Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord

On a Spring Break trip to Mexico in 2008 I learned the words to "Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord" in Spanish.  It was on this trip that I first began to feel a call to missions.  I was with my college campus group, and it was a memorable time for many reasons- from funny things that happened to the gratitude of the church we helped that week.  However, what I remember most is that I was sitting outside the church, talking with a friend, and suddenly I felt God calling.  I didn't know where, when, or for how long, but I knew that I was being called.

This Sunday, over seven years later I stood in church and sang "Abre los Ojos de mi Alma" (Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord"), and I just about started crying.  So much has happened since then in reguards to my calling to missions and God has taken my life in a direction that I never would have suspected my Junior year of college, and I am so very thankful.

On Tuesday nights there is a Bible study at the school, and we meet for a meal, Bible study, and worship.  One of the songs we sang was "Open the Eyes of my Heart, Lord".  As I sang the song in English, the words sunk in.  I thought of the words in a way I hadn't before.  Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, to see all that you have done and are doing for me.  Open the eyes of my heart to see Your presence is the world.  Open the eyes of my heart, Lord, to the needs around me and how You would have me serve.

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. I want to see You.

It's Already Been a Month

It's both hard and easy to believe that I have been in Honduras for a month now.  I am settling into life here nicely.  Currently I am living in Siguatepeque and studying Spanish.  I live with a lady named Nary, and her niece, Vanessa, who is about my age.  I spend spend the afternoons taken Spanish classes, and the evenings, mornings, and weekends studying, practicing Spanish (communicating with the people around me!) and going to church.

A couple weeks ago something (I am not sure what) happened to my back and I was laid up for a few days.  It was painful and a little scary, but God was with me and he blessed me in the form of people who were here to help me.  I went to the doctor, got a lot of rest, and my back is much better and feels normal unless I try to do too much.

Siguatepeque is a very nice place to be!  It's pretty quiet and safe and it's up in the mountains so it's cooler than many other places. The past couple of Saturdays I've gone downtown and explored and done some shopping for things that couldn't quite fit in my suitcases.  It's nice to feel like I know my way around a bit.

There is so much more I could say, but a newsletter will be coming shortly, so I will save it for that!

I have had quite the week!  In the last week I arrived in Honduras, went to Ladies' Retreat in Catacamas, and have now started language school in Siguatepeque!  It's a lot to take in and process, but it's good.  I am so excited to be here and see first hand how God is at work!  Someday I will do a longer post, but right now I have a lot of studying and reading, so I will leave you with a panorama of the view from the balcony of the house where I am staying.

Finally!!!

Well, it's been a long two days of travel, but I've made it!  It's hard to believe that I am in Tegucigalpa, ready to start a challenging, but exciting new chapter in my life.  It's hard to take in how much my life is changing with this move.

I won't write much because I am tired and still processing everything, but I am excited to be here and I wanted to let ya'll know I got her alright (and so did my bags, praise God!)

This was taken 5 years ago about a month or two after I first got to Honduras...I was already in love with this beautiful country!

Vocab:

Maleta: Suitcase (noun)

Viajar: Travel (verb)

Viaje:  Trip (noun)

Vuelo: Flight (noun)

Descansar: Rest (verb)

6 Days to Go!

A week from now I will be in Honduras!  Crazy!  Here is an update on how I am doing on my list of 30 things to do before leaving.

1) Drink a cherry limeade.
2) Go for a walk in a park.

3) Eat pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting
4) Watch TV

5) Spend with Alle and Keri.
6) Enjoy the amazing selection at Walmart.
7) Go to Hobby Lobby.
8) Eat at Sonic.
9) Take Pictures with Friends.
10) Have my traditional Christmas morning breakfast- Monkey Bread!
11) Do a craft with my mom.
12) Have coffee with Bev.
13) Girls night with Camille and Stevy.
14) Window Shop in Utica Square.

15) Eat at Arby's.
16) Buy a frozen Pizza.

17) Hold a kitten.

18) Eat at Chick-fil-A.

19) Walk on wall-to-wall carpeting.

20) Enjoy the goodness of Olive Garden.

21) Sleep in air conditioning.

22) Worship at my home church.

23) Make Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Jam.

Here is the recipe we use: Almost Famous Swedish Meatballs.  You can find Lingonberry jam at Ikea, World Market, and Sprouts or substitute current jelly (but I didn't like it nearly as well).

24) Enjoy Fall foliage

25) Take a bath

Bathtubs are not common in Honduras.  I will be taking showers unless I happen to stay somewhere that has a bathtub, but that is unlikely. While I usually prefer showers to baths, I do love a nice, hot bath to relax!

26) Eat a donut.

27) Drink root beer.

Root beer is occasionally found in Honduras, but not very often, and is sometimes put in the beer section.  I imagine there have been some confused costumers.

28) Eat biscuits and gravy.

29) Wear fall clothing.

30) Drink hot chocolate.

14 days to Go!

Well, I had intended to update this every day...but two weeks later, here is an update on how I am doing my 30 days to do before I leave!

1) Drink a cherry limeade.

2) Go for a walk in a park.

3) Eat pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.

I celebrated my birthday a month early with a delicious pumpkin-y cake!

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4) Watch TV
You can watch TV in Honduras, but I don't plan on having a TV or paying for cable

5) Spend with Alle and Keri.

Had a fun day together in Tulsa.  I am going to miss these two!

(I am not sure why I am not looking at the camera!)

6) Enjoy the amazing selection at Walmart.
7) Go to Hobby Lobby.
8) Eat at Sonic.
9) Take Pictures with Friends.

10) Have my traditional Christmas morning breakfast- Monkey Bread!
11) Do a craft with my mom.
12) Have coffee with Bev.

(This also satisfied "drink a Pumpkin Spice Latte")

13) Girls night with Camille and Stevy.
14) Window Shop in Utica Square.

15) Eat at Arby's.
16) Buy a frozen Pizza.
17) Hold a kitten.

It seems like there aren't as many cats in Honduras.  At least not as many tame ones.

18) Eat at Chick-fil-A.

19) Walk on wall-to-wall carpeting.

Floors in Honduras are almost always tiled.

20) Enjoy the goodness of Olive Garden.

21) Sleep in air conditioning.

22) Worship at my home church.

23) Make Swedish Meatballs with Lingonberry Jam.

24) Enjoy Fall foliage

25) Take a bath

26) Eat a donut.

27) Drink root beer.

28) Eat biscuits and gravy.

29) Wear fall clothing.

30) Drink hot chocolate.

30 Days to Go!

30 days from now I will be in Honduras!  It's crazy how fast the days are flying by.  I've compiled a list of things I want to do over the next 30 days.  These are things that I won't be able to do (or do often) when i get to Honduras!

Day 30

Drink a Cherry Limeade!

I will be posting a list of the all 30 things in a day or so, but until then I wanted to start the countdown!