The Hunts are on the Move

As I sit and type, I smile with tears in my eyes as I look back upon Gods faithfulness and as I look forward to His GREATNESS! Our family is going to be going through some changes and transition in the next several months. I stand amazed at how the Lord continually provides, in ALL areas of life!

Ever since living in Honduras I would occasionally look up jobs for Stephen online. We knew that we were not planning to be in Honduras forever so I would just check and see what was available. So last fall I found what looked like a great opportunity so I sent it to Stephen and he looked at it. He didn’t say anything to me, so I figured he wasn’t interested. Well about 2 days later he said “so I looked at that school . . . and I’m interested” I was really surprised because I had sent him a lot of other emails with potential jobs and nothing ever stood out. BUT this one we were both interested in. So we got in touch with the school, skyped with the administrator, asked a lot of questions and started the application process. Well, then Raegan arrived and put things on hold – so it wasn’t until January that we continued with the process. Stephen submitted everything and we told the Lord, if they offer us the job then we will take it and if not then we will stay. Well we waited a few weeks, we knew other people were applying as well. Then the email came from the administrator offering Stephen the PE position at Pan American Christian Academy (PACA) in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, yes BRAZIL!

We never dreamed that the Lord would have us in Honduras as long as He has and we never fathomed the idea of moving further south. But the Lord is faithful, come to find out the administrator of paca was at Pinares almost 3 years ago, with the ACSI accreditation team. He was able to observe Stephen’s work and see the school's athletic program. It is cool to us that even three years ago God had this plan in the works! God has continued to amaze us with his faithfulness and care on our lives. GOD is so GOOD!

This is a picture of the school PACA

You can be in prayer for our family as we finish up our time in Honduras as goodbyes will be difficult. This is where Stephen and I started our lives together; it’s where Raegan was born. It was our first home. Honduras will always hold a special place in our hearts. 

As we make this transition you can pray specifically for our visa process as we need visas to enter Brazil. You can also pray for us and our families as we move further away. We also need prayer as we begin the process of support raising! We will be using ABWE (association of Baptist for World Evangelism) as our mission board. So please pray for us as we have so many changes and transitions in the coming months.

We are beyond confident that this is where the Lord wants us and are thrilled and energized by this new adventure. We are confident that HE will provide so please be a part of this journey with us by praying us through! We serve a mighty, awesome, faithful God.

Mommy-Hood in Honduras

You know when I pictured myself as a stay at home mom, I wasn't expecting it to actually mean “stay at home”. That term here in Honduras is very literal, I literally can’t go much of anywhere! When I read other mommy blogs some say “I go to Target just be around ppl.” Or “I love meeting other moms at the park” yeah here in Honduras there is no Target and no parks. Even a hot shower is hard to come by these days – last night I went to bed with a wet shampooed head simply b/c we ran out of water. Life just isn’t the same, so I have to be a little more creative! I have been watching a little boy named Sammy recently; his mom is a missionary pharmacist that works with medical mission teams. So Sammy comes to my house three days a week and he Raegan and I get to hang out! Now neither one of them can talk, so basically I talk to myself all day long, most days I can’t wait until Stephen gets home just so that someone will respond to me haha!

There is a moms group here, those of us with husbands that work at the school, we get together every Thursday morning! Sometimes we just chat, other times we talk about the portions of scripture that we are reading together, and we have on occasion baked some bread together! This past Thursday was a bit more chaotic than most. My poor friend Melanie about 2 weeks ago was doing a "trick" with her husband in the kitchen with a machete . . . you can only imagine where this is going J needless to say her hand got sliced instead of the roll. So my poor friend now has a cast on her hand, and with 4 kids that can be challenging. So last Thursday our friend Melodee and I decided to go to Melanies house so that we could help her cut up some potatoes for dinner. She lives across the street from the school, so Melodee and I walked over with our strollers – I also had Sammy on this Thursday so he was in the stroller and Raegan was in the carrier. So we get to the gate and Melanie was on her way out to unlock it for us when her youngest took a spill in the driveway so she sent the key up the gate with her daughter Abigail. Melodee and I let ourselves in the gate and were in the process of locking it back up when Woody (the guard dog) came sauntering up the driveway. Now my mommy brain was not working fast enough to do anything, just to think about doing something. This is what was going on in my head “if I let the stroller go Sammy will go flying down this hill of a driveway, I can’t park the stroller b/c there is dog poop everywhere, Melodee can’t let go of her stroller for the same reasons” and by the time all of that went through my head, and nothing came out of my mouth. . . Woody (pictured below) was out the gate.  

Well at that point I realized the longer we wait the farther the dog is going to run, and the harder it would be to catch him. And I was not about to let my friend with the bum hand go chasing this dog that I should have somehow stopped from getting out. So I find a safe poop free zone to park Sammy and take off down the road, in my flip flops and Raegan bouncing in the carrier. I jog past the schools guard shack and ask for his help to get the dog . . . he responds by letting me know he will have to go talk to his boss first. I was like forget it; if I can still see the stupid dog then I was determined to get him. So Raegan and I continue on down the dirt road for a pretty good distance. Then finally I see the dog dart to the right and that’s when I realize “yes he has trapped himself” he had gone out around and then behind this barb wired fence so I stood at the end of it so that he had to come to me. Perfect, my plan had worked I had the dog! Well when I took off running after this dumb dog I did not think about the long walk back. So off we trudge back around the windy road, Raegan and I being drug by Woody. Raegan didn’t seem to mind b/c she had fallen asleep J A few moment later Melanie met us with a leash, completely surprised that I had caught Woody. Quite honestly I was rather surprised myself, anyone who knows me, knows that I HATE dogs.

To make the day even more dramatic, after we got back to the house I was helping to cut sweet potatoes for Melanies dinner. I had maybe 2 more potatoes to cut and I looked down to see a bloody blistered finger – how that happened I don’t know I was just happy that my hand was not in a cast. So I put a Band-Aid on that then a little while later I went to check on Sammy only to find him with a handful of dog food, I could only assume that this was not his first helping . . . it was at this point I realized home was calling!

So all you stay at home moms in the States, be thankful for Target and public parks . . . and go make a new friend today . . . just because you can J

Grandmother Goes to Honduras

Around the first of the year Stephen’s mom and grandmother came to visit!That was Grandmother’s 84 ^th birthday gift from Grandfather – a ticket to Honduras! I learned a valuable lesson when through Grandmothers adventurous spirit . . . you are never too old to experience new things! Sometimes older individuals have the habit of being stuck in their ways, being afraid of change, or newness. Well I learned through Grandmother that no matter how old you are there is always something new to learn or experience! She was able to try new foods, avocado’s to be exact! Here in Honduras they are a staple food in our home, Stephen and I eat them with everything. For Grandmother it was a new treat! The sugar that we have here is raw, it’s not refined and white like it is in the states, Grandmother was intrigued and wanted to take a baggie of it back to the States to show her OWLS Friends (older, wiser, loving saints - I hope they enjoyed hearing about her adventures!) You can’t flush the toilet paper here or drink the water from the faucet, just a few of the differences that Stephen and I have gotten used to and we forget that it’s SO different from the states. An older man from our church has an agricultural farm and offered to give us a tour, we drove all over his beautiful property and tried coffee beans and sour oranges. We were able to experience the beauty of Honduras. We also went to a restaurant called “La Cumbre” and enjoyed a lovely dinner with a breathtaking view of the city. Stephen and I loved seeing Grandmother interact with Raegan, they read books together, sang songs, and even took a nap together (Grandmother was not supposed to be sleeping, we had to keep a closer eye on her in the future to make sure they didn’t fall asleep and tip right off the couch J)

But Grandmother was a trooper, I didn't once hear her complain about any of the differences or inconveniences and it was so refreshing to see her loving life. I hope that I am that filled with joy, adventure and enthusiasm when I am 84!

Raegan Jane

When I was a little girl people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up . . . my answer, a mommy! Well, I am now doing what I have always wanted to do, being what I have always dreamed of being. I am a mommy, to the most amazing girl in the world. Raegan Jane, is a blessing, a gift and I am filled with utter joy!
When, I found out that I was pregnant, I was filled with emotions – fear, happiness, excitement, doubt – fill in the blank, I most likely felt it. During my pregnancy, Stephen and I would talk about our baby, we would plan and prepare. As my due date neared we would sit on the couch together and beg her to come out, mostly because we were bored and just wanted to meet her. That time finally arrived on Tuesday evening December 2^nd at around 4pm. I was laying on the couch and all of the sudden I had a wet feeling. I got up and went to the bathroom and it was like I was peeing without really trying haha! So I told Stephen “um, I think that my water just broke” after that I texted my Dr. and told him what was going on. We had an appointment scheduled for that evening at 7pm so I asked him if we should just wait till our appt. or if we should just come in. He told us to come as soon as we could. At this point I was having very mild contractions about 7 min. apart. So we got everything ready and one of the girls from school was gracious enough to give us a ride because our car has been out of commission for a few months, we need a part that is very difficult to find. So anyway, we got dropped off at the hospital and went up to my Doctors office and he was able to see us right away. 

When we got in his office he took one look at me and said “you don’t look like you’re in enough pain” my contractions sill were not very strong. So I changed and walked out of the bathroom so that he could check things out. During the 4ft. walk to the ultrasound bed my water continued to break then when I got on the bed it was still coming, needless to say I soaked the floor and the table and we were sure that my water had officially broken, there was no doubt. My Dr. checked me and I was 4 centimeters, but he was concerned that my contractions weren’t strong enough to continue helping me to dilate. He had one more patient to see, so he told us to walk around during his last appointment and then he would help us check in to the hospital. During the next 50 min. Stephen and I just walked around the hospital. It was about 9pm when we got checked in and settled in our room. The Dr. then told me that if my contractions were not getting any stronger by 11pm he would need to start me on Pitocin to speed up the process because my water had broken and the risk of infection was much higher. By 11 there was still no change, so He started me on Pitocin and by midnight it was definitely working. For the next 3 hours while watching Tom and Jerry on Cartoon Network, I moved from standing and swaying back and forth to bouncing on my exercise ball. Stephen was a great coach, he was so encouraging and helped me to stay strong and breath through each contraction. Side Note - We didn’t have any birthing classes so we were both relying on my studying and research of the Bradley Method. I would recommend it to anyone, it worked great for us. – So at about 1:30am the Dr. checked me again and I was at 6 centimeters, and he expected me to deliver between 3am and 4am. That was our target, I would ask Stephen for a time check every once in a while just to make sure that time had not stopped haha! At one point I told him that drugs would have been nice, knowing that I had chosen not to make them an option : ) it was about 45 min. after that comment that I was at 10 centimeters and ready to push. 

The nurse came in and brought an adjustable bed that I moved onto to go to the delivery room. At this time my contractions had slowed down and I was able to have about a 2 min. break between each one. I was very surprised at how aware I was of everything, I was having conversations with Stephen, and my Doctor. After I was adjusted and comfortable, I began pushing. At first I was pushing from my throat and not making very much progress but once the Doctor reminded me to push down, it took two pushes and Raegan had arrived. After the first push I was much more motivated because the Doctor said that he could see her hair. Mid contraction I said “okay good she has hair, I can do this” that was what got her out with the second push. I told Stephen later that was the most empowered I have ever felt, I honestly felt like super women. It was an amazing experience. Once she was out they laid her on me, despite being a little purple and somewhat slimy . . . she was beautiful, full head of hair and big bright beautiful eyes. The pediatrician then took her to clean her off, weigh, and measure her; she was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches. They dressed her and swaddled her then handed her to Stephen it was in that moment that we paused to pray and thank the Lord for our little miracle. 

I am still amazed that I was able to do what I did, the birth of a child is truly an act of God. Only HE could so intricately design our bodies to do what they do. I still look at my little Raegan Jane and stand in awe that God allowed us to create her. She is a blessing and a joy! After the Doctor was finished taking care of me they wheeled me back to our room and Stephen carried Raegan. We were then able to call family and rest, and by 4pm that afternoon we were headed home. We weren’t even at the hospital for 24 hrs. that still kind of amazes me but we were so happy to be home! Since then our lives have changed for the better, our sweet Raegan is a gift from God and we can’t imagine life without her. 

We are Having a Baby . . .

And the long awaited answer is that it is a baby . . . . well let me share with you how we told our families first! When we came back to the states Stephen's mom did not know about the baby yet so here is a video of us surprising her with the news!

So to tell Stephens family the gender we decided to make cake pops, we made the cake batter and added the appropriate dye to it! Then we covered them in white chocolate and sprinkles, that evening we had everyone bite into it at the same time! It was really fun to share the special news with everyone that way!

With my family since we have all the nieces and nephews, we decided to do a pinata which my awesome sister-in-law made for us and then we filled it up with candy and colored confetti. The kids had a blast, Karis thought for sure that an actual baby was going to come out, either a baby girl or a baby boy hahaha! After we cleared that up, Caden decided that since I had a baby in my belly that he wanted to have one in his so he started telling everyone Auntie Em is having a baby and I am having a baby too!

So we finally got the pinata hung up and started with the littlest kid and worked our way up to the older kids! They beat that pinata like crazy until a lot of candy and a certain color came out . . . . . and that color was . .

PINK!!!! Its a GIRL! 
We are praising the Lord for our beautiful baby girl and can't wait to meet her in early December!

Beautiful Blessings

Over the past several months our family and my belly have seen some changes : ) back in March Stephen and I found out that we are expecting! Since that moment, God has been changing and challenging us in so many new and unexpected ways. As I gaze down at my growing belly, as I look at the sonogram of the baby developing inside of me, I stand amazed that God would entrust this tiny little life into our hands.

As we were experiencing the excitement of new life we were also grieving the loss of an old life. My grandpa went to dance in heaven with Jesus on June 10^th – as I dealt with his loss I would look down to see new life, new life that the Lord has created in me through HIS miraculous hand of grace. I am humbled to recognize that it is only through the hand of our sovereign Lord that life is given and life is taken away. And I praise Him that it is only for a time because if we know HIM as our Lord and Savior we can be confident that we will meet again.

 
So as the journey continues for us here on earth it is my prayer that our marriage, our parenting . . . our lives are lived in such a way that the grace, love and hope of our Lord is shown. As we embark on this next stage of parenthood, I know that the Lord is going to teach us, change us, and grow us to be more like himself. So with that I leave you with this passage that has been my comfort over the past several months - Psalm 118 - these are the last two verses - 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Read the next blog post to find out what we're having!

29Re

The Freedom of Submission

I praise the Lord for HIS work in my life and how HE continues to change me, mold me and make me more like Himself. The last 2 weeks have been exhaustingly refreshing, I normally wouldn’t put those two words together but I can’t really think of any other way to describe it. I guess it’s the whole idea of being at the end of yourself (utter exhaustion) and relying completely on the strength of the Lord (refreshment). The Lord has literally blown me away with blessings and encouragement day after day from the sermons at church, to the girls on my volleyball team, to the enriching conversations with Stephen, to the Baptist Bible College Girls volleyball team coming to visit! I can say with honesty and transparency that I have recently discovered the freedom of submitting to Lord’s will for us being here in Honduras.

This realization came after a conversation Stephen and I had about all the really GREAT things that God is doing here in Honduras. I distinctly remember sitting on the kitchen counter sharing with each other what we’re learning, how we’re growing and how God is using us. Stephen is having opportunities day after day to invest in the lives of young men, to teach them how to become better leaders. He has the opportunity to take some of the young men under his wing and mentor them in how to coach and in their walk with the Lord. It was that day in the kitchen that we realized even if it’s for one kids life to be transformed, then it’s worth it. It’s worth the inconvenience, it’s worth being away from family, and it’s worth being uncomfortable. Not saying that it’s always easy but we were not called by the Lord to be happy or to be comfortable, we are called to be faithful and obedient. Because of that revelation I now feel that I have freedom to live in the submission of God’s plan for me, His plan for us here in Honduras.

Not only was it that conversation in the kitchen that day but it continued by having the girls volleyball team from Baptist Bible College, where Stephen and I attended, come and visit! It was after I got home from picking them up from the airport and spending the day sharing with them all the wonderful things about Honduras that I realized, as I had begun embracing God’s plan for us and enjoying it, God was allowing me the privilege of sharing that joy with others. I am so thankful for the volleyball team coming and the great blessing and encouragement that they were.

As we submit to the Lord there will be freedom in all that He has to offer, and I firmly believe that it will be exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ask or think.

Colossians 3:15-17¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

February Update!

I praise the Lord for the change of seasons, as we head further into February we head into dry season here, which means A LOT of dust, dirt and most important sunshine! As much as I love the rain I am thankful to see the sunshine in the mornings (it makes it much easier to get up and start my day.) Now I know a lot of you are still experiencing full on winter but spring is coming : ) OR come visit us and enjoy a little warmth!

Since the beginning of the month Stephen’s middle school soccer team has finished up their season with a disappointing loss at the end to prevent them from going to the tournament BUT overall had one of the best seasons compared to the last several years with 2 wins and 11 goals! It was encouraging to see the boys mature in their ability to play soccer and grow as a team.

Also, since the beginning of February I have started coaching volleyball with another one of the teachers at the school, we are coaching the girls’ varsity team. So far it’s going really well, and I am really enjoying it! I will keep you all posted on how our season is going!

We also got to celebrate a special little girls first birthday! We praise the Lord for wonderful friends, and feel truly blessed to have a little munchkin to spoil and shower with love! There are so many moments when being away from family and the states just plain stinks BUT then there are moments here that make it worth it and celebrating Abigail's birthday was one of those moments! I have learned that no one can replace your family but the Lord sure can provide friends that feel like family!  

Stephen has also started co-teaching the youth Sunday school class at church, with one of the guys we work with at the school. I have been joining them as well and it has been really encouraging to see God moving and working. So if you can be in prayer with us as God does HIS work in the students’ lives.  

This week I have been reminded from Hebrews

No matter where we live, where we work, where we go to Church, what season of life we are in God calls us to run with endurance. To lay aside every sin that easily distracts us and run our hearts out. To put off bitterness, anger, selfishness, pride (fill in the blank) and put on our running gear.  I praise the Lord for the seasons to remind us that everything is temporary, it reminds me to embrace each moment and not just endure the race but ENJOY the race! 

It's the Holiday Season

So in the last 2 weeks we have celebrated Christmas, Stephens birthday and ringing in the new year! It was our first Christmas in Honduras and away from our families, Stephen's 26th birthday and our first time seeing dangerous fireworks at midnight all over an un-monitored city . . . but it was pretty cool looking!

Back in the fall Stephen and I decided to save some money by staying here in Honduras for Christmas break. And we have really been enjoying our time here together we've loved being home, getting things done around the house and spending time with friends! We were able to go play tennis downtown at a sports complex, we went to see the new Hobbit movie, we have been able to play lots of games with a few other families that stayed over break. We have watched movies, washed the car, started a new workout routine and I have been able to get some reading done! Christmas day was great! We had a big breakfast, spent the morning opening gifts (shout out to my husband who got me some pretty awesome stuff) and skyping with family. Then later in the afternoon we got together with our friends Tim, Liz and their daughter Abigail, our pastor and his family and a few other people for a Christmas dinner . . . the power stayed on for us for this holiday, Praise the Lord! It was truly a wonderful Christmas! I am so thankful for the friends we have made while being here in Honduras, it is when you are far away from family that you realize how important good friends are! And we have some good one's that we are appreciate so much!

Stephen’s birthday was on the 29^th so we invited some friends over to share in a meal of ribs, mashed potatoes, corn, zucchini, and stuffed mushrooms. (Kyle and Melodee with their two kids Julianna and Levi are on the left and Tim and Liz with their daughter Abigail are on the right), Now I had never made ribs before but Stephen loves them so I did my best and the birthday boy approved . . . so now I think I have started a new tradition; ) Then we had cheesecake for dessert, in the past year Stephen has discovered a new love for certain foods . . . cheesecake being the main one! It was a happy day filled with laughter, love, food and friendship! I am so thankful for Stephen’s 26 years of life; I praise the Lord for the amazing man that I have the privilege of being married to. Each year together, month, day together, I continue to learn what it means to love and to be loved and I wouldn’t want to be discovering that with anyone else. Stephen James, I praise God for your life and who HE has created you to be!

Happy New Year! As I look back over the past year, I am amazed at where life has taken us. We live in Honduras, just that fact in and of itself still kind of blows my mind. At midnight, as were standing on a patio, overlooking the city; watching all the fireworks go off all around the city, so beautiful and dangerous; we celebrated bringing in the New Year and talked of the future . . . that’s when I really get amazed. Yes we did the whole looking back thing but what I like doing most at the beginning of the year is looking forward to what is ahead. Looking to what is coming, what can be accomplished, and what new adventures can be tackled. I love being able to share my hopes and dreams with someone, to be married to someone who is just as adventurous as I am. So as adventure comes our way, you will be sure to hear about it! So to 2014, may you be filled with wonder, excitement, adventure and love! 

We LOVE Visitors and Electricity!

Thanksgiving Update . . . my apologies for being WAY behind with my posts. With all this time off school I'm gonna try and get caught up! We had an awesome time with my brother Joel and his wife Sarah when they were here over thanksgiving! We were able to do some traveling and have some adventures! Joel had to do some observations for his health and PE degree, so he spent as much time in the classroom with Stephen as he could. There was a lot happening as they were here, the elections took place the day after they arrived. Here in Honduras the elections are not a safe time, there is a lot of corruption within the competing parties as well as riots all over the city. Because of the unknown circumstance school was canceled the day after elections, which gave us an extra day off to spend with Joel and Sarah. On that day off we decided to go to a national park called La Tigra it is well known for the fun fact that it is part of a cloud forest. And as we found out that is literally what you do, walk higher and higher into the clouds. So that was a fun day of hiking and spending time together. Tuesday and a half day Wednesday were spent at school and then Wednesday afternoon we had the oil changed in the car and went to see a movie . . . movie theaters here are so cheap it costs about $3 American dollars, and it’s in English : ) Late Wednesday night the power went out . . . . and stayed out for a total of 5 long days, coming back on for maybe 2 hours on two separate occasions. Talk about a thanksgiving ruined haha! Trying to make a feast without power is nearly impossible. That is why I was so grateful that we had already made plans to travel! We left early on Thursday morning since thanksgiving dinner was now out of the plan. We traveled towards the middle of the country to Lake Yojoa where we stayed at a brewery! It was such a cute, quaint place. We were able to explore a coffee plantation that afternoon and then enjoy our long awaited thanksgiving feast provided by the staff at the brewery, it was delicious. They also had awesome homemade cream soda’s, coke and root beer : ) Then on Friday we went to the ecological park and saw some beautiful views of the lake and some incredible nature. After that we went back to the brewery for lunch then lastly off to the waterfall. It was awesome, much bigger than any of us expected : ) It was beautiful. Then we headed home . . . it was a whirlwind of a trip but we had a great time! Joel and Sarah’s time went by way to fast but it was so fun to share our home, friends and country with them!

October . . . . Time to Catch up

Since I last wrote, Stephen and I have celebrated our 1 year anniversary, I have discovered Honduran thrift stores, learned how to master the use of the crock pot, and Stephen is continuing to do his best to attempt to understand Latin American athletics, and we have both been able to learn so much more about our students!
Our anniversary was wonderful, we were able to get away for the weekend and be spoiled at the Marriot Hotel down in the city. To you, it might just seem like a hotel . . . to US it was a taste of the United States in Honduras and it was truly refreshing to enjoy the pool, yummy food (that we didn’t have to cook) massages, sauna and cable TV haha! It’s the little things in life : ) God continues to change us, mold us and draw us to himself in and through our marriage. We have learned so much this past year and we continue to look forward to many more years of learning and growing together!
One highlight of being back this year has been finding good deals with my friend Jennifer. The gringa’s here in Honduras refer to her as the thrift store master! She knows where all the best places are. Apparently the United States sends down shipments of clothes as tax write-offs and multiple store here in Honduras sell them. So for $1-$5 you can get some pretty good American brand stuff it’s awesome! For those of you reading that know me well, I’m sure you realize how happy this has made me! I have been able to get lots of new clothes, flower pots, curtains, pie plates, picture frames and so much more. Again, it’s the little things in life here that at times bless us the most!
The AMAZING crock pot, has become my new best friend, whenever I remember to use it haha! We were able to buy it from friends of our that were leaving at the end of last school year and I just love experimenting with it! Gotta be honest I kinda feel like my mom, when I get up on Sunday mornings and put stuff in it for lunch : ) its such a wifey thing to do! So if you have any good recipes, send them my way!
Stephen’s basketball team is having an awesome season . . . they are continuing to play more and more like a team as the season goes on. He has had a fair amount of challenges due to the culture and lack of experience, BUT he has been handling it like a pro. It has been neat for me to be a part of his team’s lives through baking which the guys love and the avenue of prayer. In our small group right now we are currently reading though Colossians and I came across these verses to pray for the players. Colossians 1:11-14 ~ “ May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” We don’t know where most of our students are spiritually and it has been really neat for us to see God’s hand at work in the lives of the guys that Stephen coaches. Please pray for the student’s in our school that we would continue to be salt and light, that we would live in such a way that Christ would radiate from us. Pray for us as we continue to do our best to embrace the culture and the language. We praise the Lord for his provision of safety, guidance, finances, and ministry opportunities. 

Scavenger Hunt

Last week was the first full week of school with students, so with that I had a lot of things for the kids to learn. I had to review the rules, expectations and consequences for my classroom. For the remainder of class I decided to play a game as a review for where the art supplies were located. Majority of my students have been coming to the art room since they were in first grade so I figured the game I had for them would be somewhat simple.

Each class had to do a scavenger hunt, I had a list of items and tasks for their team to complete in order to check the tasks off the list and ultimately win! It was things like “find a red marker”, “put on an apron, and then hang it up the correct way”, “write down classroom rule #3 on the back of this paper” and so on . . . . . NOW some kids were really into it, and searched really hard to find everything on their own. Some kids were extremely lazy and just wanted me to show them where everything was. And some went really fast because they remembered where most things were from the previous year. As I did this game with the kids some 26 times (I have a lot of students), I began relating it to my spiritual walk . . . . .
I know that God is not a God of confusion, but I think sometimes we are like little kids on a scavenger hunt. Some days we want to work so hard to see God’s blessings. Other days I wake up really lazy and exhausted, I don’t really want to search for blessings, I just want to wallow in my misery. Then there are times that I have to do my best to remember past blessings and draw from those to continue on in my walk. 




What I learned in all of this is that just like my art room is filled with lots of little blessing (all of my supplies), so are our lives.  The kids never would have fully embraced what is in the room if they had not been searching for it or remembering it. I have never seen kids get so excited to find a red marker, or put on an apron.  It’s the same in our lives, how are we going to fully embrace the blessings that our lives are filled with if were not willing to do the work to recognize them. Sometimes, like some of my students, we just get lazy and we expect other people to fill that void for us. I will be the first to admit, there are some days that I just want to be a lazy complainer, but when I waste my time complaining I’m letting multiple blessing go right by without being noticed. So take the challenge of going on a blessings scavenger hunt and see what you find, it might not be what, where or when you expect it but God desires to bless us and for that alone we have so much to be thankful for!  

New Car, New House, New Year

 Greetings from Honduras, sorry it has been soooo long since my last blog update. BUT we are now back in Honduras, refreshed and ready to be used by God in this upcoming school year. Stephen is still in his position as middle school and high school boy’s physical education teacher. He is doing what he loves, coaching, teaching and mentoring young men to be more like Christ, through the avenue of athletics. You can be praying for his basketball team as they start up practice at the beginning of next week. I am still teaching in the elementary art room . . . I am convinced that God has me there for another year, because I didn’t do a good job learning the lessons HE was trying to teach throughout all of last year! I literally found someone else to take my job in the art room so I wouldn’t have to do it again BUT God must have other plans because I am back at it again, by God’s grace with a fresh attitude and renewed perspective. I am so thankful that the Lord’s mercies are new every morning as I stumble and fall searching for direction recognizing that the God’s grace is sufficient for me each day. So please pray with me that God would grant victory in the struggles, joy in the successes, and peace in the confusion : )
Stephen and I have experienced so many blessing as we have returned to our Honduran home. We are so thankful for the Lord’s provision of a car, we were able to purchase it right before we came home for the summer. It has been so wonderful to have some freedom to get off the mountain for date nights and such a joy to use it as a ministry to others, from driving people down the mountain to get groceries or packing it full of people to head to church! We are overwhelmed by God’s provision! We also finally feel somewhat settled into our new apartment. We are now on the school’s campus, which is much safer and closer to the school. We feel very blessed to have such a beautiful new apartment surrounded by wonderful Godly people, our new dog neighbors across the street . . . . Well we’re not quite as fond of them haha! And the cockroach that was crawling on my head the other night, well we killed that haha!

                      The NEW Car!!!!! and NEW Apartment!!!!

Thank you everyone for your love, prayers, support and friendships. I will try a lot harder to write on our blog more consistently this year : ) Thanks for reading!

Pray for Victor Manuel

Wow, it has been a crazy several weeks but thankfully Stephen and I are home in Honduras and back into the swing of things. We had a wonderful time in the states, spending time with family and friends. We are truly blessed and so loved by so many. I am so grateful for our Godly families that are filled with understanding, patience, hospitality, encouragement and love. Before break, over break and even now, God has really been working on me. While we were home in the states it would have been really easy to just stay there. To just say "forget it" its too hard and not worth it. Before we went home for Christmas break, I was homesick, exhausted and just plain tired of being in Honduras. But God has really been changing my perspective and my attitude. I just kept asking Him, "Lord, what is my purpose? why am I here?" and yesterday I had a GOD moment : ) On Monday I had really been struggling with the realization that I am here in this desperate country filled with searching people and I can't talk to anyone in Spanish well enough to deliver the message of the gospel. And I just began to pray, Lord please provide an opportunity to share YOU. And He answered that pray yesterday afternoon! I went with Stephen and his soccer team to their game on the other side of the city. The game was being held at a public field. When we arrived, there were some older men using the field, majority of them Honduran military men. Well after they were finished with their game, this older man by the name of Victor came over and sat down next to me! He must have heard me speaking in English earlier b/c be began to talk with me in English and that never happens b/c ppl. think that I am Honduran! At first just chit-chat you know, where are you from? why are you in Honduras? the basics. But as we kept talking we realized how small our world really is, you see he explained to me that every year he travels to PA to go skiing at Ski Liberty. Ski Liberty is not real far from my hometown and that is where Joel and Sarah got married. So we kept talking, we ended up talking for the entire soccer game. The whole time I was praying, "Lord make yourself real to this man, allow my words to be from you." I was able to basically do a walk through the Bible with Victor, to explain the corruption of sin and the holiness of God. To explain the urgency of salvation and the confidence I have in the one and only true and living God. Victor did not accept Christ there in that moment, but I believe God has been working on this man for quite some time and it is my prayer that the Holy Spirit continues to convict. It is my prayer that Victor will continually come into contact with people that can teach him the truth of Gods Word. I wish you all could have been there to witness my talk with him for yourselves b/c it was amazing to see the truth of the gospel begin to make sense to him. Please pray with me that God will do a mighty work in this mans life. I have realized through this blessing of talking with Victor that my purpose is to make the most of each opportunity that God has given me. I have a new found confidence about my role here in Honduras, and my role is to serve the ONE and ONLY true and LIVING GOD with all that I am in every way I can. The language barrier will not stop God, only my unwillingness to submit to HIS will, and ultimate purpose for my life.

Peace

God has me on a journey right now to seek out true peace . . . Sunday morning my quiet time was from Psalm 122, all about peace. The message Sunday morning was about PEACE and our pastor had us meditate on several passages in scripture that deal with peace. What I am learning is that I often pray for peace, but peace does not happen unless righteousness precedes it. How often do I pray for righteousness? Not nearly as often as I pray for peace. The Lord and I have been having a lot of talks lately about where I fit and where can I be used, what is my place here in Honduras? What I have discovered over the past few days, and especially now as I am sitting on the couch home from school with a kidney infection, is that it is not fair of me to ask God for peace if I am not willing to be righteous. It is really easy to be frustrated with God for not providing what we ask for BUT what I am learning is that peace is the end product of living for righteousness. The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness is a quiet assurance that produces prosperity and fruitfulness. What I have learned specifically today is that as I yearn for righteousness, seeking peace I can remember the deeds of the Lord in the past I can rest in the fact that HIS faithfulness endures (Psalm 77). Praise the Lord for HIS peace that does indeed pass all understanding.

Surprises

FOR SOME, SURPRISES HAPPEN QUITE OFTEN, FOR OTHERS IT’S A FAIRLY RARE OCCURRENCE. SOME REALLY LOVE BEING SURPRISED, OTHERS WOULD RATHER DIE THAN BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY SOMETHING UNEXPECTED. NOW THERE ARE BAD SURPRISES, LIKE WHEN YOUR BABYSITTING AND THE KID THAT YOU JUST PUT TO BED SAYS “MISS EMILY, COME SEE WHAT’S IN MY BED” AND THEY HAVE POOPED IN THERE SHEETS. THAT, I WOULD CLASSIFY AS A BAD SURPRISE HAHA! BUT A GOOD SURPRISE NOW THAT IS WHAT I LOVE, BUT IT HAS HAPPENED UM WELL NEVER UP UNTIL THIS PAST WEEK. I ALWAYS FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT, I WILL ADMIT I WAS SURPRISED A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN MY FAMILY ALL PITCHED IN AND GOT ME AN IPHONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY. BUT THE SURPRISE MY HUSBAND GAVE ME JUST SEVERAL DAYS AGO, WAS ONE TO REMEMBER! HE HAD BEEN PLOTTING WITH MY FRIEND TRINITY FOR WEEKS, WITHOUT ME KNOWING TO HAVE HER COME VISIT. I HAD NO IDEA, NONE WHATSOEVER, IT HAD BEEN A ROUGH WEEK, MY PARENTS HAD LEFT AND I WAS REALLY HOMESICK OVER THANKSGIVING AND HER COMING WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED. I HAD A TEACHERS MEETING AFTER SCHOOL AND THEN MUSIC PRACTICE FOR CHURCH AND WHEN I CAME HOME, STEPHEN HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL SURPRISE WAITING FOR ME : ) YOU DON’T REALIZE THAT YOU MISS REMINISCING WITH OLD FRIENDS UNTIL YOU DON’T HAVE OLD FRIENDS AROUND TO REMINISCE WITH. TO BE ABLE TO LAUGH ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED A YEAR AGO AND NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT. TO LOOK AT OLD PICTURES, AND SHARE MEMORIES, TO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO THAT PERSON, BUT TO JUST BE YOU! I AM SO THANKFUL TO HAVE A HUSBAND THAT IS UP FOR THE CHALLENGE OF SURPRISING ME : ) AND I AM BLESSED WITH AN AWESOME FRIEND WHO SAVED UP MONEY TO COME AND SEE US! OH THE JOY OF BEING SURPRISED! EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE TIMES IN THEIR LIFE WHEN THEY ARE OVERWHELMED WITH THANKFULNESS AND JOY!

The Joy of Being Loved and Loving Others ~

The past ten days have been a joyous blessing for multiple reasons. First, I am married to an amazing man who loves me and loves the Lord. Second, I have awesome parents who love the Lord and love me. Third, I have the privilege of loving them as well. It was so wonderful to have my parents here, to share our life here with them, to prepare meals for them and provide for them. It was a joy to give back to them just small fraction of what they have sacrificed for me for so many years. It is a strange feeling, to grow up . . . to become independent of your parents and transfer that dependence to your spouse. To everyone here in Honduras we have always been married, but for my parents it was their first interaction with us as a married couple, and our first interaction with them as a married couple. It was so wonderful to just enjoy their company. It was also an encouraging confirmation to me that we are right where God wants us. I was sad when my parents left but at the same time I had an overwhelming sense of peace, a confidence in where God has brought us and what HE wants to accomplish through us. It is a strange sensation to grow up, to move on in life to new familiarities and habits. Stephen and I now have our own routines, our own way of doing things that is apart from our families and it is wonderful.  Not that we haven’t carried with us some of what we used to have with in our families, but we are now our own family. He is now my “home”, my rock, my faithful dependable ever caring “home”. It took me a while to process through what that looks like and how it all works, you know the whole leaving and cleaving thing. But by the grace of God I can now see it a bit more clearly; I can now better recognize God’s design for the family. I am continuing daily to grasp more and more what two becoming one looks like. I am nowhere close to having it figured out but one thing I have learned is that it is a process. The more I look to Christ through His word and prayer the closer I become to having oneness with my husband. I am a blessed girl to be loved my so many people, to have parents that care enough to “let go” in a sense and allow my husband to care for me. To have parents that love me on my good days and bad, to pray for Stephen and I and to still sacrifice for us. To have siblings that bless me beyond what I deserve. To have an incredible husband who is patient, kind, loving, faithful, encouraging, and always there for me, no matter what. And ultimately to love and serve a God who knows the worst of me, who sees the ugly and still forgives and loves. It is so humbling to have the privilege to serve a God who daily offers grace and encourages me in my weakness. And the best part is I serve a God who enables me to love, and that is truly an honor and a privilege, loving others is truly my greatest JOY!

TIH (This is Honduras)

T I H ( This is Honduras)
We have a phrase down here that your allowed to say when things just don't make sense. When the only way to explain it is by saying, TIH - This is Honduras
Like when the power goes out at random times - last week it was off from 9am to 4pm so you just learn to function without it. You still have school, computer class becomes an extra recess and hot lunch might be a little colder than normal but other than that not much changes. It was actually funny b/c that evening I was talking to Calvin and Amber on skype and they mentioned that their power had just come back on after the big storm and Steve and I were like so did ours haha!
 Or when your maid continually puts your duvet comforter on the wrong way, when she puts the buttons up by your heads . . . but she cleans our house so I put up with it and just switch it myself, dumb I know. Or when she matches Steve's socks, he has the dri-fit ones that have a left and Right on the toes. Well she matches the R with the R and the L with the L, makes sense to someone who doesn't speak english - TIH
Or the way they organize the grocery store, it makes no logical sense whatsoever, and then they change it all the time so you never know where anything is . . . Or when you go to the movies here, they are in english with spanish subtitles and it only costs $3.50 - it boggles my mind that people would pay to watch a movie in a language that they can't understand but TIH.
Then, the pot holes - instead of just paving the road . . . they keep filling up the same potholes with dirt, then in rains, the dirt gets washed away and the cycle starts all over again. It just doesn't make sense and yet goes right along with the traffic laws, or lack there of, people drive like maniacs.
Going to the pharmacy, shouldn't be difficult, BUT sometimes they might read your prescription wrong, and then you pay for an injection instead of an antibiotic,are put in a room to wait. Then when the mistake is finally figured out they don't give you your money back TIH!
Or when families in your school are being robbed by the city police, or when children are afraid to go home because of the increased number of kidnappings, here you have to choose daily to live in the security of Christ, or fear can easily overtake you. I am learning that yes THI but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else.Yeah, Honduras has its quirks, and there happen to be a lot of them but it also has its blessings! I am surrounded by people who love and serve the Lord. I am blessed with an amazing husband who works so hard to love, encourage and support me, in this job that continually reveals my inadequacy.  I am privileged to interact with literally hundreds of kids on a weekly basis, most of which think I'm pretty cool! I have the joy of investing in their lives through the avenue of art and that is why all the TIH times don't end up being so bad, because at the end of the day I recognize this is where God has us and this is where HE is going to use us!

Tales from Guillermo

Guillermo – This little 3rd grade boy was the highlight of my day! Every week I have his class, he always comes in full of energy and full of a very exaggerated story/lie, call it what you want haha. Today’s story happened to be about his trip last year around Thanksgiving time to hunt a turkey. I said” hunt a turkey how do you do that?” He responded “well with a hunting pole of course” I smiled as he continued with his story. He then began to proceed into all kinds of detail “well you see Mrs. We were headed to Turkey, the country but somehow our tickets got switched” I asked him “turkey? Why turkey?” to which he responded “um, that’s where your supposed to hunt for turkey’s” Silly me, how could I not have known. He continued with his story “So our tickets got switched and we ended up in Africa, well my dad said, since were in Africa, lets hunt a puma instead (a puma is the school mascot). So we hunted a puma, but I realized that instead of bringing my hunting pole, I accidently brought my fishing pole” well I asked him “Guillermo, how exactly did you catch a puma with a fishing pole?” to which he replied “I just hooked him well he was asleep, right on the tail Mrs. And you see it’s a good thing we caught the puma instead of a turkey b/c the car ran out of gas and the puma had to pull us back to the town” Well then of course I asked, “so how did you get this puma back to your house? He said “oh, they wouldn’t let us take it on the plane, so we decided to go to Asia.” And that was the end of his story, it was then that we had a fairly lengthy discussion about lying haha! The most concerning part is that the kids in his class really think his stories are true!

Date Night

Date Night: Honduras Style
You see most couples when they plan date night, they have so many options, and its so convenient. You decide on a restaurant, there are lots to choose from and a movie for the theater down the street. Then you have to decide on the order, dinner then a movie or movie then dinner? Or lets have more options, Eat out or take out, movie theater, or redbox, or netflixs, or itunes, or ppv . . . or you could go bowling, mini golfing, to the mall, to a concert or sporting event.  And then the how of getting to any of those places, well you just hop in your car of course : ) Couples, don’t ever jip yourselves of a date night, b/c you don’t realize how good you have it till you oh, I don’t know . . . live in Honduras, on a mountain, without a car. The point in me saying all of that is to let you all know how awesome my husband is, you see we don’t have any of those conveniences that I just mentioned. So my amazing husband had to put forth twice the effort to have a special date night with me : ) He took me to a restaurant called La Cumbre, it is located down the mountain a little ways from where we live (too far to walk). So he borrowed a car for the evening and we just enjoyed feeling like a normal US couple haha! I can’t tell you how nice it was to be in a car with just him. Usually when you go anywhere here in anyone’s car you are packed full. So for a moment it felt like we were in the US, until we turned on the road to go up to the restaurant . . . it was at that moment when I felt as though I might bounce through the roof that I was quickly reminded of where I was!  But being up on the side of the mountain, overlooking the city lights embraced by my wonderful husband, made every bump worth it! We were able to enjoy an amazing dinner by candle light, sharing memories and sweet words with one another about the journey we have been on, the joys and struggles of marriage and our love for one another! Marriage is a joy, and a journey, you get to see the best of one another and the worst. You share your greatest accomplishments, and your most challenging situations. You learn how selfish you can really be and what it looks like to be the most selfless you have ever been. You live and learn together, you laugh and cry, have good days and bad days. But some of what I have learned over the past few weeks and through devotions that Steve and I have been doing is that it is not your love that sustains your marriage, BUT marriage that sustains your love. Marriage is everlasting, when we focus on our marriage instead of the love were getting or receiving, it allows the marriage to be the safety net and not the love. Yes there is security in love, but there is eternity in marriage. I am learning that the goal is not to show that I love my husband, but to show that I love my Lord. I am so thankful that we have a heavenly father that has all of this figured out, because I sure don’t. He is the creator of marriage, the sustainer of marriage, and most importantly He is the author of marriage. May God be glorified in and through our marriage.