The Honduras Chronicles: My first week and a half

Hello! Sorry it’s been awhile. To be honest I haven’t had too much to report. But when I think about it, I can still tell you guys what we’ve been doing (although it isn’t action-packed) and list some prayer requests.

Our days are pretty much the same each day. Get up early, go walking with Luz (our neighbor across the street/ Spanish teacher), come back around 7:30 (yes, that’s what time we get BACK. I’ve been getting up early!) and clean up, eat a delicious and nutritious breakfast and do some last minute Spanish studying before Luz comes back for our Spanish class at 9.

We study with Luz for two hours a day, 5 days a week. I think this week we learned more than 50 new verbs and learned 6 new tenses/ways to form verbs. It’s been intense. To be honest, Spanish is what has caused the majority of my stress thus far on the trip. Stress when I’m in an environment where everyone is speaking Spanish to me and stress as I learn Spanish because it is very hard to learn in such a short time! But I have already learned a lot, Luz is a good teacher.

After Spanish lessons, Nicole and I do some work for the ministry. She has been working on writing for some grants and some budget information. I put together some volunteer opportunities to be posted online at www.volunteermatch.org and we’ve already got a hit! If you’re looking for pretty simple ways to contribute, check them out! Search Honduras Ministries when you get to the site. We’ve also set up a Twitter for the ministry (HONMinistries if you want to follow. Soon I will post directions to get updates to your cell phone through text message.) and plan to look at the Facebook pages already established for ministry and narrow it to one that we will keep updated.

In the afternoon we either relax, do a little more work or Spanish homework, or go out. We’ve gone to the mall a ton, lol. I’ve been to the mall here more in the past week and a half than in the month I was home before I came. The grocery store is inside the mall and we’ve also had to go there to try to figure out how to get the iphone set up with service down here. So far we’ve had no success after visiting cell phone providers at least 5 or 6 times. Jim really would like to be able to update Facebook and Twitter from his phone, but right now there is a block on phone so it con only be used in the US.

I met several of the people that our team in April met, but only real fast Sunday after church. I was able to give Santos’ daughter Alison the gifts that Jennifer G sent down, and she loved them. She had a bunch of friends with her so they took everything out and looked at all the pictures. They had so much fun, and it was really cute to watch. Today we went to see Juan Carlos and got to see the youth center they have over there. I think it is an after school program. I really liked getting to see that. Tomorrow we’re going to see the family of the little girl that Don Hanson will be supporting.

So I guess I did have a lot to update you on. I need to write more often! Let me finish off with some prayer requests.
These first ones are kind of ongoing ones, that I would appreciate continual prayer for, but will probably not list each time:
-that God will use me to do His work while I’m here, especially when it isn’t glamorous
-that I will be useful to the ministry and worth everything they’ve spent on me
-thank God also for the generosity I have experienced from Honduras Ministries and the Martin family who have taken very good care of me!
-that Nicole and I will not be overwhelmed by learning Spanish, but able to learn it relatively easily
-for Honduras Ministries ability to reach Hondurans with the love of God

Here are a few that have come up recently:
-for Juan Carlos, who has been sick
-for the youth center that we visited
-for Oscar, the father of Honduras’ Ministries 40th family to support through their food ministry. We met him yesterday and brought him his food. He is a very kind and friendly man who is a new Christian that has overcome drug addictions and is letting Jesus change his life.
-Jim returns to the US Sunday to have the pin taken out of his hand and for some physical therapy. Prayers for his healing and also for safety on his trip back would be great.

Thanks everyone. I’ll try and update more frequently. I’ll post a couple pictures here, and more on my facebook in the albums (I’m having problems accessing the Honduras Team facebook page, so I’m not able to put them there). God bless!