Revolving Door

I think the reality is… I don’t know any other way to be.  My family has shown me an amazing example of what hospitality looks like and I think its just ingrained in my heart.  One of the most frustrating things about my time in Costa Rica was not having a home where I could invite people in and cook them and meal and just visit and be together.  I am LOVING that about living here in Honduras.

Recently the Lord blessed us with an amazing house.  The spaces are perfect and exactly what we needed.  There is plenty of space in the kitchen for multiple cooks, not to mention little hands trying to help and/or supervise.  There is a good dining room with a table for playing bananagrams or Uno or Jungle Speed.  Today the living room was a cinema, a schoolroom, and a place to rest all the in the space of two hours.  The garage is huge and this week its been a dining room and a place to take a nap when it’s the safest place that tired street children have to go.  And the upstairs… well, that’s mostly ours. :)

The Lord just keeps bringing kids to our door.  New kids every week, sometimes every day.  Right now we have 7 regulars and then the others who come by at times.  All boys for now.  I’d love to have a little girl to hang out with, but maybe the Lord knows she couldn’t take all the boys!  We have 4 that went to church with us Sunday, for 3 of them it was their third time.  I just found out there is a Sunday school program, so I’m going to see if they are willing to try it next week… but they might rather sit with us.

I’m determined that apart from learning about Jesus, learning to read and write is one of the most important things that these boys can learn.  So to that end, I bought some school books.  I don’t teach elementary school, never have.  I don’t really know what I’m doing.  But today we wrote letters and tried to learn all of the letter names.  The boys today were 10,11, and 13 who were learning.  Can you imagine not being able to write your own name by that age?  I need some pencils… mechanical pencils don’t cut it when you’re learning to write.  Found that out today.  Also found out drawing circles and straight lines has to be taught.  So that’s the next order of business. 

You can pray for me.  I’m overwhelmed.  I cannot possibly teach these kids all that I want them to know.  I cannot possibly give them all the attention that they crave and ever get another thing done in life.  And then I’m a little overwhelmed in my personal life with a hectic fall schedule, finances, and so much transition.  But… there are so many things that I know.

I know that the Lord is GOOD and perfect in His timing.  I know that every day he brings these boys to our gate for a purpose.  I know that ultimately their hearts are in His hands.  And beyond that… their education and emotional state and family life… that’s all in His hands too.  And I know that He is using us.  Even on the days that I feel I haven’t done enough… its true.  But He is using us and He is doing it… everything that needs to be done.  And He has ALWAYS proven Himself faithful. 

So tonight I can go to bed and rest and trust that the Lord is enough.