Going to Guatemala!

Hey hey! just an FYI...Thursday-today, I'm headed to Guatemala with the EMM missionaries who work here at the finca. I'm going as a childcare worker for Harlan and Janelle's children. We'll be there about 4 days. Please pray for us as we travel and are there! thanks!

Honduras is going to the World Cup!

What an exciting night in the small country of Honduras, where futbol- soccer is by far the most popular and followed sport. This evening the national soccer team played against El Salvador, won, and thanks to the US's tie with Costa Rica, Honduras's team classified to go the the World Cup in South Africa (I feel like a sport newscaster or something.) It has been almost 30 years since Honduras has been classified, and apparently it is such a big deal, that the current president has called for a national holiday tomorrow....as a celebration of their acheivement. I personally didn't watch the game (I was at church....we were invited to a local church and performed some dramas there) but the game finished just before we were leaving the church, and the streets met us with crazy pandemonium. There were people everywhere (there were already alot of people out b/c it is fair week) and so add that in with winning a huge game equals large crowds of people on the streets, and the usual after-a-winning-game parade of trucks with yelling people on the back was much longer than normal. I was able to run back to the finca and grab my camera....so, for a small taste of (the video clip is only a minute long, while the festivities lasted more than an hour) what it looked, and sounded like. Just a little cultural taste for you all...



I'll try to do another blog soon about more "normal things" that are happening in my life here at the Finca (as if my life is ever "normal".) I normally don't pay attention to sports...but since soccer is such a big deal, well, I'm learning a little. :-) Peace!

The Countdown begins...

....10 more days of regular classes for me. Wow. We have 3 more weeks of regular classes, but I only teach English 4 days a week, so that leaves me with 10 more regular class days. Then we have a week of testing, and after that -a week of recuperation (for the kids who didn't pass their classes, I hope that all my students pass English!).


The other day I made banana bread, and there were 4 very bored girls outside my door, so I invited them in to help me wash the dishes and clean up, then we got to enjoy some warm banana bread...but sshhh, don't tell the other kids or they'll be at my door asking to help the next time!

Life

Hm...A few days ago I was thinking about how I need to wait till Sunday to write a blog...so I have something "exciting" to write about (since we participated in the Day of the Bible parade-consisting of 3 different churches in Valle). Then today I was looking at my blog and realized that's usually what I write about...the "exciting" things that happen (that and English class). And there's alot more to my life here than those special events. So, this afternoon I took two girls out with me to the park to capture some glimpses of things I see often. That in itself was a normal thing to do...often I take a group of girls out to the park to sit and talk, observe people going about, and maybe even eat a paleta.

These are 2 glimpses of the park.

Okay, in my opinion Expresso Americano is Honduras's equivalent to Starbucks. In Teguc you can find one just about anywhere you go, and Valle has one by the park. Its good quality coffee products, and their frozen drinks are the best. A granita costs about $1.16- less the half the price of the equivalent drink that you would find in the States.

Here is the group from the finca...in the Day of the Bible parade...and the first parade that I've participated in.

Dia del Nino

Yesterday was an eventful day here at the Finca. We celebrated "el dia del nino", or children's day. I took charge of the entertainment end of things, and we (Concho, me, and some teachers) threw together an improvised, and rather humorous program. Then we went outside and the kids played various games and broke pinatas. It was alot of fun, but very tiring for me. But, I have a week to "rest". Next week the kids off school for independence week. I anticipate doing something special with some of the kids....not sure what yet though.

Last night night we were also able to celebrated Lorena's birthday with cake and pizza.

Puppets with a song "Para los Ninos"

"Sopa de Frijoles"- Beans soup skit (I'm the one on the floor)
(Its like another version of the abuela skit, which is the video clip I posted awhile ago)

Concho and me "rapping" to a popular Christian Spanish song

The doctor's office skit (I was "pregnant")

Some girls and me (I acted as a clown/ballerina? for the day)

Breaking pinatas

Celebrating another birthday

Peace!

"Tu Bandera, tu bandera...."

During the month of September you will find schools across the nation of Honduras singing their national anthem in the mornings, as September 15th is independence day. Unlike in the States, the students will be having the week off next week to celebrate Honduras's independence. Here are two pics of the students singing in the morning.

Perseverance

It was a tough week in the classroom for me. It always has it's triumphs and challenges, but this week seemed to especially tough. It was hard for me to know how to deal with the kids' behavior in a positive encouraging way. Not all the classes were difficult. Sixth grade seems to be embracing the sudden overload of grammar rather well. With one marking period left we are going to dive full force into conjugating verbs in the present and past tense, hopefully I can find ways to keep it interesting.

As I was reading Bible verses this morning during recess, I found a few that were especially encouraging:

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper
time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. you
need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will
receive what he has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36

Sometimes for us as teachers here at the Finca being in the classroom may be difficult, but I need to trust that in God's timing, he will show the fruits of our labor in these children's lives. They are precious, and I love them so much!

peace!
Andrea