I have been down here now for over a month and things are going well. It hasn’t been the summer that I had planned on that is for sure. Since everything happened with the government there hasn’t been any groups that have come down. Thus my summer working as a translator for groups hasn’t happened since my second week here. I had a week of vacation to just relax and then started working with Doug, an American who has his own construction business. He has come down to help out with the camp that the ministry is building. I go out to the camp everyday to help him with his communication with the workers there. He knows very little Spanish and the majority of the workers know little to no English, thus meaning that I get to translate. However, this isn’t nearly as easy as it may sound. I do not know anything about construction in English, so imagine how difficult it is to translate something I don’t know what it is in English to another language. I am learning 2 sets of vocabulary every day. Out at the construction site, I am the only girl. Luckily, I already knew most of the workers from the ministry and they are my friends. This helps out to some extent. However, they make a lot of fun of me, mainly because I am not out doing hard labor like they are, I just follow Doug around like a shadow and translate. Most of them don’t realize just how difficult it is to translate even though it may not seem like it.

This week my 2 fellow American girls are leaving me here all alone. My friend Lauren, who I have gotten to know really well in the short amount of time that we have had together here will take off on Wed. and Callie will be leaving on Friday. It will be really strange not having them around to talk to. I am really going to miss both of them. It will be weird being the only American here. Hopefully in August other groups will start coming down and then I will be able to be out working with them rather than just out at the construction site with Doug.

Things personally have been kind of crazy for a while, however they are settling down, thanks to some conversations that I have had and some sorting out of my personal interests. Miguel, the Honduran director or HTH, has offered me a job and keeps checking up on me to make sure that I am doing well and that I don’t need anything else. This is a really good thing because he doesn’t usually do this with American workers, especially American women. I have been praying and will continue to do so in order to figure out exactly what it is that God wants me to do in this situation and how I should respond to the job offer. If I am able to make sure that I get a job as a team leader working mainly with the teams that come down as a translator and helping them to have an experience similar to that which I had, that would be my dream job. However, that wasn’t the original job that I was offered, but Miguel had a conversation with me not to long ago about doing what you passion is, and since I know that my passion is working with the teams I am going to use that as my way in to try to change the job that he has offered me.

It will be an interesting next month, who knows what all God has in store for me. I am sure that here soon I will be figuring things out, but in the meantime, God has given me some amazing friendships and keeps allowing me to get to know more and more people. It is amazing how easily things just come together when they are supposed to. I never would have guessed 5 years ago that I would be able to go to another country, speak another language, and make some amazing friendships in a short amount of time. I am constantly surprised by just how good God is to me. The blessings that he pours out daily on me are simply incredible.

I ask that you would be praying for peace of mind when the time comes to talk and figure of my job situation down here. Also that I will have a sound heart in regards to taking my time with friendships and that I wouldn’t rush into anything or make any rash decisions. Sometimes I am too easily influenced by other people and I shouldn’t let that happen as much as it does. The government situation is still a huge prayer request and also the arrival of American groups. The ministry is suffering greatly because of the lack of groups.

The countdown begins! Haha Well, I guess not really. I haven’t actually counted the days till I head back to the States yet, but it is a little less than 2 months.  There hasn’t been all that much going on here lately.  Just a lot of working and trying to save up money for our upcoming trip!  I have been staying pretty busy lately, but that does help pass the time so I can’t really complain.  Most weekends I am out with friends, sometimes spending the night therefore, I am not always able to catch up on some much needed sleep, but it is nice to be able to keep growing the trust and deepen the friendships that I am able to have here. 

Saturday nights at youth I am now currently leading a small group discussion.  One of the other youth leaders comes up with the topic and an outline and then we break up into groups and discuss and learn together.  In my group I have 3 girls who are 15, one who is 13, one who is 19, another who is 20, and then we also get some girls that come every once in a while from BAICA (the school where I work) I really enjoy it a lot!  It is neat to see that I am able to do this, not only leading a group, but doing it in Spanish!  I guess that goes to prove to myself that I have learned a decent amount of Spanish in my time here =P

May 21 is going to be my last day here for about 2 and a half months.  I will be arriving back in Indy on May 22 at 1:30 pm and will be home until May 26 when my sister and I take off to go to England where we plan to meet up with our brother.  Once we are all together we will be traveling around Europe!  We are going to go to, Barcelona, Spain, Paris, France, Krakow, Poland, Rome-Cinque terra-Pisa(?) and maybe another town in Italy, and then of course, London, Bristol or Bath, England.  We will spend about 3 weeks traveling around together and return home the 16 of June. 

From there my summer is kind of unclear.  I am still waiting to see if I will have the opportunity to go to Honduras to work with Heart To Honduras leading missions teams for the month of July, but that has yet to be confirmed.  If that doesn’t work out, I may very well just take that month to rest and relax, visit friends and family that I haven’t seen in the past year.  But really I don’t know what this trip will hold for me, all that I do know is that I am very excited about the possibilities that it holds!

I will, if I still want to, be returning to Buenos Aires the 12 of August to work for probably another year.  At least here I am sure that I can find work, which at the current moment isn’t a guarantee anywhere in the States.

I am doing well and I thank everyone out there who is praying for me and I will see you all soon hopefully, that is if you consider 2 to 3 months soon! =P