I know it has been a long time since I've written a blog but this is extremely important so I felt it was really necessary to take the time to write this.
As some of you are aware, I am going to Tegucigalpa, Honduras with a group from my school for my Spring Break. I am going to work with a ministry for the Deaf called New Life Deaf Ministry (www.nldm.org). We will be serving specifically at a branch of their ministry, a school for Deaf children called Manos Felices (or Happy Hands). I am extremely excited but I am getting nervous about going. My calling to the ministry happened several years ago and now that this is actually happening I am so excited to see how God is going to use our team. We have 5 girls and 2 leaders going. Our team consists of Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing, and Hearing students. Our leaders include; a male, Deaf, American Sign Language professor from Gardner Webb and a female, staff interpreter from Gardner Webb who is actually moving to Honduras this summer as a full time missionary with this ministry.
I have some prayer requests to ask you to pray for as I/we prepare to leave:
-for us to be spiritually prepared. I want to be as open to be used by God as much as possible.
-as we learn LESHO (Honduran Sign Language)... yes we have to learn a completely new sign language... Pray that communication will be clear and we will be open minded as we come in contact with a completely new culture (not just the Honduran Culture, but the Deaf Honduran Culture).
-as we teach VBS that God will be glorified and the children will understand. Part of our responsibilities for the week will be to come up with and teach a VBS. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday we will be doing this and each day will be for a different age group. I am responsible, with another group member, for teaching the pre-school age group. The language barrier is a big issue for many of us. So please pray that God will calm our nerves and allow us to show his love beyond the actual language.
-for us to be impacted and return changed. So many of us have been on trips or gone to conferences and experienced that "spiritual high". I don't want this trip to be that. I want to be changed, at my core. I want to be shaken, I am aware what that involves, but I don't want this to just be another trip where I learn some things. I want to experience God in a completely different way.
-I want to have an open heart. I want to be ready to experience what God has for me. I know by asking God to give me an experience like this, I have to be ready to accept it. During our trip, one day, we will be going to the dump community and serving lunch. I am nervous but open to experience of something new.
I want to experience all that God has in store for me, not out of selfish ambition but because I believe God is amazing and when we experience Him in new ways in different culture we are better equipped to show his love to others.
Blessings,
Rebecca
If you have any questions about my trip feel free to comment back here or you can email me at rpriest@gardner-webb.edu
