Redirection - Big News

God has a way of redirecting our lives, and sometimes its when we least expect it. So it is with a heavy heart I tell you all I am finishing up my time here in Honduras at the end of the year. I will be heading back to the states around December 15th.

I have no idea what is next, but I have faith in God's plan and where He is leading me.

God has such an incredibly beautiful way of surprising us with His plans, but it is usually so much better than we can imagine.

For example, I would have never imagined living in Honduras for almost four years and watching these boys grow up, and at the same time seeing myself mature in the process. I have learned more in the past few years than I could have ever hoped for, and I know this experience has changed the way I view life, people, and myself.

God has blessed me enormously through my Jovenes en Camino family, and I pray that I have done some good and made a difference here as well.

All there is left to do is ask for your prayers for the upcoming months. The transition for me will be sad and very difficult. I feel as if this is a second home for me. I have made a life here - I have a house, a dog, bills, a car, friends and a family. Right now I simply cannot imagine not seeing these boys' faces each and every day. It has become something that motivates me and encourages me to work hard for both them and for God. I have said it time and time again, I feel so blessed to be so young and have worked in a place where I am passionate about the mission. I know many people wait a long time to do that, so thank you, Lord, for that blessing.

Please pray for the boys, their future, and their understanding of my leaving. I would never want them to think it is because I don't want to be with them, continue to watch them grow and mature, or hug them as much as possible. I selfishly hope and pray they don't forget about me.

I find peace in knowing God is in this place and constantly working on their hearts.
I find peace in knowing this change is part of God's plan for me.
I find peace knowing I will return to live close to my loved ones and watch my nephew grow up.
While in many ways I am struggling to see the big picture, I find peace in knowing and trusting God.

Thank you so much for all your support over the past three and a half years. I have seen and experienced so many beautiful things, and I would never have been able to do this without the financial support of my church and many friends I have met along the way. Thank you for your love for the boys, especially those who don't know them and simply love them because I do. That means so much to me.

Thank you, Lord, for this incredible journey.

Grace

Sometimes when I go awhile without posting, its usually because things are going really well, or I'm really busy. This time its both. I'm currently home in Nashville awaiting the arrival of my first nephew. My parents are going to be grandparents and my brother a dad - all for the first time. It's a major milestone for us. I am so grateful to be able to come home and share this time with my family.

Another huge blessing for my soul is spending time worshipping at my home church. I owe a lot to God for placing my family and me in such a loving church. The people who love me there support me, pray for me, and encourage me.

In Sunday's sermon our preacher Chris mentioned how the upcoming series will be on grace. Mainly on how we would react as people if we truly believed in grace.

I have messed up many times, but through those mistakes I've witnessed grace. It is such a beautiful concept, but it is also extremely confusing. I think as a human and a sinner, it's almost impossible for me to understand God's grace, but we can always try.

Therefore I believe if I truly believed in grace, I would never worry. We spend so much time as humans worrying. Worrying about our jobs, our future, our love lives, etc. And God clearly tells us His grace is free and it is undeserved. If I truly believed in grace, I would walk this earth content with what each day held and never wish for more.

Being a type-A personality myself, I love to plan and dream of the future. I don't have a five year plan or know what/where I want to be in a few years, but I would be lying if I said I don't constantly think about "what's next" in my life. This leads to worrying, and it gets me no where.

In a culture (Honduras) where people teach more about being proud and strong rather than humble, it is so difficult to teach this concept to these boys. I cannot count how many times I tell them humility is my favorite quality in a person. It's a foreign idea to them, but its a quality I see so clearly in Jesus and His followers. It's a quality that I so deeply want to see daily in myself.

So that's my answer to Chris' question this week.

If I truly believed in grace (and if I fully understood it), I would spend my days worrying less about my earthly troubles and focusing more on my heavenly future. 

I think that's a good goal for the rest of this year, right? 

Thank you, Lord, for your grace. You are so good to us.

2 6 Y E A R S O L D

Well I did it. I have completely finished 25 years of life. I can't believe how quickly time flew by this year - just another reason to cherish what each day brings. 

last year's celebration - birthday twin, Dudley Chancey

After celebrating another milestone in my life - 3 years in Honduras - I would say I have been tremendously blessed the past 25 years. I have lived a quarter of a century, and this life has already been more than I could ever imagine or desire. 

this time last year

Since graduating college I have had lots of time to reflect and look back at how I have done things. I think everyone feels there are things you would have done differently, but I am happy to say I have no regrets. Mistakes have been made, but I have grown from them. Challenges have been many, but God was with me every step of the way. 

Being away from my family has made me appreciate and love them more. Living in a different culture has made me appreciate how lucky I was to grow up the way I did. And having been surrounded by people who love me my entire life has only made me want to love others more. 

So here’s to 26! I think it will be an amazing year....

It’s true what they say - life only gets better with age.  

25 things I loved in my 25th year

•  Being able to tell people I was a quarter of a century old
•  Forgetting that I was 25 and telling people I was 24
•  Feeling good about being halfway to 50
•  Getting to go home several times
•  Seeing my brother get married

•  My parents coming to visit me in Honduras
•  Spending NYE at Jovenes
•  Making new friendships in Honduras
•  Traveling to Roatan for Thanksgiving (it rained all trip, but was still great!)
•  Seeing the Mayan Ruins in Copan

Copan Ruins 

•  Spending time with Harpeth Hills in Honduras
•  Going to several Honduran soccer games 
•  Getting to see Nelson finish his first year of high school with all A’s and B’s

Getting ready from 8th grade!

•  Being able to be home for our first annual JEC Fiesta 5k
•  Seeing the green houseparents’ dream finally come true with a new house of their own
•  Becoming a grandma (when poppy had puppies)
•  Getting a new car (one that doesn’t break down every month!)

• Going to the beach for holy week with friends in Nicaragua
• Spending time with several members of the missions committee at Harpeth Hills
• Having Lindy, Scat, Emily and Richy come visit in Honduras
• Seeing some of the boys at JEC wear some of my grandma’s old work jeans (she only wore men’s Levi’s

•  Experiencing the world cup in Honduras
•  Luckily being home for three days and seeing a friend get engaged!
•  Watching God bring sweet, new boys to Jovenes en Camino

And finally, #25 - Living another year healthy, loved, and so blessed 

God is so good. 

Summertime at Jovenes

Well now that summer is technically halfway over, I am well due a blog post about our busiest season. The past few years we have been so blessed to have more and more groups added to our list of annual visitors. It's refreshing to see people come back year after year who continually are blown away by our boys, our staff, and our campus.

poppy and I love futbol

Thus far we have received 13 groups since the last day in May, and during July we are expecting at least that many again. In the first week in June our four summer interns arrived, who coincidentally are all girls from Nashville, TN. These girls are here for June and July and mainly help with summer groups, working with our bilingual boys who are on summer break, and being extra hands when needed.

our interns most photogenic moment

The rainy season has also officially begun here. This means it is hot in the day, then the afternoon usually involves an intense downpour. Our roads get destroyed here during these months (June-September), meaning we drive at 5 mph to avoid ruining our NEW CARS (I'm still on cloud nine, y'all).

Bayron just taking a casual nap

This is one of my favorite, and busiest, times of year. Summer is full of both new and old faces, both of which are heartwarming to see. I love watching first time visitors fall in love with the boys, and it's nice to see encouraging faces who support our mission here enough to come back year after year.

Besides this being our busy season, we've been fully engulfed in the world cup. As most people know, soccer is everything here. Honduras making it to the world cup was EPIC, and even though we are already out - we cheered our hearts out for those three games. The boys are now mostly rooting for Brazil, Germany, and Holland.

learning about drip irrigation from Healing Hands Int'l

I personally was blessed getting to host two weekends of teenagers from my own youth group, Harpeth Hills. It was so nice to have people here who have watched me grow up in that same youth group and know they love and care for me and my mission here. We celebrated our June birthdays together, played some "chubby bunny", and obviously there was a lot of soccer.

hanging with Lenny girl - representing Harpeth Hills at JEC

I am looking forward to the month of July (my birthday month!), all our summer groups, the world cup finals, and my trip home in August to meet my new nephew (due August 29th!).

My how this boy has grown!

Thank you all for all your prayers and support! It's already been an amazing summer here again at Jovenes.

We're Still Here

Because of no internet in our Jovenes office and the start to our busiest season, I've been MIA. I know and I apologize. For now, forgive me while I post (what I think is) the cutest video ever.

Busy and Blessings

We are very, VERY happy. Thank you to everyone who made this blessing possible. God is so good to us. 

A Dream Come True

When I first moved to Jovenes, I lived in the green house with the oldest boys for a year. Obviously I had a lot of changes and things to get used to in the first few months. One was sharing a bathroom/kitchen with the couple who were here at the time. They were very reserved, and sometimes I felt like a nuisance.

Santos and Maria's new home

Then soon after God sent two angels to Jovenes en Camino. Santos and Maria had been serving Jovenes as substitute houseparents for several years when the full time houseparents had two weekends off a month. God then opened a window and allowed them to come work here full time.

I remember one of the first things I came to appreciate and love about this couple was their contagious spirit. They are both so welcoming, humble, and outgoing. They instantly made me feel at home with them, as if I was part of their own family.

Chad and Ronald turning over the house

I remember after dinner one night we were having one of our long, nightly talks, and Maria mentioned that they did not have a home of their own. They had rented a house before moving to live full time at JEC, so on the weekends they had off they usually had to stay with friends or rent a hotel. The point of this time is to relax and rejuvenate since their job is so taxing. And in my opinion, being a guest in someone else's home or a hotel is not always so relaxing in a family of four.

Genesis and Sara (Maria and Santos' daughters)

Fast forward to this week (about two years later), and God's grace is so prevalent. Yesterday our executive director stateside, Chad Hedgepath, turned in the keys to a brand new house here in the valley. Chad and Ronald planned, fundraised, and brought down a group of 10 men from Heritage Church in Franklin, TN to construct the house. Maria and Santos saved for years to buy their own plot of land, and as soon as that was purchased things got moving.

Hermitage COC group turning over the keys to Santos

The boys in the green house also played a large part in helping prepare the land, construction, and a lot of manual labor. Other Jovenes en Camino employees also helped in many ways - such as the cooks preparing food daily to send over to all those working hard in this hot sun. I think this made yesterday so special, because we had all played a part in helping Santos and Maria's family. We all felt the pride and joy of this house being finished. We were able to see their dream come to life.

Part of the Jovenes en Camino family with Santos and Maria

I think Santos said it best when he said, "God is so good, even though I am not. He has worked through others, through the boys, and through us. For that I am grateful for His grace."

This is one of my favorite things about Jovenes. We are one, big family. We help each other out when times get rough. We know we can't live this life alone, so we lean on each other. I'm so grateful to be 25 and have experienced such an incredible story of grace, selflessness, and love.

Thank you, Lord. You are so good to us.

March Update

I cannot believe we are already into March of 2014! Where has the time gone?? It seems like yesterday I returned to Jovenes to spend NYE with the boys. We have already had so many amazing visitors (two being my best friends, Scat and Lindy), and last week we had our first spring break group from Oklahoma. The boys are super excited for all our visitors and sponsors coming to visit this month. 

I have some awesome news to share with all of you. I have committed my heart to another year at Jovenes en Camino. This means, for now, I will be in Honduras for 2014 (Lord willing). After that, it is up to God!

Poppy is now a mommy!

I feel so good about this decision and am ready to see what amazing things He does through the boys and the Jovenes family this year. 

One of the biggest blessings of 2013 was being able to find a beautiful and safe home to rent right down the road from JEC. My landlords are so sweet and always thinking of me, inviting me to dinner, and calling just to check in on me. I feel safe and am able to rest each day without worrying about my safety. This daily alone time is so vital to my work here.  I need this time to relax and recharge. I am an old lady and go to bed at 8-8:30 most nights!

beautiful tree growing in front of my house

I recently decided to treat myself to one luxury after 2.5 years of being in Honduras - CABLE! I now have basic cable to watch movies, sports, etc. I didn't miss it much when I didn't have it, but now I'm grateful to be able to come home, eat dinner and turn on a movie. 

One of the hardest parts of 2013 was definitely my car situation. I know I've complained on here (via blog) and in person to some, but I honestly think I spent more of 2013 with my car in the shop than with me. I am constantly reminding myself that if this is my biggest problem, I'm doing pretty well.

This is the list of what all I had done to my car in 2013:

-new transmission

-new alternator

-new battery (literally last week it died)

-new parts shopped from the US to fix motor issues

-new tires purchased (after a generous donation)

Right now, I desperately need a trustworthy car. My car is a Mitsubishi Montero Sport (2000) and has over 160k miles. Honduras is a very dangerous country (as most of you know), and with an unreliable car, I never know when/where it is going to break down. Not only am I worried about my own safety, but also the safety of the boys and other employees when they are in the car.

ABSS boys wanted to help fundraise

Aside from safety, I feel like such an inconvenience to the other Jovenes employees when I don't have my car. We have to switch cars and rework schedules because my job requires me to take lunch to the bilingual school, pick them up from class, and run errands in the city. Also, I can't do simple everyday things such as going to the grocery store and paying bills.  I can't stay at Jovenes to help with homework and school projects if it's after dark, because it is not safe to walk home alone at night.

My problem is I am not good at asking for myself. I don't enjoy fundraising, but I ask people if its for the boys. I don't second guess asking for them, because I know it's not selfish. So at the first moment I have to turn around and ask for myself, I feel greedy and hypocritical. I have so much in comparison to so many here. 

However, I realize this is something both the boys and I truly need. When I eventually leave Jovenes,  my car will be donated to Jovenes en Camino for their benefit and use. 

Luis Fernando

If you know of anyone who would want to help me, please send them this blog. I can't tell you how much it would mean to the boys and me. They are constantly asking "why did you buy such a bad car?" or "Annie, when will you get your car back from the shop?". I just hang my head and feel like I've let them down. I'm embarrassed that people helped me buy this car, and even though I did all the necessary checkups by several mechanics, I still messed up. My dad constantly reminds me, "that's just the business of buying a used car" and that I shouldn't be embarrassed. 

Can you help us?

For more information on how to help, please email Jessica Steen at jessicas@harpethhills.org

10 Years

A decade.

                          

Jovenes en Camino, as of Wednesday, celebrates a decade of service.

Service to all the boys who have come, gone, and remain.

We could not be more proud of all God has done in this past ten years. Clearly we've had our ups and downs just like everyone, but we are currently on top of the mountain praising God and screaming how much we love him.

Darwin

I say this because this is how the employees feel. And the employees feel this way because of the progress we've seen in the boys and the campus. The campus is more beautiful than ever, and from my last post you can see how well the boys are doing in school.

The boys are healthy, happy, and this is home. We have 55 boys who currently learn everyday more and more about becoming a man of God. We have 22 full time employees who are such amazing examples to these boys.

Guity

I cannot personally begin to describe how much of a blessing this place is to my life and to the life of many others. It has changed my outlook on life. I hope I never go back to living the way I did. I hope I always remember what God showed me here, what He did here, and how many lives He saved by working through the hearts of the JEC family. 

Norman

Tomorrow (Friday) we are inviting about 150 guests to help us celebrate this milestone. We will have a morning ceremony where the boys will participate and share what JEC has meant to them over the past decade. We will share a meal between the boys, the employees, their families, and special guests. We have invited the local mayor and director of the public school. Please pray the event goes over smoothly and these people can see God’s love through our boys. 

fall 2011

In the afternoon we’ll have our February birthday parties with homemade, anniversary piñatas and lots of cake and ice cream. We have also invited the girls’ orphanage, “Faith, Hope & Love”, where several of our boys have sisters in the capital. All 25 girls will be joining us to participate and help build a stronger relationship between our two homes. 

It will be a long and exhausting day full of many happy hearts. 

New Year, New Beginnings

Classes officially started back this week for the public school boys yesterday, so we're back in the swing of things here at JEC!

Julio, Juan Carlos, & Hector on their first day of high school

We have 6 enrolled in private, bilingual school, 19 in the public elementary school, 23 in the public high school, and one starting his college career. Could we be more blessed?

High school boys are excited to start a new year!

I am so proud and honored to work with such an incredible team of dedicated employees here at Jovenes. When I first arrived in mid 2011, many of the boys had repeated several grades and their averages were very low. The change the boys have made in the past 3 years is incredible. The houseparents are so dedicated to working specifically with each one by helping them with projects, encouraging them to do their homework daily, etc. This can be seen in many ways, but it is especially obvious by the rise of their grades. One of the yellow house boys finished last year with a 96% average!! Amilkar, we are so proud of you!!!

Amilkar with our education director, Demetria, at the merit bank awards ceremony

One of the ways we have motivated the boys is by creating a "merit bank", where twice a year the boys get to choose prizes from the bank according to their GPAs. These items usually come from donations from summer groups or we by little by little during the year.

Demetria and our 90 to 100 average boys!

Since school was about to start we decided to have our merit bank award ceremony on the last day of January along with that month's birthday celebration. Our new education director, Demetria, and I were in charge of organizing the afternoon's event in our cafeteria. Our extremely talented and creative house mom, Mary, made the cakes along with the help of that weeks' visitors, Sarah Catherine (one of my best friends) and her husband, Richy ("Ricardo").

Richy, Scat and some of the yellow house boys

Each boy's name was called in order of his GPA, and by 10 point groups (90 to 100, 80 to 90 etc) the boys were allowed to choose their prize. Amilkar of course chose the only soccer ball we had, so next time we know what to get more of!

We cheered and screamed (I literally lost my voice) for each boy, which brought out the biggest smile on their sweet faces. I can't say it enough, I AM SO PROUD OF THESE BOYS!!! They have come so, so far.

Some of the prizes

After the award ceremony, we presented Yoni Garcia (17 years old) with his 6th grade diploma. This is a HUGE deal for us as well. Yoni has been receiving private classes (home-schooling essentially) from our education director, and the country has legally recognized him as passing 6th grade. Our director, Ronald Millon, presented him with his diploma and talked to the boys that no matter how old you are or whatever obstacles stand in your way, you can do anything you put your mind to. Congratulations, Yoni!!!

Director, Ronald Millon, and Yoni Garcia receiving his diploma

The birthday celebrations are always a fun time. We finally finished our leftover pumpkins from our Halloween celebration in October. It took us a few months, but they were perfect to cut a hole in, fill with candy, and then watch explode! Our January birthday boys were William and Yimi from the yellow house, Noe from the pink house, and Cristian Ochoa, Gomez and Chino from the green house.  Happy birthday, boys! We love ya!

Happy birthday, boys!

January flew by, and I'm coming up fast on a 10 day trip home from February 17th-26th.

high school boys praying over 2014 academic year

2014 is looking to be an incredible year. Thank you, Lord - you are so good to us!

NYE Wrap Up

I flew back to Honduras on December 30th after promising the boys for months I would be here to celebrate NYE with them. Christmas is definitely their biggest celebration of the holiday season, but the 31st is a pretty big night as well.

Hondurans celebrate it pretty similar in many ways - staying up late, fireworks at midnight, getting dressed up, etc - but some are SUPER different and confusing.

For example several days after Christmas Hondurans make scarecrow-like dummies to look like an old man and woman. These dummies are supposed to signify the past year, so naturally (?), at midnight you burn these dummies to mean you are "getting rid of the old, and getting ready for the new". We had our past summer interns down on NYE, and we all decided it seems like the weirdest tradition, but the kids seem to get pretty excited about it. You literally fill the dummies with fireworks and then light them on fire so they "blow up". As you can see from the pictures, it almost looked like we were burning people alive.... no worries - nothing of the sort!

We had a delicious dinner of pollo relleno (stuffed chicken) with rice and tortillas. After dinner the boys took turns singing karaoke, doing skits, and telling jokes as a sort of "show". We played music and danced until late, then around midnight it was time to shoot fireworks and "burn the viejo and vieja".

An Overdue Reunion

I wanted to translate and share an incredible, beautiful story about a reunion that took eight years to finally happen. The following was written by Elvin Espinal, our assistant director here at Jovenes. 

Yesterday I set off to the city of Comayagua with five boys in order to try and reunite their families after 8 years of not seeing each other. 
Gustavo, Nixon (brothers) and Cristian, Jose Alexander and Eduardo (brothers) had spent more than eight years without seeing their families or even remembering them. Nevertheless they were excited to meet their families, and this is where the saying comes true, "blood calls to blood". 

Gustavo & Nixon's mother

Gustavo and Nixon's mother recognized them immediately, and this was a really special moment. They were happy to spend some time meeting their 3 other siblings and getting to know them. Their mother was so happy to see how healthy and happy they were, but she was especially excited to see how educated they both are. 

Jose Alexander, Eduardo, and Cristian's father

It was very exciting and special to be a part of this moment, to see the similarities of the boys' features with their parents, and to hear the gratitude of their families that the boys had been so well taken care of.  

L to R: Cristian, Jose Alexander, the boys' mother, Eduardo, and their father

Nixon (left) and Gustavo's (right) mother & 2 sisters

It was really a beautiful day. We feel that God will continue to bless us with more days like these so we can continue to reunite these boys with their families and be a center that blesses Honduran families all over. 

We arrived around 9:30 and two of our house moms, Tia Mary and Tia Daysi (our director's wife) had the opportunity to sit and talk with the families before the boys actually saw them. 
Cristian, Eduardo and Jose Alexander were also very excited to meet their mom and dad again after not seeing them for 8 years as well. The family was also very excited to spend a few moments with the boys and recuperate some of the lost time that had passed between them. 

We headed back to Jovenes excited and the boys talking about their experiences and how well their visits went. I felt proud to be part of the Jovenes en Camino family knowing it was because of our organization we were able to reunite these families. 
Jose Alexander kept smiling on the way home saying how happy he was to have seen his family. Nixon said he felt so proud to have seen his mother. These are boys who are growing up without any bad blood or hate in their hearts, but rather with values. 

*sidenote: Our current director, Ronald Millon, makes this a sort of personal mission of his while at Jovenes. Many of these boys arrived almost a decade ago and at a very young age. Because of this many do not know anything about their families, therefore JEC is making it their mission to reunite as many families as possible while helping those families overcome extreme poverty.