To Honduras with Love
Donation protected
I have so much to share with all of you since my last post. Exactly one year ago I was walking across the stage at my high school graduation and the following week I moved to Honduras to follow my calling as a Missionary. My life has changed more than I could have ever imagined! I've been placed in situations beyond my comfort zone which has completely forced me to grow in ways I never thought possible. I have been reminded countless times that my God is SO faithful!! During my trials and tribulations this year, God has continued to reveal himself in countless ways. As many of you know, I've been blessed with meeting the man God created for me while living in Honduras and Jarison and I will be getting married in November!! There's no greater gift than furthering God's Kingdom alongside of your very best friend! I feel extremely blessed to share my journey in life with a man who is equally passionate about loving and serving the people of Honduras. Then my life was blessed again in January when God gave me the most beautiful two year old little boy who now calls me Mommy! Jalil has taught me what it truly means to love. And he has also taught me that a house is just a house....its who you put in it that makes it a home! My heart is so full!
A few weeks ago we had the amazing opportunity to travel to the village where Jarison is from called the Brus Laguna in the Mosquito Coast of Honduras. We spent two days traveling which consisted of a 3 hour bus ride to San Pedro Sula, another 6 hour bus ride to La Ceiba, and a 4 hour bus ride to Tacoa. On the second day we started off with a bumpy 6 hour ride in a pick up truck and a 4 hour boat ride to arrive in the Mosquito Coast. This village changed my life and my heart forever. When I stepped off the boat I felt as if I was in a completely different country than the one I now call home. Although I've been living in Honduras for a year, the Coast was like a story about poverty written in a magazine. My heart broke because of the poverty that surrounded me. And at the same time, my heart rejoiced because of the love and sheer joy which oozed from every single person I encountered. These precious people were some of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. To us it would appear as if they had nothing....but to them, they had EVERYTHING!!!! They knew their Lord and Savior, which was all they needed!
Life in the Coast makes life elsewhere seem effortless. For starters there is no electricity or running water in the Mosquito Coast. Except from 6:30-7:30 in the morning when everyone in the village walks for miles to the one well to collect the water their families will use for the day. So imagine walking miles just to get the water that your family will use to bathe with, clean with and drink. And if you run out, you have to wait until tomorrow morning. While I was there, my showers consisted of going to the outside and using a cup to scoop water from the bucket while trying not to use too much as there were 20 other people who needed to bathe from the same bucket of brown water.
While helping an injured man from a machete wound, we had to walk an hour in the blazing sun to get to the one and only medical clinic in the Coast. Which was nothing like any clinic I had ever seen before. Another thing that I will never forget was meal time in the Coast. These people have so little, yet they welcome everyone in their homes to share a meal. And they gave me a whole new appreciation for the phrase "stone soup". One of the sweetest memories of this trip which will touch my heart forever was that the entire village came together to host a wedding shower for Jarison and I!! We received the greatest gifts of all....fish, fellowship and lots of love!! People even gave us gifts from their homes which we know were treasures to them. I saw and witnessed love put into action every second of the day! What a gift! And one of the greatest blessings which came out of this trip was meeting sweet little Huerfano (which means orphan in English) . The most precious little 1 year old who is raised by the entire village and bounces around from hut to hut and floor to floor every single night. With no stability or family of his own which literally broke our hearts. So much so that I haven't been able to stop praying for him and thinking of him since I left!
There have been so many great opportunities God has literally been laying at our feet this past few months. We're getting ready for some exciting changes for our family! A couple weeks ago we moved to San Juan Pueblo to partner with the most amazing Honduran couple who are founders of an incredible ministry to plant bilingual Christian schools in the unreached areas of Honduras. We're so blessed to be at their first school called Mercy Christian Academy which is the happiest, sweetest place on earth!! This summer we will be serving in the Mountains of Tegucigalpa running a feeding program and teaching the beautiful children about their Creator during VBS! I'm so excited I can't even stand it! During this time I will be continuing to raise support for a place to call home for not only Jalil and I, but our precious newest little member of the family who I spoke about above who is referred to as "Orphan". When I return from the mountains, he will come to live with me and will never again be called Orphan and he will never again feel like one. As soon as I save enough money I will be moving forward with the adoption process for both of my sweet sons! What an amazing day that will be. Only God knew what an incredible life he had waiting for me when I was walking across that stage last year. All I want is to serve and bring honor and glory to Him in all that I do!
I cannot thank you enough for all of your love, support and prayers! I feel your prayers more than you will ever know!
If you would like to make a donation towards my life as a Missionary, or a home for our family, or bunk beds for my boys, (hee hee), or a bean and rice fund for my hungry toddlers or as Jalil calls it "Num Num", please visit the link and make a donation! We thank you so very much and we feel so blessed to have such incredible, supportive friends and family in our lives. God bless you all! xoxoxoxoxo
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." - Romans 8:28
A few weeks ago we had the amazing opportunity to travel to the village where Jarison is from called the Brus Laguna in the Mosquito Coast of Honduras. We spent two days traveling which consisted of a 3 hour bus ride to San Pedro Sula, another 6 hour bus ride to La Ceiba, and a 4 hour bus ride to Tacoa. On the second day we started off with a bumpy 6 hour ride in a pick up truck and a 4 hour boat ride to arrive in the Mosquito Coast. This village changed my life and my heart forever. When I stepped off the boat I felt as if I was in a completely different country than the one I now call home. Although I've been living in Honduras for a year, the Coast was like a story about poverty written in a magazine. My heart broke because of the poverty that surrounded me. And at the same time, my heart rejoiced because of the love and sheer joy which oozed from every single person I encountered. These precious people were some of the most generous people I have ever met in my life. To us it would appear as if they had nothing....but to them, they had EVERYTHING!!!! They knew their Lord and Savior, which was all they needed!
Life in the Coast makes life elsewhere seem effortless. For starters there is no electricity or running water in the Mosquito Coast. Except from 6:30-7:30 in the morning when everyone in the village walks for miles to the one well to collect the water their families will use for the day. So imagine walking miles just to get the water that your family will use to bathe with, clean with and drink. And if you run out, you have to wait until tomorrow morning. While I was there, my showers consisted of going to the outside and using a cup to scoop water from the bucket while trying not to use too much as there were 20 other people who needed to bathe from the same bucket of brown water.
While helping an injured man from a machete wound, we had to walk an hour in the blazing sun to get to the one and only medical clinic in the Coast. Which was nothing like any clinic I had ever seen before. Another thing that I will never forget was meal time in the Coast. These people have so little, yet they welcome everyone in their homes to share a meal. And they gave me a whole new appreciation for the phrase "stone soup". One of the sweetest memories of this trip which will touch my heart forever was that the entire village came together to host a wedding shower for Jarison and I!! We received the greatest gifts of all....fish, fellowship and lots of love!! People even gave us gifts from their homes which we know were treasures to them. I saw and witnessed love put into action every second of the day! What a gift! And one of the greatest blessings which came out of this trip was meeting sweet little Huerfano (which means orphan in English) . The most precious little 1 year old who is raised by the entire village and bounces around from hut to hut and floor to floor every single night. With no stability or family of his own which literally broke our hearts. So much so that I haven't been able to stop praying for him and thinking of him since I left!
There have been so many great opportunities God has literally been laying at our feet this past few months. We're getting ready for some exciting changes for our family! A couple weeks ago we moved to San Juan Pueblo to partner with the most amazing Honduran couple who are founders of an incredible ministry to plant bilingual Christian schools in the unreached areas of Honduras. We're so blessed to be at their first school called Mercy Christian Academy which is the happiest, sweetest place on earth!! This summer we will be serving in the Mountains of Tegucigalpa running a feeding program and teaching the beautiful children about their Creator during VBS! I'm so excited I can't even stand it! During this time I will be continuing to raise support for a place to call home for not only Jalil and I, but our precious newest little member of the family who I spoke about above who is referred to as "Orphan". When I return from the mountains, he will come to live with me and will never again be called Orphan and he will never again feel like one. As soon as I save enough money I will be moving forward with the adoption process for both of my sweet sons! What an amazing day that will be. Only God knew what an incredible life he had waiting for me when I was walking across that stage last year. All I want is to serve and bring honor and glory to Him in all that I do!
I cannot thank you enough for all of your love, support and prayers! I feel your prayers more than you will ever know!
If you would like to make a donation towards my life as a Missionary, or a home for our family, or bunk beds for my boys, (hee hee), or a bean and rice fund for my hungry toddlers or as Jalil calls it "Num Num", please visit the link and make a donation! We thank you so very much and we feel so blessed to have such incredible, supportive friends and family in our lives. God bless you all! xoxoxoxoxo
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." - Romans 8:28
Organizer
Kenzie Lorch
Organizer
Carmel, IN
