Things are getting closer and closer to coming to a close. Today (or possibly tomorrow) the last of the students will leave. A few regular students, plus all of the Bible school students have stayed here for a Christian camp which finishes this morning. It will be sad to see them go. Right now I have plans to see several of them in the last few weeks as I will be travelling near their home areas, but it's still hard to see them go.
I finally feel much better. After over a month of having one type of sickness or another I am finally starting to have energy. I still have a certain amount of pain from the shingles, but it makes sense that my body needs to heal and it's not zapping my ability to get things done.
In the past few weeks I have begun to try to get things ready to go home. Finding a job doesn't look like it will be easy, but I don't feel that there is much that I can do from here...and in fact little that I can do while in Kansas...and maybe not really much I can do til January, haha. But I'm still trying to look-to get ideas of where to apply if nothing else. I already have a place to live and a roommate, and that is a huge blessing and a lot of worry off my mind.
I am so very sad to be leaving Honduras, but I am excited about this next year. While my life here is great, I don't get much of the indepence 24 year olds from the States are used to (you have no idea how excited I will be to have my car back!!!) I am looking forward to seeing my friends, going to my church, and starting life as a "real adult" (though I doubt the last one is half as exciting in reality as it sounds).
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
A Long Awaited Update...
Sorry it has been SOOOO long since my last post. I've been super busy and trying to figure some things out concerning my future and I didn't want to write til I got more figured out. I'll write about that more below, but first a more general update:
The boys have left. They finished out their school year, we had a graduation and their families picked them up. It all happened so quickly. We still have a couple of students on campus who are staying for a Christian camp that will be held here. The Bible school students are also here until this camp. This makes the place less lonely but campus still feels rather empty. It's sad to see them going, especially because many of them do not have homes (or good homes) to which they are returning. All we can do is pray though. Many of them will have to try to find work, which can be difficult to find just to have food to eat and a roof over their heads. Many of them will be returning to old temptations like drugs and alcohol, so they need our prayers.
It is encouraging though to see the changes that have been made in them over this last year. New confidence. New work ethic. New goals. New faith in God. For many of them this school was sort of a last chance. Not all of the boys made it through the school year. We had a few leave of their own free will-including for family reasons. Several had to leave because of discipline issues. But I believe that these boys had the seed of God's love planted in their hearts. The name of the school, El Sembrador, means "the Sower" and it is such a fitting name. Many important men in Honduras went to Escuela El Sembrador. Some became Christians at the school. Others didn't during their time at the school but later did because of the seed planted in their hearts during their time at the school.
The last few days I have been having to take it easy because I have shingles. It's very painful, but fortunately we have good medical care here on campus thanks to the nurse, Lillian. She took care of making sure I got on the right antiviral medicines right away and when I went to her yesterday about the pain she sent me into a very good doctor in Catacamas. (By the way, doctor's visits and meds here are very cheap here-$13 for a doctors visit, a shot, and pills!). I am still in pain and still have a nasty rash, but I am feeling much better.
So...I have had to make some choices concerning my future. I had applied to volunteer here next year and been accepted earlier this year, but in the last month I have done some thinking and believe that the best thing for me at this point is to return to the States to live and maybe study some more. I feel an attachment and calling to Honduras and the ministry here, but I feel that now is the time for me to think about a long term commitment to it and I believe that being back in the States is the only way for me to get perspective on this important decision. It's very hard for me to leave and know that I will not see many of these people again, but I feel that God is calling to live in the States next year just as He called me to live in Honduras for this one.
I plan to live in Tahlequah since I have a wonderful church and friends there and there are more job opportunities there than there are closer to my parents in Kansas. I have found a place to live and I am excited to see what God has for me in this upcoming year. Please pray that I will be able to find a job and if you hear of a job possibility, let me know!
The boys have left. They finished out their school year, we had a graduation and their families picked them up. It all happened so quickly. We still have a couple of students on campus who are staying for a Christian camp that will be held here. The Bible school students are also here until this camp. This makes the place less lonely but campus still feels rather empty. It's sad to see them going, especially because many of them do not have homes (or good homes) to which they are returning. All we can do is pray though. Many of them will have to try to find work, which can be difficult to find just to have food to eat and a roof over their heads. Many of them will be returning to old temptations like drugs and alcohol, so they need our prayers.
It is encouraging though to see the changes that have been made in them over this last year. New confidence. New work ethic. New goals. New faith in God. For many of them this school was sort of a last chance. Not all of the boys made it through the school year. We had a few leave of their own free will-including for family reasons. Several had to leave because of discipline issues. But I believe that these boys had the seed of God's love planted in their hearts. The name of the school, El Sembrador, means "the Sower" and it is such a fitting name. Many important men in Honduras went to Escuela El Sembrador. Some became Christians at the school. Others didn't during their time at the school but later did because of the seed planted in their hearts during their time at the school.
The last few days I have been having to take it easy because I have shingles. It's very painful, but fortunately we have good medical care here on campus thanks to the nurse, Lillian. She took care of making sure I got on the right antiviral medicines right away and when I went to her yesterday about the pain she sent me into a very good doctor in Catacamas. (By the way, doctor's visits and meds here are very cheap here-$13 for a doctors visit, a shot, and pills!). I am still in pain and still have a nasty rash, but I am feeling much better.
So...I have had to make some choices concerning my future. I had applied to volunteer here next year and been accepted earlier this year, but in the last month I have done some thinking and believe that the best thing for me at this point is to return to the States to live and maybe study some more. I feel an attachment and calling to Honduras and the ministry here, but I feel that now is the time for me to think about a long term commitment to it and I believe that being back in the States is the only way for me to get perspective on this important decision. It's very hard for me to leave and know that I will not see many of these people again, but I feel that God is calling to live in the States next year just as He called me to live in Honduras for this one.
I plan to live in Tahlequah since I have a wonderful church and friends there and there are more job opportunities there than there are closer to my parents in Kansas. I have found a place to live and I am excited to see what God has for me in this upcoming year. Please pray that I will be able to find a job and if you hear of a job possibility, let me know!
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