God pulls us through all challenges!

This past week has been pretty challenging in a few ways, and God has definitely pushed me. 
Sunday we went to a North American church in the afternoon, which was so refreshing to worship and hear the Word in English (not that I'm sick of Spanish!...) Most of the boys from the property came too, so since there are so many people to transport we had to ride in the bed of a truck again. However, unlike last time, it wasn't a pickup truck...it was an 18 wheeler with a completely flat bed. It was such a blast to get all dressed up and then be transported like chickens to the 'gringo' church. Below: Dressed up for church!

The challenges began when I found out that I wasn't going to La Kennedy for the week (later I found out that it was supposed to be 11 days) because of the rotation of the group. The community of La Kennedy had been so heavy on my heart for the previous week, so I was super discouraged and frustrated to find out that I wouldn't be able to see them for so long. At the time, it felt like God had called me to minister to the community and then just ripped it away. Of course, He had other plans. 
After talking with the leaders about switching everyone in the group at the same time and how it probably wasn't the best idea, it was decided that I would go on Monday. So, I went! Caesar wasn't there that day, but I was able to talk with Jose quite a bit. He ended up bringing up the Bible to me, and he showed me a couple of passages that he kept in his wallet that had been given to him by various churches. It was the first time he and I had a truely deep conversation, which was so awesome to realize that I was making progress. On the flip-side, it was a HUGE bummer to tell him that I wouldn't be there for the rest of the week and the following week. When I told him, he put his arm around me and said over and over 'estoy triste, estoy triste,' meaning 'I'm sad, I'm sad.'  It broke my heart! Now, not only was God taking away La Kennedy for me, but he was showing so clearly that I was forming pretty solid relationships. Below: Doing ministry in La Kennedy. Jose is in the blue shirt with the hat on. I am behind the Honduran girl.

At our mini debrief that day, I mentioned what Jose had said to me, and Tony was pretty upset. Later in the day we had a group meeting to go over our schedule for the remainder of our time here and to work out some kinks in our ministries...one being La Kennedy. After almost 3 hours of slightly stressful conversation, there was an executive decision to send a core group of people to La Kennedy everyday and to send extra people only once in a while. Because of the relationships I have been making, I am one of the core people. Yay God! I had been so upset about missing even a day, let alone a week, and He proved that he did want me to be there...and everyday! 
Yesterday (Thursday) was the first time I have seen Caesar since last week. We talked for a while about where he had been, and he mentioned that he was bummed that he hadn't been around while we were there because henwas looking forward to reading the Bible with me. So exciting! Unfortunately, he didn't pop out until about 30 minutes before we left, so he thought it would be a better idea to not rush and start our 'Bible study' next time. Instead, we talked about astronomy(!) for a while and he gave me a bracelet that he had made for me. When we left today, he made sure that I would bring a Bible, a camera, and something astrophysical for him to read the next time I'm there. So many great things! 
Aside from the challenge of La Kennedy, we are also reaching the point where the team is starting to rift a bit. There are no specific problems with any one or two people, but there is still a sort of weight that everyone has felt for a few days. After three weeks of being together 24/7, a little bit of impatience and irritability penetrated the group. Luckily it was addressed fairly quickly, but it still dampered some spirits for a day or two, and I could feel our group as a whole losing unity, especially unity in the Lord. After a bit of time alone and one or two more deep talks, we are finally starting to climb back up again. Please pray for team unity for us! 

Teaching English at the school is still going super well, and I have inherited another student! Now I have Wilfredo (13) and Santos (14). They are both extremely smart and so happy to be learning. Each day they hug me hello and goodbye and thank me for teaching. So far, they have mastered numbers, colors, basic conversational phrases, and the alphabet. Today we made a huge leap and started verbs. Teaching is definitely another area where I am being challenged here, but it has been a blessing as well to see the boys make so much progress and to know that they will continue to learn even more.
On the property, I have been working on the cactus garden, painting rocks, and playing with the bunnies. There is a brand new rabbit house that we have progressed a bunch, but the rabbits (6 right now) need to be held and played with pretty often so that they are ready to be sold. I volunteered for that tedious job. :) Because of all of the other big projects I haven't been able to make a lot of progress on the soccer field yet. The area is macheted and ready to be revamped, but I think it'll be a little while before any major steps are taken. I have moved my tent over and am sleeping on the 'field' for now...it is much squishier and more level than my previous tent locations, and I am lulled to sleep by the cars and trucks on the road all night. 
So many little things are starting to come together and really take shape here. I feel completely at home wherever I am...every place in which I find myself is exactly where I feel like I want/need to be. Praise God for Honduras!
During the week of July 14-20 there is a national 'event' called One Nation, One Day in which the whole world is going to be praying for Honduras and the gospel will be shared across the country. The idea is that NO part of the country will be unreached. I encourage you to look into the event and pray for those of us who are here as missionaries as well as the native Honduran people.
Thanks for reading! 
  
PS I did watch the Honduras/US soccer game...I cheered for Honduras. :)