Welcome back to my blog, which I seem to have neglected for the past two years...oops! Well, now I'm back in action, renamed it, and even gave it a rainy background. The reason for that being that when I went on my one week mission trip to Honduras a few years ago, it rained, like, every day. When I think of rain, I smile as I think of Honduras. So, now when you read this, you can think of it, too. =)
I thought I'd start the new blog off by putting my support letter up here so you can understand what brought me to this huge change in my life. Enjoy!
Hi Again, Friends,
Have you ever had your plans change
within just a matter of a few hours in a way you really just never
saw coming? That's kind of what's happened to me in the last month or
so. But, then again, it's really been a long time coming. Remember
back in 2010 when I went to Honduras with my old church? Well, my
heart never really left ever since I got back. Then, a friend of
mine, without really even knowing he did, gave me a wonderful
reminder that I really do want to go back there, and for more than
just a week this time. I Google searched “teaching English in
Honduras” and guess what? I found an incredible opportunity waiting
for me there!
I researched the school for a couple
hours and just kept talking to God, continually asking Him to open
these doors for me to do this if it's where He wants me. Well, He
opened so many doors that I got all the way through the application
and interview process and was offered the position of teaching both
English and Spelling to grades 7-9! Crazy, right? Yes, but only in
the very best way possible! I've always felt like God gave me a heart
for long(er) term mission work, so why not start embracing it now,
rather than waiting until it may not be an option for my life
anymore? I do not think it was a coincidence that God sent me to
Honduras at the time He did. Nor do I believe it's a coincidence that
I found the school off of Google (of all places!) and it is a
Christian based one, AS WELL as an English speaking one at that.
Sure, Google may not be the most popular place to discover a
missionary opportunity like this, but since when has God ever limited
ANYTHING He does? So, here I am, writing to proudly and excitedly
tell you that I will be moving to Siguatapeque, Honduras from this
August to June of next year!
Now, I know you're probably wanting to
know more information about the school and kind of get a raw picture
of what my life there will look like, right? The name of the school
is Comunidad Educativa Evangelica (Siguatepeque Bilingual Christian
School). Siguatapeque is known as a wealthier city in Honduras, but
in no way does that mean that the students and community members
don't need people to love on them and to show them Jesus. The school
teaches grades K-11 and the students learn half of their days in
Spanish and the other half in English. I've been blessed to have many
conversations already with the other women teachers I will also be
living with while there and I am overjoyed at the amount of time
outside of school they get to spend with students who go to the
school! There are so many opportunities for ministry and for
discipleship that I just can't hardly wait to get there and get
started! It's so amazing to think that my very first year of actually
teaching and having my own classroom will also take place in a third
world country that goes by a whole different rule book with the way
they live. But, that only gets me more excited to see the ways God
could use this time to grow my faith and really help me “grow up”
in a sense.
Like I said, I will be living with
three other ladies, all of whom are returning English teachers. I've
spent much of my free time looking at their pictures on Facebook and
seeing all the Honduran faces of the lives they've been able to
impact because God has chosen to use them there in Honduras. One of
the girls actually has a story much like my own, as she just finished
her first year ever of teaching, and has chosen to take on yet
another year because she loved it so much. I know from student
teaching that we will be extremely busy, and after reading all of the
teachers' blogs, I now know that we will be even busier than the
average teacher because of all the extra time many kids spend at the
school, and therefore, have even less time for relaxation. Even with
all the craziness that I know will happen as soon as I step foot off
the plane, I could not be more excited for it! It's an amazing
feeling to be done with college and be in a place where I really can
do just about anything, and go anywhere. I'm going to take that
saying seriously and go to Honduras, and I'm so excited to begin
forming friendships with my students (that's why I LOVE this age!!)
and helping them dig deeper in their own faith.
I've been so well equipped with
discipleship while I was in college because of the incredible campus
ministry I was part of, Christian Student Fellowship, and I've seen
what it really means to be the hands and feet of Christ. I'm not
saying that everyone should move to a third world country in order to
be like Jesus, but He does call
some of us to that life. For me, I know that He has called me to
Honduras, at least for this year. It is a position where I can go
just a year, and I also have the option of staying on longer if I
choose to do so.
While
this is a missionary position, the school pays their English teachers
a stipend of $325 a month, and they also pay for your apartment you
share with the other teachers. In other words, it's enough to live on
while in Honduras. However, the school only pays for flight costs
for me to get down there, we are responsible for paying the rest of
our flight costs, which is around $750 one way and I would be going
there and back twice during my contract. Then you add on the cost of
medical expenses every month and you come up with quite a bit of
money needed. That doesn't mean it's an impossible amount, though.
One of my most favorite aspects of missions work, and I've said this
probably in every support letter I've ever sent, is that it allows
the missionary to invite other people in on their experience. This is
not something I plan on doing by myself, nor would I ever want to!
One of the beautiful things about experiencing something is that you
get to tell others about it!
I want to invite you to come along on this journey with me! This is going to be a HUGE life change for me, and I am going to need a lot of support. I would love it if you could join me in praying for this trip and the time I'll be in Honduras. If you would like to give financially as well, I would also really, really appreciate that. The breakdown of what I will be needing includes food/water, health costs, flight costs, cable/internet/phone, and classroom necessities and averages about $650 support needed per month. If you feel willing to give to this trip, you can do one of two things. I have set up a PayPal account which you can go on and donate to at this link: brennab29.blogspot.com. There is a "Donate" button at the top right of the page. If you do not want to give online, you can also send a check in my name to my home address in Rochester,IL and my mom can have it deposited into my account. You can give a one time gift, a monthly gift, or just whenever you feel like it, really! Honestly, anything you choose to give would be so GREATLY appreciated.
As I write this, I trust God fully that the money I need will come in, because God is God and He can do anything He wants to do! I've been pleasantly reminded many times in the last few months that “Now, to Him who is ABLE to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21. Not only can God give us even more than we could ever think up on our own, but He does it to bring glory to His name! Ahh, that gets me so excited!
I want to invite you to come along on this journey with me! This is going to be a HUGE life change for me, and I am going to need a lot of support. I would love it if you could join me in praying for this trip and the time I'll be in Honduras. If you would like to give financially as well, I would also really, really appreciate that. The breakdown of what I will be needing includes food/water, health costs, flight costs, cable/internet/phone, and classroom necessities and averages about $650 support needed per month. If you feel willing to give to this trip, you can do one of two things. I have set up a PayPal account which you can go on and donate to at this link: brennab29.blogspot.com. There is a "Donate" button at the top right of the page. If you do not want to give online, you can also send a check in my name to my home address in Rochester,IL and my mom can have it deposited into my account. You can give a one time gift, a monthly gift, or just whenever you feel like it, really! Honestly, anything you choose to give would be so GREATLY appreciated.
As I write this, I trust God fully that the money I need will come in, because God is God and He can do anything He wants to do! I've been pleasantly reminded many times in the last few months that “Now, to Him who is ABLE to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to HIM be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21. Not only can God give us even more than we could ever think up on our own, but He does it to bring glory to His name! Ahh, that gets me so excited!
Oh,
and don't worry, while I am gone, I plan on regularly updating my
blog, Living My Honduran Dream! (found at the same link for online giving that I mentioned above), so you can follow me and keep up with all the latest
happenings in Honduras! Many of you who are reading this have read
support letters of mine in the past, too, and I want to take this
time to thank you so much for any and all support you showed. It is
because of all of those previous trips I took and all the heartbreak
I experienced along the way, from not being able to go on a trip or
the way I saw people living and wanted to do more to help them, that
has enabled me to even get to this point in my life where I feel God
more clearly than ever leading me down this next path.
I don't know how long He has me on it for, but I do know that He's faithful and He works every thing out for the good of those who love Him. That doesn't just mean me, it means you, it means your family members and your friends. It means the random people you meet in your life. God has a beautiful plan for each one of us, and not only that, but He knows, better than anyone, what trials will have to be faced in order to be molded into the people He created us to be. I recently read Kisses From Katie, (read it if you haven't!!) and she said something I keep coming back to when I think of the hard things I've had to face and the things I will have to face in the future. “Nothing is a sacrifice in light of spending eternity with Christ”. I want to live my life in such a way that this is totally evident to others who meet me.
I don't know how long He has me on it for, but I do know that He's faithful and He works every thing out for the good of those who love Him. That doesn't just mean me, it means you, it means your family members and your friends. It means the random people you meet in your life. God has a beautiful plan for each one of us, and not only that, but He knows, better than anyone, what trials will have to be faced in order to be molded into the people He created us to be. I recently read Kisses From Katie, (read it if you haven't!!) and she said something I keep coming back to when I think of the hard things I've had to face and the things I will have to face in the future. “Nothing is a sacrifice in light of spending eternity with Christ”. I want to live my life in such a way that this is totally evident to others who meet me.
God
Bless and Thank You!
