Surprise!!! Early Departure

Last Saturday was the first time there was a church service at the property for almost a month and I was excited to see everyone again. I went up to the property alone with Estephanie our neighbor becuase Val had friends over for a baby shower type party for Patty. I sat with Christian and his family during the service and when the kids left for their class I followed to help out. After the class I played with the kids for a while then just sat and watched and kids would come and sit with me for a while. It was cool to see some young girls who I met during a visit to one families house there at the property. It shows that visiting ends up drawing people to the church, even if they were young ones. On Sunday my team had a soccer game at 9 in the morning. We ended up winning 3-2 and we need to win this Sunday to make the playoffs. After the game I stayed to help with two other games then headed home for lunch. Sunday night we didn't end up going to church because everyone was either sick or recovering from sickness except Ed and I. Instead we stayed home and watched Chronicles of Narnia. On Monday we had a normal school day and in the afternoon The boys and I went up to the property to help out Ed. AJ polyurethaned, Wes helped Ed cut and measure wood, and I sanded the bathroom stalls in one of the bathrooms. It was nice to get the boys out of the house and helping out with the ministry because it has been a while since they have been up there. On Tuesday Ed talked with me and offered me a chance to go home early. With Patty here much of their ministry time now needs to be focused on her and they would both be home a lot more. They said they didn't really need me here and I could go if I wanted to. He gave me the day off of teaching to think and pray about it. I thought and prayed about it all day and felt that through my devotions and prayer that God was telling me my call to Honduras was over. I came primarily to teach the boys and take care of their schooling and now that the Schuberts could do that with more time in the house I decided it would probably be better for me to go home rather than stay here. I also could tell that the Schuberts want more time with their new daughter and I was beginning to feel like the sixth wheel of the five person family. I think it is best that I leave so that they can continue establishing and building a relationship with Patty as she adjusts to her new home. Although I will miss the Honduran people I feel like this is still the right thing to do. It will be hard to say goodbye to everyone earlier than we all anticipated but I'm just happy for all the relationships that God has blessed me with during the time that I was down here. So I will be headed back to the States on Sunday May 3rd. I plan to either stay in my dad's house or my brother's house and work for a few months and then head to Dixon to work at Rock River Bible Camp. So Wednesday I gave the news to Ed that I think it would be better to leave and he and I have been making arrangements. We figured out the situation with my support and I am going to give most of the money between the ministries down here and the families that I have bonded with. I and taking a little of the support back with me to feed me while I'm back in the States. Wednesday I also had a school day with the boys and then went to visit Christian and his family in the afternoon. It was a fun visit but a little sad because I told them I would be leaving sooner that they thought. I love how much I have bonded with that family. It is cool because I bonded first with Christian and his little brother Christopher months ago while my Spanish was awful and as my Spanish got better I bonded with the rest of the family and now they have become my family who I love to go visit every week. On Thursday I did the normal school thing with the boys and then went up to the property to help Val with one of her English classes. Patty fell asleep in Val's arms and she passed her off to me when she needed to get up and write things on the boards. After the class I played soccer with the guys of the community. It was a good time and I was playing pretty well. I think I scored 4 or 5 goals, 2 with my giant head. The monkey bump comes in handy during the soccer games. Today I am at home alone with the boys doing their schooling while Val, Ed, and Patty are in the city running errands. I plan to make the most of this last week and a few days while I'm in Honduras and say all my goodbyes to all the people I have built relationships with. Thank you for all of your support through donations and prayer. This experience has been amazing and I have learned a lot about God and myself as I have been serving and obedient to his call. Although it will be hard to leave early I feel like it is the next step of obedience to Him. Adios and God bless.