It has been a crazy month of preparation and change. The team of family members has arrived and have gotten a little taste of our life in the village. Today started a crazy week of ministry and excursions as we host this team and share a piece of our lives here. I find myself feeling a little bitter-sweet about this week as I am excited for my friends to see their families but it is also very hard to be without my family this week. I find myself missing them in the littlest things whether it's a song or story or even a word that reminds me of the homesickness. And when I was asked if I miss the States very much, you can imagine my surprise, to find myself answering no. But when I really thought about it, I realized I really don't miss living in the U.S. While I miss my family and friends so much my heart aches, I also feel my heart swell with love everyday I spend with the students. Serving God here has brought so much joy to my heart, the pain of homesickness is secondary. I find myself relying more and more on God for contentment and peace because in him alone is the ultimate peace. Through serving him, I find joy. In surrendering my life to his service, I gain everlasting life in his kingdom. How awesome is He to work through our inabilities! We've had a few interesting events this month, from different holidays at the school to soccer games in the city. We celebrated the 100th day of school and Valentine's Day with the typical class party and games. I shared our tradition of valentine's cards by making little paper hearts for my students that said "Dios te ama mas," which is "God loves you most." It was funny to watch one little boy's genuine horror at getting a "love note" before he realized it was just from me. I've been able to see two soccer games since I've been here. The first was with the school's team. Our van was commissioned to transport the team, and we ended up fitting 20 people total, in the true Honduran style. It was a friendly match that ended in a tie but it was still fun to see the boys in action. We were also able to see Atlanta United play against one of the local Honduran teams. It was so cool to see an American team play here and to finally see a soccer game in the city. It was also a tied game but was super fun to watch especially being some of the only people cheering for the American team. The family team spent today painting and will be doing some more work tomorrow on the other volunteer houses. We also have a community movie night planned for this Friday and are praying the rain will hold out so more people will come. We've also added more girls to our Tuesday afternoon bible study at the school. Please continue to pray for the outreach in this community as we try to make more connections with the people here. Please also pray for Mac as he is leaving us at the end of this week to go back home for better medical testing and treatment. And always pray that God's work is done and his will is accomplished through us here in our every moment.

To start off, I want to apologize for the lack of posts this month. Weekends have become our time to relax and regretfully, taking the time to write hasn't been my highest priority in thee moment. For this post, rather than simply talk about our little adventures I want to talk specifically about my team, the kids I work with, and my own spiritual challenges since I've been here. Firstly, I want to ask for prayers for my team member Mac. He is the only boy student here with us and fills the role of brother in our little mission family. Yesterday he had a seizure. He has never had a seizure nor does he have any neurological conditions that could cause one. He is fine now, completely aware of himself and his surroundings, without any obvious side-effects but is currently waiting on MRI results as the doctors try to figure out what caused this. Pray that God gives the knowledge to the doctors and pray especially for his family as they handle this through the distance. But also pray for our leaders Makayla and Josh as they work through this stressful situation while also trying to care for the rest of us and operate the Global Year ministry in Honduras. As February draws near, everyone is getting excited for parent week. Ivy and Mary both have Moms coming and all of Allee's siblings are making the trip down too. We're also gaining a short term student, Brook. When she was unable to raise funds for the full year, she joined the sort term mission trip. Everyone is very excited to see family and share our ministry. Everyday in first grade is different from the last. I'm certainly never bored and never feel unloved. As much love as I show these kids they give it right back. I especially felt it today after helping in third grade for most of the day. When I came out for recess I was immediately stormed by my first graders, all of them screaming, "Miss Piercey!" I love to watch them grow and learn everyday, and any struggle they have always breaks my heart. Like when one little boy gets frustrated about trying to learn how to tie his shoes. Or when a little girl cries about getting a bad grade even though she studied. But most of all my heart breaks for the ones I know get overlooked or mistreated at home. Or are only able to be a carefree kid for the 15 minutes of recess. The most they can understand of God is what they get from Friday chapel and I pray from the love that us teachers show them. And this is just 24 of the over 200. I pray for an even greater understanding to come across the older kids. Today we held our weekly bible study for the older girls at the school. We've had one girl come so far and today when we asked if her friends wanted to come, she said her friends ask her why she bothers to believe in God when he's not real. I pray desperately that an awaking might come to these kids. I pray that the school will give them so much more than knowledge. I pray that more of them might come to see the joy and contentment and peace that comes from knowing Christ and accepting his love. I pray that God will use us in these kids lives, that he might impact their eternal souls. I ask that you pray these prayers with me, but also ask for prayers of strength and encouragement. Please pray that we are overwhelmed by a desire to glorify God in everything we do here. In every relationship we have, in everything we do through out our days, in every word we say, pray that we bring glory to God. Pray that his will is done in this village. Lift up the school, its students and teachers, that God will use it as a lighthouse in the storm of darkness that is in the world. Pray that I might have discernment on God's will for me in this place and will have the strength to accomplish it. Pray for our girl's bible study, and that it might also make an impact. And most importantly, pray that God's will is done in this country.

¡Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Even though I had to spend this Christmas away from home, I had a lot of fun with my team as we found out how crazy a traditional Honduran Christmas can be. Fireworks are one of the must haves on Christmas Eve here in Honduras. There are lines of firework stands outside of the city set up at the very beginning of December and they won't be down until after New Year's. We spent about $40 on fireworks and had quite the little show out on our village road on the 17th. We had firecrackers, roman candles, a box of aerials, and plenty of tiny random Honduran concoctions. We had a lot of fun and even the neighbor boys enjoyed watching and lighting a few themselves. The rest of that week was a typical school week until Friday. We had a half-day for our Christmas show and party and I got to meet some of the parents of my students. After Friday, we started Christmas break and have been enjoying time off. On Monday night, we went to a small Coca-cola Christmas fair. We rode a little kiddie coaster, the Ferris wheel, and a zip line. Surprisingly, the Ferris Wheel was the scariest. The ride operators decided to have some fun with the gringas and made it go ridiculously fast and change directions multiple times! But we managed to survive with only a slightly damaged dignity thanks to our screams. We even got pictures with Honduran Santa to put us in the holiday spirit. On Christmas Eve we had a candlelight service with the English church that made me reminiscent. After the service we were invited to the house of one of our teacher friends. Hondurans do most of their celebrating on "Veinticuatro" or the twenty- fourth and it is an all night affair. We were out till 2:30 AM with fireworks, food, dancing, and friends. We also climbed stairs up a nearby hill to watch the fireworks go off at midnight. It was beautiful to turn around and see fireworks in every direction all across the city, and they continued to go off long into the night. When we finally got back to the village that night, we opened our Secret Santa stockings. Allee had my name and she got me a ceramic tumbler, some pens, and stocked me up with peanut m&m's. It was fun to see everybody's faces of surprise when we talked about our efforts to be secretive. On Christmas morning, at the early hour of 10, we went to our English pastor's house for Christmas brunch. I was so glad to finally get some hot apple cider and a Pierce family Christmas classic, date balls. However, we were so tired from the night before, all us girls fell asleep on the couch! That evening we made dinner for Ampi, (the woman in the village that made our dinners) and her family. She invited us over for "treinta y uno" or New Years Eve and tamales since we couldn't come on Christmas Eve. It was a sweet end to our Honduran Christmas. The day after Christmas was another early morning, we went out to Cornerstone Ranch for the first time as a group. Mr. Brent gave us the grand tour and told us the phenomenal impact the ranch would have and is having on the community. It provides jobs, food, teaching, and most importantly, a way to connect with the people around us who need the gospel. We met Thelma the pig and a little baby lamb along with many rabbits, sheep, goats, and horses. The workers had the past few days off so we helped with a few things while we were there. Mary, Mac, and I helped weed the tomato beds. Josh, Allee, and Camryn helped machete a path and start up a water system to the pig pen. We also went to a nearby abandoned church building that had a spectacular view. God is really working through the ranch ministry and so much good is going to come from the time invested into it. Friday we went to the beach. It was the perfect day for the beach with clear skies, cool winds, and calm waters. Some of the others went on the banana boat again and this time went snorkeling. I took advantage of the weather and had a nice nap on the sand instead. Despite being in another country, this Christmas week was filled with our own "family fun". As we go into the new year I pray God continues to work in and through the lives of this team. I pray He will help us discern his will for us here in Honduras. I pray we never lose sight of our purpose here, that we never forget to glorify God in everything we do.

I'm having trouble believing that my Global Year is almost halfway through. At times it feels longer, other time it feels as though hardly anytime has passed at all. Even still, I am so thankful for this experience and everything God is teaching me through it. I'm so thankful to finally be back in Honduras after our visa trip to Guatemala and Mexico. It was a nice change of scenery and weather with the lovely mountain air to keep us cool. We left the village at around 9:30 last Wednesday for the bus station, expecting our 12 hour bus ride to start at 10:30. Before even starting, our bus had mechanical issues moving our departure to 3:00. Needless to say most of the trip was spent sleeping. We finally made it to Antigua, Guatemala unreasonably early Thursday morning and met up with Richard and Lauree Hayden in San Antonio Aguas Calientes, a little town nestled in a little valley, surrounded by three volcanoes. Thankfully only one is active, Vulcan Fuego. Later that morning, after a bit of rest, we hopped on another, smaller bus with the Hayden family and started our 10 hour journey to Tapachula, Mexico. The hotel and the beach were probably the highlight of our time in Mexico. Having my first hot shower since September was by far the best part of the trip. We walked around the city a little and visited the square which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. One night, Allee and I went out with Josh and Mac for an ice cream run and took some pictures in front of the square's fountain. While taking pictures, we were approached by a man and either his wife and daughter, or sister and niece (he was not very clear about this). He wanted to join in our pictures and thanked us for coming to his country with very broken English. After a long and awkward time of simply trying to understand him, he decides to place the two girls hands in Mac and Josh's hands and then takes mine and Allee's hands to walk us to a street corn stand! He bought us a cup of street corn and again thanked us for visiting Mexico. It made for an adventurous night to say the least. The next morning we went to the beach and found a cute spot that also had a pool which is where we spent most of our time since the Pacific Ocean was rather rude. When we got back to Guatemala we worked with a couple of ministry opportunities for Global Year students. We first spent some time with House of Hope, a ministry that has been working extremely hard to help change the attitude towards disabled children in Guatemala. The ministry has three houses that care for 25 children total with a wide range of ages and disabilities. We spent most of the morning spending time with the kids in House 1 doing whatever to help. We also worked with Building Guate, a ministry set up near a trash dump. we helped them prepare for a massive outreach effort by packing market bags with different essentials such as rice, oats, coffee, soap, beans, and Christmas cookies. It reminded me of the operation Christmas child packing party at my home church but on quite a larger scale with 500 giant bags. On our way back to Aguas Calientes from the dump site our bus decided the mountain journey was too much and overheated. We were stranded for a good two hours but Fuego gave us some good entertainment with a few good belches. We were finally rescued and made it back to rest up for our early 3:30 AM departure back to Honduras. This return trip would be 13 hours, one hour of which was dedicated to a standstill jam, and another which was dedicated to a customs issue. But we finally made it home in one piece and going back to school today filled me with so much joy. All of my kids came up and hugged me and even hearing "Miss Pearcie" brought a smile to my face. It's just another reminder that this is where God has called me as his peace and joy surround me while showing his love to these kids.

The past few weeks I've begun to think a lot about where else God is taking me in my walk with him. I've been praying about what his next steps for me are and what the upcoming stage of my life will bring as I approach the first third of this mission in Honduras. And in all this thinking and praying, God has reminded me that I need to take this walk of life one step at a time and he will support and guide me through all of it. He's told me time and time again that, as long as I trust in him, he'll show me the way in his timing. Even if his way is hard, every scrape, bruise, and sore muscle earned, makes the destination that much sweeter and I am strengthened through it. I have learned to seek him in every moment and bring him glory in every action because he has made me his child, even though I was a slave to sin. I hope to continue showing that love to those around me, especially to the kids he has called me to serve. This trip has grown my faith in ways I would never have thought about and I am so thankful God has called me here to serve. The past three weeks have seen a few new experiences. We had a fun day of fellowship at school the week before thanksgiving. A fellow Christian school from the city joined us in a time of worship, fun, and food. It was an encouraging day of friendship and it always touches my heart to see the kids worship together. Thanksgiving Day we had quite the adventure. We already had our traditional American day of feasting on Sunday with ICF so we instead went on a hike with a couple of the teachers from school. We crossed streams, climbed rocks, tracked steep slopes, and slid down waterfalls on the most intense hike I've ever experienced. At one point the path was only a foot wide on the edge of a hill. But the big waterfall at the end was beautiful and we all had fun trying not to fall on our butts. (Key word is trying, I'm still sporting a nice purple bruise on my tail bone.) The following Friday was mostly uneventful for us until that evening. We went to Popeye's for some good American comfort food and then afterwards decorated for Christmas. We've got a nice little tree and we painted our names on some stockings. I've also got some homemade decorations on my dresser from my cousins. (Thanks Pierce and Presley!) Saturday was our leader/intern Josh's birthday so we went hiking again! This time it was just an easy, paved 3 km up a mountain to a giant Coca Cola sign. It was a beautiful view of San Pedro Sula even though we couldn't take pictures in front of the sign. This next week we are preparing for our first visa trip to Guatemala and Mexico. We will be leaving this Wednesday, by bus and will be staying for a week so please pray for traveling mercies for the team these coming days and pray that the trip will be be restful and run smoothly. Please continue to pray for the school and for the village as God makes himself known to the people around us.

It is safe to say we've gotten into a nice routine here. Not much out of the ordinary has happened, which is why I have pushed off my update. It's funny to think that scorpions, cows, muddy roads, and Spanish have all become a part of my ordinary now. We have had a few adventures these past few weeks. A few Saturdays ago we went with the young adult group of the English church to a waterfall hike. It was a quick little path through the jungle to this beautiful swimming hole of freezing water. I was assuredly the coldest I've been since arriving in this country but it was refreshing to have noticeable goosebumps for the first time in a few months. I was also a part of the braver souls who jumped off the rocks at the base of the waterfall. It was a lot higher up than it looked but I jumped anyways and we all had lots of fun. Last Friday was a crazy school day considering it rained for most of the day. Chapel was moved into our individual classrooms and we had fun with masks the kids brought in displaying God's diverse creation! It always moves my heart to see these kids worship God with such a genuine heart and soul even just in first grade. So many of them already have such a bright light inside that shines bright for the Father. I can't remember too many other stories to recount so I'll just use the rest of this to ask for prayer. Our team has been battling a lot of different sicknesses (nothing serious) so please pray for healing. Please pray for the many children in this school. For every kid that shines bright for God it seems one still sits in darkness. Pray these kids will actively seek God's healing and pray those who already know his love will continue to share it. Pray that God continues to make himself and his truth known to the people of this country. Pray that God strengthens us as we fight to share his love and spread the gospel to this community. Praise God for the work he has done in our lives as we continue to seek him here in this battlefield. And finally, thank God for his salvation, protection, and never-ending love that is always around us.

These past two weeks have been a little crazy! So much has happened and so quickly so I'll try my best to keep it concise. Last Tuesday I rode a horse! Her name was Gringa which is a slang term for white girl. The horse is white with blue eyes so it fits perfectly. Her owners are some of the local cow herders that have an older kid in the school. I got to ride her around the village for a bit which was very fun. The following Friday morning Camryn was rushed to the airport to head to Guatemala to join her family for a mission trip there. It was believed that her flight was to be Saturday which made for a crazy morning but she made it on time, thankfully. That weekend also brought a lot of rain which makes for very muddy roads here. Which led to the van getting stuck on Sunday afternoon. Josh, myself, and Kenneth (a local teen that Josh is good friends with) had gone to invite occupants of a nearby stick village to church in El Doradito. They were busy with some kind of work that week but showed interest for next week. Upon leaving The Sticks, we slipped down a small hill and off the road and then couldn't get back up. We even tried pushing but it eventually took Mr. Brent pulling us out with his own car. But it's crazy how God works because it resulted in Brent talking with a few of the men there about the truth of Christ! Strangely this was not the end of our muddy adventures. School was canceled due to the flooded roads on Monday. That afternoon, a few of us decided to go walking in the cool after-rain air while there was a light drizzle. The drizzle proceeded into a pour and we all learned just how much water our shoes can hold despite our feet being in them. But we still had fun talking with each other and getting ice cream while watching chickens take cover under benches. The following school week was pretty normal but I truly began to feel like I was making connections with all of the kids in my class and even more connections with my teacher. Last Saturday I walked to Mrs. Sayra's house with Josh because she wanted to show me a painting she had done. Upon arrival we found them working on an extra room for their house. After Sayra and I talked a lot about art and other things I began helping Josh and the others with the room. We had a lot of fun mixing cement and laying cinder blocks. I got to talk a lot with Sayra's sweet daughter Minely and the village pastor Carlos. Later that night we had them over for diner. Makayla made her coconut curry that was unfortunately very spicy this time. Poor Minely had tears and we all discovered coke does not help wash out spice. We at least had brownies to make up for it. We also taught them how to play spoons and Roberto, Sayra's husband, showed off his ridiculously good beat-boxing skills. I am so thankful for the many friends we've found outside of our team since our arrival and can't wait to see how God uses these friendships for his glory. Please continue to pray that we show God's love to the whole village. Also, please pray for the political situation of this country. The people are very angry about their president's drug connections so please pray that their protesting dies down and that God will make himself known among the country's rulers. We are safe in the village but there are other's we know through ICF that are more concerned about the growing tensions in the city. Please pray for safety and stability for those that try to minister to these people and share God's light in the darkness that surrounds so many Honduran lives. Pray that the hearts of these people will be opened to God's truth. And continue to pray for the school's ministry and those involved as they continue to impact this community.

Today officially marks our first full month in Honduras. Needless to say we all have mixed feelings of homesickness and happiness as our service continues. The school has quickly become my happy place. Time spent in my class with the students and Mrs. Rivera is always a joy as I make connections with every kid and strive to show them God's love. We've also begun to make more connections at the English church in San Pedro Sula. We've begun a weekly bible study with the pastor's wife focusing on disciple making. We also met a missionary couple that lives a few villages over at a mission compound that focuses on medical missions. They made us some delicious chili that was reminiscent of home. This past week Johnny Condrey and Doug Stone, the Global Year leaders, came to visit. They got to experience our power outages and water shortages and helped us get our outside wall painted. (The main house is still without water, but hopefully that changes tomorrow.) We were also able to go to the beach again where I was a bit adventurous with food. I tried pan de coco, lychees, grilled shrimp, and a few other things I can't fully explain that tasted amazing. I think lychees, the odd-looking red fruit pictured, have become a new favorite. They are like giant grapes when peeled and have a pit that you spit out and make a great snack. We've also begun Spanish classes in El Progresso, another local city. I have learned a few new phrases that will hopefully help me communicate with the kids more freely. I'm surprised that in only one month, I've already begun to find a home in this little village. I still miss my family and friends immensely but God has really given me a peace about the work of this ministry. I have begun to know his joy more fully as I pursue his calling and seek his word. But I still ask that you continue to pray for the hearts of the village and the hearts of the team. Pray that we are all seeking God wholeheartedly. Pray that we are bold in his name. Pray that we seek out the connections he has planned for us. Pray that we remain healthy and joyful everyday, and that we pursue Christ in every moment.

It seems unbelievable that we've only been here two weeks. So much has happened that it already feels as if we've had a lifetime of experiences which makes me so excited for the times to come. I have been placed with the first grade class with about twenty-four kids and a teacher's assistant. Because they are younger, they do not know very much English. This makes communication kind of difficult but thankfully the teacher, Mrs. Rivera speaks English fairly well. I have had a lot of fun moments with this class but one of my favorites has been when I drew pictures for the kids to color at the end of the day. It was hard to understand what they wanted but I picked up on "princesa" pretty quickly. The little girl I gave the picture to was super ecstatic and even thanked me again the next morning. Tuesday was Children's Day which meant piñatas and dancing in class! The first Thursday was crazy as Makayla took two of the girls to the doctor after school and ended up staying there for eight hours because the doctors thought they might have typhoid. Thankfully they only had rota virus which is very common and treatable. They have been doing much better since being medicated. This past Sunday was Honduran Independence Day so we had a parade on Friday and a shorter class day due to a scheduled power outage. Power outages are pretty frequent here but thankfully we can escape to the city mall where there is air conditioning. We've had a few AC excursions especially to a local coffee shop called Toya's which has become a quick favorite for the team. We've also adopted a local kitten and named her Taco Bella after Camryn's love for Taco Bell. She has become a comfort to all of us girls and reminds me of my cat from home. This past Monday we had a holiday from school so we went to the beach! It was super fun and I road a banana boat for the first time which was a little crazy. We also all got super sunburned despite a good dose of sunscreen. The sunburn made for a slightly more difficult school week but by Friday we were all feeling much better and could reflect on the good times we'd spent with the kids. We've also had a lot of fun with our neighbors, four little boys who love soccer and messing with us gringas. There are the brothers Andres and Issac, Juanito, and little Justin. They are crazy and tons of fun and teaching them how to play ninja which was a big hit. Everyday with this ministry seems to bring a new affirmation that this is where God wants me to be and I couldn't be happier about it. Please continue to pray that God works in the lives of these children through this amazing ministry set up by Cornerstone Christian Academy. Also pray the we will never lose sight of our mission and that God's will remains at the center of everything we do here and we will always find his joy through our trials. Thank you for all the love and support!

It's almost surreal that I'm in a completely different country right now. Saying goodbye to my family was hard but I'm already excited about the new family I will have in my team as we've begun to bond. My first time on an airplane was surprisingly enjoyable and when we finally landed in San Pedro Sula I was beyond ready to get settled in what is now home. We've already had some interesting events take place starting with a scorpion in a drawer! Shortly afterward us girls were freaked out by the explosion of aerosol cans during the trash burn while beginning to fall asleep. Needless to say the first night has already been an adventure. This morning I woke up to a 5:30 sunrise featuring the village roosters and a freezing shower. Some local cows also said good morning as did another scorpion this time while someone was in the shower. We attended an English church this morning in San Pedro Sula that made me miss home a little in how much it reminded me of my church. Later this afternoon we will be attending the village church as a part of our ministry as we try to help them organize their service. After village church we will begin training for school tomorrow morning! I'm so excited to begin working right off and can't wait to meet all the kids. I can't wait to see what God has in store here, already knowing he has amazing plans for this place. Please continue to pray for the team as we continue to adjust to the new stage of life and begin work tomorrow! I will try and post about every two weeks and want to say thank you again to everyone supporting this trip!

So the Journey begins!!