Shoes (A Reflection from October 2013)

Today I gave the maid who cleans my classroom a pair of shoes. I had noticed how worn out and holey her shoes were getting, so when we went shopping yesterday I found her a pair. When I gave them to her, she put them on and said, "wow. wow. wow," and beamed like a little girl. She gave me a big hug and told me that her heart thanked me.

God used this as an analogy for me. Sometimes we go around wearing our holey, worn-out shoes when God wants to give us shiny new ones; ones we could never afford on our own. We have the choice to say, "wow" and be absolutely thrilled with His gift and put them on, or we can choose to say, "no, those are too nice. I'll stick with my old ones that are worn-out but so familiar."

God wants you to walk in the grace and freedom that new shoes bring.
Are you willing to give up your worn-out "shoes" for the new ones He wants to give you? 

Women of Purpose Retreat (November 2013)

I had the privilege of attending the Women of Purpose retreat, which is put on for English speaking missionaries in Honduras by a group of women from the Marietta Ohio area. I went last year as well, but this time I was able to go for the entire weekend, which was a blessing.
One morning we talked about how God shows us His wonder through His creation: the vastness of the ocean and the vastness of the sky. Later as I was reading Psalm 139, I was struck by verse 17, "How precious are Your thought concerning me, O God! How vast is the sum of them." God thinks about me so much that it's comparable to His vast ocean and vast sky: I cannot, even begin to comprehend it. That's pretty cool.

God also used this weekend to remind me of His love through sweet times of worship, talking and praying with wonderful, Godly women, spending time in prayer and Bible reading, getting hugged by the WOP ladies, and times of much laughter with friends new and old!

Blessings of new friendships that bring Godly encouragement. 

Praying for one another as we took communion.

Having fun eating lunch together!

A Timeline in Photos

Since I am sorely behind on updating my blog, I am going to do a timeline of photos, with a few other stories in separate posts right below this post. 

Here we go....

A few of us went with one of the Honduran teachers to a church outside the city that invited us to play for their anniversary service. It was a scorching hot day, but it was fun to be a part of their special day. 

I found a scorpion in my bedroom. I may have screamed and then killed it. Yay for Honduran creatures - just please stay out of my room.

No, I can't resist adding a picture of my bunny!

Mr. B, the elementary music teacher, and me playing for the independence day assembly. 

One weekend, a friend and I explored a nearby town. You can see Tegucigalpa in the distance.

Another view of Santa Lucia.

My roommate and I dressed up as penguins for the fall party! 

Over Thanksgiving break, I went with a few other teachers to Nicaragua. We spent a few very relaxing days on the beach. It was absolutely beautiful.

  

Sunset over the Pacific. Que bonita.