Sunday, February 28, 2010

Preparation!

Feeling a little under the weather, but that has given me time to work on preparing my first presentation! I'm a little nervous, but more excited. I am talking to a missions group of 3-5 year olds! At first, my friend was going to give me the opportunity to talk in front of the whole church, but since I'm leaving Kentucky in 10 days, it didn't work out and I only get the little ones, and probably the school aged ones too. Secretly, I'm very excited that my first presentation will be to children! They are the ones I talk to best!!!

In the process of preparation, I tested out a very good recipe for chilenas (two sugar cookies with caramel "dulce de leche" sandwiched between then, then dusted with powdered sugar)! However, I won't be trying them out for the 50 kids because of being sick :( Sorry kiddos, you have no idea what you will be missing. Maybe I'll post the recipe! Also in this process I have created a power point, and purchased a song from itunes, then I found out, the itunes version probably won't work on another computer unless I 'embed' it (or know something about computers). At least my presentation Wednesday will be from my computer.

I will try to attach it here, and just play in your head or on youtube the song "God of This City" by Chris Tomlin (if it doesn't work).

Other preparations happened on Friday night, when Kendra and I self addressed envelopes to every person I know. Jonathan gave me the tip, after I bought labels to print. It was a fun time of talking, writing, and snacking, and we finished! Just waiting on the brochures, designed by bronsinkdesign.com to come in the mail, and I will be sending them out, finally!

16 days til I return to Honduras for language school/ tutoring! One more week of work in Kentucky. 10 more days of living with Jonathan, Kendra, Zoe Fiona, Scout, and Sonnet (I won't be missing Sonnet or the cold, but I will miss the rest)


Saturday, February 20, 2010

Encouragement and Emson


Today was an encouraging day! I sent out many emails trying to get addresses of friends I have not talked to in a while, and many of them sent me messages back. This may sound small, but to me, this is a huge encouragement!

Still in Kentucky, living with Kendra and Jonathan (sister and brother-in-law) and the 2 nieces! The snow is melting, so its not as pretty. Working at their church cleaning! (one of my favorite things to do) I wrote an article in their newsletter, if you want to check it out, here is the link
http://firstpresbyterianowensboro.com/view/february-17-2010---presbynotes (scroll down, i wrote "from flip flops to snow boots")

The kid of the day is Emson. My funny story about him is the first day I met him. We didn't talk much, but he kept coming up to me and saying "Hola vaca" (Hello Cow)... I hope he didn't mean anything by it, but I just laughed and continued on, until he kept calling me 'cow'.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Snow, sledding, and Silyi

More snow. After working most of the day, then fixing Honduran food for some friends, we decided to go nightime sledding under the lights. It was icy, with fresh snow falling. For a girl who hasn't had much snow in her life, it was awesome. Then we had a snow fight, and I came home covered in snow. Kendra almost sledded into the river, fun times!

My kid of the day is Silyi (pronounced Seelgee)

Silyi is 3 years old. Her favorite color is yellow. Every time I see her, she seems to have a smile on her face. I haven't got to know her well, ..(yet) but I look forward to the time learning about her and her sweet personality.

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentines Day



I'm here in Kentucky, and there is more snow! It hasn't been sticking yet, but I'm still hopeful! Aben, my boyfriend, is here visiting on his support raising travels. He is raising support with Youth for Christ in Honduras. Check out his youtube video about the people that work and live at the city dump. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr1EtnaVeZM

Also, for another video about Casa de Luz and the area check out this video, on the Casa de Luz webpage http://www.instituteforcommunity.org/casadeluz/default.aspx

Lastly, here is a picture for the day, of one of the kids at Casa de Luz. She is the one I have gotten to know the most, since she stays later in the day, and was usually around when I was teaching English to the other Honduran teachers.

Her name is Genesis, she is 4 years old. The best story I have about her, was one day when I was holding her and she just kept looking and touching a strand of my hair. I asked her what color it was and she had to pause and think for a while, because she is used to seeing dark hair. It was precious. And I think she determined it was orange.

Friday, February 12, 2010

My first support newsletter!!! minus the pictures

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, I have been living in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for the past 2 ½ years. Until this past December I had been working in a Christian bilingual school, associated with a large church there. I taught 2nd grade for 2 years and 1st grade for half of a year. My time there was rewarding and life changing. My original commitment was to be there a year, then see where God wanted me. As you can see, by my extended time there, I loved it! I fell in love with the people, the culture, the food, and the country of Honduras. According to the World Bank, Honduras is the third poorest country on the Western Hemisphere, behind Haiti and Nicaragua. The recent political crisis has made it even more difficult for aid to reach those who need it.

I have been actively involved with two churches, one with services in English and the other in Spanish. The English speaking service has many missionary families and organizations represented and I have gotten to know some amazing men and women of God. Through one of these connections, I learned about a ministry called Casa de Luz (House of Light). I heard about it a few months before I visiting. A member of the church asked me to, “Pray about what your gifts are, and we can connect you to someone who can help you serve.” Author Frederick Buechner says, that where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet, this is where God is calling. When I visited Casa de Luz last spring, I felt God calling me to stay in Honduras and to use my gifts to serve the children there.

Since August of this year I have been visiting Casa de Luz a few days a week after teaching at my school to teach the two Honduran teachers English, and to get to know the kids.

Foundation Casa de Luz is a day care in one of the poorest areas of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. It provides free childcare to families in the neighborhood of Las Palmas, so that parents can go to work and raise money to feed their families. The goal of the foundation is to teach Biblical values and themes to the children. The average mom at Casa de Luz earns about $183 a month to support her family… keeping in mind many items cost the same in Honduras as the U.S. Some of our kids have no water in their homes. Without Foundations Casa De Luz, some of the children would be left at home all day or all week while their mother works. One little girl, Nayeli, is 4 years old. Her mom works all week and only sees her on Saturdays. She would be uncared for except for a deal made with a neighbor who could watch Nayeli at night and on Sundays, and she can be at CDL during the day. Another little girl is Alecia; she is 2 years old. Her mom abandoned her, and she would be in a government center if it were not for our willingness to take her in, so her grandmother can work and take care of her at night and on weekends.

I find it difficult to express in words how passionate I am about serving the poor, and particularly the poor children of Tegucigalpa. My imperfect portrayal of this ministry may not adequately express my passion, but I trust that the Spirit of God will work in other’s hearts as he has worked in mine to provide a way to make ministry there possible. Please consider how God might to calling you to support this ministry through prayer support, or perhaps through financial support. A good friend said, “If I’m not there, the least I can do is pray.” But in reality, that is the MOST you can do for me. Praying to God, who is in control of all things, is the BIGGEST thing we can do, not the LEAST. Pray for the funds, pray for timing, pray for protection, and pray for all the pieces of this process to come together, so I can return as soon as possible. I’m hoping to return in mid- August if I have enough support.

I will need prayer support and monthly support. Since I will be a full time missionary, I need to raise support for all living expenses, including fees to stay in the country. I have estimated for the first year I will need to raise $22,000 (this includes finding a reliable means of transportation), and then approximately $15,000 annually for the years following. If you are interested in supporting me, please pray about this need and listen to where God is calling you.

Casa de Luz is a foundation organized through the National Institute for Community, and through this organization I will be raising my support.

The tax ID number is 20-4404320. You may donate online on my behalf at www.casadeluz.us On the right hand side, choose Casa de Luz, follow the link and donate. To use this option you NEED TO PLACE MY NAME next to Casa de Luz in the designation line.

You may also send a check to National Institute For Community WITH MY NAME ON THE MEMO SECTION of the check. The address is

National Institute for Community

175 Highpoint Dr.

%Michael Vickery

Romeoville, IL 60446

Please check out the Casa de Luz website to see more pictures and projects www.casadeluz.us and follow my new blog, as I will update you on my ministry and post pictures www.jennyhonduras.blogspot.com To receive e-mailed newsletters please send your email address to me at jenny_bronsink@hotmail.com

Jenny Bronsink

737 New Wales Lane

Saint Augustine, Florida 32092


Isaiah 58:6-7;10
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? ...and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Casa de Luz Christmas 2009


These are some pictures from Casa de Luz, the day care in Las Palmas, from their Christmas party. They sang some songs, and then each kid and parent received a gift! I'm trying to upload a video of one of the songs, but its not working. They sang and did a dance to "Jesus, You're my Superhero" in Spanish, of course, and a few other songs! After the songs, the parents had a meeting, and the kids from CDL and any of the neighborhood kids came up and made a Christmas box.... lots of kids, not a lot of space, but fun!