¡Feliz Navidad!

It's been a little over 3 weeks that I've been here. It's amazing what can happen in that amount of time! On one hand, it feels like time had flown by, but on the other time I still have so much time left.

Honduras is a beautiful place, surrounded by mountains. Technically Tegucigalpa is in a valley, but just think of it as a huge mountain that had it's top blown off and now is just a series of of smaller mountains and larger hills. If your car can't do hills, you probably shouldn't live in Teguz(Tegucigalpa), or Honduras :P

As for life here, well, my family is amazing, and extremely helpful with my Spanish. My host parents are Angelica and Miguel. They are amazing people with a great sense of humor. I enjoy playing with their 3-year-old grandson, Daniel, and holding little Jose Miguel, who is just 6-months. We call him Gordito(little chubby). I live in Colonia Kennedy, which is a series of houses very close together which you can't get to by car, but with a sidewalks and walking streets connecting all the houses. Everyone has to park outside of the "barrio" in a parking-lot that had to be built. We get to thank JFK for that. When he had Colonia Kennedy built, he had it made that way because "people of the lower classes don't have cars." He wasn't putting much hope for their future, it seems. Now almost everyone had a car, especially beause the housing is relatively inexpensive.

My Spanish is getting better every day. I'm able to communicate probably 30-40% better than I was before I came. I have to remind myself of that when I am frustrated about my inability to put across exactly what I want to say.

The past weeks we've gotten to do some fun things, like see the giant Jesus statue famous in Honduras, go to El Obrero Parque with our families, where Carey and I rode horses. Just this past Saturday we went to la Tigra. Some family members came along, from Carey and Melanie's families. la Tigra is up on the mountain, almost at the top. We went to a waterfall, and it was absolutely gorgeous. My knee hurts a lot from it now, unfortunately.

But what is God doing? Where is God in the capital city, where 1 million people live, in one of the poorest country's in the world.
Let me answer that by telling you a little bit about the Micah Project. The Micah Project is a place that takes in street boys, usually around the age of 11 or 12. But they don't just take in any street boy-they look for specific boys-glue users. Glue is the drug of choice for children here--they get it from shoe vendors who sell it and then put it in bottles and stick the bottles in their shirts, sniffing it and getting high all day. The kids are easily spotted, with glazed eyes and bottles in their shirts. Almost all of them won't recieve hight than a 6th grade education, and most only get up to 3rd or 4th grade, and some don't recieve any at all and cannot read or write.
Like most Central American countries, Honduras is ripe with drug trafficking. The Micah Project is located in a barrio in one of the most dangerous parts of the city, and their line of work makes them rather unfavored by all the local dealers. Probably the most infuriating thing about all this is the amount of drug trafficking that is specifically targeting children. For instance, there is a cocaine dealer who offers crack to kids 12 and under for free, just to get them addicted. How sick is that?? And what is God doing? We got to visit the Micah Project the first Tuesday in Honduras--we will actually be working with them during the months of February to May. We talked with the head of the industrial stuff at Micah Project. He directs the wood shop, welding shop, and is hoping to start an auto-shop soon, giving the boys a skill they don't have to go to college for if college isn't something that will work for them. Here, if you have high-school education that's a big thing. He is also a mentor at The Timothy House, where they house their older boys, usually ages 16 and up. The Timothy House is where they do a lot of discipleship. He shared with us what they had been doing in their bible study, and with tears in his eyes, told us about how he and the boys had been reading and discussing the passage in John chapter 1, starting in verse 43:

43The next day Jesus decided to leave for galilee. Finding Philip, he
said to him, "Follow me." 44Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town
of Bethsaida. 45Philip found Nathanael and told him, "We have found the one
Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote--Jesus
of Nazareth, the son of Joseph."
46"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" Nathanael asked.
"Come and see," said Philip.


"Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?" The guys in Timothy House were asking the same question, only using a different name:
"El barrio! Can anything good come from there?"
Can it? A place with so much suffering, where children die from overdose or not paying for their drugs? Where boys are forced out of their homes very early by a stepfather who doesn't want to take care of them, and girls can't go out along for fear of rape.
Can anything good come from there?
Did Jesus Christ die on the cross for all man's suffering, sin, and depravation? more importantly, did he overcome death, scorning it's shame, and giving us freedom?
Let me illustrate the answer to all those questions with a story about Martin.
Martin was the inspiration for Micah Project. Michael Miller, founder of the Micah Project, met Martin in 1994 when he came to Tegucigalpa for a study program with Wheaton College for their International Relations program. Martin was one of the first boys the taken into the Micah Project. We had the honor of seeing photos of Martin's graduation from college in Illinois, Michael's home state.

So yes, something good can come, and will come, and has come from this broken place. Because Jesus makes beauty from pain. I take confidence in these verses, Psalm 27:13-14

13I am still confidant of this:
I will see the goodness of Lord
in the land of the living.
14Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.

So I am waiting, actively waiting.
Doing my part, looking for the opportunities, and waiting on the Holy Spirit.

¡Feliz Navidad! God is with us!

Amor siempre en Cristo,
Evi

¡Hola, Tegucigalpa!

Hola, mi amigos :)

So, I'm in Tegucigalpa, Honduras! I know, super awesome! It's actually a little strange being here. As we were flying over Honduras, and I was admiring the many, many mountains--that's all Honduras is, mountains!--I realized that i had absolutely NO expectations. I hadn't once thought "Hmm, I wonder what Honduras will be like...", so i was going in not knowing what to expect at all, and hardly wondering either. I think I'm still in shock that I'm here, I think, and just taking everything as it goes.

Our flights went well, and I think I probably got a total of an hour and a half between the two flights, which is pretty good I think. On the flight from Miami to Tegucigalpa none of us were sitting by eachother, and we were probably the only non-spanish speakers on the plane :) But, I got a window seat and got to talk to the guy sitting next to me, named Angel, a native of Honduras. So we chatted about what I would be doing and so on. It was pretty neat.

I was most afraid about going through immigration and customs, but they were very kind and wonderful(better then in New York!).

So I'm here! We are staying at Barry and Kimberly's house until Saturday afternoon, and then we'll be dropped at our host families--a little scary, I know! Until then we just have some orientation, and just getting accustomed to being here!

Needless to say, I am SO excited to be here, and just writing about it makes me more so! Keep me in your prayers, and praise God for keeping us safe thus far..."Here I raise my Ebenezer..."

Amor siempre en Cristo :)

Hasta luego!

And so here I am, my last night (although it's early morning) in Pennsylvania for 6 months! It's a scary thought, yes, but very exciting too. I find the more I talk about going to Honduras and the new experiences I'll be having, the more excited I'm becoming.

A few things before I head off into the great unknown:
*If you wish to be on my prayer list, please let me know! Email or Facebook will do.
*I fly out of JFK on Wednesday at 7:10am, so be praying that all goes smoothly! Especially once we hit Honduras and have to go through immigration and customs.
* I WILL be able to receive padded envelopes and snail-mail, just no boxes and what-not, because I'll have to pay taxes on those. You can send those things to:
Evi Long
c/o Barry & Kimberly Horst
Apartado 15005, CP 11105,
Tegucigalpa, Honduras,
Central America


So, goodnight and thanks for the fish! (and prayers!)
Love you all, and Hopefully you will get an update at the end of the week--yes, once I've actually arrived!

And the procrastinator strikes again!

Wow, so I have not written in forever. Fail, eh? It’s okay, I’ll be writing from my journal…except, unfortunately, I send my older journal home. Well, that’s okay.

Alright, so, after PA it took us like a week to get back into the swing of things. So the week we were back was strange, and then Bonnie left that Thursday to go back to PA to do taxes and stuff for the ministry. But, was was awesome about that weekend was that Steve took us downtown (we really don’t do a lot of site-seeing. We chill in the real New york. :D) to Dallas BBQ, which is a delicious place to eat. This was just basically an AWESOME evening. It was October 30th, the day before Halloween…which equals costume parties, all over. So hilarious. On the way there I sat next to a grown man in a head to toe Lion costume, and then by a little Hannah Montana… She was so cute. We discovered a Timmy’s (Tim Horton’s) right beside Dallas BBQ. Needless to say, Melanie was quite ecstatic. For those of you who aren’t aware, Tim Horton’s is the Canadian Starbucks, and Canadians are insanely proud of it, and swear it’s better. It’s named after a Hockey player (of course). Funny fact: According to legend, the first Timmy’s was actually in Buffalo, NY.  It was pretty delicious, I must say. My coffee was delectable, along with the donut. And I’m able to say that my first trip to Timmy’s was with a true blue Canadian  I think that’s pretty awesome.

Let’s see, we also saw an awesome little kid dancing to a live band playing some good ol’ MJ! He was adorable, and the bass player was super cool. But what bass player isn’t? Yes, that is a stereotype. It’s okay. Of course that got me in the mood for the Prince of Pop, so I listened to him for the rest of the evening.
On our way back to the metro station (yah, that’s a band too), we came across some skaters, and a 10-stair set. Having friends who skate, I was interested to see if they would do it. So we encouraged them to. It took them a while, but one finally did, crossing himself beforehand, and landed it! They wanted a kiss for their efforts (they were probably 7th-9th graders). We gave them a dollar instead and told them they would get farther with it  On the way home, I sat across from Luna Lovegood and Ginny Weasley. Those are characters from Harry Potter, for those non-Harry Potter fanatics. Luna’s costume was especially great, complete with radish earrings and cork earrings! I complimented them…they were awesome. Final awesome thing of the night was that while we were waiting for the bus, Mel and I were listening to Michael J on my ipod, and I believe it was Beat It, and I was singing along, and a guy was passing by and he stopped and looked over my shoulder at my ipod, and I said “It’s Michael Jackson!” And he said “Alright!” and gave us this huge grin. It made me happy  I love little instances of awesome bonding with strangers, even over Michael Jackson. So that was that weekend.

November 1st Dick Marks and Pastor Ben came from Fairview Ave. to do the mentoring for that Monday and Tuesday. Pastor Ben taught on our value to God, and then Dick did sessions on personalities. That was extremely helpful. I think especially for our team dynamics. I’m the only Lion in our group, and I am a Lion/Otter. God has just been revealing to me areas in my personality that I need to be careful of, but also revealing good things about it as well. The good things about it is the hardest. When reading, and just what I know is generally perceived of my personality, I often feel like I have the most obnoxious, or “disliked” personality.

And now I will vent for a minute. I feel better when I express my thoughts in writing. Lately I’ve been so frustrated with how women are viewed in the world, STILL, even in America, our “free” country. I’ve always said, and now I’m sure, that if I wasn’t a Christian, I would be a ridiculously hardcore feminist. I’m certainly a huge advocate for women’s rights. It’s frustrating to me that with my personality I’m seen as bossy, bold (in a bad way), over-the-top, just-says-things-and-doesn’t-know-what-she’s-talking-about, loud, too opinionated, blah blah and so on, but if I were a guy, I would more likely be seen as someone who is a very strong leader, who cuts to the point (in a good way), who is friendly and jolly. I’m frustrated that women are seen as weak, and I’m going to have to say ESPECIALLY in the Christian circle. How wrong is that? I hate that when you go places, girls shouldn’t go alone, because horrible people prey on women. Why? Because they are seen as lesser. And everything is “for our protection,” and I understand that, but that still doesn’t make it right! I haven’t come to a conclusion on all my thoughts, but I’m tired of just saying “I wish I was a guy!” because I like the fact that I’m a strong, smart, articulate woman. I hate feeling inferior, or being treated like I’m stupid because I don’t know the technical this and I don’t know how to fix this or that in a car, because I bet you that in an interview, I’d make a better impression because of my communication skills. I know this probably sounds haughty, but really, I need to get this out in writing, because I think verbally, especially through the written word. I can say exactly what I mean and not worry about letting the wrong things slip from my tongue.
Moving on. The weekend after Pastor Ben and Dick came, I kind of took a breather that Saturday. I just needed some quiet time. So while the rest of the team went down-town, I stayed home and had an amazing Jesus time, and caught up on reading. Then Bonnie and I went to Lunch at Applebees, and had a good long talk. It was so good for me. I was in dire need of one, cause I’m so used to being able to just talk to my mama. And we went shopping  I got some things for Honduras, which is awesome.

We went to PA this past weekend! Just the day before we left we got the news of Lynn Myers death. What a blow. All these deaths are driving me crazy. I really don’t understand, although I don’t expect to. I really don’t know what to think. It seems that Brethren in Christ missionaries especially have been under attack this year. Mike Holland I know spoke at Fairview about praying for our missionaries, and how important it is. I think everything is more vivid to me right now because I’m technically in the position of “missionary” right now. Mike challenged “Would you want to be on the mission field with the kind of prayer support you are giving?” That even hit me hard. It challenged me to be praying even more. My sister asked me this question right after Lynn’s passing: Why isn’t God protecting his people?” This is a loaded question, and had me thinking, and I thought “Maybe we aren’t asking…” Not to say that God only works when we ask, but there IS a spiritual battle, and we are horrible soldiers. I think God is calling his people to action. There is no longer room for luke-warm Christians. To quote Dumbledore, “The time has come to choose between what is right, and what is easy.” So, my response has been prayer, and some verses that have been a constant comfort over this past year. One is a prayer:
Psalm 10:12
Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, Oh God. Do not forget the helpless.

And the second is a comforting thought of God’s love for his children:
Psalm 116:15
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

So, we went to PA! And to Ignite! What an awesome time! RootSide Up played, and therefore I got to see Siah, Seth, Micah, Judah,and David. That was wonderful. And Alicia and Matt came, and Hopey, and I got to see Mom and Dad and Mercy for a little bit when they dropped Hope off. Marleen and David Geiger were there with Ephraim. He is so adorable  We had some baby worship time with him. The Danneckers were the main speakers. They are missionaries in Jerusalem, working with SACH(Save A Child’s Heart) with their organization 1heart. SACH is a top humanitarian organization in Israel, and partnered with 1heart, gives free heart surgery to children with congenital heart disease. It’s really an amazing ministry. They come into contact with Palestinian refugees, mostly all Muslim. It’s such a great opportunity. They are due to go back in probably about a week, but I think they still need funds, so please, go support them! You can do paypal on the BICWM website, click on Give, and then Missionary Support, and choose Hank & Michelle Dannecker. Really awesome people doing the Lord’s work. So, Hank prayed for my knee, after we spoke and he spoke, and then Alicia did too. It felt like a hot pocket when Alicia was praying for it. It was pretty amazing. And my knee has been feeling really great, and I haven’t been wearing my brace (on doctors orders!). So that is a praise!

Saturday Greg from Priority 1 talked to us about Cross-cultural sensitivity, and then in the evening we went to Emily’s house! It was so fun! Josiah and Hope came, along with Steven, and Steven’s friend Ben Paulding! We ate delicious food, and played an intense game of Dutch Blitz! 2 decks, baby! It was so fun. Great to spend quality time with my sibs 

On Sunday we went and spoke at West Side BIC in Chambersburg. It was much smaller than Manor, that is for sure! But really good. The people were lovely, and we went and ate lunch with the pastor, Jim Sollenburger, and his family. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. In the evening we went and hung out at Five Forks BIC with the youth kind of. Michelle came, so I got to hang out with her! And then there was a Southern Gospel Choir (I know, awesome, right? :P), but my ipod had broken like 4 days earlier, so I had called my good from John Tabor about fixing it when I came home that weekend, so he met me at Five Forks! So, Emily and I stayed downstairs to wait for John while the rest went to enjoy the concert. He fixed it, and showed me how to fix it if it ever happened again. What an awesome friend  He is super cool and smart, and this is a shout out to him! Then we jut sat there and enjoyed music. It was great because I hadn’t seen him in a while.

Monday and Tuesday we went to Chambersburg BIC to have leadership sessions with Pastor Larry again! It was nice to see him again. We weren’t able to eat at his house, so he took us out to lunch at Red Robin! It was nice to be in Chambersburg…it’s like my second town. Monday evening I had my chiropractic appointment, so I got to see Mom and Mercy, and then Daddy met us there! It went really well, he gave me some exercises I can do, and we found out some of my muscles in my knee were atrophied. That is not good, and is probably due to me wearing my brace so often! So he said ditch the brace! Unless my knee is really hurting, that is. And my knee has been feeling a lot better! I think much of that is due to prayer, so don’t stop! 
It was a wonderful weekend/part of week. Right now Mel is rubbing my shoulders. I love her so much. I’ll probably do another update about this last week on like Sunday. I go home on Monday! I am so excited! And I get to see Harry Potter!!! Yeah!

I love you all, and sorry for being such a procrastinator, but I'm preparing you for Honduras when I won't be able to be on much ;P

The rolling hills of Pennsylvania and the goodness of God.

What an amazing last couple of days...wow. I didn't have access to the internet until yesterday since Saturday...cause I'm in PA, folks! :)

God is working! Really, He is. He always is, but until you personally experience it, you probably won't believe it as much.

So, Saturday, the day before we left for Pennsylvania, we went with Manna Life to feed the hungry. That is always an amazing experience--Pete, who heads it up, has such a heart for God, and so does everyone who serves with us. Something really amazing happened though, when we went to The Living Room. I'm not sure if I have mentioned what the Living Room is, but I'll repeat it: It's run by a city organization called BronxWorks. It offers showers, computer access, and shelter for people from the streets. Most the the people there are in an in between stage--some are "burn outs," having lost their homes to fire, others from foreclosure, struggling to overcome addiction, and just people who can't catch a break. It's really neat.

Anyways, when we go there we get to talk and interact with the people there. Pete usually gives a message, but this week a lady named Luz did. She gave her testimony--she was on the street, a drug addict. It's really neat, how so many of the people who work with Manna of Life have been on the streets, and been just completely rescued from one thing or another, so they really know how these people are feeling. And they're just so generous. After Luz spoke, Pete got up and gave an invitation, something he rarely does, and just asked if anyone wanted Jesus. And one lady raised her hand! So she came up and talked with Pete, and it was just really amazing.

All in all, it was a really great, FREEZING day. We packed for PA, and Emily and I got in bed by 9:40! But unfortunately, I'm pretty sure that I didn't get to sleep until midnight, due to particularly loud city noises and the fact that I was ridiculously excited! I woke up at 4:00am Sunday morning to get a shower before we had to go...and we left at about 5:45 and were on the road to PA!

Sunday morning we went to Manor BIC and spoke to the young adult and youth Sunday school. One of the biggest things I realized when we got to PA, and were at Manor, was that everyone in PA is white. Well, obviously not everyone, but in the group of about 50 people we spoke to, only one was not caucasian. It kind of made me uncomfortable, honestly...I've become used to being the minority! Haha. I miss the diversity in NY. We talked about how and why we are in STEP, what are some things we've had to sacrifice, and something that we've learned or something that has really touched us while we have been in the program so far.

Keith Miller did the message at Manor. He is the youth pastor, but the senior pastor was away at a church plant. Wow, though. That message was amazing. It was about God's goodness, and how God can be good all the time, with all this suffering in the world. It's something I've really been thinking and struggling with, and man, he hit it the nail right on the head. After little Elijah, and now Joseph, and the 3 year anniversary of my friends' death on the 19th of October, it was just something I really needed to hear. I was crying through half of the message. I'm going to put a link to where you can listen to it from Manor's website:
http://www.manorchurch.org/media_player.asp?messageID=73888

You can also download it--a good one to have on your ipod or mp3 player:
http://www.manorchurch.org/file_download_launch.asp?filePath=/uploads/10-17-10_2.mp3


After church we made our way to Emily's family farm! The Stoners own a dairy farm, Apple Valley Creamery. It was so awesome :) Mrs Stoner made a DELICIOUS lunch, complete with their own milk--real and creamy, homemade butter, bread, and ICECREAM! I got to have a calf suck on my fingers, and hold kitties :) I have missed animals a lot. It was so nice and relaxing.
We all headed over to Mike Holland's spanish church...I mean, really, God's spanish church that Mike helps out with ;P Josiah came and I got to see him! Darren, Kimberly's son, was also there. He is a freshman at Messiah, and I found out that he is on the same floor as Seth! Which is pretty awesome. Small world. I understood pretty much everything, and then we went up and shared a little bit--basically the same thing we shared at Manor, except this time the YES team going to Chile joined us. They are cool girls. We had fun with them :)
In the evening any family members who wanted to were invited to the cabin. What is the cabin, you say? I shall explain. The main reason we came to PA was to go on this retreat, in a lovely cabin in the woods of Dillsburg. I miss it already. It was lovely. Way out in the middle of no where. Adelphoi cabin :) We stayed there until Wednesday morning. Having the familys for dinner and just to hang out was so much fun. It was so wonderful getting to see Siah.
During the retreat, Kimberly spoke to us about Inner healing and Prayer. I think we really bonded as a team, and I know that God really moved in my life. He is so awesome.

Recently discovered in my devotion time has been John chapter 17. It's when Jesus prays for his disciples and for US. I don't know why, but it blew my mind. I mean, we apply what is in the bible to all of us, because it is God's word to us...but here is something Jesus said PARTICULARLY to us! A special message! Needless to say, John 17 is rather highlighted in my bible :)

John 17:23
"I in them, and You in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that You sent me and have loved them even as You have loved me."

That is Jesus' prayer for us. Blows my mind :)

Tuesday we went to spanish class at the spanish church, taught my my brother, Josiah, and Mike Holland. That was pretty cool. I learned more about reflexive verbs, and also a little more about direct object pronouns and indirect object pronouns--although not much with those cause Sie had to help the less advanced class. I still have many questions on that subject.
Siah got to come back to the cabin and hang out with us, which was again SUPER awesome. Wednesday morning early Kimberly and Bonnie left to get back to New york in time for Kimberly's flight to San Francisco to visit her parents and sisters.
Wednesday I also SURPRISED my sisters, plus pretty much everyone except my parents by coming home :) It was pretty much awesome. Mercy cried, Hope was shocked, Michelle cried and screamed, Corey was confused, and Mat was exuberant. Those were just some of the reactions. I'd say that I did well.

Now we've been working at Antrim BIC church helping with a volleyball tournement fundraiser for Priority 1 Ministries. That's where I am now, and it's been cool. I'm a bit tired.

Basically, Jesis is really amazing. I've been learning so much in my readings, and from our speakers. I miss Kimberly and Bonnie a bit. I'm so glad we got to meet Kimberly. It will be so comforting when we go to Honduras to have a familiar face, especially a familiar face that is hers :)
One thing I've especially been thinking and hearing and recognizing is my need to let Jesus lead me, and not lead. To not stress about being responsible for things, even for myself really. This song, by Amanda Falk, has been my cry for the past couple of days, and still is. The main part goes :

I wanna be small,
I wanna be just like a child,
I wanna be quiet in your arms.

That's what I've been trying to practice.
Listen to the song here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iO_PDA6kvg


Thank you for all your prayers and support. I talked to Angela Coy, my MOST team member in charge of the financial end of my trip(I thank God so much for her!), and I have just about $2,000 left to raise. So especially keep that in your prayers, and be praying for my knee. It's really been hurting. I've been wishing for a strong knee and missing playing sports :(

But all in all, God really IS good, all the time. All the time.

I'm staying, and you're gonna love me :)

It's been a week! I need to be better at updating this thinger. It's interesting, now it's mostly the same things...I'm used to it, I guess. But I need to keep you updated, still!

Saturday we went to Central Park. I read Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows, out loud to the girls for a while :) It was really fun. And relaxing. We went to the South East corner, which was new for us. We usually only chill at the South West corner.
Sunday was a sleepy day. I think I took a 3 hour nap? Yes. It was lovely.

This week we had a speaker other than Bonnie: Tim Bomgardner from World Vision. It was really awesome. He is really smart--he went to school for early church history, majoring in the early church fathers. So he knows TONS. I really enjoyed listening and learning from him.

Bowery was on Wednesday. I always have fun there :) And Trevor was there this week! I met two new people, Brian and Michael--aka The Italians. They were absolutely hilarious. Crack me up...I ate lunch with them and Elliot. It was tons of fun. And I cut potatos. TONS of potatos.
Then Operation Exodus :) <3 those kids.
Of course Love kitchen on Thursday, and Operation Exodus. Seriously though, I love those kids. I'm going to miss them while I'm on the retreat.

Kimberely came last night, and we went to World Vision this morning. We always get so much done there.

This evening friends of Kimberely's came over for dinner. Luz, Juan Pablo and their son Daniel. They are really amazing people. Daniel has a real heart for missions, they all do.... Luz gave us some words of encouragement and shared her testimony a bit. We got to talk to Daniel for a while then. It was a really nice to meet them.

Tomorrow we go to Manna of Life, and pack for the retreat.
I've been on here too long. Ugh...I always take too long on here, and then I feel really lae and stupid. Ugh, I take too long writing these updates.

My knee hurts, so please be praying for me. Blah.

Jullian, Isabella, and Random acts of kindness

:) It's always good to start out with a smile.

It's been several days since we last spoke, so I'm glad to communicate with you right now! So, what has been up? Let me "sum up."

Tuesday Carey and I went to Breakfast Ministry. There were 3 tables, which is a good amount for it being the beginning of the month, which means the first week of checks for everyone. It's good that they come for breakfast though, and then they can save their money for other meals that won't be provided for, or basic necessities, or maybe a little treat--because everyone needs that once in a while. Despite it being so early in the morning, I really enjoy going to Breakfast Ministry. Giving really makes you feel happy, and just a smile and a plate of hot food can completely brighten someones day.
I've been thinking about that a lot lately. It's that little acts of kindness that stick in your mind. I remember the first week we were here, a boy about my age on the bus gave up his seat for me. That may seem small, but for someone to do that is really kind, especially because it wasn't like I am old or a little child that really needs a seat, and I don't even think I had my brace on that day. And to be honest, people don't usually give up their seats unless it's an extremely frail old person, someone holding a baby that can't work, or an obvious disabled person(like on crutches, a cast etc.). If people notice they will give up their seats for a pregnant lady...so, it just really stood out to me. And it has made me think, and has me doing more of those kinds of things. My team is really great with my knee, they always offer me a seat first, and that kind of thing makes me more inclined to offer people my seat too. Just yesterday a guy on the metro saw my knee brace and jumped up and gave me his seat. I wasn't especially limping or anything, but that was the first time a stranger had done that because of my knee brace. It made my day.
If it seems like I'm going on too much about the seat thing, then you haven't stood on a thirty minute train or bus ride smashed into a bunch of other people, some who don't appreciate you smashing them, all while trying not to put your butt in the face of whoever is sitting in the seat you're standing by.
Don't get me wrong, I really like public transportation! I like bus and train rides, unless I'm especially tired, because of all the different kinds of people you see. It's especially enjoyable if you are seated near a baby or little kids, because ALL the children in New York are extremely adorable. :)

Tuesday was a pretty eventful day, cause after Breakfast Ministry and devotions us girls went on a Barnes and Nobles trip while Ben went to Manhattan to visit a friend of his from college. I had already read my chapters, so I was able to find a present for Mercy for her birthday, and after purchasing a Pumpkin Latte and a cinnamon scone from the Starbucks, settle down and start reading Deathly Hallows. It was a nice break from all the other reading that we're doing. I really like the books we have done, and I'm learning lots from them, but sometimes it's nice to slip into a fantasy world for just an hour. Especially a fantasy world that I have friends in :D It's nice and familiar there, while being exciting too! Wow...I'm really nerdy. Haha.
We had Spanish class then, though we were half an hour late...oopsy. But it was a fantastic class! We practiced witnessing in Spanish! We paired up, having one person listening while the other person told them about Jesus in Spanish! I did it a couple of times, cause Dorine had the others pair up with either Carey or I because we are more fluent in Spanish. It was a really great exercise, and I felt that I did pretty well. :)

In the evening we did our Victory Over the Darkness chapters we had read over the weekend, and I looked at Abby's Scotland pictures...if you haven't, you should, cause they are gorgeous. Makes me want to go!

Wednesday! Wednesday is Bowery day! Always quite enjoyable. This Wednesday however, Trevor, the cook, wasn't there. Being so, things were a little chaotic. They had two people doing what he usually did, directing everyone, along with extra workers in the kitchen. Plus us. Mel, Ben, and I bagged candy for the community all morning :D It was fun though, cause Daniel, one of the guys there helped us. He is from Puerto Rico and has wonderfully broken English :) We served the guys and then ate with them. Carey, Mel and I sat with Daniel for a while. Mel taught him to be Canadian :) She had him saying "eh?" after everything he said. It was hilarious. I learned a lot more names, which I'm glad. I met Warren, who is 47(but looks probably 10 years younger), and going to school to be a drug counselor, which I think is pretty cool. We met Bryan, who is extremely tall with GREAT hair. I got the name of Elliot. Elliot is my friend--the first day we went to the Bowery I always gave him a huge grin. He came to know me as "that girl who is always smiling!" I think that's a good thing to be known by :D Our friend Edwin came after lunch with the guys, so it was nice to see a familiar face. He is very fun to work with. His birthday is next week, he turns 26, so we're going to make him a card! Maybe we'll bring something delicious to eat.
In between serving the guys and serving the community, Mel and I went back to bagging candy. Ben was having a good conversation with one of the guys, I think. Anyways, we were a little tired, so we got crates to sit on and just chilled back there bagging Necco Wafers(they are gross candy) and having an all around good time back there by ourselves. You can't hear anything that goes on in the pantry when the door is closed, and so we sang our lungs out. Mostly Oh Canada! Which is a favorite song on our team, and just had good talks and LOTS of laughs. Mel and I are good laughers and good sleepers. Those are skills we possess and use quite frequently. :D

We went to Operation Exodus to see our kids, of course. I really love them. There are a couple that already have special places in my heart. Of course, I love them all, but there are two especially--Jullian and Isabella. Jullian is such a cry baby. He really is...he cries for his "mami and papi" for the first half an hour we are there. But really, when those kids cry and miss their parents, I can't blame them. I feel so bad. They are preschoolers, and they are in school all day, and then in an after school program! That's a long time to be away from mommy and daddy, day after day. So I always just comfort them, and tell them how much fun we're going to have. But Jullian is just my little guy, he always tells me when he leaves, "But I'll be back!" He isn't bad, just a little immature...he always tells me great stories, and is easily distracted. He loves Spiderman, and apparently the two of them are friends. Yesterday he was mad at me because I told him he had to sit down, cause it was sitting time...he told me Spiderman would beat me up cause he had talked to him :P I told him that I had talked with Spiderman too, and he said that I should tell Jullian that he needs to sit and listen :) I also got to play football with him for a while yesterday as well! We actually got to go outside(which is a treat for the pre-k). By play football, I mean I tried to teach him how to throw :) Yes, ME teach a boy how to throw a football! Wooo!
Now Isabella! She is a dear. Funny thing is, the first couple of time we went, she was really bad, I mean, she just didn't listen at all. But she has really gotten better. Her main problem is just that she is in her own little world. She LOVES to dance. We play music and just dance a lot of the time, and that is her favorite thing in the world. One day she was especially fidgety and not sitting and finally I said "Isabella, why are you having such a hard time listening and sitting?" And she says "I just wanna dance!" I think I started to understand her a lot more after that. She reminds me a lot of my cousin Grace, for those of you who know that little dear, which is probably part of the reason I'm so fond of her. She has a song for washing her hands, sung to the tune of Frere Jacque:

Top and bottom, top and bottom,
In between, in between,
Rub them all together, rub them all together,
Now they're clean, now they're clean.

As you can imagine, sung by a 4-year-old, this is ridiculously adorable.

Yesterday we also helped Mr. Jones at the Love Kitchen handing out grocery bags before Operation Exodus...there were tons of people, it being the beginning of the month. We actually got a little swamped and ended up having to close the doors. There were like 45 people line up outside. It's hard when you have to turn some people away, the facility is really small and they are only given it for so much time.
I also got a letter from Michelle yesterday!!! :) I love getting mail! *hint hint*

Today we went to World Vision, and put away lots of yarn and paint, and I stacked TONS AND TONS of stamps. They were awesome...really pretty ones that you could make awesome cards and stationary with. I was really hungry at lunch, and so it was especially delicious.
We found these "China markers," which are basically bible highlighters! Matt, who oversees us volunteers, let us take a pack! Sweet? yes!

We came back, and were going to go to the Spanish church tonight, but not everyone is caught up on reading, and Mel was feeling a little icky, so we have just chilled here. This has been a crazy long post, but it's to make up for the crappy little on last time.

I've finished Jeremiah, and I'm reading John now! Man, there is such good stuff in John. I love how there is proof of the Trinity within the first 10 verses of the first chapter :)

Kay, I love you all so much! And I need to give you a talking to...SEND ME MAIL! Emily, my team-mate, gets packages and letters every day. You guys need to step it up, cause you are getting shown up :) For reals though...I love hearing from you! If you send me a letter, or a package(:D) I WILL write you back, for certain! I'm going to put my address on here again. Any packages should be sent through the post office though, NOT UPS. Thanks!

Evi Long
c/o Priority 1 Ministries/UDC
490 E. 181st St., Apt. 4A
Bronx, NY 10457


Love always in Christ!

Birthdays, soccer, and sleeping!

Friends and country-men!


So, the past couple of days have been pretty slow going. Friday night Erin Wolf and her fiance came up, and Saturday Erin did a session on Children's Ministry with us. After that we went to central park to meet Emily's sister, brother, and youth pastor, and also an older lady from her church, a retired missionary. So we hung out in the park, me mostly sitting and observing people. I got to watch a pick up game of soccer which was awesome. After that we went to eat at this street vendor that we had to stand in line for! And they weren't even the real guys! Apparently the real guy comes at 7pm, and there is a 45 min line! For a street vendor! Crazy, I know.
Saturday night we watched To Save A Life, which was really good. I've been wanting to see it--it makes you want to be nice to everyone you see. So that's good!

Yesterday was Sunday, our day of rest. Molly kept me updated on the soccer games going on. Chelsea, Barcelona, and Real Madrid won their games :) And I slept. A lot.
And we played Rook too. I stink at that game.
AND I got to skype mi familia! Which was awesome possums!!! I miss them.

Today, I slept past my alarm. I think I'm fighting off Melanie's germs, cause my body always goes into sleep overdrive when it thinks it's going to get sick.
And I took a nap, before lunch. Yeah, I think I was getting sick. I'm feeling much better now. Basically, we just chilled, Bonnie talked to us about God's blessings, and it was awesome.

Now I'm skyping Miles! He is super awesome! And a huge encouragement to my walk in the Lord.

Love to you all! Keep me in your prayers!

Skyping, Homesickness, and my aching knee.

Hey all!

So, how are all of you? I hope well. I am pretty well myself :)

Uhm, so what have I done? I should get my journal out. Hold on now.

Mmkay! So, last time I talked to you all was on Tuesday. Mostly what has happened this week started Wednesday, so this should be good :)

Wedensday (Miercoles): We went to Bowery Mission! One of my favorite places :) I worked in the kitchen, helping Trevor(the cook), and Eddie(Edmund). I chopped celary and peppers, and wrapped sandwiches in saran-wrap. I wore my Goya bottle-cap earrings there, and they received quite an applause :) They are pretty awesome, I must admit. I'll wear my Jarrito ones next week! Also, next week is Eddie's birthday, so we're going to bring a card and maybe balloons and awesomeness!
Carey, Mel, and I got to do something very special at Bowery in the kitchen--dismember shrimp! That's right, rip the heads and tails off. Then I sliced open the top, and pulled out the long, slimey intestines. When you rip the heads off, it's squishy and crunchy at the same time, and their brains squirt out on your hands--yellow and red, like ketchup and mustard. Melanie got it on her face, that was quite a hilarious episode(mostly because it didn't happen to me! haha). We felt very accomplished after having done that. It was pretty gross, but we swallowed our guts(not literally, and I just made that figure-of-speech) and manned-on.
At lunch Mel and I talked with some guys about sky-diving. The name of one of they guys was Larry. We didn't catch the other man's. Non-Larry used to be a marine, and he had to do it twice, and said it was one of the scariest things he has ever done.

I had a bit of a headache and sinus pressure halfway through Bowery Mission, and then on the train as well. But I took some Sudafed and Ibuprofen and slept on the train, which is like an hour ride from Bowery to Manhatten Bible, which is where we went next. So, needless to say I wasn't feeling my fantastic self to deal with pre-schoolers the rest of the day. So I felt they were more bad than usually, but Carey didn't feel so as much, so I think it was my sickness affecting me.

I got to talk to my parents and siblings AND my grandma last night, cause they are AT my grandma's, and are going to the Bloomsburg Fair this weekend! I am super jealous...that brings back childhood memories.(Just got a text from Sie saying they had a good day but they missed me :) I MISS YOU ALL TOO!!!)
I also got to Skype Jordan Spear last night, and earlier this week I Skyped Paulie :) So I've gotten some home exposure, so I've been slightly homesick.

Today we would have usually gone to World Vision, but they were closed this week for a rejuvenation conference for their workers or something. So, instead we went to the after-school program, Operation Exodus, and did a song! We sang the "Hallelu, hallelu, hallelu, hallelujah--praise ye the Lord!" with the kids, which did not do good to my knee. It hurt a lot today..so much that I was actually limping :\

Highlight of today: I got to Skype Molly Geiger! I miss that woman, so here is a shout out to her! Hahahaha...<3

Carey and Emily just made Shoofly pie, and I find it especially delicious, especially with Vanilla Bean helado(icecream) :)


A couple of things to pray for real quick:

1. My knee. It has been hurting a lot, especially today. So pray that it would just heal, because it is just bothersome.
2. Melanie is sick. She wakes up feeling pretty miserable. Once she takes a nap and some medicine she is usually feeling alright, but just pray that she would get better in a jiffy. :)



That's it! Love you all!

That's MY King!

Hello beautiful people :)

So, these past two days have been slow going and quiet. We didn't have a speaker come up, so Bonnie mentored us yesterday. We talked a lot about conflict resolution, which was very helpful and interesting. I definitely have a lot of good pointers from that, and biblical back up when I need it :)

It rained all day, so we didn't go to Barnes and Nobles, but we did read a lot! We started a new book, I think I said. It's called Victory Over the Darkness by Neil T. Anderson. Learning some great stuff in that book. Here is a good quote from it:
"What you do does not determine who you are, but who you are determines what you do."
Good thinkin' stuff right there.

Oh and Mel and I took nice naps on our top bunks yesterday.

I got to talk to my mommy last night, which was wonderful, cause I hadn't heard any of mi familia's voices in like a week. :) I miss them. But I know I'm where I'm supposed to be!

So, today! Went to Breakfast Ministry this morning, which is always a joy actually. Once you get the hang of it, and the more effecient we get, the faster we are at getting stuff out and cleaning up, and you can sit back and just interact with the people there. :)
After that we came back and had team devotions, which are a great way to start the day. Then we read whatever else we had left to read for our discussion this evening.
and Mel and I took naps on the couches. Sense a pattern for me and Mel? :D

And today was Spanish class! It was good, learned some new bible words! Pecado=sin, tunba=tomb, resucitar=to be ressurected. So yeah, awesome.
On the way home, we stopped by the Spanish Christian bookstore and got a Spanish children's songbook and a Spanish hymnal! We also got to talk to the owner of the bookstore, and he is a christian(obviously) and told him how we were going to Honduras, and he was so encouraging! He told us he would pray for us, and then we talked for a long while with him and he helped up with our Spanish! So I think we may visit him sometimes. I also like the bibles there.

After dinner the 5 of us went over to the park to power-walk around the track cause Bonnie has been fattening us up too much :) We probably walked about 3/4 of a mile. Emily was a walking buddy, cause we are slow--my knee doesn't allow me to go fast :( And Emily is a good friend! But, we just talked a lot basically. Then we went in after about half an hour, when it was getting dark (by the way, when it gets dark, that means everyone comes outside! It's pretty hilarious). Some guys invited us to play football, which was very kind, but we had to go in and discuss Victory over the Darkness. Plus we had kind of been hogging the track, which is where they play football.

And we've just been chillin' now! Mel is a Glee song singin' buddy, so in honor of the fact that there is a new Gless season, but we can't watch it, we just listened to Glee soundtracks :)
Also, I wanted to put this link, to the video That's MY King, because it is always so encouraging when I watch it. It gives me shivers and reminds me what an awesome king I serve! Gives me a boost! I hope it does the same for you! :)


And I have been on here entirely too long. Tomorrow is Bowery Mission! I can't wait :)



Love you all, keep me in your prayers!

"You sound so cute when you speak Spanish!"

It's the day of rest! And what a wonderful day it has been so far! But first, let me tell you about yesterday :)

Yesterday we went and served with Manna of Life, which is a food distribution run out of Crossroads Tabernacle in the Bronx. It's run by a really neat, God-loving man named Pete. Boy does he love Jesus or what! Basically, it was an amazing time. We went to the LivingRoom, which is a place where homeless people can come and live, it's inside, they can have shelter there. There are showers, bathrooms, and even computers they are able to use. It's run by BronxWorks, which is a city-run thing. A lot of people go there who are in between housing, for instance if they've been evicted, or if they are victims of a "burn out," aka their home being burnt down. We brought food--sandwiches, fruit, juice, and hot soup. After we handed out the meal, we went up and fellowshipped with them. Pete shared some words, and then we just talked with some of the people there, getting to know them. It was really awesome. Next we went to a street where some homeless men live, and were able to bless them. After that, we went to a Women's and Children's shelter. Unfortunately they aren't able to enter into the actual building, because it's rather high security--many of the women there coming from abusive situations. They also aren't allowed to bring any food INTO the facility. But we were able to give out a good amount of food to some families.
Our last stop was at a gas station where a lot of migrant workers gather, waiting and hoping for a days work. So we were able to serve those men. I helped Millie, a lady who regularly helps with Manna of Life, and she speaks fluent Spanish, and I was using some of my Spanish with the workers--simple things, like "Quieres sopa? Quieres jugo?" And Millie goes, in a thick New York accent, "Awhh you sound so cute when you speak Spanish!" I didn't know whether or not those of a compliment or not, so I decided to think of it as that :)

We went to Target yesterday and I got another journal, cause I forgot I had another one. Haha. But it's like 70% recyclable, so that's super fly! Then last night we watched The Phantom of the Opera :) I love that movie, and it's nice, cause my whole team does. Well, it was Emily's first time watching it, she was intrigued by it. It IS a weird story. But the music is fantastic.

Today we did our song in church, God of Wonders. And Sister Michele wasn't there this morning, so Dorine asked if one of two would helped lead everyone in the songs for worship, so Carey and I did that. It all went really well. Great messages, Pastor Lou is such a greater teacher and preacher. I love his sermons and sunday school. I always take pages of notes.

Today was also Bonnie's birthday! Yesterday at Target, Emily suggested getting a card, so we did and then the five of us wrote little notes in it to her. So, Happy birthday to Bonnie!

After lunch we went on another adventure, this time to Barnes and Nobles! We got there safely, with no mishaps or anything, and we read, and Mel and I had brought our netbooks and had some wi-fi fun! Mel named hers, but I'm still looking for the perfect name. Mel's is Lewis, which I think is a great name.
We read for a while, and then us girls got something from the Starbucks in there. I got an iced Caramel Macciato :) Delicious.

We got home slightly before dark, and I got to talk to Seth on the phone for like an hour and half, which was a highlight for this week :) I miss that best friend. It was good to catch up, cause I only got to hang out with him a little bit before I left, when I went up to Messiah area for a weekend.

I'll give you a little update at what God has been talking to me about. I started reading Jeremiah, and so far it's a lot about God's wrath on Israel. But what's interesting is that over and over again God asks and almost pleads with Israel to return to Him, that they may not feel His wrath. He gives them SO MANY chances. And I've just been thinking, if God is willing to give Israel, who turned completely from Him--worshiping false gods, breaking every commandment, doing what was detestable in God's sight, chance after chance, how much will He also give us chances, when we make mistakes, and even when we deliberately sin.

I've also been thinking about martyrs, reading the Extreme Devotion book Bonnie gave us when we first got here, which is by the people who wrote Jesus Freaks--Voice of the Martyrs. I've been running into verses in the bible talking about those who die for the sake of Christ and the gospel, and just thinking about what that means to me, and how far am I willing to sacrifice. I'm going to share this story from the book, which has especially touched me and made me think--all these stories are true.

There were a group of Japanese christians, being led to crosses to be crucified in Christian-hostile Japan. A soldier pulled aside a young prisoner, a boy of twelve years old. He felt bad, the boy being so young. He told the boy "Please, just recant your faith and you can be free!" The boy smiled at him and said just as earnestly, "Sir, it would be better for you to follow Christ and come to heaven with me today!" And then the boy ran to his cross, knelt before it, and embraced it joyously. That boy was crucified that day along with 26 other japanese christians.
That story amazed me. That boy EMBRACED his cross! Can I do that? Can I EMBRACE my suffering? For goodness' sake, I don't even know what suffering IS. But what little trials I have, can I, DO I, embrace them with a joyful spirit? This is something that is quite frequently on my heart and mind. And I hope it puts some thoughts in your hearts and minds too.

Prayer is always appreciated--for strength, perseverance, and that I would boldly speak of Christ's love. And again with grace and patience for life in general.


Amor siempre en Cristo!

Camina, Camina en la luz...

Oi! Hey, it's been 2 days. So, I have a lot to say, but, it's been 2 days, so I hope I haven't forgotten stuff. I'll check my journal for details.
Haha, something funny--reading my journal from Wednesday, some bits are a bit sloppy cause I had the hiccups and they were rather violent, so they kept jostling me. :P

So, let's talk about Wednesday! It started out with us heading to Bowery Mission over in Manhatten. Let me tell you a little history of Bowery Mission, before I go into what we did, and my own personal experience there...
So, Bowery Mission is one of the oldest humanitarian efforts in the city. It was started as, and still is, a rehabilitation center/school for men. They have room there for 80 men, for men ages 18 and up I believe, who basically need a break from life to get back on their fit. They provide help in getting over addictions, they provide classes so that the men can get their GED if they haven't, and also basic training in things like Computer Tech so that the men have a skill that will provide them with jobs. They are non-denominational Christian organization, so the men there also take bible classes, have chapel 3 times a day(they are required to attend 2 of those services), and are taught responsibility and accountability. Those who are students at the Bowery all work there, in the kitchen, clothes/shower rooms, and other parts throughout the facility, to teach good work ethic and responsibility. It is a 6 to 9 month program and just really amazing. It's been around for about 130 years. But on top of that, the Bowery Mission has an incredible outreach and service to the homeless. They give hot meals in the mission house itself, and they also go out into the community and give out food. During the winter, the Bowery Mission opens it's doors to homeless men to find shelter on cold nights...they lay down maps in their fellowship hall and in their chapel, to give men warmth at least for a couple of hours. So that's a big description of what the Bowery Mission is, although it is rather multi-faceted.

Now I'll tell you about my personal experience at the Bowery Mission on Wednesday. We got there, and Pete, the guy who takes care of the volunteers when they come, had forgotten that we were coming :P But he took care of us, and we ended up being a huge blessing that day, because about 6 or 7 things went wrong. So first, we split up and me, Ben, and Bonnie wiped down all the pews in the chapel. By the way, the chapel is GORGEOUS. It'd old, and reminds me of some of the smaller churches and chapels in Europe.
Emily, Mel, and Carey helped in the kitchen, then we all came together to help serve the guys, or students, that live at the Bowery Mission. It was really nice to be able to serve them. Then we ate, meeting some of the guys. Carey and I met a guy name "B.A,"(we didn't know how to say his name, so he told us to call him B.A cause that's what everyone calls him) and we learned just a bit about him which was neat. After that we got ready to serve the homeless and less fortunate that they opened their doors to for a hot lunch. And, because one of their big fridges had crashed the night before, they had a ton of sandwiches to give out, giving as many as wanted to the community. It was so neat to be able to bless people like that, and just see how many different kinds of people are in need.
One of the best things about Bowery Mission are the amazing and awesome people who work there. Trevor, the main chef, is hilarious, with a thick accent and sense of humor. We met Wilmen, who has stories and stories about Bowery Mission, which he imparted to us. Pauline, an older volunteer as well who has been volunteering for many years, having fallen in love with it the first time she was there. She has a neat story, but just one thing about her: She lives in Arkansas, and did a fundraiser there, raising about 40,000 dollars, enabling them to get new kitchen appliances. What an awesome lady! There is Daniel, who we helped sort bread with. He speaks with a thick, thick accent and sometimes gets teased about it, in a loving way :) There is Edmund, a young Puerto Rican who taught us some Spanish and didn't make us girls wash the dishes(poor Ben :p). It's just enriched with really cool people.
What is really awesome is that we were only going to be there this past Wednesday and then next Wednesday, but another service outreach became rather complicated(we were going to have to get police background checks, and with a Canadian on our team, that would be rather difficult, and would take quite a while), so now we get to be at Bowery Mission most Wednesdays :)

So that's that! Today we helped Mr. Jones at Love Kitchen at Manhatten Bible, we basically just put stuff away and organized for him, but we love it there too.
Then we had after school program! I love my pre-schoolers! I got to take some pictures today, which is great. They are such cuties, and they are really warming up to me and Carey now. Alright, I have to get off of here. It's taken me 45 minutes to write this about, and that's my time limit!

Keep me in you prayers, for strength against weariness especially and patience with life :)

Love you!

My most precious book..

Hello dear friends.

It has been a couple days, but not too much has happened as far as "doing things," and I wanted to give you a nice juicy update. So, here we go...

Sunday--Church, as usual. As usual? That sounds boring. Church, of course! That sounds better, because it really is much better than "as usual." Pastor Lou has an amazing gift of teaching. I learn so much from him! He reminds me of Pastor John(Uncle John to me :]) in his preaching style. I especially love Sunday school, because it has more discussion time as well. I learned a lot about Judaism and the different facets of it and the view of sacrifice nowadays in each of those facets.
After church we came back and ate a yummy lunch(basically, anything cooked by Bonnie you can guarantee being yummy). After that we went Pray mapping, which was pretty cool. We chose a block to walk around, close to the apartment, and brought a piece of paper and a marker and a clipboard, and kept our eyes open for places in the community where people gather. We also looked for establishments that were helpful to the community, or could be harmful. We mapped these places as we came to them, and then took a moment to pray for them. It was really cool, and I drew a pretty beautiful map, I must say.
The rest of the day was just chillaxin' time. We read from our Search for Significance books, had some internet time, and played another ridiculously long game of Phase 10, which is just our thing, taking that long, no matter how we play it :D

Monday, or Lunes-- We slept in a bit, because our speaker, Ken Hepner, wasn't getting in until lunch time. Mostly read really, oh, and every one of my days is started with some excellent God time, which is why my days have been so good, cause yeah, God is awesome. Ken got there, and we had a great learning time, and then he and his wife, Raina, took us all to eat at Dallas BBQ, which is a delicious place to eat. So, if you've never been there, you should go. We came back and had some internet time(I got to skype Paulie Tobias!) and just chilled some more, and us young folk stayed up a little later than usual playing UNO :)

Hoy, or Today-- Breakfast Ministry! Me, Carey and Mel went today, and we had 30 people! Which is awesome :) We provided 30 hungry people with a meal today. We ended up staying later to help Dorine and Cornelia(they run the Breakfast Ministry) with a delivery. So our session with ken had to be cut short cause he had to get back home by 4.

We have been fed so much of the Word it's almost overwhelming, but amazing. My daily time with Jesus has become my most precious time. And I've developed such a hunger for the Word of God! It's so amazing. The other day during team devos in the morning, Bonnie was talking about peace and joy and what that means, and while she was talking I just got this overwhelming sense of joy and peace welling up in me. It was really remarkable, it was just all I could do to keep from bursting out in laughter. I asked God for a hunger for Him, and He has given me that, and more! I was telling the other girls on my team today, after we had all been just reading our bibles, just to get more of it, about how when I was younger, especially in middle school, I felt the bible was so boring. I don't know why in the world I thought that! It's one of the most interesting books in the world. It has so many stories, true stories, that are simply amazing and fascinating to me. And to know the stories of the prophets and read their words of truth that still apply today!

On that note, I'm going to start putting in here a scripture that has especially struck me that day, or throughout the week.
Just the other day we were listening to music, just sitting together, and I put on the song my Sarah Groves called "Jeremiah." The chorus goes like this:

Jeremiah tell me 'bout the fire,
that burns up in your bones,
I wanna know, I wanna know more now.
The burning of ambition and desire,
never could come close
to that fire, to that fire.

I have always loved that song, it's beautiful, but I never knew where it was from in the bible! I knew it was from Jeremiah somewhere, of course. And I had just been thinking about those lyrics for these couple of days, and this morning I was flipping through mi biblia, my most precious book, and I literally flipped to the chapter, and my eyes fell on the verse! Crazy, I know, but God does crazy things.
So, it's in Jeremiah 20:9

But if I say, "I will not mention him
or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire,
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;
indeed, I cannot.

I want to be like that. I want to not be able to hold in the fire of Christ.

Goodnight, I'm hogging the computer. I'll have mine by Friday!! Hallelujah!

Love always <3

National anthems and amazing dramas.

Hallo! It's Sabado!

So, I skipped out on internet time last night in favor of sleep again. But it's okay, cause I'm here now.
Hmm, so, yesterday. Yesterday in the morning we went to the World Vision storehouse in the Bronx and volunteered, something we will be doing every Friday. It was tons of fun. The people who run it are fantastic people. We unpacked a lot of boxes of medical stuff and toiletres and organized it on shelves. I tell you what, if you have even the itty-bittiest of an organizer in you, it sure does come out doing that kind of work. And it's very satisfying. The Bronx is considered of the poorest communities with the condention of people that are there, which is why there is a World Vision storehouse there. They place storehouses where the need to greatest. It was awesome seeing what all World Vision does, just in America, not to mention the rest of the world. It's cool to think about, because usually when you think of World Vision's work, you think about their work in third world countries and in helping with disaster relief, but they do a lot in the U.S too.

We were going to go to the Spanish church last night, but they ended up not having it because they were having a big youth jubilee thing today at 12, which we went to! It was super awesome, because it was in mostly in English AND Spanish, because it was to youth, who often speak English as well as Spanish, and sometimes don't speak Spanish fluently. We learned some Spanish worship songs, which we sang in English too. The focus was on missions, so that was convenient for us to be there. Pastor Judy and Pastor Margie are co-pastors of the Canaan church(the Spanish church), who partner some with Priority 1 Ministries, so we helped them out where we could. They did an AMAZING drama. Seriously, it was awesome. It depicted the spiritual warfare that goes on along with what's happening in the physical world, which is something that Mike and Carlos talked to us about when they were here. It also exemplified the making of disciples, and then of those disciples making disciples, which is so cool to think about--how your discipling and leading one person to Christ can create a domino effect. We ate a delicious dinner, and got home around 4:15.

One thing we have been doing, because of our international team, is learn the Canadian anthem, which is pretty awesome. Melanie started teaching it to us during our entirely too long Phase 10 game last night. I admit, I needed to relearn the American anthem, and since we have been teaching it to Mel, I've relearned it too.
Something funny about Mel and her Canadian-ness: She helps with the kindergartners at Operation Exodus, and so also helps with homework and such. On Thursday one of the teachers, being swamped(they have a LOT of kids), put a piece of paper in her hands and said "just have them repeat after you!" It ended up being the pledge of allegiance! So, our Canadian taught a bunch of kindergartners the pledges of allegiance. :D

Soon we are going to watch a movie, Sherlock Holmes. I'm off now so Ben can get on here. I can't wait til I have my computer so I don't hold anyone up.

Love always!

Leche de cow--and other great things!

I skipped a day, I hope you don't mind--but I'm back now! I skipped internet time last night cause I was pretty exhausted and wanted to get to bed early--which I did, and I didn't wake up until 7:45! So, I was wonderfully rested today, which is great because today was a big day!

I had a great devotion time and amazing time of prayer this morning. It's really neat, when Mike and Carlos were here and talked about prayer, Mike challenged us to set a goal amount of time for our God time each morning, and I set a goal of 45 minutes, thinking I would get used to that, and then bump it up 15 minutes after a little while. Well, for the past 3 days my Jesus time has been averaging an hour and 15 minutes every day. That is so encouraging to me, that I'm able to be focused and really be focusing on God's word and what the Holy Spirit is saying to me for that amount of time. So, praise the Lord!

We went to Manhatten bible today, which we also did yesterday. We went earlier today though because we helped with the food pantry there with Mr. Jones. It was such a blessed time--we just packed grocery bags full of groceries--but the people we were working with, the people running the food pantry, Mr and Mrs Jones, are such lovely people with servants hearts, just so excited for the work of the Lord.

After that we crossed the street and went to our perspective classes. I didn't write yesterday so I'll fill you in about the after school program at Manhatten bible, which is called Operation Exodus. Carey and I are with the pre-schoolers, and believe me, they need the both of us. I don't know how they do it when we aren't there. Anyways, the kids are so adorable--some are bad, yes, but most just want attention, and only know how to get it by acting out. One little boy Jaden often gets in trouble, but I noticed throughout the day how he is often provoked by other children, and reacts with his fists instead of his words. So, I was happy to be able to save him a trip to the time out when I saw a complete interaction with him and another boy. I later took him by himself and was able to play with him one on one, rewarding him with praise when he did good things, like be kind or sit quietly and color nicely inside the lines.
As for my title, most of the kids are bi-lingual, even at that young age, and constantly slip in and out of English and Spanish, which means I have to as well--which is great practice for me! In one such instance, a little girl, named Luiza, kept asking for her leche de cow. At first I didn't hear here, and I had to ask her to repeat herself even after I had--it took me a minute to realize that all she wanted was her milk. Her mixture of Spanish, "leche," and English, "cow," had quite caught me offguard. A funny instance in the process of learning a language.

We got done right as a torrential downpour started. We had barely gone the one block to our bus-stop when we were completely soaked, having forgot our umbrellas, of course. So we crammed into the bus with a million other people, all equally soaked. The thunder rolled and the lightening cracked with unusual immensity, and many of us ladies on the bus screamed. It was a little scary, but the bus driver was skilled! We got home safely, changing to a much emptier bus where we had seats and also had a friendly chat with a lovely old lady.

We got home and changed out of our soaking clothes into warm sweatpants and delicious leftovers.

And that's it! Pray for strength from weariness, and for funds to keep coming.

Love to you all!

Helado!

Good Tuesday!

I can't believe I've only been here about 4 days. Talking with Melanie from my team, we feel as though we've been here a week or too. It's amazing how easily how bodies and minds can get into a routine without knowing it.

I'll quickly recap about the 2 days. Yesterday started our first day of sessions, which we have Mondays and Tuesdays. Mike Holland and Pastor Carlos Rodriguez, a Cuban pastor who just started a church in Tampa, Florida, came late Sunday night and were our "mentors," or session speakers for yesterday and today. The focus was all about prayer, which was really need. Just exploring how we can have a more intimate prayer life--talking about why we find it hard to focus and make time. We were session from 9 to 3:30, with several 10 minute breaks and an hour break for lunch. It was a very exhausting experience, as we were engaging ourselves emotionally and mentally, which can be just as exhausting as physical exercise.
The title of my blog today has to do with our immersion in Spanish! Carlos knows almost no English, so we got to practice our Spanish a lot. During our 1 hour break yesterday the 5 of us went with Carlos across the street from the church to find a phone card so he could call his wife, and we went to a store where he bought a tub of "helado," that is, icecream! We ate that later, which was fun. It's one of those words the team won't ever say in English again :)

Carey and I probably know the most Spanish, so we give little lessons throughout day, just with simple phrases and pointing out any nouns we know. We have started labeling things in the apartment, which is a great excercise in expanding our vocabulary.

Today we had more sessions, still on prayer. We talked more about different kinds of prayer and did some exercises in them(we did that yesterday too). I was pretty exhausted from staying up later talking with Mike and Carlos and then getting up early for Breakfast Ministry...so, my main prayer was for strength.

Keep my funds in your prayers, and me in your thoughts and prayers. If you aren't on my prayer list and wish to be, please message me on facebook, because I'll be sending my first prayer email our soon here.

Here is my address in the Bronx--please just send me letters unless I ask for something else, cause there won't be a guarantee that anyone will be around to recieve a package:

Evi Long
c/o Priority 1 Ministries/UDC
490 E. 181st St., Apt. 4A
Bronx, NY 10457

I love you all!!

First full day!--Compelling messages and Little Italy

Hello loveys!

It's my first full day, and it has been a grand one! I'll start at the beginning...
I woke around 8:15, after having a rather restful sleep, which I am very pleased about. :) I was able to have my morning tea, having brought my tea basket and some loose-leafed tea from Tranquilitea. We headed to church around 9:30, taking bus Bx36 to E Tremont...I think I could do it by myself, which is very good, because going to and from Fellowship Chapel pretty often. We were there a little before Sunday school, so Bonnie introduced us to some of the church members who were there. The church is very, very small, but it's cozy that way. I liked it a lot. We met Pastor Lou and his wife, Sister Michele, and there son LouMike.

Pastor Lou taight Sunday school, and boy was it compelling! Really, I was on the edge of my seat and took several pages of notes. What really struck me was he talked about the "common grace" that God has placed in all people, that God can use whomever he pleases--yes, that includes non-believers! All truth is God's truth, and he can reveal himself through truths realized by non-believers. The key is how to grab hold of the common grace with non-believers and help them see where it comes from. It was one of the best messages I've heard, probably--and it was just sunday school!
He also touched on the subject of Pastor Terry Jones in Florida, and his Qu'ran burning mania. Thank Jesus he didn't do it, and I mean that--thank the Lord. Pastor Lou gave the example of him doing it as someone burning a bridge BEFORE they cross it, instead of after...simply foolishness. I was almost in tears when he brought up the fact of that kind of action maybe not affected those in the U.S, but of our brothers and sisters in countries--especially muslim countries--already hostile to the gospel, and what kind of persecution it could have meant, and maybe still will mean, for them.

After church Sister Dorine took us downstairs and gave us orientation for the Breakfast ministry, which is serving breakfast to homeless people--something I got the privilidge to do when I was in the Bronx this summer on a Priority 1 missions trip.
We came home to DELICIOUS smells from the oven, all credit to Bonnie. We played a couple rounds of Dutch Blitz before eating a scrumpteous lunch. Then we relaxed, I read more of my On Being a Missionary book, which isn't nearly as boring as I have been anticipating, once I get into it.

At around 3:20 the five of us STEPers, Me, Carey, Ben, Melanie, and Emily set out on our first adventure. We headed out to Little Italy in the Bronx, just a short walk from the apartment. Now, there is a Little Italy in Manhatten, but the one in the Bronx is about 50 times better. We got a little lost, but Ben took the initiative and asked for directions and got us there in notime. The reason we had chosen to go today is because there was a festival going on in Little Italy! The street was blocked off, there with booths and loud music playing. We tasted from fresh mozzerella, got free "italian" espresso samples, and checked out a lovely little bakery. We also roamed around an indoor market in a warehouse, were there was lots of butcher shoppe booths and fresh produce. There was a guy there playing live music and singing in Italian--he had a fantastic voice. There were barrels of olives, and we saw lamb brains and every part of a lamb known to be eaten. We bought some Nutella there because Emily has never had it! The ingrediants and such were all in italian. So, despite the rain it was very fun!

I came home and we watched the football game--the Eagles lost, unfortunately. I learned a little more about football because Melanie is canadian and doesn't know football (she's a hockey fan, of course), so Bonnie and Carey, who are football experts, were explaining a lot of the game to her. It's fun having Melanie on the team because she hasn't tried or heard of a lot of the stuff we have, so new experiences are always happening. And of course, she knows and has tried lots of stuff the rest of us haven't, so we are all learning a lot. Next on our list is getting her a soft pretzel, which she has never had.

Alright, this is a hundred years long, but I hope you enjoy. Ben and Carey are teaching everyone how to play Rook, which I've never played, so I think I'll go watch.

Thank you again for all your prayers, and I think this is really going to be a great thing! Until next time,
amor siempre en Cristo!

The Bronx, day 1!

Hello all!

I made it to New York! After getting no sleep last night, I am almost reeling, but forcing myself to stay awake until a usual bedtime hour so I can keep a healthy sleep schedule. I slept probably 3 hours in the car, so I'm managing.
I think my goodbyes were pretty good :) Knowing that I'll be seeing my family in November is comforting. We had a comissioning service at Fellowship Chapel BIC here in the Bronx--Pastor Rodriguez, a traveling speaker friend of Mike's from Cuba spoke, in Spanish, and I understood a LOT of it, before Mike translated it.

I haven't gotten my computer yet, so I'm using Steve and Bonnie Westberry's, so i don't want to take up too much time on here. Plus I have a lot of reading to do--that's right, homework already!
Please feel free to email me, and I'll have my address on here as soon as I find out what it is. If you send me mail, please just letters or small padded envelopes, and don't send anything through UPS--it's just a hassle, and the post office will do a great job.

Keep me in your prayers,
Amor siempre en Cristo!

Evi

2 weeks...

Hello all.

So, I officially only have 2 weeks left here at the comforts of home.

That is a scary thought! I've started the packing process, I think I'll be doing a lot of that on Saturday, provided I don't have to work at the tea shop.

God has been putting things in line for me, which is exciting. I still have about $4,000 to raise, and although that's a huge amount, I have a peace about it. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm sitting on my fanny waiting for money to pour into my lap! I'm working 30 hours a week, and trying to follow up on my letters. I would like to do a presentation at church, and maybe at El Rio de Agua Viva church in Chambersburg, although I haven't heard back on that.

I'm really going to have to be trusting in God more and more, which seems like a silly realization, but it's something I hadn't thought of much. When I first applied for STEP, the only thing I was slightly worried about was the money, about raising it all. Now, the closer I get to my departure date, the more real it all becomes--I'll be away from my family, my comfort people, for a year. And I'll be FAR away, no visitation will even be available. And although when I first applied I had the attitude of "Yes! I'm leaving Waynesboro!," I think I had failed to think about the fact that I'm also leaving the ones I love the most, mi familia. I've gone without friends for long periods of time, and friends come and go--some are new and some are old, but my family has always been with me, always supporting me. This is a comfort too, knowing that I have such an awesome support system behind me, loving me, and going to be there when I come back.

All that said, my view for my trip is still the same: this is still where God wants me to be right now, but now I'm thinking maybe I'll be doing a lot more leaning on Him and less adventuring on my own...which I think is a VERY good thing :)

Until next time,

amor siempre en Cristo!

Evi

Buffalo Wild Wings, Krumpe's Donuts, Cameras, and Finishing well!

Hello dear friends!

It is 12:27 AM, and I am 18 years old! :) This is an exciting thing! I can now sign my own permission slips, drive after 11pm, buy a lottery ticket, and vote! Out of all of those things, driving after 11 is definitely the best :D

My very dear friend, Michelle Phillipson, took me out this evening to Buffalo Wild Wings, where I experienced some delicious Honey BBQ wings and Raspberry Iced Tea. Afterwards, she took me to Krumpe's Donuts-the sketchiest donut place you'll ever see, with THE BEST donuts you'll ever eat. Two new experiences for me, which makes them great! I love collecting memories, and tonight certainly was a good one.

Mom and Dad bought for a camera for my birthday-a Canon SX120 IS Powershot. Very nice...I hope to be a pro at it by Honduras :)

Besides all these wonderful things happening, I also need to touch up on some prayer requests, and what God has been doing in my life recently! This past Saturday evening the enemy really got a hold of me, bringing me down, discouraging me, and giving me an overwhelming sense of loneliness. I couldn't sleep at all and was really worked up. I asked a couple of close friends to pray for me, turned on some Casting Crowns on my iPod, and opened up my Bible. Not knowing what to read, I flipped to the back, searching through the concordance, reading passages on keeping the faith, anxiety, and loneliness. God really brought one verse up. It just jumped from the page and really got me thinking when I read it:

2 Timothy 4:7 says "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

These are Timothy's closing words, reflecting on his actions and his journey. But God gave it a different spin for me. This verse has become a prayer for me, an encouragement. Even if I haven't had a fantastic week, if I haven't gotten a bunch of support or responses to my Honduras trip, if maybe a talk with a friend doesn't go the way I plan, if I can say to myself at the end of the day, or at the end of the week, that I have "fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith," then I have done what I can, the rest is in God's hands. And His hands are so much more capable than mine. So my goal is to fight the good fight, to finish the race, and to keep the faith.

Thanks for reading this, just the thoughts of a now EIGHTEEN year old :)

Amor siempre en Cristo!

-Evi

Out of the night that covers me-I'm Unafraid-I Believe

I need to be better at keeping this updated!

So, I'm working at Rosimar, which is a Mexican/Italian restaurant where Lindy's used to be in Waynesboro! It's great, and another place I get to use my Spanish skills! Still working at The Waynesburger, where I practice my Spanish the most. I thank God for my jobs everyday, because right now they are what is going to get me to Honduras.

Be praying, because the response for supporting me hasn't been great. I think I need to do some follow ups, but I want to do that without being obnoxious.

This past weekend was the Brethren In Christ General Conference, at Messiah College. I had the privilege of being there the whole time for Bible Quizzing! Fairview Ave came in 4th, just short of some hardware...:)

On Sunday evening RootSide Up did a little concert outside of Lottie(the cafeteria) during dinner, just for 45 minutes. I got about $160, which is all right for that amount of time. Every little penny counts :) I believe I got a Canadian penny too! Haha

It was really neat being around all the BICers...I'm so lucky to have such a cool "family." I really enjoyed the preaching of Woody Dalton, Senior Pastor of Harrisburg BIC. I got to go to Harrisburg BIC on Sunday morning and got to hear him share a message there, and then he spoke at General Conference that night as well.

Last week I got my Spanish bible, JUST in Spanish, so I can't cheat ;). It's beautiful, but really big. I want to find just a Spanish New Testament that I can carry around. I'm going to start familiarizing myself with it, learning my favorite verses in Spanish and so on. I also got a cool little devotional book all in Spanish from my Spanish Teacher, Señora Penny, that she got me for Graduation.

That's most of what's going on, please pray that I will start getting more responses about supporting me, in both prayer and finances.

I'm hoping to make up a prayer card this weekend.

Thanks for everyone who has been supporting me!

Amor siempre en Cristo,

Evi :)

(The quote at the top is from Invictus, my current favorite movie. If you haven't seen it, you really should!)

exaggeration. I covet your prayers!

an get them out really soon, and be able to talk to people face to face.
This heat is crazy! The humidity feels about 70%, although I'm sure that's an

So, I figured out how I can update from my phone! I feel rather high-tech now. Well, I'm still working on my support letters, so just be praying that I c

First post!

Hello friends!

This is my first post! I decided to start a blog, so you all can keep up with me while I'm preparing for my discipleship internship in Honduras. Plus, I love writing, so hopefully this works out great for everybody!

So, being officially accepted into the S.T.E.P program is exciting! And scary! I'm currently working on my support letter, and hopefully Sunday I'll get down to talking to people. I'm really looking for prayer partners right now, because more than anything else I need prayer right now. Trust in God, and then everything will fall into place after that :)

I keep realizing that Summer is going to run away from me, so I'm trying to get my behind into GO mode. Juggling work, youth group, and being on the Worship team for Cove Valley Christian Camp, and getting ready for New York and Honduras is going to be a challange, but one I'm ready to take on!

This Friday I look forward to a trip to Hershey Park with my youth group for an end of year party, and maybe I'll get rid of this white winterness on my skin ;-P Gotta get dark so I can fit in...

I'll post later this week hopefully, and keep you updated on prayer requests!

Amor siempre en Cristo!

Evi