To SEE them, to KNOW them and to LOVE them!

So I am all the sudden really excited about life! I have been kind of hyper for the last couple of days and I think it is because I am starting to feel a part of this life I am living! I have kind of felt a little out of my skin. A little bit like I am here by the physical standards but my mind and heart had not gotten off the plane yet! But guess what… They have arrived!

Yesterday was a busy, yet great day! I worked and got an individual plan for each boy in the mentoring program.  We had 18 boys show up at the 3 o’clock session! WOWZERS! This program is becoming more and more capable of great things with each day! It is reaching more boys, the boys who are coming have pride in it and they are inviting friends each time, people this is big stuff! I talked to my mom today who is a 4^th grade teacher, she always inspires me! We are talking about getting some more supplies down here so we can continue to provide effective, useful supplies for the mentoring program.  We have seen such a great response to utilizing the hour that we have with these boys as effectively as possible, that I can’t bear to see that effectiveness dwindle because of a lack of resources.  Not gonna happen! We are going to continue to have faith and seek out ways to get these boys what they need!

I have been so inspired by the boys in this program that this weekend I decided it is time to bring on some girls! I am not able to create an educational program just yet but Kendall and I have invited a young girl named Marba to meet us at the church on Monday and we will be waiting with nail polish to have a genuine girl experienceJ.  We challenged her to bring four friends; the incentive is Bojangles so I feel like she will surely deliver! I have seen great growth in the boys in the few short weeks I have been here and I have heard from Harrison and the other teachers about the beauty and the growth they have seen in each of the boys as they have worked with them over the last six months. What an opportunity we have been blessed with. 

For right now we are working towards getting to know some girls in the community of French Harbor.  In the time I have been here I found that culturally the women tend to stay closer to home.  The boys that come to mentoring are always out running around and making their way around town and the girls just aren’t as visible. My goal is to reach out to them so they trust to come away from their immediate comforts just as I have in my journey to Roatan.  To show them how beautiful the world is, to show them a world that is bigger than the one they know! I am excited to see them, to know them and to love them.  We are going to try to pave the road for an organic growth of a girls program, a program that will hopefully empower them to build healthy, meaningful relationships.   

Big Stuff! I feel energy coming through my finger tips and I can’t wait to continue this work!  

I was contacted by a friend recently after I posted one of my first blogs about the mentoring program.  She reminded me that I asked for suggestions, help and support to better the program.  She suggested that we set up a pay pal account for financial support.  So here goes! Wow, the way things fall into place!

HELLO WALMART

What a beautiful weekend we had! Once again my limits were stretched.  I rose to the challenge and went forward! Jumped off some rocks, went white water rafting and climbed an intense climb to a 60 meter tall waterfall.  That is big stuff for me! Oh and did I mention that I did all of this on a cold and rainy afternoon!

I was listening to someone talk last night about a story in the bible from Matthew.  I was raised Episcopalian and don’t know a whole lot about the bible so when I hear these stories as an adult it is really like hearing them for the first time. They spoke about the story where they feed 5,000 with only a small amount of bread and fish.  The person sharing brought it to life by explaining that even the smallest things we do, if we give them to God they will be glorified and we will get what we need.  That’s good stuff, right? So it was a mission group from CA that was working through this devotion and it really made sense to me from their perspective.   I mean they are coming here for a week and cramming as much work as they can into that one week.  They are trying to impact as many people in that week as possible, but then what…they just leave and go back to their regular lives. 

The last mission group that was here talked a lot about inconsistency (referring to working with children during their time here). There were criticisms about working with children because they felt as though they were becoming a part of the constant inconsistency that these children feel. People from cruise ships get off the boat, get a tour guide to bring them to a children’s home unload five giant boxes of candy and leave two hours later. Mission groups come and go, volunteers come and go.  Inconsistency is a part of their reality, which sucks…but each person that walks through the door of a children’s home is doing a small mission of a larger goal. Each person will leave at least knowing there are beautiful children in a children’s home in Roatan, Honduras.  That’s more then when they walked in. 

I think as Americans we get so caught up in the quantity factor…HELLO WALMART! That we forget about the quality.  If you can manage to wrap your mind around the importance of the small things you have a gift! If you can only manage one small act of kindness, it’s more than no small act of kindness.  If you can only manage giving a little of yourself to someone else, I’m sure that someone else will be thankful.  I promise that these small things are important, they will put a spark in your heart to continue to love and serve others! However that may look for you personally I challenge you to do a little something today and have faith that it will become a big something tomorrow!   

   

My Aaron!

I was thinking to myself this morning about how I have been blog selfish! I have been hogging all the space and airtime for my blog!! If you know me you know how I love my Aaron! 

Over the past three weeks I have watched Aaron grow and learn so much, and it has been an awesome thing to watch.  To see Aaron sit still and just breath in this moment and appreciate it for what it is, to watch his shower addiction slowly fade into the distance, to see him let go of the future for even just a moment to see the present is truly inspiring! I am so excited to see this transformation in his heart.  

Before we left Raleigh...Aaron was so burnt out on work.  He struggled with the direction his life was going, where he found passion, and really questioning what he was doing.  Since we have been in Roatan his eyes and heart are opening slowly to a new understanding of life, comfort and the liberation of serving others.  It is so easy to see service to others by working with children.  It is so obvious to see service by providing food for someone that is hungry.  My Aaron, he doesn't go for the obvious or the easy. (Unlike myself) My Aaron needs a challenge.  We were approached by the pastor in the grocery store and he asked what we did back in the states.  We told him and then he asked what our passions were.  Unfortunately neither of us were to clear on the second question but that is a new can of worms for a new day.  The pastor's eyes got big when he heard of Aaron's finance background.  I was worried at first because I had seen Aaron retract from finance and lose the joy he once knew in it.  We came home that night and I could see that his passion in finance was restored.  

Since college he has known that he loves the concept of finance. It was a challenge and the information is so applicable to everyday life. Over the last while his appreciation for it is dwindled.  There was no heart in what he was doing only head.  When we first arrived he thought of how he could infuse financial knowledge into this community to help the members of the community move forward.  Neither of us were very sure of what that would or could ever look like. The pastor reached out after meeting us once and challenged Aaron to find a way to create a basic financial literacy course for the members of the Church.  He read a Dave Ramsey book and thought it would be a great program to carry out the mission of the church. 

Since Aaron has accepted this challenge I have seen his appreciation for finance restored.  He has found a way to use what he knows in his head and fuse it to what he feels in his heart! What a beautiful thing! Now we just have to figure out how to get people on board, and the materials to keep them there!   

Oh yea! We are going to La Ceiba this weekend to go white water rafting, cliff diving (not me), and waterfall climbing! Fun right? 

 

Giant Tool Box

So I woke up this morning motivated to write! I am excited about so much and hopeful that Aaron and I will be able to continue to work ourselves into these communities and find ways to serve and love more and more people each day. 

Marty and Arty--It has been a beautiful reality of ours over the last two weeks to watch each other’s strengths unfold.  As a married couple we felt so connected in every way and our lives back in Raleigh seemed so perfect.  Now, that we are here in Roatan spending long hours of the day together and working with the same folks and reaching out for the same project we are gaining such a higher level of understanding for one another.  When we were in Raleigh we spent 40 hours a week apart.  In those forty hours we lived two different lives.  We never got to see each other reaching goals and achieving success, struggling and finding solutions.  We didn’t know it but we were missing out on so much.  Having our life’s totally connected has given us the opportunity to glorify one another’s strengths and support one another’s weaknesses. 

We have been going to the Church of God in French Harbor and we were invited to have dinner at the Pastors home with him and his family. We were welcomed into their home so graciously and were able to talk through some ways we can get involved in the church and the needs that exist.  There are some projects that we are excited to get started on this week, taking a look at the strengths and weaknesses of Children’s Church. We are also looking at creating a financial literacy course that will provide individual attention to the families of the church.  (I will let you guys guess who is spearheading which project!)  All the while we are still working together to give the mentoring some TLC.  Sitting around Pastor Paul’s kitchen table we discussed the culture here in Honduras and how there is a lack of ownership and accountability on the large scale.  He was speaking of leaders in the church who have never been given their expectations, who have never been trusted to deliver, who have never been “set up for success”.  He told us of his struggle to empower these folks and give them the tools they need to be confident in their work and find success in that confidence.  A light bulb! This mentoring program is a giant tool box.  We need to give these young boys tools.  They already have the desire to learn and that in itself is a gift from God.  Now we can support them to gain confidence, self-worth, values, forward thinking, faith and a desire to feel success.  What a beautiful opportunity it is to be along for that ride!  

Funny story of the week:

Aaron and I walking up the big hill to the apartments on the back of the property we are living to do some laundry.  Going into the room were the washing machine is, keep in mind the room is partially indoors and partially outdoors.  Of course I am just paying attention to the washing machine and getting my clothes in.  Aaron takes a look around to check things out to make sure nothing crazy is happening in the room.  His eye is caught on a small brown object on the wall…I of course was in la la laundry land when I hear him scream. “OUT OUT, GET OUT !!!!!!!”  Of course I fly into panic mode and scream uncontrollably running with my eyes closed out of the laundry room.  I am interrupted by Aaron saying “it was a bat that flew straight at my head.”  He is interrupted by a slew of laughter coming from the men repairing the roof who have watched the whole thing transpire.  What a great way to start a Tuesday.  

Rockin' Good Job!

Ya’ll.  Let me just tell you.  It is hard to blog! I am trying so hard to keep up with so much! I feel like maintaining communication with all my loved ones has become a part time job.  (a part time job that I love, but still a part time job!)   When talking to Aaron earlier today I said, “you know what I miss most? My cell phone!!” It is so easy to keep up with folks when you can shoot them a text on a break from work, or give them a phone call on your afternoon drive home.

It has been a while since I have blogged.  I am trying to even find a way to fit all of our exciting adventures into one post. 

Let’s begin with Sunday! 20 boys ages 5 to 17, four islanders (me, Aaron, Kendall and Harrison) ;) 12 college students, three cars.  Imagine all of us fitting in three cars, driving a thirty minute drive to the beaches of west bay.  It was quite the adventure.  We went to church on Sunday and upon dismissal from church we were greeted by a group of about 20 boys waiting with their bathing suits on and all ready to go! So we went.  36 people bombarded the beaches of west bay and kept a large group of sun bathing tourist entertained for a good two hours! What a memory that will be, sheer chaos but a great memory. 

Yesterday morning:  Let me just paint this picture, Martha and Aaron on the search for some fresh picked coconuts!

Two Americans + a stick+ a rock+ multiple climbing attempts+ some cheerleading moves + 20 minutes = 0 coconuts.

One islander + a long stick + 30 seconds = Four coconuts.

That’s all I will say about our coconut adventure!

Spent some time in the Roatan public hospital, and boy it was frightening.  We are doing work on the emergency room and have seen the most shocking use (misuse) of medical supplies and the raw reality that the funds and materials are just not something the hospital has access to.  It sucks to see all this but the great thing I have experienced this trip is the mindset of finding solutions.  I am not typically a result or solution oriented person, but I am starting to see the light.  I am gaining the ability to appreciate the present and being a living breathing part of what is happening right now and also recognizing a need and the most efficient way to solve it.  I have seen that feeling sorry and worrying about the folks affected by this lifestyle is a total and complete waste of time.  So I am throwing it out the window, Goodbye sorrow and worry!

Hello happy solutions.

Here’s the deal…Kendall, Aaron and I have had a lot of conversation on the topic of Americans and productivity.  As Americans we feel that our personal value is set by our accomplishments, by what we do.  So if we are not working, or having some deep impact on something we feel worthless.  Is this true? If it is true is it necessarily a bad thing?  After numerous chats I feel like of course there is a lot of gray to explore.  Productivity is a great thing! What I struggle with is, “Why is my idea of productivity shaped by someone else’s opinion.”  This got me thinking about when I was young and my mom would tell me to clean my room. I would stay up there for hours and make a bigger mess than it was when I got there but my drawers would be perfectly folded and color coordinated!  Well at 7 years old I was thinking I did a rockin’ good job! Unfortunately, my mother was less than impressed.  Now fast forward 15 years and I am an adult.  I have been given the tools to decide myself what I value as productivity. I should be able to justify within myself and only myself whether or not I feel productive and the things that make me feel that way.  Why are we so often forced to believe that what we value and what we personally find a victory is somehow less than impressive?  So here in Roatan I am challenging myself to find a new definition of productivity.  What do I do that makes me feel most accomplished without any external pressure?  What really and truly fills my bucket?  

Grape Soda and Doughnuts

My non cautious food consumption has caught up with me.  I have been sick most of the day and hanging out around our new home.  Being home today has forced me to take a long look at what I have done thus far on our adventure.  Since we last spoke I have been introduced to some really neat folks.  Unfortunately, our relationship tends to stop after the introduction.  My Spanish only allows me to convey my name and then I just start to smile a whole lot.  Although the language barrier stands in the way of conversation the folks we met welcomed us into their home with open arms, literally.  We were greeted at the new home build site by a young girl named Susanna who embraced me quickly and smiled up right into my eyes.  We then saw eight puppies playfully dodging our feet.  Another young girl came out of the house to greet us with a baby in her arms.  I expressed interest in her and she smiled and handed me that baby.  I didn’t want to put her down, she was beautiful.  We went into the home to escape the intense heat to find the mother of this family cranking out some doughnuts (which were delicious I might add).  The floors were made of dirt, the walls of scraps found in the streets. The family sat comfortably in the living room as we all shared grape soda and listened to Harrison carry on a conversation with Juliana.  The children were curious and interested to find out who these big, tall, strangers where that entered their home.  We just smiled a lot and they seemed to warm up quickly.   This family sells doughnuts to make money.  The mother (Juliana) makes doughnuts all throughout the day and the young teen daughters go out to sell them.   As I thought to myself later that evening I realized how important hospitality is.  No matter this families circumstance they welcomed us into their home as if we where the president!  Instead of champagne and caviar it was grape soda and doughnuts! (That’s what I’m talking about.)

Exciting news…I think I know part of the reason I am here in Roatan, Honduras!?  Harrison has started a mentoring program on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  The program serves boys who live in the community of French Harbor. These boys have learned how to survive on their own and are probably the most street savvy boys I know.  The program has so much heart and the potential to put each of these boys in a great situation to continue to grow and educate them.  My experience and friendships in Raleigh with the girls that run Community Hope have inspired me to make this my new project.  I have spoken with the folks in charge and they have invited me to continue to grow and build the program so we can remain in the hearts and minds of these young boys.  What an awesome opportunity, right! Luckily these little dudes are mostly bilingual! Otherwise I would be in trouble! Aaron and I have gone to mentoring both days this week and have been able to begin building relationships with these young guys!  I am so anxious to get some things worked out and some planning in action! Here in lies the problemo! We have few supplies and little to no access to the type of educational resources I know from my education experience.  I am working on being creative and I am very open to any suggestions from the peanut gallery.  We are working with boys who are on a seventh grade level and boys who are cannot read the alphabet, and everything in between.  I need help, I need support and I need creative ideas for utilizing common schoolish supplies and turning them into educational tool masterpieces!

I am finding more comfort each day in Roatan.  I am seeking to find my purpose here and it feels good to be walking in the (well, what feels like) the right direction.  Although with each day my comfort level strengthens my eyes are opened more and more to a world I cannot yet understand.  What I thought was my limit of comfort is so far off.  This trip has already begun making a huge impact on my heart and the life that I thought I knew.

 Oh yea, someone teach me how to speak Spanish via the internet.  Please!      

Gecko's in the Morning!

So, I havent taken a shower since I left the states. FOR REAL!  I never know what time it is and all I can see in front of me is the sun coming through the clouds over the ocean.  I am physically sitting at my little plastic kitchen table looking over the tops of some trees and watching the sun come up over a crystal blue body of water! I mean...who gets that lucky!

Ya know, you watch House Hunters International and see those 40 something couples who have been very successful and are able to buy a vacation home in an island paradise and you think (well we always thought) "Man wouldn’t that be awesome to live there!" Well what do you know we have hit the jackpot.  We are in Roatan, our new island paradise! We are sharing our home with gecko’s who by the way are useful house guest and eat the bugs, which coincidentally  always tend to overstay their welcome! They do make a funny noise that has conveniently been my 6am wake up call for the last two mornings!

I am glad that I waited a little after our day of travel to provide my perspective of things clearly.  Our day of travel was better than others we have had but still hectic.  We approached Orlando and saw that we had to go work with TACA airlines. We needed to correct my name on my ticket to be my maiden name to match my passport. No need to explain why we were a little concerned about this experience knowing that TACA was also known as "Take A Chance Airline." There were definitely some issues that had to be sorted out, some unexpected expenses and a lot of trust and faith but in the end we realized that Take a chance Airline did good by us! Instead of thinking of it as a risk, I can now look at it as an opportunity.  (As most of you know...I am a sucker for musicals) It was almost like they looked at us and all broke out into song with the ever classic Mamma Mia show closer..."Take a chance on me." We took a chance with TACA and they took care of us, they knew we trusted them and they delivered in the end!

Our first day was long, but relaxing.  We got situated in our new apartment, cleaned a little and just spent the day exploring the area right around where we live. AKA the pool and ocean! We had a pretty full day decompressing from the last three weeks of crazy town to get us here. Last night, Aaron and I, Harrison and Kendall sat around and literally waited for water to boil.  For about an hour! We had spaghetti and it was DELICIOUS! We exchanged stories and talked through our day.  I said to Harrison, "We have been stalking your life via internet for so long and now we are here and living it and seeing it!" We finally met his boys, his boys that he has touched so deeply.  The boy's whose trust he earned and hasn’t looked away since. The boys who welcomed us into what they call 'class' took me out back and showed me where to look to see Iguana! We met the boys! Good stuff!

 So, we are walking into the first Wednesday of our lives here in Roatan with a busy schedule ahead! Kendall took the day off of work, and Harrison only works until 12 and so we will begin exploration then. Kendall has been our saving Grace.  She lives right up at the end of the road and takes care of us well! We are headed off to a place called 'Gumba Lumba (or maybe vice versa) Park' today.  She said we would have monkeys all over us.  Harrison asked if we could swim, which is a way more loaded question than its surface inquisition! He follows that question with "Can you swim a half a mile?" and then asks again "Can you swim a quarter of a mile?"  All of these questions leading up to a proposal for today’s activities..."We can swim from Roatan to this other island and it’s only like a quarter of a mile or so." So today's agenda is looking like monkey's and swimming in the open ocean, hopefully without any new wildlife friends!  

First Lesson Learned: A plastic kitchen table, a bed, a few plastic chairs and small countertop cabinet is all the furniture you need to live!