update.

Maria and her brother Carlos were at the orphanage today. Their mother came to visit today again and brought them a ton of things. I am guessing that she was denied custody today since Maria and Carlos did not leave with her. Please continue to pray for Maria and Carlos, I was told that there is a possibly that they will get released next Friday. Pray for Maria, I know that she has some anxiety about when she will leave the orphanage. I know the uncertainty is hard, especially on someone her age. I am excited; however, to get to love on Maria and Carlos for one more week. :) 

prayer request.

Last Saturday, Maria and her brother Carlos came to Casitas Kennedy. Mary Elizabeth was the first to notice the bruises on her arms. In conversation Maria let Mary Elizabeth know that the bruises were from her parents. Later on that day, I met Maria and the first thing I noticed was the amount of bruising on her arms and how bad it was. This past week I have gotten to know Maria better. She is precious and has such a sweet spirit. On Wednesday Maria came to me and told me she was getting to leave on Friday. Most of the children that have left are excited to get to leave. When I asked Maria if she was excited she told me no. It broke my heart that she would rather be in an orphanage than at home with her parents. I cannot blame Maria, I too would want to be at the orphanage safe from the physical and emotional abuse. Yesterday I was playing with toddlers when Maria and a lady walked in. I could tell Maria's demeanor was different, so I asked Luis if the lady was Maria's mother and he told me no. The tia had told Luis that the lady with Maria was a teacher at the school. Kimberly (who can understand a lot more Spanish than me) heard Maria say that the lady was her mother. I immediately felt myself getting upset. I was sitting right next to the lady who was responsible for abusing my sweet Maria. I wanted more than anything to take Maria away from her and tell her mother that she couldn't have her back, but of course I didn't. I did however call Maria outside and with Luis' help, made her promise me that if either one of her parents hurt her at all that she would tell someone. She told me that she would, and said again that she didn't want to go home and that it was so much better here. As I was hugging her for the last time, I felt the tears starting to come but I knew I could cry in front of Maria. I did not want her to be anymore nervous or upset about having to go with her parents. After about ten minutes of hugging her and telling her how much I loved her we had to leave. I am not sure if Maria will be gone before we get to the orphanage today. A part of me wants to get to say goodbye once more, but another part of me knows how hard it will be to see her walk out with her mother. I ask my family and friends to please remember sweet Maria and Carlos in your prayers. Pray for their protection as they return to an abusive situation and pray for their parents. Pray that they might come to a saving faith. It is so easy for me to say that I would never be like her parents, but the truth is apart from Christ I am just like them.


"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me." - 1 Corinthians 15:10


I also ask that you pray for the babies and toddlers at Casitas Kennedy. They are passing around the chickenpox( thankfully we have all had the chickenpox) and Rotavirus. There are also two little boys, Arnold and Edgar who are in the hospital with bronchitis. Kimberly, Luis and I have been working with this age group all week. They informed us yesterday of the children's sickness and told us that they were in quarantine. Please pray for our health as well, since we have kissed, loved on and even been sneezed on by these sick babies.

now that i have seen.

This past Thursday as we were getting ready to leave the orphanage, I passed a teenage girl, an older lady and a baby.  At first I had no idea what was going on; all I could see was all three of them crying and the baby screaming "mama." The baby looked to be around two and was hysterical. I have never seen or heard a baby cry that loud or hard. We finally realized that the teenage girl was being dropped off at Casitas Kennedy and the baby was hers. As I watched the mother and baby give each other one last hug, the grandmother leave with the baby still screaming and the young teenage mother walk off with a orphanage worker my heat began to break. I have never seen anything like this. Since Thursday, my heart has been heavy for this girl and her family. I am not sure why she came to Casitas Kennedy, but if I had to guess it would be for protection. It is my hope that we are able to minster and love on her these next two weeks and share with her the hope and comfort that comes from knowing Christ. 

On Friday I was able to meet four of the men who are responsible for bringing the children to Casitas Kennedy. Kimberly, Luiz and I spent about 45 minutes talking with them and asking them questions. One of the men told us that he had lived a rough life much like the kids in the orphanage when he was younger, but now lives a completely different life for the Lord. He made sure to tell us he is the person he is today because of God's grace. From talking to them I learned that most of the children in the orphanage are social orphans, which means that they have at least one parent living or other family members. I would say the majority of the kids are in the orphanage due to abuse, neglect, or poverty at home. When talking with the men, I had a lot of questions about how they find out/ know about the children's living conditions. They told me that a lot of the time that the government will get phone calls from neighbors and the government then calls them to go and check it out, or they will see children on the street and start conversations and try and find out about their home life. One thing that was very encouraging was that the governments main goal is to try and educate the parents in order for the family to stay intact. However, when the situation is to severe the children are taken from the home and put into a government facility (Casitas Kennedy). In order for the parents to gain back custody of their children, they have to go through a government program which includes many processes. They are required to meet with a psychologist, a social worker and many times an economist. The psychologist assesses the mental and emotional aspects of the situation. The social worker, the physical aspect and then the economist often tries to help them find work and a way to support their families. After the court believes the parents are in a place that they are able to take care of the child physically and emotionally the child, the parents gain custody. From Caitlin and Mary Elizabeth working at Casitas in San Pedro Sula last year, I knew that many of the teenage girls were there for protection. I asked if it was the same situation with the teenage girls at Casitas Kennedy, and the men told me yes that many of them came voluntarily and involuntarily in order to protect themselves. I have so much respect for these men and what they do. I know that I could not see the things they see on a daily basis. They told us that it was hard what they see, but they also know that they are helping these children. One of the men actually holds a church service for the kids on Monday nights. 

Knowing now that most of the kids at Casitas are there because of abuse or neglect  it makes me even more excited to get to show them the attention and love that they did not know at home. I ask you to please pray for these kids. They have been through more than we can imagine and pray for their parents as well. Also, pray for the teenage girl who came to Casitas Kennedy and her little girl. Pray that the Lord would comfort them both. I cannot imagine what they are going through. 

- A funny story that has nothing to do with what I posted above. The other day we were driving to the orphanage and all of a sudden we saw a truck with men in black masks. At one point in my life I was obsessed with watching Gang Nation (embarrassing I know), so I was convinced that they were gang members. My heart was beating fast thinking that I was that close to "actual" gang members. As I was taking a  picture of them,  our translators informed us that it was not gang members, but the Honduran Swat team. Although I was a little sad they were not who I thought they were, it was still cool. It is safe to say that the swat team looks a little different here in Honduras than in the good ol' United States. 

casitas kennedy.

Yesterday was the first day that I got to spend any time with the older boys who are between 9 and 12 years old. There are a lot more girls at Casitas Kennedy than boys, so I feel like the boys kind of get overshadowed. This made me really excited to get to spend some time with them today. We decided to play soccer since every Honduran boy is basically obsessed with soccer and those boys had some energy!  We had a blast!  I  also now know that I cannot kick a soccer ball with my left foot, but I am a pretty sweet goalie. :) It was really evident spending time with these precious boys that they were in need of some attention. I am not sure how many males they come in contact with.I am hoping that we will be able to spend so more time with these awesome boys. We also spent time yesterday with the little girls that are between 5 and 9 years old  (all of the children are spilt up by age and gender into different casitas). I have really grown close to all of these little girls. This is the group that Kimberly( one of my fellow interns) and I have spent the most time with. I could write pages on each of these little girls, but for the sake of time I am going to share about one that I have grown especially close to. First, there is Jessi. Jessi is 9 and therefore one of the oldest in her group and definitely the leader. One thing I noticed about Jessi from the beginning is that she has a lot of anger and aggression towards people. The first time I remember seeing Jessi she was twisting another girl Katherin's ( who is probably 30 pounds lighter) arm because Katherin had hit her. After telling her to stop twenty times I realized she had no idea what I was saying. It's safe to say I learned the Spanish word for stop (alto) pretty quickly after that. :)  I have such a soft spot in my heart for Jessi and have really tried to encourage her whenever we are with them.  I have also made sure to tell Jessi how much I love her and show her that I love her. Whenever I tell Jessi that her coloring is "muy bonita" or that she has done a good job at something her face lights up. I feel like Jessi is misunderstood by a lot of the workers and other little girls which makes me sad. She really has a sweet spirit and is just longing for someone to show her love and attention. My prayer is that Jessi would come to know her Heavenly Father one day, she has such an influence on all of the girls. I can see Jessi passionately telling everyone that she can about Christ. :) 

I have also gotten to work with the special needs children this week. When I first found out that we would be working with these children, I was a little nervous. They are severely handicapped and a couple of them have seizures pretty regularly. I spent most of my time working with a little girl Erika. Erika is 8 and has severe CP. She spends most of her day laying on her back on mattress. Mary Elizabeth and Caitlin had worked in the special needs room the day before and told me that Erika loved having a stuffed animal bounced up her stomach until it reached her cheek. They could not have been more right. Erika loved it and I even got a couple of laughs out of her. She also loved hitting the balloon I held in front of her face.  Another special needs child, Alexander, who has Hydrocephalus, is in the orphanage because his parents used him to get money from people on the street. Alexander is pretty shy, but really opened up when our translator Luis hit a balloon with him. Alexander also thought it was hilarious when Kimberly and I hit Luis in the head with balloon. He has the sweetest little laugh. 

Some exciting news is that we are going to get to spend some time with the older girls on Saturday. I am so excited! We have planned some relay races and games so it should be a lot of fun. 

There are so many children that I could tell you about and more stories than I can count from the past two weeks at Casitas Kennedy. I have been journaling everyday, so hopefully I will be able to share in more detail when I get home and have more time. 

"Sing to God, sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts; his name is the Lord; exult before him! Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." - Psalm 68: 4-5

first week teaching english.

On Monday morning we headed to Buckner's Community Transformation Center. When we got there the director showed us around a little and then informed us we would be teaching English for 2 1/2 hours during June. We then walked down the road to a local school, where we were greeted by about 40 children, their mothers, and around 30 volunteers. After a brief introduction, we were invited onstage. For anyone who knows me in the past, crowds, stages and microphones have not been my friends. At first I thought we were just going to stand there smile while she introduced us, but no after her introduction she handed the microphone to Mary Elizabeth. That is when my heart sank and started beating fast at the same time, throat was immediately dry and I completely forgot how to tell my name in Spanish. Thankfully our translator Luis was beside me and told me how to say "My name is Sarah Haynes." One by one Mary Elizabeth, Caitlin and Kimberly introduced themselves and finally it is my turn. With my voice shaking I manage to get out, "Mi nombre es Sarah Haynes." Everything would have been fine except after saying my name I awkwardly let out a yay and started nervously laughing. I am praying that there are no more stages or microphones in my future while I'm here in Honduras. :)


I am teaching English with Mary Elizabeth to a class of about 25 people ages 14 to 28 with a couple of older students. When I was first told that we would be teaching English I wasn't too nervous. I mean English is my first language, how hard could it be? Well...it can be pretty difficult when you don't know and can't pronounce the Spanish words which are necessary in order to teach the English words. :/ I am so thankful that Mary Elizabeth is teaching with me. She is pretty much a pro at Spanish and has really done most of the teaching. I cannot tell you how many times I have butchered the words while teaching, but thankfully our students are so sweet and show me a ton of grace and have begun to even help me with my Spanish. :) Please pray that I would be able to overcome being nervous and feeling inadequate when it comes to teaching English. I know the Lord has me teaching English for a reason.


In our English class this week we taught them the lyrics to "Joyfully" by Kari Jobe. I have probably listen to this song hundreds of times, but while teaching the lyrics one part of the song really stuck out to me.


I will sing from the mountain top
I will sing, I am overcome,
I will sing making melodies
I will sing from the valley low
I will sing because of Your love I will sing
You're my King, I will sing


As I was listening to our students sing this part of the song, I thought about how so many times my joy depends on my circumstances. It is very easy to sing praises when I am on the mountain top and things are going the way I want them to, but is it as easy to sing those same praises from the valley? Isn't God the same God on the mountain and in the valley? Most of the students in our class live in less than ideal situations. On the drive to the CTC center you see the unbelievable poverty, yet they are able to sing from the valley low because their hope and joy is found in Christ not their circumstances. It is my prayer that I to would find all of my hope and joy in Christ and not in my circumstnaces. It has been so encouraging getting to know these wonderful people, and I am so excited for three more weeks of English class!


We have also been working in an orphanage Casistas Kennedy in the afternoons, but to prevent this post from becoming a novel I will post about that later. I will say though that these children have stolen my heart already. Mom and Dad if you are reading this there are about 150 kiddos that I would love to have as siblings. :)

friday.saturday.sunday

We made it to Honduras safely (I am sure you already know from Mary Elizabeth and Caitlin's blog.) I immediately felt a little overwhelmed as soon I stepped off the plane. I had been praying and anticipating being in Honduras since last fall, and to finally be here was exciting and surreal. Going through customs, I was a tad nervous. For some reason I always think I look guilty and convince myself that I am going to be stopped. Well.... I was stopped. My supply bag full of toothpaste, toothbrushes, sidewalk chalk, etc must have looked a little shady because they wanted to search it. The man inspecting my bag could not have been nicer and I actually got to share what we would be doing this month. After getting through customs we ate at a little outdoor food market, and attracted a good many looks. We were the only Americans there. :) On Friday afternoon we went on a tour at the orphanage. I thought I had mentally prepared myself for what I was going to see, but as soon as I saw the children it hit me pretty hard. Meeting the older girls was especially hard. Many of them have been picked up off the street, taken out of prostitution or they have come to the orphanage to protect themselves from abusive situations. It was hard not to feel guilty. I have never gone without a house to live in and have never had to deal with not feeling safe or protected. I am hoping that we will be able to work with these girls and share with them the only true hope and joy we have in this world, the hope that is found in Christ. 

Saturday, we arrived at the orphanage and were greeted by children with sticky mango kisses and a ton of hugs. One of my fellow interns Kimberly and I were placed in the baby room with 7 babies from 0 to 2 years old. The orphanage director had not told us where we would be the day before, so we weren't really prepared with supplies for babies. I had crayons, puzzles, stickers and construction paper in my book bag so we decided we had to make those work. The first activity we tried to attempt was playing with stickers. This was definitely interesting. I am pretty sure the babies had never seen stickers before, and some loved them and others were not so sure about them. There was one common thing: they all wanted to eat them. I quickly found out that "no" is a universal word. Crayons were also a popular item to eat and we all had  a great time attempting to color haha. The director told us on Saturday that the baby and toddler rooms are where we would be working a good majority of the time. I ask that you all would be in prayer for our health, especially when working in the baby room. Two babies have the chickenpox and the others have terrible coughs and runny noses  ( I never knew that being sneezed on and wiping snotty noses could be so sweet ). The lady working at the orphanage said that sickness is pretty much always present due to the fact that all the babies share cups and spoons. I also ask that you all be in prayer for these children and their health. Please  pray for us as we love on these sweet babies this month, it was so evident how much they need love and affection. 

This morning we woke up and went to church. We were told that the pastor was from the United States, so I was expecting the sermon to be in english or at least bilingual. I was mistaken, the whole service (music and preaching) was in spanish. Out of the four interns, I am by far the one who understands the least amount of Spanish. Although, I have no clue what the pastor was preaching on this morning or what the songs were saying, I do know that no matter what language they were speaking they were worshipping the same God as I do. How cool is that? We serve such a big God. 

Tomorrow, we will be going to Buckner's Community Transformation Center in the morning and the orphanage in the afternoon. We will be doing this all week. I am not really sure what we will be doing at the CTC, but I am so excited to actually start serving and building relationships with the children and the people of Tegucigalpa. 

quick update.

We are all three safely in Dallas. Mary Elizabeth arrived yesterday afternoon and Caitlin and I arrived this morning around 10. Most of the day was spent in training- learning the history of Buckner, what all Buckner is involved in, and getting to know other interns. I have to admit than when I first arrived, I was a bit overwhelmed. Yes, my sisters are here with me ;however, I tend to be more reserved when I am around a large group of people I don't know. I did eventually start to open up and have met some great people heading to various countries to serve the Lord. After training the Honduras team went with a Buckner staff member Analiz to eat some Mexican food. It was delicious and we had a great time getting to know each other. I am now sitting in the hotel room about to get some sleep. I am exhausted from only getting about four hours of sleep last night. Tomorrow we will work in the warehouse gathering humanitarian aid, and continue with our training. Mary Elizabeth, Caitlin, Kimberly and I will fly out at 5:30 on friday morning. You know what that means- we will be getting the the airport at around 3- 3:30. YIKES! Sleep on the plane- I think YES! Please continue to pray that we would have safe travels to Honduras, and that the Lord would continue to prepare our hearts as we are getting ready to leave. 


-As my man Steven Curtis Chapman says: 
   Saddle up your horses we've got a trail to blaze. Through the wild blue yonder of God's amazing grace. Let's follow our leader into the glorious unknown. This is a life like no other- this is THE GREAT ADVENTURE!