McCanns in Honduras

These are our e-mail updates and prayer needs, updated every month. If you would like to recieve them by e-mail, please let us know and we will add you to our list.

McCanns in Honduras: July (7/2)

Dear Friends,

July has come upon us and with it, more rain, more Spanish, and more little girls!

Our biggest news from this month is that we found out our little baby is indeed a little girl. We are thrilled to have two sisters so close in age who can grow and play together for years to come. She (and Lindsey) look very healthy as we are nearing the completion of our second trimester.

School continues to go well and we are daily challenged. We have made some friends in the community though our ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and that has been a great opportunity to practice our Spanish. At times it feels like we will never be good Spanish speakers, but then we look at where we were when we arrived in Costa Rica, and it gives us encouragement for the future.

Speaking of Spanish, Lucy continues to expand her vocabulary and she meets new friends and hears the language daily. She enjoyed a fun trip from her grandparents in June and continues to love playing with her new friends in the neighborhood.

Our ESL classes ended last week, and we were sad to see them go. We will have a few months off until they start again, and we hope to get involved in some other local ministries in the meantime. In fact this weekend Sean is speaking at a local youth group (through a translator) that ministers to kids in a poor community.

Some things to pray about this month:
- This is a long month in language school as the classes are getting a lot tougher and we are starting brand new material, so pray for our patience and diligence.
- Our teammates, the Pettengills, have arrived in Honduras and are beginning to set up their home and prepare for a short-term medical team set to arrive at the end of the month. Please pray for their housing and medical ministry.
- Family time. The stress of language and culture is always weighing on us (to varying degrees) and at times it affects our family. Please pray for our marriage, our parenting, and our spiritual life as a family.

For more pictures and stories, check us out on the web:
Website: mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com
Blog: cosmocam.blogspot.com

As always, we remember the importance of prayer and the role each of you play in our lives and in our ministry work. Thank you for your support shown in so many different ways, it means so much to us. We hope all is well with each of you and would love to hear from you all.

With love,

–
Sean, Lindsey, Lucy, and Tica (Baby) McCann

McCanns in Honduras: June (6/3)

Dear Friends,

Wow how the months fly bye, this our fourth monthly update since we’ve been here in Costa Rica, a grand total of four and a half months. We have truly enjoyed our time here, especially the past month as we have seen our Spanish grow leaps and bounds. Sean and Lindsey have spent most of the month in Spanish classes studying conversation, phonetics, and grammar. We both have great teachers who challenge us and classmates to learn from.

We are not the only ones in our family in language school. While we attend classes, Lucy is in child-care with a Tica teacher who speaks exclusive Spanish. She is learning so many Spanish words and seems to surprise us constantly with her growing vocabulary. She is continuing to enjoy her life of making new friends, learning the language, and exploring the world around her.

As far as the rest of our family goes, we went to our OBGYN last week and both Lindsey and the baby look great. Though we were not able to tell the babies gender, we heard and saw a strong heart beat, which is all we can ask for.

In other news, we’ve started serving with a local English language ministry. The English as a Second Language (ESL) program meets weekly for two hours. Lindsey and Sean take turns teaching the intermediate classes. This has been a great opportunity to serve local mission work, build relationships in the community, and learn about a ministry we hope to implement in Honduras.

Our time here has been surprisingly smooth, which we can only attribute to the grace of God and your prayers on our behalf. We cannot thank you enough for simply receiving our e-mail updates, caring about our lives, and lifting us up in prayer. Though we are at times lonely on the field, we know that we are not alone, and for that we are forever grateful!

If you are interested in reading more about our lives here in Costa Rica, we are keeping our website updated with stories and pictures, go to www.mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com If you would rather see lots of cute pictures of Lucy, we have those too at her blog, www.cosmocam.blogspot.com

Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers, we miss you all and would love to hear from you.

God bless.

–
Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras: May (5/6)

Dear Friends,

This past month has been filled with much excitement: language study with our individual tutors, enjoying a family vacation, having Lindsey’s mother visit from the states, and Sean taking a vision trip to Honduras. We have officially ended our individual learning time with our tutors and we our starting a new semester at school today, May 7th. We feel like we are getting more and more of a grasp on the language each week and yet we know we have so much more to learn.

In the beginning of May we took our first family vacation here in Costa Rica to a near by beach. We enjoyed having such a refreshing time to get away and really enjoyed seeing a different part of Costa Rica Just last week, Sean was able to go to La Ceiba for 4 days to look at possible areas of ministry. He was once again reminded of the great need there and saw many areas to work in, including hospitals, nursing homes, schools, prisons, etc.

Lucy has enjoyed being at home with mom and dad this month. When we start back to school she will go to the nursery and it will be a big adjustment for her all over again. She is becoming quite a little adventurer and loves the outdoors, making new friends, and playing on the play ground. She continues to be such a joy in our lives and we love watching her change and grow.

Another area which is changing and growing in our lives is Lindsey’s stomach as the baby is now entering the second trimester. We are thankful for a healthy pregnancy thus far and continue to trust the Lord for development and growth of this child.

Some things to pray for this month:
- Language Study. Pray for us as we begin the new semester that we would be diligent to study hard and take advantage of all our time in the classroom to learn.
- Strength and Perseverance for our family. Being in school for 6 hours a day, taking care of Lucy, and doing our normal duties has been quite exhausting. Pray that the Lord would sustain us during this time and give us the energy we need each day to do the things which He has called us to.
- Honduras. Pray as we continue to look at different areas of ministry that the Lord would open up doors for us to serve once we get there.
- Our new babies health, growth, and development. Also for Lindsey and she deals with morning sickness.

We also wanted to remind you that we’re are keeping our website updated with pictures and stories of our life here. Please let us know of any questions you have and we would love to post about it. The website is www.mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com

Thank you so much for your prayers, e-mails, letters, packages, phone calls, etc. We love hearing from people back home.

–
Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras: April (4/5)

Dear Friends,

We’re coming up on our two month anniversary of arriving here in Costa Rica and it is finally starting to feel more and more like home. March was a busy month for us, we finished up our intensive Spanish course, we experienced lots of Latin America culture during Semana Santa (Holy Week), and we began our individual tutoring. This month we will continue with our tutors, we each go twice a week for 2 hours, until the next trimester begins at school. We got off to a great start with the language, but now we are learning some of the more difficult parts and being challenged daily by our tutors.

Lucy continues to learn both languages, excelling in English and gaining Spanish words as she goes. She is a walking machine here, mastering the broken sidewalks with ease. She loves to stop on our walks and point at the flowers, bark at the dogs, and wave at every ant and bug she sees. Lucy has fallen in love with her baby dolls and we are thrilled because soon in November she is going to be a BIG SISTER and we are going to need all the help we can get! She has lots more stories and pictures on her blog, Lucy’s World.

Some things to pray for this month:
- Language Study. The more we learn, the harder it gets.
- Honduras Team. As our team gets closer to arriving on the field, we are beginning to plan more for our ministries and pray for our future church plant. Please pray for wisdom and unity as we continue to work closer together.
- Honduras Trip. At the end of April (26-29), Sean and Mike Pettengill are traveling to La Ceiba to check out schools, neighborhoods/housing, hospitals, and other ministry areas.
- Our new babies health, growth, and development. Also for Lindsey and she deals with morning sickness.

We also wanted to remind you that we’re are keeping our website updated with pictures and stories of our life here. Please let us know of any questions you have and we would love to post about it. The website is www.mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com

Thank you so much for your prayers, e-mails, letters, packages, phone calls, etc. We love hearing from people back home.

–
Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras: March (3/6)

Dear Friends,

We’ve just completed our first 3 weeks here in Costa Rica and we have so much to share. The Lord has been good to us as we feel like San Jose is slowly becoming home. Here is a quick list of what is going on:

School – We are half was through our intensive Spanish course and things are going well. Lindsey is being challenged daily in her conversation classes, while Sean is learning some of the basics of the Spanish grammar and vocabulary.

Lucy – She has adjusted well so far in her sleep, going 12 hours a night and getting a long nap in during the day. At school she has a teacher all by herself in the afternoon and is enjoying the attention. She has learned Spanish for good-bye (chao), and thank you (gracias).

Living – Our apartment has been great despite some failures in the hot water and the washing machine. We are enjoying the food here while still trying to master the Tico beans and rice. Not having a car has been an adjustment, but walking everywhere in the mild climate has been nice.

Family – One area we are feeling the stress is in our family, with so much to do and so many transitions, often times we just fall into bed exhausted at night. But as we are getting more adjusted to the culture, this area has been getting better.

Future Months – Our intensive course ends in two weeks, upon which we will get individual tutors for the next month. We hope to be pushed by our tutors as they can give us personal attention and go at our own pace.

Prayer Request:
- Spanish acquisition. Learning the language has been tougher than we anticipated, and we are in need of patience and diligence to plug along.
- Family. For time together to relax, catch up, and enjoy one another.
- Future in Honduras. There has been some interest in our work in Honduras, so please pray for future teammates and national partners to work with.

Also we have tested out our mailing address and it is working great, mail takes 7-10 days to get here. Our address is:

Sean and Lindsey McCann
Instituto de Lengua Espanola
Apartado 100-2350
San Jose, Costa Rica

We’ve attached a few pictures, but have lots more at our website: www.mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com

Thanks you again for you prayers for our family and our ministry, we cherish them greatly.

Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns IN Costa Rica: February (2/12)

Dear Friends,

We have arrived safe and sound here in Costa Rica! The flight went well and we have moved into our new home with ALL of our luggage. Lucy did great and is fast asleep in her new crib. Thank you so very much for your prayers.

During our time here, will be updating our website at least once a week. We will have pictures, stories, and so much more. The website is www.mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com and we will be updating it soon.

Here is our new contact information:

Mailing Address:
Sean and Lindsey McCann
Instituto de Lengua Espanola
Apartado 100-2350
San Jose, Costa Rica

Phone Number:
704-365-3048
(This is a Vonage number that is currently out of service, but will be up and running soon.)

E-Mail:
smccann24@gmail.com (Sean) or lindsey24@gmail.com (Lindsey)

Thank you again for your prayers, your support, and your love. We will be in touch soon!

–
Sean McCann

McCanns in Honduras: February (2/6)
Dear Friends,

Only one week to go until we leave for Costa Rica! We fly out from Charlotte on February 12th and our Spanish language classes begin on February 18th. Our teammates in Costa Rica have found us a fabulous apartment only a block away from their home and a half a mile from school. They even got Lucy a crib for her to sleep in her first night.

Lucy has been great in the midst of all the transitions we have had lately, and we know that is a answer to prayers. She still has not taken more than three steps at a time so I think her walking will have to wait until Costa Rica. You can keep up with all the latest Lucy pictures while we are on the mission field by visiting her blog: www.cosmocam.blogspot.com

Things to pray about:
- Adjustment. That we would be able to adjust to our new life in Costa Rica with a new schedule for Lucy, new culture, and a new language.
- Our families. As we say goodbye to them, that the Lord would bring them comfort and peace.

Thank you so much for your prayers and gifts, and once again please let us know how we can be praying for you. We’ll be in touch once we reach San Jose, Costa Rica.

–
Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras: January (1/7)

McCanns in Honduras: December (12/5)

Dear Friends,

We hope you’ve had a great start to your holiday season.Just this past week we have seen our gifts rise to 72% of our finalgoal. This is very exciting for us as every gift, no matter how bigor small, gets us one step closer to Honduras. Tentatively we areplanning to leave for language school in Costa Rica some time in themiddle of February.We are beginning to pack our things and go through all our belongings as we are planning on leaving our current home in Charlotte before Christmas.

It has been emotional for us as we get rid of our materialbelongings and yet it makes us look forward to the home that we will have in Honduras.

Things to pray about:

- Our finances. Even though we are getting close to our goal, westill have a good amount of money to raise and we are trusting that wewill be in Costa Rica by February 18th when the semester begins.

- Our family. It looks like we will be jumping around and living withdifferent people over the next few months, so please pray for peace inthe midst of transition. Please pray especially for Lucy as she getsused to new people and new environments that she would rest well andknow the safety and security of her family and her Heavenly Father.

We also wanted to remind you as the end of the year approaches thatall financial gifts towards our work in Honduras are fully taxdeductible.

Thank you so much for your prayers and gifts, and once again pleaselet us know how we can be praying for you.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras 1.6 (11/5)

Dear Friends,

It has been a while since our last update, but don’t worry, we havenot left the country without telling you. We have had a busy month ofsupport raising and appreciate your prayers for more appointments this coming month. Sean returned last month from a MTW Leadership Conference in Mexicowhere he enjoyed meeting and learning from other experiencedmissionaries and national leaders. This month we are speaking at fourchurches in the Carolina’s and Georgia, and appreciate your prayers aswe share our vision and meet with new people.

Last month we also celebrated Lucy’s first birthday with a Ladybug party in the park. She was showered with love, affection, and lots oftoys. We are so thankful for our first year as parents and lookforward to the many years to come.

Some things to pray for:

- Our meetings with churches and individuals this month. We arecurrently at 53% of our support goal, so please pray for continuedgiving and new pledges.

- Wisdom in parenting as we face new issues with a growing child.

- Please continue to pray for Honduras and that the hope of the gospelwould be spread in that dark place.Thanks you for your prayers and continued interest in our lives andministry.

Please let us know how we can be praying for you as well.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras 1.5

Dear Friends,

Greetings from Charlotte, NC. We have recently returned from amissions conference in Locust, NC where we were very encouraged by theteaching and fellowship, as well as fed well!Next week, Sean is flying to Mexico for a MTW Latin America leadersretreat. This is an exciting time to meet other missionaries andnationals, to gain much needed church planting experience, and gathertogether with the Honduras team.

Lucy is doing well, she is standing a lot and hopes to be walking soonafter her first birthday (10/24). As she grows, her fun lovingpersonality comes out more and more as she continues to bring herparents great joy.

Some things to pray about:

- Continued faith in God in the midst of support raising. (We arecurrently at 43%)

- Safe travel and beneficial training for Sean in Mexico.

- The grace of God extended to the people of La Ceiba, Honduras.

Thank you for your prayers and for your love for us, let us know if wecan pray for you in any way.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras 1.4

Dear Friends,

We have been home from New York for 2 weeks now and have been busypacking and unpacking as we have moved into a new/temporary home herein Charlotte. As we continue to reflect on our time in New York weare thankful for the experience, training, and friendships we wereable to build.

Every day Lucy crawls more and more. She can new do laps around bothof us as she explores her new home. She has had a fun August spendingtime with all her grandparents on different family vacations.We have also created a ministry website, McCanns in Honduras. Checkit out at www.mccannsinhonduras.wordpress.com

Prayer Requests:

1. Language school begins January 3 in Costa Rice and we are trustingthe Lord that we can be there with 100% of our support raised.

2. Our teammates, the Pettengills, leave on the 27th, pray for theirtransition to Costa Rica and their family and friends as they saygoodbye.

3. Our family. That each day we would be good stewards of our time.Our life does not have much structure now that we have quite our jobsand we need to strive hard to balance our time between raising supportand family.Here is our new address:1079 Sardis Cove DrCharlotte, NC 28270

Thanks for your prayers and your love for us, please let us know if wecan pray for you in any way.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras 1.3

Dear Friends,

Greetings from New York City. We have been in New York for 3 weekstaking pre-field classes on church planting, team building, andlanguage learning. We have also been ministering at a Spanish-speakingchurch in Queens. Our time here has been very challenging but alsovery rewarding as we look forward to our future ministry.

Lucy has been a joy here in New York. She makes lots of friends on thesubway each morning; we can already tell how she is going to be such ahelp in meeting new people. She has also learned how to crawl here inNew York, she is such a busy little girl!One other exciting thing about being here in New York is being able tospend some time with our future teammates in Honduras, thePettengills. They are a fun family from California and it has beengreat to get to know them these past 3 weeks, we can already tell thatwe are going to work well together.(http://www.pettengillmissionaries.org)Also, it looks like we have found a good place to live in the fall,thank you for all your prayers.

Our prayers for this week:

- Strength and focus for our last 2 weeks in New York.

- Rest and sleep for Lucy during this chaotic time.

Thank you for your prayers and for your love for us, let us know if wecan pray for you in any way.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras 1.2

Dear Friends,

Greetings again from Charlotte, NC. We are excited to announce thatas of yesterday we are one-third of the way to our support goal! Onceagain we are amazed with how God has worked through people to providefor us and our ministry.The next step in the process of getting to Honduras is a month ofcultural training in New York City. We are flying out on July 1 andwill return July 31. We will spend our time in NYC attending morningtraining sessions and ministering with a local Latino church in theafternoons, all the while gaining experience living in an unfamiliarand multicultural setting.

Lucy is now entering her mobile phase, and we are anticipating herstarting to crawl in NY. As she grows we continue to love her moreand more as she brings great joy to our family.

Please pray for:

- Our time in NY, especially the travel with Lucy, transition, and newfriendships with other missionaries and teammates in Honduras.

- Our living situation is still not nailed down for this fall, soplease pray that the Lord would provide for the best situation for ourfamily.

- Our future home. Honduras is a nation in great poverty, bothphysically and spiritually, and is in need of God’s healing power.

Thanks again for your love, prayer, and support of our family.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann

McCanns in Honduras 1.1

Dear Friends,

This is the first of many official updates about the ministry of Sean,Lindsey, and Lucy McCann in Honduras. If you are on our mailing listyou have either signed up to receive our updates or you have given toour ministry in some form.Our goal is to send out short e-mails bimonthly letting you know wherewe are in the process of getting to Honduras and a few things to prayfor.

We have just returned from a week long training session in the NCmountains called “Living in Grace.” It was a refreshing week ofteaching on God’s love and encouragement from fellow missionaries.Sean has recently graduated from seminary (RTS Charlotte) and Lindsey just quit her job as a paralegal, so we are now fully committed toraising support to arrive in Honduras as soon as possible.

Our goalis to raise 100% of our support this fall and leave for languageschool in Costa Rica in the beginning of January ‘08.

Our prayers for this week focus on our recent transitions:

- Guidance for where to live when our lease runs out in August.

- Renewed heart and focus for support raising.

- Peace for Lucy in the midst of these transitions.

Thank you for your prayers and for your love for us, let us know howwe can pray for you also.

–Sean, Lindsey, and Lucy McCann