Rerouting

Please go to www.avoiceinthestreets.wordpress.com.

Same blog, different address.  From now on, I will be posting ONLY on that site.  And all the same content is there, too.  So why worry with this one?  Bye bye, Kate’s Back Porch.

And so it begins…

I know I haven’t posted in a bit longer than usual, but so much has been happening and I wanted it to be a sure thing before I announced….I have been accepted as a full-time missionary to Honduras. Feel free to let out a whoop, whoop!  I will be going through Mission to the World, joining a group of ten adults.  My primary focus will be, you guessed it, street children.  I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for me.  For this next year, my TWO jobs will be teaching fourth graders and building a support team.  Later posts about the importance of a support team are sure to come.  But, just wanted to spread the word.  Please pray for me and with me as I begin this process!

Oh, and please be sure to check out the pages links at the top.

a typical city street in La Ceiba

Goin’ to Peru

to see this...

and this...

and last but not least, this...

If you’re looking for me, I’m in the jungles of Peru.  Until next Sunday at least.  A little math for you….

sweat + 5 am rooster call + mosquitoes + 40 precious boys = HEAVEN.

An Awkward Night

Ok, so I don’t know what happened to me tonight, but it began and ended with a string of very awkward events.  Each one perpetuated by yours truly.  I mean, not that I’m not normally awkward, but tonight, I hit the pinnacle of awkwardness.   Have I used the word awkward enough yet?

Act 1:  The Valet Guys

I pull up at the party I was going to, and for some CRAZY reason, I decide to valet park.  I never valet because I think it’s a waste of money.  Anyway, the valet guy comes up and I get out of the car without putting it in park.  I have to jump back in to stop the car from running into the parked car in front of it.  I tell said valet guy that I know he’s going to talk about me and make fun of me after I’m gone.

Act 2: The Party

This party was a benefit for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (which my nephew has).  It was at an art gallery.  There was a painting [explicit] there that I decided to keep pointing out until I finally got the hint that people did not want to talk about this painting.  Awkward.

Act 3:  The Valet Guys Again

So Amanda Blake and I decide it’s time to leave.  I give the valet guy my ticket and a few minutes later he pulls up with my car.  I hand him my two-dollar tip, but oops, I forgot something inside, so I run back in.  When I return, he says, “Um, you just gave me this.”  He hands me the PERUVIAN money I had accidentally pulled out of my purse to give him.  But wait, Act 3 is not over.  I get into the car and then run over the little orange cone.  Now I KNOW they talked about me after that.

Act 3: Deanna’s Birthday Party (I promise I’m not usually this popular)

So I arrive at her party and see my dear friend Kali holding a baby (not her baby).  I walk over to her and tell her (laughing as if this is hilarious) that I thought for a second that she had brought her dog to the party.  (She brings her little doggie around with her a lot)  Ha ha.  How funny!  Yes, Mom and Dad of precious baby are standing there.  Did I just say their baby looks like a dog?  Of course not, because their little baby is adorable.  But, of course, I have to say the FIRST thing that pops into my head.

And the night ended with a group of us laughing at the hilarious pictures on www.awkwardfamilyphotos.com.  I mean, what better way to end an awkward night?

Extra-curricular

This video makes me happy.

Here in the US, we find extra-curricular activities for our kids.  What is my child good at?  Oh, honey, you’re not good at this.  Well, let’s try that.

We may try softball, baseball, karate…whatever we have to do so our children feel that they have something to identify themselves with.  In the third world, this concept is completely unfamiliar, especially when many of the children in the third world are not even in school.  Life is about survival.

So I found this video on this guy’s blog who works with children in a garbage dump community in San Jose, Costa Rica.  He has found ways for these kids to have fun and just be kids.  This is a video of some of them doing some breakdancing. (It reminds me of the goosebumps I get whenever my boys in Peru do their “choreographies”)  Enjoy!

And of course, I felt the need to post this video of our boys in Peru doing some of their dances.  It’s a long one, but if you watch the first few minutes, you’ll get to see some of their impromptu dancing.

Easter Photos

My sister Liz's kids, whom she calls Peanut (oldest), Butter (middle) and Crunch (youngest).

And Emily's (middle sister) kids. Couldn't get a picture with Beau looking up, so you'll have to imagine the preciousness of his face.

Sara's birthday fell on Easter this year, so we did some celebrating.

Banks post-birthday cake.

Couldn't resist posting this one.

Easter egg hunt.

Mil-Mil

What holiday is complete without an afternoon nap?

Honduran Reflections

So I’m ready to write about my time in Honduras.  It always takes me a while to process what I’m thinking and feeling.  So…

My time there was not magical.  It was not an emotional, i’m-helping-the-least-of-these, high.  I did get to see their ministry in the poor community outside of La Ceiba.  I got to participate in the Kids’ Club, Medical Clinic and English class.  I got to see the properties they’ve bought and hear their visions for the future.  But most of all, it was a picture into the daily lives of a missionary family.  It was going to the post office, grocery shopping, cooking and hanging out with other missionaries in town.  It was candid conversations with Mike and Erin about the ins and outs of living and ministering in a foreign country.  I got to meet and hang out with the other family, the McCanns as well.  It was exactly what I wanted and needed to see.

When I arrived home, I prayed.  A lot.  I have felt the Lord nudging me towards Honduras.  I am not certain that Honduras is where I’ll be a year from now, but I am confident about taking the first steps.  Now those of you who really know me will know what a huge deal this is.  This means I will not be in Peru.  The fact that my heart is even open to that is evidence of the Lord’s hand in this.

The first step is an Interview and Orientation week at the MTW office in Atlanta.  This takes place June 14th, which means I will have to give up my plans to spend the summer with the boys in Peru.  I know, you’re gasping right now.  (I’ll still go to see them, but just not for the whole summer)  It’s pretty unbelievable that I didn’t hesitate in giving that up.  The Lord has confirmed this first step in many ways.

So please pray for me as I discern the Lord’s will for me.  I am excited to see what the future holds!

Places and Faces:

The property in downtown La Ceiba that will eventually be a school, a dorm facility for visiting teams and a drop-in center for street children. (this is my heart!) Oh, and the horse is not part of the package.

Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins. Right around the corner!

This is where I'll go when I get the urge to take a swim in some poopy, contaminated water. It's also where I'll take all unsuspecting gringo visitors.

Does he look angry to you?

Oneida.

George, who is receiving scholarship money to go to school.

Love that crooked smile.

Photos

I’m back from Honduras.  As usual, I can’t really articulate what I’m feeling about what I saw and experienced, so I’m posting some pictures.  More thoughts and musings are sure to come.  In time.  The following pictures are of the weekly Kids’ Club, Medical Clinic and just some kid craziness.

The kids listen intently as Sean gives the Kids' Club lesson for the day. They have Kids' Club every Tuesday.

Benches magically convert into desks as the kids get ready for the activity.

Medicines waiting to be distributed at the weekly medical clinic.

People arrive at 8am to get a chance to be seen. (Clinic starts at 10:00)

Precious little girl getting her ears cleaned. Poor baby!

I don't know his name, but he sure is a cutie!

This is Adonai. Mischief, mischief, mischief.

Adan did not want to be photographed. But I got him!

Girls being girls.

See ya!

I’m off to Honduras for the week.  I know what you’re thinking, “There she goes again.”  But I just can’t help myself.  They’re calling me…

A little bit of background—

I went to a mission conference with Mission to the World back in November. I met a man, Mike Pettengill, who is the leader of the ministry in La Ceiba, Honduras.  He lives down there with his wife Erin and their daughter Madison. They are serving alongside Sean and Lindsey McCann and are expecting two more couples and some single folks in the next year.

Long-term missions is something that is always in the back of my mind.  If you’ve read my blog at all, you know about my heart for my precious boys in Peru.  However, the option for being there long-term is not there.  So, as of late I have been thinking maybe I need to branch out a bit and see some ministries in other places.

You may call this trip to Honduras a vision trip.  I’ll be visiting and encouraging this missionary family as well as seeing what their daily lives look like as they serve in a poor community outside of La Ceiba, Honduras.  Oh, and here’s the best part: God provided the funds for them to buy a plot of land that they are drawing up plans to build on.  It will serve as a school, a dorm for mission groups and….[insert drum roll]……a drop-in center for street children!  My heart!

I have no idea what the Lord has for me.  By no means do I feel a certain or sure calling to serve long-term on the mission field.  But my heart yearns enough for  it that it’s worth exploring with a bit more fervor.

Here’s a summary of the work done in La Ceiba in 2009.

And here’s a video of the property in downtown La Ceiba that will eventually be a school, dorm and a drop in center for street children.

Moving on

“So, what do you want to do when you leave here?” I ask.

“I want to study accounting,” Ronald answers decisively.

“Do you want to go to Iquitos?” I ask him.

“Well, if I say I don’t, I still have to go.”  he replies.  I know he doesn’t want to go.  I know because he’s told me.

Ronald is now old enough to move away from the only home he’s known for the past four years. Although I know that God loves him far more than I do and is certainly capable of taking care of him, I am still afraid for him.  This will be the first time he’s really had to stand on his own two feet.

We discuss him making the truths that he’s been taught his own.  I ask prodding questions, trying to see if he really understands the Gospel and has a personal relationship with Christ.  We talk about the sufficiency of Christ, about making mistakes, and how God forgives and restores if we are his children.  And, of course, I give my usual warnings related to girls.  He’s a handsome guy and I know he’ll have his share of temptation.

Although Ronald will be a part of the Casa de los Tigres program (a halfway house run by Scripture Union in Iquitos) and will be watched over and discipled, he’ll still have more freedom than he’s known in a while.

Pray for Ronald and Jesus, who’ll also be going with him.  Pray that they will be wise in their decisions and that God will be merciful to them in providing protection for them.  Pray that they’ll continue to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and that, one day, they’ll both be a part of spiritual restoration in the city of Iquitos.  Bless them.