Special Update (April 8, 2011)

Emily is requesting special prayer as her team prepares for a week of evangelism next week. Here is the latest post from her blog:

Hi Friends,

Today was my first birthday in a different Country without any of my immediate family. I had a nice day though. This morning when I came out of my room right before the kids went to school I sat down on a soccer ball and Sofia ran over and sat down on my lap. I whispered into her ear "Do you know what today is?" She didn't remember, so I reminded her it was my birthday. She then got very excited and ran into her room and got a present for me. She gave me a bracelet and 3 pairs of earrings!

It was then time for them to go to school. As Sofia was walking toward the door she turned around and ran over to me and gave me a kiss and said, "I'm going to miss you when you leave." I love her so much and am going to miss her when I leave, even if she does annoy me a lot. haha

But anyway, this is a post asking for prayer. We are getting ready to go to the campo next week. I am going to be glad when that week is over. We are going out into the middle of nowhere to evangelize. We will be staying with one of the pastors out there. We will be doing a Bible school thing for the kids and then door to door evangelism. All in Spanish... I am a bit nervous about that. So you can be praying for us.

Thanks for your prayers!

~Emily Joy


March 2011 Update

Thank you for your continued support of Emily while she is ministering with S.T.E.P. Following is an update including prayer requests and news.

From Emily

"Life is Honduras is going well. There have been lots of changes in the past couple weeks though. Some good ones and some hard ones. But God is definitely growing us all through them."

What's New?

  • Emily finished her Spanish classes and has been serving with her team in the community
  • In February, the STEP team served at Cedar, an home for the elderly. Emily wrote in her blog that it was a growing experience and God convicted her about loving others more.
  • Emily has been thankful to be able to stay connected with family and friends from home via some phone calls, Facebook, etc and loves to receive mail!
  • Recently, Emily has had the opportunity to work with children, many of whom have been abused. She has felt burdened for them.
  • God blessed Emily by using her tender heart to be able to comfort another girl on her STEP team.
  • Emily started this week serving at a ministry for the deaf
  • Emily's birthday is April 8th. Let's shower her with blessings as she celebrates another year of life!

From the STEP Team Blog

"Thank you for your continual prayer. We are doing pretty great here! Honduras is que rico! God is continuing His work in us as we try to discern His will as we go about our every day lives here. We've all mostly passed the oh-so-dreaded culture shock stage--some of us with more hardships than others. Now we just sometimes have "bad days," but all-in-all, as we gain more fluency and understanding of the culture, we are beginning to find peace and a real love for this country. Pray that love and peace would continue to grow more and more each day." - March 15, 2011

"In a new country, living in a new city, eating new food, with a new family, we have found that God always stays the same. No matter our circumstances, God has been fiel (faithful)." - December 16, 2010

Ways to Pray for Emily

Please pray that...

  • Emily's INTIMACY with God would increase daily, moment by moment
  • Emily will be FAITHFUL during times of discouragement
  • Emily will have FAITH to believe God for the impossible
  • Emily be will PROTECTED from the powers of darkness
  • Emily will find FAVOR in the eyes of those in the community in which she serves
  • God will grow Emily's LOVE for the people she serves
  • God will give GRACE to bridge cultural differences
  • Emily will be able to COMMUNICATE God's Word effectively
  • Emily will have BOLDNESS in declaring the Gospel
  • There will be continued UNITY among Emily's team
  • God would increase Emily's gifts and talents for the EDIFICATION of others
  • Emily would see CONFIRMATION of God's Word through answered prayers and transformed lives
  • There will be FRUIT - people coming to relationship with Christ
  • Emily will have PEACE when she has to say goodbye to the family she has grown to love and who has loved her for these past many months

Where's Emily?

  • Emily and her team traveled to Nicaragua for a short 3-day vacation to renew visas and enjoy some time at the beach
  • Emily and her team have 57 more days left in Honduras
  • Emily and her team travel to Spain on May 11th for the Brethren in Christ World Missions International Missionary Retreat
  • Emily and her team will then return to NYC on May 17th for debriefing
  • Emily returns home to Pennsylvania on May 28th!

Emily Serving in Honduras
Emily with Sophia, her Honduran little sister


 Emily

Ways to Encourage Emily

  • Pray for her
  • Send her notes on Facebook
  • Send her mail
    (See details below)

Send Emily Mail

  • Please note that mail service generally takes 1-3 weeks
  • Please only send envelopes or small packages (smaller than a half gallon orange juice container)

    Emily S.
    Apartado 15005 CP 11105
    Tegucigalpa, Honduras
    Central America

What is S.T.E.P.?

S.T.E.P. is an acronym that stands for Serve and learn with missionaries and church leaders oveseas; Train in language acquisition and how to learn a culture; Experience living, working, and worshipping with Latino Christians; and Promote evangelism as a way of life.

S.T.E.P. is a 9 month program. Emily has completed 10 weeks in the Bronx doing discipleship training and will now spend the 6 months in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where she will live with a Honduran family from the BIC church. She will have language study each week day morning for 8 weeks, and will be taught by professional Honduran teachers. After acquiring language and culture adaptation skills, Emily will be ready to practice what she's learned by participating in practical outreach and ministry.