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!

W’s birthday!

Yesterday our littlest guy turned one.  I can hardly believe it.  He was only 3 months old when they came to live with us.  Wow.  He has learned to walk, he answers the phone saying “allo”, he eats real food, and fights with the big kids.  He’s growing up :)

Yesterday we went out to Belfate to the children’s home where his mom lived the whole time she was pregnant with him.  This home is really her family and the missionary there is the most father-figure that she has ever had.  She loves them and they love her and W, so it was a huge blessing to spend the day with them.  The 27 kids living at the home spoiled W big-time.  Dona Oneyda made 2 delicious cakes, we had a pinata, and overall just a wonderful time together.

This is C telling me about the day that W was born…

Some friends from Costa Rica are here visiting… its so fun to have them!  Thanks for coming Anita and Stephanie!

Lots of kids!

School supplies

Its that time of year again!  We are collecting school supplies to help kids here in La Ceiba go to school.  This year I was able to give uniforms and school supplies to 3 cute little boys thanks to your donations!  Also the PDE girls each got a backpack full of school stuff that has lasted them through the year.  So THANKS for your generosity in the past. 

If you would like to donate school supplies this year, they go to benefit all of our ministries here on Team Honduras.  Here’s how you do it…  Please purchase school supplies and mail them to this address by December 31, 2012:

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

Let us know if you would rather send money and our team can purchase the supplies in Honduras.