A New Girl in PDE!

This past week PDE got a new girl! V is 16 and is about 4 months pregnant (she is due 3 days before my birthday:). She was in a dangerous situation so for now she is safely tucked away outside of the city but when her baby is born in June they will come to live at PDE! We went to visit her yesterday where she has been living for the last week and she was super sad. She has never lived away from her family and is missing them terribly. She is also super bored since she can't attend school this year. We took her some books to read and some things to make jewelry and hopeful she will start to feel more comfortable and will be able to fight through the next few months away. Pray for her that the Lord would draw her to himself (she says she's not a Christian) pray that she would find comfort in him and that she would make friends where she is so she wouldn't be so lonely.

Y turns 18

This past Sunday Y, who lived in the house with her daughter J, turned 18. Y and J now live on Roatan with Y's mom and sisters. Y who went to beauty school during her time in the house has been unable to find a job, but recently found one! She isn't using what she studied, she is working in a kiosk but is still hoping for a job in a salon. She is able to help her mom pay bills and pay for all of J's needs. This past Sunday on a whim, Shannon and I decided to go visit them and spend Y's birthday with her. She has been sad lately and really missing Ceiba so we paid her a visit. We were able to go to church with her and have a make-shift birthday party. All in all it was a fun, and I think encouraging day for her to be reminded she has people who love her. And it was great to see her and especially little J doing well:)
                                      
                                      
                                                   
                                                    
                               

Look who's 2!

This sweet boy turned 2 last week and yesterday we went to a hotel on the beach to celebrate.

 I thought I would give you a little glimpse into life with W. First of all he loves trucks and especially buses. The highlight of his week is going to church in the church bus. Anytime a bus passes he says, "bus, bus". He also loves to ride in the car. He is my buddy who loves to run errands with me and gets sad and cries sometimes when he can't go. He also loves to read and do puzzles. He loves to swim and go to the pool and with his float on has no fear of the water. His favorite English word is "swim" and anytime we pass by the pool he says it over and over again. He also repeats everything I say to him in English. Last night we were driving to church and he said "luna, look, luna". I said, say 'moon' so he changed it to moona! Right now he is currently obsessed with the song "Old McDonald" and anything farm themed he calls "e, i, e, i, oh". Anytime you ask him what he wants to eat he says french fries. He loves little J like a sister and when she isn't home he roams the house calling for her, "yuli, yuli" He is sometimes a serious boy but anytime you tickle him he dies laughing. He is starting to become less of a baby and more of a little boy and anytime a man is around and trying to fix something he is in the middle of it. I love this little guy and can't believe how much he has grown since I first got here!

Photo Shoot!

Everyone: the house moms, the girls, the babies, Shannon and me

The babies

The girls

The house moms

C and W

K and O

Y and J

B and C

sorry buddy, sometimes it happens

Westminster Presbyterian comes to Honduras!

I'm so excited that my college church got to come to Honduras for a short-term missions trip. It was great to catch up with friends, have some familiar faces around, and show them my ministry here..and as an added bonus go to Copan with them! 

The girls are always excited to have visitors, especially Y when she is able to give pedicures:)

You feel less guilty about having people hold screaming babies when they are friends:) Just kidding Katie and Amy seem to be enjoying the momentarily quiet 'twins' of the house.

These guys had brought a ton of good clothes for the used clothing store so we went to drop them off and Amy posed for a picture with the girls who work in the store and Y!

Again I emphasis, momentarily quiet baby:) Really guys they had a tough day at Puerta de Esperanza:)

William, or should I say Pastor Jim, found a new friend

They even got to spend some time with the Peter Project boys and make balloon animals 

Before the team came I had told the girls that this was my church coming and that one of the people coming was a girl that I babysat in college. The first words out of each of their mouths as they met the team was "which one is the one you babysat?" Well, here she is, sweet Ams.....they were all incredulous that just a few years ago I had been her babysitter (and the best one I might add:)

And at last the added perk of your church coming to visit...getting to travel 8 hours to Copan to the Mayan ruins.

Full House

I returned to Honduras last Monday and last Wednesday we moved a new girl into the house! K is 16 and her son O is 5 months. This gives us 4 girls and 4 babies and makes Puerta de Esperanza full to capacity!

K is inexperienced at this whole mom thing but is open to suggestions we give her and wants to do what is best for her son. She has a very calm and laid-back personality and is getting along well with the other girls and adjusting to life in the house. The girls are treating her like a little sister and giving her advice and helping her with the baby and she is soaking it all in. It is great to see them accepting her as part of the family.

K has only ever been to school through the first grade so Shannon and I will be tutoring her through the second grade so that she can enroll in third grade when the new school year starts in January.

Pray for K and O and their continued adjustment and pray for Shannon and I as we teach Honduran second grade all in Spanish (something we never attended).

Campamento

Last week the church we attend here in La Ceiba hosted their annual "Campamento" in San Pedro Sula. We were able to go and take not only the girls who live in Puerta de Esperanza but also the girls who work at the used clothing store run by PDE. So off we went to conference, Shannon and Lester and their 2 kids, me, 5 girls and 3 babies. (All in 2 cars...did I mention we don't use car seats or really even seat belts here?) It was great to spend time with the girls outside of normal life. We were able to hang out at the hotel pool, and go to the mall for lunch, and talk about what they were learning at the conference.

Part of our group at Campamento

Yep, this is how we ride in the car, screaming baby and all:)

Nicolle (Shannon and Lester's daughter and my unofficial niece...aka the reason I could never leave Honduras:)

And we returned from San Pedro with a pleasant surprise, C's cousin B who has a 3 month old baby and has been working in the store moved into the house! Pray for B and her baby G as they adjust to life in the house. And also pray for the hearts of all 5 girls we took, that they would apply what they learned and that they would seek the Lord. 

B and G