Our Whole World is About to Change

By in Stories from Honduras 6 Comments

Chad and Mayra.

Heart Break

We received news while in Guatemala that two of the girls from the Eagle’s Nest had run away. Mayra and Claudia left the house and were gone for a day before they came back full of tears and very sorry for leaving. However, two days later they ran away again in the middle of the day. This time they took Blanca with them and they headed to a city just outside of Tegucigalpa. We learned that they were all doing drugs and hanging out with some gang members. After a couple days Blanca returned and was welcomed back home to the Eagle’s Nest.

Why?

You can imagine our sadness and disappointment upon hearing this news. Both of us were in tears, struggling to understand why. We had poured our hearts into these girls, loving them unconditionally, and now they were gone. We were immediately worried about the girls, wondering about their safety. However, we received news that they are safe and living with Claudia’s grandmother. We are hoping and praying that they return.

Me and Claudia.

Major Changes

When we arrived home from Guatemala, we went to the Eagle’s Nest for dinner that night. Sally, the house grandmother, announced that herself and Sarah, the house mother, are moving to Nicaragua. The home the girls live in will be shut down. With 3 of the girls still living there, this means some major changes for them, the ministry, and us.

The Plan

We know that God is good. And we know that He has a plan for the Eagle’s Nest. This is our chance to rebuild this part of the ministry and start anew. But for the time being, we still have the 3 girls who rely on us and who we are responsible for. And this is where our whole world is about to change.

Quendi

Quendi is 17 and will be 18 in about 6 months. She is no where near ready to be on her own but we need to start preparing her to be independent. She is going to go to live at Alvin’s house with Sarah, a young lady from the US who just moved here in September. Sarah will be like a big sister and mentor her in living on her own with things like budgeting and shopping for groceries, etc. Quendi will finish her schooling in the next few weeks. She really likes the beauty classes she has taken and so we may get her in to a trade school where she can learn to be a professional stylist.

Our sweet Blanca.

Blanca

The plan for Blanca was that she was going to go back home to live with her family. Alvin spent some time talking with Blanca about this and found out that her brother received a 2 year sentence (for raping Blanca) and will be getting out of jail soon. She also said that her dad is a drunk who hits and pushes her grandmother. In light of this it is not safe to send her home.

Kimberli

Kimberli is the newest girl who has only been in the house since May. She is so sweet and loves the Lord. She is 11 years old and had never been to school a day in her life. She is the only one in the house who has not been sexually abused but was abused in the sense that she was used as her mom’s slave. She was the primary caregiver of her younger siblings. We also do not want to send her back to that situation. After prayer and many conversations, we have decided to take Blanca and Kimberli in to our home to live with us. This will take place around the end of November.

At church with, from far left, Quendi, Kimberli, myself holding 12 year old Zaira's baby. Zaira is Kimberli's sister.

With God’s Help

Yes, you heard that right. We are going to be parents to an 11 year old and a 15 year old. We know this is a huge responsibility and that it will not be easy. I have every emotion running through my body right now and we never hesitated knowing that this is what we are here for. We love these girls and are excited to play a larger role in their lives. We covet your prayers during this time as we prepare to bring the girls into our home. These are big changes and there are a lot of unknowns; however, we know God is directing our path. God led me to these two verses which I will cling on during this time:

“In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” ~ Romans 8:37

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and who is my family that you have brought me this far?” 2 Sam. 7:18

It’s Good to be Back

By in Personal Reflections, The Road 2 Comments

The famous Arch Street in La Antigua, Guatemala.

We’re Back

We arrived back in Honduras on Saturday, Oct. 15 from our two weeks of Spanish Language School in Guatemala. If you read our facebook statuses, you know that our time away was a bit challenging for us. Whether it was severe back pain, sickness, house issues, or bad news from home, we got hit. Satan attacked us every which way he could. It was obvious that he didn’t want us to learn Spanish. Because he knows that once we do have this language perfected, we WILL use it to glorify God. And that is the last thing Satan wants.

School

Even though our trip was challenging, our Spanish classes went great! We both feel like we gained more knowledge on this language that we so badly desire to speak. We were put with the same teachers we had last year, and for three hours a day we practiced Spanish. The first hour of our lessons was mainly just Spanish conversation, while the other two hours was spent on instruction and questions that we had about the language. We are by no means where we would like to be, seeing that fluency is our goal. But we are well on our way!

Us with our house mother and some new friends, Judith and Amanda, that we lived with for two weeks.

Practice

Our goal now that we are back home is to continue to practice, practice, practice! Anyone that has ever learned a language will tell you that the best way to learn is to practice speaking it with a native speaker. This is difficult for us both, as we become a bit afraid when put in a situation where we need to speak the language. Basically, we lack the confidence. But through prayer, we hope to overcome our fears and do all we can to become speakers of this beautiful language.