Sunday, December 4, 2011

Silent Killer

Honduras has the highest murder rate in Central America. This is what I´ve been reading in the news but haven´t understood until now. 

When I think of violence I think of my neighborhood in Chicago where gun fire is a common sound at night. I think of dark cars creeping down a street or suspicious figures standing on a corner.  When I think of violence I think of how my own home was exposed to 10 rounds of ammunition...  I think of violence ending in police cars and flashing lights.

Here in Honduras the only sounds at night are roosters crowing and dogs barking.  The only cars creeping past are the occasional taxis navigating the unpaved road.  I have never seen a corner roped off by police tape or squad cars flying by.  So where is all of this violence??

Violence here is a silent killer.  Its not announced by screaming sirens or crowds of bystanders.  Violence here happens quietly.  The only way you would know it exists is if you know the people it affects. And it affects EVERYONE. 

The more I get to know my friends the more I am horrified at the atrocities they have faced.  Every one of them has a horrific story of how a loved one was murdered.  Some have stories of whole families being massacred!  None of these were gang or drug related.  Some were solely over arguments and others over money.  Young children have been killed over nothing!

I am still trying to digest all of this.  But I don´t think its possible.  When my friends share their heart and hardships it almost seems unreal.  Is this really the country I´m living in? Did these things really happen to my wonderful friends?? Now when I sit and listen to the silence I know there is an evil at work all around me.  The silence is no longer peaceful. 

Poverty and neglect brought me here.  Now I realize there is much more... I don´t own a gun and the only physical weapon I have is pepper spray.  But I know I have a greater defense.  Please pray for Honduras!













Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Anchored

So it has been a while since my last post...  There are a lot of reasons for this (one being my computer is on its last leg)  but it is definitley not for a lack of content!  Totally the opposite actually.  Every day here is a new experience.  Some, no most of them are wonderful experiences and I feel blessed beyond words.  Others just stretch my faith.  But during every experience I have this anchor.  This anchor cheers me up when I'm sad and encourages me when my pace slows.  This wonderful anchor reminds me why I'm here and why I can't leave.  It inspires me to think outside of the box and continues to challenge me.  I wanted to show you what anchors me.  What keeps me here.  What keeps me passionate and determined to fight. 

Its the children.


Sweet, inquisitive Moises followed me around for hours asking me to take pictures.  When I told him this  would be his last picture this was his smile.


I was having lunch one day with 3 very entertaining young boys.  I excused myself to get a glass of water and returned to an empty table! Wonder where they went??


Little Nohelia.  This is her pouting face.  She only does it by request now that she knows it makes me laugh.
hahaha ;)



We took the 3,4 and 5 year olds on a walk through town.  On our way an elderly woman was blessed to tears by the kindess of the children. 


Anchored.




    









Thursday, October 27, 2011

The Devil's Rope

Today I sat in my new home trying to figure out what was wrong.  It had been three days since a visit from my little friend and I still hadn't been able to shake its effect. 

Three days ago a little face appeared behind my 10 foot front gate.  His small voice yelled 'Naomi!' and I ran out to greet him.  I unlocked the gate welcoming him in and he motioned to his mother running not far behind. 

We sat on my front steps and I desperately tried to understand what she was saying.  Between her humble, toothless smiles I finally understood.  Her home had no water or electricity and she was telling me they were out of food.  All I could do was sit there occasionally glancing at the fragile, little frame of the boy sitting next to me.  My mind flashed back to my pitiful bank account and my empty cabinets.  I could do nothing more than offer her the money in my pocket.

That night, as my friends and I ate dinner, another little face appeared through a window and asked for our scraps. A little girl came into the small chicken place, scraped our leftovers into a plastic bag and said thank you.  She couldn't have been more than 7.  I felt like crying.

Today, as I sat staring into space I noticed the barbed wire ominously stretched around the perimeter of our home. It made me think.  This is a common sight in Honduras.  With poverty and crime the norm everyone is concerned with self preservation.  This wire represents safety for the people inside but what about the innocent people trapped outside?

As I sit here protected by my barbed wire fence I almost feel smothered.  I'm not here with a big organization.  It's just me.  And as the reality of life in Honduras sinks in all I can do is pray, knowing that God's pockets are bigger than mine.

If you would like to make a difference please let me know.  In Honduras a little goes a long way.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

La Cucaracha

A new post already you ask?  Yes!  I have experienced so much in the past 4 days I could write a book! But don't worry I won't.  I'm going to try to summarize.  Let me just begin by saying that I thank God for my friends here.  If it weren't for them... well I don't even want to think about it.  BECAUSE of them I have assimilated much faster than I would have on my own... about 1,000 times faster!! Ok so the summary.

If I were a realtor in Honduras this is how I would NOT sell our house:

Big 4 bedroom 3 bathroom home in the heart of Comayagua! Features include:

 - running water for only 5 hours in the middle of the day (when no one is home)
 - large cockroaches (which can only be killed by 50lb suitcases)
 - termites which are eating the closets and pooing all over the shelves (who knew they did that?)
 - ants everywhere including the walls and bed (some even give nasty bites and take a swim in the drinking water)

What am I still doing here you ask?  Adjusting very quickly!  I've even begun planning my 1st cockroach
kill.  It involves a baseball bat and a shovel...  I confronted one last night with my gym shoe but he wasn't fazed and got away.

Anyway, I've titled this post La Cucaracha in honor of my friend and new roommate Diana.  God bless her for listening to me talk about La Cucaracha day and night! Well Diana, if you are reading this I am a new person.  Watch out giant roaches here I come!  (I still scream a little but I'm working on it)

Tomorrow I begin my work at the orphanage.  I am so excited to see their little faces!  It makes EVERYTHING worth it.

Here are a few pics just in case you're curious.  And if you were hoping for a picture of my arch nemesis, La Cucaracha,  sorry I'm not THAT brave yet :)



My arrival!  What a welcoming sight!!


This is a Pila.  It's found in almost every Honduran home.  It is filled with water and used to wash, shower and flush toilets when the city water gets shut off! 

A beautiful tree in our front yard.  (I'm not sure of the name of it yet.)

And finally my closet shelves.  The termites eat faster than I thought.  Another few days and I will have to reorganize!

Sunday, September 25, 2011

My Fairy Tale

For years I’ve been reading about people who have stepped out in crazy faith.  They would hear God and follow Him fearlessly.  No matter the circumstance they had faith in the Power that was and is greater than any in existence.  I wondered if I would truly ever posses that kind of faith…  I think if any of us are honest with ourselves we realize there are many times we crumble under the harshness of this world.  We don’t immediately lean on the Rock that we stand on.  But as I thought of this past year I realized I HAD found that Faith I was looking for!
This past year brought with it painful loss and heartache.  Though when I reflect I see the unbelievable strength I had in those circumstances. Though it wasn’t my strength in that time it was God’s!  Wow.  And when I think of my unconventional call to Honduras I see the crazy confidence I’ve had.  Even though every circumstance screamed impossibility I knew I had to go.  And as the year progressed obstacle after obstacle disappeared!
So now I’m leaving the country in one week.  God has paved a miraculous trail up to this point but I still ask for your prayers and support!  I’m not asking for a “fairy tale” ending.  I don’t want my toad to turn into a prince.   But I do want my life to bring a better one to those in Honduras.  My prayer is for God to lead me to the person in desperate need of help, to the child who has given up hope.  I don’t just want to be a teacher to the orphans but an inspiration! 
God has turned my life from an ugly toad into His beautiful child.  This is the beginning of My Fairy Tale please help me complete the end.
Stay tuned - more to come very soon!  J 

Sunday, August 7, 2011

I hear Him calling


The orphanage in the mountains of Honduras

10 days.  This is the number of days I have until I leave everything I've ever called home.  I'm leaving my family and friends, my home and all of my belongings.  The closer this date gets the more I am asked if I'm nervous.  The strange thing is the closer this date gets the less nervous I am!  I had to take a minute to think about this.  Am I just throwing caution to the wind?  Or maybe my sanity has left...  No, it's none of these.  The closer I get to leaving the stronger I hear Him calling.  His call is louder than the balance in my bank account.  It is louder than my 2 week notice and lack of health insurance.  His call smothers any doubt or fear and creates a passion that overtakes me.  I'm overtaken with idea after idea of how I can help those that have no help.  I'm overtaken with the feeling that I can make a difference in Honduras.

For those of you that don't know exactly what I will be doing I'd like to take a minute to explain.  I will spend the next month working with IMI Ministries in Minnesota.  During this time I will get certified to teach English and learn as much Spanish as possible.  After this month I will fly to Honduras.  In Honduras I'll be teaching English to about 50 orphans.  Their ages range anywhere from toddler to teenager.  Learning English will greatly increase their chances of getting a good job when they leave the orphanage and will offer them a great future.  I've also decided to hold English classes in a small impoverished village where the IMI orphanage use to be.  These village kids are hungry to learn but their public school system does not afford them the opportunities they deserve.  This, I believe, is only the tip of what I will do in Honduras.



The village kids

I have read that the hardest thing for missionaries to do is ask for support.  I can say this is true.  But even though I have no fear about my future, I know that to help these children I have to ask for support.  The cost of living in Honduras will be about $400 a month. If there is a tug on your heart to make a difference please take a minute to donate through the donate button on this blog.  A little can go a long way in Honduras.  Any extra money I receive will be spent on teaching supplies.  As of right now I will need a set of teaching manuals, a dry erase board and paper and pencils. 

Here am I Lord.  Send me.





Monday, June 13, 2011

Destiny


I've always wondered what it would take to become a missionary.  Growing up, I saw the occasional missionary speak at a Sunday service.  The missionary would fill the allotted time with stories of people he had helped and trials he had endured.  If we were lucky there would be a video giving life to his words. But before the story could truly begin he would be packing up his display in the back of the church and heading off to share with the next congregation. 

After these visits I use to sit and wonder if all it took to become a missionary was a call from God.  Did these missionaries wake up one day and decide to move to some remote land?  Was the vision enough to pack up their families and brave some third world country?  I never had the opportunity to find out.  That is until now.

My countdown has begun.  In less than 3 months I will be leaving everything I've worked for my whole life. ( I finally own a Kitchen Aid!)  All kidding aside the preparation has started to put butterflies in my stomach.  Expensive vaccines, outrageous dental work and stretched finances have all occupied my time.  I was pretty impressed with myself until this past weekend when I learned my first valuable lesson.

I've always believed destiny to be something out of our control.  Destiny just happened.  You lived your life to the best of your ability and POOF your destiny swept you away to a place made just for you.  Well, I realized (ok no I was corrected) that you had to STEP INTO your destiny or it would pass you by!  Maybe you're doing something you know you shouldn't or not doing something you know you should... maybe you're doing nothing at all.  Any of these things can leave you stranded as your destiny passes you by!  It makes no difference how hard you are working or how well you are planning.  God needs us listening to Him, trusting Him and moving for Him.  THEN we will be stepping into HIS destiny for us:
 
"No eye has seen,
    no ear has heard,
 no mind has conceived
    what God has prepared for those who love
       him"  1 Corinthians 2:9

This is where I want to be. 





Monday, April 18, 2011

My Story

My name is Naomi and I am from Chicago, Illinois. 

This will be my third time traveling to Honduras in July with Global Impact Foundation.  The families, children, and orphans that I have formed relationships with have had a major impact on my life.  Such a big impact, in fact, that I have decided to devote an entire year to living in Honduras to make a difference in their lives and learn more about them.

During my last trip to Honduras, I was able to see God work through the eyes of a little boy named Jesus.  He had recently become very ill and was frequently losing consciousness.  His family was unable to fund a doctor's visit to diagnose his condition.  While I was there, his condition was worsening. 

I knew that a doctor's visit was imperative.  Through the loving and giving hearts of our group, we were able to pool enough money together to pay for the doctor's visit for Jesus.  Through an interpreter, I negotiated fees with a local doctor.  As it turned out, Jesus was diagnosed with a case of tonsillitis.  If left untreated, his condition would continue to worsen until bacteria traveled to his heart and threatened his life.  Thankfully, we were able to fund the surgery.  During my upcoming time there, I hope to be able to share more stories like this one with you.

I am looking for financial support which will enable me to spend a year making a difference.   I would greatly appreciate any donation, big or small, to my cause.  These funds will enable me to pay for housing costs, food, and transportation.  Any funding above and beyond my needs will go to aid the most needy of Honduras. 

Thank you for helping me help them.  Please keep me in your prayers as I begin my journey.


Naomi Kankowske

e-mail  naomigk1@gmail.com