This past week....

This past week we headed up to Moises Starkman school to celebrate "Day of the Child".  Day of the child is a day that is set aside to celebrate children; just like we have Father's day or Mother's day in Canada....here they also have a day to honour children.  In Honduras this day is even bigger than Christmas!

We first headed to Kinder ( Kindergarten). Dale and Melissa who is one of our interpreters let the children in a popular song from when most of us were children.."allelue, allelue allelue alleluia, praise ye the Lord!"

watch the video clip here....
HERE

Then Dale told a short from the bible. The story where the disciples sent the children away because they thought they were bothering their Master. But Jesus stopped his disciples and he took the time to bless the children. Jesus loved them, and Dale told them how much Jesus loved them too.

 

We celebrated at the school with cake, dressed up in clown costumes and just had a lot of fun with the kids. At any in kind of celebration in Honduras, there are always piñatas. This day was no exception.
The children all had special lunches instead of the normal beans and rice. They also did not have to wear their uniforms.

 

For the past two weeks we have a young lady name Emily from Orillia join our team. She was a huge asset. She heads home today and we are going to miss her terribly.  Emily came to offer her secretarial skills to Judy with the mounds of paper work that was piling up. However she didn't spend all her time in the office. She  also came with us to the schools as well. I think as she is going to be leaving part of her heart here in Honduras and hopefully someday she will be back.

 

 

The team did head back up to another school later on in the week, but I was unable to go as I was sick in bed the entire day. I was really disappointed but I do know there will be many other opportunities to go up to the schools and be with these precious children.

 Monday to Friday for the past three weeks we have been taking Spanish lesson for two hours every afternoon. There were a few days where I didn't feel like it.  My brain needed a rest. Our teacher has been teaching us verbs and the many different verb endings. So much to take in a remember. And rolling the rrrrrr's..I still haven't mastered that yet. I need to so I am not saying bad words accidentally.... which has happened! No wonder the girls at Espresso Americano were laughing at me.  Every day she gives us homework assignments too.  That being said though, it is getting easier.

 Late Friday afternoon we headed to a busy street corner here in the city where they often sell puppies; especially on the weekends.  It's known as "Puppy McDonalds"  I am not sure if the locals call it that, but it is what any expat or missionary living here refers to it as.  We had been told to go there if you want a dog. The prices; we were told were much less than what you would pay at a pet store or from a breeder. We wanted to get there before the traffic got too busy and the guys started packing things up and heading home.
  I am such a dog person. After Maddie passed I so missed having a dog in the family.  It has been over a year now since she died and I was more than ready to start looking again. In fact if we had not been moving to Honduras we would have had a dog before now.
Anyway, at one point during our stop there, I had four wee pups in my arms.  How to decide! They were all adorable.
The pup we ended up choosing is very tiny, weighing only three pounds. We are not sure of his breed or how big he will eventually grow to be. There were pups that were half his size....they could have fit in the palm of my hand.
We were headed home afterwards trying to come up with names for the little guy when we drove past

 Ruby Tuesdays. Dale said that we should call him Reuben for Ruby Tuesdays...and the name stuck!

Meet Reuben!

Culture Shock

The beginning of this week was rough for me. Culture shock perhaps? I think so. Actually I know so. I honestly didn't expect it to hit me so hard, so soon.  Even though I have learned about all the stages one goes through and the timing of each stage is different for everyone.
 I was a mess, an emotional wreck.  This country, Honduras; the country my family is called to, the country I am called to was not the easy adjustment I thought it would be.  Many things are so very different.  And I felt so lonely.  Everything was annoying me. Things as small as the ants in my kitchen, and looking everywhere for eggs in the grocery store only to find them on a shelf in the bakery department. Then there was the seemingly insurmountable things we are dealing with as a family right now. 

Many of you know that my husband Dale has been a victim of identify theft and that is still ongoing. The list of cards that are being taken out in his name continues to grow.  It's very concerning but there is little  we can do about it except to sign affidavits that he did not make the purchases charged. Fraud.

There are also a few other issues that we are dealing with.
 Only one word can describe this week and that is this. Stress.
 Although I will say this....our kids are doing fantastic!

I hesitate to say this as it is going to sound terrible and may even shock some of you;  but if on Monday Dale had said "let's go back to Canada" I probably would have said "Alright "  Deep down in my heart that is not how I really felt. I know and believe with everything in me that God has called us here and this is home now.  So to go back to Canada I know I wouldn't have that sense of belonging there. Not when we are meant to be here.  At the same time,. here in Honduras with all the pressing issues that we are dealing with, and trying to learn a new language in a country where everything is new, it's hard to feel like you fit in. That you belong.

In this moment it seems we are being bombarded on all sides. We cry out, God help us! Where else can we turn but Him and trust that He will work it all out. And He will. We know that without a doubt. There is a reason for it all I am sure, perhaps to side track us and disrupt what God wants to do in us and through us. To make us want to pack up and go "home" To discourage us. We know these challenging times are not going to last forever.

On Wednesday I read another missionary's (Sandra McIntosh) status on Facebook and it really drove truth home to my heart. Brought a calming peace in the midst of the storm.
The timing of her post couldn't have been more perfect, or more timely.
Here is her quote below...

"When the going gets tough in full time ministry it helps to go back to the moment you were certain the Holy Spirit whispered "Go, Serve and Love" Remember how you felt, remember how you were overwhelmed at the need, remember the passion you felt to respond, remember how gripped you were in your heart and you couldn't shake it, remember when you thought the cost was worth it, remember when you made the commitment, remember when you knew that this was His call on your life." Remember?"

Then this afternoon  we were waiting in the bank and for some reason I had tucked my journal from  back in April of last year into my purse.  I pulled it out and began to read it. That was when we were here with a team from Bethel church in Stratford.. By day three of our trip I knew this was where we were suppose to be. That someday we would be here. I knew it then. I know it now. And yes, I remember.