The Road

These are the stories of the challenges, obstacles, and triumphs we are experiencing in the process of raising support and moving to Honduras.

Arrived in Guatemala

By Chad Baron in The Road No Comments

Hola! Well Trina and I are settled into our apartment here in Antigua, Guatemala. We arrived yesterday afternoon so today is our first full day. We spent from Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon traveling. It was a long process but I think we made the right decision breaking the traveling up into multiple days. Asher did amazingly well. I definitely believe it was an answer to prayer.

As you can imagine we are still adjusting to our new life and it hasn’t been an entirely easy process. There are so many things you get used to and so many conveniences at home that we don’t have here, like being able to drink tap water, hot showers, carpet, and being able to flush toilet paper, just to name a few. But I’m not complaining, we actually have it really good. Our apartment is a nice little 2 bedroom that suits us perfectly. I’ve posted a few pictures of it below.

Antigua

Antigua is beautiful town nestled in the hills of Guatemala. It is rich with culture and history. I can’t wait to get out with my camera and take some pictures. The population of Antigua is around 40,000 so it is similar in size to Bellingham, WA but it feels much smaller. It is a popular tourist destination as well as a popular vacation spot for Guatemalans wanting to get out of the city. Because of that there is a ton of stuff to do and places to shop and restaurants to try. If you’ve ever thought about a vacation to Central America I would recommend checking out Antigua. The only thing it doesn’t have is beaches.

Prayer

Trina and I want to express our sincere thank you to everyone who has been praying for us during this time. We believe there is real power in prayer and we really have felt covered. There are so many obstacles and things that could have gone wrong or disrupted our travel but instead it all went smoother than we even anticipated. And that was a real answer to prayer. As we settle in here we have a couple of prayer requests. Please pray for our health. As our bodies adjust it is easy to get sick with various things. We also ask for prayers for Asher as he adjusts to sleeping in new surroundings. He did great while traveling but last night he was up 4 times in the night.

Our Apartment

Click on any of the images to view a full size version

Our huge TV

Living Room

Asher's Room

Kitchen

Prayers Answered

By Chad Baron in Events, Personal Reflections, The Road No Comments

Well this has been a crazy week. You never know how much crud you have until it is time to move all the crud. The process of moving out of our house seemed like a never ending task – there was always just a little bit more or one more thing to take care of. But, I’m happy to report that we’re finished and officially homeless. It is a strangely unsettling and exhilarating feeling. It is unsettling just because we are without the security of home and facing a great unknown. Exhilarating because there is a sense of freedom being released from all our “stuff” and having life reduced to two suitcases. And then there is the bold and dashing adventure we’re about to embark on.

Adjustments

As Trina said in her last post, it was a rough first couple of nights while Asher adjusted to his new surroundings. On top of being exhausted from moving we got hardly any sleep those first couple of nights. Since then Asher has settled in and is back to sleeping through the night. What a difference a good night of sleep makes!

A Huge Answer to Prayer

God is good. If you read Trina’s previous post you saw our plea for prayers for her mom. She had a CT scan that showed a mass in her lung. On Friday they went to see a specialist in Seattle. What happened next is nothing short of incredible. Here is what Trina’s sister Lindy posted on Facebook:

Just leaving Seattle with amazing news for my mom! The cat scan report from Bellingham was my moms personal information but someone elses report! They did another cat scan here and her lungs are completely clear. The scans match up but the info reported to my mom did not match up as the report with the large mass in the lung were in a women with breast implants which my mom clearly does not have!

It was all a huge mistake and there is nothing wrong! After an emotional roller coaster we’re praising the Lord for that answer to prayer. Of course her good news is someone else’s bad news so we continue to be in prayer for that person.

Send Off Party Reminder

Our families are throwing us a “Send Off” Open House Party and we would love to have you join us. There will be appetizers and dessert to enjoy too! More details are below:

Where: Blake and Jody Starkenburg’s Shop (575 Pangborn Rd. Lynden)

When: Thursday, September 23, Open House between 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Prayers Needed

By trina in Events, Personal Reflections, The Road No Comments

Finally

Well, we finally did it…we are officially moved out of our house. It was a lot of work and we are glad to be done with that phase. Thank you to all those who helped with the moving process. We are currently staying in the basement of Chad’s parents house. It is comfortable and perfect for a short stay. However, Asher is having a difficult time with his new surroundings. He has been a bit out of sorts ever since we started packing things up. My heart breaks for him as he must be so confused with all that is going on in our lives right now. He does not sleep well at night, which means we don’t sleep well at night. We feel a bit burned out from all of this and appreciate the prayers.

Please Pray

As if we didn’t have enough going on right now, we recently got some scary news regarding my mom’s health. After a CT scan, doctors have found a mass on her lung. We are not sure what the mass is quite yet. She is going down to Seattle on Friday to have some testing done and hopefully get some answers. She is very scared, as are all of us. I have a tendency to think the worst, but we are hoping and praying that it is NOT cancer. This makes leaving all that much more difficult. It is clear that the devil does not want us to go to Honduras. He is attacking us in more ways than one and it is more than we can take right now. But God is good and we are trusting in Him through all of this. Again, we appreciate your prayers.

You’re Invited

We would love to see as many people as we can before we leave. Our families are throwing us a “Send Off” Open House Party and we would love to have you join us. There will be appetizers and dessert to enjoy too! More details are below:

Where: Blake and Jody Starkenburg’s Shop (575 Pangborn Rd. Lynden)

When: Open House between 5:30pm – 8:30pm

Surgery and Stuff

By Chad Baron in The Road 2 Comments

Things have been a little busy the last week and a half, hence the rather long break between posts. Last week was the Northwest Washington Fair here in Lynden. For those that don’t know, my Dad is the Fair manager and so during the week of the Fair I spend my time there helping out in whatever way I can. I’m usually there around 7:30 in the morning and home around 10 at night. They are long days but it is fun to be part of the biggest event of the year in our little town. Anyway, here is a quick update on what is going on…

Surgery

Tomorrow afternoon at 2pm Trina goes in for surgery on her wrist. For the past year she has been dealing with severe pain in both her wrists due to tendinitis. It isn’t ideal timing but we felt she really needs to get it taken care of before we leave. She will have the surgery on her right wrist and cortisone shots in her left wrist. This means she won’t be able to do any lifting for the next month. It will be difficult packing up to move and taking care of a baby boy. I’ll have a lot more on my plate but I know that God will provide the grace and strength we need. We covet your prayers for a successful procedure and quick healing.

Work

I am in my last week of work in my job at the church. It will be hard to say goodbye. I do love all the people I work with and I love working for the church. But I’m also excited for my next job. Next Tuesday is my last day. After that I will be focusing all my energy on wrapping up all the loose ends of our life here in Lynden.

I’m hoping to get out our second email newsletter tomorrow. I should have time to work on it while waiting for Trina to get done with her surgery. If you didn’t get our last one sent out last month then you probably aren’t on our list. If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter please sign up by entering your email address and clicking the subscribe button to the right.

It’s Just Around the Corner

By trina in Personal Reflections, The Road 4 Comments

Packin It Up

Just a few of the boxes.

Boxes are being packed. Walls are looking bare. And things are being sold. So goes our hectic life of preparing to move to another country. Many people have asked the following questions about our move: What are you taking with you? And what are you doing with everything else? To answer those questions…we will only be taking what we can fit in our luggage between the three of us. And everything else? We plan on selling a lot of our stuff and keeping very little. What we do keep will be put in storage here. So basically we are starting over. Honduras will be our new home and that is what we plan to make it!

The Pressures

Empty walls.

This has not been an easy road to travel. As time draws closer and closer we are beginning to feel pressures of all that goes with a move as big as this one. I find myself shedding tears with each box that is packed, each item that is sold, and the emptiness that is becoming our home. On one hand it feels freeing to get rid of everything and on the other it is sad to let it all go. But I am trying to remind myself that they are just “things,” and once again, we can’t take them with us when we leave this earth to our heavenly home.

Saying Goodbye

All this packing has also brought on the reminder that we will soon be saying goodbye to the ones we love. I find myself craving time with family and soaking up as much as I can with them. I think family is something that we often take for granted. I know that both Chad and I have been blessed to have our families nearby. And as we move to another part of the world, we know that our family will still be our family each time we return. So we are trying to look at it as a “see ya later,” rather than “goodbye,” because we will be seeing each other again!

Don't worry...we aren't getting rid of him!

Progress Update

By Chad Baron in Events, The Road 1 Comment

Well we are about two and a half months from our move (September 25) so I thought I should give a quick update on our progress.

Goals Reached

As of right now, with what people have pledged and given, we will have all our living and travel expenses covered for our first year in Honduras. This is extremely exciting because it frees us to focus on ministry and helping the kids. To that end, this is what we are now focusing on:

New Goals Set

  1. The Raspberry Festival in Lynden – Every year the Lynden Chamber of Commerce has a booth where they sell raspberries and ice cream. They have given us the booth to use as a fundraiser. We just have to staff it with volunteers. The money we raise  will go towards a Christmas outreach and to purchase gifts for the kids in the feeding centers who’s families are too poor to get them a Christmas present.
  2. The Eagle’s Nest is a home for teenage girls who have been sexually abused and abandoned. Currently they live in a rented house. It costs on average a thousand dollars a month to house, feed, and school the girls. The Eagle’s Nest is currently funded until this coming November. It may be ambitious but we are hoping to raise $60,000 to purchase a house for the Eagle’s Nest and thus insure these girls have a home well into the future.
  3. The Feeding Centers provide meals for children who otherwise go to bed hungry. We have an opportunity to build another feeding center on donated land if we can raise the funds to build it. This will cost around $20,000. I just found out that we may have someone who is going to fund the building of the feeding center. We should find out by the end of the week if this is going to happen so please be in prayer for this.

Upcoming Schedule

Here is our schedule as it stands right now:

  • July 16-17 Raspberry Festival in Lynden (we need volunteers so pleas let us know if you can help)
  • July 18 Chad is speaking at Mission Christ the King in Mission B.C.
  • August 27 Chad and Trina will be speaking at Trailblazers
  • September 25 Leave for language school in Guatemala

If you would like to have us come to your church we would love the opportunity to share our hearts for caring for the needy in Honduras. If you would like to be part of any of these projects please contact me via the Contact page.

God At Work

By trina in Personal Reflections, The Road No Comments

NOW WHAT?

I never saw myself as one to leave the country and become a teacher in a foreign land. If you would have asked me in high school or in college, this would not have been my first choice for my first real job. I had just graduated from college with a BA in Elementary Education and a minor in English as a Second Language. After receiving my degree, I went back to WA to live at home with my parents, where I substitute taught at both Lynden and Lynden Christian Schools. Finding a job was not going to be easy. So I began to look elsewhere. This is when I had heard about a school in Honduras. I knew 3 girls that were teaching there, all of whom I had graduated with from Dordt. I began to do some research and became interested. Still, this didn’t seem like something I was too sure about. Did I really want to leave my home, my family, my friends, just to go teach somewhere overseas? Again, this would not have been my first choice. However, as we all know, our choices are often not in line with God’s will.

GO

I began the application process to become a first grade teacher at Academia Los Pinares in El Hatillo, Honduras. This was a bilingual, Christian school, where I would be teaching in English. I even did a phone interview with the superintendent of the school. I remember when he told me that they would love to have me come down and teach at their school. They gave me the weekend to make a decision. This was not an easy decision and there was much prayer involved. Finally, I recall going on a run one day and clearly hearing God speak to me. It was the first time where I ever heard God actually speak to me. He told me to, “GO!” That was all I heard and I knew that I had to go. So in August of 2005, I packed my bags and headed to Honduras, all by myself.

My New Life

My amazing students on the Honduran Independence Day.

I loved my new life in Honduras. However, it was VERY difficult at times. First of all, this was my first year of teaching, which brings on a whole set of anxieties on its own. And second, this was my first year of teaching in a different country! But all in all, God blessed my life in so many ways. To this day, I still talk to some of my students who are now in the 5th grade. They will always be in my heart.

Myspace Love

Chad and I during the week that we first met.

Some of you know how Chad and I met; and it is a crazy story, but an amazing one! God introduced Chad and I on February 1, 2006, while we were 3,100 miles apart from each other. Our story begins on the wonderful world of myspace. I had seen Chad in Lynden before, while he was a waiter at The Loft. I always thought he was good looking, but I never thought he would go for me. Anyway, I decided to ask him to ‘be my friend’ on myspace. He accepted and sent me an email in return. After several emails back and forth, we decided to begin instant messaging with each other. When that wasn’t enough, we got out our webcams and began talking for hours upon end. The first time we said I love you was over the computer, and that was before we even met in person! Our first meeting was when I went home for spring break in April and he picked me up from the airport. I was home for 10 days and we spent everyday together. Two months later Chad came and visited me in Honduras and we flew back home to WA together. Another 5 months and we were engaged. And on July 13, 2007 we became husband and wife.

Chad and I on our wedding day: July 13, 2007

God At Work

God totally knew what He was doing when He brought us together. Even when we first began emailing, we both discussed how we wanted to be involved in missions. We just didn’t know when or where or how. How amazing that God is placing us in the very spot where we first met 4 years ago. That is no coincidence. That is God at work!

The Calling – Part 2

By Chad Baron in Personal Reflections, Stories from Honduras, The Road No Comments

Here is the second installment of how I came to feel called into the mission field. In case you missed it, here is a link to part 1 – The Calling Part 1

My Wife

Taken in 2006 when I visited Trina in Honduras

I definitately think that finding a wife who had already spent time on the mission field was another clue to my own personal calling. Trina and I met while she was working as a 1st grade teacher in Honduras. One of these days she’ll tell the story of how she was called there and how we met.

Our First Trip

Our first team in 2008. Taken at Picacho, a giant statue of Jesus that overlooks the city.

When Trina and I got married we knew that missions would be part of our life. However, we were thinking more of the short term variety. After we had been married a couple of months we started planning our first trip. Since we had both been to Honduras and knew about the ministry of Manos Extendidas, we decided to put together a team and go to Honduras. We got married in July of 2007 and we took our first mission trip in June of 2008.

My Discomfort

At the top of the mountain behind the mission. You can see the whole city from here.

During the week while we were on our mission trip Trina asked me a few different times what I thought about moving to Honduras. Honestly, I wasn’t really thrilled with the idea. But as the week went on something in me started to change. One day while we had some free time we climbed to the top of a mountain behind the mission. There I sat on a rock overlooking the city and talking to God. Something was stirring in my soul. I asked God directly, “Are you sure? Are you calling us to move here? Because I’m not so sure I want to do this.” Rarely do I find my will to be in line with God’s so He usually has to spend some time convincing me. And that is exactly what He did.

It wasn’t until the plane ride home that I shared with Trina that I was feeling a call too. But I still wasn’t sure. Not until we had been home for a few months and realized that the discomfort in my soul that had been born on that mountain was only continuing to grow. Usually with time memories fade but for Trina and I our discomfort and desire only grew stronger. I remember driving downtown Lynden with Trina, after we had been home for two months, and confessing to her that I didn’t feel comfortable here anymore. I didn’t feel like I had come home, I felt like I was away from home. Neither one of us could get Honduras off our minds. We talked about it every single day. We didn’t know when or how but we knew that one day we would be moving to Honduras.

Take Another Trip

Since we weren’t ready yet to move, we decided to do the next best thing and plan another short term mission trip. This next trip and a number of events after it served to further confirm our calling… to be continued.

The Unexpected

By Chad Baron in Events, Personal Reflections, The Road 2 Comments

This post is way over due. I finally have a little time to catch up on a few things. Right now Trina and I and Asher are in a hotel room in Oak Harbor taking a little break over this long weekend. I know some of you are interested in the continuation of my previous post about how we were called to move to Honduras – it is coming but I need first tell about last week.

Last Thursday was our Taco Feed. We had a silent auction, fed everyone tacos, and told about what we will be doing in Honduras. The week leading up to the event was stressful. Trina and I found out it is a lot of work putting something like this together. On the Monday before the event I was feeling kind of overwhelmed and a bit discouraged. A lot of people, who I had hoped would be there, for one reason or another weren’t going to be able to make it. As I prayed Monday morning I said to God, “God I could really use some encouragement. I’d really like to know we are doing the right thing here.” I’m not sure I really expected God to answer that prayer. I thought I was just going to have to push through whatever way I could.

A Surprise Gift

I got to work at the church Monday morning and had an envelope arrive in the mail. I opened it up and inside was a note with a check. Someone who had come across our Facebook page and then went to our website had decided to send us some support. It was from a husband and wife and they explained that they are students so they couldn’t support us on a monthly basis but still wanted to help. The check was for $1000! Trina and I are incredibly humbled and thankful for their generosity. They brought us one more step closer to our work in Honduras. And I believe God used the timing of their gift to give us the encouragement we would need for the rest of the week.

A Place to Live

Another unexpected thing happened on Tuesday. A missionary family in Honduras that works with the same ministry we will be working with contacted me. They have been there for a number of years and are wanting to take a sabbatical for a year. So they offered us the use of their house and vehicle for the year while they are gone. This was another big boost of encouragement. Having a place and vehicle all lined up for us when we get there would be a huge blessing. It would give us time to get settled in instead of dealing with the pressure of immediately setting up a home from scratch. There are still details to work out so please pray that it does work out.

The Taco Feed

Thursday night was the Taco Feed. I have to tell you, Wednesday night Asher was up in the middle of the night for a couple hours so Trina and I were exhausted to start the day on Thursday. I think that is how God wanted it. He was prepared to do a great work and he wanted us to remember that he did it, not us. And what a great work he did. We’re not sure exactly how many people were there but  it was around 100. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. For Trina and I it was a great time and we really felt loved and supported by those who came. What was even more amazing was the response we had from everyone who came. When all was said and done we added up what was raised by the silent auction, the one time gifts, and what was pledged in support (so this isn’t all in cash but what was promised for the next year) we raised close to $15,000.00!

Thank You!

There really aren’t words to describe our gratitude. We are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support we have received so far. To everyone who has promised to pray for us and everyone who is supporting us financially – Thank You. I wish there were words to adequately convey how you have blessed us.

If you weren’t at the Taco Feed, or if you were and want to see it again, here is the video we showed that night that tells about some of the work we will be doing in Honduras.

The Calling – Part 1

By Chad Baron in Personal Reflections, The Road 2 Comments

Occasionally I’m asked how or when I knew I was called to be a missionary to Honduras. So I thought I would share the story. But it is a long story so I’m going to break it up into several parts.

There wasn’t a singular moment where I knew this is what I was supposed to do. I don’t have one of those stories you sometimes hear where God spoke audibly telling me to take my family to Honduras. For me it has been a series of progressive events that started in 2005.

A Huge Mess

In my former life I had made a real mess of my finances. I had got about $30,000 into credit card debt. When I got clean and sober I spent the next several years living off the grid as much as possible and the creditors had a hard time finding me. As God continued to work on me and my character I became convicted of my sin and decided I was going to do whatever it took to make right my wrongs. I remember one night sitting on the floor of my apartment all alone just sobbing as I faced what I had done. I was scared but I told God then that I would do whatever it took to to make things right.

A Crazy Prayer

That night started an amazing process. I started writing letters to the creditors to let them know where I was and to ask them to send me my bills. As I waited for their responses I was really seeking after God and his direction for my life. At that time I felt like God was telling me I was going to go into full time ministry. One night as lay in bed thinking about this I said to God in a half-joking way, “God I feel like you are calling me into full time ministry but honestly I don’t know how that is possible. I’m going to have to work for many years to pay off this debt but if that’s what you want I guess you can just make it all go away.”

I really didn’t think God would make it go away and I certainly didn’t think I deserved to have it go away. But that is exactly what happened… the VERY NEXT DAY!

A Debt Forgiven

The next morning I got the mail and in it was a letter from from one of my creditors to whom I owed the most money (around $20,000 if I remember correctly). That letter said my account had been closed and I no longer had to pay the debt. Over the next several weeks more letters came like that. Not only that but they removed the bad marks from my credit report. I went from having terrible credit to having a decent credit score. When all was said and done I think I paid around $400 of all the money I had once owed.

The fact that my debt was removed so quickly and easily was confirmation to me that I was supposed to go into full time ministry. But at that time I had no idea how or when or where. There were many more twists and turns left in this story.

To Be Continued…

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