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Costa Rica & Guatemala were BEAUTIFUL! Oh, it was an amazing trip. If you haven't already, go check out the pictures on Facebook.

We went to the Poas volcano, Arenal, and Manuel Antonio while we were in Costa Rica. It was nice to see so many cool touristy things. We saw Arenal at night with little spurts of lava coming out... amazing!!! Being a tourist was cool for a change, it's been a while since I've gone to a country strictly to explore. We went hiking, ate out a lot, stayed in cute hotels (one of which is called "Gringo Pete's"... a hostel... not so high-end, but an adventure, nonetheless), relaxed on the beach, ate the best ceviche in the world, the list goes on. It was a great time.

Guatemala was even better, in my opinion. Costa Rica was definitely beautiful in terms of the natural sites it had to offer. But, oh man, I have never been part of such a RICH cultural experience like Antigua during La Semana Santa (Holy Week). I found this paragraph on a different website but it explains a little bit of what we saw:

"On Good Friday the streets of Antigua are covered with natural, aromatic carpets (alfombras) of flowers, pines, clover and fruits, which the residents put together and place in front of their homes. There are all kinds and shapes. Some are very long, even up to a kilometer, with colonial, Mayan, Roman or other original designs. At 3:00 A.M., preparations begin for the mock trial and sentencing of Christ. Participants dress as Roman soldiers, Pontius Pilate and other participants in the drama. At 7:00 A.M., the sculpture of Christ carrying his crucifix is moved through the carpeted main streets of Antigua on the shoulders of his worshipers until early afternoon, when the image is replaced by another of Christ being laid to rest." http://www.questconnect.org/guat_semana_santa.htm

Funny story: We rushed home Friday night from Antigua, around 5pm or something, so that we could wake up at midnight, go BACK to Antigua and see the Romans capture Jesus. We get to Antigua, have some time, and decide to get coffee at a cute little restaurant (ALL the restaurants were SO quaint!) where we proceed to chat and laugh and hang out for a while. Well, we go BACK to the town square where HUNDREDS of people are standing around and about 20 "Roman guards" are standing with their horses. We wait. We wait. We wait. Finally, I ask one of the Roman guards when it's going to start and he's like, "Ummm, we already did it, you missed it." We're bummed. So bummed. We're bummed. THEN I realize that there are Guatemaltecos with Roman outfits and HORSES!!! So, someone tells them it's my birthday and I march around on a "Roman" horse in the middle of the town park, in front of a huge Cathedral, and 100s of people with a "Roman" guard. What fun!

Anyways, we spent the rest of our trip shopping, enjoying the processions, looking at the carpets, and having a great time!

And, in the end, after all of these GREAT experiences, and after seeing so many beautiful places, I have decided that... Honduras is STILL my favorite! I was so happy to get back home. And I feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful place with such beautiful people! Yay.

Lately I've just been doing school and going to the Children's Center, etc. I have a black eye right now from a very entertaining and exciting game of soccer yesterday. Tomorrow I'll be travelling to Tegucigalpa to visit with the TPS team there. Thankfully, I've found several friends to accompany me. It'll be a fun little mini-trip. Until later...

fuero de si.

There are SO many fireflies out tonight [side note: every time I try to type the word fireflies, it comes out as "flierflies" first...] it's beautiful!

Today was a little bit of a crazy day but is nothing compared to tomorrow! I had the usual classes, with just Michaila right now because Sammey is in the States, from 8-12pm. Lunch, laundry, & cleaning consumed me until EFL (English as a Foreign Language) at the bilingual school at 2pm. I'm SO proud of the students that are coming from the Children's Center. EVERY time I'm over there, without fail, at LEAST 3 of them want to practice their memory verse with me. And their studiousness paid off today in class.

[Fun Fact: After ESL... EFL... whatever, Gabe and Hannah tried to dump Zuko on Oscar and I. They um... succeeded, but not without consequence! So, I came home and had to take a Zuko shower in the middle of the day today. Haha, it was kind of hilarious. And, sticky. For those gringos that don't know what Zuko is it's... like, Tang or Kool-Aid or whatever other sticky drink mix exists out there.]

After EFL, I did some more studying of English with my friend Deibyn. Then we went to the Children's Center where I played with the yitty bitty ones for about an hour. THEN I came home and Joelle, Louis, Stelle, Julia, and I ate dinner. After which, Julia, Stelle, and I proceeded to dance to Abba. Soon after, we were welcoming videographers with open arms... NOT! One of the guys from the ENT team came up with his camera thinking we would just exploit ourselves like that, never! What happens in a girls' dance party STAYS there.

And, I won a game of Nerts. So there you go!

Tomorrow I'll be teaching in Lucinda, classes with Michaila, classes with Ben, birthday party, packing, cleaning, more laundry. I'd rather not think about it right now. I'm going to go switch my laundry. You probably won't hear from me until I get back from Guatemala. So, until then, que tengan una buena Semana Santa!

Photo-Op!

I've decided that today and tomorrow I'm going to FORCE myself to carry my camera around and take pictures! I've been such a weeny about it and NOW IS THE TIME FOR CHANGE!!!

So, expect to see some pictures of my "daily life" soon. And, if you don't, give me a virtual slap in the face for being a slacker!

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!