S.E.N.T. - Janelle Hume

Day 11

3/6/2017

We finally got our rest day! In between helping in the kitchen off and on, I was even able to get a little bit of sun which I love, love, love! It's going to be hard going back to cold, hard Pennsylvania. Sis. Paula really outdid herself and fixed a fabulous meal that was so much like Thanksgiving. She made turkey and stuffing and sweet potatoes and mashed potatoes and the list goes on. It was amazing to say the least.

The youth revival went on tonight. Jeff preached so well about the body of Christ. He's really becoming quite the preacher! I'm glad to say he's not only my classmate, but my class president. For the altar call, he had us all bind together and pray for Bro. Alan and Sis. Paula and Bro. Scott and Sis. Bonita. I think they really needed prayer for strength. Then we all prayed for one another. I was so amazed that I didn't feel any awkwardness even though I'm not part of this specific church. Several of the sisters came to me and prayed for me. It was so touching how they included me. I absolutely love the fellowship among believers.

I want to tell you about these two boys. They're twins and their names are Jose and David. They are pretty much identical and even people who have known them for years can't pick the two apart a lot of the time. Well, i think they are just the sweetest. They always say my name and just smile when I look at them. The communication barrier can be very frustrating sometimes, but David was very kind with my broken Spanish and we managed to have a small conversation. Bro. Alan told me they can be rascals, but that's just how boys are. I absolutely adore the children here.

I told Bro. Alan in the bus on the way back to the house that two weeks is just long enough to get to know the people and good and attached to them so it hurts real good when you have to leave them. Just the idea that I might never see any of them again makes me almost cry. I actually really hope that I'll get to visit again someday. Tomorrow is our last church service and I won't see any of the members after that. I guess I better make it count.

Day 10

3/5/2017

This morning was the last service of the kid's crusade. It was kind of a big skit and we had broken it up into three sections and different ones had to write the script for that section. It was about facing our giants. Jeff and Ruth wrote the part about David and Goliath, Sis. Lisa wrote the part about George Müller and his giant of fear and doubt and I wrote the part about a little girl whose family is falling apart and her giant of anger and bitterness. Probably of all the skits, this one was my favorite. It's so applicable in many ways. It started with Inspector Lisa falling asleep at her desk and Natalie running in and waking her up talking about her problems with the school bully, the lack of food at home, and her dad leaving their family. Before we wrote the skit, we asked Ruth if these were problems that the children faces here and she told us that they're all very common.

Sunday night started the youth revival. I testified, and Aaron did as well and Bro. Peretic preached. He preached about the Holy Ghost and how it's for the youth as well as the parents and the altar service was very good. They really prayed and seemed hungry for a move of God.

I really became more comfortable in trying to talk with the people tonight. Some of the children have learned my name and they call it out and laugh when I turn to look at them. They really are such sweet people-easy to love. Tonight I realized that I have been here longer than I have left to be here. We leave Friday and that's just too soon. And to think I was scared to death to come here. My how that has changed.

Day 9

3/4/2017

We were very busy today! I thought busy week ended yesterday! Well, I thought wrong.
We were up bright and early to get to the brigade and put on the Saturday School skit for the children there.

This Saturday, I was in charge of writing the skit. I chose to do the story of the Good Samaritan. Bro. Peretic ended up having to make some changes and adding to the skit, but as I've already mentioned several times, I'm inexperienced and so I just took it as a learning experience. I also introduced the group and make the application at the end and played the Good Samaritan. You could say I was pretty nervous.

I think that first time of putting on the skit was the best one of the whole day. We were able to keep the children's attention for the most part and they seemed to enjoy it. There were some pretty funny parts in the skit. Lisa was the one who fell among thieves and Jeff and Ruth were the thieves. They took Lisa's bags and tossed them back and forth and pushed her on the ground. That part had the kids laughing. When Sis. Peretic came out as the Levite and screamed when she saw Lisa the kids loved that. It was a pretty fun skit to put on and Bro. Alan complimented it several times. I'm glad of how well it went.

We also went to the soup kitchen and two other Saturday Schools. There were good crowds of children at all of them.

The last one had a couple hiccups. Ruth was supposed to take Lisa's shoes and forgot to so that changed my part with Lisa and we were laughing during our part. Then, during the prayer at the end, Elizabeth was interpreting for me and she spoke English instead of Spanish and I laughed out loud before I could stop myself. So yeah, that was kind of interesting, but overall they all went pretty well.

Saturday night was the second night if the kid's crusade. I wasn't in the skit so I was on camera duty again, which is fine with me. The skit was about the wise and foolish men who built houses. It was a pretty funny skit me I think the kids really enjoyed it.

Lisa played this game where there were boxes set up on two tables and there was a space big enough for a head between the two and the people had to pick up the boxes and tell what was under each box or bowl. Well, I was under the box and I had a great time screaming at people, making faces and trying to scare them.

The entire night went much more smoothly than Friday night and for that, I am grateful.

Day 8

3/3/2017

Today was mostly a travel day. We did have one service with the police in La Ceiba. They weren't a very lively group and about halfway through Bro. Peretic's message, it started raining. Since we were meeting under a mango tree, the speaker equipment had to be put up. The police, Bro. Peretic and Bro. Scott went under a small awning and the rest of us went and sat in the van so we wouldn't be wet while we traveled.

We then spent seven hours in the van traveling back to Danli. At 6, the first night of kid's crusade would start and there were some last minute plans that we had to get together.

When we arrived at the church we didn't even have thirty minutes to spare before church started. To be honest, the skits and everything went ok, but it could've gone more smooth. I've never been involved in a kid's crusade before so I pretty much didn't know what I was doing. But I did my best and that's what I can do.

Day 7

3/2/2017

I want to say, I'm sorry for not knowing exactly what kind of bases we're at. I know they're all military of some kind but throughout the day, I believe if asked Sarah about a hundred times where we're going and sometimes she doesn't even know. The important thing is that we have the opportunity to minister several times a day to either military personnel or the police.

The accommodations at the air force base were so nice. We rose early enough to be ready to eat at 6:30. We ate tortillas, beans, avocado, cheese, and eggs. It was very delicious! The cheese is a hard, crumbly cheese that has a very salty flavor. It's really good when you put it on food.

Our first service was just after breakfast. It was already getting warm so you could tell it was going to be a hot day.

Our second service was way out of town. It was so beautiful there. Mountains rose majestically not far behind the base and the breeze was so refreshing. The service there was so wonderful. The presence of the Lord just filled that place. As Bro. Scott talked to them after Sis. Peretic and myself testified and Aaron preached, one of the secretaries began to cry softly. We prayed with her and the other secretaries and it was just so precious.

The third service was the biggest we've been in since the two teams separated. Some of the guys there were cracking Natalie and I up because we were trying to get small video clips of everyone singing and they saw us and we're smiling at us while we videoed. They were very attentive there.

The fourth service was at a naval academy. It was so huge! There were soooo many people. It startled me when Bro. Scott first greeted them because they were so loud. For this service the women separated from the men after Bro. Ashton led some songs. He even led "Father Abraham" which was so hilarious! Natalie and Sis. Peretic did very well as they spoke. Natalie told the women about how we cannot be separated from the love of Christ. Sis. Peretic told them the story of Esther. The only problem was the women were exhausted and several of them were nodding off. We all felt so bad for them. In the end, God's Word will not return void and hopefully those poor ladies can get some rest. We gave them all hugs as we left.

It was a really good day. Good news! The swelling in my foot is almost completely gone and the bruising is almost completely gone! I'm really glad because it was really starting to get annoying. Praise the Lord!

Day 6

3/1/2017

The services today were all wonderful. It seemed like all the testimonies and preaching just seemed to blend together so well. I talked about Christ dying for not only his friends, but also for strangers and Aaron preached on the fact that Christ is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Then Natalie talked about the yoke of sin and how we should lay down that yoke and take up the yoke of Christ because it's light and Aaron tied in oxen yoked together and the heavy burden and how we must have Christ remove that burden.

Our first service was in a type of underground garage with the police. It was really interesting. I've never done anything like that before. But, then again, I've never done anything like any of this until now!

The second to last service, we prayed for a man named Victor. He used to be a barber at the air force base but he lost sight in one eye and now he's almost completely lost sight in his other eye. It's really neat to see how the people here talk with Bro. Scott. They have such respect for him and it really touched my heart to see the way Bro. Victor responded to the men praying with him. The ladies also gathered around Bro. Victor's wife and prayed for her. My heart went out to her as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

I just feel so privileged to be here. It's wonderful to see the people respond to the presence of the Lord. I'm pretty sure my favorite thing is hearing them sing. I may not know what they are saying, but I just love to hear it. It makes me smile when Bro. Scott has them sing "Walking With the King." Some of them do very well!

By way of ending, I just want to add that I don't think I've ever had a colder shower than the one I had tonight. It felt good on my swollen foot but made it ache - it was so cold! Oh well, I survived.

Day 5

2/28/2017

Whew! I understand now why they call this "busy week"! It's only day one of three and I am sooo tired! But it's a good tired. A tired that speaks of having done a lot of things all in one day!

We left the Sumner property at the early hour of 4:30 this morning. I'm on the north team, although it is a little different this year because they've had several cancellations in the south. Bro. Scott, Sarah, Ashton, the Peretics, Natalie, and myself will be traveling around in the north while Bro. Alan and Sis. Paula, Ruth, Rhoda, Jeff and Lisa will be closer to the general area where the Sumner families live. We all traveled together in two vehicles today and visited 5 military/police bases.

All the services were amazing. The singing is always my favorite part, although the guys do a wonderful job preaching. The part that stuck out to me most about today was when we went to the air force academy. The women of the SENT team plus Sis. Paula, Sarah and Rhoda were given the opportunity to minister specifically to the women, just as I had prayed for! I was so excited to share my heart with those women. I couldn't help but become emotional as I shared some of my personal testimony with them. I told them that even if it seems like God doesn't hear us, we must have faith that He does hear and will answer us. He moves on our behalf because of our faith. Oh, how thankful I am that the sweet precious of the Lord filled that place. My heart went out to them and I cannot express how thankful I am that I was given the privilege to speak to them.

We closed out the day with a delicious meal of fried fish on the river. God is changing me, even in small ways. To some, the fact that I ate a fish that still had its head attached may not seem significant to others but I don't even eat chicken wings back in the states because the sight of bones in my food turns my stomach. The fact that I haven't been completely in panic mode over traffic is a miracle, just ask my closest friends. Not one bout of car sickness since I left the school. God is working for me in ways that I didn't see coming. My desire to share Christ with these people astounds me sometimes. Sometimes, I feel so inadequate compared to those with so much more experience, but maybe my zeal and compassion for these souls will make up for my inexperience. Gloria, Hallelujah, Dios te bendiga! (God bless you!)

Day 3

2/26/2017

     Well from the get go, I woke up late because my phone hasn't had service to change time zones and I've been sleeping like a log so even with everyone moving about in the room, I didn't wake up. It wasn't too big of a deal, though and I got ready in enough time.

     I was helping Sis. Lisa teach the 8 to 13 year olds for Sunday School. I've never taught Sunday school in my life and I don't have much experience in anything involved with teaching children, unfortunately. But I do my best and try not to be afraid to put my hand anything I'm told to do. I was in charge of the object lesson and the memory verse game.

     Sis. Lisa and I put our ideas together and decided to teach on having clean hands and a pure heart. She taught the lesson on the Hebrew children and Daniel when they refused to eat the king's meat and drink the king's wine and then they refused to bow to the idol. She really is great with the children and I enjoyed watching her interact with them. The kids here love her. She's been here so many times that she's kind of watched some of them as they grow up and they know her so there isn't that stranger factor so it's really precious to watch her with them.

     Lisa did wonderfully, but I kind of messed up. I left the supplies for my object lesson back at the house! I was so embarrassed. It ended out working out though. Ruth had food coloring and Ashton was very kind and went to the store and got some baking soda for me. My object lesson was based on the fact that a baking soda paste will remove food coloring from the skin. The application was that when we touch the world (the food coloring) it gets us dirty and we have to pray to Jesus (the baking soda paste) to remove the stain. I was very nervous! My hands were shaking so much! It went pretty well though.

     I also did the memory verse game. It was pretty difficult for me because I had a game ready but then I didn't understand what Sis. Bonita was saying to the kids so I was kind of lost. We did Psalm 24:3-4a "Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart." I wrote it out on construction paper and they had to hole the cards and then have one child put them in order. It was really fun and the kids seemed to get it pretty quick.

     I really liked it when Sis. Lisa taught the kids to do "Attitude check!" It was really neat because after just a few times, they didn't even have to translate for her. She would say "Attitude Check!" And the kids would pop up and say, "Gloria Dios!" It was pretty cool.

     The evening service was amazing. I loved hearing them sing and when the youth choir got up and sang "Al Clamor Final" (The Midnight Cry) the spirit of the Lord just came into that place. It was so sweet.

     I was extremely nervous when I introduced myself and pretty much forgot how to make a complete sentence. Ruth, Aaron, and Jeff testified and we sang. I was way more comfortable singing, which is as usual for me. Bro. Peretic preached very well about God knowing our names and how He wants to fill everyone with the Holy Ghost.

     They prayed in the altars and oh, how it touched my heart! I thoroughly enjoyed praying with the women. Where there is a language barrier, the Holy Ghost prays for and through me and I don't have to worry if they can understand because I know God understands and will move on their behalf even if they have no idea what I'm saying.

Day 2

2/25/2017

     There was a soup kitchen and three Saturday schools scheduled for Saturday. The ride to the soup kitchen was the first time I saw the country of Honduras in the daylight. I loved riding in the back of the truck because I love the warmth of the sun (something that is missing in Pennsylvania haha!) and the wind and being able to see everything so well. It is simply so beautiful!

      The soup kitchen was a lot of fun. I helped Sis. Paula sort through the lesson booklets that they pass out. One little boy that stuck out in my mind was named Aaron. He was so precious! He came up to me at the table and was asking for his booklet so he told me his name. I just thought he was so cute.

     To start off with one of the sisters from the church led a few songs. I loved watching the little children sing the songs and do the motions. I may not have understood what they were singing about but it still brought me joy to see their smiling little faces. Bro. Scott handed it over to the SENT team and Sis. Lisa began to narrate the story of the lame man at the gate that Peter and John came by and healed. I wasn't in the skit so I was on picture duty. I'm really thankful that I had the opportunity to just kind of observe what would be going on that first Saturday. It kind of gave me a feel for what was expected of me.

     After the skit we helped pass out the drinks, chips and hotdogs (the hotdogs had shredded cabbage and a really yummy sauce on them) to the children. They are so sweet. They know I can't understand them and they try to help me understand as best as they can - even the littlest of them. When we left, several of the children came up to me saying, "Adios!" and giving me hugs.

     We helped clean up at the soup kitchen and then headed out for the next Saturday school. The rest of the Saturday schools were at one or another of the church women's houses.
The one that stuck out to me most was at Sister Suyapa's house. We literally had to climb the side of a hill to get to her house. I recently suffered an injury to my left leg from about the middle of my shin all the way to my toes. When we flew, it swelled pretty bad and the bruising started looking terrible again. Well, anyway, I was pretty nervous about climbing up to Sister Suyapa's house but I managed and we had a great time putting on our skit for the kids there.

     All the Saturday schools were a success and we didn't have any major bumps in any of them. I loved being around the children and watching them as Bro. Allan prayed with them.

Day 1

2/24/2017

     When we pulled out of the school at 6:28 in the morning it suddenly hit me that this was really happening. I was really leaving the United States and going to Honduras. I've never been outside of the US in my life and to say I was nervous was an understatement. I'm a naturally anxious person in any case and this was not just a step out of my comfort zone, but a giant leap! Still, in the nervousness, there was plenty of excitement and expectation for what I would be involved in and what I would see once we arrived.

     The flight to El Salvador was pretty uneventful. I was tired so I went to sleep almost right away. When I woke up, I looked out the window to see what appeared to be the Florida Keys. I found it kind of odd that I woke up right when we flying over the last bit of the US before we crossed over to foreign soil. After about two more hours we landed in El Salvador. When we were coming in for landing I was watching out the window and just taking in all the sights. The mountain sticking out at the horizon, the deep, bright orange sun that was beginning to set, the patchwork of fields, it was all so beautiful and so foreign and yet, not so different. It occurred to me then that God made the whole world and just because I've only lived in one part of it, doesn't make the rest of it something I should fear or be anxious about. It's all my Father's world and the people in it are all loved by Him equally. That was when all my nervousness drifted away and I was left only with excitement. As I walked through the airport there in El Salvador I'm sure my eyes were as big as quarters trying to take everything in. I'm sure that people thought I was crazy! I ordered from subway, which was only kind of difficult because the women spoke a good bit of English. Several people on the team got something called a pupusa and I got to try that. It was basically a tortilla stuffed with meat and beans or cheese. It was really good!

     We were only in El Salvador for about an hour. I've never flown on such a small plane and I've never had to climb up the steps to a plane as opposed to walking on a ramp to the plane. Jeff kept trying to scare me about every little thing that happened on the plane but I didn't let him bother me. It was dark as we came into Honduras so I couldn't see anything this time. But, as we walked from the plane to the airport I couldn't help but grin. I was finally here! In Honduras and out of the US for the first time! How exciting!

     The trip to the Sumner's property was about an hour and a half long and I dozed in and out of sleep most of the way. I fell asleep almost as soon as I hit the pillow. What in the world would happen tomorrow? Only God knew.