left for Clearwater, Florida to visit Becca and Chase before heading out to Honduras today!  They have a very comfortable home, and it was the perfect place to rest before our big trip.

My parents drove us to the airport, where we learned that we could not be booked on our flight without a return flight... which we don't have.  All of us were ready to cry, but the Spirit airline agents were very friendly and helpful, and we figured out a "loop-hole" to get us on our flight.  Thank God for laptops and wi-fi... and Nevar (the ticket agent).  He was so nice, we invited him to visit us in Honduras! 

Now we are sitting here at the gate waiting for our airplane to come in... it was delayed 1 hour.  Conan has behaved wonderfully, and is a great service dog.  It is really hard leaving America and all of our family and friends, but it is also an incredible feeling to be embarking on this great journey that all of us know God has called us to make.

Please continue to pray for us as we make this transition.. I'm sure we are in for a lot of surprises - some good, some bad, but all will be learning experiences for us.  We'll keep you posted! My SD card is stuck in the computer, so until I get that problem figured out I won't get new pics.... another prayer request!

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Saying Goodbye

It has been so hard to say goodbye to Omaha! There have been many tears shed over these past few weeks, and many times when we have all wondered what we’re doing, but we know that this is what we are supposed to do, and we are excited about all of the new people and adventures we have ahead of us. We are all experiencing huge changes in our lives, and very few familiar things to comfort us.

Goodbye luncheon with my CK group of wonderful ladies

Going away party at our old home...

Alyssa was accepted into Mercy Ministries in Nashville, Tennessee, and on Tuesday the 17th, at 4:30pm, she got a call asking if it was at all possible for her to get there by Friday the 20th at 1:30pm. We called our friend Tiffany to see if she would be able to travel with me, and thankfully, she was! Instead of the 4 days to get ready for moving, I now only had one day to get everything ready for the move! With the help of my amazing friend Kelly and our incredible neighbors, June & Skip, we somehow managed to get everything done, and Tiffany, Aly, and I had a fun trip together. Mercy is an amazing ministry, and the home is beautiful. I was relieved that Aly will be at such an amazing place, and the staff is all wonderful, so it made saying goodbye a lot easier.

Leaving our Bible study groups, neighbors, friends, and everything familiar was very difficult. Conan has been confused about what is going on, and even right now, he is pacing back and forth in our hotel room, probably wondering when we are going home. He’s in for some big surprises!

Conan relaxed with the girls at the Will's house before we left.

We plan on arriving in Ohio to visit Gordon’s family tomorrow night and staying until Sunday, then going to Nashville to see Aly before continuing on to Pace, Florida to stay with our family there for about a week, and we will fly out of Fort Lauderdale on the 9th, Lordwillingly. Very exciting and very scary, but we know that we are right in the center of God’s will for us, and there’s nowhere we’d rather be!

All of this has really reminded me that our only security should be in God because He is the only thing in the life that won’t ever change. He is supposed to be our dwelling place, and in Him there is complete peace, comfort, and home. That is a wonderful reminder when everything is changing around us!

Psalm 90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the word, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

No Turning Back!

Well, we had the long awaited and much feared Estate Sale! Now our home doesn’t feel like our home anymore, and there is definitely NO TURNING BACK! We are thankful that we have sold most of our possessions, and we feel confident that we can really do this now, thanks to many wonderful friends! I love helping others, but have a really difficult time asking for help from other people, but God knew that I needed to let my pride go and lean on others. Last week, while dancing, I sprained my ankle, and knew pretty much immediately that I was going to need help to get everything done. A couple of days later, while hobbling around on my hurt ankle, I fell and broke my little toe… further confirmation that I needed help!

My CK group (church Bible Study group) and my BSF group (Bible Study Fellowship) have been amazing, and really made the estate sale successful as well as helped to relieve the mountain of stress that we all were feeling. Alyssa called my good friend, Kelly, to tell her how stressed I was feeling about everything, and Kelly, Meghan, Jennifer, and Tiffany came to the rescue – even bringing dinner for us. We enjoyed working and laughing, and even practiced dancing the Thriller as a stress reliever. Tiffany came to stay with us and help with the sale, and several members from my Bible studies also helped things to run smoothly. Thank you so much to everyone!

Being a little bit crazy with the Will girls

 

In 10 short days, we will be leaving Omaha! Our plan is to drive through Ohio to visit Gordon’s sister & family there before heading to Florida. We are planning on flying out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 9th. I have a feeling that these next few weeks are going to FLY by! I wish that my foot/ankle felt better, but I am thankful that at least only one foot is involved, and also that I was able to break through the barrier of pride, and receive the help from my friends.

1 Corinthians 13:4

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

2 Corinthians 11:30

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Keeping my focus

Getting ready to move is a truly monumental job. If I spend too much time thinking about it, I get anxious and scared, and feel kind of panic stricken! The biggest challenge during this time is keeping our focus on what’s important and not getting too overwhelmed with all the things that have to get done. God has worked in some strange ways these past couple of weeks, and has helped me to keep my focus where it needs to be… on Him.


Gordon and Chantalle were off taking care of some business, and Aly and I had the day to really hit it and just pack like crazy. We started to get working, and the thought of all of the work that lie ahead of me was starting to make me panic. I breathed a prayer to God, and checked my messages, finding one from a friend who was in immediate need of my help, so we took off to help her out, leaving our packing behind. We ended up having a great time helping our friend, laughing away all of the stress of packing, and when we returned, with everything in perspective, I felt much better.


God will equip us for every job that He asks us to do, so I don’t know why I allow myself to worry that THIS time He won’t come through for me. We still have a lot to do, but after a much needed attitude adjustment, things are moving along at a much nicer pace, and I feel confident that we will get everything done when it needs to get done. (Prayers would still be appreciated, though!)



May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21

Packing up our lives...

We are working on getting our stuff packed and taking care of all of those little details that are involved in moving, and it can be very VERY difficult! In some ways things are easier because we are not keeping very much of what we own, so we don't really have to do anything with those things. We are planning on having an estate sale on May 13 & 14, and selling all of our furniture and most of our belongings. There are some things that we are storing with my parents in Florida, but we really want to limit what we store there, so we are really trying to limit those stored items to things that are REALLY special to us. That leaves us with what we are taking to Honduras with us... 2 boxes per person, no more than 62 linear inches per box. It is very difficult to have to go through all of our things and be discerning about what is really important and necessary, but we're making a lot of progress!

As the time for us to go gets closer (5 weeks!), we are working through our lists of things we need to take care of, and this is all becoming more and more real to all of us.  There are times when we are super excited, times when we feel super scared, and other times when we feel super sad about all that we are leaving behind. We have made some wonderful friends here in Omaha, and it will be very difficult to have to leave them and everything that is familiar to us. We have to continually remind ourselves that we are being obedient to God, and that although it's difficult, it is always "worth it" to follow Him.

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Hebrews 13:20-21 May the God of peace equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

I became friends with a lady at church several years ago, and we really hit if off.  We enjoyed doing a lot of the same things, and started spending a fair amount of time together.  It was really nice having a close girl friend to hang out with, but then things changed.  I started to feel like I was being used by her. We would go to a movie or lunch, and she didn't have enough money, so I would pay for her, which was okay, but it didn't really get reciprocated, and she was never thankful. When things got rough, she was nowhere around, but when things were going good, she was always around to get her share.

I was thinking about this friend the other day, and it occurred to me that our relationship was a lot like my relationship with God at times.  It's easy to just take, and not give back, and it's really easy to just "use God" when I need Him, and not have a daily relationship with Him, no matter what.  These thoughts really convicted me of how important it is for me to rely on Him every day, in every situation, and to show Him how thankful I am to Him for saving me and for giving me an incredible life.  None of us likes feeling used... and I'm sure God doesn't appreciate it either.