STEP '07-'08, one last time at HDC.



This post marks the end of a major chapter in each of the "steppers" lives. We have learned much and hope to continue our lifestyle of learning. I personally feel that we left our part of the mission complete even though there is still a tremendous amount of work to be done. During our final week in Honduras, we met with a lady who works at Calvin College and during a debriefing session she gave us this writing on which to reflect. Read this and think of how it can encourage each and everyone one of you in your respective walk in life.

A Prayer by Archbishop Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction
of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete,
which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the Church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything,
and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results,
but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders;
ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.

Copyright © 2007 St. Augustine by-the-Sea

Pacto Con Dios (Pact with God) through the return trip ~by Andrea

Our last weekend in Honduras proved to us that we were able to experience yet another form of culture shock after being in the country for almost five months. We were able to go to a spiritual retreat that is hosted by the local BIC church for people of the church.

It was a very intense weekend. The first reason being because it was full of sessions where we were listening to Spanish and trying to process everything that they were saying. Even after five months its still hard to understand a speaker speaking to a group. Another reason being because of the packed full schedule. We were not allowed to have watches, so I have no idea how much, or little, sleep we got. It was also very intense because of the spiritual aspect, and the many ways that God spoke into our lives and hearts at many different levels.

Also, on behalf of the team, thank you so much to those of you who sent us encouraging little notes, they were a huge blessing to each of us. And thank you Rachel for orchestrating that. It was a great weekend, and God definitely moved in many ways, seen and unseen.

Our last days in Honduras-- On Thursday we had a day full of mixed emotions as we were able to spend the day with our host families, and then in the evening we had a party to say good bye to our friends. It was encouraging to see around fifty people show up. As the evening came to a close we were able to share with our friends the impact they made on us, and also them to us, and then they prayed over us and we were able to pray for them. It is amazing how God works in ways we don't expect. Then after the party we stayed over at Rachel's and headed to the airport in the morning. It was so great to be sitting at the airport and see some of our friends and some of the host families walk in to hang out with us and wait till we need to go through security.

We left Teguz around 12:30pm, and then arrived in Baltimore around midnight. We were picked up by Mike Holland and arrived in Harrisburg around 3am Saturday morning. Now we find ourselves at HDC for the next two weeks, and after that...only God knows.

Some photos of us and our friends at our going away party.

Let Me Introduce You to... (by Karen W)

My Good Friend Tony Javier

Tony is 20 years old and has incredibly strong will. Three years ago on June 19th, Tony dove into a river a very talented could-be professional soccer player (literally) and was brought out parapelegic. I have been learning Tony's story little by little while doing my best to teach him seventh grade subjects. Tony is so open and willing to share about his life it surprises me. Every Mon/Wed/Fri I have been tutoring Spanish, Science, Social Studies, and a Holy Spirit devotional. It's a bit funny that I'm so-called "teaching" him his own language, among other complicated subjects, while I'm barely speaking Spanish myself. God has been very gracious in my ability to communicate and be understood and Tony is, thankfully, very patient with me.

The beginning days were challenging and awkward as we just started to get to know each other and were figuring out the best way to teach/learn without us both being completely bored. At times I really didn't understand what the homeschool books we were using were trying to say. Their quality isn't quite up to par. Some days we mostly just chatted about whatever came to mind; music, movies, everything under the sun. I asked him a lot of questions and I was thankful he felt comfortable doing the same. Tony showed me his drawings, he is a really great drawer--he just has to use the pencil a different way.

Tony is also a Christian, praise the Lord. He knows and understands a lot about the Bible. His favorite book is Revelations and he believes the church needs to talk more about the coming future. But Tony doesn't get a chance to enjoy fellowship with other believers. He told me he believes he is the only Christian in his family. He and I have talked a lot about spiritual things, conversations I'm very grateful for and I know have been a blessing to him as well.

Though our (Josh teaches on Tues/Thurs) "purpose" was to teach, we have realized that more importantly we were meant to be there to give him some companionship. Tony has had a very hard life, and his paralysis is only just one part of that hard life. I know that the Lord will use each hardship for His glory and purpose because God works out everything for the good of those who love Him. I believe with all my heart that the Lord has really powerful plans for him. I can see it so clearly. Join me in praying for his healing and that the Lord would use Tony as a prophet of His word.

"Delight yourself in the Lord

and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Psalm 37:4

(Tony's favorite verse)

If you are interested, Micah house posted a great blog about Tony. Please click here and scroll down to the April 4th post titled, "Tony's Triumph". This is picture of Tony and Karen during a class in his dining room.

AFE- Amor, Fe Esperanza- Love, Faith, Hope (by Andrea)

This past week I spent my time helping out at AFE. AFE is a tuition-free Christ-centered school for children who live in or near the city dump. The school has been open for about the past five years, and has been giving children who wouldn't otherwise have the oppurtunity to go to school the oppurtunity to recieve and education. I think that it is a wonderful ministry that gives kids an education in academics, as well as a wonderful way to learn about God, the source of all love, hope, and faith.
Upon arriving at the school on Monday morning I found out that they didn't have a kindergarten teacher anymore, so I spent the mornings teaching 2-6 children things like the alphabet and how to write their numbers. It was a challenge to try to keep the children's attention, and try to find creative ways to teach them in a way that they will want to learn.
After Monday afternoon there wasn't much for me to do after classes, so I traveled back into the city with some of the other teachers to visit some of the other ministries where some of the other team members was helping out at for the week. I was able to visit CEDER, and spend some time at the Micah House (see previous blogs for information on these locations).
Thursday evening we had the oppurtunity to take Toni (he is paralyzed from his waist down and only has limited use of his arms) to visit the Micah House, where a bunch of his friends live. Because of being paralyzed he has minimal oppurtunity to get out of his neighborhood, so it was a special treat to be able to visit his friends in the city. Josh works with Toni teaching classes and commented that, "It was such a blessing to see him in a state of complete joy and fulfillment. Karen said the next day in her class with him, they didn’t do too much in the way of bookwork because he just kept talking about that precious night. This is a situation in which the goal was to bless him, and we were blessed as well, in a way I can’t express."
It was a wonderful oppurtunity to allow God to use us and bless us at the same time.

Manuelito

Last week, I (Karen H.) spend the week at Manuelito which is an orphanage and in the same building there is a school and church. This particular orphanage is a transition house where the children are able to mature a little and then they move to the other orphanage that is a couple hours away but within the same organization. I worked with the three babies and helped the nanny with whatever she needed. She had a really big week as the other nanny was on vacation so she was with the children for 24 hours and for 7 days straight. Because there was only one nanny this week, I was not able to help with the school. The other team members where able to be apart of the school and teach English.

One morning last week, we took a 15 minute walk to the park so the children could run around and play. They really look forward to those days to get outside! It is really sad for me to think that their world is so limited to the park and building, but as I think about the life they would have had on the street, I realize that this life is much better.

Josue, Christopher and Duncan were the three boys - Christopher and Duncan are brothers. Below are some pictures of the children.

LAMR (Rachel Bowman)

First of all, due to the LAMR we had to celebrate St. Patty's Day a couple days in advance--the cake was an amazing blob of a green gooey mess!!! I love any reason to celebrate that calls for cake!

Second of all, I want to say this team is amazing! My prayer had been that God would work in their hearts and that through this program they would be blessed. This ties in with the retreat, because for the first time I was able to hear testimonies from the STEPpers of how God has impacted their lives during this time.

All of the BIC missionaries that are serving in Central and South America gathered together for a time of refreshment here in Honduras, for a time known as the LAMR = Latin American Missionary Retreat. I sensed that it truly met it's goal as a time of refreshment as each one of us spent time in fellowship with one another and with the Lord Himself. We had time to rest at His feet and allow Him to lead us through this process of sanctification. For some it was a time of looking back into the past allowing God to heal wounds; for others, a time of seeking forgiveness in a deeper manner; a few, took the time to search direction for the future; and for still others, a time to just be with Him. The one thing we had in common is that we met together at the foot of the cross of our resurrected Savior.

As STEP, we were given a time to share about our experiences over the past several months. I was touched to see each one of the team members take this time seriously and open up their hearts to reveal what God has been doing in them. Of course this meant tears, laughter, embarrassing stories...etc! But WHAT A BLESSING it was to me to see that Jesus truly has touched each one of them, molded them, used them, challenged them...I guess I should be saying "us", instead of "them". However it was their testimonies that made me realize how important this program really is, even with all it's so-called "imperfections". Praise the Lord that He has chosen to use us!

CEDER (by Joshua)

This week Karen Wilson and I worked at ¨Centro de Día y Reposo¨ (CEDER), or Center of Day and Rest. This is a home for the elderly, mostly found off the street with mental problems such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Karen and I have a little different set up as we are tutoring a young man in the mornings (we rotate mornings) and then work together in the afternoon. The home has about twenty people living there and while it was a good experience helping and gives us a wider variety of ministries for which to work, it was a challenge that I am glad to have behind me.

The facility does not function like you would expect. There is a staff of four girls and a nurse. The four girls and the director live at the facility (the director with his wife and two kids) and spend most of their time there. We were very surprised that the seniors living there really had no options for entertainment. A daily schedule seems to go like this. Wake up at 5:30a, eat breakfast later in the morning, drink juice at 10:30a, eat lunch at 12:00p, drink coffee at 2:30, eat dinner later that night and then go to bed. One resident said, “All we do is sit around and wait to eat.” It was really sad realizing how accurate this statement really was and how the staff is occupied throughout the day cycling them through the shower and caring for them, as well as spending time alone trying to have some essence of a personal life since they live at work.
In addition to helping with some work, such as shaving the men which was an experience for me, Karen and I felt some sort of need to bring some activities to the residents. We tried different activities such as the card game “Uno”, drawing pictures for them or letting them draw, blowing bubbles and letting them pop them, and trying to engage in conversation though understanding was a challenge. I actually remember one time when a helper looked at me because she didn’t understand one lady. She asked me what the lady had said and of course I didn’t know, and was thinking, “How could you not understand and think I even had a chance at understanding what she said in your native tongue?”

We did get to visit a facility that is being built outside of the city. This facility will be much nicer for the residents when it is complete, but that could be years based on the fact they just build a little at a time as money comes in to fund the project.

We were able to provide some activities for the adults this past week and hope our group can at least bring some light into their lives through the four weeks we are serving.
Currently, we are relaxing and spending time with other missionaries in a little town outside of Teguz called, “Valle de Angeles”, or “Valley of Angles”. We hope to continue to be refreshed in the Lord and to be able to enjoy each others company as well as engage and participate with the other missionaries here at the retreat.

The week of March 2nd, Andrea worked at CEDER; here are two of her pictures.