Hello All,
This month so far has gone well. A few days ago, Raúl and I celebrated our one-year anniversary of being legally married. Because of how long and complicated the legal marriage process can be here (and it was!!!), Raúl and I legally got married on April 7, but we didn't actually live together as a married couple until after our religious wedding on July 22. So, we have two anniversaries. The year, as expected, has gone by really fast, but in the midst of the fly-by of time, we've made some good memories and made some strides in feeling like our own family. As Shauna Niequist mentions in her book, Cold Tangerines, becoming a family after getting married doesn't start automatically on the day of the wedding, but is a process over time--like a tree growing roots, deeper and deeper.
Our small group has continued well in deepening relationships, and the topics we've covered over the past month have dealt with self-awareness and having a culture of honor. Self-awareness is a topic that isn't taught very explicitly within the churches I have observed, but it's such a vital part of healthy spirituality and relating to God and others. Part of what we did as a group was take the Myers-Briggs personality test. I get that a personality test isn't necessarily that spiritual, but you should have seen how excited our group was to learn more about themselves and to understand that God made them with a unique personality but also how that personality affects the different areas in their lives. Another aspect of this is that we also work with young people. In the US, around middle school and high school, you take a kind of aptitude test to see what your likes and dislikes are and to determine what kinds of jobs would be best for you. In Honduras, they don't do anything like that. I can't tell you how many directionless young people I've talked to who have no idea what to study or who just decide something out of the blue with no basis on their own preferences or aptitudes. A lot of people study what their parents dictate, study what is easiest, or pick a major that isn't conducive to who they are. (For example, "I'm going to study to be an engineer!" "Oh really, that's great! Do you like math and science?" "Oh no! I hate math and science." "So, uh...what are you doing?") A university student recently told me that the only national public university (the most popular university) only turns out 3% of students who actually graduate! So, being able to use the Myers-Briggs test just to give them an idea of the kinds of jobs that could appeal to their personalities and preferences was actually something many of our teenagers were really excited about.
This past month, I also had the opportunity to translate for a team that came down to work with Manos Extendidas. My role was just translating for a couple of days, but it'd been a long time since I'd been with a team, a long time since I'd translated, and a long time since I'd been in some of the ministries they were working in. It was nice to return to some areas from my early years here and get some fresh perspective, and the team we were working with was great. I had some great conversations with some of them--especially two ladies who had been long-term missionaries in other countries. Remembering some things from early years also brought about some ideas for our non-profit, and we'll see how those play out especially this week as we have our next board meeting. In general, I feel like I've reached some better clarity as to how I'd like to minister to God, minister to His church, and minister to the world through the non-profit. I just don't always know the exact practical steps to take in order to reach all of those goals. But, as they make themselves apparent, we will move forward in obedience.
So far, all of our students have been in school almost three months. Estefanny is doing very well in all of her classes and recent exams and will soon start her community service requirement that all high schoolers have to complete. Brayan has successfully moved on to the second level in drumming and music theory and recently celebrated a birthday. And Kristian continues to do well, and his father is so faithful in being supportive of him.
This month, I've also been in pretty consistent contact with the two boys I previously visited in El Buen Pastor home for children. Elvis left a few years ago to return to live with his biological family. Since moving back, his stepfather, who had suffered from the effects of polio, died. His mother has always had some mental health issues though they've been undiagnosed formally. She often wanders the streets, and Elvis has had difficulty with being able to work when he's also trying to keep track of his mother. Buen Pastor has been amazing in being supportive when he showed up there asking for help. So far, though, it has been a huge challenge finding a hospital or even a nursing home willing to take his mother because of her mental health issues. To my knowledge, the situation still hasn't been totally resolved, so that's an area that could use prayer. Raúl and I also met up with Jorge. Since January of this year, he has been living in Buen Pastor's transition home with the boys he's grown up with his whole life. We recently got to see the house, see some of the boys we'd already met over the years, and also meet the North American couple who runs the home. They are some special people with beautiful hearts in how they juggle of family of teenage boys along with their own biological sons. Jorge is finishing up high school and considering his career paths and future university studies.
Antonio and Josuan continue to work with Raúl, and Antonio has been a great help in friendship and discipling Josuan. Josuan continues to rent his own room and to study at the same high school he's been at previously. He also comes to small group on Saturdays. Addiction is still a major battle in his life, but as we have for the past five years, we still believe God is at work.
My English classes are going well, and we've actually had a few more students join. Raúl continues to study English and civics for the US citizenship test. It'll be a year and a half before he has to take the test, but given that even some US citizens wouldn't pass it, we're trying to get a head start on learning.
In the mean time, Bible study has continued the Peter Scazzero series--this time studying Emotionally Healthy Relationships. I can't express what an answer to prayer ladies' Bible study has been. It has become a great support system for me and has led to some dear, budding friendships. While I'm not totally sure how and in what ways we can collaborate, it's nice to at least feel connected in heart and vision to the ministries of others. I'm still hoping for Raúl to enter this new world with me a bit and to be able to develop his own support system. It just seems harder for men to connect in the same way.
Personally, I continue to write on www.benchchats.blogspot.com which has been a good outlet for writing something other than these updates, which is something I've always enjoyed. And I continue learning through WorshipU. In general, this year has been such an improvement so far from last year. I feel like I am moving forward in small ways toward better developing and using the gifts that God has given me, and I wake up every morning with purpose and an idea of what needs to be done, who I need to connect with, and a sense of my own identity here in Honduras. That was seriously lacking last year. Getting married was a joy, but for someone so independent, being thrown into the details of maintaining a household and cooking all. the. time. for someone else was a struggle. It was difficult to navigate who I was as a married woman, adding a new role without losing my own joys and individuality. Thankfully, I have practically found a better system so that housework and cooking doesn't consume all of my time, and I've found a support system of women who give me the space to breathe just by being able to nod and say, "Me too." God is faithful, and He has provided so many things that I desperately needed last year.
As always, thank you for reading and for your prayers. Sometimes, my life feels very small, but I have reached a place where I offer my smallness to God in joy and let Him do with my life what He desires, letting my smallness join in the smallness of others to be a part of His divine plan and purposes.
Much love,
Sarah
