Changes

It happened awhile ago, but I just haven't had the time to sit and write about it.  Remember V who was planning to move in with us in July when her baby comes?  She was living outside of the city escaping the danger of her situation so that she could safely have and raise her child.  We went to see her about once a week and were slowly getting to know her.

And yet... she left.

She decided to go back home.  To her family that she missed.  But to danger... danger now for all of those whom she loves.

It just makes me sad.  Girls so young being forced into making decisions that require more compassion and wisdom than they have.  At 16 they don't have a lot of motivation to look far into the future and make a well-informed decision.  They see today, tomorrow, and how they feel... oh so much of how they feel.  They don't see that a hard few months gets them a totally different future.  They don't see that its worth it.

And they need Jesus.  V has told me outright that she is not a believer.  She has been reading some books about the Lord and we have prayed together and had various conversations about Jesus.  I am going to try to keep up with her as best I can.  Please pray.  Pray for the Lord to protect she and the baby and her whole family.  And pray that she will know Jesus and through Him mature in wisdom.

Next week we interview another 16 year old girl from the capitol city.  She has two children - a two year old and a newborn baby.  We will drive down and pick them up on Monday.  There could be more changes in the air.........

Support Raising

This has been a full week for sure!  Ten days in the US traveling around NC and SC looking for people who want to partner with Puerta de Esperanza in monthly financial support.  I'm meeting with three churches, some small groups, some individuals and families and praying that God will move in hearts to provide monthly supporters for this ministry.

We are currently $3800/month under budget.  That would be terrifying... except that this ministry belongs to the Lord and He has always provided for us.  I am confident that He will continue to do so!  I am just waiting for Him to let me meet the churches and families that He is going to use.

If you are interested in being a monthly supporter, it can be anywhere from $10/month paying for two weeks of diapers for baby O to $350/month paying our house mom's salary.  Or  more or less... shoot me an email and let me know at ssinnes@gmail.com  I would love to be able to start crossing off these elephants and keep you updated with how the Lord is providing!  If you are a current supporter... we are THANKFUL for you!  You are an instrumental part of what the Lord is doing in La Ceiba.  If you'd like to consider upping your monthly support, I'm happy to be in touch about that as well.

To give online go to https://donations.mtw.org

To mail a check... make it out to Mission to the World with #92413 in the memo line

Send it to PO Box 116284 Atlanta, GA 30368

Don't want to forget

I just have to record a conversation this week with my kids because I don't want to forget it when they are older and well traveled and speak perfect English :)

A: Mom, how many pulperias are there in the world? (pulperias are little neighborhood stores that sell all your basic cooking needs.  Its genius and they should be in every American neighborhood...)
Me: I don't know.  Just think about how many are in Mami Berta's neighborhood
A: (counting....) like 20
Me: Yep, and that's one neighborhood, so I don't know how many there are in the world.
A: Well how many are there in the United States?
Me: The US doesn't have pulperias
All kids: (agast)  Where do you buy your food??????????????
Me: At the grocery store
A: What if its raining?
Me: You still go to the grocery store
A: You walk there?
Me: No you drive
A: Mom... people do not all have cars
Me: Right and sometimes people use public transportation, but most drive
A: Okay well what if its Christmas (translation, that's how they say when its snowing), then where do you buy your food?
Me: The grocery store
A: Well then you can't drive because its Christmas.
Me: They clear the roads, or if you live up north you have special tires or put chains on your tires
A: Mom, those don't exist
Me: okay
A: Okay but mom if its Christmas how do you wash you clothes?
Me: You have a dryer... most people have a washer and a dryer
A: Right but its Christmas so you still can't go outside to wash them
Me: No, your washing machine and dryer are inside your house
All kids: Mom... no one has their washing machine in their house.
Me: okay

Enter google images... search for grocery stores, snow tires, snow plows, chains on tires, laundry rooms... thanks internet!

Seriously its time for these kids to come to the states for a visit...

Happiness

Happiness is a mama surrounded by her little boys!  She was so happy :)

I just marvel at the relationship that God has allowed me to have with this young mom.  I continue to just get chances to spend time with her and encourage her.  I pray that she is hearing words of truth from the Gospel through me and that you would cling to Jesus.  She lives amidst people who believe all manner of different things... many superstitions that are biblically unfounded.  So her daily life is full of lies.  Pray that she will seek hard after the Lord and find truth and peace in Him alone.

Although all these little boys don't live in the same house, they are well-loved by their mom.  And she is so thankful for the love and support that her middle son is getting.  And she was over the moon excited when he spoke to her in Spanish and counted and shared his chips.  His face still lights up when he sees her and that makes a mama's heart happy!

I know many of you have prayed for Glenis for over a year now and I encourage you to keep lifting her up to the Lord!  We so value your faithfulness to know our ministry and our girls from afar and your faithfulness to pray for their hearts to belong to Jesus.

Back in La Ceiba!

The Lord is just funny sometimes in the way that He works things out.  One the biggest lessons of the past six months for me has been learning that success and failure are often opposite in the kingdom of God.  Things that seem like failure are so clearly a part of His bigger plan to work in hearts and draw people to Himself.  And this week we have seen that in the lives of Yajaira and Juli!

You may remember that in November Yajaira left PDE to go and live with her mom in Roatan.  It was so hard for us to see her go since they have lived with us for two years and we were all the family that Juli had ever known.  But since she was not 18, we had no choice but to release her to her family... and we prayed so hard for God to use her time with them to reconcile some deep heart wounds that she has had for most of her life.

God used her time with her family to get her attention like never before.  After two years of using her mom as an "out" whenever things would get tough.  "Its okay, kick me out, I'll just tell my mom to come get me." She learned that sometimes it is better to stick it out and learn to live with the people you are with because wherever you are it is hard to live with other sinners!  Things there were not a walk in the park either.

She also clung hard to the things she learned at PDE... it was hard to watch other people watch her daughter while she went to work every day knowing that they used bad language and yelled and didn't treat her well at times.  She would call telling me how much her heart hurt for Juli and how thankful she was for how she had grown up at PDE.  She understands more and more the necessity of good, Godly discipline and the need to show her daughter how much she loves her.

But most importantly she remembered what she learned about Jesus.  She called me one day and asked me to help her find a new church.  After two years of fighting with me over the doctrine at the church we attend she went back to the kind of church she grew up in and couldn't stay there because the guilt and shame of the works-based Gospel was just too much.  So she clung to grace and to the truth of the Bible that we had studied.  She was able to verbalize that what she was hearing taught is not what we had read together in Scripture and she wanted to believe what the Bible says!  Praise the Lord!

Then she turned 18! :)  She is not at odds with her family, I think her time with them was so necessary and that they will continue to be in touch and have visits together.  But as a full-grown adult she decided to move back to La Ceiba, continue working in the Salon where she is growing in her field, and go back to attending the same church we attend.

I love this ministry so much because it allows us to become family for these girls.  We were able to help her find an apartment/room to rent at my mother-in-law's house.  She is paying my sister-in-law to watch Juli while she works.  And she is learning to be independent!  We helped her get set up and she also has her savings she saved up while at PDE.  She is all set!  And Lesther's family is being wonderful helping in her real world transition... independent, while being surrounded by a family who is not going to let you fall on your face too hard :)

Juli is going to start preschool with us tomorrow and get to see her brother W and her Abuela Oneyda at least twice a week.  And she is SO excited.  She and W danced around the room together when they saw each other again for the first time!

Join us in praising the Lord for what He is doing in the lives of these two precious girls.  And pray that He will sustain Yajaira as she learns to be independent and live on her own while trying to follow Him.