Well, it started a long, long time ago-- actually, not that long. Really, just about 10ish years ago when my sister, Leslie, graduated high school and went on a foreign mission trip to Honduras with a local church. She absolutely loved it and fell in love with the people there and the work God is doing. So she kept going back. The second time she went, she stayed for three weeks with a missionary friend of ours in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Leslie came back, but she was missing one thing- her heart. Sounds cheesy I know, but its for real. If you ever get to talk to her about her passion for Honduras and the orphaned and needy kids there, you'll see it. That trip was her moment. Her moment, when God told her: "this is where I want you to come back and serve and love these people and tell them about Me. Don't worry about when, I'll let you know." The last handful of times it has been with a organization in Chattanooga, TN (close to my hometown) called Forgotten Children's Ministries (FCM). This wonderful organization has an orphanage right outside the capital, Tegucigalpa. (Actually, not all the children are out on the farm yet, they are still in the process of some of the construction for the little boys and girls' homes. Currently the little boys and girls are in their homes in the city. But that's another story.).
Fast forward several years to 2012, Leslie married Jeff (in 2009) and got sweet, little Lucy (2009 also), and they decided, as a family, that God was telling them it was time for them to start getting things together to officially become members of FCM's family of missionaries! Leslie had been waiting for so so long to finally hear God say, "it's time", and she couldn't wait. But first, they had to raise their funds. Since FCM is a non-profit organization all missionaries have to find people, churches, groups to be their sponsors, to support them while on the mission field. The next thing to do, before going to Honduras full-time, is to go to language school in Costa Rica where they would learn Spanish and be fluent (or enough) to speak with Hondurans without needing a translator. Now we're caught up with the current. They still have a few weeks left of school and they have a huge exit exam (oral and written) that they have to take before heading back States-side. *give them huge prayers for the exams for sure* Once they're back in the States, they'll get to see family, friends, and visit with those that are sponsoring them, and hopefully gain some more people that God has spoken to them to support them financially. And let me tell you, it ain't cheap living over in Honduras. For one, they have to live in a secure neighborhood (with gates and guards, all that), buy cars there (*ouch*), not to mention the usual groceries and bills to pay.
The security is crucial because Honduras is a rather unstable, third-world country and is over-run with drug gangs and their violence. Before you start thinking of gangs, drugs, and violence here-- let me stop you, its nothing like that and ten times worse. No exaggeration. I'll even give you a story: During one of my trips down there, with Leslie and Jeff and a mission team, we were riding our bus through the capital, "Tegus", so we could get to the mountains where there were some people we were going to give out beans and rice, love on them, and pray for them. Well, we ended up getting stuck in traffic. To paint a picture for you, imagine what, in the States, would be 3 lanes of traffic was actually 5 lanes in Honduras, and I'm not even counting the numerous motorcycles. They have their own lanes: between all the large vehicles driving. While being stopped, children and adults go from vehicle to vehicle trying to sell various things, like food or whatever kind of goods they might be able to make money from. On the sidewalks at various stations, there are soldiers with their AK-47s, watching. Not to mention all the drivers constantly talking to each other with their car horns. There's never a quiet drive in Honduras ;) If you look up ahead, but soon-to-be beside since we were slowly moving, there's a few cop cars (no different from the ones in America) around a roped off section with crime scene tape with a taxi cab inside the perimeter. As you get close, you see people being put in body bags by police officers. And there's something strange about those working the crime scene, and you realize fairly quickly that they're all wearing masks so it's impossible to identify who they are-- that, my friend, is for their protection. We come to find out a little later on in the day that it had been a gang related crime. The story is that a leader of a gang had just been released from prison, and got in a taxi with another random person. The one(s) that had been leading the gang while he was in jail found out he had been released. So they found the taxi he was in, shot him, the driver, and the other random passenger. Sad play of events, but with that said, not everything in Honduras is terrible. They have some of the most beautiful mountains you've ever seen, and sweet people that just need to hear the hope and love of Jesus.
Back to what I was saying, I'm so pumped to get to see them and spend some time with them (and let them see my chickies of course!). Fortunately, people that created Skype and Viber are geniuses; plus, Brandon and I were able to fly down and visit for a little while in July! So we haven't had to be completely without them. By February, they are hoping to have the rest of their support raised, and they'll be flying out to Honduras, yet again; except this time it's to stay for as long as God needs them there :) They will be working with the kids in the orphanage, as well as the mission teams from the States that come down, the people in the country that are in such desperate need of hearing the Word of God, and whatever else is needed to be done for the ministry and for Jesus.
If you're curious to know more about Jeff and Leslie and their adventures in Costa Rica (and soon-to-be those in Honduras), here's their blog!
And, if you feel God whispering to you to maybe help them out, whether praying (tell them on their blog!) or financially, don't hesitate!
Now you can't forget about Lucy, sweet, loving, puppy (even thought she's not really a puppy anymore). She has a cute blog herself! If you have little ones, they'll love the stories she tells-- plus! they're educational, fun, and with a touch of Jesus. But hey, us adults love Lucy's adventures as much as the kids do. You gotta check it out!
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