Back to your regularly scheduled life…

After a week in Guatemala, I’m now back to my regularly scheduled life. :)  I was supposed to arrive yesterday to Guatemala to spend a few days with the Messicks before heading on to Mexico City.  So, here I am!  We will be heading to the city Wednesday to stop by Antigua and then get me to my flight on time on Thursday morning.

This week has been stretching in so many ways.  I’m a control freak (no surprise if you know me at all!) and I always have a plan.  This past week totally threw off my groove.  And then I got bronchitis… awesome.  And the Messicks just found out that they are moving back to Colorado in 2 WEEKS!  So we’ve had garage sales and times for them to say goodbye and lots of stress and tears all around.

All that to say… the Lord has had a lot to teach me.  I’ve been constantly reminded of His goodness and grace and provision.  But also reminded that I am selfish and consumed with my life and my schedule.  Basically I need Jesus.  Sometimes I just really need that reminder.

From Guatemala City I will be heading on to Mexico City to visit MTW’s street children’s centers in Acapulco and attend the week long training for the “Pavement Project”.  I am so excited and so nervous about this coming week of training.  I’m worried my Spanish isn’t good enough, that I won’t have the right clothes (dumb I know, but I’m still packed for cold Peru), that I won’t be able to pay attention for 8 straight hours in Spanish, that no one will be able to understand me in our practice counseling sessions, etc.  So please pray.  Pray that the Lord will give me peace and speak through me.  This is so important and really lays the foundation for one of the main ways I’ll be sharing the Gospel with the girls in Puerta de Esperanza.  I feel the weight of that as I so desperately want them to know Jesus.  But I also know that it isn’t anything that I will say or do that will win them to Jesus, only His grace can do that.  Praise the Lord!

A Bend in the Road

My most recent unexpected bend in the road has me sitting here in Guatemala doing lots of administration stuff that I can do via internet and making some progress on boring stuff that I have to get done for Puerta de Esperanza.  So, maybe it’s a blessing in disguise?

I still miss my bed, my kitchen, my life, my normal.

But I’m excited to spend some time playing Monopoly with the boys, dress-up with Taylah, taking pictures, reading with Micah, playing in the hose, doing haircuts, swinging on the hammock, and just really enjoying one of my favorite families.  I’ve missed them. 

So here are some pictures for you of our time…

And as I walk with this family through a hard time of transition in their lives, it is a constant reminder to me that the Lord is a provider.  He is reminding us of that over and over again as He shows us how He is going to meet each one of their needs.

Newsletter - October 2011

October 2011

Just zoom

Elijah (3yrs) : You have black pajama pants with spots.  Do you have more pajama pants?
Me: Yep… but they are in Honduras, not here in Guatemala
Elijah: Oh, well you can get them when daddy takes you to get your bathing suit.
Me:  Elijah, that would be really nice, but my house is so far away from here.
Elijah:  Its okay… you can just zoom.

Wouldn’t that be nice? 

Downfall of being a laid-back traveler

I have been in Cusco for the past few days visiting the Josephine house and getting to see some really sweet friends!

This morning I told Kristen that I was a laid-back traveler these days.  That is what comes from being on a plane all the time.  You stop thinking you have to be at the airport quite so early, you don’t stand up the first time they call boarding for your flight, you forget to clarify if you need a visa so that you nearly have a heart attack at the airport.

Well… I think my laid back traveling days are over because tonight, instead of being back in Honduras, I’m stuck in Guatemala City.  And I won’t be home until November the 12th.  What in the world?!?  I did not pack or prepare to be gone for almost a month.

Apparently Honduras is the only country in central or north america where you have to have the yellow fever shot coming back from Peru… 10 days before you can come back in!  I found this out at the check-in counter on my way home.  Awesome.  And totally my fault for not researching it.

I’ll admit there was freaking out, and a few (okay a lot of) tears.  10 days from today I’m supposed to be at a training in Mexico City for the pavement project, which complicated things even more. 

So here I am, in a hotel, in Guatemala City.  I’m so thankful for the kindness of the Messicks who are going to house me and hang out with me so I don’t go crazy with loneliness over the next week.  And ultimately, my time in Lima gave me tons to think through and process and there are so many things I can start on from here.  So it should even be productive.

And it just shouldn’t matter that much that I’m not sleeping in my own bed or that I have to wear the same clothes all month… I think I will believe that in the morning :)

Starbucks makes me homesick

This morning I sat in a Starbucks for the first time in a long time.  I had a jacket on, which is rare these days, and a hot chocolate in my hand.  There was American music playing in English and the people at the table next to me were speaking English.  I had my Bible and journal in front of me and I felt like I was home. 

It didn’t make me sad, I think it just felt peaceful and familiar and I loved that. :) 

Worth it

This afternoon a baby fell asleep on my lap.  There are few things in the world that I love more than having a little one trust me so completely to just sleep while I cuddle with him.

I have loved my time here visiting and learning about the House of Glory.  I have been picking Amanda’s brain non-stop and she has been so patient.  There are a thousand questions running through my mind non-stop… “What things did you do that you wish you hadn’t done when you started?”  “What didn’t you do that you should have?”  “How do you discipline?” “What kind of skills do you teach?” “Are the babies on a schedule?”… the list goes on and on and on.  I have questions about staff and girls and social services.  I just realize how little I know.

And paperwork… they have tons of it.  I’ve maybe typed up 5 things total pertaining to Puerta de Esperanza.  I’m nowhere near having a manual!

So… I’m overwhelmed.  There is so much to be done.

But there is so much redemption.  This is the theme of what I have seen in this place.  The Lord has done amazing things!  Right now there are 3 girls living in the home.  I was talking to one of them today and she told me that none of them came into the home knowing God, but all have accepted Him as their Savior.  They are passionate about the Lord and excited to share the Gospel.  They go to an evangelism class at church and really love it.  They share the Gospel with teachers and their families.  They pray that their abusers would come to know Christ.  Wow.  Redemption.  There is no other word for it.  Only the grace of God can change hearts in such a radical way. 

These girls come in angry and fearful, scared and hardened and then the love of Christ enters their hearts.  And they are changed.  Its amazing.

They were excited to hear that there will be a home like this in Honduras.  One of the girls told me that she would tell any girl who had the opportunity to live there to go… she said, “I would tell her that it would change her life.  She will be loved and supported and learn about Christ.  And coming to know God is the most important thing.”

Its worth it.  All the feelings of being overwhelmed, all the paperwork and the decisions.  All the anxiety and fear.  Its worth it.

Please please pray.  I’m overwhelmed.  Pray for personnel who love Jesus and will love these girls.  Pray for a Social worker who loves the Lord and a physiologist as well who can work with them.  Pray for a house abuela who can love them without getting burnt out.  Pray for so much wisdom and discernment for me as I seek to form a team to do this ministry.  Pray for all our paperwork to go through by the first of December.  And pray that the Lord would bring girls!

Accent

Last night I got laughed at for my Honduran accent... Hmm I didn't know I had one, but it makes me excited! Apparently my Spanish is more sing-songy than the monotone Spanish of Lima. Interesting...

One of many things I learned yesterday, and probably the least important:)

Great Opportunity

I’m wearing sweatpants :)  And I love it.

This morning finds me in Lima, Peru visiting with MTW missionaries the Rosses.  I’m so thankful for their generosity to let me stay with them and share with me the wisdom that they have.  The Rosses started a girl’s home here for pregnant girls and young moms called “House of Glory”.  It is the most similar thing that MTW does to what I’ll be doing in La Ceiba with “Puerta de Esperanza”.  And you want to hear the best news… they didn’t really know what they were doing when they started either?  So there is hope :)

I’m really thankful for this opportunity to go visit their girls, learn how the home functions, what kind of rules they have, how counseling with the girls works, etc.  It is going to be so helpful.

Please pray for my time here.  Pray that the Lord gives me vision and wisdom for the future in La Ceiba.  Pray that I will feel renewed and excited about the work that He is doing and will do.  Pray that I will return to La Ceiba and see that He has been at work in my absence preparing an abuela for the house and the girls that will live there.  I’m praying that he brings these people into my life in the next month.

Thanks for caring what is going on here and lifting me up to the Lord.  I know that He is doing this and moving us forward.  And I know that know very little about what I’m doing :)  So… keep praying!

Panic Attack

Me: good morning
Taco lady: good morning where are you headed?
Me: Lima, Peru
Taco lady: do you have your visa?
Me: ummm no, what? Don't I get it when I get here?

And then I started freaking out...

Taca lady: let me check. (minutes tick by) Okay seat or aisle...
Me: wait what about the visa?
Taco lady: oh sorry... You don't need one.

Nothing like a heart attack to wake you up at 5:15 in he morning.

To be known…

This week I had a dream that one of my close friends told me they hated me.  I woke up knowing that it wasn’t true… but it struck a chord. 

Maybe it’s a lack of time with Jesus, maybe it’s a lack of faith, maybe it’s human nature. 

I want to be known, and loved.  I want to know that I’m not forgotten about while I’m off living in a foreign country.  I want to know that when people do things that I used to be a part of that they notice the fact that I’m not there.  I want someone to eat a fried dough at the fair in my honor, I want someone to say that the Thanksgiving gravy doesn’t taste as good b/c I wasn’t there to make it.  Maybe I’m selfish.

But I think it’s who I am and the Lord knows that.  He knows it because He put it there inside of me.  And He reminds me that He knows me… and loves me… better than I know.  He knew that I would need Him because people wouldn’t be enough to fill that need that I have to be loved.

And then… not only did He look at me, see all my mess, know me perfectly and choose to love me… He also gave me blessings, and so many of them.  A friend who reminds me that she doesn’t hate me, but really loves and cares.  A family who comes and invests their lives to know my life and share it with me.  A grandma who prays for me every morning.  Friends who put up with skype when the internet is terrible just to be able to get caught up.  People who support me with money, prayers, cards, emails. 

I think the Lord knew that every once in awhile I would need someone with skin on… He is good to me. 

Its really happening…

Thank you, thank you, thank you… to everyone who donated stuff, bought stuff, or gave money to help with the proceeds of nan’s yard sale.  Puerta de Esperanza is really happening! Look at all this fun stuff we were able to buy!

Refrigerator, stove, washing machine outside…

Kitchen stuff!

My favorite part :)

beds beds beds

About a month ago I called dad and asked if he and Rick could build beds when they came down to visit.  I really wanted each girl to be able to have a bed/dresser that they would use in the home and then be able to take with them when they leave.  Most of these girls have never slept on a good bed with a real mattress before, much less had anything to call their own.  So, a plan was born.

Don’t they look awesome?  And everyone also gets a bookcase!  Love it.  Thanks dad and Rick for all your hard work! (and John, and Xan, and Jeffri, and mom, and Patti…) :)

Nan in Honduras

It was only the second time she has ever left the country.  Lets be honest… nan has friends all over the world and could travel just about anywhere and have a place to stay.  I mean, she even has people that would probably pay for her to come if she would just give the word.  But… I think I must just be her favorite of them all because last week found my grandmother here in Honduras. :)

I know it killed her to not be able to talk to the kids.  Although she was making good use of her Spanish… “Donde esta el bano?”  And she made a great effort with all the other phrases I wrote down for her as well.  And I will say, the Bette McGee look translates because I think even little Honduran kids knew when they were being disobedient just by one look at her face.

Here are some favorite moments caught on film… well… disk.

Helping Erin at kid’s club

Some of the kids who come to the house in the mornings

The beach of course!

Sorting things at Puerta de Esperanza

So excited about all the stuff we were able to get with the yardsale money!

priorities

I guess the blog gets a backseat when family is in town :)

There are so many reasons I love having my family here, you would be bored if I told you all of them.  But I’ll tell you just a few.  I love that my mom and dad have been learning some Spanish and are not afraid to try it out with all the kids.  Mom is actually confident enough to go in stores and do things on her own!  They do dishes, feed kids, play games, help cook, fold laundry, and they know me.  They came during rainy season so mom decided I needed a dryer, and bought me one.  Dad has fixed everything in the house and car stuff because he is amazing and I wish he lived nearby all the time.  Nan is frustrated that she can’t talk to the kids, but just keeps loving on them all the same.  She is full of energy for cooking and shopping and she is excited to the point of tears over the way things are coming along for the house!  Xan is a good sport and helped build beds and bookcases and shopped with us today… and of course beat us all at Ticket to Ride last night.

I am SO BLESSED that my family loved me, but more than that loves Jesus and supports what I am doing here.  I am so thankful for their servant’s hearts, their loving support, and their love for the Lord that comes out in everything that they do.

Here are some more pictures… more to come!  Please note… we have girls!  There are now some sweet little girls coming to our house in the mornings… we really love them :)

A glimpse of our week

Sunday night Mom, Dad, Rick, and Patti arrived in La Ceiba to a dinner of pupusas from a new found restaurant… they arrived without all of their luggage, but it has since been recovered.

Monday the guys went straight to work with John getting started building beds for Puerta de Esperanza.  They have been working near 12 hour days to get these beds done.  Each girl will have a bed/dresser that they made.  Here is the work in progress.  They look awesome and the mattresses should arrive tomorrow.

Monday night we were able to give the Clow girls some fun birthday surprises!  Becca got a massage table that Patti brought and massage lessons all week.  And Abi got a new sewing machine and sewing lessons from my mom.  She’s already working on a new skirt!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday I woke up to this game happening on the dining room floor.  I’m not sure the rules were ever spoken out loud, only communicated through actions… but everyone got to play.

Then the boys went over to help with the bed construction for a little while… and ended up helping some and doing a little bit of playing…

Yesterday and today, Caitlin, mom, Patti, and I did lots of shopping for stuff for the house, errand running, and loving on boys.  And mom and Patti are teaching their afternoon classes of course. 

We are tired, but really enjoying our time together!  And getting lots done all at the same time :)

Here we are!

Our team was finally all in the same place at the same time last week.  Well, that’s not exactly true :)  We now have one new family on our team who is starting support raising and another family that just needs a site visit before they’re official.

But the rest of us were here!  And by Christmas we will all be living in Honduras together :)

The new faces are Kate Defuniak and Mike and Ashley Troxell

Its that time…

Time to start thinking about a new school year.  I know you’re thinking “school just started”, but not in Honduras.  We are currently collecting school supplies for kids in Armenia Bonito who can’t afford them.  They kick off school in February, so we need supplies before December 31st to have time to sort and hand them out.  If you’re interested in helping, please mail donations to…

Mike & Erin Pettengill
P.O. Box 1090
La Ceiba, Atlantida
Honduras
Central America

It takes a village…

Some people say it takes a village to raise a child.  And I think its true.  I am so thankful for the many people that supported my mom and dad as we were growing up.  They really were like second parents to me and loved on me, taught me, and showed me Jesus.

I say this right now because my team is looking for some volunteers to come and help with our team’s kids.  I am not personally raising children here, but I can see from the outside that it can be difficult to raise kids outside of a big church (as in bigger than 3 families), safe neighborhood community, or extended family.  And sometimes we get sad for the kids that they are missing out on things like Sunday school and youth group.  We know that the Lord has put together our team, including these precious kids, and this is exactly where they need to be.  And we are also interested in their Spiritual growth. 

All that to say… Team Honduras wants to host a VBS for our kids!  Mike had a great idea to try to bring someone down with leftover VBS material to run a VBS for our 5 Missionary kids.  It needs to be December 19-22 when they are out of school.  Let me know if you are interested!

Forced Family Fun

This is what we used to say when mom and dad would make us do things with the family that we didn’t want to do… play a family game, eat dinner together, whatever.  But I think we usually secretly loved it.

I could not  be more thankful for my family, extended family, and psuedo family.  Yesterday Patti said, about me, “yeah we helped raise her”.  And its true.  They did.  And so did about 8 of my other favorite people in the world.  Not everyone can say that they have so many second sets of parents!

All that to say… I’m so excited that my family is here in Honduras to visit, safe and sound and ready to work and help me get the girls’ home ready.  Mom, Dad, Rick, and Patti are here for the week.  Dad and Rick will set out with John early this morning to get a good start.  So pray for us this week as we are diligently working on getting beds made and appliances bought and all that stuff that you need to live in a house.

Family picture from Christmas

Oh the bonding…

I am so thankful for these women.

Last week we were all in the same place at the same time for the first time ever.  And it was great.  Mike gave us a gift… some time off from ministry to refresh and rejuvenate, study the Word together, and just grow in unity and purpose through a time of fellowship and getting to know each other.  I would go so far as to say that it was much needed.  And I know I can say that we all loved it.  The new faces are Ashley (in the back) and Kate (front row).  Ashley and her husband are finishing up language school and will get here in December.  Kate is coming in about 6 weeks and will be my roommate!

In all honesty I’ll admit that the first afternoon we were away I was anti-social and napped for 2 1/2 hours.  If you know me, you know that is super weird.  But I guess I really needed it!  And I feel much better now :)

I’m just so thankful for the team that the Lord has brought here to La Ceiba.  I am truly blessed to be a part of it.