Just a little beach fun

On Wednesday Ahnalies and I headed out of town to go visit V and we took K with us.  The good news?  I think they are going to be friends :)  They just hit it off and played together like little kids.  They swam and played in the sand and chatted away about where they are from.  They made fun of me and Ahnalies and talked about baby names.  It was just a sweet time... 

V is doing so much better.  She is adjusting and learning to live the quite life in the pueblo.  We are still trying to get her school papers together and help her finish out her 9th grade year before the baby is born in July.  And we are hoping to find out in the next few weeks if she is having a boy or a girl!  Either way she already has cute names picked out :)  She is reading through all of the Narnia books and I just took her a new Billy Graham book that one of our teams brought down that is a clear Gospel presentation.  She still would say she is not a believer, but is curious enough to read whatever books I put in her hands!  So... keep praying!

Friday she gets to see her family for a visit and she is so excited, but a little anxious that it is going to make it even harder to be away from them.  So tomorrow afternoon say a prayer for V that God will put a peace in her heart that HE is home and she needs only to run to HIM.

Preschool

About a month ago we started preschool for these little cuties!

Between the moms and beloved interns we take turns teaching in English twice a week.  The boys are really enjoying it and it just makes me laugh that we ended up with all 2 and 3 year old boys!  But that means we can do fun things like racetrack letters and there is no little girl asking why she is playing with cars.

W has been a little sad since J left since she had been basically his sister and playmate as long as he can remember.  So this gives him a welcome change in his routine to spend time with other kids his age and work on his English.  He is hilarious because he just copies everything the other boys are saying even when he has no idea what it means.  The other day they kept telling me what colors they wanted while using crayons...

"I want yellow, I want red, ..."  So W all morning just kept saying, "I want, I want, I want..."  but never followed it up with wanted anything... just practicing I guess :)

And my mama's heart is so thankful for this time for my little Andres that really needs the social interaction and learning time.  He loves puzzles, books, and anything else that is a learning tool!  He eats it up and I am so thankful!

Nan in a magazine!

NETWORK W14 Funraising by ssinnes

Update on V

Here's a little picture of why life in La Ceiba in so beautiful :)  

The home where V is currently staying is near the beach outside of town so last time we went to visit we were able to go down and take some of the older girls swimming.  I chilled out on a hammock and just got to watch them run around and play and swim like little kids!  It brought such joy to my heart to see her smiling and laughing and bonding with the other girls.

It has not been the easiest transition.  She misses her mom and sister and has been forced into a major life change.  She has had a hard time adjusting to the home where the other girls are all in school and have more to do than she does.  It is a slow pace of life in a safe place and after living in a dangerous environment, it is a peaceful change, but takes some getting time to adjust.  

I talked to the missionary who is with her last night and he said she seems to be doing much better.  She is making jewelry and swimming and hanging out with the other girls there just resting and growing a baby :)

She had an ultrasound and everything looks great!  The baby is healthy and growing and due on July 8th!  We could not be more excited to have a newborn coming to PDE!

Please continue to pray for her as she is surrounded by people who love Jesus.  Pray for her to understand her need for a Savior and come to know the Lord.  Pray for us as we go often to visit, that our conversations would be Christ-centered and show her more of the Lord every time.  And pray that God would be preparing her heart for yet another transition in July when she will come to live with us!

New life

If you know me you know there is little in this world that I love more than holding a newborn baby.  I could seriously snuggle a newborn all day long!  So I was so excited when Glenis called me this week to let me know her baby had come.

You may remember that Glenis used to live with us in PDE and is now out on her own living with her boyfriend and his family.  Her life is far from easy, but I am so thankful that she has fought hard to be healthy for her new little one and the past two days when I have gone to see her she has had this smile plastered on her face.  She is so full of joy over this new little life!

We have gone through so much with Glenis and will always consider her part of our PDE family.  Today I was even able to take our house moms over to visit with her, they hadn't seen her in awhile, but were so happy to see her smiling and joyful.  And she was thrilled to see Doña Oneyda, who has been a mother figure for her.

Truth is that it has been rough going and there have been times when I have been unable to go see Glenis for various reasons... but God is always in control and His plans are always bigger and better.  I am so thankful that in this moment I can go see her, hold her new little boy, pray with and for her, talk to her about Jesus, and continue to remind her that she is loved by us and by the Lord.

Pray with me for this little boy and his mom.  Please pray that she will stay healthy and able to be a really good mom for him.  Pray for her to really know and walk with Jesus and pray that for her boyfriend as well!

New Girl!

I am so excited to be able to introduce to you V.  She is 16, pregnant, and the newest of our girls at PDE :)  Due to her history and situation, I can't show you a picture of her, but she is beautiful and sweet.  

For me this has been one of the most heart-wrenching stories of girls that I have met and I'm just so thankful that the Lord brought her to us.  She comes from loving family, from all outward appearances.  She is really close with her mom and sister and they cried their eyes out saying goodbye.  They have one brother that was working driving buses to support all 6 of them (two younger siblings).  But he recently gave up his job because of the instability of the neighborhoods he had to drive through... so they have no income.  V was unable with this pregnancy to stay in her current neighborhood, it just wasn't safe.  So God used some of our teammates to connect her to me and now she is one of ours!

For the duration of her pregnancy she is out of town at a different home where she can receive health care and we can go visit and get to know her better.  But as soon as the baby is born in June or July she'll be back :)

Please pray for this new girl and her unborn little one.  She has told me that she is not a Christian, but is willing to listen and learn about Jesus.  Pray that she will come to know HIM as Lord and Savior and also a sweet refuge for her soul.

Birthday

Birthdays are always fun!  On Sunday Jennifer and I got to go visit Y and J at their new home.  It was Y's 18th birthday.  I can't believe it... two years ago hers was the first birthday we celebrated in PDE, just 8 days after she moved in.

She is doing really well... but its hard.  Real life has been an adjustment for her as she has had to find work and figure out a lot of things on her own.  But she is dong it!  She has a full-time job and is able to make ends meet and help her mom out every month as well.  She couldn't find a job at a beauty salon and I think she would still like to get back into that as soon as possible, but for now she is working, which is the important thing.

As far as church is concerned, we were so excited to get to take her to a church plant from the church we attend in La Ceiba while we were there.  They are very small, less than 20 people.  It was really a blessing because some friends of ours go there and were able to pick Y up and take us with them, they were having a special lunch and we got to meet everyone.  I am really hoping and praying that she will choose to go back, but it is expensive in taxis and I'm just not sure she has the money.  So please pray that God will open up a ride for her to be able to go to and from church and get involved with these families that really love Jesus.

J is growing tons and chatting up a storm.  She was so happy to see us and did not want us to leave without her.  Somehow she really thought she was coming with us :)

I am so thankful that the Lord continues to give us a chance to part of these two precious lives.  He is continually reminding me that HE does the work in them, they were only with us for a time.  But HE goes with them and changes hearts and knows exactly what they need at every moment.  I love getting to know them continually and see them every once in awhile.  And I'm thankful they aren't too far away...