Monthly Support Update–22%!!!

I’m going to be honest with you.  I am blown away.  God is so faithful and it makes me wonder why I ever doubt… and yet I do, time and time again.  About 3 weeks ago I put out a plea for monthly supporters for PDE because we were really at our financially end and I was stressed out and unsure of what to do or what steps to take.  Going into the new year I am happy to report that the Lord has provided $340 in monthly support as well as $4012 in one-time support that will be divided out to use per month for this calendar year.  In total that means we are at 22% of our monthly need for 2013.  Wow.  God is good.  And I have 3 people with monthly pledge promises coming, I just don’t know the amount yet.

If you don’t support us monthly, please consider picking up the $60/monthly to complete paying for our utilities or $115/month to finish out paying for rent.  Or pick a new category to start funding in part of completely.

From the bottom of my heart THANK YOU to those who have begun to support us, for those who have been praying, for those who have written with encouragement.  Thank you.  Please keep praying and sharing about this ministry as we see the Lord provide the rest of the needed funding.

6%… wow

The Lord has been so good this week to remind me that this ministry belongs to Him.  In every moment that I stress out about His provision, He already has a plan in mind.  In His timing and in His way, He is going to provide.  This ministry is His, these girls are His.  He is a father to the fatherless and fathers provide for their children. 

Thank you so much to those of you who have already contacted me in the last few days about partnering with us monthly.  In 3 days you have pledged $200 in monthly support so we are up to 6% funded monthly.  For just $20/month someone could finish off our monthly medical needs.  Thank you also in advance to those of you who will give or pray or spread the word for us. 

As Christmas is right around the corner I think its fitting to remember that God loves us, and these girls, in a very personal way.  So personal in fact that He came to live with us…

“The animals stood around his bed.  And the whole earth and all the stars and sky held its breath… ‘The One who made us has come to live with us!’” – Sally Lloyd Jones

He came to live with us and then gave us the most precious gift of all… more than food and medicine and education… Jesus’ righteousness and a place in the family of God.  Praise Him for it. 

Merry Christmas everyone!

Moving up!

I’m so happy to be able to report that we got $55 in monthly support pledged to PDE yesterday, which brings us up to 4% of our monthly need!  They choose to support part of our medical need every month, so if someone wants to give $95/month you could finish out our monthly need for medical care!  Thanks so much for your partnership.

S, not C

Some names here sound like they should start with a C and really start with an S.  Some names have always ended in S until you go to the bank and they open your account with your name ending with a Z.  People don’t know how to spell…

This time it was me… our sweet girl who came from Tegucigalpa is actually an S, not a C, which actually makes life way less confusing since we already have a C in the house!

Anyway, after spending a few days with her I wanted to give you an update.  First of all, I am so thankful for our friend Ericka who is involved with the Micah Project in Tegucigalpa and has a such a precious heart to help people in need.  She brought S up here this week and was just a shoulder for her lean on.

S loves it.  She wants to come.  We went to the doctor and the baby is growing.  I heard a baby’s heartbeat for the first time and I was super excited :)  S is healthy, although very underweight.  She has been really sick, but we got some prenatal vitamins, medicine for the nausea, and we ate lots of veggies!  She stayed the night with the girls at the house and I’m pretty sure they stayed up way too late talking.  We made Christmas cookies and she played with the babies.  I’m positive that it is more stable and caring environment than anything she has ever known.

Her mom is a different story… she didn’t come with her to visit and is certain now that she doesn’t want her to come.  She wanted her to come for 6 months enough for us to cover medical bills and the first sleepless nights and then send her home.  Well, our program doesn’t work that way.  And mom is not thinking through the costs of an infant, doctor visits, shots, sickness, parenting, discipline, a 14 year old who has no idea what she is doing and should be given a chance to keep studying.  Mom is only thinking that she will be lonely if S isn’t there, even though she cannot care for her.  So we are just praying.  We have seen God do a miracle in a mom’s heart before and we are praying for it again.  If He wants her here, she will come.  If not… we will continue to pray for her where she is that the Lord puts people in her life to love and care for her where she is.  I will be back in touch with them in a few weeks.

Thank you for walking this with me.  Every day of this journey is a step of faith for me… trusting God for His timing in everything.

It’s a Start!

God is a good provider.  We have a ways to go to have Puerta de Esperanza will be fully funded.  But we are 2% funded monthly.  I received some one-time donations that will cover our monthly needs for one year for transportation and gas.  THANK YOU!

Here you go!  Look for a category that maybe you could get some friends together to cover :)

A plea

So here it is… I’ve tried lots of things… a support raising trip home, lots of emails, links to the donation page at MTW, hints at needs of money, but the time has come to really put it out there. 

Puerta de Esperanza needs monthly donors.  Without them we will not be able to sustain the ministry.  We have two potential girls who want to move into the home and I am hesitant because I’m not sure we can financially support them.  We have been scrimping and scraping to get by, but it is not financially responsible to put new girls in the home with the way our budget looks and we live prayer to prayer on a monthly basis for the other girls as well.

Please consider partnering with us on a monthly basis.  Tell your friends.  Ask people to help.  Even as little as $25/month would pay for all the girls transportation.  Here is an idea… pick a category from the monthly PDE budget, if you and/or your family can support that category monthly, GREAT!  If not, get together your small group, your church, some friends, and maybe together you can support us for that category or at least half of it every month.  In return, I will keep you updated with fun pictures and a chart once we have these monthly costs covered.

To give go here...https://donations.mtw.org/donate/default.aspx and put in this number 92413.  You can let them know it is a monthly donation.

As soon as you sponsor something, shoot me an email at ssinnes@gmail.com and I’ll start a chart to keep us updated!

Update #2

She’s here!  C arrived on the bus tonight with a dear friend Ericka from Tegucigalpa to visit PDE and get to know us a little bit.  She is 13 and 3 months pregnant.  And you can’t even tell, she is so tiny!  She is excited to show me her ultrasound pictures tomorrow and has lots of questions for me.  She was sick on the bus all the way here, so pray for her stomach to settle down some.  Coming to La Ceiba would be a huge change for her and take her very far away from her family.  She is nervous and uncertain about a whole lot of things… but told me that she is a Christian and is trying to trust God.  I got to share with her tonight about how young of a mother Mary likely was and how God gave her an incredible ability to trust Him in the midst of a really tough situation where she didn’t really know what the future would hold.  She trusted God and took Him at His Word.  I told C that I am praying the same for her, that she would be open to listen to the voice of God and then be obedient to walk in the path that He has for her.  She is so young and has a long road ahead of her.  Please pray!

Update #1

I think she said a total of about 20 words.  But Jennifer and I agreed that in her position we would probably be the same way.  She is nervous and doesn’t trust us yet and isn’t ready to put herself out there.  She is 18 years old and 5 months pregnant.  She is living with her family and doesn’t know what she really wants in the future.  She was finally able to tell me that she wants to keep pursuing the opportunity to live in PDE, so we’re going to get together again in January.  I want to meet her family as her parents seem to be supportive, they just don’t have the means to provide for her.  She wants to be a doctor!  So we’ll have to look into job possibilities in the medical field if she ends up coming… maybe a nurses aid? 

I love that people at church know her and have known her for awhile.  I love that this is a picture of the Lord’s pursuit of her as He continues to use the church to provide.  I love thinking that we could show her some continuity in life.

So no one is making a decision today.  But please pray for her over the next few weeks as she has time to think and pray.  She told me today that she is a Christian and that she would pray.  So lets join her.

A busy week

This past week was a particularly busy one!  We had the Luptons staying here at our house for a week and I got every afternoon to play with sweet little Fox.  Can I just say that I love long-time friendships.  And I love when long-time friends get married to great people and have cute kids and then let me play with them.  And then they go join MTW so that we even get to hang out and call it work at the same time!  Everyone loved Fox and called him a little doll baby because of his light hair and beautiful eyes.  We’re not so used to that around here.

Also this week Nicole and Angel got a taste of being team kids for the first time.  Laura and Andrew did a Bible school for all the kids on our team and were gracious enough to let my soon-to-be kiddos jump right in.  Of course the language was a little restricting, but they colored and did crafts and clapped and watched and then hung with me and Fox when the English got to be too much.  I’m so thankful for my time and how supportive they are of all the kids.

So Bible school was themed around Emmanuel and Laura and Andrew did an awesome job.  There were games and songs and stories and laughter and crafts and I don’t think anyone wanted them to go home.  Can you tell Nicole is a little mom?

This week was also the big Christmas show at church.  Let me tell you what?  I was not expecting it to be as awesome as it was.  It was great!  I loved every bit of it.  The Clow kids were in it all 7 nights and did a wonderful job!

 

 

 

 

 

Just some more tidbits about our time!

Graduation, Graduation, Graduation

The last 10 days have been packed full of graduation fun and festivities.

First there was Y who graduated from beauty school and man am I proud of her.  She has become a different person this past year.  Much more secure in who she is, proud to have accomplished something in her life, and excited about the future.  And she has grown to love Jesus and see Him as the most important thing, which is what matters the most.  I am SOOO proud to say that she got an internship at a beauty salon!  She went three days last week and this week started working there 7-5:30 every day!  That’s a lot of working and she is going to come home tired.  But I am so excited for everything that she will learn about beauty stuff, but more than that, about working hard and following rules and a schedule and being responsible.  Pray that she does well so that they will want to start paying her in the spring.

Then there was Jeffri.  This kid had me at the end of my rope.  He told me that graduation was three different days before finally talking to me Thursday night to tell me that it was going to be Friday night.  No one came to support him from his friends and family… and I wanted to cry just thinking about it.  He has worked so hard this year to do two grades in one year and I don’t think many people in his family get this far in school.  But Lesther and Hector and Kate and I were there cheering him on as he walked across the stage!  And he was smiling ear to ear.  He is now part of Kate’s ministry to street kids, so she and Hector will be walking with him to figure out what his future holds as far as schooling goes, but for now I’m just so excited for him!  And his mom, I wish she could have been there, but she did call the next day to thank us for going and for supporting him so well.

To finish out the week, Lesther and I were “God-parents”, the best I can think to translate it, for one of his nieces yesterday at her graduation from High School.  She is actually a huge blessing to me as she is going to volunteer some in the store for a few days while I try to figure out what to do about Y’s absence since she went to work at the Salon.

Potential

The day started busy and running late from the 7:30 traffic until I arrived 30 minutes late to my first appointment of the day.  A 19 year old girl who is 7 months pregnant.  Last year she graduated from 6th grade and now she has no idea what her future holds.  She has had a rough year and it seems as though she may be ready for a change, I am praying this for her heart.  Coming to PDE would be a complete change her in life, and from what I hear, also her family.  This is what we are about right?  Breaking a cycle?  So I get there this morning, late and frazzled… and she doesn’t show.  And I am disappointed, and frustrated, and maybe a little tired and sad.  But the Lord is good and she is going to try to come again tomorrow and it gave me time to talk to people who know her and get a little bit more of a big picture view of who she is and what this life change means for her.  Please pray for me tomorrow as I meet D for the first time.  Pray that she will come and that the Lord will give me good discernment.  Praise the Lord that she has been part of a ministry at our church so they know her and her family and can help me have all the information. 

Truth be told, I’m nervous to put new girls in the house.  I’m nervous that the money won’t come in to support them.  I’m nervous that we will be getting into something more than what I counted on, as has happened in the past.  I’m worried it won’t work out or they will need more than I can give.  And God says… “trust me”.  And I’m trying.  In my head I do b/c I know his promises are true.  But I am still anxious for all the what ifs.  Mainly money.  I hate that it matters, that we need it to live.  I hate that it is such a hold up for me in the area of faith.  I can trust God with health problems, unknown future, even mental health issues, easier than I can trust him to provide money.  Why is that?  Please pray for me for peace to trust that this is God’s ministry and He has it under control.

Because then there is this… a 13 year old is coming in on the bus tomorrow from the capital to meet me.  She is the sister of a street kid in a ministry that we know and love there.  She is 3 months pregnant.  Wow.  I am nervous to even know where to start with her.  There are so many questions.  There are health concerns and legal issues and potential behavior problems and timing issues.  And yet, I see that this could be so good for Y because there are so many similar things in her life to this new young girl.  Could it be that God wants her to mentor someone?  Could it be that we could bring this baby and her baby into our home?  I don’t know.  And I need a lot of prayer.

I would love to have a full house.  I would love to have a full budget.  I would love to be successful in everything I do and never have to face failure.  But more than all those things I want God to be glorified.  So tomorrow is a big day.  Please pray for the name of Christ to be lifted HIGH in everything that happens.

Twins?

We have formed an inseparable friendship between these two who spent 6 months living as siblings and now their faces light us when they get to see each other.

Kathy spent more of the evening chasing them around… good thing she has experience with twins!  Elias is like 1 1/2 of J and yet she insisted multiple times in putting him on her lap.  She took his face in her hands and made him look at the camera for pictures, and tried to tell him what to do for the majority of the time.  Doesn’t matter if he is bigger she is the big sister figure in this relationship.  Bossy to the core.

I love these little ones!

A Story about Grace

This week Y has been hard.  She is out of school so she has more free time.  She has been sick so she has been tired and irritable.  But the truth is, none of this is a good enough reason for the terrible attitude that she has been showing.  She fights the house moms at every turn, speaks disrespectfully, and has had more than one consequence this week.  She has had money cut from her paycheck for being consistently late to work, she has lost privileges in the house… the truth is there are times with her that I am at a loss.

Friday afternoon was no different.  She spent her pay money on sodas, juice, candy, and taxis and now doesn’t have enough money to buy her baby’s diapers.  She yelled at me and Oneyda, refused to obey, and ended up getting sent to her room.  She swore up and down she wasn’t coming to her own graduation dinner because there wasn’t water to get ready and because it didn’t matter and she didn’t care.  When I left the house I simply said, I love you and I’ll see you tonight.  It was met with… I’m not coming.  Okay fine, I’ll keep your presents if you don’t show.  I love you and goodbye.

6:30 rolls around and I go by to pick them up.  Low and behold it is time to leave and she is nowhere near ready.  We finally make it to the restaurant with everyone in tow and commence celebrating Y and her graduation.  For her this is huge.  She has previously graduated 6th grade, but now she graduated from a class with a life skill, able to work and support her daughter.  A friend at dinner found her a job in a salon and we go for the interview on Tuesday afternoon.  People generously gave her a new hairdryer, mirror, manicure supplies, professional hair-cutting books.  I so wish I could show you pictures.  She was literally gasping in delight.  She felt so loved, cared for, supported.

You know how Scripture says that it is the kindness of the Lord that leads us to repentance?  Tonight was a perfect example.

Right before we stepped out of the restaurant she pulled me aside and hugged me with tears streaming down her face.  Thank you Susana.  I am so sorry for how I’ve been acting.  After a whole week and punishments as well, this is the only thing that pushed her to real heartfelt repentance.  Wow.

Praise the Lord that He loves us with grace and mercy.  He shows us justice, but leads us to repentance through His kindness.  I need to know more of that in my life.  And pray that Y knows it as well.  Not just from us, but from Jesus.

Christmas!

No need to redo a great post by Kate with some really fun Christmas pictures of our house.

http://avoiceinthestreets.wordpress.com/2012/12/06/christmas-has-come-to-our-house/

Also please note… I was not included in a Christmas ornament exchange :(  But I did put ornaments from Costa Rica on the tree so that counts for something.  Also, the book called “Song of the Stars” is by the author of the Jesus Storybook Bible and is really super precious.

That’s all.

Mary

As roommates we are trying to do a weekly advent to remind ourselves in the midst of the business and different culture and traditions that the root of Christmas is still Jesus no matter where you go in the world.  Clearly we are awesome at doing advent together since it is week one and we did it tonight… Wednesday… instead of Sunday.  Whoops.  But tonight we read a passage from Martin Luther written about Mary and I was stuck by it.

Luther mentions that Mary was probably 13-15 years old when the Angel Gabriel appeared to her.  I think I have probably heard that before in years past, but it has never hit home like it did for me tonight.  That is younger than Y, our youngest mom.  A child was chosen by God to carry His Son, to give birth to Him, to care for him.  I can tell you that even in a culture where being a teenage mom is common and families start to form at a young age, there are still a lot of things that a 15 year old does not have the life experience to know about being a mom. 

I am seeing my sin in my life so much these days… I long for the best.  My car is terrible and I complain about it all the time.  It still breaks down about once every other week and is sucking my pocket dry and I want to replace it with a toyota or a honda, the best brand, something reliable, something I can trust.  I am planning a wedding and keep trying to take into consideration who would do the best job, run things on time, has shown in the past that they are capable.  And if I had a child of my own you can count on the fact that I would only want to leave him in the capable hands of an adult who I knew would love and protect him, provide, and wisely care for him. 

I can promise you that Mary was not the best choice.  Why not a seasoned mother of 4 who already knew how to deal with ear infections and midnight crying spells?  History doesn´t tell us if Mary´s parents were alive or if she had a good support system.  She and teenage Joseph delivered a baby in the middle of a barn for goodness sake… there wasn´t a seasoned grandma there helping them know what do to.  And yet God choose her.  Martin Luther sees to think it was a wise choice and in the end I think I agree.

Mary had faith.  She trusted in what her eyes could not see and what common sense told her could not be true.  She took God at his Word and made herself available to be used by Him.  She walked in faith as He laid every step out in front of her.  I want to see the whole picture, I get really frustrated with only knowing the first step.  But Mary could not possibly have known that night while talking to the angel that Joseph would accept her, that they would be safe on their journey to Bethlehem, that her delivery would go well, that Jesus would be healthy.  But she trusted and said… let it be to me as you have said.  One foot at a time, step by step in faith.

I´m challenged tonight in the details of my life to stop striving so hard for what I think would be good for me and just trust that the God of the universe knows me and my needs and I can trust Him and walk in faith.

Grace

“Grace is a power that lifts you out of the domain of darkness and transfers you to the domain of light.  Grace is God’s magnificent power erupting in your heart and soul by His own intervention so that you move from death to life, from darkness to light, from hell to heaven.  Grace is power that is embodied in a person.” – Joseph Ryan

I cannot even begin to list the ways that I have seen God’s grace at work in the past year.  I have seen girls really start to walk with Jesus.  I have seen the Lord giving them new spiritual life and hope for a new physical future as well.  This is the season of graduations here in Honduras and to see Y and Jeffri graduate, to me that is grace.  It is a sweet gift that the Lord has given them to know a new future.

Yesterday Y told me that every one in awhile she stops to think about what her life would look like if you had never come to PDE.  There are so many things that she wouldn’t know… but mainly, she wouldn’t know the Lord the way she does and she wouldn’t have hope for her future.  Praise the Lord for that.  He has given her new life, light, hope.

I’m a person who likes to be busy, I think life is kind of boring any other way.  But right now it’s a little too much… I can’t seem to find enough hours in the day.  And I’m convicted that I haven’t taken time to reflect, to think about grace, to praise the Lord for his work in my life and the lives of people around me.  Grace is being played out in practical form before my very eyes and some days I miss it.  God is erupting in my heart, He has moved me from death to life, from darkness to light, and I haven’t taken much time to contemplate that, to thank Him for it.  So today I will.

Jesus, the very Son of God, came to us to show us grace embodied in a person.  He showed us humility, service, obedience, mercy… and He made a way for us to know His Father.  Because of Jesus I can rejoice today and say that grace is exploding in my life that I am no longer a slave to sin, but I belong to the family of the true and living God!  And God didn’t stop there, He put me here with a front-row seat to how He is changing the lives of others and the power of His grace and Gospel in their lives as well.  I’m so thankful.

Lake Norman

This is quite honestly one of my favorite places in the world.  There are a lot reasons, but I think it centers around the fact that here I feel so at peace.  I love the water and being able to wake up the morning, look out my window, and see the lake.  My memories here center around family, games, good food, holidays, and enjoying each other’s company.  This year my grandparents are talking seriously about moving.  I know that one day they will have to, but it makes me so sad to think about it.  Maybe this is when it sinks in that I really live overseas and don’t get home much.  I will probably be able to count on one hand the number of visits that I have left to this house.  I hate that.  I want many more sails, many more canoe trips and picnics on the island.  I want to bring my kids here and teach them how to do all these things that I love.  But its probably not going to happen.  So until then I will just be content to soak it all up and enjoy this time. 

If you’re wondering… the Innes family may be the only family left on the planet that still plays croquet with great regularity.  And we’re mean about it.  Seriously.  This is a real sport people.  And we sail, as often as possible.  The little boat in the summer when its okay to get wet and the big boat in the winter when you hope to not get splashed because its November and its cold outside.

And then there is this… nothing like it.

So much to be thankful for…

And this list is by no means exhaustive.

1. Favorite places to go when I’m in the states.

2. This lovely lady who loves coffee, Jesus, and me!
 

3. A chance to share about what God is doing in Honduras through Puerta de Esperanza in front of churches and brothers and sisters in the family of God.

4. This wonderful man who loves me and serves me and loves the Lord and asked me to be his wife!

5. A chance to see “not so little” Wes who let me play trucks and read to him

6. Good friends who have stuck by me for a long time.

November 2012 Blog

Faithfulness in the mundane

My story is not incredible.  In fact, some days I feel like it is downright mundane.  Today I drove all over La Ceiba, about 8 times.  Errands and bills and the courthouse and people and cars and dresses and so much more.  And yet, as mundane as the daily to-do list can be, it got me thinking.  First of all, about me and how much God has grown and changed me in the last year and a half.  I had no idea that becoming a missionary would mean that I would become so many other things.  I have become a mama bear that is fierce for her cubs.  I love them dearly and want to protect and shelter them while at the same time preparing them before I throw them out into the real world.  While an actual mom gets about 18 years of this living with her kids under her own roof, I will get about 3 living 10 minutes away.  Sheesh.  I have become a money tree making almost daily trips to the cash machine at certain times of the month to pay rent and utilities on my own house, the girls house, and the store.  And then there is pay for all the employees and of course food money and doctors visits and graduation dresses.  In the mix something had to get forgotten and this month is was rent on PDE.  After having paid 6 months up front I had no idea I owed again this month, so its back to the bank for rent and the late fee.  And there is the whole store thing, yep we started one and I still have not the foggiest idea how to run it.  Whoops.  But we’re making money, praise Jesus.  And then there is prayer warrior.  I’ve realized how really very little I have to do with God making these girls into who He wants them to be.  I get to walk beside them and hold them up for a time and I pray that they will know in a deep way the God who walks with them for the rest of their lives through every step. 

And then I also got to thinking about all the little things, all the mundane tasks.  And I realized they have so much significance.  Getting Y’s dress measurements today was just another thing on the to do list, but to her it means the promise of graduation and a future and a job that supports her daughter.  And fighting with the electric company about the bill while having to double park my car and living in fear that someone would hit it seemed like an awfully big inconvenience.  But, these girls have experienced life in a shack with no power or running water and fighting with the power company is worth it to give them that small luxury.  Making copies and planning for my trip home is overwhelming at best, and yet when I think about how many girls and babies lives will be affected by the money that I will hopefully raise with these resources, I get a new perspective.    And my now familiarity with the courthouse and those who work there is definitely unexpected, but today it meant that a social worker took 2 hours to talk to G and try to understand her and where she is coming from.  And that she is worried for the little kids in the family and wants to work to help them.  Yep… these things today meant “wasted” gasoline and retracing my steps a hundred times, nothing seemed to need to be done at the same time in the same place.  But everything is worth it.  It’s faithfulness in the mundane with an eternal perspective… that’s what God asks of us, every day, be faithful.

Come see me!

Friday night I am flying into Raleigh-Durham airport and the coolness of fall… yay!  I’m spending a few weeks in the Carolinas to share what the Lord is doing here through the ministry of Puerta de Esperanza and also praying that the Lord will use this time to allow me to make connections for financial support.  We are in need of one-time and monthly supporters for this ministry.  I will be touching base with 9 different church in 2 1/2 weeks… how’s that for busy?  But… if you are in the area, I would love to see you!

I will be sharing in Columbia, SC, Cary, NC, and Charlotte, NC.  Here are some churches and dates and times.  You are welcome to join us!

Columbia: November 11th at 10am for Sunday school and 11am for worship
Eau Claire Presbyterian Church
629 Wildwood Ave., Columbia, SC 29203

Cary: November 18th at 6:00pm
Peace Presbyterian Church
1777 W. Chatham St. Cary, NC 27513

Charlotte: November 25th at 6:00pm
Sovereign Grace Presbyterian Church
3326 Archdale Dr., Charlotte, NC 28210

I would love to see you there :)

Family

Pero si a ustedes les parece mal servir al Señor elijan ustedes mismos a quienes van a servir… por mi parte, mi familia y yo serviremos al Señor! Josúe 24:15

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

This month we had a great sermon series at church on the family.  It was so good to have the girls sit in the congregation and hear a room full of people saying that they agree that a family should be based on Christ first and foremost.  And then they heard idea after idea about how to implement Christian principles into their own families.  It was hard to sit with them knowing that the family being presented is a mom, dad, and kids and that their families just don’t look like that for now.  They are a nuclear family with their respective babies.  And they are part of a bigger family in PDE and in the church.  So, they have to figure out how to be a nuclear family with the responsibility of raising their kids in a Godly way in the midst of living with other people and still learning themselves!  What a challenge.  But God is so faithful to them.

Monday night we sat and talked through all the principles that we had studied in church and how they can start to implement them.  Some of the ideas that they came up with…

1. Have devotionals as a family… sit and read the Jesus Storybook Bible with their kids before bed
2. Share responsibilities within the home… have the 2 year old help me make the bed
3. Have intentional conversations… take the time to sit with the babies when they first wake up and ask them questions even if they can’t answer them yet
4. Do things together frequently… take their babies on “dates” to the mall or to eat ice cream
5. Teach your kids to worship God… let the babies see them worshipping in church on Sundays and reading their Bible throughout the week, also sing worship songs with them
6. Model Biblical truths… watch the way they speak and the things they do because the babies are learning from them
7. Pray often… pray with their kids
8. Be generous… they don’t have much money, but they were thinking about how they can use their gifts to serve others
9. Join a service group… both have volunteered to work in the children’s ministry
10.  Put your walk with the Lord as the most important thing… make sure that as they get busier that they are making time for Jesus and for their babies

I was just so proud of them as I see the Lord really moving in their hearts to want to be good moms to their kids.  They are striving for a Christ-centered family as they learn what that looks like.  Please pray for them to be able to lead their little families well and also live well in community with each other!

Prepare Ye the Way

Caedmon’s Call

The Word of the Lord came one evening
Concerning His bride's great sin
He'd send down His Word to renew her
To prepare for the Bridegroom again

The Word said repent
From seeking vain glories
While the gifts in the Lord's name you give
Repent of all the first stones cast to kill
While your own self-righteousness lives

Prepare ye the way for the Lord
Prepare ye the way for the kingdom
Prepare ye the way
Prepare ye the way for the Lord

The Word said repent and turn from your strivings
Repent and turn from your hatred
Repent from the doctrines of men that divide
And fear like the wedding gown ripped

Walk in His love like newborn children
Walk in His love, let the wedding gown mend
Walk in His love, with humility come with pure hearts
And cast all your cares to the wind

The Word of the Lord came one evening
Concerning His bride's sin
He assured me we will be forgiven
And then let the marriages begin

In Honduras

You can buy…

a single sheet of computer paper
a single bandaid from the pharmacy
a single pill of whatever over-the-counter medicine you may need
a single plastic grocery bag, or buy them by the pound
a single plastic disposable cup
a single straw

We are not into wasting money around here, or buying in bulk.  If all you need is one bandaid, why buy the whole box?  My thought process… I will probably hurt my finger again at some point in my life… I should be prepared.  Maybe I’m a boy scout. :)

Oh the many differences.

When they want to share…

Yesterday C called me in the morning because she had learned cool things about the Lord and wanted to tell me.  Isn’t that awesome?!?  She is just exploding in how much she is learning about Jesus these days.  She is reading CS Lewis “Screwtape Letters”, and John Piper “Passion of the Christ” with me once a week and then reading Rick Warren “Purpose Driven Life” with a friend from church.  She told me the other day… Susana, I’m just learning so much about the Lord, its
amazing!  And I could not be more excited.  I am of course happy to study with her, but also so happy that she is studying on her own, reading the Bible in the mornings, and making friends at church who push her to know Jesus more.  The Lord is so much bigger than just one gringa missionary.  I long for them to feel connected in the church community here and to really know the Lord and be growing on their own.  And I see that happening and I’m just so thankful.

Introducing…

I am SO excited to finally get to show you pictures and introduce you to this sweet boy that you all have been to faithful to lift up in prayer!  This is Elias!!!!  As of today he is no longer a resident of Puerta de Esperanza (which is why I can share his picture).  His mom signed the papers today and he officially went to live with the Clows… teammates of mine here in La Ceiba.  To keep following his story with them you can read their blog.  I am so proud of G for unselfishly doing the best thing for her baby for this time.  She is at peace with her decision and fighting every day to get better so that she can be his mom again in the future.  The Clows have been wonderful to her and she knows that they love and support her and want the best for she and Elias.  Isn’t that the Lord’s kindness?  She feels so blessed by the Lord’s provision for her and the Clow family is a huge part of that.  Wow.

I will say, this is going to be a week of adjustment in a lot of ways for a lot of people.  So please keep praying.  Little J has basically grown up over the last 9 months as E’s twin.  And at 2 years old it is kind of hard to explain why he isn’t around anymore.  Same for Elias.  Hard for him to understand another house change, people change, change in consistency and authority figures.  And why there is a huge dog outside all the time… he likes dogs, but Oso was a little much :)  So pray for their little baby hearts to know somehow that they are well loved by so many and by Jesus most of all.  And then there are the aunts and grandma that have loved Elias so well over the last few months, really taking on his full care, discipline and loving on him.  There were definitely tears shed over this little guy today, even though they know they will see him again.  And there is a family of 6 who just took in a 2 year old!  They are just going to be exhausted, so pray for them :)  And pray for me too as I love this little guy and love his mom so very much.  I feel a special connection with him since they lived with me for a time and I was his care-taker for awhile… and maybe just because we have been fighting so hard for him these last few months.  So pray for lots of wisdom in how to love him well and his mom well and fight for what is best for both of them at the same time.

But, I can say nothing more than just… thank you Jesus.  I praise Him for the way that everything has worked out.  He has really faithfully gone before us in every step, in HIS timing and through his provision.  I have prayed many times this week that this sweet little boy will grow up to be a man of God who walks with Him faithfully and understands His grace.  I pray that one day He will know and understand how much the Lord has fought for Him and provided for Him and that he will praise Him for it. 

So many have you have let us know that you have been joining us in giving this little boy and this situation over to the Lord.  I really am so grateful for your prayers and your love for this little one who has stolen our hearts.  And man, if he blew you kisses just one time and grinned that little grin at you, he would steal your heart too!

Pay Day

I am so excited for the girls!  Today they receive their very first paycheck!  Saturday we had a basic budgeting class.  I made them a budget and they have to follow it… they have to write down everything they spend and we’ll evaluate it at the end of the month.  It just makes me proud of them that they have worked hard and are finally going to know what it feels like to support their family.

They will start paying all the milk and diapers for their baby, saving $25/month, paying towards food, paying towards medical things like doctor visits and medicine, tithing, paying for transportation, and then they’ll have $15/month for things that they want to buy.  Honestly I think they’ll be walking more now that transportation comes out of their own money :)

Thinking for the future… they can rent a room for them and their baby for $75/month.  So if they live with us even just another year and a half… they will have saved up $450 to be able to put towards a new living arrangement.  So I’m just proud of them and this big step that we are taking towards helping them in the future.

Stunned by God’s Goodness

I am so proud of G this afternoon.  Its been a long week of waiting and being worried, psych appointments and more waiting.  Wednesday we didn’t get to see the judge because she forgot her ID card and we didn’t have the right shoes on… who would have thought?  So we were back there this morning waiting for another few hours.  But in the end, she did exactly what she needed to do for her son.  She told the judge that although she loves him, she knows that she cannot take care of him right now and she wants him to be with a loving family.  So… little E is going to go live with the Clows!  For those of you who don’t know, this is another family on my missions team who are so excited to have this little guy temporarily join their family.

The next step is for the judge to draw up the paperwork and we are going back Tuesday just for her to sign the papers and from that moment E can move to the Clow’s house.  Please pray for everything to be ready when we get there Tuesday.  We are weary of this being so drawn out.

Although we are weary from all the waiting, the Lord is so sweet to give me a front-row seat this morning to how He is working in G’s life and why I need to trust His timing.  As we were sitting waiting this morning the girl who is the assistant to the judge came walking by and recognized G.  They met awhile back and had been friends that lost touch.  After sitting and talking the girl walked away to find her mom, who also works at the courthouse.  They came back and asked G to move in with them!  They also have another friend at the courthouse who is looking to hire house help, so G went to meet her and that went well.  So the Lord is blessing her with a new start!  They want to help her find a job, make a budget, opening a savings account, etc.  They want to help her get her life together to be able to be E’s mom again in the future.  They know that she has mental health issues and want to help her make her appointments and take her medicine.  Its such a huge blessing! 

G was telling me just this morning how she went to church last night and heard a sermon about the Lord being a rock in the midst of trials.  She was telling me how she felt like the pastor was speaking directly to her.  She was praying to be able to have faith and trust God, but had no idea how the Lord could possible help her out of her situation.  She has been thinking a lot about what she learned during her time at PDE about parenting and how loving her son means a mix of grace and love with discipline.  She is scared that she won’t be able to do that well, but is trusting that the Lord with that as well.  When we left the courthouse she was so encouraged.  Encouraged that the Lord is providing for her, encouraged that He is giving her strength to do what she needs to for her son, just smiling. 

I could not be more proud of her or more astounded with how the Lord is working!  Please keep praying, the Lord is moving in a mighty way!

proud

“Today I went to play soccer.  I scored 3 goals and my team won.”

Yesterday I wrote this very short story (in Spanish of course) on my notebook while sitting at a table in Pizza Hut.  And my little buddy Kevin read it all out loud to me!  I could not believe it.  Remember Kevin?  In February of last year he had learned to write his name for the first time at 10 years old.  He didn’t have a birth certificate and wouldn’t have ever gone to school.  Thanks for some of your generosity, he is in school and moving towards a much brighter future!  I could not be more proud of him and his face beams when he finishes reading and looks up at me.  Seriously I melt.

Prayers

I’m about to go to sleep with a big day waiting tomorrow.  At 6:45am I leave to pick up a scared momma to get her to court on time.  Tomorrow G has to make some really difficult decisions for her son.  She has to think through what it means to leave him well, not just what she wants.  She has to come to terms with her mental illness and the limitations that it brings on her current ability to be a mom.  She has to decide to fight for health and a future with him.  And she has to do something harder than I can imagine… ask that her son be given to someone else for a time until she can take care of him.  Please pray.  Pray that she will have the strength to do what she needs to do.  Pray that she will know God’s peace.  Pray that we will be able to love her well and support her through this difficult day.  And pray for little E and the transition that he will soon be facing in his life, whatever that may look like.  We’re all going to have transition… those who have been his caretakers at PDE, those who will soon have him full-time, those of us who see him on a daily basis who won’t anymore, etc.  So we’re bound to be a crying mess.  You can pray for us too :)  We sure do love this little guy.

A week and a half in…

We have a full store!  And boxes still to unpack.  THANK YOU to all who have donated clothes or come to shop :)  On Tuesday we are planning to have a grand opening.  These first two weeks have been practice for the girls in writing receipts and keeping the books and learning how to be organized and run a clean store and such.  So Monday is pay day and we’re going to have our grand opening when everybody has money!

Thanks for all your prayers and support.  It is so fun to see this become a reality. 

You can pray for the other two girls who are working with us… Leili and Beti.  Beti is C’s cousin and Leili has been part of the Pettengill’s ministry in Armenia Bonito for a number of years.  It has been a joy to get to know them better and have chances to talk about Jesus with them.  Please pray for lots of chances for spiritual growth for each of these four girls as we spend time together, do Bible studies during their down-time and just get to know each other more.

The Lord is working… its great to be here to see it!

My only comfort

A friend put this on her blog last week and I fell in love with it.  I’ve been reading over it every morning since.  It’s the first question from the Heidelberg catechism. 

What is your only comfort in life and in death?

That I am not my own but belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watched over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven: in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.

Praise be to God!

Family Day

Yesterday morning the church had family day.  There were sack races and water balloon toss, trampoline and bounce house, and so much more.  I love that the church puts so much emphasis on family.  This month the whole sermon series is on family, “how to be a family that loves God”, etc.  I am excited that the girls are in this environment where they are being challenged to raise their children to love Jesus!

Here are some pictures of all the fun!

Rebecca has the energy to keep up with Nicole!

Hopefully he didn’t get knocked over shortly after this picture…

I love boys… of course the balloon can double as a basketball!

This little one LOVES the slide!  I wish I could show you the huge grin on her face…

In other news… W came in second place in the baby crawling contest, the “Innes family” won the family marathon, and Rebecca was a finalist in the sack races.  We’re pretty awesome.

Lets be clear… I had no idea what I was signing up for in the family marathon.  But it started at the bottom of a STEEP hill and you had to keep your whole family together and run all the way up the hill and around the property… when I figured it out I tried to back out, but my family wouldn’t let me :)  So five of us competed and we won!