Her name is Deb

Beautiful 
Thoughtful
Sweet
Charming
Athletic
Happy
Smart
Strong
Full of life
Encouraging
Prayerful
Honest

Her name is Deborah and she is unlike anyone I've ever met or known.


If you have ever spent any time with her before she was sick, you know how full of life she once was. She made everyone smile by just being herself. She had a way of making my day better whenever I would see her or talk to her.

I miss her. I miss her silly self. I miss her bear hugs and that beautiful smile.

Deborah and I met when she was in 5th grade and I was in 6th. We had grown up together in church, but our paths didn't cross until then. Our friendship quickly grew through those early years of life. She quickly became like a sister. Some of my greatest childhood memories include sweet, crazy Deb.

When a friendship starts at such a young age, watching each other grow through the years is quite the experience. Deborah and I were complete opposites in many ways. She was always the one who loved to dress up in crazy outfits that I wouldn't dare wear in public. She wasn't ever afraid of making a fool out of herself in front of people. She had a weird thing for lawn gnomes and the movie "Monty Python and the Holy grail." She definitely had a way of pulling herself and I into uncomfortable, awkward situations but she loved every minute of it and it taught me to relax and not be so uptight all the time.

Later in middle school, Deborah was saved. I watched her grow by leaps and bounds. Her love for Christ grew, she loved serving others, she was so real with people, encouraging and uplifting. It was that summer that our relationship hit a whole new level. Not only were we best friends, but now we were sisters in Christ forever. She became my accountability partner, we memorized scripture together, talked about the things of God, and prayed for each other. I knew I could trust that girl with my life. We talked through the nitty-gritty things of life. The hard things, the easy things, school, our future, boys (of course), family, church, we talked about everything. She was always there for me. Many times people say "I'm only a phone call away" but I never experienced that more with anyone, then with Deb. She would listen to me as I would pour my heart out to her, she always pointed me towards the hope I have in Christ, she gave me tough love when I needed it. She was excited when I was excited, cried with me when I cried, and God used her to strengthen me through her prayers for me. We have spent countless hours together laughing... she always made me laugh.

It was my freshman year in college when she started getting really sick and became bedridden. She wasn't with me at church anymore, her face disappeared from the hallways, her joyful presence didn't fill the youth room anymore...just like that. Within a couple months they found out she had lyme disease. At the time I had no idea what it was, but I remember her telling me over the phone that it might take a while for her to get better. At that point, I wasn't sure what to think. Weeks passed, then months, and she wasn't getting better. There were no answers only "maybes." Finally she began to get better and eventually was back at church again. I couldn't believe it! It had been over a year since she was able to come back to church and there she sat, right next to me just like when we were little girls. I was even able to take her out of the house one day. We ate chick-fil-a on the Halifax river. It was a beautiful day. We spent it laughing and reminiscing. My best friend had returned to me. Those sweet couple months of her feeling better didn't last long though, the lyme relapsed and she was once again bed ridden and has been ever since.

I've learned a lot about friendship in the past couple years. I've learned what it means to truly stick by someones side through the easy times and through the hard. God has taught me about unconditional love, He has taught me to be faithful when it gets really hard and when I feel like giving up. He has reminded me of His love for us...for Deborah. He has reminded me that He is in control, that He sustains Deborah, and is carrying her through this difficult trial. No, I'm not perfect. I've had to confess to Deborah several times for neglecting to go see her, for not encouraging her in the way I should, but she was always quick to forgive and remind me of Christ's love for both of us. That just who she is. She has been changed by God's grace and He uses her to encourage. Many times I would leave our conversations, either on her bed or through facetime, so encouraged. She never doubted God's plan for her, she held steadfast on His promises to never leave or forsake her. She reminded me that He is the great physician and will heal her when it's time. Wow what an amazing young woman I am honored to call my friend.

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Deborah, I hope one day you will read this blog and once again fully understand what you mean not only to me, but to many many other people. You are a bright light in a very dark world. You are beautiful and kind. You are one special lady who is deeply loved by Christ. Don't ever forget what he sacrificed for you to be called His daughter. I love you deb and though, because of sickness, you cannot remember my name, I remember you and pray for you. I remember how you once used to be, I remember your smile and your hilarious laugh attacks, but most of all deb, I remember that you are my friend, and I will never forget that. I look forward to the day when your memory returns, when your body is once again healthy. I look forward to taking more walks on the beach, seeing your pretty face in our church hallways again, and I look forward to how God will use you in the future for His glory and for you good. There is always hope when we hope in Christ.

Much love,
Susanne

Honduras pt. 2

In the mountains of Honduras, there are hundreds of villages and thousands of people who have not heard the good news about Jesus, His life He gave for us, the death He died, and his resurrection from the dead that assures us, those who believe in Him, that we will be saved. They have not heard of His wrath and the judgement that is coming for mankind because of our sin; they have not heard of the love that Jesus has shown to us by voluntarily sacrificing himself so we could live for eternity in pure happiness and joy.

It is because of this God calls missionaries to go. He calls simple, normal people to do extraordinary work. This is why the Pattersons went, because God called them to it. There is nothing special about them. They would be the first ones to tell you that they aren't perfect. That they are flawed and sinful. They would also be the first ones to tell you about Jesus and His forgiveness. 

Living with this family for 6 weeks was an amazing experience. We got to see the day in and day out of a missionary family. How they prepare for their mission work, how they impact the people around them, how they live, how they spend time together.. And so much more. I am so incredibly thankful for their family. They took my sister and I in as their own, loved on us, helped us find our place, encouraged us in our preparation and work, translated for us constantly, and quickly became some of my dearest friends.  

God is doing amazing things in Honduras through the people He has placed there. A little village of about 1,500 people called El Buen Pastor is where the Patterson family have devoted their ministry. Every week they pile in their land cruisers and spend 2 hours on a bumpy road just to get there. A Sunday to them is a 10 hour day. We always left at 7, got there around 9, started Sunday school right away, had a 30 minute lunch break, then next was our teenage girls class, and finally we had the actual church service at 1. We would leave around 3 and get back home at 5. They do this every week! Willingly! And they L.O.V.E it. There was one day I was talking to Mr. Patterson and asked him what he loves most about his wife. He said that he loves how much she loves the ministry in El Buen Pastor. And he is absolutely right, she does loves their ministry there so much. Christy's heart is a heart of gold. She is so kind and one of the most humble human beings I know. She loves the women in the village. Almost every evening when we were laying around before it was time for bed, Christy would be sitting in her chair, crocheting hats for the new babies that would be born soon in the village. So sweet and thoughtful. Christy also is an amazing Sunday school teacher. Every week she consistently has 30-40 kids and when she starts teaching, they all listen to her so intently. I couldn't believe it! She loves all those little kids with her whole heart and teaches them so well. 

The people in El Buen Pastor have really grown to love the Patterson family. God has used them to share His gospel with those who have never heard in this village and it's changing lives. 

Back in Siguatepeque there are many others who have been impacted by Mark and Christy. We met several sweet, genuine men and women who's lives have been changed by God through the Pattersons and through other people God has placed in Honduras. 

 {victor and Carla} they have 5 girls and are some of the sweetest people I've ever met. 

Growing up as a little girl, I read in story books, learned in Sunday school and was taught by my parents that God knows and loves His people who are all around the world. But it wasn't until our time in Honduras that these thoughts became a reality. It is such a simple thought, that I knew was true, but I never had the chance to actually experience it. I was never able to put names and faces to people who live a different life, speak a different language but are yet precious in the sight of God. He knows them intimately, He died for them, and loves them. I can easily say it was one of the most special parts of our trip. 

We were able to see, first hand, other Christians praising the name of Christ in a completely different tongue. They have been changed by His grace and their lives have been transformed into something new! The gospel is being spread all over this world, and we were able to see it first hand. Amazing.

My sister and I were also able to see what it's like for people to come and go from the states. One Tuesday we went up the the village along with some doctors and nurses who came from the states. They saw over 200 people that day. 16 of them were pregnant woman, some of them had no idea how far a long in their pregnancies they were. Our job was to entertain the kids for their parents while they stood in line, we had over 100 kids there. Crazy! But so fun. 

We also had 3 different church groups come from the states and help us do manual labor around Meda, the seminary. They sewed, dug ditches, painted, worked on cars, and they also did a VBS up in the village. It was neat to meet so many different people and see how willing they were to help share the gospel in different ways. 

I would encourage any Christian who has the opportunity to go on a mission trip to G O. It changed my life! It changed my view of God, how He works in this world, how He uses us weak vessels to show His great strength. I was able to see God work mightily through my sister and I and through the Pattersons while we were there. It was the greatest experience of my life as a follower of Jesus.

If you don't feel called to go then be a supporter and prayer warrior! I don't have enough words to express my thankfulness to my church and all the people that made it possible for us to go. They provided the means for us to go, they were excited for us to go, and prayed for us faithfully while we were gone. I received so much encouragement from a lot of people, some of them I didn't really even know. I have so much to be thankful for. 

I hope with all my heart that I get to go back one day and return to the sweet faces that stole my heart while I was there. It's a second home to me now. 

Here are a couple more pictures from our trip with some of the sweet people we met there :) 

Honduras pt.1

| Honduras |
            a place I now consider to be a second home. Never in a million years would I have ever expected to spend 6 weeks of my life in such a beautiful country with a family who welcomed my sister and I with open arms and quickly became very special friends. We experienced so much in those 6 weeks. There is so much to tell, so many faces to show. It will take some time but I want to share as much as I can.

I'll start from the beginning. Growing up I always loved the idea of traveling; of leaving home and going to other places in the world to tell people about Jesus (Amy Carmichael is my hero). My heart for missions had seem to be growing over this past year so earlier this year, in March, I decided to really start praying towards missions. There was no path towards missions in my mind, no opportunities had presented themselves, nor did I think they ever would for at least a couple years. But, I wanted to start praying because of the tugging that was going on in my heart and also because James 2 says "you have not because you do not ask God." The opportunity for us to go came about so quickly, we had only known a month in advance that we would be going! I don't think we will ever fully understand Gods timing in certain areas of life but it is always perfect, good for us, and for His ultimate glory. I won't ever forget the moment I sat on my floor in my room and I looking back in my journal over the past couple months I found a one line entry on March 15 and made the connection that no joke, 3 months later, to the day (June 15) my sister and I would be hopping on a plane headed for San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Only God could plan something like that so perfectly. I was in awe. 

Our mission: Going there we had a hand ful of goals, but our biggest goal was to begin a youth girls ministry in a village called El Buen Pastor. It was about 20 miles away from where we stayed in Siguatepeque but it took a good 2 hours to get there because of the rough roads. Super bumpy, super uncomfortable, but so fun! 

In the few weeks leading up to our trip, I was so nervous and felt unqualified to go do the work God has put before my sister and I. I didn't know hardly any Spanish (only a few things I could remember from taking it 2 or 3 years prior in college), and I didn't have much experience teaching but I was reminded over and over that He uses weak vessel to display His great strength. 

| our weakness is a vessel for His power and our flaws a canvas for His grace | -SRT

Our first Sunday there with the girls was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life. They were so shy and nervous.  We couldn't speak to them, because we didn't know Spanish, there were a couple moments of complete silence...you can just imagine them and us, here in this little church, in a village that just received electricity 2 1/2 years ago, unable to speak to each other. (I'm not a fan of awkward silence, so this was a challenge for me). Words cannot describe how thankful I am for the Pattersons, the family we stayed with who are also the ones who started this church in the village. They were so gracious and translated for my sister and I time and time again. Every week Christy Patterson, would translate for us so we could get to know the girls some. The first week we taught them how to make friendship bracelets and we sat in a circle and ate some cookies and we began to learn the names and ages of these precious girls. In the weeks following, they began to break out of their shells. We played more crazy, fun games, we did more crafts, painted nails, and the atmosphere began to get more comfortable. 

 It was the second week that my eyes were really opened. We played a game called "drop the sheet", a game I played when I was in youth, we split the girls in 2 groups and each group picks one person to walk up to the sheet, then the sheet gets dropped and whoever names the person on the other side the fastest gets a point. Boy oh boy, did these girls know each other! And really well too. Of course, what a foolish thing for me to think they didn't know each other very well, they all lived super close and have probably grow up together. They were spoutin' off each other's names left and right, still nervously giggling but the smiles on their faces grew and they began to feel more comfortable. We had so much fun! For the first time I really felt connected to them, they became so much more real to me that day. Just like us girls in America, they like to have fun together, they laugh and cry and have unique beautiful personalities. That experience in those moments was worth the whole trip to me.. But it got even better. 

I was able to start teaching them over the next few weeks. None of them had ever heard the gospel before, so I began with a simple lesson from the story of Mary sitting with Jesus and Martha working in the kitchen. I explained how much more important it is for us to come believe in Jesus rather than try to work out way to heaven. Catholicism is very preeminent in Honduras so they are very works based. Over the course of the next 3-4 weeks, we talked very simply about God grace for us, forgiveness, and substitution. I used a lot of examples that required volunteers...which is another things I learned while spending time with these sweet girls, they can and like to read! They only need a little encouragement. Every time I taught, I gave 6-10 of them different verses from the bible for them to read for me. They did excellent!

My most favorite example was from the lesson on Christ's substitution (shoutout to Pinterest and creative people for being so great at making stuff like this so accessible). In this lesson, I had 2 backpacks, one that said "nuestros pecados" which says "our sin" and it represented the sin that we have committed. I had 5 or 6 heavy rocks laying off to the side, then pulled an older girl that I thought could hold the weight, and I placed the backpack on her and called other girls to come and place rocks in the backpack, but before they did that, they had to name a sin that the rock represented. Before we knew it, the backpack was weighing about 40lbs and bless her heart, she had to stand there the rest of my lesson haha. She was a trooper! When I got to the part of my lesson that explain how Christ was our substitute, the second back pack, which I was wearing and had nothing in it, was given to her. I traded with her and explained that when Jesus died on the cross, not only did he remove our sins from us, He substituted His righteous life for our sinful one. He took our sin and gave us perfection. 

I was amazed and so grateful for how well the girls listened to me teach week after week. The connection we had with one another was a gift form God. It's because of His grace in my life that I was even able to experience these moments, these girls became so dear and so special! God overcame every fear and worry I had about teaching and about not being able to speak to them. He blessed us so much. My heart is so thankful that our time with them went so well. The last day we were with them, we decided to decorate cupcakes and none of them even knew what a cupcake was! Some were careful e in their placing of the sprinkles they were given by creating a cute design and others enjoyed completely coating the top with them, haha.

That morning we also decided to give the girls gift bags full of goodies. Christy explained to the girls what was in the bags, which included a tooth brush, toothpaste, and vitamins, and when she got to the toothbrush part, you would've thought we were giving them iPhones. There were bursts of cheers and laughter, clapping and giggling. Pure joy was on their faces, over a little tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. It's incredible what we take for granted.

Our final moments with them ended in tears and a big group hug. Our hearts had been connected in ways I can't describe. I miss them, the giggles, the smiles, the hugs. I can't wait to go back one day and see them again. 

God is greater than a language barrier. He is stronger and greater than the obstacles and mountains we are a faced with in life. I saw Him work in incredible ways and learned more about Him and how He uses His children. He is the head of His church, and we are His hands and feet. Our first week there we started with 16 girls and ended up with 30+. Since, our time there, 5 of the girls have consistently been going to church, one of them brought their older sister the next week. God provided 2 other girls from the states to continue the ministry for another 5 weeks, and it will hopefully be continued after they leave. So incredible. He is shining. He is working.

|  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. | -Joshua 1:9