17 days and counting

I can't believe that it is already August and we are moving to Honduras in just 17 days! The last 17 days (or so) have been quite busy, and I expect the next 17 will be twice as busy. I finished my job about 3 weeks ago, and have been traveling and spending time with friends and family. We had a little college reunion a few weeks ago with my HRH girls, and had a great time hanging out with them. I also traveled over to Arkansas and see Stacey & Sarah Kate. I've gotten to spend a lot of time with my family, especially my Mom, and I am grateful for that. This week we are packing up our house, and will begin living out of a suitcase.

The most exciting update is that I spent 5 days in Honduras last week (July 27-31). I had a last minute opportunity to travel with a group, and Laura Beth even got to go with me. I had not anticipated such a trip, but God did promise that He would do more than we could ask or imagine! This trip was such a blessing to me! I wish Alden could have joined me, but unfortunately he had to work. These weeks leading up to the move are stressful and emotionally straining to say the least. It is frustrating trying to think of everything and get everything together before moving. The hardest thing by far is telling friends and family goodbye, even though it is only for a year. We've told pretty much everyone bye already except our immediate family, which of course will be the hardest. During my trip, I got to spend 2 days at Jovenes En Camino with my boys, and it was certainly a recharge for my soul. I needed to be reminded of why I had decided to move to Honduras in the first place, and to have the sweet memories of the boys to recall during difficult times. The boys are so excited about us coming. I would tell one boy that I would be back in 2 months with my husband, and that we would live there for 10 months. Then later, another boy would come up to me asking when I was coming back because they had heard it from another boy. One boy, Christian, asked when we were coming, and I told him the end of September. He said, no what day?! September 25. Ok, but how many more days until then!!?? I told him it would just be 60 days, and he just got a huge smile on his face. It's good to feel wanted! Several staff members made me feel very welcome also.

We have several big tasks in front of us, and I ask for your prayers. First and foremost, we need your prayers as we move, say our goodbyes, and adjust to a new culture. We will spend 4 weeks in language school, so Alden can learn Spanish and I can hopefully perfect mine. Besides that, the board has given us several things they want us to do. They are needing to buy some land adjacent to the JEC campus to build the fourth and final dorm. They want us to talk to the man who owns it, a Honduran General, and persuade him to sell it to us. (They've been trying for 5 years, with no luck yet). Secondly, they need help with their agriculture property. It doesn't seem like the crops are growing like they should be, and they want us to look into that. Lastly, they want us to research the school system there, and come up with some better ideas/solutions for the current schooling of the boys. They go to public school, and their resources are maxed out, and they don't think it's high quality anyway. They want to look into private schooling, but are unsure. Please pray for us on these matters.

We don't know how reliable or easily accessible internet will be once we get to Honduras, but we will keep this blog updated as much as possible. We look forward to hearing from you, and we thank you for your prayers.