Molly's Mission Encounter in Helene- Week 3

photo from March 2011
An email from Molly yesterday ended with “what a day.” As I thought about writing her update for the week… I couldn’t help but think… “what a week.”
For as long as we’ve known that Molly would be traveling to Honduras for her Mission Encounter, we have taken comfort and been excited that her sister Abby and a team from our home church, Sunset, would be traveling there week three of her ten week stint.
This reality eased some of our apprehension about Molly's trip, and honestly last Sat at 4am as we were gathering at PDX saying goodbye to Abby I had not one fear or concern for the trip. This was the 9th time afterall, that a Fraser had a ticket to Helene. We know the route, the challenges, the people and that parameters. We were all very excited and good to go, I didn’t even cry at the airport, which is a first.
We’ve predictably heard less from her this week, because there’s SO much to do when a team is at the clinic. But, it is also true to say that the communication we have received has been full of twists and turns for our girls; stormy seas, illness, sleepless nights processing troubling news, relational dynamics, potential physical danger culminating in a pretty scary injury yesterday for Abby and a scorpion crawling on Molly’s leg as she was sitting with her in the clinic. What a week. Not the one we had planned.
So, I don’t have much to share from Molly today, but if you will indulge me, I will share a little of how I have been experiencing God this week. First, it’s got me thinking about how we plan things, how we look forward to these things because we imagine we somehow know what the next moment will bring. When in reality, we don’t really have a clue. But, I also have been reminded this week that it is generally in the unplanned that God reveals Himself more to me than on the days that I orchestrate. Because then I’m not so distracted by how wonderful the world I have created is… and I am focused on Him and how all I have is my faith in His love and character.
It’s also been very interesting to process this at a distance. I cannot step in to a tough conversation for them, I cannot protect them from danger or calm their fears by being near, nor can I carry a bleeding child from the boat to the clinic. But, I do know that both they and I have experienced true biblical community this week and that more importantly without a shadow of a doubt that God is very present both there with my girls and with the team and here at home. My God was a very big God this week. He was Father, Wisdom, Physician, Healer, Comforter, Protector, more than Worthy of My Praise. He was ENOUGH.

Prayer requests:
- The Sunset team leaves the island on Sunday. This will be a sad day for Molly and a day of real realization that she will be there seven more weeks. She and I know she is growing there, and so please pray that she will fully experience what God has in mind for the rest of her time there.
- Travel for the Sunset team. Sunday by boat from Helene to Roatan, then Monday by plane Roatan to Houston, to Portland arriving at PDX at 11pm.
- Molly’s 20th birthday is June 28th. She is on facebook off and on so you can post something to her or my wall or reply to this email and I’ll make sure she gets it on Tuesday.

Molly's Mission Encounter in Helene - Week 2

We were excited to get a picture of Molly in action at the clinic!

This week the English School at the clinic was closed so Molly spent most of the week studying, playing with the children and cleaning and preparing the clinic for the arrival of a short term team on Saturday.

She's watching "The Truth Project" series. This study is the starting point for looking at life from a biblical perspective. Each lesson discusses in great detail the relevance and importance of living the Christian worldview in daily life. In addition she has begun to work through Experiencing God with the clinic team.

Molly got to use some of her artistic ability this week, working on signs. The first one was the somewhat notorious "Welcome Sunset" banner that she's seen hanging on the clinic balcony the last three trips there. Then, Teddy, one of the island pastors asked her to make a sign for the Northside Church Revival that will be happening this week.

The short term team arriving soon is from our home church. A group of 12 students and 3 adult leaders who left Portland at 6am this morning. Molly is VERY excited for her sister to arrive. I think she's mentioned it in every correspondence this week. They will be on the island for ten days.

Prayer requests:
Praise- Molly is getting along great with Larry and Sheila Benson, the Missions directors.
Praise- Molly and Abby's relationship and the opportunity for them to be on the island together during Molly's internship.
Request- The Sunset team - safety, that each person will serve with energy, enthusiasm and love, the transition from life in Beaverton to island life, and for our dear friends, Traci, Mike and Rose- the adult leaders.
Request- Our island friend Elsa's son Esly was not feeling well and had to return to the hospital this week. You can read more of Esly's story here:
Request- Molly is already thinking about the day the Sunset team and Abby leave the island. She will remain there for six weeks after.

a late Saturday update is that they have decided to stay in Roatan overnight, due to tough seas which are making the boat ride impossible tonight. They plan to leave early and be on Helene by 8am.
So one more prayer request- physical safety for Molly and Sheila. I imagine that Larry is stuck down island and the ladies are alone in the clinic. I know our island friends will be aware and watching over them, but this has this Mom on her knees tonight.

Thanks friends, Molly and Janet

Molly's Mission Encounter in Helene - Week 1 update

photo from March 2011
Molly’s first week has focused on reading. She has 6 books assigned during her discipleship encounter. She finished the “5 Dysfunctions of a Team” and is now working through the workbook. (I love this book!). She is also reading “Cross-Cultural Connections”, the clinic team will be going through "Experiencing God" together and she finished “Who Moved my Cheese.” This was her synopsis.

“What I got out of the book is not to be afraid to move forward and just to trust. Which I think I’m doing. Me coming here was me letting go and trusting. Moving towards new cheese.”

In addition to reading, she is working whever she can to help. One day she worked on the generator and yesterday a Honduran doctor came to the clinic with 25 staff memebers to hand out medicine and give shots etc. So, she did a lot of dishes and she said she “played about 7 hours of Uno and dominos with the children.” One of her ongoing “jobs” is to play with the kids as they gather for the English School at the clinic. She hasn’t worked in the school yet because week one was about her experiencing different areas of mission life there, and there’s no school next week.

There are only 4 people living at the clinic, and one of them, Dominic just left for 10 days to go celebrate his parents 50th wedding anniversary. So, Sheila and Larry will be moving in to the clinic to sleep so that she isn’t alone at night. She and I are both looking forward to the team from Sunset arriving so she will have more company in the clinic. She learned that there will be two teams on the island while she is there and that another intern, Ashley, who we met in March will be returning in July to live at the clinic. The clinic employees a counselor stateside who she skyped with several time before traveling to Helene, and they check in weekly to see how she is acclimating.

I believe they rotate responsibility for cooking dinner. One night she shared that what they prepared they had cucumber and tomatoes in vinegar and sugar with brauts and fried rice. Sounds good, but it’s heavier than what she normally eats at home and she's thankful we packed gluten-free food for breakfast and lunch- and her packing list for Abby says her favorite thing we packed was the dried mangos- which is funny because the best fresh mangos we’ve ever had are on the trees there. But, the people on the island depend on the natural vegetation for their meals, so they cannot be gathered for clinic food.

Molly wrote that she is thinking and talking with the Missions Director, Larry, about her future plans. What she is hoping to get out of this encounter is to see if she wants to pursue missions through YWAM or if she would like to pursue working with children at home. She is interested in finding out more about what it would take to become a pre-school teacher because it seems to be her favorite age. The kids, for the most part, are eager to learn and the work and singing songs, and doing crafts, all of that is fun.

Monday morning devotionals consist of praying outloud for 30 minutes. She mentioned she prayed specifically for our friend Mitch Franklin, who has been very sick with intestinal trouble.
Our prayer requests for her this week are:
- Only three people at the clinic. Relationship building between Molly, Larry and Sheila and safety for them.
- Her future decisions. YWAM or pursuing a career at home/school.
-Travel for the Sunset team who leave on the 18th; Abby is traveling and I know it will be nice for Molly to see her and other friends.

Molly's next adventure

This morning we took Molly to the airport and she is now in the air. She has an hour layover in Houston and then will arrive in Roatan, Honduras at 2:46pm. (12:46 Portland Time). It's hard to believe how quickly you can be a world away.

Molly will be doing a ten week Discipleship Encounter, aka a Missions boot camp, in Helene serving with MEI, at the clinic and in the Christian School. It is a remote island with few services. She will likely have access to email only once a week so we dont expect that she will be able to blog, but I will try to pass on updates as we hear from her.

This is Molly's 4th trip to the island and her sister Abby and I have been twice, as well. In fact, Abby will travel to Helene on a short-term trip in two weeks, to serve, and to take whatever we forgot to pack, to Molly. Very convenient.

Our family wants to thank all of you who have supported her trip by giving and praying and encouraging her this past few months. We hope you will continue to be part of her trip by praying for her while she is away and we look forward to having a celebration with many of you when she gets home this summer.

Our current prayer requests:

Travel- safety and the short layover in Houston. Portland to Houston to Roatan by plane. Then travel by small boat 30+minutes to the island of Helene. If her luggage doesn't make it to Roatan there is no parcel delivery service to remote jungle islands. :)

Health- Molly was sick Monday and Tuesday and recently Molly has discovered she is gluten intolerant. This will make eating a challenge. We packed a suitcase full of gluten free food, which actually weighed more than her clothing suitcase. She manages this well, but she misses bagels and the idea of saying no to fritters on the island is hard.

Community- This is the first time Molly will be without family or life long friends. Our greatest concern is loneliness, so I'm praying that she will know God in a new way and develop relationships with the team she is serving with.

With our love, Molly and Mama