Another Day... Another Life to Love

As always, your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement are continual blessings to me. Although I have twelve days left, it seems as though my time at Orphanage Emmanuel is quickly coming to close. I pray that my time here thus far has been a blessing to those around me, and that I can continue to shine the light of Christ for the remainder of my stay.

God has allowed me to spend time investing in one girl particularly. Her name is Lesbia and she is 13 years old. I got to sit with her and talk about things of the Lord for nearly an hour Saturday night. Although my Spanish is not fluent, I praise God that he allowed me to fluently communicate with her for that time. I pray I was and am a spiritual encouragement to her.

Upon arriving at Emmanuel, my prayer – as I have shared with you – was to be a blessing to the children here. I prayed I would not just enjoy the fun times with the kids, but that they could see Christ’s love through my life and come to a better understanding of who He is. That is my continual prayer even now. Another prayer I have had was that I would not be afraid to use the Spanish I do have and that the Lord would bless those efforts and increase that ability. I praise Him that He continues to provide opportunities for that.

There is a currently a team of 46 people here. They are doing some work on the farm, some painting, some art classes, some medical work and dental work. Thus, I have had the privilege of working with some of them in the dental clinic. My job is to be with the children in order to keep them calm (since I know them) and also to translate for the dentists. What a responsibility, eh? There are definitely certain things you don’t want to mix up, like “spit’ and “swallow.” Ha-ha. But I thank God that things have gone smoothly.

I actually put myself in the chair yesterday to have my mouth numbed. A few of the girls were extremely nervous about having a needle put in their mouths for the first time. They said if I would do and let them watch, then they would do it. After thirty minutes of begging them to stop crying and open their mouths – a person would do almost anything. So I did. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I mean, I’ve never had my mouth numbed just for fun before. But the girls followed as promised and the dentists were grateful for the sacrifice. Now that’s what I call love.

I continue to enjoy every moment I get to spend with the children – even when they are out of hand at times. It is an enjoyment to be with them, play with them and get dirty with them. There are specific ones that I will certainly miss the most and would bring home in a matter of seconds; unfortunately, we all know that isn’t the wisest decision. So for now, I will have to continue to visit them at Emmanuel.

In case you are interested, I wanted to let you know that Emmanuel does have a Web site. It is http://www.orphanageemmanuel.com You can visit there to view a few pictures of the children as well as learn more about our history and such. There are also opportunities to sponsor children. It is only $35 per month and you have the option to write the child, send birthday and Christmas gifts, as well as visit – which I certainly recommend! I would love to answer more questions for you if you have them.

Thank you again for you continued prayers for me and the children during my stay here. Know that they have not gone in vain. I will continue to send a few more updates as time allows. May you be blessed in all things as you strive to be a blessing to others.

In Christ,

Brittany

Dirt, Rice and Sun Tan Lines

I've now been at Emmanuel for nearly two weeks. It is amazing at how the time has passed so quickly.

It is such an amazing experience to minister to these children day after day. On a regular basis, my daily activities consist of morning circle time at 5:30am – this is a time in which the children gather in small groups and have a time of worship and teaching. Following circle, I go to breakfast in the middle boys’ kitchen (this is where I eat all my meals). On weekdays, the children go to school following breakfast (school starts at 8am); therefore, I head to the yard to play with the special needs children from 7:30am – 12pm.

After school lets out, we head up to lunch and then back to the yard to play with the kids who are now out of school. Many of the older boys and girls go to work at this time, whether on the farm, construction, laundry, cooking or sewing, etc. Dinner is usually about 3:30pm. After dinner, if the kids go to the yard, I go play there; but if they go to their houses then I usually head to the girls’ houses to hang out before bedtime, or I go to the toddlers’ house to help bathe them and put them to bed. It is great fun to play with them.

On weekends, we take out groups of children or families who don’t get to see each other often. We go to the casita (craft house), the gym, the farm, the lower (new) yard, or take them to the store. Sometimes we even have parties for them and make cakes, pancakes, cookies, etc. They usually love this time.

I love spending time with the kids. Once or twice per week I have to work in the Internet café. This makes me so sad because it takes away time I could be spending with the children. I desire to make great use of my limited time here. I continue to realize there is that much more to learn.

My Spanish is improving, but I still have a long way to go. The children are patient most of the time though and are eager to help. It has been a blessed trip thus far. I find that my days are spending fast. Continue to be in prayer for the children here that they will be open to learning that which the Lord has for them.

You may view photos via my facebook account. Three albums are currently active: Dirt, Rice and Sun Tan Lines, Beautiful People, and My Heart... His Home.

A New Home

I arrived in Tegucigalpa about noon yesterday. Honduras has beautiful countryside, lots of rolling hills and enormous mountains. It is currently their rainy season as well so everything is particularly green this time of year. It was a hot, windy, long and beautiful bus ride to the orphanage. Once we arrived, it was time for church (5pm) so we changed into our skirts and headed down the hill. At service, the pastor talked about the necessity of counting your blessings rather than complaining about circumstances. Wow! Don’t we all need to hear more about that. It was beautiful to hear the children singing praises to the Lord in both English and Spanish. It just amazes me time and again at how big our God truly is!
Orphanage Emmanuel does such a great job. The Lord has certainly blessed their efforts. The orphanage, however, is currently under government inspection and they are afraid they may lose it. I do not know the whole situation. Mr. David (poppi) discussed “trials” tonight and Kelly told me that is why. He is concerned about the orphanage, but has tremendous faith that the Lord will do as He sees fit – His ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Mr. David and Mrs. Lydia (momi) are resting on his promises. What tremendous people of faith they are!
This morning I awoke for circle time about 5am and joined in with the little girls. We had breakfast with the girls as well, a bowl of chicken-flavored rice and potatoes baked with eggs. It was pretty good. I gave my extras to one of the girls. I got to play with some of the kids at the toddler house. They are so precious! It will definitely be one of the highlights of my days. My desire during my time here is not only to love the children but to minister to them. I have realized that just because they are at a Christian orphanage receiving Biblical teaching does not mean all the children at Christians. There are many kids here who need personal investment time in order to come to a better understanding of the love and peace offered to them through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. I pray I can help with that. I am learning lots about the orphanage: how it works, what goes on. I am learning lots about the orphanage: how it works and what goes on. I also learned that many of the children that are here are not actually orphans. Many of them have families with multiple brothers and sisters. Some of the children are from a family of 4 or 5 kids. That child was sent here while his brothers and sisters remain at home. Some children come from abusive situations, parents in jail, or parents who could not afford to properly care for the children. Many of these kids’ parents visit them on Saturdays.
One child I met today was Sandra. She is eleven years old. She has two sisters at Emmanuel. Her father died, but her mother currently lives in Tegucigalpa. I do not know her whole story; nevertheless, I am sure her mother does not visit frequently if ever due to the long drive to Guiamaca and the expense it incurs. Overall, my trip (although short) has been tremendous thus far. I love the nights here. The weather is great. They air is peaceful – random birds fly by my window throughout the night echoing seemingly new noises. It is a great time to think upon the things of the Lord and invest time in prayer for this place. I know God has done great things here throughout the last 20 years. I pray his sovereign hand will continue to guide this ministry through government investigation and all. I know God’s will ultimately will abound!

Thanks for your many prayers! Pictures are soon to come.

Glory, Glory. Glory.

"Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all peoples." Ps. 96:3

To declare: to announce, make known, state as fact. I hardly think these instructions are simply suggestions. I doubt that the author is saying, Well, if you feel like it this is what you should do; or, When it is convenient for you, you should talk about God's glory. No! We are commanded to DECLARE HIS GLORY!!

Unfortunately, we do not get that excited about God's glory; and therefore, do not see the importance of declaring it to all nations. What will it take for us to recognize the magnitude of God's glory? We were created to do just that: to bring him glory and make him known.

Why were we made in God's image? For His glory. Why were we allowed to live post-salvation? For his glory. Why were we commanded to live as he would want us to? For his glory. Do you see a pattern here?

In our selfish world of instant gratification, we do not know how to recognize maintaining purpose for the gain of another. It is not about you! It is not about me! It is about the glory of the Father... proclaiming his name, his renown, his might and marvelous works! May we truly learn what this means!

Experiences

I visited with some friends tonight and old memories flooded my mind. Last summer I was given the opportunity of a lifetime. I was able to travel to multiple locations with four other people for ten weeks ministering in diverse ways. I learned many new things about myself that summer. I learned many new things about others. I learned many new things about ministry.
My life will be forever changed by that experience. I am saddened that I am unable to return to those experiences again this summer; nevertheless, I realize God is taking me to new places. I realize God is going to teach me new things about myself, others and ministry that I could not learn last summer. At the same time, I could not do the work God has set for me to do this summer without having last summer's experiences.
Crazy, isn't it? The way the Lord uses our opportunities to bring himself glory? After all, that is his desire and our purpose: to bring glory to his name at all times at all ways, in all ways.

The Begininng of a Journey

Journeys: passages or progresses from one stage to another.

We all have journeys in life. Places we are coming from... places we want to go... ways we want to get there. Many times, we don't get to decide how those journeys begin and how they end... but we do get to decide how they plan out, how they run, how we endure.

We get a choice. A life. An adventure filled with pages and chapters ready to be filled in.

Here marks the beginning of another journey. A time to progress from one stage to another. A chapter being written.