Hannah Williamson Archives

August 6, 2021 by Shannon Hopkins Leave a Comment

Mixed Emotions

Everyday at 9:38 we pray for the Lord to send workers for the harvest. When He sends workers our way we promise to walk alongside them. That promise to walk alongside them is not just to work alongside them Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm, but to live alongside them. We invite them into our lives, into our mess, and we challenge them to do the same with us. Because of this promise, 61 Isaiah is not just a ministry team, it is a family. That is why when the Lord relocates His workers we are filled with both excitement and sadness. We are excited for what the Lord has for them next, but we are sad about the distance that is about to be placed between us and our family members.

Below our Communication Director, Spencer Wolverton, and our Field Logistics Coordinator, Hannah Williamson, have written a few words to let the 61 Isaiah family know that God has called them back to the States.

Spencer Wolverton:

I never want to be the bearer of sad tidings, and that is why I have put off this blog post for days, weeks, and at least a month. God, however, has reminded me that this is both happy and sad news. Therefore with both a smile on my face and tears in my eyes, I inform you that I will be returning to the States to do whatever work the Lord has for me next. After August 17th, I will no longer be working for 61 Isaiah Ministries as their Communication Director.

This isn’t goodbye, this is see you later. If I say goodbye then some might think I’m walking away from the people who have walked next to me for the past two years. If I say goodbye then some might think I’m done working with 61 Isaiah. If I say goodbye then some might think I’m done with missions in Honduras. So I’m not going to say it.

I’m going to say “See you later” because I’m not done with these people. I’m not done with 61 Isaiah. I’m not done with missions in Honduras. However, I realize that the Lord is calling me back to the States. That means the way I walk with these amazing people has to change. That means my role within 61 Isaiah has to change. That means the way I’ve done missions the past two years in Honduras has to change.

These are changes that I will welcome, because at the end of the day it’s what God has called me to do. What that will look like in the future, I do not know yet, but I know that my God is Good. My God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).

I want to end this by saying thank you! Thank you for all of your prayers. Thank you for praying for me everyday at 9:38. Thank you for all of your encouragement and words of wisdom. I’m looking forward to seeing everything God accomplishes through 61 Isaiah Ministries.

Hannah Williamson:

My 2 years with 61 Isaiah and 3 years in Honduras have been life-changing. I have been challenged and stretched in so many ways. Living in another culture will do that to you, but working with a ministry like 61 Isaiah will do that to you too. 61 Isaiah Ministries has prepared me to return to the USA with new eyes. They have showed me what walking with people and having grit truly looks like, amongst many other things.

I am so thankful for the people that have supported me during my time here: my family, my friends, my donators, and my team. Without you this never would have been possible. I have also been encouraged and supported by the Board of Directors and various US church teams that have visited over the years. Saying this goodbye is turning out be one of the hardest goodbyes I’ve ever had to make.

I am thankful the Lord placed me here when He did. I got to walk through COVID with this ministry and help lay down foundational pieces to propel it towards the future. I will be forever grateful for this opportunity to serve with such an amazing ministry and team. I look forward to continuing to walk with 61 Isaiah Ministries in new ways as I transition back to the USA.

Join Us in Praying for Their Future

We enjoyed our time with Hannah and Spencer. Selfishly we want them to stay, but ultimately we desire what the Lord has for them and for us more. Instead of sitting in sadness, we are going to do our best to celebrate with them as they transition back to the States. Please join us in praying for clarity as they determine specifically what the Lord has for them next in the States.

May 25, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins 1 Comment

Lessen the Loneliness

There is definitely a romantic view of overseas missions. People may think it’s nice to live in a beautiful, tropical foreign country. People may think it’s nice to have money sent to you by supportive people and churches. People may think it’s nice to run your own organization. Don’t get me wrong, there are most definitely nice things about overseas missions. It is an amazing call from God to leave your home and move to a foreign place to walk with the people there. It is an honorable calling. It’s also a hard calling. We could argue there are harder callings or that all callings are hard in their own way. I agree. Today, however, I specifically want to talk about one of the difficulties that comes from answering the call to overseas missions.

Reality of Overseas Missions

The reality is it’s lonely as an overseas missionary. Overseas missionaries live in a constant state of transition as they welcome people in then watch them leave shortly after. They have to form thick skin so as not to allow every goodbye to break them apart, but then they have to be soft enough to allow new people in. It’s an exhausting cycle, but it’s part of the job.

I think the loneliness of an overseas missionary comes mainly from the lack of steady, deep friendships. Life is lonely without deep friendships, deep community. As a full-time missionary in a foreign country, it is extremely hard to find community for various reasons such as language barriers, age gaps, and differences in mission strategy. It is more likely that once an overseas missionary develops a solid friendship, that friend leaves soon after.

I can’t say I experienced much loneliness during my time as a missionary in Honduras. I can’t say that because I walked into a ministry with Lead Missionaries who pursued a relationship with me and helped me grow in my relationship with Jesus. I’m speaking of the Lead Missionaries of 61 Isaiah Ministries, Shannon and Kristi Hopkins. Those two people are ordained by God to be missionaries here in Honduras. They love like Jesus, truly like Jesus. They let people into their lives over and over and over, then say goodbye to them all. You may have moved around a lot as a kid and experienced the need to put up walls in order to protect yourself from difficult goodbyes. Think about being the one that never moved but instead watched everyone else move on. Not only have Shannon and Kristi done this for 10 years here on the field, but so have their kids. Through the constant change, they remain obedient to the call God placed on their life. Thank you to the Hopkins family and to other overseas missionaries who remain obedient to the call, even through the loneliness.

The Hopkins Family: Emma, Kristi, Shannon, Tyler, & Bella

Overseas Missions Is a Commitment

Not everyone is cut out for the role of overseas missionary. It is a commitment to serve God without familiarity and without steady, deep community. It is a commitment to raise others up only to watch them leave again and again. If you know an overseas missionary, reach out to them. Check in on them often. Go see them! You may think they’re too busy and they probably are, but keep trying. Lessen the loneliness.

April 5, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

It Took Me 5 Years to Read Through the Bible

When I was 21 I had this new desire to make my faith my own. Meaning, I wanted to know what Scripture says not just because someone told me what it says, but because I have read it and I know what it says. For the first time I decided to read through the whole Bible chronologically in one year and understand it for myself. Five years later I finished the task I set out on. You may be thinking, “Wow, it took her five years to read through the Bible… that’s kind of a long time.” You would be right, especially since it was supposed to be a one year plan. Let me tell you why it took longer than expected…

One year reading plans are awesome. However, I do not do well with time sensitive reading plans, as I found out about four months into this whole thing. If I missed a day it was really hard for me to catch up and keep going because I got upset with myself for missing a day, then I would end up missing a whole week, then I would get even more upset for missing more days that I just quit all together. This pattern went on for at least a year. I would read a whole bunch in one day to catch up and get back on track, only to get off track again a few weeks later. So I stopped reading. Months went by as I gave up on this goal. I was mad at myself for not being able to stick to a plan and read a few chapters a day.

Around year two I remembered my initial desire: to make my faith my own. In order to do that I needed to know what Scripture says. So one day I took that reading plan and completely ignored the dates given and the required reading per day given and I chose to read as little or as much as I wanted each day in order to finish the reading plan. Once I decided to ignore the time sensitive guidelines, I felt much freer to truly enjoy and dig into what I was reading. Some days I would read a chapter or two, some days I would only read a few verses. Some days I would listen to music or a podcast. Some days I would just be silent. And, of course, some days it just didn’t happen. There were seasons of great growth and seasons that seemed dry. Either way, my time with God changed. It helped me a lot to let go of the timeline and expectations and just be present with God.

Over the past five years my love for God and the Bible has grown tremendously. I have enjoyed having challenging conversations with friends and family about what I have been learning and I have loved hearing their opinions while forming my own. I have even begun reading commentaries on certain passages I don’t understand. My desire to make my faith my own has held true five years later. This year I am starting over and beginning a new reading plan. Since the Bible is living and active, I am excited to see what new things will be discovered this time around. It may take one year or five. I am just excited to get to read, learn, grow, and be present with God through Scripture.

February 15, 2021 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

Different

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!

December 4, 2020 by Kristi Hopkins Leave a Comment

Back at it

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.