Feliz Año Nuevo 2007
On November 10, 2006 a group of five girls (Kara Smucker, Carolyn McKalips, Ivana DuBose, Lisa Coss, and Adriane Horst) arrived in Honduras as the 06-07 STEP team for BIC. STEP is a short-term mission prog.JPG)
ram run through the Brethren in Christ Church (Hermanos en Cristo).
For the first two days we all stayed en la casa de Tim and Lori Zimmerman, BIC Missionaries who are the directors of STEP. All we did there was sleep and eat, and sleep, and sleep and eat! But that soon changed because after church the first Sunday that we were here we were sent home with our host families from the church.
For some of us that was a poco scary, but no para mi. I was very excited about starting my life with a Honduran family.
My Family (Los Maldonados)
My family here is just that--my family. I am not just a guest in their house or an outsider. I am a part of the family, and I’ve felt that since the first day.
The members of my family are: Momma Tuta. She is a retired teacher of 32 años and is just like most retired people in the States--she usually stays busy. She is a cell group leader of some adults her age, and is thinking about helping begin a school at the church. Sounds like retirement--right?
Carlos, my only brother, who is 28, is a 4th grade
On November 10, 2006 a group of five girls (Kara Smucker, Carolyn McKalips, Ivana DuBose, Lisa Coss, and Adriane Horst) arrived in Honduras as the 06-07 STEP team for BIC. STEP is a short-term mission prog
.JPG)
ram run through the Brethren in Christ Church (Hermanos en Cristo).For the first two days we all stayed en la casa de Tim and Lori Zimmerman, BIC Missionaries who are the directors of STEP. All we did there was sleep and eat, and sleep, and sleep and eat! But that soon changed because after church the first Sunday that we were here we were sent home with our host families from the church.
For some of us that was a poco scary, but no para mi. I was very excited about starting my life with a Honduran family.
My Family (Los Maldonados)
My family here is just that--my family. I am not just a guest in their house or an outsider. I am a part of the family, and I’ve felt that since the first day.
The members of my family are: Momma Tuta. She is a retired teacher of 32 años and is just like most retired people in the States--she usually stays busy. She is a cell group leader of some adults her age, and is thinking about helping begin a school at the church. Sounds like retirement--right?
Carlos, my only brother, who is 28, is a 4th grade
teacher
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He’s the kind of teacher that all parents want their children to have…y por eso there is solo one 4th grade class in his school. This year he is also going to obtain his title of “Lawyer. “
Zully
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Zully is my youngest sister. The day I came to live with them was her 15th birthday. She is in the 9th grade and attends the same school where Carlos teaches. She is becoming a leader in the church. Right now she is a Sunday school helper and a co-leader in a cell group.
Right before Navidad she got her hair and bangs cut and ever since then she has been loca--like just boosts of energy when no one else has any! But she’s cool.
Angela, my older sister, whom I’ve grown to love sooo much, is 26 and has one more year of classes before she graduates with her Masters in Human Resources. In her spare time she also runs a secondhand women’s clothing tienda out of our front patio with Momma Tuta.
Angela is a leader of a sector of cell groups and a Sunday school teacher. She used to be a part of the praise team, but not right now. But she does preach. You go girl!
Zully
.JPG)
Zully is my youngest sister. The day I came to live with them was her 15th birthday. She is in the 9th grade and attends the same school where Carlos teaches. She is becoming a leader in the church. Right now she is a Sunday school helper and a co-leader in a cell group.
Right before Navidad she got her hair and bangs cut and ever since then she has been loca--like just boosts of energy when no one else has any! But she’s cool.
Angela, my older sister, whom I’ve grown to love sooo much, is 26 and has one more year of classes before she graduates with her Masters in Human Resources. In her spare time she also runs a secondhand women’s clothing tienda out of our front patio with Momma Tuta.
Angela is a leader of a sector of cell groups and a Sunday school teacher. She used to be a part of the praise team, but not right now. But she does preach. You go girl!
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Every Domingo after church we go to la casa of our grandparents and eat lunch with them--aunts, uncles and cousins. They have accepted me as a part of the family too. Gracias a Dios.
Over these past two months I’ve grown to really love my family and pray that some day they will have the chance to meet my family in the States.
The Church ( La Iglesia)
The church that we attend down here is a BIC church Hermanos en Cristo (Brothers in Christ). The pastor is Marcos and God has blessed him with a great church. We love being a part of the Latin Body of Christ. It’s so nice. There are four services cada Sunday at 9:00, 2:00, 4:00 y 6:00, and then on Tue. Wed. y Thurs. nights there are prayer meetings.
There is no established youth group that we are a part of but there are cell groups that I mentioned earlier. They are mostly designated by age so we are with youth every week, but not like we know it in the States.
this is the new church
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A great difference that is evident because there is not a huge division between the adults and youth is that there are many young leaders highly respected. Down here age really doesn’t separate you from anything.
For the past four years they have been building a new church building that is big enough to hold all of the people in one service. We’ve had two services there and we are praying that the money will come in to finish it enough that we can begin having services there on regular basis while we are still in Honduras.
Clase de Español
For the past two months of our lives here we STEP chicas have been having Spanish class Mon.-Fri. (with most Wednesday mornings off) from 8-12:00 at Amanda’s home with Lilia and Karla coming every day to teach us español.
Amanda was Kara’s teacher, Lilia was Adriane y Carolyn’s teacher, and Karla was the teacher for Lisa and me. Today, January 5, was our last day and it was un poco sad because after spending that much time with the same people you get close. They have seen us on good and bad days and even after all that they still love us. They were like extended family to me and now I’m not sure the next time we will be able to see them.
FUN, FUN, FUN!
Things that we have been able to do for fun since we’ve been here are…
Pacto con Cristo (Covenant with Christ). That is a weekend of very intense ministry time with 100 people from the church that happens mas o menos every year.
God did some amazing things in our lives during that time. He humbled me big time while, on the last day, all of the leaders washed our feet, like Jesus did for His disciples. I understand Peter when he didn’t want Jesus to do that for him. It is the most uncomfortable thing that has happened to me yet. But God got me to a different level of understanding His Love for me.
Copan is a city in Honduras that is famous for the Maya Indian ruins. We had the opportunity to go there for two days, and WOW! was that nice. We ate so much food that by the end of that trip eating was a chore not a pleasure and definitely not a necessity.
NOW AND NEAR FUTURE
We are going to the campo (very rural area) for the next week to do four-day Vacation Bible School programs for the BIC churches there. Please pray for that. When I say rural I’m not kidding! The first place we are going to we have to walk for an hour before we get to the town because there is no road.
We are going to be leaving the country two days after we get back from that trip to renew our visas in Costa Rica. When we return we will begin working with the school for the children who live and work in the dump.
Message from Beth Wolsey: Pray for Ivana and her prayer requests, and get that financial help in the mail! If you want to contact her or look at more pictures try her
E-mail: Gods_gracious_gift@msn.com or Blog: http://www.gozoenhonduras.blogspot.com/.
Mail: Please follow these guidelines for sending packages to Honduras--padded envelopes work well or boxes no larger than ½ gallon orange juice container; letters and packages must be addressed to:
Tim & Lori Zimmerman
Ivana DuBose
Apartado 15005 CP 11105
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Central America
PLEASE PRAY: The prayers the of righteous are highly effective
-Ade has been diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. She is 18 and not very happy about that.
-the ministry time we have in the campo
-that our Spanish will continue to improve
-that pride and jealousy do not have a place in the team
-that we can all prioritize our lives according to the Word of God…Him first!
-Tim and Lori are going through some things here and they also have a 3-yr.-old niece who has a brain tumor surrounding her brain.
-for safety
-that the relationships that we cultivate here are pleasing to God and that we are the women of God that we need to be
-that we don’t lose sight of why we are here--it’s not about boys or a vacation but to be the light of the world and to do good works so that our Father in heaven can get the glory.
A great difference that is evident because there is not a huge division between the adults and youth is that there are many young leaders highly respected. Down here age really doesn’t separate you from anything.
For the past four years they have been building a new church building that is big enough to hold all of the people in one service. We’ve had two services there and we are praying that the money will come in to finish it enough that we can begin having services there on regular basis while we are still in Honduras.
Clase de Español
For the past two months of our lives here we STEP chicas have been having Spanish class Mon.-Fri. (with most Wednesday mornings off) from 8-12:00 at Amanda’s home with Lilia and Karla coming every day to teach us español.
Amanda was Kara’s teacher, Lilia was Adriane y Carolyn’s teacher, and Karla was the teacher for Lisa and me. Today, January 5, was our last day and it was un poco sad because after spending that much time with the same people you get close. They have seen us on good and bad days and even after all that they still love us. They were like extended family to me and now I’m not sure the next time we will be able to see them.
FUN, FUN, FUN!
Things that we have been able to do for fun since we’ve been here are…
Pacto con Cristo (Covenant with Christ). That is a weekend of very intense ministry time with 100 people from the church that happens mas o menos every year.
God did some amazing things in our lives during that time. He humbled me big time while, on the last day, all of the leaders washed our feet, like Jesus did for His disciples. I understand Peter when he didn’t want Jesus to do that for him. It is the most uncomfortable thing that has happened to me yet. But God got me to a different level of understanding His Love for me.
Copan is a city in Honduras that is famous for the Maya Indian ruins. We had the opportunity to go there for two days, and WOW! was that nice. We ate so much food that by the end of that trip eating was a chore not a pleasure and definitely not a necessity.
NOW AND NEAR FUTURE
We are going to the campo (very rural area) for the next week to do four-day Vacation Bible School programs for the BIC churches there. Please pray for that. When I say rural I’m not kidding! The first place we are going to we have to walk for an hour before we get to the town because there is no road.
We are going to be leaving the country two days after we get back from that trip to renew our visas in Costa Rica. When we return we will begin working with the school for the children who live and work in the dump.
Message from Beth Wolsey: Pray for Ivana and her prayer requests, and get that financial help in the mail! If you want to contact her or look at more pictures try her
E-mail: Gods_gracious_gift@msn.com or Blog: http://www.gozoenhonduras.blogspot.com/.
Mail: Please follow these guidelines for sending packages to Honduras--padded envelopes work well or boxes no larger than ½ gallon orange juice container; letters and packages must be addressed to:
Tim & Lori Zimmerman
Ivana DuBose
Apartado 15005 CP 11105
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Central America
PLEASE PRAY: The prayers the of righteous are highly effective
-Ade has been diagnosed as a pre-diabetic. She is 18 and not very happy about that.
-the ministry time we have in the campo
-that our Spanish will continue to improve
-that pride and jealousy do not have a place in the team
-that we can all prioritize our lives according to the Word of God…Him first!
-Tim and Lori are going through some things here and they also have a 3-yr.-old niece who has a brain tumor surrounding her brain.
-for safety
-that the relationships that we cultivate here are pleasing to God and that we are the women of God that we need to be
-that we don’t lose sight of why we are here--it’s not about boys or a vacation but to be the light of the world and to do good works so that our Father in heaven can get the glory.
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