The Hunts are on the Move

As I sit and type, I smile with tears in my eyes as I look back upon Gods faithfulness and as I look forward to His GREATNESS! Our family is going to be going through some changes and transition in the next several months. I stand amazed at how the Lord continually provides, in ALL areas of life!

Ever since living in Honduras I would occasionally look up jobs for Stephen online. We knew that we were not planning to be in Honduras forever so I would just check and see what was available. So last fall I found what looked like a great opportunity so I sent it to Stephen and he looked at it. He didn’t say anything to me, so I figured he wasn’t interested. Well about 2 days later he said “so I looked at that school . . . and I’m interested” I was really surprised because I had sent him a lot of other emails with potential jobs and nothing ever stood out. BUT this one we were both interested in. So we got in touch with the school, skyped with the administrator, asked a lot of questions and started the application process. Well, then Raegan arrived and put things on hold – so it wasn’t until January that we continued with the process. Stephen submitted everything and we told the Lord, if they offer us the job then we will take it and if not then we will stay. Well we waited a few weeks, we knew other people were applying as well. Then the email came from the administrator offering Stephen the PE position at Pan American Christian Academy (PACA) in
Sao Paulo, Brazil, yes BRAZIL!

We never dreamed that the Lord would have us in Honduras as long as He has and we never fathomed the idea of moving further south. But the Lord is faithful, come to find out the administrator of paca was at Pinares almost 3 years ago, with the ACSI accreditation team. He was able to observe Stephen’s work and see the school's athletic program. It is cool to us that even three years ago God had this plan in the works! God has continued to amaze us with his faithfulness and care on our lives. GOD is so GOOD!

This is a picture of the school PACA

You can be in prayer for our family as we finish up our time in Honduras as goodbyes will be difficult. This is where Stephen and I started our lives together; it’s where Raegan was born. It was our first home. Honduras will always hold a special place in our hearts. 

As we make this transition you can pray specifically for our visa process as we need visas to enter Brazil. You can also pray for us and our families as we move further away. We also need prayer as we begin the process of support raising! We will be using ABWE (association of Baptist for World Evangelism) as our mission board. So please pray for us as we have so many changes and transitions in the coming months.

We are beyond confident that this is where the Lord wants us and are thrilled and energized by this new adventure. We are confident that HE will provide so please be a part of this journey with us by praying us through! We serve a mighty, awesome, faithful God.

Mommy-Hood in Honduras

You know when I pictured myself as a stay at home mom, I wasn't expecting it to actually mean “stay at home”. That term here in Honduras is very literal, I literally can’t go much of anywhere! When I read other mommy blogs some say “I go to Target just be around ppl.” Or “I love meeting other moms at the park” yeah here in Honduras there is no Target and no parks. Even a hot shower is hard to come by these days – last night I went to bed with a wet shampooed head simply b/c we ran out of water. Life just isn’t the same, so I have to be a little more creative! I have been watching a little boy named Sammy recently; his mom is a missionary pharmacist that works with medical mission teams. So Sammy comes to my house three days a week and he Raegan and I get to hang out! Now neither one of them can talk, so basically I talk to myself all day long, most days I can’t wait until Stephen gets home just so that someone will respond to me haha!

There is a moms group here, those of us with husbands that work at the school, we get together every Thursday morning! Sometimes we just chat, other times we talk about the portions of scripture that we are reading together, and we have on occasion baked some bread together! This past Thursday was a bit more chaotic than most. My poor friend Melanie about 2 weeks ago was doing a "trick" with her husband in the kitchen with a machete . . . you can only imagine where this is going J needless to say her hand got sliced instead of the roll. So my poor friend now has a cast on her hand, and with 4 kids that can be challenging. So last Thursday our friend Melodee and I decided to go to Melanies house so that we could help her cut up some potatoes for dinner. She lives across the street from the school, so Melodee and I walked over with our strollers – I also had Sammy on this Thursday so he was in the stroller and Raegan was in the carrier. So we get to the gate and Melanie was on her way out to unlock it for us when her youngest took a spill in the driveway so she sent the key up the gate with her daughter Abigail. Melodee and I let ourselves in the gate and were in the process of locking it back up when Woody (the guard dog) came sauntering up the driveway. Now my mommy brain was not working fast enough to do anything, just to think about doing something. This is what was going on in my head “if I let the stroller go Sammy will go flying down this hill of a driveway, I can’t park the stroller b/c there is dog poop everywhere, Melodee can’t let go of her stroller for the same reasons” and by the time all of that went through my head, and nothing came out of my mouth. . . Woody (pictured below) was out the gate.  

Well at that point I realized the longer we wait the farther the dog is going to run, and the harder it would be to catch him. And I was not about to let my friend with the bum hand go chasing this dog that I should have somehow stopped from getting out. So I find a safe poop free zone to park Sammy and take off down the road, in my flip flops and Raegan bouncing in the carrier. I jog past the schools guard shack and ask for his help to get the dog . . . he responds by letting me know he will have to go talk to his boss first. I was like forget it; if I can still see the stupid dog then I was determined to get him. So Raegan and I continue on down the dirt road for a pretty good distance. Then finally I see the dog dart to the right and that’s when I realize “yes he has trapped himself” he had gone out around and then behind this barb wired fence so I stood at the end of it so that he had to come to me. Perfect, my plan had worked I had the dog! Well when I took off running after this dumb dog I did not think about the long walk back. So off we trudge back around the windy road, Raegan and I being drug by Woody. Raegan didn’t seem to mind b/c she had fallen asleep J A few moment later Melanie met us with a leash, completely surprised that I had caught Woody. Quite honestly I was rather surprised myself, anyone who knows me, knows that I HATE dogs.

To make the day even more dramatic, after we got back to the house I was helping to cut sweet potatoes for Melanies dinner. I had maybe 2 more potatoes to cut and I looked down to see a bloody blistered finger – how that happened I don’t know I was just happy that my hand was not in a cast. So I put a Band-Aid on that then a little while later I went to check on Sammy only to find him with a handful of dog food, I could only assume that this was not his first helping . . . it was at this point I realized home was calling!

So all you stay at home moms in the States, be thankful for Target and public parks . . . and go make a new friend today . . . just because you can J

Grandmother Goes to Honduras

Around the first of the year Stephen’s mom and grandmother came to visit!That was Grandmother’s 84 ^th birthday gift from Grandfather – a ticket to Honduras! I learned a valuable lesson when through Grandmothers adventurous spirit . . . you are never too old to experience new things! Sometimes older individuals have the habit of being stuck in their ways, being afraid of change, or newness. Well I learned through Grandmother that no matter how old you are there is always something new to learn or experience! She was able to try new foods, avocado’s to be exact! Here in Honduras they are a staple food in our home, Stephen and I eat them with everything. For Grandmother it was a new treat! The sugar that we have here is raw, it’s not refined and white like it is in the states, Grandmother was intrigued and wanted to take a baggie of it back to the States to show her OWLS Friends (older, wiser, loving saints - I hope they enjoyed hearing about her adventures!) You can’t flush the toilet paper here or drink the water from the faucet, just a few of the differences that Stephen and I have gotten used to and we forget that it’s SO different from the states. An older man from our church has an agricultural farm and offered to give us a tour, we drove all over his beautiful property and tried coffee beans and sour oranges. We were able to experience the beauty of Honduras. We also went to a restaurant called “La Cumbre” and enjoyed a lovely dinner with a breathtaking view of the city. Stephen and I loved seeing Grandmother interact with Raegan, they read books together, sang songs, and even took a nap together (Grandmother was not supposed to be sleeping, we had to keep a closer eye on her in the future to make sure they didn’t fall asleep and tip right off the couch J)

But Grandmother was a trooper, I didn't once hear her complain about any of the differences or inconveniences and it was so refreshing to see her loving life. I hope that I am that filled with joy, adventure and enthusiasm when I am 84!

Raegan Jane

When I was a little girl people used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up . . . my answer, a mommy! Well, I am now doing what I have always wanted to do, being what I have always dreamed of being. I am a mommy, to the most amazing girl in the world. Raegan Jane, is a blessing, a gift and I am filled with utter joy!
When, I found out that I was pregnant, I was filled with emotions – fear, happiness, excitement, doubt – fill in the blank, I most likely felt it. During my pregnancy, Stephen and I would talk about our baby, we would plan and prepare. As my due date neared we would sit on the couch together and beg her to come out, mostly because we were bored and just wanted to meet her. That time finally arrived on Tuesday evening December 2^nd at around 4pm. I was laying on the couch and all of the sudden I had a wet feeling. I got up and went to the bathroom and it was like I was peeing without really trying haha! So I told Stephen “um, I think that my water just broke” after that I texted my Dr. and told him what was going on. We had an appointment scheduled for that evening at 7pm so I asked him if we should just wait till our appt. or if we should just come in. He told us to come as soon as we could. At this point I was having very mild contractions about 7 min. apart. So we got everything ready and one of the girls from school was gracious enough to give us a ride because our car has been out of commission for a few months, we need a part that is very difficult to find. So anyway, we got dropped off at the hospital and went up to my Doctors office and he was able to see us right away. 

When we got in his office he took one look at me and said “you don’t look like you’re in enough pain” my contractions sill were not very strong. So I changed and walked out of the bathroom so that he could check things out. During the 4ft. walk to the ultrasound bed my water continued to break then when I got on the bed it was still coming, needless to say I soaked the floor and the table and we were sure that my water had officially broken, there was no doubt. My Dr. checked me and I was 4 centimeters, but he was concerned that my contractions weren’t strong enough to continue helping me to dilate. He had one more patient to see, so he told us to walk around during his last appointment and then he would help us check in to the hospital. During the next 50 min. Stephen and I just walked around the hospital. It was about 9pm when we got checked in and settled in our room. The Dr. then told me that if my contractions were not getting any stronger by 11pm he would need to start me on Pitocin to speed up the process because my water had broken and the risk of infection was much higher. By 11 there was still no change, so He started me on Pitocin and by midnight it was definitely working. For the next 3 hours while watching Tom and Jerry on Cartoon Network, I moved from standing and swaying back and forth to bouncing on my exercise ball. Stephen was a great coach, he was so encouraging and helped me to stay strong and breath through each contraction. Side Note - We didn’t have any birthing classes so we were both relying on my studying and research of the Bradley Method. I would recommend it to anyone, it worked great for us. – So at about 1:30am the Dr. checked me again and I was at 6 centimeters, and he expected me to deliver between 3am and 4am. That was our target, I would ask Stephen for a time check every once in a while just to make sure that time had not stopped haha! At one point I told him that drugs would have been nice, knowing that I had chosen not to make them an option : ) it was about 45 min. after that comment that I was at 10 centimeters and ready to push. 

The nurse came in and brought an adjustable bed that I moved onto to go to the delivery room. At this time my contractions had slowed down and I was able to have about a 2 min. break between each one. I was very surprised at how aware I was of everything, I was having conversations with Stephen, and my Doctor. After I was adjusted and comfortable, I began pushing. At first I was pushing from my throat and not making very much progress but once the Doctor reminded me to push down, it took two pushes and Raegan had arrived. After the first push I was much more motivated because the Doctor said that he could see her hair. Mid contraction I said “okay good she has hair, I can do this” that was what got her out with the second push. I told Stephen later that was the most empowered I have ever felt, I honestly felt like super women. It was an amazing experience. Once she was out they laid her on me, despite being a little purple and somewhat slimy . . . she was beautiful, full head of hair and big bright beautiful eyes. The pediatrician then took her to clean her off, weigh, and measure her; she was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21 inches. They dressed her and swaddled her then handed her to Stephen it was in that moment that we paused to pray and thank the Lord for our little miracle. 

I am still amazed that I was able to do what I did, the birth of a child is truly an act of God. Only HE could so intricately design our bodies to do what they do. I still look at my little Raegan Jane and stand in awe that God allowed us to create her. She is a blessing and a joy! After the Doctor was finished taking care of me they wheeled me back to our room and Stephen carried Raegan. We were then able to call family and rest, and by 4pm that afternoon we were headed home. We weren’t even at the hospital for 24 hrs. that still kind of amazes me but we were so happy to be home! Since then our lives have changed for the better, our sweet Raegan is a gift from God and we can’t imagine life without her. 

We are Having a Baby . . .

And the long awaited answer is that it is a baby . . . . well let me share with you how we told our families first! When we came back to the states Stephen's mom did not know about the baby yet so here is a video of us surprising her with the news!

So to tell Stephens family the gender we decided to make cake pops, we made the cake batter and added the appropriate dye to it! Then we covered them in white chocolate and sprinkles, that evening we had everyone bite into it at the same time! It was really fun to share the special news with everyone that way!

With my family since we have all the nieces and nephews, we decided to do a pinata which my awesome sister-in-law made for us and then we filled it up with candy and colored confetti. The kids had a blast, Karis thought for sure that an actual baby was going to come out, either a baby girl or a baby boy hahaha! After we cleared that up, Caden decided that since I had a baby in my belly that he wanted to have one in his so he started telling everyone Auntie Em is having a baby and I am having a baby too!

So we finally got the pinata hung up and started with the littlest kid and worked our way up to the older kids! They beat that pinata like crazy until a lot of candy and a certain color came out . . . . . and that color was . .

PINK!!!! Its a GIRL! 
We are praising the Lord for our beautiful baby girl and can't wait to meet her in early December!

Beautiful Blessings

Over the past several months our family and my belly have seen some changes : ) back in March Stephen and I found out that we are expecting! Since that moment, God has been changing and challenging us in so many new and unexpected ways. As I gaze down at my growing belly, as I look at the sonogram of the baby developing inside of me, I stand amazed that God would entrust this tiny little life into our hands.

As we were experiencing the excitement of new life we were also grieving the loss of an old life. My grandpa went to dance in heaven with Jesus on June 10^th – as I dealt with his loss I would look down to see new life, new life that the Lord has created in me through HIS miraculous hand of grace. I am humbled to recognize that it is only through the hand of our sovereign Lord that life is given and life is taken away. And I praise Him that it is only for a time because if we know HIM as our Lord and Savior we can be confident that we will meet again.

 
So as the journey continues for us here on earth it is my prayer that our marriage, our parenting . . . our lives are lived in such a way that the grace, love and hope of our Lord is shown. As we embark on this next stage of parenthood, I know that the Lord is going to teach us, change us, and grow us to be more like himself. So with that I leave you with this passage that has been my comfort over the past several months - Psalm 118 - these are the last two verses - 

You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
you are my God; I will extol you.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his steadfast love endures forever!

Read the next blog post to find out what we're having!

29Re

The Freedom of Submission

I praise the Lord for HIS work in my life and how HE continues to change me, mold me and make me more like Himself. The last 2 weeks have been exhaustingly refreshing, I normally wouldn’t put those two words together but I can’t really think of any other way to describe it. I guess it’s the whole idea of being at the end of yourself (utter exhaustion) and relying completely on the strength of the Lord (refreshment). The Lord has literally blown me away with blessings and encouragement day after day from the sermons at church, to the girls on my volleyball team, to the enriching conversations with Stephen, to the Baptist Bible College Girls volleyball team coming to visit! I can say with honesty and transparency that I have recently discovered the freedom of submitting to Lord’s will for us being here in Honduras.

This realization came after a conversation Stephen and I had about all the really GREAT things that God is doing here in Honduras. I distinctly remember sitting on the kitchen counter sharing with each other what we’re learning, how we’re growing and how God is using us. Stephen is having opportunities day after day to invest in the lives of young men, to teach them how to become better leaders. He has the opportunity to take some of the young men under his wing and mentor them in how to coach and in their walk with the Lord. It was that day in the kitchen that we realized even if it’s for one kids life to be transformed, then it’s worth it. It’s worth the inconvenience, it’s worth being away from family, and it’s worth being uncomfortable. Not saying that it’s always easy but we were not called by the Lord to be happy or to be comfortable, we are called to be faithful and obedient. Because of that revelation I now feel that I have freedom to live in the submission of God’s plan for me, His plan for us here in Honduras.

Not only was it that conversation in the kitchen that day but it continued by having the girls volleyball team from Baptist Bible College, where Stephen and I attended, come and visit! It was after I got home from picking them up from the airport and spending the day sharing with them all the wonderful things about Honduras that I realized, as I had begun embracing God’s plan for us and enjoying it, God was allowing me the privilege of sharing that joy with others. I am so thankful for the volleyball team coming and the great blessing and encouragement that they were.

As we submit to the Lord there will be freedom in all that He has to offer, and I firmly believe that it will be exceedingly and abundantly above all that we could ask or think.

Colossians 3:15-17¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.