Red Cross workers assisting the baby girl found in a plastic bag.

Sad News

I sometimes refrain from reading the newspapers here, for the sole purpose of not being able to stomach the horrific photos or handle the depressing stories. One story this past week, along with the tragic fires, read: ‘Baby is Abandoned in the Capital.’ As I read this story, my heart sank; and I didn’t know whether to be more mad or sad.

Miracle Baby

Not far from where we live a baby was found in a plastic bag, alive. Neighbors in the surrounding area had been hearing a baby cry and when they went to check it out, they saw movement in a plastic bag. When opened, they found a baby girl fully clothed, wrapped in a blanket, with a bottle laying next to her. The paramedics noticed that the umbilical cord was still attached, although it had been badly cut. They quickly rushed the little miracle to the hospital. From there, she will be brought to the INFHA (Child and Family Services of Honduras), where she will be raised in an orphanage, with no mom and no dad.

The Mother

When I first read this story, I had so much anger for the mother of that child. How on earth could anyone abandoned their baby? And not just abandoned by leaving her at the hospital or on a doorstep, but by throwing her in a bag and tossing her in the dump. But as I thought more about this mother, I actually began to pray for her. What if she was 13 years old and scared out of her mind? What if she was a young women who was raped and that rape resulted in a pregnancy? What if she was extremely poor and knew that there was no way she could provide for this child? I know none of these reasons excuse the action that was taken in “getting rid of” a precious child. But it does mean that she needs prayer and she needs Jesus.

Michelle and Shuanny making some treats at Monday night Bible Study.

Baking + Young Women

I love to bake. I love the young women in my church. How do you put those two together? I bake for the young women in our church! Every Monday night at church is Bible Study night where the men and women break off into separate groups. Every Monday night, I come with some sort of baked good in hand. And every Monday night, I see wide eyes and a bunch of smiling faces, excited to take part in some deliciousness!

What’s Baking?

Now I am not saying that I am the world’s greatest baker. Although I sometimes wish I was an employee at Cake Boss. But when you live in a place where baking is unheard of in the home, you can see why a cupcake gets the crowd going. I remember the first time I brought treats to Bible Study, almost everyone asked me if I made “these.” It was only chocolate chip cookies! But it’s something so foreign to them, so they couldn’t believe that I had made them myself. I really give my mother all the credit. After all, there weren’t many days when we would come home from school and NOT find a black bottom cupcake, peanut butter blossom, or a monster cookie sitting on the counter, waiting to be devoured!

A Better Life

Silly Kensi, enjoying her treats!

Last week at church, I had a conversation with 22 year old Kensi, who asked me when I was going to give baking classes at church. Many of the girls and women keep asking me this same question. But Kensi’s reasoning is what touched my heart. She wants to learn how to bake so she can sell the baked goods on the street and make money to support herself and her 2 year old son (she currently is a hot dog vender on the streets). To think that I could be a part of that puts a joy inside my heart.

A Dream

God has put it on my heart to start some baking classes at church. This obviously involves time and money, so I am just in the thought process of it all; but I am excited nonetheless. Our church already has a kitchen in the upstairs, but it just needs some TLC. We will need a couple of stoves, cooking utensils, and your key baking ingredients. But I know that God will provide. So please pray with me to make this dream a reality and to help these young women help themselves and their families.

Here are some of the kids that don't miss a service. Can you pick out the white kid?

How many of us can say that when we were between the ages of 6 and 15, we would have  gone to church without our parents, just because we wanted to be there?

There is a group of kids who come every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to our church services, without their parents. Many of them are siblings and they live in the apartment building next to our church. Some of the kids even have baby siblings that they take care of and bring along with them. Just this past Sunday, I saw a 9 year old girl sitting on the steps in our church, holding her baby sister who was sleeping. And where are the parents? They are in their apartment while their children attend church.

I am reminded of the verse in Luke (18:17), where it says, “Truly I tell you, anyone who  will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” When I think of this verse, I think of these children. They know how to receive the kingdom of God, and we can all learn a thing or two from these precious ones.

These children have taught me so much. They’re not forced to attend church. They could be doing tons of other things during those 4 days a week that we have church service. But they choose to be there. They want to go. They love to come and hear God’s word. So yes, I do believe that receiving the kingdom of God like a little child is the way to go.

As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “…the old has gone, the new has come.” I look at this in terms of the new year. 2011 is in the past. And while it was a very difficult year, it is gone. But the new is here and we are excited to see what God has in store for us and for the ministry. I know it is 12 days past the start of the new year, but I wanted to share some of the goals that both Chad and I have on our hearts for 2012.

Speaking Spanish

Chad and Carlitos have become best buds and Chad loves practicing his Spanish with him.

We both have one major desire and that is to speak and understand this language fluently. It has been one of our biggest struggles since being here, and we continue to struggle with it daily. It’s true that we have both come a very long way in our communicating with others. But we are definitely not at the level that we so badly desire. We have developed some amazing friendships with people in our church. But what we truly desire is to deepen those relationships by speaking into their lives, and that’s hard to do when you don’t speak the same language! So one goal we both have is to improve our Spanish language skills.

ONE of Trina’s Goals

My small group girls from church, when we threw a baby shower for some ladies in the church.

Since moving here, my passion has been working with troubled teenage girls, mainly those from the Eagle’s Nest. But since we closed down the girls home, God has laid it on my heart to work with the girls in our church, ranging from ages 5-18. They may or may not have been physically or sexually abused, but they all nonetheless come from hard places. I have developed a special bond with these girls and I look forward to receiving their hugs at church. So one goal of mine is to further these relationships and speak into the lives of these young girls.

ONE of Chad’s Goals

Chad continues to pray, plan, and prepare for what has been on his heart the most: Our Boy’s Home. And God is continuing to open doors for this part of our ministry. Chad recently met with a Honduran business man, who God just placed right in front of us, who owns a beautiful piece of property outside of the city. He wants the property to be used for ministry and for farming, which is exactly what we were praying for. There is still a lot that needs to be planned and processed and decided, but we continue to pray and are hopeful that this goal will soon be accomplished.

More Thanks

Thank you for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers. This year wouldn’t be possible without the love and support that you continue to lavish on us. We thank God for you daily. Happy New Year!

Tiffany and Elisa receiving their gifts at church.

We apologize for the lack of blog posts lately. We have been a bit busy, as most of you all have, with the Christmas season. But we wanted to update you on how our past month has gone and what we have been up to.

Chad

Chad was very busy with the child sponsorship program. Each child wrote a message and colored a picture for their sponsors. Chad had the long task of translating each letter, uploading the letter to send as an email, and mailing the letters to their sponsors. He was also busy at each of the Christmas programs, videotaping of all the children receiving their one gift for Christmas.

Decorating cookies at the church Christmas party!

Trina

Trina was busy with a lot of ministry stuff as well. Her and Kimberli helped wrap a ton of presents for the kids in the Feeding Centers and in our church. She threw a baby shower for two women in our church, along with a Christmas party for the all the ladies in the church too. During the Christmas party, Trina was moved to tears when one of the ladies hugged her and told her, “Thank you Trina. This is a night we will never forget.” Her and Kimberli also wrapped many baby bundles to bring to the hospital for the new mothers and babies. We are still in need of blankets to bring, but hope to make it to the hospital soon.

Kimberli with the gifts for her siblings.

Kimberli

Kimberli left early Christmas Eve morning to spend the day with her family. We wanted to bless Kimberli’s family with some Christmas gifts too, since they would probably not receive anything. Earlier in the month, we bought a huge bale of clothes to be able to bless others that were in need. Kimberli went through the clothes and picked out an outfit for each of her 6 siblings. And with her giving heart, she took each of her stuffed animals and gave them to her siblings as well. So with the gifts and a smile, her and Chad left early in the morning to go to her grandparents house. To say that she was excited is an understatement. We can always tell when she is excited about something because she is such a chatterbox. She talked Chad’s ear off the whole way to her grandparents house!

Playing UNO on Christmas Eve at the Baron house.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was a special night. We had about 15 of our close friends, who are like family, over to our house for dinner. It was a feast! There was food, fun, and laughter, especially after watching Carlitos play UNO for the first time! While we definitely missed our own families, it was wonderful to be surrounded by those that we love and those that love us back! God has truly blessed us.

Thank You

So there you have it. That is what our month has looked like. We wanted to say thank you for all your prayers, love and support. While it was very difficult to be away from our families this Christmas, we still felt so loved from all of you from so far way. We are so grateful for those of you that have chosen to bless us this Christmas. Love to you all!

No Bells

I had it all planned out. Christmas was going to be wonderful. We were planning a trip back to Lynden and we would be there for Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and for the whole week after. Someone even offered to buy our tickets home. I was looking forward to family and friends, peppermint mocha’s and oliebollens, sweaters and boots, cold weather, and maybe even some snow. My facebook status would read: “Trim the tree and wrap the presents, turn the Christmas music on, cause Christmas I’ll be home with bells on.”

The Plan

When we left Lynden this summer, we were almost 100% sure we would be returning for the holidays. This made it a bit easier to say goodbye since I “knew” we would be returning in just a few short months. When Kimberli came to our home almost one month ago now, we put a hault on our plans to return home; because we weren’t sure where she would go if we left. We then had the idea of taking her with us. But that would take months to get her a passport and all the needed paperwork. After talking to Alvin, it was decided that she could stay with his family over the holidays while we returned home. Back to the original plan: home it was!

PEACE

Chad never felt a peace about going back. I just kept pushing him saying, ‘we need to go back,’ ‘we need a break.’ He obliged and we decided we would spend about 8 days in Lynden for Christmas. But in my heart, I honestly did not feel a peace about it either. Something, or rather, SOMEONE, kept telling me, “You are not supposed to go. You need to stay here for Christmas.” I kept ignoring God, trying to justify that going to Lynden for Christmas was the right thing to do. But I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I couldn’t ignore God anymore. I needed to be obedient. So I went and told Chad what I was feeling, and after much prayer and many tears, we made the difficult decision to not return home this Christmas.

Trust and Obey

It’s amazing how hard it is to trust and obey God sometimes, especially when you want something so badly, and He is telling you you can’t have it. But it’s also amazing how His way is always best. I know this because of the overwhelming sense of peace I felt when we made the final decision to stay here for Christmas, with Kimberli. Today was one of the best days we have had since she has been here. Lots of laughing, lots of smiles, and lots of fun. And even though we would love nothing more than to spend Christmas with our families, we know that this is exactly where we are supposed to be this Christmas season.

Putting up our Christmas tree! Asher and Kimberli were all smiles!

We just love her...and the little stinker in the background!

Kimberli has been a part of our family for almost three weeks now. Both Chad and I have spent much of that time figuring out who she is and getting to know what she is all about. Here is a little of what we have learned so far.

Upon first spending time with her, she is a bit shy. But once she warms up, she is a talker. She loves her family and misses them terribly.  But she is thankful to be in a home…a real home. She is not crazy about American cooking, but eats it anyway. She loves her Honduran food of tortillas, beans, and rice. She loves chocolate, and I mean LOVES chocolate. Her favorite candy bar is Snickers. She drinks coffee in the morning with a lot of sugar. She hates vegetables, unless they are cooked in a soup. Her favorite fruit is a strawberry. Her favorite animal is a bunny. She wants a pet rat…NO WAY! She likes to do puzzles, play Candy Land, and color. Her hobbies include mopping the floors…not your average tween hobby. She gets incredibly overwhelmed with the question, “Do you need anything? Do you want anything?” She is great at correcting our Spanish, and loves to tease Chad. She loves to exercise and soccer is her favorite sport. If she could go anywhere in the world, she would go to the U.S. Her dream is to be a pediatrician. And her prayers are for the children on the streets. She loves the smell of the clothes when they come out of the dryer. In fact, she didn’t know what a dryer was until she came to our home. She loves Asher’s white and soft little feet, saying, “There are no other feet like yours Asher!” She was born in a taxi cab. She sings worship songs in the shower (we can hear her She loves to dance, especially when it’s for the Lord.

Kimberli is on the worship dance team at our church.

This is just some of what we have learned about Kimberli. We look forward to each day as we continue to learn more and more about this precious gift from God. Thank you for your prayers.

Kimberli decorating some cookies.

One Week

It’s been one week since Kimberli came into our home and became part of our family, and we are in love. As you can imagine, the first week was a bit scary for her, for all of us really. But she is beginning to open up to us more, and the shyness around us is going away. We know this because we stayed up until 10:30 last night just talking, and she did most of the talking! She is a beautiful young girl who loves the Lord. She has a sweet smile and a generous heart.

A Lesson Learned

Leave it to God to throw a paranoia you have right in front of you to teach you a lesson to lean on Him. If there was a ever a lesson learned in my life, this past week was it. Kimberli came to our home infested with lice. Probably something she has lived with her whole life. I instantly began to worry and fret about these little demon bugs. I literally had paranoia and I was consumed with “what ifs?” I just looked at it as a problem, and the thought of tackling this problem seemed to big for me to handle. And to be honest, I didn’t want to. Until Nubia showed me love.

Nubia

Nubia is a dear friend who sometimes works for the ministry, cleaning and cooking for teams, etc. She came over later in the afternoon and began helping me treat Kimberli’s hair for the lice and nits. I thought she was just going to show me how to do it, but for 2 1/2 hours Nubia stood by my side as we handpicked the lice out of Kimberli’s beautiful curly hair. I was so thankful to have Nubia and her giving, humble heart. But it’s the words she said that have left an imprint on my heart.

Poor Kimberli fell asleep while we were combing her hair! And look at that smile on Nubia's face.

True Love

Kimberli quietly sat in the chair while we combed out her lice, without complaining one time. I could tell her neck was getting sore, and I felt so bad for her. I told her I loved her. After I said those words to Kimberli, Nubia replied, “It’s for this reason that we do this Kimberli.” I was humbled by those words and it reminded me of Jesus. Jesus did not come to be served but to serve. Through serving, he loved us. This was my way of showing Kimberli I love her. She may not understand that type of love now, but I pray that in years to come, she will.

Christlike

I also told Nubia of a girl I knew from college. She worked at a girls shelter in the states and her job was to get the lice out of the girls hair. I told Nubia about this girl, and her only response was, “what love.” I hadn’t thought of it this way before. My first response was, “I would never want that job.” Again, I was humbled by her words and her Christlike love.

Lice Update

After much work, and many prayers, I am happy to announce that the lice and nits are dead. Hoorah for the massacre that was of those nasty little buggers! Nubia came over on Saturday and for 6 hours we combed through Kimberli’s hair and picked out all the eggs, with our fingernails! I think we got pretty much all of them. But I will be combing through each day for a while just to make sure. All in all, God taught me so much this past week about true love. God is good.

Our Family

Roll With the Punches

Change is something that happens often around here, and sometimes you just have to roll with the punches, whether you’re ready or not. We were planning on having the girls move in sometime around the end of November. This would give us plenty of time to get the extra bedroom ready for the girls, and plenty of time for the three P’s: plan, prepare, and the most important, PRAY.

The Situation

Let me explain the situation. Blanca, who we had planned on taking into our home as well, has developed a bad attitude and tried to “poison” the other girls minds. Because of Blanca’s recent behavior we believe she needs a place better suited to her needs. She will be spending the next couple of weeks at the Eagle’s Nest, until school is finished. She will then spend the holidays with her grandmother. After that, we hope to put her in a home we recently visited that has the staff and facilities where we believe she will thrive. This is sad for us because we love Blanca, and wish that the situation were different. I wanted to have both the girls here, so they at least had each other. This was not an easy decision.

Are You Ready?

So with that change comes another change. Alvin came over to our house today and asked if we would be able to take Kimberli tomorrow, as in the day after today! He wanted to get her out of the Eagle’s Nest as soon as possible, to avoid any more “poisoning.” My heart skipped a beat and I had tears. I hadn’t planned enough, prepared enough, and well, you can never pray enough. I just didn’t feel ready. And to be honest, it all of the sudden became so real to me. Feelings of worry, fear, and failure all came upon me. What had we gotten ourselves into?

For Such a Time as This

As I sat down with Chad, through tears, I began to explain what I was feeling. He knew I was feeling this way, because I have felt this way ever since we chose to take the girls into our home. But now it was all happening so fast, and like I said earlier, I wasn’t ready. With the gift of wisdom that God gave Chad, he comforted me and assured me that “You…Are…Ready. This is your hearts passion. This is why God brought you here. He chose you for this.”

Ready

So there you have it. I guess I am ready. We know this is a huge transition and that we have some challenges ahead of us. But we really wouldn’t have it any other way. Again, we covet your prayers during this time. And we are so thankful for all the love and support that you all have given. To HIM be the glory.

Chad and Mayra.

Heart Break

We received news while in Guatemala that two of the girls from the Eagle’s Nest had run away. Mayra and Claudia left the house and were gone for a day before they came back full of tears and very sorry for leaving. However, two days later they ran away again in the middle of the day. This time they took Blanca with them and they headed to a city just outside of Tegucigalpa. We learned that they were all doing drugs and hanging out with some gang members. After a couple days Blanca returned and was welcomed back home to the Eagle’s Nest.

Why?

You can imagine our sadness and disappointment upon hearing this news. Both of us were in tears, struggling to understand why. We had poured our hearts into these girls, loving them unconditionally, and now they were gone. We were immediately worried about the girls, wondering about their safety. However, we received news that they are safe and living with Claudia’s grandmother. We are hoping and praying that they return.

Me and Claudia.

Major Changes

When we arrived home from Guatemala, we went to the Eagle’s Nest for dinner that night. Sally, the house grandmother, announced that herself and Sarah, the house mother, are moving to Nicaragua. The home the girls live in will be shut down. With 3 of the girls still living there, this means some major changes for them, the ministry, and us.

The Plan

We know that God is good. And we know that He has a plan for the Eagle’s Nest. This is our chance to rebuild this part of the ministry and start anew. But for the time being, we still have the 3 girls who rely on us and who we are responsible for. And this is where our whole world is about to change.

Quendi

Quendi is 17 and will be 18 in about 6 months. She is no where near ready to be on her own but we need to start preparing her to be independent. She is going to go to live at Alvin’s house with Sarah, a young lady from the US who just moved here in September. Sarah will be like a big sister and mentor her in living on her own with things like budgeting and shopping for groceries, etc. Quendi will finish her schooling in the next few weeks. She really likes the beauty classes she has taken and so we may get her in to a trade school where she can learn to be a professional stylist.

Our sweet Blanca.

Blanca

The plan for Blanca was that she was going to go back home to live with her family. Alvin spent some time talking with Blanca about this and found out that her brother received a 2 year sentence (for raping Blanca) and will be getting out of jail soon. She also said that her dad is a drunk who hits and pushes her grandmother. In light of this it is not safe to send her home.

Kimberli

Kimberli is the newest girl who has only been in the house since May. She is so sweet and loves the Lord. She is 11 years old and had never been to school a day in her life. She is the only one in the house who has not been sexually abused but was abused in the sense that she was used as her mom’s slave. She was the primary caregiver of her younger siblings. We also do not want to send her back to that situation. After prayer and many conversations, we have decided to take Blanca and Kimberli in to our home to live with us. This will take place around the end of November.

At church with, from far left, Quendi, Kimberli, myself holding 12 year old Zaira's baby. Zaira is Kimberli's sister.

With God’s Help

Yes, you heard that right. We are going to be parents to an 11 year old and a 15 year old. We know this is a huge responsibility and that it will not be easy. I have every emotion running through my body right now and we never hesitated knowing that this is what we are here for. We love these girls and are excited to play a larger role in their lives. We covet your prayers during this time as we prepare to bring the girls into our home. These are big changes and there are a lot of unknowns; however, we know God is directing our path. God led me to these two verses which I will cling on during this time:

“In all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” ~ Romans 8:37

“Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and who is my family that you have brought me this far?” 2 Sam. 7:18