Ok, so you’re a newcomer to my site. You see pictures of children in Peru, yet hear of my eventual move to Honduras. I can see how this might be confusing. So, to clear things up…ahem…
My Story:
My first experience doing missions in a Spanish speaking country was around 2004, where I spent six months in Guadalajara, Mexico. At the end of my stay there, I couldn’t wait to get home. I thought, ‘Shouldn’t I be more sad to leave these people behind?’ Many similar experiences would follow. In my head, it would go something like this, ‘Well, I’m fluent in Spanish, and I’m a Christian, so I should really consider doing some missions.’ The thing is, I was never sad to leave and never truly enjoyed my time there. I wasn’t passionate about anyone’s eternal soul, it was just about enduring it so I could get home. Great reason to be a missionary, right?
Well, fast forward to my first trip to Puerto Alegria, Peru, in the summer of 2008. The children: 40 boys who had formerly been abandoned, neglected or abused in some way. The place: about 30 miles (boat miles, that is) outside the jungle city of Iquitos. The journey: about 1 1/2 days. It only took a week for me to fall in with the boys I encountered there, in this home in the middle of the Amazon Jungle. It was hot, mosquitoes were everywhere, there was no electricity…and I didn’t want to leave. I knew something in me had changed.
Several more trips like that would follow. After each trip, I was always asking myself and the Lord if he had something more for me, like something for a longer period of time. I looked and looked for an opportunity that seemed to fit. In November of 2009, I participated in a “Vision Retreat” through Mission to the World, wherein I would explore whether God might have me work with abandoned children for a longer term. He was silent and vocal all at the same time. I met Mike Pettengill, the team leader for Honduras, and felt instantly drawn to know more about the work they were doing there.
In March of 2010, I took a trip down to see the ministry in La Ceiba. I didn’t know what God would say, but I was ready to listen. I spent a week with The Pettengills and saw a typical week in the life of a missionary family. It was nothing spectacular. Just life. I knew I wanted to invest in the street children wherever I ended up. Team Honduras had already established a vision of reaching the street children in the area, and were praying for someone to come and carry that vision along. Well, folks, that’s me. God has confirmed it in more ways than I can even write.
I chose the name, “A Voice in the Streets”, not only because I want to be a voice proclaiming God’s truth to them, but also because I want to be their voice to you. You see, these children are voiceless. They have no way of telling their stories, of letting the world know who they are. I will be their voice for you.
So now begins the journey of support raising and a hopeful August 2011 departure date. I can’t wait.
PS–These are all pictures of children in HONDURAS. Just to clear that up.
