5 More Days!

So, it is time to start getting excited! I am continually amazed at how God works.  I was thinking today about how different my life would be if I didn't know these boys and these amazing people that work and live at Jovenes. They have been such a blessing to my life and have changed so many things for me. If you would have asked me four or five years ago if I thought I would be traveling to Honduras twice in one year I never would have believed it. But God is good and He can make some amazing things happen. So we, most importantly have Him to thank. But we also want to thank all of our friends and family who have helped make this dream possible for us financially and emotionally. We were so blessed to raise more than enough money last summer for our trip. This was an even greater blessing than we realized at the time, but the extra money enabled us to make this second trip! We would like to thank each one of you and let you know that we are so thankful and beyond blessed.

Christmas is upon us and Laura and I are finishing up Christmas shopping, while also trying to figure out how we are going to get packed and ready to head to Honduras by the end of this week. But if you know anything about us, you know that we are up for a challenge. So bring it on! We are so excited, there are almost not enough words (in English or Spanish) to explain how very much needed this trip will be for Laura and I. We are ready for the change in culture and life style. We are ready to speak Spanish all the time. And we are ready to love! The great thing about the time that we decided to go visit is on the boys "summer" break. All the boys, except for the 6 Allison boys will be out of school all day everyday we are there! So plenty of time for playing dominoes, corn-hole and.......soccer! (Laura is especially excited about that since last time we were there she couldn't exactly play...).

We have been praying a lot about this trip. I know that God will do amazing things, just like He always does.  I can't wait to worship with them and sing devotional songs. Hearing them worship God makes my heart explode with joy. Ronald, the house parents, and the rest of the staff are working wonders in these boys spiritual lives and I cannot wait to experience that again. Continue to pray for Laura and I for our trip and that it may be a blessing to the boys. Remember to keep checking our blog, as we will try to keep you all updated again while we are there.

Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad!

God bless you! Dios te bendiga!

Hannah y Laura

JEC...Here We Come!

Well, I guess it is officially time to update the blog. It has been so long (definitely longer than I would have liked). It has been a long very interesting few months for Laura and I. Re-adjusting to life here was definitely harder than we thought, but it eventually happened. Eventually, we got used to our old lives and fell right back into our old routines and habits. The day we got back to the states we were determined to get back to Jovenes some how before the year was over. God is good of course so as of a few days ago, we are officially going back to Jovenes for two weeks! We will be leaving here on the 28th of December. God is so faithful. Even when we become complacent and wrapped up in our own worlds, He is still there. I am so excited to see how He uses us while we are there. Satan, of course, keeps putting discouraging thoughts in our heads like, "i hope the boys remember us", and "what if they have all moved on with their lives and don't care anymore". But it is these thoughts that are beginning to encourage me more and more every day because I know for a fact that we love those boys and the boys love us. So I know that Satan is trying to attack us which means God must have some pretty amazing things in store for us when we get there. I just can't wait to see what that is!

Please keep us in your prayers as we once again prepare our hearts and minds to be servants. Pray that we can be servants here in the states as well. We want to live our lives as servants of God no matter where we may be. Pray for positive thoughts, and selfless thoughts. Pray that we remember that we are not going there solely for our own happiness and encouragement. We are going to uplift the people at Jovenes and shine God's light.

JEC Here We Come!!

Adjusting to the Old Normal...

Well we have been back in the United States for four days now.  We never realized how difficult it was going to be to come back to the busy lifestyle and culture.  We left our hearts in Honduras and especially with the boys at Jovenes.  An hour doesn't go by when I don't think about what the boys are doing or saying a prayer that they do well on their exams this week.  They are constantly in the back of my mind and their faces and voices show up every night in my dreams.  They are family and we are missing them so much it hurts.  Plans are under way for a return visit.  During our last few hours at Jovenes many of the boys came up and gave us little things for us to remember them by.  Many of them wrote us notes and gave us pictures of themselves.  In just about every note, the boys wrote about being excited to see us in December.  They are expecting us now and I don't think we could go longer than five months without seeing them.  As difficult as it has been to adjust to life here, we have a peace that God knows what He is doing.  He is continuing to open doors and  showing us different avenues of service in Honduras.  We are excited to see where our lives will go form here.  All we know is that Jovenes and the people that live there, will forever be a very big part of our life.

So we didn't get to finish writing about the boys while we were there so I am going to finish it now:

• Gustavo - This small boy has the greatest amount of energy.  I never see Gustavo sitting around.  He loves a good laugh and is always making me laugh as well.  My favorite thing is to see him dancing in the living room when he thinks we don't see him.  He just recently got  a bike and some new clothes from his sponsor, and Laura and I think he looks like a little American kid.  He wears his under armor outfits with neon colors and rides his new revolt bicycle around.  We love his smile and the name he have Laura and I (HannyLaura).

• Juan Carlos - The last of the high school boys in Casa Rosada.  This boy is just precious.  His sweet smile and warm greetings always make my day better.  The last three weeks of the summer he began calling me "Hannita" and called me that the rest of the summer.  When it got closer to the time for us to leave, Juan Carlos asked me, "Do you have school when you go back?" I told him no, and he replied, "Then why don't you just stay here and live with us?".  I didn't really have a good answer for him...I will miss his blue under armor shirt and his yellow fish swimsuit that he wore at least four times a week.

• Manuel - He is one of the three sixth graders that will be going into high school next year, along with Nery and Wilson.  He is quieter than some of the other boys but you cannot help but smile when he really gets tickled about something.  His laugh is so high pitched that when you hear it, you have to stop and look around.  His little brother is Noé and they definitely take care of each other.  They do not hang out together all the time, but when you do catch them together, they will have there arms around each other.  Manuel is also a champ at soccer...but then again, which boy isn't?

• Wilson - Wilson is one of the smartest boys I know.  From the very first day, we could see the wheels turning in Wilson's eyes.  He thinks about everything very hard.  He is not the most talkative of the boys, but when he does have something to say, you can tell he has been thinking about it for a while.  We had a whole conversation one day about America, my school, my family and when I am coming back to Honduras.  He would not take "I don't know" for an answer.  He also told us several days before he left that he was going to give us 40 hugs on the last day and that it would at least last him for 40 days while we weren't there.

One the right

• Nery - Too cool for school.  He is one of the other sixth graders in Casa Rosada and being one of the oldest of the escuela boys does not always help his ego.  He tries to act really cool,  but he always shows his true side whenever he is really laughing or when he is singing during devo.  I love catching him during the moments when he is really being himself, but he doesn't know anyone is watching.  One of his favorite things to do is go to the pulperia.  Anytime we needed anything (uva, chocolate, etc) he was there to go get it for us.

On the right

• Selvin - The last boy from Casa Rosada.  I definitely have a love/hate relationship with this boy.  After about week three, he began calling me "mama" which, at first, was really precious but it never really ended.  Selvin needs lots of one on one time, and when he gets the attention, his smile is to die for.  Marlon Carazo is his older brother, and although they try to pretend they are cousins and not brothers, they love each other. Selvin is always asking Marlon for help with homework, especially math.

We are going to try to keep up with our blog and keep everyone filled in on how we are doing and how we are adjusting to this new culture. Continue to pray for Laura and I as we continue to figure out what our future holds.  Now that our lives have completely changed and now that we are different people, a lot of things are about to change for us.  Prayers that we will continue to follow God's will for our lives!

Hannah and LauraBeth

It feels good to be bilingual...

Well the past few days have been very eventful.  We had a group from Brentwood Hills come and build a playground at Jovenes.  The playground is so much fun...even the adults were playing on it when it was finished.  I am so glad the boys have something like this to play on now.  We also went to Kennedy Church in Tegucigalpa on Sunday.  It was such a blessing to worship with such a large group of Christians here in Honduras.  We really enjoyed ourselves and especially enjoyed taking ALL of the boys and ALL of the Brentwood Hills group out to lunch at Pollo Campero.

So today is our last full day here.  It is hard to even explain the sorrow we are feeling.  We were talking the other night about how we now have two lives.  We have a life here at Jovenes.  After living here for two months we KNOW these people. These people and these boys, for better or worse, are our family now.  We have laughed with them and cried with them.  The other night, I even got one of the boys to open up to me and tell me about his family and his life before Jovenes.  Two months just doesn't seem like enough time but we know that God has everything planned out perfectly. And just to keep everyone in the loop, we are working on getting permission and planning a trip sometime soon, hopefully sometime right after Christmas. We just can't stand leaving the boys after two months with no idea of when we will return.  Only with a promise of returning can we leave with some peace in mind.

Some more about our boys...

• Marlon Carazo - One of the boys from Green House and also one of the first ones to start talking to us.  There is not a shy bone in his body.  We sometimes call him a parrot because when Laura and I are speaking English, he repeats everything we say, whether or not he really knows what we are saying.  One of his favorite things to do is pop every bone in his body and make me listen.  He always has a smile on his face and is almost always in a good mood.  

• Johni Garcia - Oh Johni...there is so much I could say about this boy.  Also one of the boys from Green House.  Johni has about fifty different personalities.  He is still trying to figure out who he is and what he wants to be.  Everyday he has a different "style".  It is kind of precious though to watch him figure things out and learn about himself.  He was also one of our first Green House friends, making us bracelets on our first day and playing lots of games of uno (or one, as he called it) with us.  

• Tatum - Another one of the faces of Jovenes.  There is not a person who has every been to Jovenes that does not know this precious face.  Despite his vision problem, this boy can do everything and sometimes more than all the other boys.  I have never seen a more active and responsible boy.  His hugs are my favorite and I get them very frequently which I am very thankful for.  He is one of the dancers in Casa Rosada and whenever we have music playing he is always the first to come and dance with us.  

• Walter - After our first week here, I remember Laura saying "Ok, we need to work on getting Walter to open up". He is another on of the older boys in Casa Rosada.  Today, he is always one of the first ones to talk to us in the morning.  He is not quiet AT ALL anymore and is definitely one of the jokesters.  He is also one of the ones that sings so loudly in the morning as he is getting ready. We just love listening to his voice as we wake up every morning. 

• Julio - Precious Julio.  Another one of our Casa Rosada boys.  Laura calls him her little boy crush.  It's true though, he is so so cute.  He always has this little grin on his face and although is very very shy, he always has a hug and smile for us.  His quietness is deceiving though when it comes to soccer.  He is quite possibly the next superstar for Olimpia (his favorite Honduran soccer team). 

In the yellow

Well we have an almost six hour lay over in Miami tomorrow so we will to try to finish up the boys then.  Continue to pray for our transition back home.  We are both very nervous about it.  Well we have spent enough time away with the boys.  It's time to soak them up now. 

Hannah and LauraBeth

From Fiestas to Lessons Learned...

Well this week is going to be extremely busy so it is impressive that I even have to sit here and update the blog.  We have four groups coming this week which is exciting because it means a lot of exciting things are happening at Jovenes.  Yesterday, we had one of the most fun afternoon/nights ever.  Annie, Laura and I have been planning a birthday celebration for all the birthdays in June and July complete with streamers, three types of cake, a pinata, coke, and lots of candy.  Oh yes, and most importantly, we had music and dancing! So much fun!  All three houses marched over to Tio Ronald's house for the festivities.  Just imagine 55 boys running around with tons of sugar in their systems and dancing to music...it was exciting to say the least.  After all the cake was gone, pinata broken, and sugar running crazy...all the boys walked back to dinner and bed.  Imagine trying to put 55 boys to bed after a night of partying.  All-in-all, it has been a very good couple of days.  We are trying our very hardest to slow down time as we see it racing before our eyes.  Two months is just not enough time...not enough at all. But anyways, time for a change of pace...our boys!!

• Johan - Another one of the boys from Casa Rosada.  He is a goober, to say the least.  He would be so embarrassed if he knew I was writing this but he is going through his "squeaky voice" phase and it just makes us laugh.  We love Johan because he is pretty much always in a good mood and he is always hanging around us acting all awkward.  He is one of those naturally awkward people that you just love.  Since being here, we have been told that Johan now gets up every morning and does his hair for the Gringas.

• Fredy Cruz - Another one of the "faces of Jovenes" with his beautiful striking eyes.  You can't miss this boy.  He is another one that will always be around when an American group is here.  He loves to play, which sometimes gets him in trouble when he needs to be doing homework.  He has a big heart though and has never given me any reason to be upset with him.  Fredy is a jokester and loves the attention he gets from it.  I will never forget Fredy being the "drunk man" in a skit Casa Rosada did for church one day, and stumbling around the place full of drama.  There is never a dull moment with Fredy!

• Nelson - Probably one of the smartest fifth (going on sixth) graders I have ever met.  He is another one of the boys attending the bilingual school at Alison.  They told me he was smart but it took him reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia series in English in less than a week for me to believe them.  Nelson also has one of the biggest hearts I know.  From loving on his brothers to leading a heart felt prayer in honor of Ty Osman to giving us precious hugs, this boy knows how to feel and show emotion. Although he can have a fiery attitude when he wants, he still knows what is right and tries to do it.

On the right

• Marlon Zepeda - What to say about him...he is a sixteen year old boy.  He can run through emotions and moods faster than I can.  One minute he is my best friend, and the next he isn't talking to me, for who knows what reason.  Instead of having a love/hate relationship...we have a love/annoyed relationship.  Yes we are good friends but yes we also get on each others nerves.  One thing I do love about Marlon is his relationship with his brother Jose Luis.  They are a year apart and normally you would think they would fight all the time (which they do joke around sometimes) but you almost never see one without the other.  Marlon likes to push the limits but he also has a big heart...especially when it comes his relationships with the boys.

• Hector - Precious Hector.  I don't think I have ever seen this boy get in trouble.  He has patience like I have never seen and, even when he is getting picked on, he still has a smile on his face and pushes through.  Hector's dream is to be a preacher.  I have never seen an 11 year old boy who has a bigger heart for God than this boy.  Just listening to someone pray gets him teary eyed and you can tell, in his eyes, that he has a relationship with God.  He has lost a lot in his life but yet he still carries a positive attitude and a strong spiritual awareness.  He really makes me think about the passage that talks about having faith like children.  There is a lot to learn from Hector.  

On the left

We are savoring every last second we have here which is why our blog posts are lagging and we haven't been online very much.  We want to cherish every bit of time we have here as the reality of leaving is beginning to set in.  Although we know with every bone in our body that we will be back here and that this isn't the end, it is still sad to see two wonderful months head towards an end. These boys have taught us what it means to really love.  We have learned about ourselves, we have learned about God, and we have learned about humility.  We couldn't have asked for a better opportunity and experience. 

Until next time!

Hannah and LauraBeth

The American is coming out in us...

Sorry it has been such a long time since we have written anything.  To be honest, Hannah has been waiting on me to finally write one... writing is not exactly my thing.  So the past couple of days we have found out a lot of new information about my foot.  Monday I went to therapy expecting to be able to begin the walking phase.  The therapist even had me bring tennis shoes.  When I got there however, he told me that he had talked with the doctor and had found out that before I could start walking I had to get one of the screws out of my foot.  My first thought... another surgery.  Thankfully, this is going to be a very easy procedure, outpatient and after I get it done I will be able to start walking in about a week which will put me right on time to start walking when I get back to the US.  I was a little bummed when I found out I couldn't walk but I know that God has a plan in the whole thing.  It has definitely been a learning experience for me.  God has been teaching me a lot about getting rid of my pride and being willing to depend on others.  Prayers would still be appreciated though since some days are harder than others and it is quite the challenge not to be able to walk.  I have had some really great experiences with boys pretending like they were me or going out of their way to help me with something.  They are becoming quite the gentlemen.  I even taught one of them to dance (yes I did this with one foot).

Since we have been here we have learned a lot about ourselves, too, with the food we are now willing to eat.   Mom - don't freak out, but I even tried liver.  Granted I didn't know what I was eating and I didn't like it, but it was still a big step.  Yesterday though, Hannah and I decided it was time to get a little taste of home.  We drove to Zamarano to buy some minutes for our telephone and decided to stop at one of the only restaurants near us... a pizzeria.  Don't worry we ate the whole thing!  It was a small, but we were so excited to have an American style pizza.

So in keeping with the past blog post themes, here are a couple more spotlights on the boys:

• Jesus - One of the boys from the green house who is quickly becoming one of my best friends.  He is one of the oldest boys here at 17 years old (and actually acts like it... most of the time).  You will always find him working or playing big brother to either of his real brothers or all the other boys.  Whenever he is working, he does it with all of his heart.  He works a lot with one of the groundskeepers here learning how to do all sorts of things: weed eating, driving, fixing all sorts of random things.  In the meantime he is still going to school and doing really well.  His dream is to be a lawyer.  

• Juan David - One of the precious yellow house boys at 7 years old.  He loves to joke around and pretend like he is tough when really he is such a softy on the inside, you just have to wait for it to come out.  It always takes me off guard.  One minute he will be tackling me and the next he will just be sitting in my lap playing with a toy.  One day last week he decided to take he decided to take my sunglasses and wear them...he has been wearing them ever since although I have been impressed with how well he has taken care of them.  Yesterday, he found out how to work my watch and timed how long people could hold their breath.

• Darwin - The most loving boy you will ever meet.  I can't remember a time when he wasn't smiling.  He does really well in school and never gets in trouble.  He is one of the older boys in the yellow house so he is always helping out with the younger boys teaching them how to do things.  

• Kelsin - What to say about him?.... 17 years old, cute and knows it.  To my surprise he is one of the most shy people I have ever met until you give him time to warm up to you and get to know you.  Now he jokes all the time with Hannah and I speaking really fast and asking ridiculous questions just to see what our answer will be.  He is a very hard worker and LOVES to go fishing... I have been told that when I can walk again he is going to take me fishing.  My only stipulation is that he touches the fish.  A couple days ago he became a proud new owner of his own bike.  I haven't seen him without it yet.

• Alex - One of our very own pink house boys and one of the most responsible 12 year olds I have ever met.  Every time I see him, he is cleaning something or organizing the closet or kitchen.  Man after my own heart.  Whenever you need to know where something is, he is the one to ask.  He is always one of the first to greet Hannah and I whenever we see him and is not too proud to give us a hug every night before bed.  

Just a Normal Day at Physical Therapy...

Well, I am writing this post from the doctor's office in Tegucigalpa.  Laura had another physical therapy appointment this morning so, of course, I tagged along (and the internet is really good here so I am taking advantage of it).  We had a really great weekend.  Yesterday we took all of the boys and all of the Jovenes staff to a church about an hour away.  Not the most fun ride I have ever had...really bumpy roads and a bus packed full of screaming boys.  But the church service was really great.  Laura and I are very proud because we understood the entire sermon (probably because it was led by an American who speaks slower and has an accent that we can recognize), but still something to be proud of. Laura also had an exciting experience when she had a conversation with a lady from the church about her son's broken arm.  She had a conversation in Spanish...our Spanish is definitely improving and we are so excited about it!  Before I start another entry about the boys, I want to ask for your continued prayers and encouragement.  It just hit us yesterday that we only have a month left here...and we are very very sad about it.  God is pulling us so many directions right now and we are having, for the first time, to really try to decipher His voice and what he wants from our life.  So prayers for His voice to be clear to us would be much appreciated. Now some more about our boys...

• Fernando - He is always the first to say any kind of greeting.  It doesn't matter what time of day it is, but he never fails to rattle off the list of greetings ("buenas dias, buenas tardes, buenas noches, buen provecho").  His is one of the five boys in Casa Rosada who is going to the high school which means he has been on top of his studies.  He is very studious which is sometimes hard to find with a bunch of boys.  But he also likes to have a good time, especially when it comes to soccer.

• Luis - Another one of the five boys attending Alison (the bilingual school).  He is a mess.  At first he was timid about speaking English to us, but now that we have been working with him, he has opened up to us. He likes to read better than write and we have learned that he really likes doing math flashcards. Now, everytime he sees me he runs up and attacks me, usually by trying to tickle me.  He has a lot of energy but then he also has a soft side.  Yesterday, on the way back from church, he fell asleep with his head in my lap.  Precious.

• Pancho - Probably one of my first buddies here.  One of the first nights, he told Tio Marvin that he liked me (he is 10).  But now he really really feels like a little brother to me.  His clothes are never on correctly so I am constantly fixing his shirt or telling him his shoes are untied.  He is another one that loves his back rubbed at devo time.  He always tries to sit next to Laura and I because he knows we know he likes it.  Pancho is another hard worker and he is a pro at cutting the grass with a machete.

• Baýron - My first impression of him was your typical boy in every way.  He was running around, acting like Captain America, in mixed matched clothes, and then grabbing machete and cutting a chunk out of his thumb.  He has a lot of energy and is so mischievous that he can get into trouble a lot.  But as crazy as he can be, he never fails to flash Laura and I one of his "day brightening smiles".  He also loves to sing and has amazing rhythm...I love listening to him sing at the nightly devos. 

• Antony - The youngest boy at Jovenes (5).  He is probably the cutest thing I have seen in a really really long time.  He tries so hard to be big like all the other boys, but at the end of the day, he is still just a little boy that goes to Kindergarten.  In the morning when all the other boys are going to school, Antony is in his little Kindergarten uniform looking all precious with his lunch box.  My favorite thing is getting a hug and a little snuggle from him every day.  We just can't get enough of this adorable little boy!

Well, its time to head back to Zamarano!  Hope you are all having a wonderfully blessed day and we look forward to hearing from you!

Hannah and LauraBeth