"You Satisfy Me With Your Love"

Recently, we had the opportunity to get out of the city and spend a few days a wonderful home in the mountains called "The Villa," where abandoned children live in an environment of love.  One morning, we decided to go on a hike with the children to the high point of the mountain, where there was a beautiful view. Unfortunately, earlier that morning, the electricity had gone off, so there was no water in the house. So we set off on our hike without any water, hoping that by the time we returned, there would be some waiting for us. 

As we hiked through the dry grass up the steep, mountainous terrain, we heard the chatter of children and enjoyed the fresh air and beautiful view. But soon it was hard to be thankful for the beauty and fresh air because the hot sun was beating down on us, our shirts were becoming wet with sweat, and our mouths were so dry that all we wanted was a big glass of ice-cold water. We knew that our bodies needed water, but on  the middle of the mountainside, all we could do was keep hiking toward the house, hoping that when we arrived, the water that we desperately needed would be waiting for us. 

There are times in our lives when we know that we are in desperate need of God's living water, but we may be parched because we have chosen to take a walk in the world without taking the word---our spiritual water--- with us. We may be parched because we're enjoying our hike in the world so much that we don't want to turn around and search God out. But at some point, we realize the effects of our spiritual dehydration. Our souls feel dry, but we realize that we have wandered far from the Living Water that God offers us. It is then that we have to turn back to God, knowing that when we come to Him, he will be there waiting for us with water that will always satisfy. 

Isaiah 55:1

"Come all of you who are thirsty, come to the waters. . ."

¡Que Rico* estar en Honduras!

Hello friends, family, countrymen, and foreigners!
We ARE still alive, thriving in the hot, bright city of Tegucigalpa.

Sorry we haven't been the best at keeping you updated. Christmas and New Years are rather huge here. We all spent Christmas Eve with our families--here you celebrate Christmas at 12am Christmas morning. Hopefully most of you have gotten our personal updates about that.
We had the opportunity of going on a short vacation to Copan, where the Mayan ruins are in Honduras. We spent a couple days there, including New Years eve, and enjoyed lots of fireworks!

The last few weeks have brought many changes for our little team. We had a couple of intense weeks of Spanish class, which we have now finished. Most of us are feeling pretty confidant. We are all able to understand (entender) most everything. Some of us have better fluency in speaking, but we all can get around pretty well with the Spanish we know. We are excited to be finished with classes and be starting the next faze of our time here.

A work team from Estados Unidos (United States) came down 2 Sabados (Saturdays) ago. It was led by our very own Steve Westberry! For those of you who don't know, we lived with and were trained by Steve and Bonnie Westberry in New York City. It was so wonderful to see Steve, a face from home, plus he brought lots of goodies for us, including our favorite, Nutty Bars! We helped the work team two days last week as they were putting in the floor for a church in a Colonia on the outskirts of Teguz. We did some back breaking work mixing cement! We were rather sore for a couple of days. It was really neat to discover how far our Spanish has come, as we were able to speak candidly and comfortably with the children and other locals who came to the church to help and watch. We did a little translating for the States team. :)

Along with these fun changes, there have been some hard ones. Unfortunately, one of our team members had to return to the United States. The decision was made by the STEP directors who believed this action needed to be taken to keep unity within the team, as well as to help the individual and keep the focus of the STEP team on track.We are now just a small team of 4. Please keep the team here and the individual in your prayers as we all adjust to this new arrangement

In addition, 2 days ago Melanie left us for 2 weeks to go to Nicaragua to meet a team from her home church in Canada, Wainfleet BIC. She will be serving by helping with translation, bible clubs and manual labor (now that we have experience with hard work in Latin American countries, she'll be an expert). We will miss her a lot, and already do after only 2 days! Please keep her safety and health in your prayers, especially as she is traveling back to Honduras on her own.

These next two weeks, the rest of the team is participating in ministries! This week we are going to CEDER, an old folks home. Today we went for the first time, anticipating having to bathe people. Jesus had some mercy on us, however, and we ended up sorting LOTS of clothes and organizing the clothes room. Next week we will be going on a Dental Brigade in Colonia Linda Miller with a group from the States. We could be serving as translators, helping with eye tests(yes, in a dental brigade. Don't ask, but somehow it's related), or helping to organize bible clubs.

Thank you for your continual prayer. We are doing pretty great here! Honduras is que rico*! God is continuing His work in us as we try to discern His will as we go about our every day lives here. We've all mostly passed the oh-so-dreaded culture shock stage--some of us with more hardships than others. Now we just sometimes have "bad days," but all-in-all, as we gain more fluency and understanding of the culture, we are beginning to find peace and a real love for this country. Pray that love and peace would continue to grow more and more each day.

Amor en Cristo,
Evi, Carey, and Emily for the STEP Team.


* ¡Que Rico! is a Honduran expression that we have come to love. It's applied to anything and everything that you like. It basically means "How awesome!" Literally, "How rich!" It's used to describe food, the sun, sleep, and Carey's arms when a little boy fell asleep in them. Practically everything! In our opinion, "¡Que rico son sus oraciones!"


Disfrute algunas fotos:

¡Hola Gringos! *kiss kiss*

We just wanted to greet you in the same way that we are greeted as we walk through the city ... Now for your reading pleasure, our very first ... new and improved ... BLOG post :






Pero de una cosa estoy seguro:                             I am still confident of this:
he de ver la bondad del Señor                              I will see the goodness of the Lord 
en esta tierra de los vivientes.                             in the land of the living.
Pon tu esperanza en el Señor;                               Wait for the Lord;
ten valor, cobra ánimo;                                        be strong and take heart
¡ pon tu esperanza en el Señor!                             and wait for the Lord!


                                             Psalms 27:13-14


     In a new country, living in a new city, eating new food, with a new family, we have found that God always stays the same. No matter our circumstances, God has been fiel (faithful). In a dangerous city, we have remained free from harm. When we see the ugly side of the city, we can still be confident that God is at work. Even more than this, we are  confident that we will see the goodness of the Lord here.


     One of our favorite parts of the week is going to la iglesia Sunday mornings and Wedensday nights. The people in the Tegucigalpa BIC church are so full of passion. Although it's hard for us to understand the preaching, the passion in their worship is unmistakable. Every Sunday and Wedensday, we gather with our brothers and sisters in Christ who truly love the Lord. 


     Every week day, we meet at the Kennedy BIC church for language classes. In the mornings before we begin classes, we all read a Bible verse and comment on it in Spanish. It has been a really great way for us to learn more Spanish words and to stay focused on our ultimate purpose here in Honduras. Our classes last 4 hours every day, then on Monday, Wedensday and Friday, we go on our language routes. On our routes, we have the opportunity to talk with many different people, practing our Spanish as well as making  amigos nuevos :) Our classes can be pretty tough, but our teachers are experienced at teaching North Americans like us. We are learning a lot already! Even after being here for only 2 weeks, we can already talk more with our families and understand a lot more.


     A couple days ago we had the opportunity to go to Hospital Escuela where we talked and prayed with the sick niños. We also got to sing Christmas carols for them... in Spanish of course! It was an eye-opening experience for us, seeing the conditions of the hospital here compared to the hospitals back home. We gave out silly bands (complements of Evi's church) and dulces (candy) in the hopes of brightening the kids' days. 


     We will try to keep you updated as we continue our journey here. We are really grateful for your support and that you are coming along side us as we serve the Lord.


     Please keep us in your prayers, asking God to protect us, to give us good health and to bring us together as a team. Also, Melanie's padre, Noe, has been sick for some time and her whole family could use your prayers. For the whole team, you can pray that we will be persistent in studying and learning Spanish (and that God would help us learn quickly). 


Dios les bendiga
     
- Carey and Melanie, for the team 


P.S.  Pardon our use of random Spanish words