Summer has begun!

We have jumped straight into summer since we flew in from Honduras! The first week we were here we simply relaxed and tried to recover from our over night flight-which was fine, by the way. We took a day trip that week to Greenville, South Carolina to visit part of the Halbert extended family and to pick up a truck we borrowed to move Maggie's things to Nashville. I was excited to meet Aaron's aunt, uncle, and cousin on that side for the first time. We had a great visit with them all!

The next week, we headed to Chicago a few days early to spend time with Shannon Baugh and her family. We also went downtown on Wednesday with some friends from Honduras. Alex and Maggie's wedding was on Saturday morning, and it was a beautiful ceremony. We also took a little detour on the way home to visit the campus of Notre Dame. There are some pictures from our trip in Chicago above. The last one is a picture of all but one of the kindergarten teachers and aids that I work with. This picture was taken at graduation.

This week, we are preparing for RYM. The students from Honduras are coming in Sunday night and we leave for Florida on Monday. We are so looking forward to them coming and we are praying that they will have a safe and fun trip while here.

A Year Finished

Wow, time has flown since we got back into Honduras. I am so sorry that I have not updated lately. I came back and was forced into full swing! Now, we are packing up things and getting ready to head back to the States on Wednesday. We will be flying with Spirit Airlines, and we will depart from San Pedro Sula at 1 am. This is the other part of our round-trip ticket that we purchased for January. We saved a lot of money, but we will most likely not be flying with Spirit anymore. They did not send our luggage with us last time and we waited for 5 days until we got it back. You may have noticed the time we are departing on Wednesday. This is another downer for Spirit:"late night flights." Maybe I am completely different from most women, but I do not cope well with flying at hours such as those. Especially when the flights were 2-3 hours behind for no reason and our luggage did not show up. I am already praying for patience while I am awake and sleep while I am on the plane.

We will be in Knoxville for the first week and then off to Chicago where Alex, Aaron's brother, is getting married. We will be staying with Shannon Baugh for a couple of nights while we are there, and we are so excited to see where they live! Soon after we return from Chicago, we will head to Atlanta where we will pick up 13 students who attend the school here in Honduras. We will be taking them to RYM- Florida that week. Please be praying for safety for all of us, as well as for all of our hearts as we go study God's Word and fellowship with many other believers. After RYM, we will take the kids (9th and 10th graders) to Knoxville to visit the church, a few colleges, go to Gatlinburg, and meet a few families from the church. We will also take them to Six Flags in Atlanta the day before they fly out. They will be here a total of 10 days. I think Aaron and I are more excited about them coming than they are. It is a great group of kids coming!

Yet another blog!

Rachel told me that I needed to post on our blog that I now have my own blog. The point of my blog is to show people some of the pictures I have been taking recently. I hope that yall will be willing to take a look. Also, please give me feedback on them. If you think they look fake or horrible please let me know. The link is www.aaronhalbert.blogspot.com

Hope yall enjoy them.

Aaron

A Welcome That Humbled My Heart

I would never have expected such a warm and excited welcome back from the school yesterday. I arrived here just in time to visit my classroom before the end of the day. My moms gathered together food from my favorite restaurant here, dessert, fruit, and flowers!!I have not had to cook for 2 nights because there was so much food!! Also, my kids almost knocked me down when they saw me, and they have all had questions that are so innocent and sweet: "Did your sister really die?" "Is Catherine in heaven now?" They all truly cared, and wanted to hear it from MY mouth.

Last night brought tears and sadness that have not come since Catherine died. I believe my whole family is experiencing the same thing I am: REALITY. Being back here where I have my normal responsibilities of a wife, teacher, and home-keeper, reminded me that it really happened. My sister is really not going to be in MS when I get back. Yesterday was the first time to leave the country knowing that I will not be coming back for an emergency for my sister. In three more weeks, I will be going back to the States, and knowing for the first time that I will not arrive to see Catherine in Tchula or Jackson. I can only explain the feeling this way- it hurts. My heart hurts even as I write this, because I desperately want to "wake up from this nightmare."

God's will is perfect, and I believe that with all my heart. However, with our fallible human minds and hearts, we naturally think about the things that we will miss out on or they will miss out on because they are not here. It is hard to not think about those things. It is so difficult to deal with the pain, but thankfully we are not alone as believers. Our ONLY comfort and joy is Jesus Christ, and without Him we have no hope. I am constantly reminded of the joy that my family and I can have as believers knowing where Catherine is and knowing the God who took her as our Savior. I cannot imagine what the pain would be like if we did not have Him as our Refuge. Praise be to God!

The Following Days

I never realized how hard it is on families after they lose a loved one and the services are over. I had heard that it was hard once everyone leaves and goes on with their lives. There is nothing wrong with people moving on, because life must go on. However, these two days after the services have been so sad for all of us. We have things to do in the house that we did not have time for before, but we don't WANT to do them now. The more we do to clean up around here, the more realistic it is that Catherine is not here with us anymore. Catherine was such a great sister and friend to me, that I find myself thinking of things I need to tell her. There are things that I just want to talk to her about...for no real reason. I think about the fun times we had together and how many times we laughed and were silly together. That does not compare to the happiness she is experiencing now in heaven. Now, we are not only awaiting the day we will see our Savior, but we are also looking forward to spending eternity with all believers, especially our family members.

And Can It Be

I wil not write much, but today is a special and hard day because Catherine has gone to be with her Savior. The three of us girls (Mama, Emily, and me) were singing hymns to calm Catherine. We were singing the 4th verse of "And Can It Be" when we noticed that she changed. The words that we finished only moments before she passed were "The chains fell off, I rose, went forth and followed Thee...". Isn't it wonderful that the Lord came and took her home when we were singing praises to HIM!!! She had a peaceful passing, for which we are so thankful.
The next few days will be harder than we can imagine right now, so please pray for us all. Also, praise our Lord Jesus Christ for His grace and mercy because Catherine is in His presence!

Preparing to Leave, Once Again

As I sit here and think of all I have to accoplish before Monday, it is hard not to be overwhelmed. I have so much work to do in the classroom and here at the apartment to get ready for company this weekend. Mr. Halbert and Alex are coming, and we are greatly looking forward to the visit!! I have been so humbled this week to see how perfectly God's plan for me has fell into place. Never would I have imagined that the school would allow me to leave for whatever amount of time I needed! Over the last two weeks, my heart has been heavy with emotions that I myself cannot even express. The Lord knows my thoughts, desires, struggles, and feelings in a deeper way than I do. I have been very blessed with wonderful support here at school, and through my wonderful husband. He will not be able to travel with me for this trip, which is extremely sad for us. He has more responsibility to be here during this time.
Please be in prayer that my flight on Monday will be on time and that my connection in Houston will go smoothly. I don't mind flying by myself, but it is definitely kind of lonely. I am very thankful to be going, and I cannot complain about my circumstances at all! Thank you for your prayers!