Getting ready for touch down...

It's Sunday...the time is quickly winding down for me to fly home in a few days already. Emotions and feelings are running high. I'm busy trying to hang out with the kids and friends I've made-making popcorn for house 2, doing our last coffee time w/the oldest girls-, while trying to pack bags that are too heavy and preparing myself mentally and emotionally to leave here and enter back into life in the States.

Saturday night a week ago was the sixth grade graduation, and the official closure to my first year of teaching. All eight sixth graders became graduates of Escuela Evangelica Betel!

This Saturday night I took my Friday night group out for supper for a final celebration. Afterwards we went to a friend's house to celebrate Concho's birthday...the last birthday celebration of the Friday night crew!


Mirian and I had the oppurtunity to take a few days to see the islands in northern Honduras.


Thanks for your prayers! there will be a few more blogs to come...Peace!

Reaching Out

Last week I had a few great opportunities to take some of the girls out of the Finca and into some centers. On Wednesday two teenage girls and I went to visit a home for the mentally and/or physically handicapped.

On Thursday I took 4 older girls in to central Teguc to visit Ceder, an elderly home for elderly who lived on the streets. It was so neat for me to see the girls interacting with the people there..painting the ladies' nails, throwing a balloon back and forth, reading books, or even just sitting (or in Alba's case standing) for 45 minutes listening to a sweet older man talk.
The purpose of the trip was to visit Ceder, then we went out for lunch and I thought it would be fun to walk around a little and does some clothing shopping etc. As we were walking around Centro we passed a very smelly, dirty, mess of trash where three men were scrounging around looking for some food. It it impacted more than just me, and so we sat down on a bench and discussed what could we do about what we had just seen. One of the girls suggested we buy something for them to eat....there was a lady right by us selling sweet bread, so I pulled out 100 limperas (about $5) and we got 10 chuncks of bread....and went in search of people who were begging. Unfortunately it was pretty easy to find 10 people who were thankful for a fresh-baked peice of bread. The thing that was impressed upon me most about our trip into Teguc was not eating at Pollo Campero, or having fun looking at clothes, but how the girls noticed a need, and found a small way that we could meet that need. Seeing those guys picking through the trash made me stop and think. I had to think about all the food in my refrigerator...some of it going to waste, and thinking about how easy it is for me to take for granted all the things that I have-it reminded me to be thankful for what I have, and to think about what how can we help people like the ones we shared with Thursday afternoon?

Some pics from CEDER

Alba and Eugenio chatting

Patricia reading to one of the ladies

Coloring

On Friday I went with the elementary students on our end of the year field trip to Chiminike...a hands on interactive center for kids (and adults).

laying on a bed of nails, yikes!

climbing a pyramid thing

Birthday parties....

What a weekend full of celebrations. On Friday I had the kids over as usual, and we ate ice cream pie to celebrate my birthday, as well as for one of the guys who hang out with us, from one of the churches. Then on Sunday my dear friends so nicely surprised me with a birthday party for me! Right after that celebration I hurried home to decorate the house for the party that I planned for my girls. It was alot of work, and a bit crazy to have 18 screaming hyper 8-12 yr olds at my house overnight, but it was alot of fun, and I think they had fun. Here are some pics to check out. :-)

Sidey, Concho, Eric, and me.

Mirian, Sidey, Eric, and me (ordering pizza for the girls)

my birthday cake!

my dear friend Mirian and me

Party party!

My time here at the Finca is quickly coming to an end with 3 weeks left before I fly home. I'm starting to think about finishing things here, and having to say good-byes to many very special people whom I've spent so much time with in the last year. Please be praying for me as I get ready to leave, and transition back to the States! thanks! Peace!

School "Vacation"

To say it simply, school is finished for the year. To say it in a more complicated manner, there are still classes for those students who may not have passed some classes, grading, and finishing up things. Today I finished my grading, and I only have one student who needs to do some retesting.

Now my schedule will be much more flexible, and will probably include providing more fun things to do for the kids. So, what are some of those fun things I'm doing with the kids?

The other week I headed into the capital (Teguz) with 15 youth from the Finca to go to a concert. We arrived at 4pm (the scheduled time for it to start, although we figured it wouldn't start till 5pm) and hung out and waited until just before 7pm for the concert to actually start. It was a good concert, even though the main group that we wanted to see didn't perform.

Yesterday a group of youth from one of the local youth groups that I've connected with came to play games with the kids. I was excited to see a group of 15 youth come, and actively play games with the little kids. After awhile we pulled out the volleyball and net and the youth from the Finca and from the Berean played some volleyball--and continued to play in the pouring rain!

Playing volleyball

Kids watching the volleyball game.

The missionaries I work with and spend alot of time with at the Finca,
the Horsts and the Livengoods

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!