School Supplies

Its that time of year again!  Kids here in Honduras start school in February and many of them cannot afford to buy the basic items that they need to go to school… notebooks, pens, pencils, etc.  We would love to be able to help by collecting these items and giving them out to kids in Armenia Bonito and to some of the kids that come to our house, and to the kids in Puerta de Esperanza.

Think basic.  Things that every kid needs to have in school.

If you would like to donate some school supplies, please mail them by December 31st to…

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

If you would rather send money then we can go and buy the stuff here in Honduras.  Not quite as fun, but saves on postage!

How a wound can build relationships

Friday morning I am helping kids make about 3 different Thanksgiving dishes when the doorbell rings again, its not a kid this time, its Jeffrey’s mom.  I am surprised to see her because Jeffrey isn’t there and we haven’t seen him all week.  But that’s why she came, to tell us that he is sick and has a problem with his leg.  I love that she came!  I have intentionally been trying to get to know her and praying for ways to minster to her. 

In our conversation she told me that she has been reading the Jesus Storybook Bible that we gave Jeffrey and that she has been so helped and encouraged by it!  And I started to tear up.  When I gave her a little money to help with medical bills tears started rolling down her face.  And I was crying right along with her.

Thankfully Elizabeth Ann is a rockstar in the kitchen (more to come on her later, but she’s an amazing friend who came to visit for Thanksgiving) and took over preparing lunch for 30.  How many friends do that for you?  She’s awesome.

I was off to take Jeffrey’s mom to the pharmacy, but upon seeing this… I knew we needed more than a pharmacy, we needed nurse Erin!

I couldn’t watch.  As long as Jeffrey was crying from pain I was crying right along with him.  But he did really well and let her clean it out and bandage it up.  Erin was so good with he and his mom and gave them vitamins and antibiotic and everything they needed.

The Lord really used this sweet time with Jeffrey’s mom.  She couldn’t believe that Erin would give her vitamins… not just for her kids, but for HER!  She was overwhelmed and teary at being loved so well.  On the way home I got to tell her that we would like to help Jeffrey go to school next year and she was so thankful.  I got to pray for her before I dropped her off and I can say without a doubt that the Lord was doing something wonderful during my time with her.  She is open to the Lord and loves her family dearly.  She is humble and thankful and such a strong mom all at the same time.

This time was a huge blessing for me and a real answer to prayer.  Please continue to lift this family up to the Lord for his healing and provision for their physical and spiritual needs!

Another day of giving Thanks

One day of turkey and sweet potatoes just isn’t enough, so this year we had two!  On Friday we invited all of the kids who come to our house to come and have Thanksgiving lunch with us complete with the traditionals plus, of course, boxed macaroni and cheese!

They played…

and cooked…

and ate…

Kate was able to use one of the stories from our new green bag from pavement project to share the Gospel with the kids.  They loved the colorful pages and listened carefully to how much the Lord loves them each and wants children to draw near to Him.  It was so fun to be able to walk around and talk with them after the story to see what they got out of it.  I really think the Lord is doing something in these kids.

Its hard sometimes.  We had to make 4 kids leave because they just couldn’t get along with others.  We have a “no fighting” policy and its just so hard for kids whose first survival instinct is to put their fists up.  So please be praying that the Lord shows them His love in such a huge way that it will overflow to how they love others.

Also, just by way of comment… it was like loves and fishes the way the food went around.  We fed 32 people and one 13 pound turkey just shouldn’t do that.  And we had leftovers!

An item for prayer

I found out this week that our permission from the government could come through as soon as three weeks from now!  That would allow us to open the doors and have girls move in to Puerta de Esperanza before Christmas!! :)

Please join me in praying that the Lord brings all the paperwork through swiftly and easily.  And pray that He brings all the people that we need, all the funds that we need, that all the interviews go smoothly in Spanish, and that I will just rest and trust that He has it all under control!

I’m excited, and surprisingly not overwhelmed.  Just waiting and trusting and moving forward one small step at a time.

Prayer

"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you." – Augustine

I’ve used this quote on here before, but its because I love it.  And recently I have found it to be so true in my own life.

Kate moved here last week!  So now we are a house family of three who will be here though April and then we’ll be crying for days when Caitlin leaves us.  As we have tried to settle in, we made a house calendar (a very cute pinterest one, by the way!) that includes an 8am prayer time every day.

I don’t know that I’ve ever done anything so good for my heart.  To come before the Lord every morning and just give our lives to Him, our house, our interactions, our ministry, all the things that overwhelm us… I have felt more at peace in the midst of the same craziness of life.

We were made to find out REST in the LORD.

This week Christopher was here while we were praying one morning so we invited him to join us.  One thing we learned in pavement project was to ask kids if they have anything they want to ask God and then remind them that they can pray anywhere and at any time.  And I love the prayers of kids.  But its amazing what we learned about this little boy.  His step-dad is in the hospital because he got hit by a bus, but he’d never told us.  He needs new clothes for Christmas, but they won’t celebrate at all because they don’t have any money.  So we prayed, together, that the Lord would meet these needs.  It was such a sweet time.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday was just a good day.  I have nothing better to say about it :)  It was cool outside, my heart was at rest, I ate delicious food, spent time with wonderful people, and nothing that we cooked tasted terrible!

In the spirit, here’s some thankfulness…

1. The Lord’s undeserved goodness and grace to me
2. Prayer and the way that the Lord uses it to put my heart at rest
3. Honduran kids that give hugs and serve us and let us into their life
4. Good food
5. My team that is finally all in the same place at the same time
6. Caitlin’s sense of humor, heart to serve, honesty, love for people, and maturity beyond her years
7. As much as I hate it… I’m thankful for “The Shred”, moreso now that my muscles are healing and can walk down the stairs again
8. EA’s generous heart, skill in the kitchen, and love for prayer
9. Cool weather
10. Kate’s heart for street children, ability to have us laughing, and her faith that points me back to Jesus
11. My family and how we all know how to play competitive croquet (its true)
12. Resources to make Thanksgiving dinner for the boys today
13. That my car AC this week was an easy fix
14. Good friends who keep in touch and remind me that I am missed and loved
15. That I really do love Honduras and the life God has given me here

I could go on… but you get the point :)  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Entering In

More from the book (Kisses From Katie)… I told you that you should just read it.  And just wait you’ll see it again :)

Anyway… I love this because it is who I want to be.  I was so convicted over the last month that just living in Honduras is not enough.  Just letting kids into my house and feeding them and playing with them isn’t enough if I’m not telling them about Jesus and entering into their world, their hearts, their pain…  So I’m learning.  I’m learning about sacrificing my wants for the sake of others.  I’m learning about the balance between giving my life away and trying to take care of myself.  And I’m learning the best thing I could possibly do is just pray and give these kids up to the Lord over and over again every day.  And in that I’m starting to to get a glimpse of how the Lord can use me in the midst of all of it.

“I sometimes got caught up in the ‘I deserve this’ moments; I still do. I have moments when I compare myself to other people and trick myself into believing that I am doing pretty well. there are still moments when I believe I should be able to relax and do nothing some afternoon, instead of taking care of one more sick person. There are moments when I think that because I have worked hard all day, I deserve to be able to sit down and eat my food instead of answering the door for one more person who needs help… the truth is that these thoughts are not at all scriptural. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that I deserve a reward here on earth. Colossians 3:23 says, ‘Whatever you do work at it with all your heart.’ It does not end in ‘and after this hard work you deserve a long hot bath and some me time.’ It does end with ‘since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward.’”

“Don’t misunderstand; it is not easy. But it is simple in that each of us was ultimately created to do the same thing. It will not look the same. It may take place in a foreign land or it may take place in your backyard, but I believe that we were created to change the world for someone. To serve someone. To love someone the way that Christ first loved us, to spread His light.”

“And even though I realize I cannot always mend or meet, I can enter in. I can enter into someone’s pain and sit with them and know. This is Jesus. Not that He apologizes for the hard and the hurt, but that He enters in, He comes with us to the hard places. And so I continue to enter.”

“We aren’t really called to save the world, not even to save one person; Jesus does that. We are just called to love with abandon. We are called to enter into our neighbors’ sufferings and love them right there.”

Kisses From Katie

As promised… here’s the “Kisses from Katie” post.  You can read Katie’s blog here.  Or just read the book…

“I have learned along my journey that if I really want to follow Jesus, I will go to the hard places. Being a Christ follower means being acquainted with sorrow. We must know sorrow to be able to fully appreciate joy. Joy costs pain, but the pain is worth it. After all, the murder had to take place before the resurrection. I’ll be honest: The hard places can seem unbearable. It’s dark and it’s scary, and even though I know God said He will never leave or forsake me, sometimes it’s so dark that I just can’t see Him. But then the most incredible thing happens: God takes me by the hand and walks me straight out of the hard place and into the beauty on the other side. He whispers to me to be thankful, that even this will be for His good.”

Another Kind of Safety

Quotes from “Kisses From Katie” by Katie Davis

“People often ask me if I think my life is dangerous, if I’m afraid.  I am much more afraid of remaining comfortable.  Matthew 10:28 tells us not to fear things that can destroy the body but things that can destroy the soul.  I am surrounded by things that can destroy the body.  I interact daily with people who have deadly diseases, and many times I am the only person who can help them.  I live in a country with one of the world’s longest running wars taking place just a few hours away.  Uncertainty is everywhere.  But I am living in the midst of the uncertainty and risk, amid things that can and do bring physical destruction, because I am running from things that can destroy my soul: complacency, comfort, and ignorance.  I am much more terrified of living a comfortable life in a self-serving society and failing to follow Jesus  than I am of any illness or tragedy.”

I’ve been thinking.  People have a habit of telling me be “BE SAFE!”  This is a reasonable sentiment, especially in the past month when I’ve been traveling all over the place in countless planes, buses, and taxis.  And yet… a part of me balks at this well-meaning phrase. 

I just want to say… “I am safe!”  My mom used to say, I’m much more frightened of the ER than I am fearful of death.  And I must say, I agree.  There is no question in my mind that I will be with Jesus when I die and honestly, sometimes that is even more appealing than the broken world that surrounds me.  I cannot think of a safer place to be than right here where the Lord has me, saying yes to meeting the needs that come literally to my front door.

I don’t see myself in an extreme situation like the writer of this book.  But the question of safety has been raised.  And its so hard to find the line between faith and wisdom when it comes to who to let come in the house, what little mouths to feed, what hands to bandage up.  And I just can’t get away from thinking that these little hearts are not safe yet.  And if letting them come in and sit on my couch and learn their letters and hear that they are loved by Jesus gets them one step closer to being with Him for eternity, then I am willing.  Safe or not.

I knew when I graduated from college that I wouldn’t go home and live there forever because it was too comfortable for me.  The Lord still saw fit to challenge me in huge ways the years that I was there, but there is something different for me about living in the middle of poverty and need.  It challenges me.  It reminds me what is important in the long run.  It reminds me that I need to pray.  And it reminds me that Jesus has the power to save!  Regardless of economic status, the Word of God is living and active and brings hope and healing.  It really is the greatest gift.

“Jesus called His followers to be a lot of things, but I have yet to find where He warned us to be safe.  We are not called to be safe, we are simply promised that when we are in danger, God is right there with us.  And there is no better place to be than in His hands.”

Street Child Newsletter

This month the work in Honduras in featured in the MTW's Street Children newsletter, so I thought I would share it with you. Its much more impressive than my normal newsletter :)

Street Child Newsletter

Privacy

When I first got to Honduras I felt really strongly about taking pictures and talking about kids and posting it on the internet.  You may remember the surprisingly absent amount of pictures on my first blogposts about the kids coming to our house.  I felt strongly that I wanted them to know that I wanted to know THEM… not just take their picture.  And I wanted to protect them and their privacy.

Then life happened.  It is just so easy when you live here and you love these kids and they seem like they are your family.  And you want everyone at home to see their precious faces and love them the way that you do because a picture expresses a thousand words.  It really does.

But I’m learning.  What I want to do is not always best.  Through my visits to childrens’ homes and the pavement project training, I was really convicted that for me I need to stick to my original train of thought.  One thing that someone told me stuck out to me so much.  She just reminded me that so many of these kids have suffered abuse and their abuser is still out there somewhere.  I just want to be careful that I don’t put them in harms way for the sake of a picture.

I am telling you this not to force my convictions on anyone else.  But rather, to explain.  You probably won’t be seeing pictures of the Puerta de Esperanza girls on this blog.  I feel more comfortable sending out pictures via email where they aren’t for all the world to see.  So we’ll see how that goes later.  But that’s why the nameless girl in the last post and the lack of pictures of her smiling face and the face of her precious daughter.  You’ll just have to trust me that today they looked full of joy!

He is before ALL things…

And in Him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:17

This is the verse I read to a 15 year old girl at 9:20 this morning before we made our way back to La Ceiba.  It’s a verse I’ve put on this blog before as it has really become a life verse for me.  This morning I read it for my sake just as much as hers. 

She is 15, has a 15 month old baby, was kicked out of the only home she’d ever known, spent time on the street, and is so fearful that no one will ever want her.  She is insecure and timid because of where she has come from.  But she is a good mom, a playful kid at heart, and wants desperately to make good choices for her life and the life of her daughter.

I am 28 with a huge job ahead of me.  I have no idea what I’m doing or what steps to take next.  I need a staff, girls, money, knowledge of the school system, more Spanish, and the list goes on.  And then I have a personal life where my car is leaking power steering fluid and I spent more money than I wanted to on a yellow fever shot adventure.  But I want to know more of Jesus, I want to serve Him and say yes when He calls.  I want to pray more and feel anxious less.  I want to learn to trust my Father.

And the Lord loves us.  Both of us.  And He holds us in His hands.  And He goes before us in every step.  And it is only because of Jesus that our lives don’t come crashing apart.

This morning I think we both felt peaceful.  I know that I did.  We both shed a few tears as I prayed and I know I shed more as the day went on.  But we were reminded of our God who loved us and knows us and calls us each by name.

And here’s the best news.  She wants a bedroom.  Seriously, she fell in love with a bedroom with sunlight streaming in the window.  And sitting on the bed after talking through all of her questions, this precious girl told me that she wants to be our first girl to live in the home and be a part of what God is doing there!  She knows we don’t know what we’re doing yet… and she still has the courage and faith to jump in with us!  Wow.  I asked the Lord to bless us with easy girls at first to get our feet wet and He has more than answered.  There will be bumps in the road, but I love this girl already.  And also… today she ate pizza for the first time in her life.  Can you imagine?  And she loved it :) 

Currency

Let’s count it up…

Dollars, Lempira, Soles, Quetzales, Pesos

Yep, they’ve all been in my wallet in the past month.  Sheesh.

But as of today I’m retired them all for the Lempira because I am HOME!  Back in my house, in my bed, on my couch.  I feel like I just sounded like the seagulls from Finding Nemo… “mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…” The honest thing is though… that’s how I feel!  So glad to be HOME!  And really so thankful in my heart that this place now really feels like HOME!

We did it!

After an intense week of training, Kate and I are both certified by SGM lifewords to use their “Maletin Verde” and do counseling with at risk kids using the Pavement Project material!

Believe me… it’s a big deal :)

Here’s some pictures from the week… not great ones, but… whatever!

This is Kate doing her first practice counseling session

The famous maletin verde

Kate and I with our fellow MTW missionary Martha who works with street children in Mexico City.  She was helping to lead the training and was able to tell us many stories of how the Lord has used this material in the lives of kids.

Here we are!  Our fearless leaders and 8 participants armed with our new supplies. 

It was a BLESSING to meet all of these ladies and get another glimpse of all that the Lord is doing to draw people to Himself around the world.  All these women work with kids at risk and the Lord has given them a real love for Him and for His Word.

Best news of all… armed with my yellow fever vaccine card… I’m going home!  I’ll be back in Honduras tonight :)

On humility

If you ask any of my friends they can tell you… I have a life motto.

“If you’re not good at something, just don’t do it.”

Its true.  I have lived by that motto… until moving to a Spanish speaking country.  There is nothing more humbling than being in “Spanish Kindergarten” as I took to calling language school.  Well, I thought there wasn’t anything more humbling.  But here I am.

This training has challenged me to the end of my language ability, but also to the core of my heart and who I am.  I realized, again, how prideful I am.  I have found myself thinking over and over again… if only this was in English, I could do it so easily.  Well praise the Lord that it isn’t because I would have been missing the point.

Tomorrow I have to do a counseling session with a kid that I have never met before while 8 national Spanish speakers and 2 fluent gringas watch me on a TV screen.  Really?!?  Awesome.  Lets take all the things that are hard for me and squeeze them into one 45 minute session.  Great.

But it will be great.  I have had to pray and rely on the Lord this week so much.  I know that the words that I speak will be His words, and the work that happens in the life of this child will be His work.  If he wants me to speak clearly, I will.  And none of it by my own strength.

So, I concede to doing something things that is not a strength and just pray that God will get the glory.  You can pray too… you know… if you want. :)

We’re official

There are so many different steps to making Puerta de Esperanza official in all the different facets.  But, we made a huge leap this week because we are now officially an MTW project!  We have an account number and everything.

This is good news because it means that people can now give funds directly to Puerta de Esperanza.

I’m reading a book called “Kisses from Katie”.  Soon you’ll be getting so many quotes from it on this blog that you might as well read it yourself.  But I don’t have enough time for that right now. :)  But she is a missionary in Uganda and talks about fundraising.  I must admit… she has a MUCH better attitude about it than I do.  But I’m going to try to learn from her.

I do value the opportunity to share what the Lord is doing in Honduras and in the lives of girls that I am already meeting.  But more than that, in this step of the process, I would love to be able to share with you and blow you away with how the Lord has already provided so much of what we need.  And I want to petition you to pray that the Lord would provide the staff that I need and the girls who need to live there.  And please pray that I will trust the Lord’s timing and His plan and that I would give up my striving to just follow in His leading.  To me these prayers are so much more valuable at this moment than your finances.

And yet, we need finances as well.  I just had to turn in a budget and its more money than we have right now.  The girls didn’t move in in October like I thought they would b/c that was not the Lord’s timing.  So there is no one helping with the bills.  I’m more convinced than ever that we need to hire a physiologist and a social worker to be part-time and I wasn’t planning on that.  So… we do have financial needs.

Please pray for us!  And please consider giving monetarily.  If you’re interested or if you want to know more, please email me at ssinnes@gmail.com.  And if you want to give… here is the info you need.

Click here and put in this project account number when you give #92413.

Thank you thank you thank you :)

Quick update…

My life is so crazy these days that I want to apologize for my lack of blogging but its honestly b/c I have had no other choice.  And I’m without internet most of the week… so it will be awhile before I can post again.  But when I do, it will probably lots stored up :)  I have so much I want to say.  For now, here’s this…

Just wanted to give you all an update. Kate and I just finished our first full day of training in Mexico City for the pavement project. This program is AWESOME! And we cannot wait to implement it in Honduras. I for one am so thankful for the Lord's blessing today on my Spanish. I was able to understand about 95% of what was being said, and that's awesome. I've really been praying for the Lord to open my ears b/c I've been nervous that my Spanish isn't good enough. If anything has been impressed upon me in the last 3 weeks of traveling, visiting sites, and learning it would be this. Jesus is the most important thing. Without a doubt, He is doing it, He is changing hearts. And I have to trust Him... so much more than I have been trusting Him. And I have to pray every morning that I will stop doings things according to my plan and just say yes to what He has for me that day. So... when you read this, please just pray for us. Pray that we will soak up everything that we need to learn. But more importantly that we will trust Jesus, and trust the precious children that we will be working with to Him, and that we will learn to stop striving and just say YES to what the Lord has for us to do. Thanks so much for your love and support.