a return trip

For those of you who have been around for a while, you may remember that I got to go to Honduras in July of 2011 and what an incredible adventure that was. Unfortunately, I kind of dropped the ball on blogging about it, so that's only about half of what I experienced. But it's better than nothing, right? Right!

The reason I bring this up is because it looks like I will be going back to Honduras again in June of this year. I have to start fund raising and saving up the dough. I'm sending this letter out to all the people I know, but I thought also there was no harm in posting it here. Even if all you are able to do is pray, that's all I can ask for.

To My Dear Friends and Family:

A couple years ago I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Honduras with a mission team from my church. It was a whirlwind of experiences,especially because I didn't know I was going on the trip until three days before we left. A flurry of packing, laundry and three shots in the arm later,I was part of a medical brigade/building trip combo to provide the people of Tegucigalpa with some free health care, and also add to the amount of work being done in order to complete their Learning Center for rural pastors.

During my trip I bonded with a plethora of little Honduran children who covered me in stickers and showered me with hugs. I helped out in the pharmacy, mixed concrete by hand, played a lot of soccer, ate delicious food, and watched God work in ways I could have never imagined.

In June I have the chance to return to Tegucigalpa on a building trip led by my amazing parents and accompanied by both my brothers. We are going to be building a house for the people who work in the trash dump collecting recyclables as away of life. This is to help provide better housing so these families will have the chance to raise their children in better living conditions than a make-shift shanty on the side of the road. This is a great opportunity to build relationships with other people, experience a completely different culture, and further the kingdom of God.

For it to be possible to make this trip I will need to raise some money. In total I will need $1800 dollars. I have already started saving,but every little bit helps. If you feel inclined to help me out with the cost by pledging some money or sending up prayers, I would be incredibly grateful.

This trip is important to me in so many ways that I can’t even begin to describe. Even if you can’t afford to send anything except massive amounts of prayers, you can follow the trip on Instagram (@natakeit90) and/or I will make sure to send out letters (with lots of pictures!) upon our return to the States.

Thanks for everything. You rock!

Natalie

I went back to re-read my limited blogging account from my last trip south, and some of the things I remember about being in Honduras have stuck with me, while others have faded in time. But what is really, truly amazing is that feeling of fellowship and working at an exhausting pace was all 100 percent worth it. I wouldn't trade that trip for the world on a silver platter and I know that this second trip is going to be just as amazing too.

And to help make up for not blogging about the last half of my trip, here are some pictures:

Giving Saves

Even though Prince Charming and I are no longer dating each other, we have decided that we would like to stay friends - and while that has been a battle for me in and of itself, I have chosen to go along with him because I like having him in my life.

He is one of the few people who lives with me at school that I can talk to about almost anything and he makes me feel better when I am upset - so even though stepping back and making a conscious effort to remain "just friends" sometimes is more difficult than I can imagine - I like that he doesn't want to just cross me out and leave me behind.

And building up a base of pure friendship can do nothing but good things for our relationship - whatever relationship we have from now on.

So, because Prince Charming is my friend, and also because what he's doing has a special place in my heart, I am going to do something I don't normally do.

Prince Charming and his friends are running in the Relay for Life - and I think you all probably know what that is, but if you don't Relay for Life is partnered with the American Cancer Society to raise money for cancer research, to help people live longer, and things of that nature. It's truly a wonderful thing for people to participate in - and so far Prince Charming is on a team with seven other people. They are all trying to raise a minimum of 100 dollars per person - so if they each get 100 dollars, that's 800 dollars that's going towards helping out people with cancer.

I don't know if you guys know this, but my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer when I was a freshmen in college. He had to have surgery, and now he's doing fine - but he still monitors what he eats, he all but gave up red meat which completely surprised me, and he's thankful to be alive and healthy.

Honestly, our involvement with cancer hasn't been as horrific as some, and for that I am very thankful. Not to mention very blessed.

I don't know a lot of details, but I know that Prince's grandfather was diagnosed with the same kind of cancer my dad had, but from what I've heard it sounds like he's in a more advanced state - but I don't really know for sure.

What I do know though, is that millions of people are affected by cancer whether they have it or know someone who does, or know someone who was taken by cancer. And what I also know is that giving towards cancer research is one of the best things we could probably do for those we love and care about.

So here's the link. Prince has got 60 dollars already, but he needs at least 40 more. And can you just imagine if he got 200? 300? Wouldn't that be fantastic?

I don't know if a cure is really realistically lurking on the horizon of "anytime soon" but I do know that all the research we can do, the better.