This week is already so full of activities. It is really crazy to realize what kind of scheduling you get yourself into in a supposedly remote area in the mountains of Honduras. We have a 15th birthday party we are planning for the girls. We did get the invitations out in time thankfully. Here they have a large party to celebrate a young girl's birthday when she becomes 15 called a "quincenera". We have invited about 40 people, including the judges and officials who brought the girls here, teachers, friends and families of the 3 girls who will be celebrating their birthdays. We will decorate the church with pine needles on the floor and flowers on the walls.
The dresses the girls are to wear, are traditionally supposed to be white, pink, or a salmon color. I looked everywhere while I was home in the United States in October and couldn't find anything in those colors. It looked like I was going home empty handed, when finally I prayed. I found 4 dresses in one store. They tried them on yesterday and I am going to have to alter them but at least we have them. I am asking God to help me do this since I haven't sewn anything in quite some time.
This past Sunday our pastor asked us if we could help with a medical brigade from Ohio. There were going to be 15 people and he needed a few translators. We told him it would be no problem. We dropped the girls off at the church on Monday. They had a great time getting to know the new group of doctors and nurses and lay people who had been sent here by there church. I went back home to teach math and phonics to our other girls waiting at the school.
The water went out again, so I checked at the pump and it had no electricity going to it at all. The same thing happened a week prior and I had been reading a book on prayer and so I just prayed like one of the missionaries noted in the book. George Mueller never asked anybody for anything, but lifted every need he had to God. So with this example fresh on my mind, I came back to the house and prayed and when I got back to the pump house the well was up and running. This time I did the same thing, and it didn't come on. So I called the repairman to come see about that.
We picked the girls up at three and I had to take the Nissan Patrol to La Esperanza to get some mechanical things seen about on it. Amanda followed me into town in the white truck. She picked me up from the mechanics and we went by the bakery and bought a cake for Natalie's Bible Club graduation party for the Yasi group. She has been working with several schools and Yasi is the first group of 15 children who have finished the Mailbox Club material. We then stopped by the appliance store to see why the repairman hadn't come to repair the door on my stove. He was supposed to come last week, but he never showed up. I prayed that I wouldn't lose my testimony when I went inside to inquire why he hadn't been yet after they promised "Monday for sure". I told them that we cook for 33 people everyday and I needed my stove more than most folks, but I have a quincenera for three girls and would be cooking for 80 to 100 and I needed my stove operational. It was late in the day and I had no expectation that they would keep their appointment to come, but they said they would be on their way.
We arrived at the farm about 5:30 pm and the repairman wasn't there so I continue to pray for the electricity to be restored to the well, and when I stuck my head in the door the well panel was lit up again. I hit the switch and called the repairman and told him we had water. He was already on the way and he said he would come by anyway. He did and found that our electrical lines to the box were oxidized and that he had to change the breakers out for new ones. At this point he was working with a flashlight because it was late. He would come tomorrow. Meanwhile the appliance repairman showed up!! It was about 7 o'clock but the two of them tore into my oven door and fixed it temporarily until they could get a part. We had devotions at house one, and when I got home I helped one of the older girls with polynomials and called it a day.
Tuesday, we dropped the girls again, but this time we had some of the girls who had to be seen by the doctors and dentists. So I stayed through the pulling of teeth and returned to the farm with the dental patients and we had lunch, and I realized I needed to get some things straight at the house and so I got the office cleaned out, moved furniture around and went back up to the school to teach math. The electrician and his crew came and the contractor working on the duplex showed up with his worker. The other girls arrived home about 1 o'clock and had their lunch and went up to the school. We had tutoring after school in math, finished cleaning two more rooms in my house, made guacamole, while Natalie wrapped bibles for her Bible Club Graduation Party. We had an early supper and went to Tuesday night church as the medical team invited all of us to the special services. I loaded everybody in the bus, including our school teacher, and 3 house mom's, Natalie and Amanda, and off we went.
It was an amazing service and some of our girls went forward to make first time commitments and some went forward for recommitments to the Lord. We all ended up getting prayed for. We were on our way out of town, and there was a police stop. Now Yamaranguila never has a police check point at night. I didn't have my wallet with me because I didn't want to keep up with my purse. We had Amanda's music on her iphone running through the speakers of the bus playing some kind of wild Christian rap music at full blast, with the interior lights so Maria Elena wouldn't get car sick. I roll down my window and tried to smile like this was all normal, when the officer asks where I was transporting this group of people. I told him that I was from the local mission and thankfully the other police officer knew about us and they waved us on. I didn't have my seatbelt on, no license( which would cost about $100.00 USD in fines) music blaring, and we got through anyway. We really were praising the Lord now going down the highway. I was so pumped I miss my road to turn into the farm.
I am trying to get everything straightened up at my house so that we can have company. We are having the birthday party on Sunday. Charity and Charisa (my daughters from the States) are coming for Angela's wedding. Angela was one of our first girls who came to the farm in 1997 and they all grew up together. She is getting married next weekend. My girls are going to be in the bridal party, and my 15 of my Honduran girls are going to be attending. So we are picking our girls up from the airport which is 3 1/2 hours away after we have the birthday party on Sunday. Angela is attending the birthday party and she is going to pick up Tim and Ana Carey who are coming from Pennslyvania from Tegucigalpa. They come every year to the mission in November, usually with a team, but this time they are coming alone. To mix with all of this, I just got an email that we have a phsycologist coming to check out our facility this week end.
After the party on the 6th, I am changing clothes and going to pick up 2 of my girls from the Airport who are taking a red eye special. We will drive back that night so that we can attend a bridal tea for Angela that will be taking place on Monday with all the girls from the farm in La Esperanza at a local restaurant. Then Angela, Charity, and Charisa will leave to go to Tegucigalpa the next morning to go to the capital and get their bridesmaids dresses fitted. Amanda Parsons will be leaving the next day for the US and I will drop her and Natalie at the bus station. The next day I will go to Tegucigalpa and pick up Esmerelda so that she can be part of the festivities. She lives about an hour away on the other side of Tegucigalpa. She used to live at our mission and has gotten permission to come the wedding.
Our 15 Honduran girls will be getting on a travel bus with Natalie and Tim and Ana Carey and coming to Tegucigalpa on the 12th. I will pick them up and get them to Angela's house where we will be staying. The wedding party will be staying at a local mission. The 13th is the wedding, but we have to drop Ana and Tim at the Airport for their return flight home. The day after the wedding, we will put the girls back on the travel bus, and we will meet them in La Esperanza to pick them up.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the Botkin family arrives in Honduras in San Pedro Sula on the other end of the country. They will be staying with us for a year. They are troopers and will get the farm by bus to stay with the other girls that we have left with house moms, and Rosa.
Today I am going to take the workers to the farm to clean up the coffee and when I drop them off I am taking one of our girls to have dental surgery with the team from Ohio. Natalie and Amanda, the Honduran school teacher and the rest of the girls are going to the Yasi Graduation Party, and then later that afternoon the team from Ohio is coming to the farm for a visit. Then we go back to La Esperanza to leave the white truck for a tune up and get the Nissan Patrol. Things are never dull around here and thanks be to Jesus I am still functioning. I am not even being sarcastic!
I want to thank all of you for your continued prayers. Without those prayers, our lives here would be full of stress because of all the daily things we have to do. Your prayers are vital to what we do here. Please pray for us in these upcoming events. God has brought us peace even though we are seemingly going in every direction. Pray for our safety while we travel around the country this week. I thank Him for the celebrations of birthdays, graduations and weddings. Blessings, The Multi-tasking Honduran Mother of the Bride.
PS I wanted to mention that Brenda is in a beautician school. She is attending Monday- Friday 8- 1. It is something that she has wanted to do for a long time. She is so cute coming home everyday with her notes and her new hair do's and fingernails and stories of who she saw that day. She is still continuing with her classes here, but this is a technical training that she will be receiving for this next year. So be praying for her too. We appreciate the Sunday School Class that is making this possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment