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Different

February 15, 2021 by Hannah Williamson Leave a Comment

  • Work selfie with Edith & Lindsey
  • Going with the girls to the market
  • Game night with the team
  • Putting together food sacks
  • Masks up

I have been back in Honduras for a month now and things have been busy. It seems like life is moving back into a “normal” flow since lockdown last year, but then… what even is “normal” anymore? Normal is now masks, hand gel, and physical distancing. So if that’s the new normal, then things are pretty much normal here.

We have been working on new projects and preparing for mission teams. Our hope is to have teams come like normal, but as I stated earlier, normal is new now. There are tests to take and new risks to consider. It is likely that mission team season will look different from now on as a result of the new normal.

This all reminds me of a phrase that Kristi often says… “Different is not bad. Different is not good. Different is different.” Although this season is looking different than the old normal, that doesn’t mean it’s good or bad in comparison to other seasons. It’s just different, and I’m excited to walk into it with the 61 Isaiah team.

I invite you to walk with us by praying each day at 9:38 for God to send more workers for the harvest here in Honduras. This prayer is based off of Matthew 9:38 and falls under our Core Value of Prayer. If you want to know more about what God is doing here in Honduras, I’d love to chat with you!

Filed Under: Hannah Tagged With: Different, Hannah Williamson, Mission Trips

The Long Journey Home

February 5, 2021 by Michelle Holloway 7 Comments

First, let me introduce myself! My name is Michelle Holloway and my family and I, are some of the newest additions to the 61 Isaiah team. Our path to Honduras has faced several obstacles, but we are thrilled to finally be here.

Samuel, Michelle, Jeff, Caroline, and Matthew

We surrendered to this mission journey in October of 2019, and promptly began fundraising. Everything was going great, and we were set to move to Honduras in late June, early July. Well, in March, those plans came to a sudden halt when the COVID crisis hit. Little did we know that we would be delayed until November.

Throughout the wait, our Lord was so incredibly faithful. While we had stopped formally fundraising due to lockdowns and social distancing, we continued to receive donations from those who felt called to support the mission. The kids’ passports were stuck in limbo as we had mailed them off in early March. Yet, once again the Lord delivered in His perfect timing.

As our November leave date approached, the little details began to fall into place. While many questioned our decision to move during the pandemic, the Lord was faithful to guide us and show us His calling on our lives had not changed. We were all set to fly out in early November, but in the wee hours of the morning we received a text saying our flight had been cancelled.

We had hoped to arrive shortly before Hurricane Eta made landfall, but that would simply not be the case. We were all a ball of emotions. You go through such a wide gamut of emotion when preparing for an international move, and suddenly everything was upside down again. I cried A LOT, but nevertheless was certain the Lord had made our path clear. We waited about another week, had the pleasure of Josh now joining us, another round of COVID testing, and finally arrived at the airport.

I was relieved when we finally made it to the terminal……we were almost there. As we waited for the plane to take off, I just remember wanting to get there. I was leaving so many things behind: my oldest son to continue his college degree, my family, the only town I’d ever lived in (besides college), the church I was born and raised in, and yet I just wanted to land in Honduras. I wanted so desperately to make it to Gracias, to begin the journey set before me. After all, I was going to return home for Christmas, like we had originally planned. I would get to Gracias, get our home set up, and then go home for Christmas. It was the perfect plan!

The months of November and December were a whirlwind. We survived a hurricane, living without easy access to water for a couple of weeks, and intermittent electricity. Before I knew it, it was time to return home for Christmas. I was a little concerned about catching COVID and not being able to return, but I just committed to being super vigilant and trusted everything would be ok.

  • Eating oranges in Rancho Obispo after delivering food to people in need
  • Missionary Thanksgiving at the Hopkins
  • Kids playing with the new kids on the farm
  • Bilingual school (ALCS) Teacher Thanksgiving

Well…things didn’t quite go as planned. During a screening in preparation for routine testing, my husband tested positive for COVID-19. We immediately went into quarantine, praying that the rest of the family hadn’t caught it. I tested a couple of days later and I too was positive.

We were stuck in the US, unable to return to our new life in Honduras. Once again, I cried and cried and cried. I couldn’t understand why the Lord had allowed yet another delay. As we watched our teammates return, I was jealous and frustrated. I must interject that it was a blessing we never felt sick (I assumed we were asymptomatic). I use the word assume because we both had allergy like symptoms, but nothing out of the ordinary for that time of year.

During the time we were in Crosby, three different cold fronts blew through. If you have ever lived in the Houston area, you know this wreaks havoc on your sinuses and allergies. We were also blessed that my parents have a trailer home behind their house where we could stay. God provided for us before we even knew we would need the provision. We waited out our quarantine and prayed we would all test negative after our quarantine was up.

Well….three out of four isn’t bad, right? As we awaited our results, I was a nervous wreck. After what seemed like forever, the nurse appeared to let us know Jeff and the kids were negative, but I was still positive. To say I was devastated was an understatement. Hard decisions had to be made.

I am a numbers person…I have a degree in Mathematics and another in Statistics and I am currently teaching math. I read the data and knew the odds, you could continue to test positive up to 3 months after contracting COVID. In addition, you could test negative and then positive and flip flop back and forth. As Jeff and I discussed our options, we quickly realized the safest and most logical thing to do. He and the kids would return to Honduras and I would join them once I tested negative.

The kids waiting to board the flight from Houston to Tegus, Honduras

Thankfully, I was out of quarantine, but still stuck away from our new home. I tried to make the best of it, but I was lonely. I remember driving my family to the airport thinking, there should be another person here to drop us all off. I continued to pray that I would get that negative test result the next week.

I tried to stay occupied during the wait with school and spending time with my family back home, but it was hard. As my new test date approached, I was again a nervous wreck. Would God allow me to return, or was waiting longer a part of His perfect plan? I am certain the nurse thought I was a nutcase when he returned to tell me I was NEGATIVE! I was crying and shaking, excited, but also dreading the goodbyes again. It never gets easier leaving Matthew, my eldest.

I tested on Wednesday morning and was booked on a flight the next morning. Wednesday was a whirlwind, and I was thankful to have one
last family dinner with Matthew, my parents and my sister. As I worked my way through the airport procedures, I was still a ball of nerves. When I checked off the last criteria before boarding, I finally relaxed. After I boarded and took my seat, I realized I was actually going to be reunited with my husband and two youngest children.

The flight was pleasant and after retrieving my baggage, I finally
locked eyes with Jeff as he waited for me outside the airport. That hug was the best!! I knew I was right where I was supposed to be. The last leg of the journey was long, but that evening I was home with Samuel and Caroline and Jeff! It was great to be home! Things have not slowed down since my return, but it is a happy busy. Even in all the crazy and adjusting to life in a foreign country, I know I am exactly where the Lord has called me to be.

Ride home from the airport

I pray that future trips home are not quite so adventurous, but the
blessing in it all is that throughout all of this our Lord was faithful. He always provided, even when we didn’t know what we needed. He gave us supportive family and friends that covered us in prayer. I am so thankful we are healthy and back on the field doing what the Lord so graciously called us to do.

Filed Under: The Holloways, Uncategorized Tagged With: COVID, Holloways

9th Grade Psalms

January 25, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 4 Comments

I asked my 9th graders, after reading some of David’s psalms, to write their own. I couldn’t help but sharing a few (with permission) from these young ladies.

Nightmare by Nathalie Oliva     

This nightmare is a blurry memory

Stuck inside my head,

It is mostly made of what I felt

When I saw my father dead.

How it happened I don´t remember,

My memory is only composed of feelings,

Like my heart was completely conscious,

But my brain was only dreaming.

I saw everybody walk in and out,

But did not recognize a face,

All I knew was that they weren´t my dad,

And only wanted my pain to erase.

I called out to God,

And asked Him to bring back my dad,

And when He didn´t do it,

Well, that just made me mad.

When I accepted he was gone,

I told God to take control,

And surely I felt a little bit lighter,

But my dad had still left in me a hole.

All I wanted was for this nightmare to end,

I wanted someone to take away my pain,

And when I cried for someone to wake me up,

They whispered: But darling, you´re already awake.

__________________________________________________________________________

MY PSALM TO YOU OH LORD! by Elem

Oh! My Lord I cried out to you! You surrounded me with your arms and your peace was over and in me! You brought me close to your chest and hugged me and I heard the tender whisper of your love! You are my strength in my afflictions! I felt your grace over me and it encircled me.  And I said take me Oh Lord and mold me like a diamond no matter how much the pain is make me who you want to be! You do whatever you need and make me an unwavering person. Hold  me in your arms because there I find my comfort. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Belonging by Isis

When I don’t know where I belong,

When I am unshared of who I am

When my heart and my hands shake

 For been afraid and scare,

But then I remember that He is always there,

When I don’t know what to do

I pray, pray to the Lord

Who bring me peace and love

All I have that I can give is love,

That He already gave me so far

When I think I am alone,

 In a whole world without someone to help,

I remember He comes, to give me peace and love,

Because his huge love all around me He covers and all ,

When darkness comes, and a shadow is the only thing I can saw

I know He is there, being my light, even when I don’t see it

When people try to cut me down,

He is the one Who brings me up,

The one who give me strength and courage to keep on,

If I don’t have his love, I am nobody

His love, his peace, and his grace should cover our world

For a better been, for a better spirit and soul,

In this world of sinners.

_____________________________________________________________________________

A Father by Hasly

Almighty God, you listened to me in those harsh times.

Powerful and wonderful God, you heard my prayers.

You gave me strength when I was weak.

My mind has been hard to control,

But You have helped me.

It was not easy to get over it and I do still tend to fall again in my own game,

But you are always there supporting me.

Just like a father takes care of his children,

You have taken care of me.

I clearly understand that you do not give us a cross we cannot carry,

And I know I am not the exception.

Now, I know I am strong and I can get over it.

It has been hard to control what I think,

But with you in my heart I have started to control my thoughts.

My thoughts took me to things that were not correct.

I was not taking care of my body,

I was not protecting your dwelling place.

Trust me, I am really sorry.

I know that what I did was not correct.

I do not deserve the forgiveness of such a powerful and perfect being like you,

But I know you love me and I know that I love you.

I promise to take care of myself and love myself,

Just as I love you.

It might not be easy in a world like this,

But I am sure that with you with me I am going to do it.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

TEN years?!?!

December 27, 2020 by Kristi Hopkins 4 Comments

This month marks our anniversary of when we left the US to live in Central America for “three years.” The days turned into years and those years somehow turned into TEN YEARS. Can you believe it? When we left the US we were a family of four, serving alone and have now grown to a family of 5 and a team of 10. If you had asked the younger me if I would still be living in Honduras, I would have laughed. Of course not. I would miss my family, Dr. Pepper and convenience. God lovingly chose to tell me what he knew I could handle. I couldn’t understand the bigger picture and my Father knew that. And so he walked me through the day to day things until I could accept the larger plan He had in mind. He held me as I grieved not living close to my family and gave me friends to comfort me. He provided Dr Pepper through supermarket owners and fabulous students who tried (and may have succeeded) in bribing me. And I am pretty sure FaceTime is a miracle, created just to make family seem a little closer. While I would never have dreamed I would still be here, I couldn’t have hoped for a better place to call home. 

For you guys who agreed (ten years ago) to support us for three years, we are so very thankful for your friendship and your prayers. We would not have been able to stay here without you. We would not have made it through the hard times without your constant prayers. We would have no one to share our joys with (or read our blogs) without your friendship. Thank you. 

As I was reflecting, I looked back over some of my first blogs. I might have cried a little as I remembered just how much God has done for us. I for sure laughed a lot and thought I would share some of things that made me giggle in our first months overseas: 

A couple of weeks ago Emma was not happy about school and made plans to “buy a guitar, start a band and move back to Teague.

Last week we watched a movie in my class. When the kids complained that it was in English I explained that our school is an English speaking school and therefore our movie had to be in English. Josep, one of my newer kids, responded, “The school is not in English, only the Mrs. is.”

Emma just informed us she was going to the porch to “show off”.  We found her later sitting outside, “waiting for peoples to walk by so I can show them gymnastics tricks.”

Tyler has learned to scale the 8 foot wall separating our house and our neighbors. A useful skill I am sure!

Tyler was most excited at the end of the school day to show me a lemon tree he had found.  I however, just wanted to continue the half mile walk home. God is teaching me to slow down and smell the roses (or lemon trees in our case) and to see the little things as a gift from Him. 

I was about to buy “fresh fruit” at the ferria this week but then noticed the apple in my hand was imported from the USA.

After mispronouncing a word in English Tyler said, “Well, I guess that a start.  I have to start speaking bad English to learn Spanish.”

I was explaining to one of the kids in my class that she needed to speak English more. Her response, “Oh, since you speak bad Spanish, you need me to speak English.”

When asked by her teacher what the acronym for United States of America would be, Emma responded, “Texas.”

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Back at it

December 4, 2020 by Hannah Williamson Leave a Comment

I’ve been back in Honduras for a little over a month now. Within this month we have added two new families to our team, Honduras has been hit with two severe hurricanes, and Thanksgiving looked a little different than usual. It has been a wild month for sure.

The two new families have been such a great addition to our team. I am excited to work with new people and learn from their experience in life and ministry. To learn more about them, check out their personal blogs on our website (Jimison’s & Holloway’s).

Jimison’s Holloway’s

Hurricanes Eta & Iota

Honduras was hit by hurricanes Eta and Iota within the span of 2 weeks. Major devastation took place in the large city San Pedro Sula. Gracias, where I live, was impacted by the second hurricane more than the first. Many roofs and homes were broken or destroyed. 61 Isaiah and other missions organizations within Gracias have teamed up to help the people in our area by assessing home damage and putting together construction crews to rebuild homes. These crews will be made up primarily of Hondurans so that they can be paid during this time and continue providing for their families. Other areas near us were impacted through loss of crops. We are creating food packages to send to families through Christmas to get them through these months post hurricanes. After Christmas we will reassess the need.

  • House in one of the villages
  • Road from Gracias to Santa Rosa

It has been awesome to see the different missions organizations within Gracias come together and serve. I have enjoyed meeting some of them for the first time and reconnecting with others. I hope this is the first of many joint efforts.

Thanksgiving with ALCS

Although most things have looked different this year because of COVID, such as online school, Abundant Life Christian School still provided our yearly Thanksgiving dinner. I have always looked forward to dressing up, going to the fancy hotel, and eating one of the absolute best meals of the year. However, I wasn’t sure that was going to happen this year since most of the North American teachers are still in the USA. But, ALCS came through and created a prudent atmosphere for us teachers. It means a lot to me that they choose to celebrate a foreign holiday with us every year just because it’s important to us. It truly exemplifies the meaning of walking with people, and I am very thankful to get to walk with ALCS.

What I’ve Learned in November

Overall, November has been quite eventful. But honestly, I didn’t expect anything different. Okay, maybe not back to back hurricanes… I mean it is 2020, so is it really that hard to believe? But for real, I have gotten to experience God’s protection and provision unlike ever before. I have few defenses against natural disasters or worldwide pandemics. I can prepare and try my best to prevent, but what it really comes down to is I don’t have the ability to fully control or fix these massive problems. My job is to trust the God that does have the ability. Then when things don’t go the way I think they should, my job doesn’t change. Trust still. Pray. Struggle. Trust. Struggle again. Keep praying. Keep trusting.

Filed Under: Hannah, Uncategorized Tagged With: Abundant Life Christian School, ALCS Thanksgiving, Disaster relief, Eta and Iota, Hannah Williamson

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