December 2022 - February 2023: A New Journey Begins
Sometimes it can be hard to remember to use the word “our.” Just recently, I (Kenny’s wife) referred a friend to “Kenny’s house,” realizing moments later I needed to send an asterisk: “our house.” Perhaps it is weird for you to hear this word now too, but as you may very well know, Kenny Fuller’s newsletter has recently become Kenny and Jasmin Fuller’s newsletter, and it is our joy to share this new chapter of life that the Lord has given us with you.
December
December was a season that had its share of sweetness and stress as we finished wedding planning and celebrated the Christmas season with our friends and family. The month started off with my final visit to Honduras as a Salvador to attend the seminary’s graduation ceremony, in which one of Kenny’s dear roommates walked the stage. It was bittersweet for us to share parting words with Kike and Adriano, his now graduated roommates, who returned to serve the Lord in Colombia and Ecuador around the same time we were on a flight back to the States.
We soon had the pleasure of celebrating Ethan and Jasmine’s marriage, some dear friends of ours, even though they messed up the order of anniversaries between the bros (if you know, you know). On Christmas Eve, I lit a Hanukkah candle for the first time, heard Mr. Fuller tell the Hanukkah story, and tasted latkes. On Christmas Day, we celebrated Christ’s birth on a Sunday morning, and Kenny introduced the Gen Zers to the original 1966 version of “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and received his first Salvadorian stocking.
January
January was a wonderful whirlwind. On January 3, we were married. Driving to Floral City for our honeymoon, we found ourselves pouring out thanks to the Lord in prayer for His profound goodness – our mothers prayed that the Lord would fill in all the gaps and He surely did, to overflowing. What a joy it was to join in Christian marriage and see family and friends come together to make our wedding day more special than we could have ever imagined. Even in the days to follow, we were blessed by livestream viewers showering their love and congratulations.
Celebrating our marriage and upcoming return/move to Honduras with Grace Bible Church of Tampa (Kenny’s home and sending church) and Saving Grace Bible Church (my home church) was a special privilege we enjoyed in the following weeks, as well as spending our concluding stateside days with friends and family in both Tampa and Venice amidst the shopping/packing and name change/residency paperwork. In the midst of it all, Kenny also resumed his online classes through The Master’s University, entering the spring semester of his last year working towards a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management.
After saying goodbye to the Sunshine State, we flew into 6° Colorado weather to visit a supporting church, New Life Bible, and Kenny’s dear Grandma Mary and relatives. We also braved the Royal Gorge and had a blast sharing Kenny’s first snowball fight and snow angel with our precious host family’s kids. Their dad, Dr. Drew, came to Honduras in 2022 on a dentistry brigade led by his pastor, also a pastor of New Life Bible Church, Rick Thomas. It was a special privilege to meet and fellowship with these sweet saints and even celebrate the birthday of Pastor Rick’s son, Jeremy, also Dr. Drew’s partner in crime at Integrity Dental and a participant of another dental brigade led by his dad later last year.
Upon leaving the winter mountains, we spent a night in the Panera Bread booth of an airport (believe me when I say the airport at night is a different culture in and of itself) and finally arrived home in Honduras on January 31.
February
Last month was the perfect transition with many imperfect moments. The first full day we were home, I felt paralyzed and overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of responsibilities and routines I now faced as a newlywed and missionary. I knew what it meant to be a wife and helpmeet but didn’t know where to start. Day by day, I grow more and more thankful for Kenny, who has demonstrated tender patience and forgiveness with me and been faithful to encourage me to press on and remember the why, which is to proclaim Christ.
Even the words I’m writing are a mere vapor, which is why Solomon says in the second verse of Ecclesiastes: “Futility of futilities! All is futility” – and in the last two verses of the book: “The conclusion, when everything has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” When the world ends, no one will remember my words and only God’s Word will matter – that’s why my every word must proclaim Him. How’s that for a why.
The first part of the month we started settling in, waited on our shipment of belongings from the States, and met our “granddaughter” – the hija of a dear seminary family who was born shortly after we were married. By the time we were unpacked, we had the pleasure of hosting our first meal – shoutout to Jill Wragg and Meg Smith for sharing your kitchen secrets with us to make that dinner a win :) And thank you to countless others who have both blessed our home with furnishings for everyday life and hospitality, and shared recipes that help me keep Kenny happy and not hungry – my recipe binder and mac + cheese cookbook are this Italian girl’s favorite earthly possessions when it comes to what’s on the menu.
Learning grocery vocab words with Kenny has been a unique adventure – I will miss his company when I can go to the store on my own, even though he’s not a fan of shopping. I find myself ordering things now in broken Spanish with some measure of confidence – things like tres libras pechugas and media libra cheddar, cortada from the deli. Discovering what the grocery stores do and do not sell is also intriguing. For example, they may have mangoes one day and not the next. Or Apple Cider Vinegar and Ghirardelli caramel syrup but not unbleached white flour or prepackaged mixed greens. Pecans and olive oil are gold here. And the Mennonites have the best dairy goods and tortillas, but they will spoil within the week.
Cooper was our first intern of the year, and his genuinely joyful attitude towards service and fellowship was truly convicting and encouraging to see in a young man his age. He jumped into his one-month program with enthusiasm, working with the maintenance crew on campus, helping missionary kids with homework, moving donated supplies to the clinic, making friends, and meeting any need he came across, great or small.
He also helped us run the sound and livestream for the wedding of our friends, Cassidy and Renato, one a previous gap year intern (the first that Kenny accepted into the program) and the other a graduate of the seminary. I had met both Cassidy and Renato individually in 2021 on my first trip to Honduras, so it was a sweet time of celebrating their marriage, as well as reuniting with and meeting other past interns who attended the wedding – Hudson, Clara, and Cassidy’s sister, Grace. We are thankful for the Lord’s great kindness in granting me a friend who can relate with the ups and downs of transitioning to a different country.
One of the incredible blessings of this month was that my (our) family came to visit us, their passports hot off the press. Among other home projects, they built a fireplace and strung up our outdoor lights so that we could have an outside space to share with others, and then we broke it in by sharing meals together with several dear families serving alongside us in ministry. One of the main purposes of their visit was to attend our Honduran reception, which was a beautiful opportunity to renew our vows in Español and celebrate our marriage with our brothers and sisters in Honduras.
The day before they returned to the States, we all ziplined across and ventured behind the Pulhapanzak waterfalls. Although ziplining was not a first, I had never hiked behind the waterfall before, so it was a new and exhilarating (and maybe a little bit terrifying) experience for everyone — except maybe Kenny.
I recently started Español classes again and turned in my application for church membership at Iglesia Bautista Betania, the church where Kenny has attended and served for the past four years. Attending couple’s group has been a sweet time of fellowship and sitting under the teaching of our associate pastor, Edwin. He is currently taking us through God’s Hope for Your Home by Lance Sparks, and Kenny has been so kind to practice his translation skills so that I can be better edified during this time.
We also are excited to have our second (first for us in person) short-term mission of the year in town from Emmanuel Baptist Church in Bryan, Texas. This past weekend, they hosted a VBS at Iglesia Betania, and they are currently working on construction projects at MEDA and Clinica Betania, as well as staffing a gynecology brigade at the clinic. EBC was the first church that Kenny worked with when he started this position, so it has been a unique privilege for me to meet them and for us to both hear and witness their joyful heart to be the Lord’s hands and feet in the global church.
One more quick story testifying to the Lord’s faithfulness in all things, great and small…as Kenny was waiting to pick up EBC at the airport, he ran into a MacArthur-loving mom who is a believer working in the embassy. Meeting her was plainly providential because her contact will significantly help him as he navigates the immigration policies for this year’s groups and interns.
As we enter our second month in Honduras, we are blown away by the great privilege of fellowship the Lord has given us with all of you - entering/returning to the mission field knowing so many people are praying for us is one of the greatest comforts and cheerleaders. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to share in this new season of ministry life with you, for supporting and praying for us, and for desiring to know us as much as we want to know you.
Prayers & Praises
Pray for our church body as this is the dry season, and the government just sent out a notice that they will be rationing water. We are blessed to have a well on campus, but many of our brothers and sisters will be short on water during this time.
Pray for Jasmin to be faithful with what the Lord has given, as the transition is going well but slow. Pray that she will take initiative joyfully, learn the language quickly, and receive her residency efficiently.
Pray for Kenny as he starts the second half of the school semester when a busy season of ministry has just begun. Pray that he will have the energy and wisdom he needs to manage his time and responsibilities well.
