I Want To Be Like You

This past week was absolutely crazy and very out of the norm. We had so many visitors in town from the U.S. I might as well have been in Texas… but I wasn't.

On Saturday our lovely friends and mentors, Robyn and Stephanie, from Texas and Oklahoma were in town for four days. We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas together! Christmas number one – check.

Saturday evening commenced our Christmas festivities. It involved decorating a brand new Christmas tree with new lights, ribbon, and ornaments (donated to us by a friend) while taking numerous breaks to stuff our faces with tons of chips, dips, crackers, cheeses, meats, fruit, and of course sweets and choreograph dances to “Call Me Maybe” (videos to come soon, promise).  Sunday was Christmas day! To open presents first and then have breakfast, or to eat first and then open presents? A tough call, for sure. But, we wound eating a huge, yummy breakfast and then making our way to our presents. Breakfast included homemade pancakes (however syrup appears to be very unpopular here in Honduras), bacon (made my yours truly), eggs, fresh pineapple, juice, milk, and coffee (my new favorite!). Afterwards we made our way to the living room for present opening time. I had the privilege of playing Santa and passing out presents to all the girls, Tia Julieta, and myself. We dumped open our stockings and found lots of fun goodies from Robyn and Stephanie, my favorite – a toss up between matching pajamas for all 7 girls in the house and my Texas A&M mug (that’s how I know Robyn loves me). After changing into our new Christmas pajamas we watched a Christmas movie favorite, Elf, but in Spanish of course. After pizza for dinner and a long and wild game of spoons we decided it was time for bed. And, by time for bed I mean the girls went to bed and Robyn, Stephanie, and I stayed up talking for a few hours. Sleep, who needs it?

During all of the cooking we did in the kitchen Sunday morning, Robyn and Stephanie (who cooks for a living) realized our kitchen was not very well equipped for cooking efficiently. They decided to generously outfit us with a new kitchen! So, they spent the morning shopping for us. I was convinced they bought basically the whole store until I went there yesterday and saw for myself there were still items on the shelf. Because of a great sale at the store they went to they were able to buy all kinds of new appliances, plates, Tupperware, baking necessities, and pots and pans for the house. After lunch and some really great conversation we put the girls to work cleaning out the cabinets and then it was time for organizing the kitchen, my favorite! After dinner, we finished organizing the entire kitchen and explained how to use everything in the kitchen. You can’t begin to understand my excitement to be able to cook in a well equipped once again and how incredibly overwhelmed I am by the generosity of my friends Robyn and Stephanie to do this for us!

I spent a lot of the four days with them overwhelmed, and not in a bad way. They are so wonderful; you really have to meet them to understand how incredible they are. But, seriously, they are full of wisdom, encouragement, and love for us. I want to be like them when I grow up (because 22 is not really adult like, right?) and by that I mean that in their lives I see the Lord reflected constantly and I pray that my life looks like that now and in the future.

The same day Robyn and Stephanie left several people from the Buckner offices in Dallas, TX came to town. It was great to be able to meet some of my bosses and put names to faces. It was even better to get to sit down and have long conversations with them and share my heart with them and hear their hearts and wisdom. And, it was so fun to see them love on these girls that I live with in the transition home. It was easy for me to see that for them Buckner is more than just a job for, it is a place they have all been called to and they truly do all their work as if working for the Lord.

Please pray for us in the house! A few days ago two of the girls that were here moved out and three new girls moved in. Pray for the transition, so far it has been smooth, but of course we’re still learning and adjusting. Please pray for us that we would feel be a family, which prays, laughs, and talks together. Pray that our time together would be fruitful and that God would use it. Pray that God would give me wisdom and discernment in conversations with these sweet girls. Pray that I would take advantage of every opportunity to love them.

Thanks and gig ‘em.

Peace, love, and pursue Jesus.

Kellie