Well, the month of travel has arrived! There are SO many people going in & out right now because of Visa trips. And, soon, it will be my turn. Costa Rica, here I come!

I did take my attempted trip to Roatan to visit Monica's parents, Rob & Mandy. And, to no avail! Their cruise ship didn't dock because of the wind so I just went, had lunch, looked around at some shops, and then made my way back. It was a definite disappointment but, what can ya do?

On Friday I went to Rio Esteban to have dinner. There's a guy here, Lorenzo, who works in the bodega next to the Cabildo (where we have our classes). Anyway, his aunt has a beautiful little restaurant in Rio Esteban RIGHT on the beach. So, I went there on Friday with the Fields, the Kesslers, and a couple who's visiting the Kesslers right now, Joe & Eileen. We had a great time! It's probably my favorite Honduran restaurant. The food was excellent, the view amazing, and Rosa treated us like family, it was a very special time.

I will be VERY sad when Carrie Kessler leaves. Carrie is one of the nurses working here and she'll be returning to the States soon to study for some... nursing thing. So, on Thursday I'm having a little 'Going-Away Get-Together' for her. Her and I are very much kindred spirits. Carrie has the most carefree outlook on life and I can't think of a more loving, and refreshing person to be around than her. I'd consider myself very blessed if I grew up to be even a little bit like her.

Other than that-this weekend has consisted of multiple attempts to go to the waterfall, and finally, success last night. Saturday we were hoping to go after we got home from Ceiba. We went to the dump in the morning, and came back at around noontime. Unfortunately we couldn't make the waterfall happen on Saturday so, I went to the Children's Center, played with the kids and played a little soccer (I can't believe I actually enjoy it now.). Then, we had dinner at Renee's house... DELICIOUS!

Sunday-after church, I spent some time in the hospital with Luis (8yrs old). I feel so bad for the poor guy. He's been bloated with really bad stomach pains for a while now and they can't seem to figure out what's wrong with him. So, I took my blender to the hospital and made him some licuados. Then, we went for a teensy weensy walk outside. I think he really enjoyed getting out. Today I'm going to try to get together a group from the Children's Center to come and visit him. He could use the company. He seems bored. If I was stuck in a hospital room with two infants, I probably would be too. But, he has a great attitude and the little things put a VERY big smile on his face so seeing some of his friends is probably going to be very exciting. I hope it works out.

Today, we have classes until 12pm, preschool 2-4, Children's Center and attempted trip to visit Luis 4-6, Acts bible study 7:30pm. It'll be a full day. But, a good one!

(Pictures are a. me on the ferry to Roatan, b. Carrie at the restaurant in Rio Esteban on her birthday [not the time that we went Friday])

Mt. 22:37-40

Hmm, February 12th was the last update. What has happened since then?

Well-Valentines Day was such fun! We sure know how to celebrate around here. Staff housing made a feast for lunch, took a trip to Ceiba, and then made ANOTHER feast and watched a movie. I woke up in the morning with the delivery of breakfast-in-bed... heart-shaped banana pancakes, por supuesto. Thanks, Julia! (No, that doesn't say John or James or Jose... don't get any ideas!)

Another new development has been the ever-growing love of mine for the kids at the Children's Center. I have been spending almost every spare moment there and becoming more and more attached with each smiling face, each spurt of laughter. I absolutely love them. They make my heart warm, they make me smile, every cliche saying that expresses happiness is what they do to me. And, honestly, I'm not sure how they do it or why all of the sudden. But, I do know that I'm overwhelmed.

It's almost the same as my ever-growing love for Dr. Bob. Julia, Estelle, and I visit him regularly at the hospital and now I have gotten to the point where if I go too long without visiting him I immediately notice and can't wait until the next chance I have to get to the hospital and chat his ear off and read to him and sing to him and, love him.

One of my favorite little boys at the Children's Center, Kevin, may be leaving soon. He's got the roundest, plumpest cheeks you've ever seen. With that 2-yr. old mischievous cuteness about him, I'm not sure how anyone could resist his sly smiles and self-imposed authority. This week they will go to court with his family to see if they're ready to have him back. I want the best for Kevin, I honestly do. And, I realize that being with a healthy family is the best. But, I will definitely miss hearing "E mio!" and "Adio" and "Mi patos!". Please pray that the Lord would give this judge discernment while deciding what's best for Kevin.

Tonight we had Mrs. Zina over for dinner. Julia, Estelle, and Joelle did an AWESOME job of cooking a feast for the queen of Loma de Luz. In the meantime, I was in my spanish class until 6pm, had to go to Lucinda to get a new chimbo and then, of course, had to stop by the Children's Center to see Kevin for a bit. However, when I finally did arrive to dinner, I got over the feeling of guilt that they had waited for me and we heard so many great stories about Italy, Mrs. Zina's parents' salvation, Dr. Bob, and more. She had us go around the table and tell what we want to do after we leave. I told her I want to major in TESL and that's when we heard that her parents were saved through taking classes by a Christian lady who taught them English as a Second Language. Imagine that! Seriously, it was a real encouragement and definite confirmation of the validity of the passion the Lord has given me.

As for my learning Spanish-WOW. I have a bittersweet relationship with Spanish now. I no longer want to speak it every second, that's for sure. I've gotten to the point where I've almost learned all the verb tenses so, in mid-conversation, it's getting harder & harder to pull the right one of my head and push it out of my mouth. While I no longer want to speak it every second, I seem to want to study it every second. In fact, tonight when I decided to write this that's exactly what I had to pull myself away from. I've been translating the book of Acts from Spanish to English, memorizing(ed) Mt. 22:37-40, doing exercises in the book, etc.

In summary my spare time looks something like this: Children's Center, cooking & cleaning, visiting Dr. Bob, and studying Spanish, in no exact order.

Hope this update finds you all well. Please keep in touch!

Well, I'm just a fountain overflowing with exciting news.

March might end up being the best month of my life... Okay, a bit dramatic but, it's gonna be good. In March I'll start helping teach English at the public school in Lucinda and at the bilingual school. Both very exciting opportunities for me!

It's almost as if God is like sovereign and knows what's on my heart, knows the path of my future, and wants to guide me every step of the way, huh, weird. I feel like maybe I've read that somewhere or something.

Also, in March, I'm going to Costa Rica. Enough said-but I'll say more. I'm REALLY excited to have a little break, travel, be a tourist (huh, what? ew!). Really, I just think it's going to be a fun trip. SPRING BREAK! (I won't mention the fact that the next week, everyone's going to Guatemala while I do school :( ... oops!)

So there you have it- March.

February's turning out to be quite a winner too, actually. It's been just relaxing and everything's back in its place finally. The only complaint I have is that time's flying TOO fast.

Also, PRAISE GOD! He has been faithful (big shocker, I know) to provide the funds for me. I now only have $275 to raise. I'm just so ecstatic. And, SO grateful for all the support. Raising support has been (I'm giving myself permission to talk about it in past tense because I have no doubts that God can and will continue to provide the rest) the most FRUSTRATING and STRESSFUL and REWARDING and POWERFUL and overall bitterSWEET experience. I continuously got discouraged about that lingering dollar amount and God has pulled through over and over again. Glory to Him!

He is faithful.

It seems as if I'm faithful to always forget that He's faithful. Thankfully, He's faithful to remind me.

Short & Sweet

Well, I had an awesome birthday. I felt very loved & very at home.

The weekend of my birthday we had a family, the Faulls, visiting that used to serve here at Loma de Luz for 8 yrs. I really enjoyed meeting and fellowshipping with all of them. They're very sweet people with an obvious heart for the Lord and for the Hondurans. I felt blessed to be able to celebrate my birthday with them.

On Wednesday, we had our last English class. The students did their final projects which were small skits in English and took their tests. I haven't heard the grades, yet, from Cinthya but I trust those who did well were the ones who worked hard and those who didn't will hopefully continue to pursue learning English.

I'm thinking and praying about starting another beginner's class as the primary teacher. I definitely think it would be a good experience for me, but first I'd like to find someone who might want to partner with me in teaching; possibly even a Honduran who's already taken the class. I guess we'll see. You can all partner in praying with me about that. Thanks!

I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Tomorrow we're going to a waterfall in Lucinda that I've never been to before. So, that's exciting, not relaxing, I guess, but exciting... and fun.

Hasta luego!

It's Always Good News

Thursday is here! Have you ever heard someone say, "Thank God, it's Thursday."? I don't think so. Well, I DO thank God it's Thursday. Because, Thursday means tomorrow's Friday so just one more day until I can "thank God it's Friday"!

This week has gone by quite smoothly. Sammey did make a nice transition back into class. She seems to have really improved in both math and spelling, somehow, someway, over break. I'm very proud of her. She's catching onto mixed fractions like a PRO! Michaila ranked at an 11.7 spelling level. This means that she spells like someone who is 7 months into their junior year of high school! For a 6th grade, not so bad! I would actually make a bet that she is better at spelling than a few people in Staff Housing... not going to name any names, though.

The Faull girls are in town. They are the "phantom family". The family that I haven't STOPPED hearing about since I got here but have yet (or had yet, as of yesterday) to meet. They're just as fun and sweet as everyone said they are and we enjoyed having them, the Mckenney boys (Gabe & Nate), the Ward girl (Sammey & Sydney) and Renee over at Staff Housing last night to play Balderdash! I lost, miserably.

The Fields got back yesterday. Slowly but surely things are getting back to normal with the periodic arrivals of the last few families. I think the next one due is the Rumbaughs on like the 23rd and that should be the last of us!

I may start my OWN English class! Pray Pray Pray. I would LOVE to teach a class and get really excited just thinking about it. Right now, it is just a tentative opportunity. I'm hoping for the best, hoping for His will.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers regarding support. I have $1000 more to raise in order to finish my year here. As my faithful blog readers, I hope you realize how much I love it here and how much God is showing me of Himself. I ask that you be praying that the Lord would provide and be listening in the case that He might be putting it on your heart to support my mission here. I will keep you updated as support comes in.

God bless you all! (Picture posted: the champion speller!)

Well, I'm back in Honduras! I had a pretty hectic trip here. Flew from Norfolk to Newark to San Pedro with Continental and everything worked like clockwork. Once I arrived in San Pedro I boarded the Hedman Alas (bus) for La Ceiba with two friends that I met up with in the airport. It was raining from the minute the plane landed so once we were picked up in Ceiba and started to drive to Balfate about 2/3 of the way in, we came to the "Plancha". The "Plancha" is where the road dips and, during rainy season, fills with water. When we got there at about 7:30pm, it was pretty high and there was even a current so we decided to turn back. We stayed the night in Ceiba that night, left in the morning, and when we re-arrived to the Plancha it was still kind of high. After waiting it out a few hours, we decided to go ahead and cross following two buses (the thought is that if you go behind buses, they pack down the sand for you). We got through fine but the truck following us got stuck and the passengers were a former MK of Loma de Luz and her boyfriend so, we asked the driver of a tractor to go and pull them out. It worked fine and we were FINALLY on our way! (To the right is a picture of the plancha on Monday-after it had gone down significantly.)

When I arrived at Staff Housing I had a not-so-pleasant surprise awaiting me. Some jokesters thought it would be funny to move all of my stuff into Louis' room and vice versa... ok, they were right, it was pretty funny. But, I spent the rest of the day moving stuff around and getting myself unpacked, watched a soccer game in the rain, and ate curry at Renee's! It was a good arrival all-in-all.

One week has passed since I got home. I haven't had much to do because most of my students are out of town so I only worked with Michaila this week. It was kind of fun having plenty of time to do school and goof off with her. A good transition back into the "daily grind". This week will prove more challenging as we work Sammey back into the schoolroom for the 1st time in over a month. But, we'll be glad to have her back and everything will work out once we get used to it, again.

I also had a really great week outside of the classroom. Monday I didn't do school because I had to go to Ceiba to go grocery shopping and get money out of the ATM for rent. I had a really good time finally being in La Ceiba stress-free. Wednesday we had two guys from Lucinda over for dinner. We ate egg burritos and laughed a lot and I got in some solid Spanish practice. Thursday we took Andrew (Louis' visitor friend) to the waterfall "Bejucal"... as a matter of fact, it was my frist time too! But, it was a little cold for me so, I just hung out in the hot springs and tried to make as little contact with the cold water as possible. Last night, on pretty short notice on my part, we all packed into the Mckenney's land cruiser and went to La Ceiba to see Avatar... it wasn't too awful! I was expecting to hate but, to be honest, I was kind of enchanted by the their cool little forest. I want someone to make an Avatar playground now... haha.

Well, signing off. Today I plan to do what I want when I want and not try to make myself too productive... isn't that what Saturdays are for?! ;) Wait, I guess I ruined that idea by updating my blog! Wink wink.

Lord Unto Me

I recently was scolded for my infrequent posting habits. I'm here to remedy that.

Right now I'm back in good ol' Chesapeake. I'm really enjoying this time to catch up with friends, relax with family, and get into the Christmas spirit.

Everybody warns you before you travel to a foreign country about "culture shock". I, personally, don't feel I've ever really experienced that in foreign countries, mostly just when I come back home from a trip to a foreign country. America is certainly an unusual place compared to the rest of the world. Infused with culture, yet culture-less. Organized chaos, civilized primitivism. Yes, an unusual place indeed.

I suppose the truth of the matter is that Honduras is not really a "foreign" country to me anymore. Before I came here, when I was talking about Chesapeake, I used the phrase "back home" preceding everything. I find that here in Chesapeake, when I'm talking about Honduras, I use the same phrase. Both places feel very much like home. And, I feel very blessed to be able to broaden my horizons in such a way that two very different places can both give me the feeling of contentedness and belonging.

Being back home has forced me to take a good, long look at the last 3 months and evaluate what has happened. Which, if you pay attention, is in fact very odd. When you're in high school and Christmas season comes do you take time to think about how you've changed since school started and what you've learned and what your favorite thing was? Pienso que no. But, when you've been living in Honduras and you come home and have to come up with an answer to all of those questions for nearly everyone you come in contact with-you have to come up with something. Therefore, I've spent a lot of thought on this review of my life in Honduras, (Yes, that's what's going on when I'm "umm"ing and "ahhh"ing after each question.) and here's what I've concluded (thus far).

I think that a good way to summarize the last 3 months would be with this:

"The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures."

Those three lines hit the nail on the head. Since I moved to Honduras the Lord has been my Shepherd. He has guided me, cared for me, and provided for me. In every situation, He is the One that I look to so that I don't get lost, the One I look to for protection.

And, I've found that life in Honduras has left me without any "wants". Everything I need, and want, he has provided. (All I have needed, Thy hand hath provided. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.) I find this ironic because before moving to Honduras I was consumed with thoughts and preparations so that, once I got there, I would not be wanting of anything. As it turns out, God knows far better than I what the 'essentials' are. And, they are not a certain brand of face wash, cute clothes, or my favorite kinds of food. They are things that can only be given by His hand: edifying fellowship, loving relationships, a joyful spirit, etc.

Then there's that last sentence:

"He makes me lie down in green pastures." Oh, does He ever. Not only does the Lord guide me, not only does He provide for me, but He makes me happy. I know, it's not "Christianese" and not even a word that most Christians would use in relation to something God would give us as a gift. We much prefer the word, "joy". And, I understand, because I also have had times in my life that God has given me GREAT joy. Right now is even one of those times. But, I consider joy something that we have in all circumstances as Christians. I am filled with great joy even when experiencing strong suffering. However, what I've been given regarding life in Honduras... is happiness. I love where I live, I love the people I'm around, I love what I do. I'm just happy about my life. I have a lot of fun. So, God doesn't just provide for my every need and respond faithfully to my every cry, He makes me lie down in green pastures. He has brought me to a lush place that fulfills my needs and my wants, a place where I have joy and happiness.

I am truly blessed.