Mexico sights

The first picture is of me and Cindy and my brother Richard. Cindy is the one who I call mi hermana mexicana (my Mexican sister)... We're so alike that it's scary. I had a really significant bonding experience with her in March 2005, and we correspond frequently. I am happy that I got to see her again. I don't know when I will see her again.

The second and third pictures are of Richard and Feliciano. Richard and Feliciano got close when we were in Mexico last week. Richard is now the owner of most of Feliciano's toys, a bracelet that Feliciano made for him, and Feliciano's Bible. Feliciano is the owner of Richard's orange bracelet. If you are a myspace member and go to my myspace account (www.myspace.com/saracatharine), then you can see the video of the secret handshake that Feliciano and Richard made up.

I miss Mexico.

Action Item: pray for The kids at the orphanage in Estado 29. Espcially Feliciano and Cindy, who have very big and very special places in both my and my brother's heart.

back from Mexico... humbled.

Hey! Mexico was amazing this year. Our team was smaller than last year, and a group of 32 was much more manageable than a group of 50! Being back at Estado 29 (the orphanage) and using my Spanish made me excited for Honduras, but nervous at the same time.

I realized that even though I'm pretty good at Spanish, there's no way that I'd be able to navigate Honduras by myself if anything were to go wrong. And, I probably wouldn't feel safe going anywhere by myself... especially at night. My Spanish will eventually improve, and that is a good thing. I found myself struggling for verb tenses, and adjective endings and all that stuff. When do you use por and when do you use para? What the heck is the word for 'excited'?

And, I realize once again that it's always been about the kids. Their faces. Their smiles. Their evident love and passion for a God that loves them. Why can't kids from USAmerica have that radiance? We get cars when we turn 16 and these orphans don't even have their licenses. We fight with our parents who love us and these orphans have watched their fathers abandon them, their mothers murdered, and been susceptable to their abuse. We are dying for new clothes, an iPod, $30.00 for dinner and a movie, and for our siblings to stay out of our rooms, and these orphans get hand-me-downs and share a room with a dozen other kids. They all have very few possessions.

But, still... these kids sing, pray, and truly love the Lord and count on him for everything. Even the few worldly possessions they have are given away to gringos like us at the end of a mission trip week. As Carrie said, "Elizabeth has 5 Beanie Babies on her bed, and just gave two of them to me." When a friend asks to borrow money or a dress, I have to think twice. Why?

This week taught me a lot, and God put a lot on my heart and showed me things that he wanted to change about me.


On the last night, Feliciano (age 11) came up to me and started hugging me goodbye. I didn't want to be the first to let go, so we embraced for a while and then i felt him start to cry. I pulled back and looked at his big brown eyes, filled with tears for me. It was the only time I cried that week. And, it wasn't just crying, but it was like someone said, "it's ok Sara... let it all out." I cried for my selfishness. I cried for my self righteousness. I cried for my selfcenteredness. I cried for Feliciano and his two sisters who live at the orphanage. I cried for all the stories I heard that week and how sad they are. I cried for all the times growing up that I said "woe is me" as an upper-middle class white girl living in USAmerica. But, most of all, I cried for the fact that Feliciano is going to faithfully pray for me and my brother Richard every day. He'll anxiously wait for our letters. Will I do the same?


I'm crying now.


Action Item: pray for my team and I as we process our experiences in Mexico and come to terms with the things that God showed us this week. Pray also for Feliciano, who taught me to love everyone without holding back.

heart full of praise

"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart." ~Confucius

quote on the card that Becca Spotts sent to me today. I'm going to Honduras with all of my heart.

Action Item: pray for those who follow their dreams and go with all their heart. And for Becca who is going into the Peace Corps in July.

so where is Honduras?

that is Honduras.


just check out this website for more information. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honduras


Action Item: pray for Honduras!

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's official!

My dad sent me an e-mail on March 25 with the subject 'booked'. In the e-mail, was my flight information. (!) The flight, paid for by Deb and Ev, confirmed what I had been hoping and praying would happen since 2003. So, with the ticket bought, I just have to use it.

Next, I had to tell my boss Rose that, although I said I would be working at Starbucks until September, I'd actually be out of the country from July 1-August 19, and wouldn't exactly be able to serve up those yummy lattes, get frappuccino mix all over myself and get hit on by creepy men. I have been praying about telling Rose for a bit, and was actually incredibly nervous as we sat down to do my 6 month review last Tuesday. But, God is good, and Rose couldn't have been happier for me. "Of course you have to go! This is an amazing opportunity, Sara!" (I told her I'd check out the coffee situation in Honduras and bring my store back some coffee... so we can do coffee pairings, because we love them so much!) So, I didn't have to worry about 600 people in West Chester getting their caffiene fix without me every day. Someone will take my place while I'm gone. (Erin?) And, she said that I could work at the store when I come back for a month before I go to Princeton, which was also great news, considering that I'll need some cash flow for my trips to wisconsin, new york city, wherever Richard goes to college, and the D Bar.

If you haven't talked to me in the past... oh... four years... then I'll catch you up. I love Honduras. And, I'm not that bad at speaking Spanish. And, I've been talking with Mauricio and Ana since 2003 about living with them. "Talking with them" basically means it was me asking them if I could live with them and they said "sure". It just never worked out until now. I had an internship last summer (amazing), and also had this little thing called COLLEGE that didn't allow me to go abroad for an extended period of time. My original intent back in 2004 was to graduate early and spend 9 months in Honduras before I went to Princeton. But, I needed to get realistic and realize that I had an apartment lease, and needed benefits, and needed money, so I set those dreams aside. To make a long story short, some things worked out, and Mauricio and Ana said I could live with them for the summer I'm actually able to go to Honduras for 7 weeks. I couldn't be happier.

So... say you're goodbyes, because I'm definitely leaving! Hasta Luego! (ok so that's a little premature, but I'm excited that a lot of things have become set in stone in the past week.)

Action Items: Pray for 3 of my friends from church who are going down this week to see Mauricio and Ana and see the health clinic and get some things situated for my church's trip in August. Pray for my upcoming trip to Mexico on Friday-- that my passions would be rekindled for the Latin American culture, and that my Spanish would be up to par, and for mi hermana mexicana Cindy who lives at the orphanage.