Pictures of people/places/things/nouns I love here :)

Just to put a few pictures on here for you! :)

 We had to eat dinner without utensils as a challenge one night during our training. :)

 All of us enjoying our no forks allowed spaghetti dinner!

 Sophie's mama painting Claire's nails! She made us the most AMAZING lunch!

 We took a walk at a local park near Sophie's house...and there were all these padlocks with couples names written on the, locked to the fence. :)

 Me getting ready to bunjee jump!! :) I might have even liked it better than sky diving!!

                                          June interns :)

These peacocks were just roamin around the place we went sky diving!

 This is what happens when it rains and we all have to eat dinner inside. :)

 Oh, you know...just getting re-barb off the roof of a building... no big deal. ;)

 This little dude worked harder than anyone that day!

 Crammed in the back of the van like a bunch of..........wait.

 The incredibly hard working women of Casa Hogar Bethany

 The ginormous tarantula I got a greeting from during a morning job my first week here.

 Coffee date with the beautiful Jen :) (Don't mind my face- I had taken a nap and just woken up. lol

 Casa Hogar Bethany- LOVE these kids!!!

 This beautiful woman is Chelsie- and you need to know her.

 Can you believe I didn't take her home?!?!

 Veronica- the director's wife and WONDERFUL woman from Casa Hogar Bethany

 My girlies from Bethany!

 Me and Morham (who's real name is Morgan)

 My FAVORITE comida (food) that Vita- one of the dinner cooks here- makes!!

 Don't you just wanna pinch his little cheeks?!?!

 Such a cool dude. :)

 Sometimes I get to be a human jungle gym.

 And sometimes I pretend to do hard work. ;)

My beautiful friend Sophia!! :)

So there you have it! A little glimpse into what I've been up to! I felt guilty for having not written all month! :)

One month

So... apparently I blinked my eyes, and a month has gone by.
It's insane how here...each day seems insanely long with many different pieces and responsibilities, but the weeks/months zoom by faster than I care to realize.
-This week the interns I've spent the past month getting to know are (mostly) all leaving, and being replaced by new interns.
-I feel like I'm finally getting to truly know some of the staff here on campus and in the places outside of campus that we serve. It's nice to walk into a home or homeless area and hear, "KELLI!!!!"
-This Back2Back staff is truly phenomenal. It's amazing how this community works and flows.
-My Spanish is (slightly) improving! Although to them I probably sound like a three year old with an incredibly small vocabulary... most of the time I can get my point across without having to pull someone else in to translate. Sometimes "the Americans" even ask ME to translate- which has been pretty exciting. (Trust me- it's nothing impressive... only simple phrases like, "How old are you?" and "Do you have any kids?")
-I feel like I have a cagillion stories to tell... and frankly it's a little overwhelming. So, for now... I just wanted to say I am alive... I am having a fantastic time, I miss you all to pieces, and I will be writing more now that I'm kinda in the swing of things.
It's incredibly overwhelming to have a blog like this, and try to explain everything that is happening... It's just too much to describe.
What I've decided to do is something the groups that come visit us each week do at the end of each day. I will attempt to do one every day, but we'll see how that goes. ;)
It's called your "Picture of the day." It's pretty self-explanitory. lol Basically, instead of trying to write out everything that happened each day, I will attempt to focus on one paticular event, child, circumstance, etc that happened and elaborate on it. Hopefully, this will be less intimidating and will encourage me to write more. :) Also, I hope to actually have a picture to go with my "Picture of the day." (How appropriate!) We'll see how well that goes. ;)
For now, I'm gonna hit the hay. I'm whooped!
Goodnight!

Mission: Honduras?

Hey guys, remember me? lol
I figure, with my trip to Mexico only 2 months away, (holy cow- THAT was fast!!) as well as some other amazing things happening, I should write a little update. :)
First off, it's becoming more real/exciting that I am getting another chance to serve with Back2Back this June and July. I can't believe God gives me the opportunity to work side by side with such wonderful people, serving in such a powerful way to such beautiful hearts. Not to mention, y'all know how much I am in love with Mexico. I am one blessed chica, that's for sure!
In other rather exciting news, I have been offered an opportunity to serve in Honduras! After God closed the door on a longer trip to Mexico, another door was seemingly opened in Honduras. Everything is still REALLY up in the air, as far as when I would go, what I would be doing, and if I am even being called to go. I just wanted to share every part of the journey on here!
So here's where y'all come in!! I am looking for friends to give God a shout out for me. I need y'all to do some praying. Here's what I have been praying for, and would love for you to join me!
-That God would give clear direction as to when I should go, if I should go, and for how long.
-That God would provide the funds necessary if He is calling me.
-That my job would allow me to visit Honduras for a month to get a better understanding of my place there. (Or that I would be bold enough to move to a country that I have never seen if that's what He's asking me to do!!)
-I would need roommates to also be willing to move at the same time (or close to it) as me, because we will be sharing a house. Please pray that these ladies God has chosen will also have clear directions, funding, and excitement to go!! :)
-Praying against fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of plans falling through, of money not coming in. I don't want to let fear control my life, because God's got this! And His plan is AWESOME. Cause He's awesome. I want to go wherever He sends me.
There are tons of other little details and miracles that need to fall in to place for me to go. God knows em- and it'd be great if I could have all the powerful prayin peeps I know talkin to Him about it. :) Thanks ahead of time!
As of right now, these are the details I know (which are subject to change lol)
-I would be living in a house in Honduras, as a mentor to young women who are there as short term missionaries.
-I would possibly be teaching ESL (English as a second language) to local women.
-I am looking to go for about 3 years, after language school.

I think that's all I know right now. :) I'm excited to see what God is up to!!! After my Mexico trip got shortened, I just had this strong feeling God was up to something. To be quite honest, I am not sure if this is what He is planning, but I know so far it has been a really great experience!
Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. :) I am constantly blessed by your prayers, encouragement, excitement, and love!!
I am much more blessed than I ever deserve!
Love to you all!

Plans

God said, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you." Jeremiah 29:11 (Emphasis mine)

I believe him. :) Time and time again God has proven this to me. Plans I've made that have fallen through, only to reveal God had something a million times better than I could have ever imagined. Heading in one direction, only to realize God had brought me to that point to get me where I need to be. 

All this being said, my plans have been redirected. I will not be moving to Mexico in October. The funds just weren't there. However, there were enough funds to be summer staff with Back2Back this June and July! :) I am beyond excited to get the opportunity to work with these amazing people again, for an amazing organization, doing what I absolutely love- advocating for the orphan and widow and getting to learn more than I have ever imagined. 

I thought I would be absolutely devastated. I thought if this didn't work out, I would feel like this dream would be crushed, and I would feel like this is never going to happen. I thought I would feel like maybe I heard God wrong, or that I was pushing through with my own plan instead of listening to where God was directing me. 

This is (one of the million reasons) why God is awesome. After finding out I wouldn't be moving, never once did I feel like I've failed. Instead of being heartbroken like I thought I'd be, I'm excited! God has proven to me over and over that if He closes a door, He's got a plan. And it's going to be awesome! I am constantly reassured that God brought me right to this point in order to bring me to whatever's next! Instead of feeling defeated, thinking I was silly to think this could happen, I am confident that this is what God has called me to do- it's just not the right time yet. Instead of feeling like I "heard God wrong", through prayer and gettin' all up in God's word, I am constantly reassured that I was supposed to do this. I was made for this. And just because the door was closed right now, it doesn't mean it will be forever.

This all has been QUITE an adventure! I have met so many amazing people I wouldn't have without going through this process, and countless blessings for me and some pretty awesome people I know couldn't have played out had I not gone through this awesome experience. I know God is not done yet. :) He didn't take me to this point to say, "Ok, that was fun- I'm over it now." I have never felt more confident that this is what God wants me to do. I don't know what the rest of this story looks like. :) This story has only begun, and I can't wait to see what God's up to! 

Thank you guys so much for taking this adventure with me! I can't wait to fill you in on what's next! I couldn't have done any of this without awesome people who love, support, and encourage me! :) You are all fantastic!

How to help :)

Quite a few people have been asking how they can be a part of supporting me and Back2Back. :) All gifts are tax deductible, which is pretty awesome. :) 

1. THANK YOU! You are becoming a part of a MUCH larger story! You're awesome. :)

2. To support through a one-time gift, a check can be made out to Back2Back Ministries. Just slap a little post-it with my name on it, pop it in an envelope, and mail it to:

Karen Holliday

c/o Back2Back Ministries

PO Box 70

Mason, OH 45040

3. To support monthly, fill out  this form  and either mail it to:

Karen Holliday

c/o Back2Back Ministries

PO Box 70

Mason, OH 45040

or fax it to:  

(513) 229-9099

4. To support through an online gift:

1. Go to https://donations.back2backministries.org/
2. In the "General Mexico Needs" line, select an amount or type the amount you'd like to donate in the "Other" box, then click "Donate Now"
3. Click "Continue with Donation"
4. Fill out the credit card info
5. Select a Frequency (monthly/quarterly/yearly)
6. In the box with the label "If you would like to specify which children's homes..." type "Kelli Dunn"
7. Complete the transaction.

"Contributions are solicited with the understanding that Back2Back Ministries has complete discretion and control over the use of all donated funds."