Pittsburgh Project 14// Team James Update

Hello from the Pittsburgh Project!! I’m Erika Coke, one of the high school interns for the summer.  This is my fourth trip to the Project and I’m so excited to be back here serving the Lord and our city alongside this wonderful crew.  I’ve had the opportunity to serve the James family with Jonelle Warner and five amazing girls.  Whoever said girls couldn’t do hard work never met this crew!  All five girls jumped     right to work the second we walked through that door and haven’t slowed down since!

Mr. James has lived in Pittsburgh his entire life.  He grew up in this very house with 13 siblings (7 girls, 7 boys, and one bathroom!)  He has a seven year old son who is absolutely hilarious.  He’s given us all ridiculous, hair color inspired nicknames.  Tuesday he ran around taking pictures of us and calling himself the paparazzi.  He’s taken a special interest in Hanna Behr, whom he affectionately renamed “Shaina.”

The James house is in need of a few coats of paint and a bathroom renovation.  The first day we were without a contractor, but these girls didn’t let that slow them down!  We began by painting the bathroom and the upstairs bedroom and ripping up the flooring in the downstairs bathrooms.  We finished painting the dining room Wednesday and began painting the bathroom.  Mr. James was so excited to hang his pictures on the wall and admire his finished dining room.  We’ll finish the week by adding a few more coats of paint to the wall, sealing the shower walls, installing new bathroom fixtures, replacing a vanity, and laying the bathroom flooring.

Tuesday, a Northway member and contractor named Tom Anzelone had the day off and was gracious enough to help us with our project.  He and his construction crew visited our worksite and helped us install three second story windows and install a subfloor in the bathroom.  We had a blast spending the day with them and are so thankful for their help.  Those windows were big!!

Last night was homeowner night and we were lucky enough to have 5 dinner guests join us.  Each day at lunch we invite Mr. James and his family to join us for sandwiches.  During last night’s service Mr. James shared how excited he was about our lunch time “bible study” conversations.  We are so thankful to have such a delightful homeowner who is so willing to share his faith and life stories with us.

I’m so excited and thankful for this opportunity to serve as a leader to such a remarkable group of students.  The growth I’ve seen in these students these past few days is incredible and can only be attributed to our Lord.  Chains are being broken as these students grow closer to the Lord and each other.  Thank you so much for your prayers this week.  Please continue praying for health, safety, and that the Lord will continue to do great things in these students throughout the remainder of our trip.

Honduras 2014 – Day 6, Selah

Selah – The Hebrew word translated which means “stop and think”. Today that was our main goal.

The team after a much needed day of debriefing and celebrating all that God has done.

 

Several years ago one of our beloved translators expressed her desire that we travel out of the city and see more of Honduras.  She said she wanted us to see the beauty  in Honduras and  fall in love with the country she loved and was spending her life to serving. She took us to see  Pulapanzak Park that day.  It’s about an hour outside of the city of San Pedro Sula. Our team had an extraordinary time there taking in the most memorable waterfall in Honduras against the back drop of the Central American rain forest. She got what she wanted; we fell deeper in love with this country and the beauty took our breath away.

 

We needed a place away from the city where we could debrief today. So we packed up the team and headed to Pulapanzak Park.  We stopped at a small local market to pick up a few souvenirs and some local art on the way.

Erika, Chelsea (one of our Buckner leaders) and Nile checking out some soccer shirts.

Lori and Taylor admiring the local art

We arrived at the park mid morning and settled into our team time on a large blanket space beside the river.

Worship and team time by the river.

Randy opened today’s team time with the word Selah.  Which means to stop and think. That is exactly the goal for today.  We have been going non-stop.  Such long days and nights.  But today we must stop and think.  It’s pretty amazing to think that you are sitting on a blanket on top of a mountain in the Central American rainforest!  Imagine what that would look like if we could search that on Google Earth!

 

Randy’s challenge  was simple – “God’s will for your life is your sanctification.”  He shared from the Psalms and from James.  He challenged the kids to make walk their with Jesus their number one priority.  He inspires us with examples from His own life and very piercing scriptures.  He reminds the kids that the are now serving members of the Northway Orphan Care ministry and was that they can serve the “at risk” at home.  We are all marking our  calendars for November 15 for Northway’s annual Orphan Care Expo. Hope you will too.

We challenged the kids to share with the group 2 things.  What has God taught you about yourself and what is something new that you have learned about God.  What a rich time.  I hope you can recognize your kids when they get home…

We sat together there beside the river, worshiping, praying, sharing.  It was the perfect way to end our mission here.

But the fun didn’t stop there.  We had a chance to swim in the river that  cuts through the park and then 21 members  of the team took the Canopy Tour (zip-line) over the waterfalls.  Its a series of 9 lines that criss-crosses the river.  You start out about 4 ft above the water, but you end up  speeding 100 yards across the famous Pulapanzak 180Ft waterfall.  A once in a life time experience.  We just had so much fun together today.

Siani zipping over the falls

I sat in my room tonight with a few of your kids looking through some of the 1100 pictures I have snapped this week.  Some of those photos seemed like they were  taken years ago, not just a few days ago.  We have seen and accomplished much. God has grown us all a great deal.

The mist was so think that this picture could not focus but the vista was so great I wanted to share.

I will miss your kids.  I will miss the kids from Las Brisas, Nueava Esperanza and Casitas.  I will miss chatting with you all as well.  God is planning a mighty work in each of these young men and women, that is for sure.  Each one will have a special place in God’s plan to pour His light into the dark places of this world.  It will be fun to watch their stories unfold.

Travel updates to come later today. -Jenn

 

 

Honduras day 5 – Project Las Brisas

 

“I like smiling, smiling is my favorite”  A quote from the deep theologian, Buddy the Elf.  Today made me smile.

Justine painted this canvas mural that is used for the background of the Project Las Brisas photos.

We began our day at the Church of the Nazerene located in the heart of the Las Brisas Community.  Pastor Victor, director of the Las Brisas Community Transformation Center (now call the Family Hope Center) is the senior pastor this little community church.  I love this church.  They are always so proud to have our team as guests and are extremely hospitable.   They always do at least one worship song in english and they also provide a translator so we can follow along with the sermon. Our team made up almost half of the church population. .  There is a point in the service when you get up and greet everyone you can in the church. The worship team plays while you leave your seat and walk around the crowd.  It’s like a party.  They recently had a team of youth return from a retreat.  They celebrated their own youth as well as our own.  Pastor prayed over all of them and challenged them to remain servants upon their return home.  We have talked a lot about that this week.  Our devotion time has been focused on Galatians 5:14-25, the fruits of the Spirit, and what it means to walk in the Spirit. We challenged the kids to really immerse themselves in the things of the Lord home just as they are doing here. One thing for sure is Las Brisas residents are happy to be at church and  are in no hurry to leave.  Service lasted over 2 hours.  I appreciate that about them.  There is no place they would rather be.

Our team at the Las Brisas Church of the Nazerene.

After a quick lunch we headed to the center at Las Brisas. We were all so full of anticipation to pull this project together and see it come to fruition. Let me begin by saying that God has once again done more than we could ask or imagine.

Luke 6:38 says “Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you..”

Our Buckner trip leader, Luis Aguilar, was able to negotiate a deal with a local market. Long story short, we were able to stock the meal buckets with more food than we originally planned for less money!  Because of your generosity and God’s multiplication, we were able to supply the Las Brisas center with all the meals they requested with money left over.  With the additional  funds, we made the decision to supply the other centers, Nueva Esperanza and Casitas, with bulk  donations of desperately needed food items and other necessities.  This makes me smile

Can we just pause here and say together – “PRAISE THE LORD!”  .

Over the past several days we have been collecting the dry goods. By the time we arrived at Las Brisas today  there were hundreds of pounds of food to be unloaded from our buses.  We were giddy and we smile as we looked at the stock pile we were about to deliver. Earlier today a local vendor dropped off the frozen chicken, red beans and rice. ,

Shannon and Josh unloading.

Sami, Olivia, Josh, Justine and Missy pass out the beans, rice and chicken.

Julia and Noah get some help from a local boy

Josh and Justin deliver buckets

This is Olvin. He is a regular. Recognize him from an early post? He was in the horse cart.

more and more food

We unload the buses and set up our assembly line. Some opened boxes and unwrapped, some handed out items while others carried the buckets through the line.  5# beans, 5# rice, 3-5# chicken, 5# white flour, 5# masa (corn flour) ,2- 5# tubes shortening and 3 pounds sugar.  That’s almost 40# total.  woah.

completed buckets

Luis gives up packing instructions

It take both Zoe and Sami to carry one.

mission accomplished

Our ace team had things ready to go in a snap.  Pastor Victor had walked through the neighborhood and identified the families with the greatest need and invited them to a “special meeting” at the center today at 3pm. He didn’t tell them why.  I suppose if the word got out there would be a line a mile long.  I stuck my head out of the  gate around 3 to see a huge line filled with mom’s and grandmothers.  The households are primarily lead by women as many of the men have left to find work or have become victims of violence. When I see the faces of the women waiting, knowing that they are sure why they are there, I smiled.

The line outside the center

The woman learn they will be receiving buckets

Our team lines up behind Pastor and his wife, we hand the food to him and he hands it to the women who have come.  When they see the buckets and realize they are about to be given a bucket of food, yep, you guessed it, more smiles.  I wish you could have seen the smile that came from their hearts through their eyes.  Each one as they left was thanking us  with the smile on their face in place of the words they could not express.

Pastor Victor helps one woman balance her bucket.

All Smiles

I studied each one as they waited.  My smile begins to quiver as I see the many people, mostly women who have walked here and will have to walk home with this 40 pound bucket of food.  Most were capable, but then I see so many elderly, many pregnant, several handicapped and several more with infant babies on their hips.  We of course are rendered helpless as we cannot leave the center.  They have walked quite a distance in the muddy streets as a torrential downpour had just subsided. I study them.  Their faces weathered from a hard life, skin thickened from the harsh climate and mud up to their ankles, but smiles and hope on their faces.

Women returning home.

Because of the heavy rains, the weather was especially thick and hot.  Your kids did not shrink back for a second.  Packing and stacking a hundred+ buckets, all with smiles on their faces.  They all rotated through the line to help distribute the buckets.  There where tears behind many of those smiles, especially mine.  Giving feels really good. But it’s not about that.  The fulfillment that came as a byproduct of this project is just a bonus.  The real win is  two fold.  The first is helping Pastor Victor and his wife Alita to serve the people he loves who so desperately need a break. The really cool thing is that Pastor Victor personally chose the families  who would participate.  He chose based on need and their commitment to the center. He has a plan for engaging and equipping these families to lift them out of their current situation.  His plan is to  transform the community one family at a time. Sounds an awful lot like our Northway Orphan Care mission statement –  “to eternally impact the orphan by engaging the church to “care for orphans in their distress” (James 1:27) We are dedicated to encouraging, educating and empowering families to free orphans to follow Jesus:”  We like his plan. This type of project helps him to help his community. Win.

The second win is watching the transformation of the students on this team as they engage in each new project.  Today’s project was joyful, there was  a lot of high fiving and celebrating. (just have to say some of the celebrating was coming from  the window of Pastors office where we could hear the World Cup game.).  After so much difficult mission work this week, the kids had fun with this one. A few of the neighborhood kids snuck into the center with their moms or grandma’s just to catch some bonus time with your kids.  I could hear the kids calling for your kids by name. There was a deep connection made in just a few short days. There were lots of smiles.

One woman shares her gratitude

Except it got difficult to maintain my smile as one of the women asked to take a picture with me. If you haven’t noticed, I prefer the back of the camera. She asked me to thank the team for the many blessings we brought her children this week and for blessing her.  She express her thanks for our visit despite the terrible conditions and violence. She said we blessed her more than we could know.  My smile disappeared onto her shoulder as she embraced me in quite the bear hug. We hugged for what seems forever. As I stand there with her, my mind flashes to the hundreds of kids we talked to at Kidz GiG who proudly deposited there funds in our donation jug. I think of the lemonade stands, the house hold chores done, the birthday party for Las Brisas, the donated Disney fund, the adopted prayer cards, and all of your overwhelming generosity that made this project possible.  I lost it.  I guess being a mom myself, I couldn’t imagine my children going hungry. I could feel her pain – and her gratitude. I hope you do too.

 

The food was gone in less than an hour.  We emptied our back packs of any scraps of candy and gave them to the few kids hanging in the center to the bitter end.  This would be the last time we lay eyes on the Las Brisas Community.  But we can smile as we leave knowing that there is a long term plan in place for them; that there is a center there run by a local man who is offering hope through the love of Jesus and truth of the gospel.  From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU to all of you who had any part in Project Las Brisas.  Every single cent you gave made an impact today.  “Gracias, que Dios los bendigo”. – “Thank you and God Bless You”  We heard that a lot today.

Our translator team:  Juan Carlos, Jeanette, Vera, Alicia, Norelle and Guilermo. Gosh, will we miss them.

 

This evening’s dinner was meant to celebrate all that we had done this week and to especially thank and honor our Honduran team of translators and leaders.  Your kids have made rich relationships with some amazing young people here. So tonight was good-bye. We wonder, will we really ever meet again? We pray we do as you cannot spend a week together serving in this capacity without developing a deep bond.  This was our last time with them. So we end the day with a difficult good-bye.  Tomorrow we will journey to a local park  to debrief and just have a little fun.

Once again I go to bed tired….but with a smile on my face.   – Jenn

 

 

 

 

Honduras 2014 Day 4 – a different kind of day

I am tired.  The kind of tired that starts deep inside somewhere.  But its a good tired, nothing some trail mix and Sour Patch kids can’t fix. It’s the kind of tired that starts to creep its way in around day 4 on this trip. It comes from somewhere deep inside, you feel it in your bones. It’s a good tired. That’s  why I was almost glad that our plans for Casitas had to change somewhat this morning. Due to the fact that it was Saturday, there was only one government worker at Casitas today.  Which meant that all the girls had to stay locked in the large group instruction room ALL MORNING.  All of our plans for crafts in the dining room and games on the sport court were cancelled.

Time to reboot. Olga, from Orphan Helpers staff, came in on her day off just to give us a hand.  She shares our passion for these girls. She has become a great friend and we love serving along side her.  The worship today was much more reflective. We opened with “Inside Out”.  A song we are all familiar with and could sing along to. Randy and Juan Carlos took over and delivered a beautiful adaptation of the gospel message.  We ended our devotion time with Mighty to Save.  Lyrics going forth in both English and Spanish. Bi-lingual worship is so moving.  We were all teary-eye not really knowing why.  Maybe because in the face of all this despair, we can proclaim we have a God who is Mighty to Save.

Randy and Juan Carlos delivering the gospel.

During our group time our students share their own testimonies with the Casitas girls. Two groups laid hands on girls while they prayed to accept Jesus as their Savior.  We celebrated!

Our team joins in as a girl prays to accept Jesus as her Savior

Justine and Stephanie during group time

Sarina in a tearful embrace as she learns of this young girl’s struggle.

Nile always smiling. you see its contagious

Noah and Justin always up for a game of anything.

As a final act of love toward them, we began the exercise modern day feet washing – mani-pedis.  This, like the bubble towers at Las Brisas, is our favorite activity at Casitas for us and the girls.  We washed feet then painted nails and toes.  Then the girls returned the favor.  I was most impressed with the guys in our group who moved way out of their comfort zones to give manicures – and receive them.  Oh how the girls laughed and giggled at this. For many of these girls this may be the first time a man has acted to them in a loving and trustworthy manner.  Their actions spoke loudly.

Josh washing feel and giving a pedicure.

Olivia always right in the middle of things.

Randy finally surrendering. Yellow was his color for today.

Because the girls are on lock down on Saturdays, we spent more time allowing the girls to talk,  they began to warm up to our team. More stories shared.  Hearts were breaking.

I wondered how we were going to manage to fill two and a half hours with six groups in one room and make it meaningful.  It ended up being a real chill morning rich with meaning and deep with memories. It was a very different day than the one we had planned, but God knew what we needed – like He always does.    Isn’t God something?

This is Sara with one of her girls. That’s Juan Carlos photo bombing.

We served them pizza for lunch and said our good-bye’s . It is tremendously difficult to try to explain in this format how gut-wrenching it is to say good-bye .We know that we are returning to the center after lunch to do some painting but the girls we be back on lock down in the other building. So we say good bye now. We  are careful not to make promises we cannot keep.  We do our best to let them know that they have deep worth because they were created by the One who is worthy.  They are loved because they were created by the God who IS love. We exchange a smile, an embrace and a knowing look.  Then once again we are ripped away .I am not exaggerating when I say we left sobbing.  We file into our busses with shirts wet with sweat and our tears.

It. Is. Just. So. Hard.

The afternoon was spent repainting the dining room and the outdoor concrete bleachers.  96 degrees with 100% humidity is not exactly prime conditions for painting concrete block, but once again your kids rose to the challenge,  It was a nice change to work hard with only your hands and give the hearts a rest. Yes today was different.

scraping and painting the outdoor bleachers

Do you blame them? It sooo hot out.

The team hard at work. Darren said not to bother him, he has a heart condition. lol

We donated some the extra GiG shirts to Casitas. #gigtwinninghondurasstyle

Serena and Justin saying their good-byes

This evening we attended the home church of our translators, Great Commission Church.  Attending a church service in Spanish unique.  It makes me think of the globe of nations that simultaneously send up praises in their native tongue.  What a glorious sound that must be when it reaches heaven.

The girls with our guard Walt on the grounds of Great Commissions Church. He does a great job for us.

Our dinner conversation shifted in content since 90% of our programmed mission has been completed. Many of our first timers were taking the offensive position with questions like, “What can we do now?”, “What happens to these kids/girls next?”, “Does a short term mission trip really help?”, “Why is it so hard to make changes?”. There are really no easy answers to these questions.  I have seen over the years our hard work come to a halt because  things just didn’t go as we planned.  But we are broken, we want to do SOMETHING! I would say this, a short term mission trip does help.  I believe it is no small thing for a teen (or adult) from Pittsburgh to make the commitment and necessary sacrifices to travel here to look the abandoned in their broken eyes and say, “you matter enough to God that He made it possible for me to be here just to tell you that he loves you.”   We indeed are the hands and feet of Jesus, and often his mouth. With that mouth we encourage, and edify those who desperately need it. With that mouth we pray, we proclaim the promises of God over those we came to help.  I believe it helps more than we know. Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our struggle is with the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. A spiritual battle requires spiritual weapons;  worship, prayer, scripture.  We came armed with all of these and have done battle.  Who knows in our limited knowledge what we have unleashed in the heavenlies this week, but I do know who wins.  For we are not just conquerors, we are MORE than conquerors in Christ Jesus.

 

Yes we are tired, but we get to sleep in a bit before attending church in the Las Brisas community.  A 10AM start time is like manna from heaven.  Tomorrow afternoon we will execute our feeding program through Project Las Brisas. I am so excited I may not sleep……scratch that, bet I do.  – Jenn

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honduras 2014 – Day 3, You say good-bye, I say hello.

I feel like tonight I must start this post with a caveat; I am aware that I am  not a very good writer. Having said that, please know that each day I ask myself what would I want to read if I were a follower of this blog and not the author.  What, if I were a parent of a child on this mission trip following along from home and not here in Honduras. I would want to know that my child was safe, that they were learning, growing, being challenged and stepping out.  I am here to tell you all that is true and so much more.  Your kids are fantastic. Each one has gone beyond what they thought capable of themselves, realizing that when we go forth in God’s power and strength within his will, we can and do accomplish more than we can ask or imagine.  I wish you could see what I see in their eyes, hear what I hear in their words. Feel the emotion in their voices when they each share moments from their day in our evening team time.

Today was an especially challenging day as we said “Hello” to a new center and “Good-bye” to one of our favorites.

We began our day at Casitas Mujeras Adolescentas .Casitas is a government run institution for teenage girls that have been rescued from abuse, criminal activity, trafficking and more.  Their stories are often times hard to comprehend. We don’t want to believe that they are actually true.  We spend quite a bit of time preparing the team for this.  However no amount of training or team time can prepare you to look into the eyes of a 14 year old and listen to the story of her brutal abuse.  Or the broken face of a 16 year old who desperately misses her 4 year old child because her family kept the infant and placed her in Casitas. Each one prays that a loved one will show up and take them home.  Sometimes that happens, unfortunately not often enough.  The girls will stay at Casitas until they can be put in a more suitable institution. Daily they struggle under the heavy mantle of unworthiness, abandonment, scars from abuse, loneliness, depression.  It’s a mantle of darkness, we try our best to shine God’s light directly into.

Lori and a high-5 in celebration of what God has done in her life.

worshiping with all the girls at Casitas.

The girls at Casitas have a number of wonderful staff members from Orphan Helpers that run daily devotions and worship for the girls.  These women are amazing servants of God.  We arrived at the center just in time to join them for worship and devotions.  What a joy it was to worship together. We did our very best to follow along. I believe God understood our horrible Spanish even if we didn’t. Worshiping together made us feel like we chipped a little bit of the language barrier that frustrates us all.  After worship the team divided up into 6 groups and had some discussion time and prayer time with the girls.  We used a wonderful resource from CRU call Solarium.  Its uses various pictures to help you explain certain emotions.  It’s perfect for groups of people that speak two different languages.

sharing our hearts

This exercise really opened the doors to deep sharing.  After group time we allow the rest of the morning to do what our teens to best – just be kids.  They jumped rope, played basketball, colored, and danced.  Did they ever dance.  It is quite a sight to see the same girls who were just sharing tears of pain dancing in a conga line.

fun and games

quadruple jumpers

Missi, Serena, Sami and Daniella’s group.

  Have to pause here and give a shout out to our Amazing translators – they make this all possible.  They are every bit a part of our team and we appreciate them so much.  many of them have been working with Northway team for over 5 years.  They have become  trusted friends.

After lunch we headed off to Las Brisas for our last program with the kids.  And as they say “we left it all on the field”  When we pulled up to the center, the line to get in stretched down the road and around the corner in two directions.

the line of kids waiting for our program to start at Las Brisas

Those we couldn’t let in. A heart breaker.

Within 10 minutes we reached our maximum capacity of 150 kids.  Add in our team of 34, and the staff from the center and there are over 200 bodies in a very small space. It breaks my heart to have to close the doors and know there are still dozens of kids we could just not fit into the center.

Skylar is a returning team member. these kids have a piece of her heart.

fun everywhere

 We started the program with a presentation of the gospel again using our puppet, Poncho and the “Wordless Book”.  The kids respond so well to this.  we pray over them as they prayed to receive Jesus as their savior.

  The day ended with the infamous “bubble towers” and a pizza party.  Believe me when I tell you there is sweat equity in managing the chaos of 150 kids in grueling heat and humidity within the confines of a concrete building. Not one team member complained.

bubbles with Sami and Julia

Zoe and Justine with just a few of the girls.

an older sister that brings her younger siblings to our program

In fact, we each wanted more.  More kids, more days, more time. More time to hug, to play, to dance, to love on those who would so quickly walk out of the gates and return to their life. A life so different from ours. A life filled with struggle, hunger, poverty. Pain. They are imprisoned in a world that is so unfair.  We want more days to come back.  We want a different life for those precious faces we have so quickly come to love.  That discontent spurs us onward.  We contemplate our purpose and believe we must have a higher calling. Leaving Las Brisas is like pulling a tooth. It hurts and you know something is missing.  There were many tears all around when the center finally emptied out.  We gathered together and exchanged prayers with Alita Hugo, the Pastor Directors wife.  As she prayed over us in Spanish I could not understand her,  but the tears that ran down her faced said enough.  I believe they expressed the feeling of joy when another comes along side you and shares your burden.  You’re overwhelmed, touched, grateful.

Our bus followed this group of boys as we all left the center.

We will see a few of the Las Brisas kids again at church on Sunday Morning as attend the Church of the Nazerene. Pastor Victor and his wife lead this church in the Las Brisas Community.

Tomorrow we return to Casitas for the whole day.  We return stronger.  We are ready to push back more darkness with the light of Christ. “because the Spirit that lives in you is greater than the spirit that lives in the world.” 1John 4:4

Our evening devotions lasted almost 3 hours tonight as there so much to process.  God is doing a great work in the hearts of this team.  You should be so proud of your kids, I know I am.  -Jenn

Honduras 2014 – Day 2

Parachutes, puzzles and playgrounds—oh my! These three words encompass our second day here in Honduras. We started strong at Nueva Esperanza. The place has really lived up to its name these past two days—there is a certain new hope here.

Our entire team. 26 from Northway, 7 from Honduras. 33 Strong.

Sara with her friend in God.

Nick and Siani

Sami, Nile, and Serena and Siani say good-bye.

Justin spends time with his buddy on the swings

Josh and Gabrielle having fun under the parachute.

 

Working alongside my teammates, I saw an abundance of love and peace- two things God has poured out there this past year. It’s an incredible testament to God’s faithfulness. He’s answered endless prayers, and the change in this orphanage is tangible. The physical conditions have greatly improved.  The number of children in the orphanage has greatly decreased and the workers are joyful.  We can physically see and feel the difference among the kids. We also got to work with another from an organization called Sparrow Missions. It was such a privilege teaming up with other people with the same goal as us.

Jeanette and Juan Carlos (Poncho the Puppet), 2 of our translators share the gospel

 

The day began with the Gospel presentation using a “wordless book” .The kids were extremely responsive to the message and to all of us. They laughed and giggled nonstop. Sarah Weigand was able to make a connection with a little boy as they were making  bracelets. She explained that they were friendship bracelets, and the boy responded, “Yes, friends in God.” It was touching to see that boy make the connection that Sarah was there as a friend from God.

Our team was able to make bulk donations of necessities for Nueva Esperanza.

 

 Today we had a group of students pray over the workers of the orphanage. The prayers were something the workers desperately needed. It was an honor getting to lift that place back up to God, knowing that He is going to continue to go on working there. There is no “good enough” in God’s world—He will continue to change Nueva for the better, despite the government or any circumstances that might say otherwise

A powerful moment of prayer.

.

 

Las Brisas is most definitely a crowd favorite. To put it into words is quite a task. The best way, I’ve found, is in the word CHAOS. That’s all that ensues when we get there. And one of the best things is being there is that yes, we are there as a team. But we never stop to talk to each other or gossip with friends. Our team completely puts themselves aside and engages full on with the kids. Erika Hannath mentioned yesterday that she noticed how much the kids just crave love.

Erika lovin’ on these kids.

And so being there, we feel so special and so wonderful when they openly receive what love we give them. Their responses of joy and elation to our small acts of love push us to give everything we possibly can to them.

Keith and Josh Gailey never take a break,

Missi building a mural.

Beauty.

 

Though we don’t have many physical things to give, we give them our energy, our time, our tickles and hugs and smiles. And what we give, we get in return twofold. Though we are there to change their lives, they are radically changing ours.

 

God is most definitely doing work this week. With how incredible the centers have been, I am nothing but expectant for these next days to come. God is going to use us to plant seeds as well as water ones already sown. And He is also working in us individually. Through our personal and team devotional time, God is changing and molding our hearts to become more of who He wants us to be.

 

Honduras 2014 – Global Partner Lisa Anderson-Umani joins our team.

“Hola, I’m Lisa,” and “Hola, I’m Maria,” began the conversation. 

Lisa and Maria from Orphan helpers.

 

We had the honor of welcoming North Way Global Partner, Lisa Anderson-Umana and daughter Valerie to our team for a couple days.  Lisa has worked for over 30 years in Christian Camping, writing materials and training up leaders to run camps all over Latin America. It was their first time experiencing Nueva Esperanza and Lisa was helping to translate for me (Shannon) so I could learn the history of Nueva and the children and workers there.  Maria serves with Orphan Helpers and has been teaching and caring for the children at this state-run orphanage for 8 years. The love of Jesus and how much she truly loves each child is evident in all the stories Maria shares with us.  As we end our conversation Maria asks again, “What was your name?” “Lisa Anderson.” A look of wonder crosses Maria face, “Lisa Anderson? THE Lisa Anderson?”  Maria proceeded to share with Lisa how 25 years prior her husband took Lisa’s training course in Christian Camping.  Maria and her husband ran camps and trained leaders for 15 years before she started working for Orphan Helpers. Not only did the training her husband received impact their lives as a couple but their two children participated in camp, became camp counselors and eventually began directing camps themselves.  Seeing evidence of the legacy of Lisa’s life-long work and calling standing there in front of us, so grateful for the deposit placed in her husband 25 years ago that has passed on to all her family was truly amazing to witness. Generations of families and children have been impacted by Lisa’s dedication and obedience to God’s direction in her life.  We’re so thankful she and Valerie have joined us for a couple days!   

Honduras 2014 – Day 1

Hello Parents, Family members and friends of our Student Ministry Honduras team.  This is Pastor Darren blogging for the first and if I do this poorly, it may be the last time on this trip.  Day 1 for the Honduras team was an incredible success.  God has blessed us so much already and we are just starting our week of ministry.  We had wonderful weather.  We had traveling mercies.  We had great meals together.  But most importantly your children/students showed the love of Christ to more children then we could count.

Purchasing fruit from a local vendor for the centers.

 

Soccer!

 

parachute games provide tons of fun

 

We started our take at Neuva Esperaza (New Hope Center) a government orphanage].  The ages of the children at the center ranged from infant up to 12 years old.  There were completely healthy children and also children with special needs.  Our students simply loved them.  They hugged them and held them, walked with them and ran with them, colored with them, blew bubbles with them, played on the swing set, played on the playground and played soccer.

Juan Carlos and Erika help with the Bible story.

Noah has a buddy.

Daniella has her heart captured.

 

Sara finds the perfect spot for bubbles.

 

There were piggyback rides, hand-holding and sitting on laps.  Although there are 18 first-time team members, it did not show.  Each team member jumped in and just created a high-energy loving atmosphere that compliments the love and care the workers at the center do each day.  We presented a short bible story and gave them a snack of goldfish, juice and bananas that we bought from a local vendor that morning.

Nile and Sami find some shade.

 

Our team left there and went to lunch and then went to the Las Brisas Community Transformation Center also know as The Family Hope Center.  There were children lined up outside waiting for us to arrive.  Once we got inside and got ourselves situated, droves of children, ages (3 – 12) came and filled the center up in minutes.

Siani has a great first day

Justine and Fabiola reunited.

 

 

New Soccer balls for the kids from Kidz GiG’s Project Las Brisas

Our team was quickly out-numbered 3 to 1 and the fun and chaos ensued.  There was basketball games, soccer games, more piggy-back rides. There were more hugs and smiles then you could ever imagine.  After an incredible time of worship (and by the way, seeing and hearing the children worship to fun songs in their own language was so much fun) and a short bible story, it was time for stations.

Lego room

These girls worked all afternoon on this 100 piece puzzle.

Pastor D shares a special moment with a new friend.

 

 

We set up different activity in each class room that they have at the center.  There was a Lego room, a match-box cars room, a craft room, a coloring room, a puzzle room and soccer, basketball, jump rope and any other high-energy thing that could possible happen in the court yard outside.  After serving the children a snack and drink the children left and we cleaned up.  We loaded the bus and returned to the hotel for a short time of refreshment and then out to dinner.  We end each day with a time of worship, sharing and devotion.  Once again I could not be more proud of how the team, jumped in to every activity and showed the children love and care and joy.

Taylor and Olivia join Pastor Victor’s daughter, Pamela, for some good hang out time

I came with away from our first day with a few thoughts/observations that I wanted to share.  First, from one parent to another, GREAT JOB!!!!  You have given your son or daughter a gift that can never be duplicated.  You have shown them love, trust and generosity that they won’t soon forget.  You are teaching them to rely on God as you are relying on God as they are away.  I believe the impact from this trip will stay with them a life time.  WAY TO GO PARENT(S)!!!!  Secondly, the security and detailed planning from our North Way team in partnership with Buckner International has made me feel as safe here as I do in my neighborhood in Allison Park.  Lastly, there is no training of any type that can prepare a team member for a trip like this.  We could not duplicate the scenarios or situations that we find ourselves in on day 1.  Each place is so unique with number of children to the different ranges of specials need.  But what the team is leaning on is the knowledge and leading of God and his Holy Word.  That is our most effective training tool and the tool that gives us, Americans in a foreign country the best chance for success.  That truth is something that I pray our team brings home with them upon their return and continues to rely on for their remainder of their summer.

 

Just a few of the faces that keep us coming back.

Please continue to pray for our health and safety and they we will continue to be the “hands and feet of Jesus” for our remaining time here.  And know that your student love you and miss you and look forward to seeing you and saying “Thank You” upon their return. Thank you for your prayers.  We feel them.

Honduras 2014- We’re here!

We have arrive!.Our team could not be more full of anticipation and excitement.  Travel was super smooth. We are now at the hotel unpacking and organizing all of our supplies. We hit the ground running tomorrow as we start our day bright and early with a visit to  Neuva Esperanza then to the community transformation center at Las Brisas. Thank you all for your prayers and support that has gotten us this far.

Honduras 2014 – Happy trails.

from left to right: Lorie Bowers, Darren Bowers, Jenn Simon, Randy Blincow, Missi Gailey, Shannon Libengood, Erica Deitrick, Keith Gailey

We have arrived in Atlanta and are waiting to board our next flight to San Pedro Sula. I thought our readers might enjoy meeting the team. I applaud all the parents out there for trusting us with your kids. We will treasure them as our own. Here is a little bit more about the team leaders.
Pictured left to right:

Lorie Bowers. Lori is a long time servant to all areas of family matters serving kids and families for decades. She is wife to Darren and mom to Josh and Taylor who are all on this trip together.

Darren Bowers: needs little introduction. If you have a kid of any age and have been around North Way any time at all, Darren has more than likely influenced your student in some way. He is North Way’s Pastor over North Way’s Care Ministry and Champion for all of Family Matters. He has spent over 20 years working with teenagers. He’s just a big kid himself. He is husband to Lorie and father to Josh and Taylor.

Jenn Simon; (that’s me) This is my 7th trip to Honduras. I took my daughter, Justine, on our first trip to Honduras for her 13th birthday. God planted a seed in both of us on that trip. What was once just an idea is now a calling. I am thrilled to be traveling with your kids. (special shout out to my husband Jay for letting us go…again. love you!)

Randy Blinco: This is Randy’s 12th trip to Honduras. You can’t know Randy for more than 15 minutes without knowing his passion for the orphan, the abandoned and the disadvantaged. He brings with him a wealth of experience. He is the father to Janae, Jeremy, Justin and Jessie. Justine joins him on this trip, Jessi is part of the team headed to Nicaragua this week. He husband to Deanna, Director of our Orphan Care Ministry. He’s a ton of fun. Oh, and in his spare time, he is North Way’s Executive Pastor.

Missy Gailey: Missy is husband to Keith, mom to Nick and Josh. They are all part of our team. Missy is a physical therapist- I am so grateful to have her medical background and skill set on our team. Not only is she our resident urgent care specialist, she is a maser at organization. She works behind the scenes for months organizing many aspects of Kidz GiG – which is perfect as we basically run mini Kidz Gigs at 3 centers all week.

Shannon Liebengood: Shannon is the Missions Director at NorthWay. She spent 6 years as a missionary in Mtaylasia and 2 in China. and has lead a trip to Haiti. How cool is it that she is on this trip??

Erica Deitrick: This is Erica’s 3rd trip into Honduras. She has served in our high school ministry at Wexford and Sewickly for several years. She has fallen in love with the kids in San Pedro Sula, and they with her. Erica brings with her a huge servants heart.

Keith Gailey: Keith is husband to Missy and father to Nick and Josh. I like to call Keith our pocket ninja. Keith is a pilot for USAir and serves part time in the Air National Guard. Pilot + soldier = pocket ninja. Something about that makes me feel safe. 🙂

Well folks, there you have it. The team of leaders that God has assembled. We understand the responsibility and take it very seriously. We look forward to watching the faces of your children as God shapes them. We will comfort them when their hearts break, we will challenge them when they are hesitant. We will laugh with them, we will cry with them. And we promise to always point them to Jesus – the leader of us all.