May - Busy month (lots to catch y'all up on)
These are just a few of the many things that have happened this past month, but these are the things the Lord laid on my heart to share with you.
Board Meetings
I prayerfully joined on the board of the only special education school on the island, Cattleya. Although I have a lot on my plate, God placed it on my heart to be a part of this board for the next two years. I am a speech-language pathologist and want to use my knowledge in this area to be a blessing to this school.
PRAYER: Please pray that God will direct us as a board in the decisions we have to make and please pray that God would continue to use this school to be a blessing to the families on the island that have children with disabilities. Also please pray for Tyler as he is on a new board for a transition housing that is in the works of being opened on the island.
Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery through R Church has been running now for 10 weeks on the island of Roatan, Honduras in the Mudhole community. We started with all three programs: Saturday 12pm-2pm youth and 3pm-5pm adults/kids. Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers for volunteers because we couldn't do without the many hands that help with each of these programs. The youth program is growing and we have around 17 teens right now that come consistently and look forward to coming each week. The adult program attendance varies. More adults tend to attend on a "live testimony" night, but on the "lesson" night we have a small, solid group consistently attending. As of right now the kids program is on hold until God provides two teachers for this group, with at least one being bilingual.
Other Celebrate Recovery Programs running (or coming soon) in Honduras:
-CR kids and youth - running on Wednesdays on the East side of Roatan in Oakridge at Legacy Mission Int'l
-CR adults - coming soon to the east side of Roatan in Oakridge at Legacy Mission Int'l
-CR kids - running in Spanish in Tegus at a mission ministering to kids in a foster home
-CR adults - materials provided to a missionary working with gangs in Tegus and a church in Comayagua
-CR kids - prayerfully coming soon to Utila, Honduras (a sister island to Roatan)
-CR adults - prayerful coming soon to Guanaja, Honduras (a sister island to Roatan)
PRAYER: Please be in prayer for 2 teachers needed for the kids program, and that at least one of them would be bilingual. Please be in prayer that CR will show people there is healing through any hurt, hang-up or habit through Jesus Christ.
Teen Service at West End Baptist Church
A mission team came from the states and we were able to take our teen youth group to the teen service at West End Baptist Church. It was a great night with over 100 youth in attendance. Later we found out that after our youth group during the day and the teen service at night, one of Guenther's friends accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior!! Praise God!
PRAYER: Please prayer for the younger generation to be drawn toward God and have a desire to love and serve Jesus.
Science Fair
One of the teens from youth group invited us to visit his end of the year Science Fair. It was so great to see all of the kids working so hard in school and so proud to show off all of their projects. It was a blast!
PRAYER: That the kids on the island would work hard on their education in order to have more opportunities later in life.
Home School (1 more down, 5 left to go)
We completed a course this month!!!! Guenther only has 5 more classes to go and then he will graduate from High School. I still can't believe I have been homeschooling him since 2nd grade, wow! It's been a blessing and a challenge in the best kind of way.
PRAYER: Please pray for Guenther to follow God's will for his life after High School and that Guenther puts God first in his life always.
Ladies Meetings with West End Baptist Church
On Monday nights, the West End Baptist Church has a ladies meeting. I've been going to this with my sister in Christ (who rents us the place where we live) for a while now. It has been a blessing to be a part of this. We have so much fun together studying God's word and fellowshipping. This past month we had 2 special Ladies Meetings: we went out to dinner as a group of ladies one Monday and another Monday a short term mission team came in from the States. It's always a great time getting together with the ladies for the honor and glory of God.
PRAYER: Please pray for ladies meeting, specifically that we would remain unified and continue to grow in Christ. Also please pray for the men, they are starting a men's meeting now.
Share the Message at West End Baptist Church on Mother's Day
The ladies often ask me to teach the Bible on Monday nights at the ladies meeting at West End Baptist Church. Well, one Monday they mentioned that the women would be helping run the Sunday morning service for Mother's Day and they voted for me to bring the Bible Message in front of the entire church. That service went great and almost all the ladies participated in some way. God used me to bring a message on the Proverbs 31 Woman and it went really well, praise the Lord. All I do is for his honor and glory. I am just grateful to be used to make His great name known.
PRAYER: Please pray for West End Baptist Church to be a beacon of light and hope with the good news of Jesus Christ to their community.
Lunch at Vivian's for Mother's Day
A sweet sister in Christ invited our family over for a Mother's Day lunch at her house. It was her and her family there, along with us. She cooked some yummy delicious food. It was a blessing to spend that time with her and her family, such a blessing to us.
PRAYER: Praising God for this sweet sister in Christ who has a true spiritual gift for hospitality who loves on our family and is a blessing to us.
Blessed to be a Blessing (Shareen fridge and phone)
I am not sure if y'all remember my friend Shareen and the bathroom project. Well, the fridge she had in her housed ended up catching on fire from a candle that was being burned on top of it (praise God her house didn't burn down). She's been out a fridge for a little while and because of the generosity of y'all we were able to save up and purchase her a new little fridge!!! We are blessed to be a blessing. Funny story...I was looking at this one fridge and praying about purchasing it. Well when I went back to purchase it, it was gone! I trusted God had a plan and he did. We went to another store a little farther away and they had the same fridge for $60 cheaper! I was able to put that $60 toward groceries and toiletries that she needed. God had a greater plan than we expected, praise the LORD. And a side bonus, my dad bought me a new phone for my birthday and I was able to gift my sweet friend with my old phone, yay!
PRAYER: Praising God for showing me the needs of those around me and using me to help meet those needs as we are able. We are blessed to be a blessing!
Switching Home Churches
We've been attending "R Church" in Roatan, Honduras for almost 3 years. It has been a blessing to be under the teaching/peaching of Pastor Travis and to serve alongside such amazing servants of Jesus. We will miss them bunches! But after prayer, we feel God is leading us to make "West End Baptist Church" our "home church" here in Honduras. We will still be helping run Celebrate Recovery through R Church, but we will be attending West End Baptist Church as our primary church. We look forward to joining the body of believers there, serving alongside them, and sharing the good news of Jesus in that community and throughout the island.
PRAYER: Please pray for the transition and that God would be glorified in all that we do.
College classes are back in session
Well y'all, I had a few weeks off and now I'm back at it. I am working on my Master of Divinity at Luther Rice College and Seminary and I am on class 2 of 30. This class is "Introduction to Biblical Interpretation." I am excited about all that I am learning. Y'all know I'm a Bible nerd and I love studying the Bible. It will be a challenge, but I trust that God will help me through it.
PRAYER: Please pray that I will be able to learn the material (it's a LOT of reading and I also have to write a really long paper) and apply it to teaching the Bible.
Well y'all that's all for now. It's only a quick snippet of what's gone on in May, but in the little bit shared I hope you see how God is working here in Honduras.
Thank you for your prayers and financial support. We couldn't do this without you! Together we can reach the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Blessings. Love y'all bunches!