December 2014 I was in Roatan riding the waves in on the Carnival Dream cruise ship. It was absolutely beautiful from what I saw. I only stayed by Mahogany Bay, which is the cruise port, so in reality I knew nothing about Roatan except that it was in Honduras.
(Me and dad in Roatan 2014)
I would have never in a million years guess that he would call me back to the island. It took almost 40 hours to get here from Chinandega, Nicaragua because of many complications on the road, I.e. 5 hour hold up at the border because of ur ukuleles being suspicious, bus break down, getting a little lost, etc. Eventually I rode into Roatan on the Galaxy wave (the ferry). I was very welcomingly picked up by my hosts Susie and Gary and immediately taken to Bojangles to eat some fried chicken, fries, biscuit, and some Coke. I mean come on… coming from a New Orleans girl craving Popeyes, that’s probably one of the best welcomes ever.
This month I’m teaching 3rd grade at a bilingual school. The kids in my class have shown me so much love as well and I’m so going to miss them. It’s been such an incredible privilege to teach them and also have them teach me. They are filled with so much joy and free spirits. It’s also where we are staying. Previous months we’ve been graciously provided bunks to sleep in. This is my first month putting my gear to use. We are sleeping in the classrooms on our sleeping pads. As easy as it could be to complain, I was actually excited to utilize the gear I brought and fully understand what it meant to live out of my bag.
My ministry host mom is a traveling nurse from Tennessee to Roatan who works in a lot of the clinics and hospitals out here, my host dad is a pastor and does many other things to help around the community. Sunday we went to there church out here, Church of God, and met lots of people out here. The island is such a mixture. There’s Spanish speakers but also a lot of English islanders. Most of the people at the church I met were English islanders, although they speak English, it’s very different. It’s serious island talk. It has such a kick to it. Saying this brings me to introduce my new friend Sherman.
He is such a cute little man with such a strong island accent and a man of many wonders. When he was 27 he broke his back in a boating accident (a drunk driver hit him and nearly paralyzed him) but that didn’t stop him. Since then he has hand built hundreds of boats (I rode/drove one), has an iguana farm with hundreds of iguanas and monkeys, he’s a sheriff on the water and loves Jesus. He’s amazing and so gracious.
Another young guy from church had a sloth farm and took us to hold them and play with the monkeys and macaws. The sloths were such amazing companions. If I ever settle down somewhere, I’m getting a sloth.
Back track a little… so after church on Sunday, Susie took us around town to site see and what not before we started work for the week. Late at night, out last stop was this new restaurant she has never been to yet. We didn’t go to eat, but to see the view of the water. Well about 10 minutes in, the owner came to talk to us and what a small world, he is from Metairie, New Orleans, La. It was weird being able to talk to someone out here about the streets and landmarks right around my house. We talked for a bit and shortly after he said he wanted to invite us to dinner. Knowing we are in a tight budget we kind of looked at each other like “yeah right… we can’t afford this.” So we asked how much everything was and he repeated that he is inviting us, meaning for free. Our jaws dropped in thanks and amazement. After dinner, he invited us to desert. What. Talk about above and beyond. We kept talking and by the end of the night after hearing about our trip, our budget, and our no kitchen set back this month, He invited us to dinner for another night this week and with that we were all astonished. But then… as we leave He said he wanted to bless us and feed us for dinner ever day until we leave. At this point I just wanted to cry. Another humble, man of many many talented, New Orleanian at that, loves Jesus, wants to feed us every day?! Did I forget to mention He’s from New Orleans which means he knows how to cook the most AMAZING home cooked meals.
Let’s back track a little more when I introduced Susie my host mom and said she was a nurse. The past week or so I have been having excruciating chest, heart, esophagus, and stomach pains to where I just don’t know what to do anymore. I thought it was just bad acid reflux but it’s lasted for too long. I have been sick with head colds, sinus, stomach, and this is only month 3. I’ve been pretty discouraged and asking God “why?” and “when will this end?” But at the same time, how could I complain when last month He supplied me with a FREE doctor on our compound and this month with a host whose a nurse. She was able to get me a shot that I needed, test done to make sure it was nothing major, medicine to subside the ulcer, preventive parasite medicine, and nausea medicine for the rest of the year.
As I came into this month already worried about my money, I told myself I wasn’t spending anything but on necessities. I don’t know if you know anything about Roatan, but let’s just say it’s pretty expensive. So coming here with blessings poured out left and right has left me speechless. I’ve been focused with the Hebrew word ‘El Roi’ meaning “the God who sees me” and He has just out shown himself to me through all situations and circumstances. He saw my struggle/new discipline with my money. He saw my sickness. And he has provided. Matthew 6:25-34. How amazing is it that He sees our good days and how amazing is it that He sees our bad days and doesn’t just stop there but He continues to go above and beyond for us. He is tangibly showed me that this month by providing for my sickness and through all the people here. They just want to give. But not once… multiple times. They have shown me what the word grace truly means. When someone does something for you but doesn’t just stop there. They keep going. That’s grace.
I truly believe God sent me here for just that. For Him to reveal his heart to me through the hearts of people here.
