La Ceiba

Yesterday I arrived in La Ceiba, Honduras where I will be spending the next couple of weeks with the Pettengills. Today Mike showed me around the city and showed me several places where they hope to begin ministries. The Pettengills have been in La Ceiba for about 3 months. Some of their plans include planting a church, teaching ESL classes, ministering to the poor with medical clinics, working with street children as well as the elderly. There will be 3 interns joining the Pettengills next month and two more families in January. Please pray for the team here in Honduras as these ministries are beginning. It was exciting to see the opportunities here in La Ceiba and I am excited to learn more during my time in Honduras. Tomorrow morning Mike will be teaching an ESL class, so I'll get to tag along and observe that. Tomorrow night we are going to a youth function where we will stay up all night hanging out, playing games, and sharing the love of Christ.
Ya know those three years of Spanish I took in high school sure haven't helped me to communicate much. In fact, I think I have forgotten how to speak English as well. Ever since I got on the plane in Miami people have spoken to me in Spanish before English and I just give them this look and completely blank out, and they realize I have no clue what they are saying. Hopefully I can remember a few things over the next couple of weeks.

Prayer

During the first two weeks in October I will be in La Ceiba, Honduras living with the Pettengills, a missionary family who has recently begun a ministry there. They have a very busy month in October and it would be great, if you think of it, if you could include them on your prayer list. This is a list of prayer requests.
I still am without a job and I am trying to trust that God has a plan for my life, but of course I am a mess, and I have a hard time just resting and trusting in Christ. Please pray that I would continue to search dilligently for a job and that I would be realistic, but also that I would trust in Christ to provide the right opportunity in His perfect timing. I had an interview last week with Wycliffe Bible Translators, and I was not offered the job, but I am excited about what this organization is doing, and may be interested in working with them in the future. Please also pray that my time spent in Honduras will be a time of growth and will give me further insight into overseas missions.

What kind of dog is best?

So I think this week I have another decision to make. Should I get a dog or a security system for my house? You can read the reason for this on Allison's blog.

I did make a decison about Honduras. I am going! I am really excited about it. I'll be going the end of September. And I applied for another job this week. Hopefully I'll hear something soon.

What to do now?

For the past 3ish weeks I have been back in Orlando and trying to decide what to do with my life. I have applied for 13 jobs (ten teaching jobs). I don't understand why when you apply for a job, and the employer doesn't want to hire you, they give you no response at all. Is it too much to ask for a simple email stating they didn't like me and I'm not good enough? Aside from the teacher jobs (which I just applied for today) I have applied to be a swim coach, elephant trainer, and a gorilla trainer.
Other than looking for a job I have been praying about going to seminary at RTS and I am considering longer-term missions. Maybe a year, maybe more, I don't know. I have been in touch with MTW and a missionary family in Honduras and they have invited me to come to Honduras the end of September. I am not sure what that will look like with all of the job searching and depleting funds, but I REALLY want to go. I would just go for 2 weeks and I think it would give me a better picture of being a full-time missionary in another culture than I got this summer. This summer was AMAZING, but because I was only working with nationals I didn't get a great picture of full-time cross cultural missions since they were serving within their own country.
Please pray that God would show me when/if I should go to Honduras, when/if I should go to seminary and what to do with my life.

Muthiga Bible Club

The note in this picture says Asante, Thank You if you can't read it! Thank you to my supporters!
Women from the HIV/AIDS support group in Muthiga
Craft Time
Adorable Elizabeth waiting for lunch
Lunch Time!

Home Visits

Ministry Team at Covenant Presbyterian Church
Me, Buena, Angelo, Adam

On Wednesdays, we spent time in a slum called Kawangware where we worked with Pastor Shikonde at Covenant Presbyterian Church. We would split up into groups and go visit people in their homes. Along with a translator or two, Adam (one of the other interns) and I would go out in search of people to visit and pray with. This was so much fun because it was an incredible experience to be able to go into peoples homes and talk to them. Even though these people have next to nothing they were so generous. They almost always offered us something to eat and drink. One of my fondest memories when visiting Kawangware was going into the home of a Sudanese family. There are many Sudanese refugees in Kenya who have come to escape the civil war in their country. Well we went into the house of Buena, the cousin of our translator Angelo, and at first only Buena and his mother were home. By the time we left there were about 20 family members packed in the house. They all went around and told Adam and me things they needed prayer for. Adam read some scripture and I prayed. This family was so generous and made us feel right at home. They went out to get Adam and me a soda and after we prayed we watched CNN for a while (the only time the whole summer I saw any television). Another time in Kawangware, we went into a home where we were offered lunch-rice and beef and tea. There were homes we visited where we were able to share the Gospel with non-believers and homes where we could pray for people who knew the Lord. Spending time in Kawangware was inspiring and encouraging.

Safari In Masai Mara

Here are some pictures from our time on safari in the Masai Mara. Words and pictures really can’t do justice to the beauty in this place. It was completely breathtaking and I have to say it is my favorite place in the world. The open savannah seems endless and I loved the sweet smell of the grass as we drove along with the top of the van open . I was blessed to just be in this place and see the beauty of God’s creation.

African Elephants
Joanna, me and the giraffes
Lions

AMAZING Lizard!
Safari Van
Water Buffalo

Zebra and Wildebeest Migration (This was amazing! There were literally thousands of wildebeests and zebras all migrating to Tanzania in search of green grass.)
White Faced Vervet
Hippos (We stopped here by the river for lunch and had to fight off the monkeys and mongooses so they wouldn't steal our food!)
Sunset over the African Savannah

Here is a complete list of all the animals we saw if you are curious...
Elephant
Giraffe
Rhinoceros
Lilac Breasted Roller
Vulture
Secretary Bird
Bustard
Meercat
Warthog
Lizard
White Faced Vervet
Mongoose
Turtle
African Solcotta Tortoise
Stork
Buzzard
Dikdik
Impala
Wildebeest
Thompson Gazelle
Heartabeast
Eland
Grant Gazelle
Silver Fox (Jackal)
Water Buffalo
Zebra
Ostrich
Hippo
Cheetah
Lion
Topi
Crocodile