Happy One Year Anniversary to Me!!!!!!

As I sit down to write this blog I really can not believe that this time last year I was on an airplane to come to this country I now call home. When I boarded that plane I had never been to Honduras, now it is a place that will never leave my heart. It is truly amazing to see all that can happen in one year. I could not even Begin to explain all that God has taught me since being here. In the big scheme of things I think most people would say that one year is so little time, but I would have to disagree. Everyday that passes shapes us into who we become in the future. I have had 365 days to be shaped, 365 days to grow, 365 days to have my breath taken away, 365 days to cry, to laugh, to feel the sunshine on my skin, 365 days to live... Wow, what a blessing we have been given, to live. It is easy to get overwhelmed by the bad stuff and the hard times, but if we had never cried, would we cherish the times when we laugh? I find that even in the hard times there is a blessing. Without those moments we would not be who we are today. Although you don't have to move to an other country to grow, to learn or be shaped, I know that I would have woken up a different person today if I had not lived in Honduras for the past year. I think being in a different culture challenges what you always thought to be "normal" or the way things "should be." You begin to see flaws in your own thoughts, you even shock yourself with ideas you didn't know you had. You watch others and realize that there is an other way to think about things or to do things. Being in a different culture has definitely shaped my thinking, and expanded my worldview. I have also been shaped by the beautiful children here. I have learned a love I didn't know existed. I thought that I was coming to Honduras to touch the lives of the
children here, but the thing about kids is that they unknowingly touch your life more than you ever hope to touch theirs. While I hope that I have made a big difference in their lives, I have no doubt that they have made a difference in mine. They make my laugh without even trying and make my heart melt, just by wanting to hold my hand. Just today Kensy came up to me and said "Miss Jessi can I hold your hand?" as if it were a privilege to be able to hold my hand. It would take me a year to recount all the precious moments I have had. I have been blessed to no end being here. My prayer is that I have truly given more than I have received, but at times I find that hard to believe.