dilemma

Name: Jenna Miller
Age: 24.4 years
Citizenship: USA
Residency: Honduras
Soccer Team: TBD

So, i have lived 19 of the last 22 months in Honduras. I kinda like it here, in case you didn't know that already. As we practice every morning for the upcoming Kindergarten graduation ceremony, I have had the opportunity to memorize not only the Honduran National Anthem, but also their Pledge of Allegiance. In order to ensure that my students are participating, I stand up in front of them and sing/pledge right along with them (don't worry, i raise my left hand... I kinda think that makes it count less). I got a little worried the other day when I realized that I have the Honduran pledge down word for word, and I wasn't sure I could even remember my own country's pledge, and same with the National Anthem. It's okay though, I did them both for my roommate and passed with flying colors!

All that to say, I'm having a bit of an identity crisis. I am still American through and through, but I just really do love Honduras! There is a big game this Saturday between the U.S. National Soccer team and La Seleccion Honduras, and I can't decide who to root for. I've already let my country down to some extent by repeatedly saying the Honduran pledge of allegiance. But at the same time, I don't think I would ever watch the U.S. play soccer if it weren't this game against Honduras. Also, I do have a Seleccion jersey, which is far less than I can say about the U.S. team. Am I a traitor if I cheer for Honduras? I think I may have to.

But fear not, I will still stand boldly and proclaim "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free..." (in fact, Anna and I just did that a couple of days ago at school).

kindergarten quotes from today

While the Star Wars soundtrack was playing during graduation practice...
"Miss, this is the music of Skywalker" -Werner

While Hector's watch unexpectedly starts making noise in his pocket....
"AY NO! Este clock!" -Hector

As 5 Kindergarten girls surround my desk watching me paint my fingernails 5 different colors for fun...
"Miss, aren't you going to be embarrassed?" -Valenllelitn
"No! She is already an adult!" -Maya

Set!

Went over to the Micah house today. All the boys were unexpectedly gone playing soccer, and didn't get back for a really long time. Luckily I had thought to throw the game "Set" in my bag before heading over, so I used the extra time to teach Megan, Stephen and Hauner how to play Set. We had great fun!

try it out with today's daily Set Challenge
http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

thought for today

When i got up this morning and decided i wasn't in the mood for another cold shower (my ducha hasn't been heating my water since last Tuesday), i opened up my Bible and picked up reading where I left off. Thoughts of Jose Daniel were still fresh in my mind after writing last night's blog post, and perhaps that's why this stuck out to me so much. (if you haven't read "perro de agua" yet, read that one first) I have been praying for that kid a whole lot lately, and one Tuesday a few weeks ago Michael, the director of the Micah Project informed me that Jose Daniel had "almost" spent the night at Micah one night, and he had promised that he would come back and spend the night the following Friday. What great news! I was so excited. I started praying more and more that he would hold to his promise, that maybe just maybe after 2 years of the Micah Project trying to get him in, that he would finally accept the offer. Friday came and Megan and I tried to make it to our weekly soccer game with the street kids, but other circumstances prevented us from meeting up with them. I continued praying that Danny would stay the night. On Sunday as soon as church had ended I found Becca to ask her what had happened with him. She regrettably informed me that not only had Jose Daniel not spent the night at Micah, but also one of the boys, Erick, who has been a part of the Micah Project for 6 years now had decided that his addictions were too strong for him to keep fighting and he had left the project. WHAT?? I had been riding this high of excitement thinking that God was about to do something great by finally bringing victory in Jose Daniel's life, but instead Danny and Erick are both now on the streets, Erick's brother Cristofer and best friend Juan Carlos feel abandoned by him, and my heart is breaking once again with all the pain I am seeing. I feel burdened to continue praying for Jose Daniel, now add to the list Erick, Cris and JuanCarlos, plus the rest of the Micah boys and staff who are confused at everything that's going on. I begin to see that working at Micah next year is going to be quite the spiritual battle. There are so many needs to be met... so many big needs that only God can meet. That place is in desperate need of faithful prayer coverage, and I am just one person.

But THEN, God once again opened my eyes to see something great He is doing. A group of 10 people from Houston, Texas came down last weekend to see the Micah project. I quickly discovered that these servants (among hundreds of others) are fighting the battle for these boys by faithfully praying for and financially supporting the ministry. Most of them have been doing so since before I had ever even heard of the Micah Project, much less tried to carry this burden on my own. Although the staff at Micah might be a small number of people, we are in no way alone.

Now back to my Scripture reading from this morning. I Cor 3:6-10 says "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds."

WE ARE NOT IN THIS ALONE! God has raised up Pauls and Apollos's all over the world. God doesn't tell us, "sit tight, don't worry about it, I've got it all taken care of." Nor does he tell us, "OK, it's all up to you, I'm gonna let you handle this one on your own, let Me know when you're finished" NO! He has given us work to do here on this earth, but He has also given us COMMUNITY. We are not expected to fight our battles alone. That is why he surrounds us with Pauls and Apollos's to carry our burdens with us. If we find ourselves planting seeds, we should also be looking for faithful servants to water them. Or if we have the watering can of prayer in our hand, let's be looking for seeds that need some watering. I'm so encouraged by this verse and by my recent realization of it's significance in my own life. I hope you can be encouraged by it as well!

I challenge you to be someone's Apollos today!