Change of plans..

For the past 4-5 months I've been planning on spending my SM (Student Missionary) year in Tanzania. However, the planning for the trip was not going as planned. Visas were a concern, and our call hadn't even been made for my friend and I to go there. I was really starting to wonder if I was ever really going to Africa. I decided to call the student missions director at school and ask her what to do next. Our planning to go was like hitting a brick wall. I called Gayle and told her my concerns about everything. I told her how much I just wanted to get out there and go somewhere! I told her that at this point I just wanted to be sent, even to a different location, if that was what God wanted me to do. When I mentioned going somewhere else, Gayle told me about the need in Honduras. She said that there was only two girls at the Hogar De Ninos ("place of the children") in Santa Barbara, Honduras. She told me that they were really short on staff and really need help there. I told Gayle that I would pray about it and call her back. We got off the phone, and I prayed about it all day. I emailed the two girls in Honduras hoping to hear something back from them. Evening rolled around, and no answers yet. I knelt down to say a prayer before going to bed... I prayed that God would close ever door for me to go to Honduras if it was NOT His will, but on the other hand, if He wanted me to go there that He would open every door with flying colors. I got up after praying and checked my email... I had already heard back from one of the girls in Honduras! As soon as I read her email to me I knew that God was telling me that He really wanted me to go there. It's really exciting to see how God works.. right when I was getting discouraged that everything was going wrong, God had a different plan, and this was just a lesson in trust for me. I am still waiting to get the new paperwork to fill out for Honduras, but it looks like that process will go pretty fast once papers are in hand. Hannah, one of the girls in Honduras, called me the other day and answered all of my questions and is really excited for my soon arrival. I found out that I will need to pick up on Spanish really quickly, because the kids do not know English, and the other staff prefer to speak in Spanish. I hope to be a quick learner.... ha. 

I'm really excited to begin this new chapter of my life. It's going to be a great experience, and one that I will never forget. Please keep the planning for Honduras in your prayers. I would really appreciate it. 

<3

Here's the Havilah Village blogspot website. http://havilahvillage.blogspot.com/

Thought you all might like to keep up with their site as well as mine. 

It looks like I will be leaving somewhere around the 26th of this month. Nothing for sure yet. Still looking for information about visas. I will keep you all updated.

Love,

Laurel