Molly's Mission Encounter - Week 9- Preparing to Come Home

This week, as Molly prepares to return to Portland, we share part two of what Molly wants you to know about her Discipleship Encounter. In her own words...

What did you learn about yourself?I would say the biggest transformation in me being here was the spiritual growth I gained. Rather than Christ just being a belief I had, I have gained the relationship that God wants with me and with all of us. Praise God for that :)
Also I have learned that I want to be a teacher for young children, pre-school or kindergarten. I don't know which, but I do know that I want to teach young children and I would like for ministry to be involved in that. I'm still seeing where God will take me with that. I am interested in doing missions after I complete my schooling but I am not sure where God will take me at this point, whether it will be in the States or a foreign country.
I have also learned how difficult it would be for me to do missions alone so I pray that if missions is my calling, God has a hubby for me wanting to be a part of that too. I really don't know if I could do it alone. I feel like I especially was made to have a family so I hope God will provide that for me.
This verse has really inspired about wanting to teach young children and the fun in that. Singing songs, making crafts, etc.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossions 3:16

What do you think you will you miss about your life on the island? I've truly been blessed by the relationships I've made here over.I didn't expect to "groove" as well as I have with Team Helene. They were so welcoming to me upon my arrival and invited me into their away-from-home family so quickly. June 2011 Molly arriving in Roatan for the beginning of her Mission Encounter
I'm going to miss each missionary here in different ways. The relationships I have built with them will be something I remember and miss the most.
Also the relationships I've built with the islanders here on Helene. I mean they're the reason I keep coming back! I get so cheesy and giddy thinking about them haha.
As the islanders huddled around the dock saying goodybe to the Outer Banks short term team, I was so grateful to be standing with the islanders and not being the one leaving and saying goodbye. I know my time to leave is coming and I'm preparing my heart for it. I have met so many amazing men and women here and they have helped me to grow just by hearing about their lives and being around them.
And no surprise, the children of Helene have such a great place in my heart. I have been so blessed to have been given the opportunity to build relationships with these children over the past three years of coming and going to this beautiful island. Saying goodbye to them this time will be the hardest one of all. I will forever remember these kids and how they impacted my life. Helene really has made a mark on my heart over the past three years, and especially these 10 weeks. I will always remember this place and how it has shaped me into who I am. I want to thank everyone who supported me on this trip. God truly is at work on this tiny island off of the coast of Honduras.

Prayer request: Molly saying goodbye. Leaving the island is always an emotion filled moment, many of you who are reading this already know what I mean. Please pray that in the tenderness of that moment God will do mighty work in confirming the growth that Molly has achieved these past ten weeks. And that she will feel comfort that night alone in the hotel and on the trip home.

She leaves Helene Aug 12th and will spend the night in Roatan then fly Saturday from Roatan to Houston (a short layover) to Portland. Her Continental flight arrives at 11pm

Thanks all for your love and support of her personally. Molly and Janet

Molly's Mission Encounter Week 8

This week Molly and I emailed about what we would want her friends and family who've supported her to know. I asked her some questions and this week and next week we'll share her answers, in her own words.

Was the trip what you expected?
It really kind of was what I expected. I didn't expect to be reading as much as they had assigned but I gained a lot from every book that I read while here. I will have read 10 books over the 10 weeks. Half assigned, half pleasure reading. Never could say that back in middle school-high school. When I'd return to school in September and my teacher would ask how much we all read over the summer, my answer I'm sure was always zero hahah.
My day to day activities were pretty much what I expected. Morning devotions, and then getting ready for the day, such as reading, bible studies and then getting ready for school. Lunch at 12ish and then meeting with the teachers at 1 and school from 130-5. After school relaxing before dinner or cooking dinner (I cooked monday nights). Dinner is at 6. Dinner and dishes usually ends at around seven and then we either part our separate ways or play a game or watch a movie.
The only time my expectations weren't the same as what I had planned was my ability to be out in the community. Sometimes it really felt like I was princess Jasmine locked away. I didn't have as much interaction outside of the clinic with the people of Helene as I would have liked to.

What are some things you’ve learned about being a missionary?
I've learned the positive and challenging aspects of short term missions. How they affect a full time staff and the locals. Short term teams come ready to give all they can because they are only here for a week and are prepared to do that. Which is great, but that’s not realistic when you live somewhere on an ongoing basis. It’s challenging. Sometimes the locals misunderstand the real commitment long term missionaries have made to them. I've gained a lot of respect for the people that do full time missions and what a commitment that is. Their obedience to God's call is something really amazing to witness. Giving up family, friends, lifestyle, your cultural beliefs and thinking and jumping into a whole new way of living is not an easy thing to do and it's amazing how many people do it to share the gospel.

This week MEI shared a link of Molly where we got to hear her voice and see her face. You can see the clip here. The clip was recorded early in her Discipleship Encounter.

Prayer requests:

The team at MEI, our friends serving long term in Helene. That God would direct and provide for their ongoing ministry to the people of the island. And to the native islanders that they would grow in their knowledge of God and His grace and share that with their friends and family.

Molly's eye- healing; it's still pink and hurts. She has a Dr appointment scheduled right away when she gets back. And for her last two weeks on the island. She leaves Helene on August 12th, is in Roatan overnight and then arrives home late Saturday night Aug 13th.

Molly's Mission Encounter Week 7

Mission Encounter Summer 2011 Honduras staff
This week Molly and the Helene team hosted a team from the Outerbanks. The team went to work rebuilding the mission directors house which was lost in a Christmas fire and doing medical work on the island. The med team did visitations around the island communities and staffed the clinic with medical and dental care. Molly tagged along on the medical visitations. She got a little more than she bargained for in one visit to a 16 year old boys home. He was recuperating from an appendectomy and they checked and dressed his incision and long story short, a career in medicine is not in her future.
It was an interesting experience for Molly to be part of hosting a large short-term team, that wasn’t from her home church. It was interesting for her to see and process different personalities and how they adjust to life on the island and a different way of doing things. One of the hard things to learn when you visit another place is that the American way of doing things just isn’t the only way to do things. It’s been interesting hearing her learn the wisdom of some of what feels like restriction when you are on a short term team.

“Today it hit me hard that I have only three weeks here. Seeing the Outerbanks team Friday I was really grateful that it wasn’t me leaving and that I wasn’t having to say goodbye.”

She has three more weeks on the island. This week is fairly normal, study, working in the school and at the clinic. Next week a small short term team, and the following week she will be finishing up there.
This week a bit of our communication centered around Molly’s clinic family. She’s been living with the team which range from 3 to 6 people when short term teams are not visiting. This has been a great learning experience for her. She’s had to be open to doing life with strangers and build relationships quickly. I’ve watched her ramp up her natural ability in authentic communication while continuing to develop listening well, responding and pursuing relationship even where there is some conflict. They share a house and a community that wants something from them. They have to depend on one another for a lot. And, there’s no taking a walk or hopping in your car for a drive on a challenging day, they are knee deep in life with one another. In the past it was easy for me to imagine life in the clinic as a sort of haven, but having Molly there I have a greater appreciation for just the basics like living together that missionaries everywhere have to deal with daily. I know she has grown to love and appreciate the clinic family and we are grateful for their care of her.
Prayer requests:
Healing for her eye- even with oral antibiotics and eye drops she still is dealing with what we think is pink eye.
Clinic Family- Praise for the work that was done on rebuilding Larry & Sheila’s home, for their personal relationships and that God would grow each of them into who He wants them to be, as a result of being part of this experience. That Molly would minister to them these next three weeks.

Molly's Mission Encounter Week 6

file photo of the school from the Mission Encounters facebook page
Helene Christian English School (HCES) is in its eighth year serving the children and families of the small southern Caribbean island of Santa Elena! This year we have 89 students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through sixth grades who are taught by five islander teachers, two islander teacher assistants, and two American missionary teachers (Dominic and Miss Sheila). The school is in its third year under the governance of an islander school board and its second year with an islander director.

I've been working in Sheila's class, 4th, 5th &6th grade girls, they're quite the handful. I love it because I assist and work with kids 1 on 1 when they aren't understanding something but oooh I feel bad for Sheila somedays. The girls take no mercy on her.

Molly's been enjoying working in the Helene Christian School.

This week a short term team from the Outerbanks of North Carolina will be at the clinic. They are expecting 22 people, mostly adults, and many of them with a medical background. On Sunday they will be doing a CPR/first aid training class at the clinic for clinic staff and some islanders. Molly's excited about this because the young island boy who tended to Abby's wound in June will be taking the class. We are so grateful for his care of Abby and that he will get some training to continue to develop his skills so that he can care for others on the island.

She passed the halfway point last week and I've been happy to see her balancing a healthy desire to come home with a genuine understanding and appreciation for the very special opportunities she has in Helene each day. A good lesson for each of us.

Prayer requests:
Health- Molly's been sick this week, they were considering taking her down island to the Gringo clinic, but I think she is improving. She and Miss Sheila are fighting an eye infection of some sort though. (Praise! the med team is on the way!)

The outerbanks short term team- that their lives will be impacted as they serve the people of the island.

Rayme, the young island boy- That he will continue to learn and be a positive impact on the island and the people of his community.

Though I am writing the blog posts for her, she can read your comments here or on the facebook page, so feel free to leave her a note. Thanks again for your love and prayers, Molly and Janet

Molly's Mission Encounter- Week 4/5

Molly & Abby Fraser with Andreas photo June 2011
This week marks the half way point for Molly. She loved having her home church team and her sister, on the island for ten days. It was an eventful time and Sunset's youth pastor, Mike Giering, reported this week at staff prayer that he believed it was a very impactful trip, so we're excited the role that Molly with the Helene team played. After three trips on the "short termer" side of things being a clinic staffer was certainly a different experience.
Since the team left, she's settling back in to her routine there. Mornings consist of team devotions and more study. Afternoons she spends time with the kids who are gathering before they attend the Helene Christian English School that MEI has developed on the island. And, she was "finally" assigned to work at the school. The students were to be taking exams so she was planning to monitor the classroom. I know she was very excited to be in the classroom.
During her time there she has decided that she wants to come home and pursue becoming certified to teach either pre-school or kindergarten. At this point she is undecided about whether she wants to teach in the states or in a foreign country, but she is feeling led to pursue teaching as a ministry/career. She also is busy as a part of the clinic staff team, preparing for guests, hosting them and cleaning up after them. This is a very practical part of mission life.

She spent last weekend in Roatan while Mike and I were in New York City visiting her brother, Chris. Roatan means warm showers that dont require a one handed pull and air conditioning, a nice break from clinic life.
In one of our email exchanges after we both arrived "home" from our weekends I shared with her one of my experiences in New York. While visiting St Paul's Chapel I saw an image of the chapel two blocks from the 9/11 site with the flames and ash of the buildings burning in the background of the steeple. I had really been impacted by the way that God stands even in chaos. And that as a result, the church, God's people, can and should also be a refuge, in a time of fear and loss of hope. Molly carried that conversation into a devotion she led later that night, sharing with guests at the clinic. She talked about how giving in to fear is doing wrong by God and centered on this text.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. Psalm 46:1-6.

We continue to be grateful for the love and care that you all have shown Molly and our family during this experience. One of her emails this week said this...

"I love all the growth im experiencing here and do enjoy living here but I also cannot wait to get home to you guys. I just REALLY miss all of you guys."

Prayer Requests:
-- Continued growth and health for Molly and the clinic staff.
-- Direction regarding pursuing her new ministry/career goal as an early childhood teacher.
-- That Molly's last five weeks on the island, she could "be love" to all those she comes in contact with.

And a PS just for fun.
June 28th was Molly's 20th birthday. We thought this would be a tough day for her, as Abby and the Sunset team had just left and she was away from friends/family on her birthday for the first time. Some of us put together a video to wish her a Happy Birthday. Fortunately she found a laptop at the clinic that she could watch the dvd on and she seemed happy with the simple things we were able to do at this distance.