Hi everyone!
I think it’s been about 2 weeks since I made my way up the mountain to our new ministry site in Honduras. I wanted to just give a quick update to say that we are alive and well and thriving! I’ve somehow managed to get myself to a Dunkin Donuts, so I’m sitting here sipping on an iced caramel macchiato listening to my favorite spotify playlist, soaking in this AC and all is well.
Our squad has been all together camping on the side of a mountain outside of Comayagua with a ministry called Catracho Missions. I have my tent all set up and I have been able to keep it pretty organized and clean so far which has been the BESTTTT. Someone asked me today what my favorite part of Honduras has been so far, and I said having my own space in my tent. I realized that this is the first time in about 5 months that I’ve had my own space to myself and I’ve missed it. I find myself spending quite a bit of time in there when I can.
Ministry has mainly been all manual labor around the campsite. Our ministry host Paul and his wife Tonia are building a church for the community that lives mountainside, and so we’ve been doing a lot of work on that project. Our days are pretty full with a lot of productive work, and although it’s hot and sometimes kinda tough, I like it. It’s been a nice change of pace from Guatemala, where our ministry was a lot more relational. I’ve also had the chance to help with Tonia’s women ministry one morning and I’ve helped in the kitchen a couple of times!
Other aspects that I’m enjoying as well is having the entire squad around. As I mentioned in my last blog, this has been an all squad month so all 42 or so of us are together. I think that normally this would really stress me out, and I wouldn’t be a fan of being surrounded by a group this large, but I’m learning a lot of self-awareness – which has benefited me greatly in this situation. I’ve been working on listening to myself and being aware of what I need, which has helped me stay energized and filled up within the group. It has looked a lot like taking time away to be alone when I need to, realizing that I can’t be bffs with everyone and that’s okay, while still pressing into new relationships and getting to know new friends, walking in more confidence in who I am and that my voice matters, not shying away from talking about myself sometimes and letting people know me, pressing into a lot of 1-on-1 conversation, and ultimately believing that I have a place on this squad.
I have felt really full when it comes to the intentional time that I’ve been able to spend with different people in this space. I’ve always been a huge fan of coffee dates and hearing people’s hearts.. and these past 2 weeks have been a lot of that. I’ve had the chance to share my testimony with my new team and also hear a lot of other people’s stories which has been really freaking cool. My new team is slowly but also quickly turning into a safe space with 5 new friends who I’m learning to really love.
Prayer requests:
-health
-safety
-physical energy for the work we do
-focus and intentionality with squadmates
-that the Holy Spirit would be really evident on this mountainside
-for our ministry hosts Paul & Tonia and their vision for their ministry
Overall, I’m loving what Honduras is. Being off the grid has been good – as it always is for a little while. I’ll do my best to stay in touch when I can!
Love ya’ll
Heather
