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April 5, 2017 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

New Brothers in Christ

 

Sometimes when you meet people it takes a little while to see the potential in them, while others it’s immediately evident. Marvin is one of the latter but I’m not sure most of his teachers would agree. I met him when he was in 8th grade and I bet him a nerf gun that he couldn’t go an entire week without getting in trouble for talking. He won that bet… but it is probably the only time before or since that he has not been in trouble for talking. Now in 11th grade, this hasn’t changed. He is always going to talk (he is very much like a high school Shannon.) But what has changed is his heart. Marvin gave his life to Christ this month after many months of truly thinking things through. This isn’t blind faith or teenage emotions but a well thought out desire to follow Him.

We began to see Gods work in him months ago (although it began before this I am sure) when he received demerits at school and “had to spend 50 hours” with Shannon and I serving in our ministry. He didn’t gripe (to our faces) but jumped right in translating, playing with kids and doing anything we asked. I asked him the first week he was with us if he had a relationship with Christ. “That’s a good question, Ms. I don’t think I do but I need to think about whether I am ready for that.” He has spent the months since then serving a God that he didn’t know but in the process learning who He is. I am thrilled to be able to call this young man, my brother in Christ. Just like Paul, when Marvin became a Christian, God began a work in him that others are seeing. One teacher remarked that the change in him is as drastic as “day is to night.” How amazing is our God. I am positive that God has great things in store for Marvin and will use his charismatic and talkative personality to His glory.

Our Stories of God working don’t just stop with Marvin. Another young man also came to know the Lord the same week as he was translating for a mission team. Saul is an 11th grader at Abundant Life Christian School and an upstanding young man. His teachers and classmates alike respect him.   He has a quiet smile and gentle personality that allows people to see the best in him immediately. When Tyler was in 7th grade he wanted to play basketball. Our students play on a team of 7-12th grade which made this momma a little nervous. But Saul was on the same team and anytime I asked him to keep an eye on Tyler, he readily agreed. He is that kind of kid. He is also a great goalie and will sacrifice his body to stop the ball! However, he could best be described as a thinker. Since Shannon is high on faith and not naturally a person to analyze things, there have been many days this year that he has come out of bible class and said that Saul’s questions were driving him crazy. I love the questions though!  From these seemingly endless questions about every single detail that Shannon brings up has come a faith not based on what someone else believes but on what Saul knows to be true. He has sought and found. While Saul has always been a good kid, being a Christian is about so much more! I truly hope that he does not stop asking questions but that as he asks those questions that he grows deeper in his faith and relationship with Christ.

As you continue to pray for the leaders and our students in Honduras at 9:38, praise him that we have two new brothers in Christ!

Filed Under: Kristi, Life with us, School

March 17, 2017 by Kristi Hopkins 2 Comments

Javier, “Rise Up As a Nation’s Leader!”

It started out with around 2000 applicants from this country alone. From there they were weeded out until only a 50 from the San Pedro area were left, and I assume about the same in the Tegucigalpa area. My three students were among those 50 chosen to interview for the Walton International Scholarship. Even the ones that were not chosen to go on, worked hard and I am so proud of them. However, of those 50 that interviewed in person a couple weeks ago, only 5 were chosen… and one of those was Javier Lara, a senior at our school. He then went for a second interview early in March and we just received new that he won the scholarship and will be attending Harding University in the fall.
It is rare to find a student that has great leadership abilities and yet uses it to help others. I have seen him entertain 50 kids on a mountain and I have seen him cry after praying for an older man in the hospital. I watched him mentor an elementary kid as a junior in high school and I have seen him try to charm his teachers out of class.  His goals are to rise up to be a great leader here in our country, Honduras, so that others can continue their education with scholarships. He wants to graduate from university so he can help his parents with his siblings education. I don’t imagine this is the intention of many 18 year olds however, Javier is no ordinary teenage. Below is his essay describing why he wants to attend university and what his goals are after graduation. His goal show his true character and are worth the read!
             ” I was raised in a small town, Lepaera, which is located in the western part of Honduras. My parents got married when they were very young. As a result they have had difficulty in finding a high paying job thereby limiting their ability to earn sufficient money to generate a good income for the family.  By the time I was born, my dad had worked hard in order to get a promotion in his job.  My parents knew that I had a big future, so they started to teach me about Christian values, moral values, and courtesy rules that I was going to need later on. I attended a public school in my small town, which its name is Escuela Urbana Mixta Manuel Bonilla. During the six years I was in the public system I had a lot of ups and downs, but I always saw those moments as opportunities for me to grow stronger. After I graduated from the public school, I had few options to continue my high school education because of my parents’ income. I knew that in the worst case I would have to go to a public high school, but I was not excited about continuing my education there. Around this time, my dad got a new job in a government bank, significantly improving my parent´s income. In my heart I knew that God was providing a great opportunity for me. I decided to talk with my dad about the chance of studying in a private school. Somehow God worked through my parents to the point that they finally decided that I needed to continue my education in Abundant Life Christian School. So far it is one of the greatest achievements and blessings that my family and I have accomplished and received together. Abundant life Christian School is like the land of opportunity and the home of great educators who are always encouraging students to seek Christ. One of the first commitments that I made to myself and to my parents was that I would always strive for excellence. Not only that but I felt like I had a responsibility to Abundant Life Christian School to uphold the school´s educational and moral values. I decided to work hard in order that one day I would to be well-known in the school because of my faith, my desire to help struggling people, and to be known as a leader. Also as someone mature enough to take tasks and complete them beyond expectations. During my 5 years in Abundant Life Christian School I have learned how to be a good leader from a Christian perspective, how to treat people equally, how to give and receive, and how to work hard for my grades. My dad´s job is the primary source of income in our family and out of his monthly salary about 70% of his monthly income goes for the education of my sister and me in Abundant Life Christian School but it has been worth this sacrifice.
I have planned after graduating from high school to study abroad. Financial help is critical for me to accomplish this goal. My family´s income has taken me as far as they are able but is not enough to ensure my education, as well as my sister and my little brother´s. This is especially true because my father just lost his job. When it gets time for me to graduate I want to work hard, so I can assist in my family´s income and help my parents to pay for my sister and brother´s education. My ultimate life´s goal is that one day I will have enough money to help poor kids in my country to continue their education through scholarships. If one day I get the opportunity to rise up as one of my nation´s leaders, I will work diligently in order to make Honduras a safe and better place for people to live and continue their education.”

Filed Under: Kristi, School

February 23, 2017 by Kristi Hopkins 3 Comments

Teodulo

One summer while Shannon was in the US, I was followed home by a guy making inappropriate comments. I wasn’t sure what I to do or who to call so I called Teodulo, our guard for the past 5 years. He immediately ask the police to begin patrolling our house more frequently, got me the personal number of the police chief and then each night until Shannon returned he slept on our front porch in a hammock. This is just one example. I wish I had time to tell you all stories that show how selfless Teodulo is and all the ways in which he cares for our family above and beyond “guarding” our house… Things like teaching my kids to ride their bike, taking Lucy for walks, organizing our garage… I could go on and on. But right now this dear friend needs your prayers. He started running fever and not feeling good last week. This week, he has become incoherent and confused about everything, even who we are. Thankfully, he is able to stay with us until the doctors can find out what is going on and our 61 Isaiah team has done a great job of helping take care of him. Yesterday we saw a neurologist who will begin running test but finding out what is wrong is not an easy process. Please pray for wisdom for this doctor as he treats Teodulo and pray for quick healing.

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Filed Under: Kristi, Life with us

February 15, 2017 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

Papito Dios

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Filed Under: Kristi, School

November 18, 2016 by Kristi Hopkins 1 Comment

The Teenage Years

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The teenage years are hard. But then again so is adjusting to college…the first years of marriage… those years where your kids are babies… empty nest, etc.  Life can be hard. Often times we try to hide this from others, especially in the Christian realm. We think we shouldn’t have problems although this is clearly against what Paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” Claudia is doing just this. She struggled in junior high and the first part of high school but she isn’t just hiding her problems away. She started a support group for other junior high and high school students at our school so that they can have the support and encouragement she didn’t have. Last week 14 seventh and eighth graders came to this group to share their struggles and to learn God’s design for getting through them. I watched this young lady respond with more compassion and wisdom than many adults. She’s doing an amazing job and I am so proud that she cared enough about others to share her struggles even though it was not easy.  Pray for her as she leads this group for 3 more weeks and then begins the six-week support group for high school.

Filed Under: Kristi, Life with us, School

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