Overwhelmed with Gratitude

There are no words to explain the beauty, joy, and love that I have been experiencing this week. To the point at which I have been so overwhelmed, there are few words coming from my mouth (which those of you who know me, know that is rare). The Lord has had his hand in each and everything we have been doing the past week. From every villiage we have stopped at, every bible we have distributed, and every hug we have received, I have been reminded again just how blessed I am. I have enjoyed every second that I have been here (except when I got pink eye at the beginning of the week), but have missed my family so very much. I see all these children Jane Kimmel's age with no shoes, cloths, or parents everywhere and my heart just breaks. I relaize there are so many in need here, but too many to help at one time. The reality of everything around me hits hard, but when I stop and listen... I realize the world is just how it should be. God would not have sent us to Honduras to serve and teach people about Him if the world was perfect. Praise God for His wonderful plans!

On a lighter note, I have met and feel in love with two people here. Yes, many of you know them... Arturo and Suyapa! Their testimony is amazing and their ministry serves the Lord every hour of the day. They are beautiful inside and out and have shown so much love to us "crazy Mississippians." Their faith is so strong and I am so glad the Lord has placed them in my life to inspire my walk with Him. Look how cute they are :)

And I can't forget the wonderful cooks we have had this week! The food has been wonderful and fried! Yes, I have probably gained 5 lbs. on this trip, or maybe 10. Gloria and Sandra are the hands that have been preparing our meals for us everyday. They are wonderful! So full of life and so funny. We are so thankful for them :)

On Thursday, we walked across this swinging bridge! It was a little scary, but a lot of fun :) Once we got across, we distributed cloths and told a bible story to the families there. It was really neat!

What?!?! Ahhhhh!

 Jane Kimmel's little hat :)

Arturo and me :)

Mrs. Linda made it across!

We spent friday at Santa Clara! We also had a wedding, which I am sure y'all have all heard by now :) It was so sweet and so special, because it was put on by the children for Cameron and Emily. Needless to say, tears were flowing! The men also put a roof on a new school house. They did a great job through hot and humid weather, which soon turned into rain.  Way to go guys!!!

Arturo sharing his amazing testimony with us...

Precious Rony

 The Coffee Plantation Crew

 Emily, Anna Marie, and Doris trying the sugarcane...

 I DID NOT like the sugar cane...

Nanners for everyone!

For our last afternoon, a few of us went to the Falls! Haha, little did we know, the bridge was out and we had to hike... yes, hike about 2 miles to get there! Oh, was it HOTT... but, we made it and the girls went for a dip. It was beautiful and I was excited to get some exercise in :)

 The beginning of our hike!

 We walked through a cow pasture... Where were my tennis shoes when I needed them?!?! :)

 About 20 minutes into it... Whew

 The rocks before the falls!

 We made it!!

 Me!

 Cam and Em :)

 The girls!!

 Jimmy and Noa!

 :)

 Gotta love a chaco tan line... :)

A beautiful sunset on our last day...

A huge thank you to our fearless leader, Mrs. Anne! We would not have made it without you! Thank you for all your time and effort you put in to making this such a wonderful experience for all of us! We love you!

I will forever hold a special place for Honduras in my heart. I had the best time getting to know everyone on this trip and am so thankful for the opportunity to share it with a community of believers!I will definitely be coming back in the future! God Bless!

(more pictures from the rest of the trip to come)

-Meredith

children, a preacher, 2 rings, and lots of love

Yesterday, we traveled to Santa Clara to spend the day with the wonderful children, youth, and adults of the community.  Talk about an amazing day....

We started off with our deworming and fluoride treatments for everyone (adults included) at the White Dove school.  The children here are so well behaved and listened intently for instructions from us.  After much swallowing, swooshing, and spitting, we began our Bible School rotations where the children glorified God with their voices (music), laughter (games), hands (crafts), and ears (story time).  Although it was one of  the hottest days since we have been here, there were only smiles to be seen!  I think all of us enjoyed it just as much as the children.

After lunch, a special ceremony was held by the children and teachers of White Dove School....and Cameron and I were MARRIED!  Yes Mom, if you are reading this...your biggest fear came true!  It was absolutely wonderful and huge surprise to both of us.  The most beautiful flowers were used, vows were recited in not only English but also Spanish, and we hoped cake would follow; however, just peanut butter crackers!  The teachers informed us that these children probably have never seen a marriage ceremony before and it was something special for them to witness and be a part of! 

The teenagers in Santa Clara joined us for tie dying of tshirts, which they absolutely loved, and delivering of bibles and clothes to the families of Santa Clara.  Cat Buffington and I had a great experience delivering these as we came close to being trampled by a herd of cows and had to play cherades to communicate with the families due to our low spanish vocabulary level.  However, we were able to share the love of Christ by giving away Bibles, hugs, and the news "Jesus te ama!" (Jesus loves you!). 

The day ended with many special moments...Cameron preaching on "change" ...  Christ calls us to change the way we live with our acceptance of Jesus Christ and for the change to be evident in our daily lives wherever we may be.  Funny how the same message is needed in the small community of Santa Clara as well as in the lives of many of us in Starkville, MS.  I believe this message touched us differently than before due to what we have seen and experienced this week.  I wish you all could be here to see it for yourselves because words and pictures don't do it justice.  Tears streamed down my face as a young girl played her guitar and beautifully sang with the children "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord" in Spanish...and we joined in English...two languages at the same time worshiping the same God.  Pretty cool huh and definitely a Holy Spirit moment.

Sorry for the super long post, but hope this helps you get a picture of one day here in Honduras.  Santa Clara and the White Dove School have become a very special place to all of us.  The children are learning both English and Spanish (teachers needed!!) as well as the love of Jesus Christ.  Our church has supported them over the years and we were able to see two of the buildings we helped to build with all of your support!  One is the Cafeteria and the other is the Prepatory Classroom as you can see in the pictures posted below. 

Hope everything is well in Mississippi and thanks for your continued prayers!

Emily