Two Weeks Later

It’s been two weeks and a day since I have moved to Honduras. I actually had an update written up days ago for people to get a glimpse of the things I’ve been doing here, but I failed to really explain a lot about the culture here. I know that those are the questions that people have, so I’ll do my best to explain things as I write posts.

Gracias is one of the safest, if not the safest town, in Honduras. The president of Honduras is from Gracias so there is a bunch of police and military here. Where I live is pretty safe because it is gated and the landlords are extremely sweet. That is all a blessing in itself. This really is not a difficult town to live in, but it is still very different. I personally don’t feel comfortable going places by myself for one obvious reason. I don’t know how to speak the language well. In many ways, that is extremely frustrating but it pushes me to want to learn too.

What’s awesome about this town is that it is central to so many villages that surround it. It serves as a base for the ministry to take care of the hunger farm for people here, run the radio station that shares the Gospel, and host American churches that come down to serve and minister to the villages. Gracias is a really special town with many hidden gems.

So to start with what I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks, I’ll go over what I’ve been doing to help the ministry. Basically, I’ve helped them catch up on recording expenses for multiple accounts. It took some time, but now everything is nearly caught up. Other than organizing and tracking expenses from teams that have come down, I helped to create the staff meeting agenda, put together a newsletter, and record events for social media. There is still much that I’m being trained for but it’s already been a busy few weeks! I’m very glad to be helping with these simple tasks that free them up.

We also had Jimmy Storrie from Life Recovered come down to host a retreat for the team. This retreat consisted of us learning more about our own personalities and our team personality so that we can better understand and communicate with one another. We also read a book together called The Way of the Heart. It’s a book about the resting in God spiritually and it shaped the way I have viewed prayer and true rest. I learned so much and have already grown. I feel as if I’ve been given the tools I need to grow more into what God is calling me to do. I’ve learned that the beginning of serving God truly is resting in Him. We cannot do anything without Him, so learning to take a day to bring it all back to Him has been eye-opening. I’d encourage any believer to read this book.

Basically, it’s been pretty busy. It feels as if it’s flying by. I’m glad to have the busy days doing the day-to-day things, but I’m also really excited about being on the field too. Something that I’m really looking forward to is getting to meet villages around that I haven’t gotten to meet. I’m more than ready to get to know the local children here. They are so precious and I hope to be able to have a part in children’s ministry here. I’m ready to see the kids I met last summer in San Isidro!

Speaking of kids, today was really special! One of my roommates, Ellie, is a sign language interpreter who uses that gift to minister to the deaf community around here. She worked on promoting an event today for weeks! All so that she could meet those who are deaf and teach them and their families how to sign. Many of the deaf here do not have anybody to sign to them because they are not educated, therefore, many people start off not knowing any language at all. Today we got to see Ellie in action, and it was incredible. About twenty deaf children and adults arrived with their families to learn LESHO, which is the Honduran sign language. This is different from American sign language (ASL), meaning that Ellie knows four languages and has to frequently switch languages during interactions. What touched me the most was watching the group of older men learn certain signs for the first time! Seeing the kids also learn was a joy. I hardly have words to explain how I felt knowing that some of them finally get to learn how to communicate with others for the first time. Overall, this event was humbling. Not only is this need overlooked in Honduras, but it is also overlooked in America. It is something for me to be mindful of and to continue to pray for.

I want to thank each of you who have prayed for me! Much of why I’m here is because of the prayers of other people who love and believe in this ministry, so I’m also asking that you would pray for 61 Isaiah Ministries. It’s lead by some of the most humble and faithful people that I have ever met. I’m grateful to be of service here in a town that I love with a ministry that I love. I can’t wait to share stories about new people and places soon!

Published September 2, 2017