Stay tuned for fotos...blogger being difficult...
Boy, what an eventful weekend. Saturday, I worked at the school from about 8-11 in the morning, finishing up typing final exams and tutoring one second grader in reading. He had just finished karate class and was very ancy. I had to take the “swivel chair on wheels” away from him pretty much right away.
Sunday, Beto was invited to preach at another church in the city, so we met at the local mall at 8 and then first went to meet our friends who go to the church because we didn’t know where it was. We waited about an hour in the very hot sun until finally we got on the bus or we would’ve been very late to church. As we were sitting down I see our friends walking towards the bus. They’d been waiting for us around the corner, more or less, for about 30 minutes. We rode the buss about 15 minutes, and then had to walk about 20 minutes to the church. Let’s just say Beto and I would’ve never found it on our own! Never! I got a good picture of the hill we walked up, but the picture of the actual church didn’t come out for some reason.
I took an antihistamine (sp?) this morning before I left the house. I’ve been having allergy problems from the weather changes here. I felt great until Beto got up to preach, and then I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open. I actually got up in the middle of church and asked his friend if there were any beds in the kids’ classrooms. The medicine hit me all at once. I felt so bad, but it was all I could do to just sit up! Later I told Beto why I looked like I was sleeping during his sermon. Later, at our church, I was able to take a nap on a pew since we got there early, so I didn’t’ have trouble staying awake there.
After he preached about fathers, (today is Father’s Day here), we skipped out so we could make it to our church on time. He preached there today too about the spiritual gifts, roles of ministers, and that we all are ministers in the church.
Afterwards, the youth group did an act about the leper healed by Jesus who Jesus tells to present himself to the priest. It went really well. He wrote and directed it, and played a part in it.
After church, as we were walking, we caught a great shot of the new presidential flag of Honduras. Our new president was just sworn in in January. We actually had a day off for the inauguration, and I heard rumors that Castro, yes, from Cuba, was going to come because apparently he’s buddy buddy with our new president, Mel. But I don’t think he made it. Encouraging that they are friends though, eh?
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Pray this week for all the students taking their 3rd quarter final exams. Only one quarter left!
Finally, please continue to pray for the next step God wants us to take this summer after my job is done. There are opportunities out there for mission work in churches of Christ. I will keep you updated.
Love you all! Bendiciones a todos!
Monday, March 20, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Godly people doing unGodly things
Catchy title. One main quote that stood out to me from the book...
¨Anything God does, Satan attempts to counterfeit. ..one of Satan´s chief objectives is to make the clean FEEL unclean. Satan can´t MAKE the Bride DO anything, so he does everything he can to GET to her. HE TRIES TO CORRUPT THOUGHTS TO MANIPULATE FEELINGS.¨
I recommend this book for anyone, Godly or not, doing unGodly things or not.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Dinner with friends
Here´s Andrew, Lesley, Sammy, me, and Amber at Andrew´s and Lesley´s last week for pizza and snicker´s ice cream treats! mmm... My favorite part was playing with Sammy, Sorry guys. Andrew and Lesley work in the same community as Amber, just around the corner. It is nice to have friends from the States. Those three are from the same part of the country, very close neighbors. Anyways, thanks Andrew and Lesley! And congrats on making the blog!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
3'day weekend
Happy Tuesday to all!
I had a day off yesterday, courtesy of our director, because Saturday we were at a school Bike a thon all day. That was a lot of fun. we held it at one of the student´s house who lives in Valle de Angeles, a mountainous area about 45 minutes out of the city. He drives a long way every day to go to school. Their property is beautiful, with so many trees, a picnic area, a basketball court, a gym, and a jacuzzi. Their actual house didnt seem all that big from the outside but they have a lot of open land. Only a handful of students brought their bikes. The rest of us went on a short walk around, then played family competetion games and had a wonderful catered lunch of tacos and ¨gringa¨s...yes, it´s actually the name of a food. They are like quessadillas, sort of. Sorry I don´t have any fotos. I took my camera...without batteriws! aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
So yesterday, since Beto and I both had a day off, we decided to try to go get his VISA to come with me to the States in May to visit. The adventure went something like this...
we met at 9am at the mall nearest my house. I walked, he took the bus. From there, we walked for about 20 minutes until we found out that the Guatemalan embassy was up a hill, so we took a taxi, and boy am i glad we did! there, they said we needed to go to the U.S. embassy. Seems obvious now, but we´d never done this before and asked advice from others who´d never done it either.
we arrive at the U.S. embassy in a taxi. By this time it´s about 10 o clock and there´s a long line outside. The rest of the day went a little something like this...
(to a man in line outside) ¨what´s this line for?¨ (something we don´t need)
(to the guard at the door) ¨we´re here to get his (point to Beto) VISA...blah blah blah, yaddy yaddy yaddy, explain the sitch...I showed my passport, and VOILA! we´re in! The guard told us to go to a certain window.
(at that window) ¨Yes, we´re here to ...¨
(she says) oh, you need to go into that room there
(in that room, there are about 100 people sitting in chairs, waiting for who knows what, and there areen´t any signs that help us, nor a sign displaying numbers, or any numbers to take.
(in another room for North Americanas) öoh, look, Beto. I see white people!¨
(that lady there says) oh, you need to into that other room (where we just were) and read the wall with the information
After reading the wall, we decided to wait until 11 to talk to someone at window 4, like the info says.
(at 11am, window 4) ÿes, I´m here to...¨ She says, ¨Go to window 1¨
(at window 1) ÿes, we´re here to ...¨ He says, ¨Go to window 6¨
Now, in front of window 6, which is closed, there´s a long line of people that hadn´t been there ALL MORNING! So we get in to wait. After about 5 minutes, a guard approaches us...
¨what are you doing in this line? where are your papers?¨
¨Yes, we´re here to...¨and I show him the info paper I had
ÿou just need to call this number between 3 and 5. No one can help you with that today here. Theý´re too busy with all these other people. I´ll go get you the extension of the number.¨
He returns in 10 minutes. Basically, we could´ve called the embassy and gotten the info number and skipped the trip to the embassy entirely.
Now usually in a situation like this, I get very frustrated and try to stir things up to get my way, make things happen, because we need a VISA! but I even surprised myself. we did pray a lot before our visit. I am a bit disappointed, however, in our country´s way of doing things. with my passport, i can just show up at the airport and i recieve my VISA when i arrive in Honduras. why can´t it be that way for people going to the States? The paper even says that after paying for the VISA and plane ticket, that in your final destination in the States, if the officers there don´t want to recieve you, they can reject your VISA! WOW!
After that we walked about 30 minutes more until I was to tired and we took a 10 minute taxi ride to eat Arroz chino...mmmm...
At 3.30 I called the embassy and she said that all the info i need is on the paper i already had. So now we have to go to the bank, get an appointment at the embassy and pay for it there, then pray God and the embassy find favor on us.
Please pray for this process over the next few weeks, that Beto will be able to join me on my visit to meet my family. we will be together for the first time in about 4 years, and it may be the last time for another 4 years.
To conclude, last night as I was about to use the phone, I noticed a reddish worm on the floor that blended in the color of the floor. As I moved closer I noticed it has antenae and about a hundred legs, so I went to get the Raid, but it started to move and I thought it´ll be long gone by the time I get back, so I took drastic measures and had to kill it with my flip flop. I´m not sure who took more of a beating, the centipede-scorpioin thingy, or my flip flop. seeing that the flip flop is still alive to tell about it, I´d vote for him.
May you have no fear of critters in your abode.
I had a day off yesterday, courtesy of our director, because Saturday we were at a school Bike a thon all day. That was a lot of fun. we held it at one of the student´s house who lives in Valle de Angeles, a mountainous area about 45 minutes out of the city. He drives a long way every day to go to school. Their property is beautiful, with so many trees, a picnic area, a basketball court, a gym, and a jacuzzi. Their actual house didnt seem all that big from the outside but they have a lot of open land. Only a handful of students brought their bikes. The rest of us went on a short walk around, then played family competetion games and had a wonderful catered lunch of tacos and ¨gringa¨s...yes, it´s actually the name of a food. They are like quessadillas, sort of. Sorry I don´t have any fotos. I took my camera...without batteriws! aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!
So yesterday, since Beto and I both had a day off, we decided to try to go get his VISA to come with me to the States in May to visit. The adventure went something like this...
we met at 9am at the mall nearest my house. I walked, he took the bus. From there, we walked for about 20 minutes until we found out that the Guatemalan embassy was up a hill, so we took a taxi, and boy am i glad we did! there, they said we needed to go to the U.S. embassy. Seems obvious now, but we´d never done this before and asked advice from others who´d never done it either.
we arrive at the U.S. embassy in a taxi. By this time it´s about 10 o clock and there´s a long line outside. The rest of the day went a little something like this...
(to a man in line outside) ¨what´s this line for?¨ (something we don´t need)
(to the guard at the door) ¨we´re here to get his (point to Beto) VISA...blah blah blah, yaddy yaddy yaddy, explain the sitch...I showed my passport, and VOILA! we´re in! The guard told us to go to a certain window.
(at that window) ¨Yes, we´re here to ...¨
(she says) oh, you need to go into that room there
(in that room, there are about 100 people sitting in chairs, waiting for who knows what, and there areen´t any signs that help us, nor a sign displaying numbers, or any numbers to take.
(in another room for North Americanas) öoh, look, Beto. I see white people!¨
(that lady there says) oh, you need to into that other room (where we just were) and read the wall with the information
After reading the wall, we decided to wait until 11 to talk to someone at window 4, like the info says.
(at 11am, window 4) ÿes, I´m here to...¨ She says, ¨Go to window 1¨
(at window 1) ÿes, we´re here to ...¨ He says, ¨Go to window 6¨
Now, in front of window 6, which is closed, there´s a long line of people that hadn´t been there ALL MORNING! So we get in to wait. After about 5 minutes, a guard approaches us...
¨what are you doing in this line? where are your papers?¨
¨Yes, we´re here to...¨and I show him the info paper I had
ÿou just need to call this number between 3 and 5. No one can help you with that today here. Theý´re too busy with all these other people. I´ll go get you the extension of the number.¨
He returns in 10 minutes. Basically, we could´ve called the embassy and gotten the info number and skipped the trip to the embassy entirely.
Now usually in a situation like this, I get very frustrated and try to stir things up to get my way, make things happen, because we need a VISA! but I even surprised myself. we did pray a lot before our visit. I am a bit disappointed, however, in our country´s way of doing things. with my passport, i can just show up at the airport and i recieve my VISA when i arrive in Honduras. why can´t it be that way for people going to the States? The paper even says that after paying for the VISA and plane ticket, that in your final destination in the States, if the officers there don´t want to recieve you, they can reject your VISA! WOW!
After that we walked about 30 minutes more until I was to tired and we took a 10 minute taxi ride to eat Arroz chino...mmmm...
At 3.30 I called the embassy and she said that all the info i need is on the paper i already had. So now we have to go to the bank, get an appointment at the embassy and pay for it there, then pray God and the embassy find favor on us.
Please pray for this process over the next few weeks, that Beto will be able to join me on my visit to meet my family. we will be together for the first time in about 4 years, and it may be the last time for another 4 years.
To conclude, last night as I was about to use the phone, I noticed a reddish worm on the floor that blended in the color of the floor. As I moved closer I noticed it has antenae and about a hundred legs, so I went to get the Raid, but it started to move and I thought it´ll be long gone by the time I get back, so I took drastic measures and had to kill it with my flip flop. I´m not sure who took more of a beating, the centipede-scorpioin thingy, or my flip flop. seeing that the flip flop is still alive to tell about it, I´d vote for him.
May you have no fear of critters in your abode.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Another Crazy day in LA...and I'm not even there!
I’m sitting here at my computer watching LIVE KTLA on cable about the kidnapping suspect on the 710 FWY. Ah, home sweet home. In a way it’s really great to be watching the story, but at the same time, does it have to be this kind of news? Long Beach, 710 FWY. I mean, I get made fun of enough here being the only Californian. My trailmix addiction doesn’t help.
This robot they’re using is so interesting. Anywho, hello everyone. I feel a little bit more conneted to you all in LA now, although in a weird way. Wow, look at all those SWAT vehicles. They’re trying to talk to the suspect with a phone from the robot, and they can see him through a camera. They had to shut down both sides of the FWY for this idiot. Boy, do I miss home! Ah but it’s kinda cool to see such a familiar place. When I lived in Watts, that was my ‘hood.
I certainly can’t say I’m surprised that this is happening.
“Maybe this guy doesn’t play by the rules because he has tinted windows and that’s illegal in California.”, says the newscaster. DER! You think?! How ‘bout the fact that he’s a kidnapping suspect and hasn’t cooperated with the SWAT team all day! That might be the first clue that he doesn’t play by the rules. “And is there pressure for the SWAT team to hurry and wrap things up?” Does she have to ask that? I mean, isnt’ that obvious? Gosh, I sure do miss intelligent news stories by people who be talkin’ the enlgish.
Sorry. I started out just “excited” to see a story from home, but now it’s become a little cynical. But I’m sure some of you will agree with me. Ray, were you stuck on the 710 when this happened? Hope not.
You know what gets me? You know on CNN, there’s the headlines that move across the bottom of the screen. Well, stories of entire villages in danger of being wiped out by disease are just an example that apparently aren’t as important as this suspect in CA. This is world healine news, on CNN! And everyone is having to hear about this mess! Ay ay ay!
This robot they’re using is so interesting. Anywho, hello everyone. I feel a little bit more conneted to you all in LA now, although in a weird way. Wow, look at all those SWAT vehicles. They’re trying to talk to the suspect with a phone from the robot, and they can see him through a camera. They had to shut down both sides of the FWY for this idiot. Boy, do I miss home! Ah but it’s kinda cool to see such a familiar place. When I lived in Watts, that was my ‘hood.
I certainly can’t say I’m surprised that this is happening.
“Maybe this guy doesn’t play by the rules because he has tinted windows and that’s illegal in California.”, says the newscaster. DER! You think?! How ‘bout the fact that he’s a kidnapping suspect and hasn’t cooperated with the SWAT team all day! That might be the first clue that he doesn’t play by the rules. “And is there pressure for the SWAT team to hurry and wrap things up?” Does she have to ask that? I mean, isnt’ that obvious? Gosh, I sure do miss intelligent news stories by people who be talkin’ the enlgish.
Sorry. I started out just “excited” to see a story from home, but now it’s become a little cynical. But I’m sure some of you will agree with me. Ray, were you stuck on the 710 when this happened? Hope not.
You know what gets me? You know on CNN, there’s the headlines that move across the bottom of the screen. Well, stories of entire villages in danger of being wiped out by disease are just an example that apparently aren’t as important as this suspect in CA. This is world healine news, on CNN! And everyone is having to hear about this mess! Ay ay ay!
Another Crazy day in LA...and I'm not even there!
I’m sitting here at my computer watching LIVE KTLA on cable about the kidnapping suspect on the 710 FWY. Ah, home sweet home. In a way it’s really great to be watching the story, but at the same time, does it have to be this kind of news? Long Beach, 710 FWY. I mean, I get made fun of enough here being the only Californian. My trailmix addiction doesn’t help.
This robot they’re using is so interesting. Anywho, hello everyone. I feel a little bit more conneted to you all in LA now, although in a weird way. Wow, look at all those SWAT vehicles. They’re trying to talk to the suspect with a phone from the robot, and they can see him through a camera. They had to shut down both sides of the FWY for this idiot. Boy, do I miss home! Ah but it’s kinda cool to see such a familiar place. When I lived in Watts, that was my ‘hood.
I certainly can’t say I’m surprised that this is happening.
“Maybe this guy doesn’t play by the rules because he has tinted windows and that’s illegal in California.”, says the newscaster. DER! You think?! How ‘bout the fact that he’s a kidnapping suspect and hasn’t cooperated with the SWAT team all day! That might be the first clue that he doesn’t play by the rules. “And is there pressure for the SWAT team to hurry and wrap things up?” Does she have to ask that? I mean, isnt’ that obvious? Gosh, I sure do miss intelligent news stories by people who be talkin’ the enlgish.
Sorry. I started out just “excited” to see a story from home, but now it’s become a little cynical. But I’m sure some of you will agree with me. Ray, were you stuck on the 710 when this happened? Hope not.
You know what gets me? You know on CNN, there’s the headlines that move across the bottom of the screen. Well, stories of entire villages in danger of being wiped out by disease are just an example that apparently aren’t as important as this suspect in CA. This is world healine news, on CNN! And everyone is having to hear about this mess! Ay ay ay!
This robot they’re using is so interesting. Anywho, hello everyone. I feel a little bit more conneted to you all in LA now, although in a weird way. Wow, look at all those SWAT vehicles. They’re trying to talk to the suspect with a phone from the robot, and they can see him through a camera. They had to shut down both sides of the FWY for this idiot. Boy, do I miss home! Ah but it’s kinda cool to see such a familiar place. When I lived in Watts, that was my ‘hood.
I certainly can’t say I’m surprised that this is happening.
“Maybe this guy doesn’t play by the rules because he has tinted windows and that’s illegal in California.”, says the newscaster. DER! You think?! How ‘bout the fact that he’s a kidnapping suspect and hasn’t cooperated with the SWAT team all day! That might be the first clue that he doesn’t play by the rules. “And is there pressure for the SWAT team to hurry and wrap things up?” Does she have to ask that? I mean, isnt’ that obvious? Gosh, I sure do miss intelligent news stories by people who be talkin’ the enlgish.
Sorry. I started out just “excited” to see a story from home, but now it’s become a little cynical. But I’m sure some of you will agree with me. Ray, were you stuck on the 710 when this happened? Hope not.
You know what gets me? You know on CNN, there’s the headlines that move across the bottom of the screen. Well, stories of entire villages in danger of being wiped out by disease are just an example that apparently aren’t as important as this suspect in CA. This is world healine news, on CNN! And everyone is having to hear about this mess! Ay ay ay!
4th Grade
Just another normal day in 4th grade. During some "downtime", but they actually look like this all the time, especially Dereck *right*, and he brought that stick to school to play baseball.
Rachel won 2nd in all of Honduras at the spelling Bee for Bilingual Schools, and she's my student! Of course,I can't take any credit, but I'm very very proud of her.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
what´ssssssssssss hhhappen´???
just some recent pictures of happenings lately. Beto in serious mode and in crazy latino mode. The latter seems to happen much more often. He led singing in church on Sunday and did a very good job. yesterday we hung out in the local mall and saw this lovely pruned bush on the way as he walked me home. it was a lot funnier in person when he´d jump up from behind like a kid trying to get a glimps into a toy store. This has been a good week so far. Last saturday I came home around 6 to find Amber reading outside , and it was getting pretty dark. There was no electricity, for whatever reason, so what else did we do but go to the mall, of course! we couldn´t even see each other the house was so dark so there wasn´t anything to do there. we just went to eat. we wanted to see a movie but were too late for the early show, and the late show is too late for us , well, for me really. i´m an old lady. This week has gone well at school. I may be adding a few more jobs into my schedule. Another teacher where I´m working now knew of an opportunity for good english speakers to teach english to adults at night, Monday through Thursday, and possibly saturday afternoons. i´m thinking about it still because it is very time consuming, along with teaching english on friday afternoons and tutoring at the school on saturday mornings. Tonight Amber and I are invited to our gringo'missionary friends´house for dinner. how exciting! Hopefully I´ll have pictures of that along with more from my wonderful 4th graders. Love you and have a wonderful day! Laura
Saturday, March 04, 2006
¨Good thing you´re pretty¨...some would say
This morning I blog just after the fact, but will post it whenever I get the chance.
This morning is Saturday, March 04, 2006, 7:29am. Hmmm…7:29. I should be waking up right about now. But somehow I accidentally set my alarm clock an hour ahead last night. It was about midnight at the time. I thought it was funny when, after I set my alarm for 7:20am, my clock read 1:01 am. But I was too tired(and dumb) to think that one doesn’t come after 11:59 on a clock.
So that leads to this morning. Enter alarm ringing at 7,er,6:20am. Gosh, I feel a little groggy. Why is it that when I have the opportunity to sleep in, I just “get up” at 6:30 (the REAL 6:30), BUT when I can’t sleep in I feel like I could’ve slept till nine.
Oh well. I got ready and entered the kitchen at 6:56 to make coffee. I even looked at the clock and when I saw the time, I thought, “Oh, good, it’s not as late as I thought.” This morning I’m meeting Beto at 8:30, so I need to leave the house at 8:15. Still, however, I’m thinking, I have a good 15 minutes to eat breakfast.
A few minutes later, I’m sitting in the living room talking with amber. I’m STARING at the clock on the VCR and FINALLY realize, it reads 7:15. Wait. 7:15? SEVEN fifteen???
? What the…?
“Amber, it’s only 7:15?”
(laughter by her) “Yup.”
“Wait. I have a whole hour till I have to leave?”
“Yea. I thought it was weird when you where going to leave an hour early to go get a taxi.”
(laughter by me) “Oh my word! You mean I have another hour till I have to leave?!”
“Yup. I thought it was funny when I told you I just automatically got up at 6:45, and you groaned, ‘oh, I’m sorry’. I’d only been up for 5 minutes at that point.”
“Yea. True.” (more laughter)
Comments are ok, but please be nice. And have a nice day. However early you may have gotten up.
This morning is Saturday, March 04, 2006, 7:29am. Hmmm…7:29. I should be waking up right about now. But somehow I accidentally set my alarm clock an hour ahead last night. It was about midnight at the time. I thought it was funny when, after I set my alarm for 7:20am, my clock read 1:01 am. But I was too tired(and dumb) to think that one doesn’t come after 11:59 on a clock.
So that leads to this morning. Enter alarm ringing at 7,er,6:20am. Gosh, I feel a little groggy. Why is it that when I have the opportunity to sleep in, I just “get up” at 6:30 (the REAL 6:30), BUT when I can’t sleep in I feel like I could’ve slept till nine.
Oh well. I got ready and entered the kitchen at 6:56 to make coffee. I even looked at the clock and when I saw the time, I thought, “Oh, good, it’s not as late as I thought.” This morning I’m meeting Beto at 8:30, so I need to leave the house at 8:15. Still, however, I’m thinking, I have a good 15 minutes to eat breakfast.
A few minutes later, I’m sitting in the living room talking with amber. I’m STARING at the clock on the VCR and FINALLY realize, it reads 7:15. Wait. 7:15? SEVEN fifteen???
? What the…?
“Amber, it’s only 7:15?”
(laughter by her) “Yup.”
“Wait. I have a whole hour till I have to leave?”
“Yea. I thought it was weird when you where going to leave an hour early to go get a taxi.”
(laughter by me) “Oh my word! You mean I have another hour till I have to leave?!”
“Yup. I thought it was funny when I told you I just automatically got up at 6:45, and you groaned, ‘oh, I’m sorry’. I’d only been up for 5 minutes at that point.”
“Yea. True.” (more laughter)
Comments are ok, but please be nice. And have a nice day. However early you may have gotten up.
Friday, March 03, 2006
TGIF
Well, it's Friday. I usually don't blog unless I have something really interesting to say, but after just reading Greg's blog, I'm inspired to use my break at school for something productive.
this week went by super fast. On Tuesday in Fourth grade I started class with prayer and the Bible verse, then told them to get out their reading books. "No, Miss! It's Wednesday! We have art!"
"Noooooooooooo", I said, "wait. Really? It's wednesday? Wow! Ok, I need to go, then." And off I went, gaining a whole day in a little less than 5 seconds. That was a nice treat.
Friday's are pretty easy going at school. Lot's of tests. And i take the school bus to Baxter in the afternoon where I teach a private english class from 4-6pm for about 4-5 married students It's pretty low-key and keeps me in touch with my friends there. They are so eager to learn and it's a lot different than teaching 4th, 7th, 8th, or 9th, because they asked ME to teach it. They really want to be there and are paying for it themselves, so they want to invest.
Problems at school...well, where do I begin? or do I even try to start? Maybe I should just write about the good things going on. Well, I love my students and am going to miss them after the year's over in June. Only about 3 more months to go. Amazing! I like that it's close to home and my schedule is very manageable. About the problems, let's jsut say I've had a couple "jerk days" with my director, as Greg blogged about recently, but honestly, I've been debating the last few days whether i truly have reason to apologize. She teaches the preschooler's to chant "SHAME ON YOU!" when one of them does something "bad". I know how that may sound, that I'm debating about saying sorry, but I feel like my words were true to her and that I can't just sit back and watch injustice be done to students and teachers. I know i need to say sorry, however, for some actions. It's so hard though when the other party is for sure at fault too, but I am reminded in my conscience that God doens't say to seek restitution if the person deserves it, or if you've been wronged too. Dang, that's a tough one!
let's just say I can't wait till June arrives, though I will miss my students a lot. I am praying now about future opportunities. This summer I plan to work with the U.S. groups that come down on short term mission trips, translating and helping build houses or whatever they need help with.
A couple days ago Beto informed me that his pastor where he's working was heading to the States and asked for my "curriculum" to present to a church, I don't know where exactly, to see if they could sponsor us. So depending on how that goes, I may be working here in Tegucigalpa at a Church of Christ downtown with women and the youth alongside Beto come this summer, for about a year or so. And I'll be able to stay in our house with Amber.
It's good to know there are other doors opening and to feel God's presence. Even when I feel lonely, depressed, frustrated, something comes through reminding me that GOD REALLY DOES LISTEN! Why is that always a revelation for me?
Now I am thinking of a ton of things to blog, but I should've written more often. I will try to make more of an effort to blog more, because little uninteresting things can be turned into good blogs.
Happy reading. Have a great weekend! and thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. Love and blessings to you all!
this week went by super fast. On Tuesday in Fourth grade I started class with prayer and the Bible verse, then told them to get out their reading books. "No, Miss! It's Wednesday! We have art!"
"Noooooooooooo", I said, "wait. Really? It's wednesday? Wow! Ok, I need to go, then." And off I went, gaining a whole day in a little less than 5 seconds. That was a nice treat.
Friday's are pretty easy going at school. Lot's of tests. And i take the school bus to Baxter in the afternoon where I teach a private english class from 4-6pm for about 4-5 married students It's pretty low-key and keeps me in touch with my friends there. They are so eager to learn and it's a lot different than teaching 4th, 7th, 8th, or 9th, because they asked ME to teach it. They really want to be there and are paying for it themselves, so they want to invest.
Problems at school...well, where do I begin? or do I even try to start? Maybe I should just write about the good things going on. Well, I love my students and am going to miss them after the year's over in June. Only about 3 more months to go. Amazing! I like that it's close to home and my schedule is very manageable. About the problems, let's jsut say I've had a couple "jerk days" with my director, as Greg blogged about recently, but honestly, I've been debating the last few days whether i truly have reason to apologize. She teaches the preschooler's to chant "SHAME ON YOU!" when one of them does something "bad". I know how that may sound, that I'm debating about saying sorry, but I feel like my words were true to her and that I can't just sit back and watch injustice be done to students and teachers. I know i need to say sorry, however, for some actions. It's so hard though when the other party is for sure at fault too, but I am reminded in my conscience that God doens't say to seek restitution if the person deserves it, or if you've been wronged too. Dang, that's a tough one!
let's just say I can't wait till June arrives, though I will miss my students a lot. I am praying now about future opportunities. This summer I plan to work with the U.S. groups that come down on short term mission trips, translating and helping build houses or whatever they need help with.
A couple days ago Beto informed me that his pastor where he's working was heading to the States and asked for my "curriculum" to present to a church, I don't know where exactly, to see if they could sponsor us. So depending on how that goes, I may be working here in Tegucigalpa at a Church of Christ downtown with women and the youth alongside Beto come this summer, for about a year or so. And I'll be able to stay in our house with Amber.
It's good to know there are other doors opening and to feel God's presence. Even when I feel lonely, depressed, frustrated, something comes through reminding me that GOD REALLY DOES LISTEN! Why is that always a revelation for me?
Now I am thinking of a ton of things to blog, but I should've written more often. I will try to make more of an effort to blog more, because little uninteresting things can be turned into good blogs.
Happy reading. Have a great weekend! and thanks for all your prayers and thoughts. Love and blessings to you all!
Monday, February 27, 2006
¡Fiesta!
these are all from a birthday party we had a couple weeks ago for two kids from Amber´s church in Mogote. We had the ¨little kids¨ over, with mac n cheese with hotdogs, and cupcakes for dessert! Aren´t they so adorable?! We got a kick out of watching them give Pooh a street style beat down! And they got prize bags afterwards. This is something Amber and I hope to keep doing in the future. I think we had just as much fun planning it and watching the kids as they did. Oh, in the foto of the kids in a group from the side, they are at our local park and they are looking across the street at a house with a live pet monkey named Poncho that hangs out on the balcony. We had fun taunting him by screaming his name. But he´s on a leash so he just ran around the balcony like crazy wishing he could join our club! He´s so cute too. Amber and I want to adopt one but they are really expensive. Any sponsors out there want to help us out?
Earthquake!
This is old news now, but this is the first time i've had time to blog about it. Last Sunday, the 19th, I woke up at 1:30am feeling the ground shake and hearing a rumble. I couldn't believe it was an earthquake. I thought i was dreaming that i was in SoCal again! I just laid there awhile, scared for a minute that there would be big aftershocks and waiting to see if Amber would come in screaming for me to save her! But when nothing else happened, I fell back asleep and forgot about it till the next day when people talked about it at school. Then I knew that I wasn't dreaming. In a weird way, it was kind of cool becuase it did make me feel at home! oh happy day! I didn't even know they had earthquakes in Honduras. I guess I shouldn't so readily admit that since I am a geography teacher. I'm supposed to know where all those plate thingy's are. It originated in Nicaragua and was felt in El Salvador too. No serious problems occured that I know of. Just something to blog about.
Roatan
Prenote: The pictures aren't in any order so if i talk about them i'm sure you'll figure out which one's are which. Sorry for the disorganization. I just put them all on at once. Roatan is the main one of the islands off the north coast of Honduras. My mom came in only for 8 hours on a cruise ship, so Beto, Amber, and I got a two day trip to see her. It would've been a 3-day trip without flying! Ok, that's enough prenoting.
a note about the pictures...Beto and Amber sitting at a table is the hotel restaurant and the scenery pictures of plants and stairs are of our hotel-beach cabins. They were so nice with a little kitchenette and big bano, and a hammock hanging outside on the porch. heavenly! It was so quiet and peaceful there. we could only hear the sounds of numerous different animals.
The night before we left for Roatan, there was a lot of cooking going on! Amber had a lot of fun making cinnamon rolls. She liked to watch them bake. Mmm…we all couldn’t wait till they were done. Beto made “Guatemalan tacos” from scratch. I got to help but you didn’t need to see any pictures of that.
We flew into Roatan Tuesday at 8am(Beto’s first flight, which is why he’s reading the emergency card) and from the plane we saw a cruise ship at dock, so we got excited and thought my mom’s ship was really early, so we took a taxi to the dock and waited for her for awhile. We saw a lot of tour busses pass us on the way to the dock and I kept looking for my mom. We weren’t allowed to enter the dock area, it was only for boat passengers. Finally someone we asked told us that another ship was coming in at 12:30pm, which is what my mom told me, and she also told me the name of her ship which was different from the one at dock at 8:30. Duh! I was just so excited I wasn’t thinking right.
So we left to go find a hotel, and then went swimming for a couple hours. At about 11am we saw a ship in the distance and we thought it was the other earlier ship leaving. Later we found out it was my mom’s ship coming in early. We didn’t get to the dock until 1 and mom and her friend Gladys had been walking around looking for us since 11:30! We just can’t win!
It was a great reunion with my mom and her friend Gladys. We rented a van to drive us around wherever we wanted to go and wait for us when we wanted to get food, get out to take pictures, and hang out on the beach. We had a great time together but it certainly wasn’t long enough. I was very sad to see my mom go but I have plans to come home for about 2 weeks in May, which isn’t too far off.
The next day, Wednesday, Beto, Amber, and I stayed in Roatan because the only plane leaves at 6pm, which we didn’t make on Tuesday night. So we had all of Wednesday to relax and have fun. We went snorkeling, which was the first time for Beto and me. It was amazing to see so much life below the ocean, so many beautiful fish, plants, and even barracudas and snakes! Yikes! We went pretty far from shore and were in the water for about 2 hours. We totally lost track of time and Amber and I came home very sunburned on our backs. Ouch! But we lived. It was a great time and I didn’t want to leave. Roatan, Even though it’s expensive, it’s quiet, relaxing and there’s so much to do there. The next day I stayed home to rest up from my vacation! No, really, I had a really gross throat infection and went to the dr., but I’m better now. I just am so thankful the mom got to come meet Beto and Amber. What a blessing!
oh dear, what...TEETH! you have!
The view from the park up near our house is 99% of the time so beautiful. This picture doesnt even begin to capture it.
Beto and I having fun at our favorite mexican restaurant. We got a lot of laughs from the workers since we were some of the only people in there this day. Oh, what a hot couple! rrrrrrr.......
Congrats, Scotty and Kelly!
My dear, old friend Scotty VanAtta got married February 18 to Kelly. Of course, neither of them are old, but Scotty and I have known each other since he was in 2nd grade and I was in 4th.
Congratulations you two! I am so happy for you and am so sad I couldn’t be at your wedding. Many blessings to you both in your new marriage! I love you guys!
Here Scotty´s making a ¨root beer float¨by drinking a vanilla shake and root beer at the same time. Delicious and nutritious, well, sort of.
Friday, February 10, 2006
working it out
On the left, Catlheen (and yes her name is spelled right), the one in the blue sweatshirt, gave a speech on how to make a salad with her "special dressing." She let everyone take turns cutting and pouring in the dressing. I was so proud of her and the class is a bunch of monkeys!
On the right the boys are playing a multiplication game. The girls played too but the boys seemed to enjoy it more, well, maybe just Brandon. You can guess who that is.
The pictures at the top are of afire we had yesterday, Thursday, in the hood. it started near the school. I was typing a test in the computer lab when i heard what i thought was hard rain, which was strange because we've not had that here in awhile and it was hot. When i opened the window i saw giant flames on the hill just across from the school and miss alina shouting at the school vans to get out. i got outta there fast, walked home, when there i heard the same thing, loud! we went outside and it was close but not too too close. the firemen were up the street and smoke and ash were everywhere, which is what catherine is "playing" in. seems horrible to be playing in ash. it all turned out to be a "controlled" fire to prepare for the hottest, driest month:El Marzo. yippee!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Wednesday
What a slow day. I thought it would never end. I only like Wednsdays because I get 8th and 9th grade out of th way right away in the morning, when usualy they are tired and still asleep, but they did pretty good today. I was so tired by the end of th day. It´s starting to warm up. March is the hottest month of the year, i hear, so it´s getting close.
today 4th grade celebrated Raquel´s bday. it was so fun and cute.Xavier´s mom made the most delicious cake Ive had in a realy long time, especially here. So good and home made. The kids tried to keep it a surprise but when they ask questions like, Do you think we have somthing going on?, to Raquel, it kind of points out that they are trying to hide something. duh. but they are kids. and were so excited. they brought coke, chips and presents. I forgot my camera again so i wanted to write about it before i forgot anything. I let them have coke and dance in the classsroom during lunch. Xavier also brought his radio and cd´s. if only getting them to bring their homework was so easy. Raquel was so sweet. She said she loved this class and was so happy to be in it, as she was twirlign around during lunch. I am glad my kids have such a sense of community and get along so well together. I think that´s why i love working with them and it outweighs the annoying times, like when i have to teach language or phonics. I admit I´m jsut as bored as them
Today after school I walked here to the internet cafe where there seems to be a mosquito convention. I walked faster than the cars, but only because they weren´t moving, because for some reason the city decided to build a huge hole in the ground smack dab in the middle of a four way intersection without lights or stop signs, and huge school busses have to pass through with other cars and the whole space can fit a medium sized truck, that´s it.
Well, tongith Amber and I are having our first adult guests over for dinner. Not that kids don´t count but they don´t feel so formal. I´m really excited to have our friends, Steve and Jeanne White. Steve is the president of Baxter. They are super sweet parent figures to us and a true blessing.
today 4th grade celebrated Raquel´s bday. it was so fun and cute.Xavier´s mom made the most delicious cake Ive had in a realy long time, especially here. So good and home made. The kids tried to keep it a surprise but when they ask questions like, Do you think we have somthing going on?, to Raquel, it kind of points out that they are trying to hide something. duh. but they are kids. and were so excited. they brought coke, chips and presents. I forgot my camera again so i wanted to write about it before i forgot anything. I let them have coke and dance in the classsroom during lunch. Xavier also brought his radio and cd´s. if only getting them to bring their homework was so easy. Raquel was so sweet. She said she loved this class and was so happy to be in it, as she was twirlign around during lunch. I am glad my kids have such a sense of community and get along so well together. I think that´s why i love working with them and it outweighs the annoying times, like when i have to teach language or phonics. I admit I´m jsut as bored as them
Today after school I walked here to the internet cafe where there seems to be a mosquito convention. I walked faster than the cars, but only because they weren´t moving, because for some reason the city decided to build a huge hole in the ground smack dab in the middle of a four way intersection without lights or stop signs, and huge school busses have to pass through with other cars and the whole space can fit a medium sized truck, that´s it.
Well, tongith Amber and I are having our first adult guests over for dinner. Not that kids don´t count but they don´t feel so formal. I´m really excited to have our friends, Steve and Jeanne White. Steve is the president of Baxter. They are super sweet parent figures to us and a true blessing.
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Book Club update
Well, I´m not much of a book club leader. I finished Blue Like Jazz in 2 days, staying up till 3am finishing it. So if you cannot stay up late, I recommend waiting till you can.
I totally enjoyed the book and will probably read it again sometime soon. It is laugh out loud hilarious and deeply thought provoking usually in the same chapter. I went through most of the people I know and couldnt think of one person who wouldnt like it for one reason or another. Whether conservative, liberal, Christian or non, democrat or republican. Let me know what you think if you do pick it up. I wrote a lot of quotes in my journal and was going to put them here but i forgot my camera. Otro dia.
I also was so excited to meet Jesus last night. Amber and i went to the hardware store and he finaly showed up after they paged him. We saw another missionary there tht Amber knows and he knows Jesus too! No seriously, he goes to the states for weeks at a time to work with churches and so speaks pretty good english. He made my day when he asked if i was from here. He said i spoke clearer and faster in spanish than amber, but she still understands ands knows a lot more than me. she does have over a year on me here. So he came over with his wife later and put up my closet and a picture hanging shelf in the living room. Good times!
To close, please pray for the school here and the director. We just finished the 2nd quarter and lost 3 students to other schools. The director is sad but worried too about it. Things are the same otherwise. My moms coming Feb.21st. I think I´ll get to see her for a good 8 hours. She´s coming with friends on a cruise that docks on a honduran island just for the day, so Amber and I are going to drive up to spend the day with her. Yea! or as they say here in Honduras, Cheque! Checkay leckay pancekay!
I totally enjoyed the book and will probably read it again sometime soon. It is laugh out loud hilarious and deeply thought provoking usually in the same chapter. I went through most of the people I know and couldnt think of one person who wouldnt like it for one reason or another. Whether conservative, liberal, Christian or non, democrat or republican. Let me know what you think if you do pick it up. I wrote a lot of quotes in my journal and was going to put them here but i forgot my camera. Otro dia.
I also was so excited to meet Jesus last night. Amber and i went to the hardware store and he finaly showed up after they paged him. We saw another missionary there tht Amber knows and he knows Jesus too! No seriously, he goes to the states for weeks at a time to work with churches and so speaks pretty good english. He made my day when he asked if i was from here. He said i spoke clearer and faster in spanish than amber, but she still understands ands knows a lot more than me. she does have over a year on me here. So he came over with his wife later and put up my closet and a picture hanging shelf in the living room. Good times!
To close, please pray for the school here and the director. We just finished the 2nd quarter and lost 3 students to other schools. The director is sad but worried too about it. Things are the same otherwise. My moms coming Feb.21st. I think I´ll get to see her for a good 8 hours. She´s coming with friends on a cruise that docks on a honduran island just for the day, so Amber and I are going to drive up to spend the day with her. Yea! or as they say here in Honduras, Cheque! Checkay leckay pancekay!
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