On Saturdays there isn't any circle, so we headed to the little girls' house to help them get dressed and have breakfast. During breakfast Alina's stomach wasn't feeling so well (don't worry, it was very temporary this time) so the other volunteer, Samantha, went to get her some medicine and Alina went home to rest while we served breakfast. I checked in with Alina after the dining hall was cleaned. After about an hour or so, she was feeling better, so we headed out on a walk. On our way we saw Esau, a member of the California group that had just arrived. He has been here every year since the year of the chicken pox (he helped out a great deal with the plumbing issues at the clinic that year and also got me some extra help with caring for all of the children with chicken pox). I introduced him to Alina and then we continued on our way.
While chatting with Alina at Emmanuel's snack shop, I got to meet Elizabeth's dad. He suffers from vertigo, so had been in the house resting up until this point...but now was walking with his wife and their suitcases which were full of...peanut butter sandwiches! They had made over 100 of them to take to the medium boys' house for lunch and were stopping by the snack shack to buy a bunch of 3-liter (yep, you heard that right...not 2L like we're used to) bottles of soda. They also bought a bunch of additional snacks (chips?). They asked if Alina & I would be willing to carry them to the medium boys house and we said, "Sure," but by the time all was packed up and ready to be carried, there were some bigger boys that were happy to help out, and there was nothing left for Alina & I to carry.
Alina & I went to the little girls' house to help serve lunch and clean up and then we met Samantha at the girls' volunteer house and headed over to the team house because Samantha had heard that the gift shop would be open. We met Julieth and Veronica in the gazebo at the team house and they said that the shop would be opened until tomorrow. Samantha headed back to her house to clean, but Alina & I stayed and chatted with Julieth and Veronica for about an hour. When we were finished we headed back home and had a good chat with Kimberly about the book she was reading. I decided to wash the bedding so that it would be clean for when Bob came (with Alina's illnesses while here and Bob's weak immune system, I didn't want to take a chance that he might get sick). When I hung the wet bedding on the clothes line out back, I accidentally stepped on a mucky hole and a huge toad jumped out. Good thing toads rarely scare me!
For supper at the little girls' house, they served toasted tortillas with a bean/beef mixture spread onto it and then a crumbled, salty cheese sprinkled over the top. Each child got 2 of these and they were very good! We made sure the girls got their showers and then headed home to make a call back to the States. Andres was the only one home, but I really did enjoy talking to him for a while about what was all going on with him.
After the chat with Andres, I began to make guacamole for Zue. Tonight is Brandy's last night before heading to the States for a few weeks. Brandy wanted to have a birthday party for Zue & Zue wanted to throw a going away party for Brandy. It's and awesome friendship between the two. Brandy has been here for a couple of years and last year a baby came to the orphanage. David & Lydia had told Brandy that this baby may be available for adoption due to her circumstances. Brandy immediately took the baby (named Lydia) in as her own with hopes to adopt Lydia down the road. Brandy has never been away from Lydia, so this trip back home was worrying her just a little bit. Please keep Brandy in your prayers, for courage and strength while she is gone away from her daughter. An amazing note to Brandy's trip though, is that her dad may be coming back to Honduras with her to visit Lydia!
We (Kimberly & I) had a great time with Zue & Brandy. Alina was at with the big girls watching movies and I had left the apartment door unlocked, so when Kimberly & I came back from the party, Alina had already put herself to bed and was sleeping. She did let me know later that she heard the rat scurrying around the kitchen while she was in bed and was a little afraid to come out of the bedroom!
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Friday, August 9, 2013
A Big Surprise at the End of the Day
This morning there wasn't the usual big circle that happens on Fridays. We headed in the direction that the big circle generally is and heard our little girls in their house yet, so stopped up to the house to see what was up. Apparently they canceled big circle last night. So after the little girls got up & dressed, they went to the sala to have a little circle and then watch some movies as they waited for breakfast. This morning once again they had oatmeal, but there was a lot more grains than normal in the oatmeal, making it about 1/2 as thick as we eat it in the U.S.
The elementary school was closed today, so just the bigger girls needed to be walked to school. Kimberly, Alina & I headed into town with 3 other female volunteers (Samantha, Anna & Leslie) so that the other volunteers could get some supplies/groceries for the next few weeks. I had my own list (sent by Bob) as well as getting cards to add minutes to my phone so that I could call home. It is most reasonable to buy a phone down here ($20-$35) and then get minutes than to bring your American cell phone & plan down this way to call back up to the States. With the Honduran plan, it costs about 5 cents a minute to call back home! Since I had such a big list of items to purchase for this coming Tuesday (I'll keep that a secret until we get to that day's blog), Samantha & Alina helped by carrying some of the bags back.
When we got back to Emmanuel, I put all of the purchases away before heading to the little girls' house once again. The little girls were out in the yard, so I took the opportunity to chat with the bigger girls of the house. Daniela was struggling with her English project. She needed to choose which character of the Bible she would like to "become" and then answer a number of questions about this character of the Bible. She told me that all of the people she wanted to be were taken by her classmates...so then she asked me if I could be anyone in the Bible, who would I be? I told her I'd have to think about that and I'd let her know after supper. We ate supper and then gave baths, and then I was ready to reply to Daniela. Here's what I said:
If I could be anyone in the Bible, I would most likely choose to be Leah. Daniela had never heard of Leah! So we looked up her story in Genesis 29-30. Leah was not anything special in terms of beauty, we could think of her as a plain-Jane...perhaps not even that good looking (Gen. 29:17). Jacob fell in love with Rachel due to her physical beauty. So Jacob asks for Rachel's hand, works 7 years for her father Laban and then on the wedding day, Laban gives him Leah as a wife saying that it is customary to give the older child first. Imagine Leah & what's supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life, and when Jacob discovers that he has been deceived...how his expression changes from pure joy (having thought he was marrying Rachel) to...anger, disgust, repulsion, frustration, deception, etc when he realizes he didn't get the woman he had longed for. Feel for a moment what Leah would have felt. Then Jacob is so determined to get Rachel that he works another 7 years...so Leah is not "good enough" as a wife...and she knows that Jacob is putting in all that time to get the wife he really wants, which is NOT HER.
Okay, now after all of the earthly misery, here's what God did in Leah's life -
Leah was the first to bear children for Jacob, in fact she bore Jacob 4 sons before anything came through Rachel's line! Due to the names of these sons, you know that Leah was suffering in an earthly way, feeling very unloved by her husband, for the bible says:
Leah because pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the Lord," So she named him Judah. (Gen.29:32-35)
Now, let's process that last sentence and how great our God is...the first chapter of Matthew gives the lineage of Jesus. You only have to read Matthew 1:1-3 to discover that Jesus came from Judah, son of Jacob. God richly blessed Leah, who was unloved by her husband, by sending His Son through her!!! Leah never knew here on earth that she would be the ancestor of the Most High, she never knew how God would bless her & what an amazing blessing it was!
Daniela decided immediately that she wanted to work on Leah's story. I let her know that if she needed any other help, just to let me know. While we were discussing the story, Dulce moved into the little girls' house. She is a big girl that was helping out over with the medium girls and I'm not sure yet why she came this way, but I do know her fairly well & her name (which means "sweet" in English) completely fits her personality and character! She'll be a great addition to the home.
Alina & I called home briefly to talk with everyone and then watched a movie with the big girls. When we came home and opened the door, I heard noise in the kitchen. We went to the kitchen but didn't see anything. I moved a few things around, certain that I had heard the mouse...but nothing happened. I went to the bedroom to put my purse on the dresser (where I normally keep it) and when I walked back into the kitchen, Alina was frozen in place staring at the top corner of our kitchen (above the cupboards) and she said "There's the mouse." I didn't see anything and she said it's tail is dangling from that hole in the corner, too afraid to point. I looked up and saw a tail...it wasn't a mouse - it was a RAT and a BIG ONE!!!
Aaaaaaahhhhhhh....that's Honduras.
The elementary school was closed today, so just the bigger girls needed to be walked to school. Kimberly, Alina & I headed into town with 3 other female volunteers (Samantha, Anna & Leslie) so that the other volunteers could get some supplies/groceries for the next few weeks. I had my own list (sent by Bob) as well as getting cards to add minutes to my phone so that I could call home. It is most reasonable to buy a phone down here ($20-$35) and then get minutes than to bring your American cell phone & plan down this way to call back up to the States. With the Honduran plan, it costs about 5 cents a minute to call back home! Since I had such a big list of items to purchase for this coming Tuesday (I'll keep that a secret until we get to that day's blog), Samantha & Alina helped by carrying some of the bags back.
When we got back to Emmanuel, I put all of the purchases away before heading to the little girls' house once again. The little girls were out in the yard, so I took the opportunity to chat with the bigger girls of the house. Daniela was struggling with her English project. She needed to choose which character of the Bible she would like to "become" and then answer a number of questions about this character of the Bible. She told me that all of the people she wanted to be were taken by her classmates...so then she asked me if I could be anyone in the Bible, who would I be? I told her I'd have to think about that and I'd let her know after supper. We ate supper and then gave baths, and then I was ready to reply to Daniela. Here's what I said:
If I could be anyone in the Bible, I would most likely choose to be Leah. Daniela had never heard of Leah! So we looked up her story in Genesis 29-30. Leah was not anything special in terms of beauty, we could think of her as a plain-Jane...perhaps not even that good looking (Gen. 29:17). Jacob fell in love with Rachel due to her physical beauty. So Jacob asks for Rachel's hand, works 7 years for her father Laban and then on the wedding day, Laban gives him Leah as a wife saying that it is customary to give the older child first. Imagine Leah & what's supposed to be one of the happiest days of her life, and when Jacob discovers that he has been deceived...how his expression changes from pure joy (having thought he was marrying Rachel) to...anger, disgust, repulsion, frustration, deception, etc when he realizes he didn't get the woman he had longed for. Feel for a moment what Leah would have felt. Then Jacob is so determined to get Rachel that he works another 7 years...so Leah is not "good enough" as a wife...and she knows that Jacob is putting in all that time to get the wife he really wants, which is NOT HER.
Okay, now after all of the earthly misery, here's what God did in Leah's life -
Leah was the first to bear children for Jacob, in fact she bore Jacob 4 sons before anything came through Rachel's line! Due to the names of these sons, you know that Leah was suffering in an earthly way, feeling very unloved by her husband, for the bible says:
Leah because pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now." She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Because the Lord heard that I am not loved, He gave me this one too." So she named him Simeon. Again she conceived, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "Now at last my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." So he was named Levi. She conceived again, and when she gave birth to a son she said, "This time I will praise the Lord," So she named him Judah. (Gen.29:32-35)
Now, let's process that last sentence and how great our God is...the first chapter of Matthew gives the lineage of Jesus. You only have to read Matthew 1:1-3 to discover that Jesus came from Judah, son of Jacob. God richly blessed Leah, who was unloved by her husband, by sending His Son through her!!! Leah never knew here on earth that she would be the ancestor of the Most High, she never knew how God would bless her & what an amazing blessing it was!
Daniela decided immediately that she wanted to work on Leah's story. I let her know that if she needed any other help, just to let me know. While we were discussing the story, Dulce moved into the little girls' house. She is a big girl that was helping out over with the medium girls and I'm not sure yet why she came this way, but I do know her fairly well & her name (which means "sweet" in English) completely fits her personality and character! She'll be a great addition to the home.
Alina & I called home briefly to talk with everyone and then watched a movie with the big girls. When we came home and opened the door, I heard noise in the kitchen. We went to the kitchen but didn't see anything. I moved a few things around, certain that I had heard the mouse...but nothing happened. I went to the bedroom to put my purse on the dresser (where I normally keep it) and when I walked back into the kitchen, Alina was frozen in place staring at the top corner of our kitchen (above the cupboards) and she said "There's the mouse." I didn't see anything and she said it's tail is dangling from that hole in the corner, too afraid to point. I looked up and saw a tail...it wasn't a mouse - it was a RAT and a BIG ONE!!!
Aaaaaaahhhhhhh....that's Honduras.
Thursday, August 8, 2013
A Day at the Playground
Once again, today was a pretty "normal" day. Woke up and had my devotional time with God, followed by heading the the little girls' house for circle devotions & breakfast, and then walking them to school. The girls seemed to be ready for school earlier than normal this morning. Alina came with me once again to my classes this morning. She read another page in a book out loud along with the students. One of my 6th grade classes was not able to come down for reading time because the teacher's schedule didn't allow for it this morning. Our classes only meet once a week, so they'll have to wait for next week in order to participate once again. I walked with the girls to their dining hall when the morning session of classes was over. Here at the orphanage when you walk anywhere, your children should be in a nice, straight line. This has really been a challenge with the little girls, but it's a work in progress.
After lunch, Alina & I walked back to school once again before heading to the apartment for just a little bit. The girls are in school from about 1:00-2:30. Before going to pick the girls up from school, I took Alina to the snack shack for an ice cream cone. They had replaced their flavors since the power outage on Sunday, so both Alina & I decided on chocolate cones. After eating them, we went to pick up the girls from school, passing the lines of boys walking to their homes. I only know a few of them, but gave them high fives as we passed.
When we picked up the girls we headed to the playground at the school, since there wasn't the ensenanza devotional study this afternoon. The girls played for about an hour while I chatted with Doris and interacted with a bunch of little girls. Just like in our own families, there are fights that break out all the time. Imagine how often your children argue in a day and then multiply that by about 15-20 (since there are around 35 girls in the house). One girl came up to me at the playground crying very hard and showed me her back while she said that another girl bit her. It was already very swollen and turning black & blue. I brought the two girls over to Pamelita and asked if she could handle that, since it was a little more serious than the arguments I was used to handling. After I turned them over to Pamelita, Elizabeth (one of the staff here) came biking down the trail to the playground and Pamelita sent them to her.
When playground time was up, we headed back to the house to have supper. The tia (that's what they call the cook) made the girls tortillas filled with beans and butter that was home-made from the farm. This is the first time we've had tortillas in the little girls house this year. Last year it was practically a daily thing, but I guess they've been out of flour for a while. The tortillas were delicious!
After supper comes bath time, and after the girls were all bathed, I spent an hour chatting with Elizabeth before heading home. Her parents and brother arrived from Washington State yesterday, so prayers for a healthy stay here would be much appreciated. Alina stayed with the big girls watching a movie while I went home for the evening.
After lunch, Alina & I walked back to school once again before heading to the apartment for just a little bit. The girls are in school from about 1:00-2:30. Before going to pick the girls up from school, I took Alina to the snack shack for an ice cream cone. They had replaced their flavors since the power outage on Sunday, so both Alina & I decided on chocolate cones. After eating them, we went to pick up the girls from school, passing the lines of boys walking to their homes. I only know a few of them, but gave them high fives as we passed.
When we picked up the girls we headed to the playground at the school, since there wasn't the ensenanza devotional study this afternoon. The girls played for about an hour while I chatted with Doris and interacted with a bunch of little girls. Just like in our own families, there are fights that break out all the time. Imagine how often your children argue in a day and then multiply that by about 15-20 (since there are around 35 girls in the house). One girl came up to me at the playground crying very hard and showed me her back while she said that another girl bit her. It was already very swollen and turning black & blue. I brought the two girls over to Pamelita and asked if she could handle that, since it was a little more serious than the arguments I was used to handling. After I turned them over to Pamelita, Elizabeth (one of the staff here) came biking down the trail to the playground and Pamelita sent them to her.
When playground time was up, we headed back to the house to have supper. The tia (that's what they call the cook) made the girls tortillas filled with beans and butter that was home-made from the farm. This is the first time we've had tortillas in the little girls house this year. Last year it was practically a daily thing, but I guess they've been out of flour for a while. The tortillas were delicious!
After supper comes bath time, and after the girls were all bathed, I spent an hour chatting with Elizabeth before heading home. Her parents and brother arrived from Washington State yesterday, so prayers for a healthy stay here would be much appreciated. Alina stayed with the big girls watching a movie while I went home for the evening.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Alina Begins 'God Time'
Alina & I are part of a Mommy-Daughter devotional group called Secret Keeper Girl (SKG). This group began about a year ago and is a way for moms of 'tweens (8-12 year olds) to connect with their daughters while daughter still look to their moms for guidance...before they hit those potentially rebellious teen years! For more information, feel free to visit Dannah Gresh's (founder) website for Secret Keeper Girls at http://secretkeepergirl.com/ . We are going through Dannah's two books, each of which contain 8 great mommy-daughter dates. We are currently on Date #7 of the friendship book which involves a date with God and shows girls how to have that quality time with Him. Although I accidentally left the SKG guide and daughter diary at home (hoping Bob will bring it on Monday when he comes down here), I did show Alina how to spend time in God's Word. There are a few good websites for devotions for kids that I had found (until the SKG devotions come down)...they are:
1. Truth For Kids - This site has a daily devotion for kids, or you can search by topic. http://www.truthforkids.com/kids-devotions-online/#.UgN8fNK1GE2
2. Kids 4 Truth - This site has 2 daily devotions that kids can choose from. http://kids4truth.com/Devos/Home.aspx
3. Heaven's Inspirations - Also a devotion that changes daily with topics to choose from on their main page. http://www.heavensinspirations.com/childrens-devotionals.html
After our devotions this morning, the day was a pretty normal day...going to circle and breakfast. I brought Alina along with me to school today. The classes are small pull-out classes of Spanish reading, I think I might have mentioned that before. Alina helped me to set up the small rugs on the floor and get the books out prior to each class starting. In one of the classes, she actually took a turn and read a page out loud in Spanish...the kids commended her for her bravery in trying!
After classes, we took the little girls back to the house to each lunch and then walked them back to school. We chatted with Elizabeth about helping out in the afternoons with the special needs classes, and then went and chatted with Katja about Bob & Pastor Jeff coming on Monday...to ensure they'd have a ride with Norman from the airport to here. Then it was time to get the girls from school, take them home for their ensenanza (Bible study), get them supper and showered up for the night. Since tonight was Wednesday, there was church this evening where 2 female volunteers shared their testimony. By the time we got home it was dark out. We had heard about the big storms in New London and prayed for those who have been devastated by the storms.
1. Truth For Kids - This site has a daily devotion for kids, or you can search by topic. http://www.truthforkids.com/kids-devotions-online/#.UgN8fNK1GE2
2. Kids 4 Truth - This site has 2 daily devotions that kids can choose from. http://kids4truth.com/Devos/Home.aspx
3. Heaven's Inspirations - Also a devotion that changes daily with topics to choose from on their main page. http://www.heavensinspirations.com/childrens-devotionals.html
After our devotions this morning, the day was a pretty normal day...going to circle and breakfast. I brought Alina along with me to school today. The classes are small pull-out classes of Spanish reading, I think I might have mentioned that before. Alina helped me to set up the small rugs on the floor and get the books out prior to each class starting. In one of the classes, she actually took a turn and read a page out loud in Spanish...the kids commended her for her bravery in trying!
After classes, we took the little girls back to the house to each lunch and then walked them back to school. We chatted with Elizabeth about helping out in the afternoons with the special needs classes, and then went and chatted with Katja about Bob & Pastor Jeff coming on Monday...to ensure they'd have a ride with Norman from the airport to here. Then it was time to get the girls from school, take them home for their ensenanza (Bible study), get them supper and showered up for the night. Since tonight was Wednesday, there was church this evening where 2 female volunteers shared their testimony. By the time we got home it was dark out. We had heard about the big storms in New London and prayed for those who have been devastated by the storms.
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Honduras Critters
Today is going to be my "critter day". A lot of what I did today - devotions in the morning, circle & breakfast with the little girls, classes at school, lunch with the little girls, playing with them on the playground, supper and bath time with the little girls - didn't change...so I will take you through my day in terms of the critters around me, since today was an extra special day for that!
We have a mouse in the house! As she was making coffee this morning, Kimberly found that a mouse had gotten into her oatmeal, and had traveled all along the cupboard of our kitchen. I guess we'll have to be more careful about what's left out on the cupboards and what gets put away into the refrigerator.
I'm not too terribly worried about mice (since Alina & I normally eat with the kids, so we don't have much food here in the house), but ants just disgust me! So I'm very thankful that nothing sweet has been left out for ants to find their way into the house. We have all sizes of ants down here, tiny ones that I 'tweek' off of the kitchen table each morning...only about 3-5 of them each day); then we have the slightly larger ants that if I didn't know better, I'd say they have razor sharp teeth. They make these enormous ant hills in the grass and if you're not careful and stand on one, they swarm up your leg and bit like crazy. It hurts and it takes a while to get them all swatted off. Then there are these super-sized black ants. Think about our big black ants back in Wisconsin and then multiply that size by at least 5! I don't think these ants are harmful, but they just look disgusting. They are currently crawling all around the outside of our apartment.
So on the way to the little girls' house this morning, Alina was in front of me and jumped and let out a half-sigh, half-scream. I asked her what was up and she asked if the "thing" in front of her was a tarantula. It was!...but it was dead. It was still all in tact, not sure why it died. It was fun to see her reaction, although she got over it fairly quickly. I let her know that now she won't be too terribly shocked when she sees a live one.
Bees - they're all over the place, trying furiously to build nest after nest which get taken down by the girls and boys of the houses. Earlier this week, one of the big girls (Daniela) put some paper on the end of a stick and set it on fire to burn a bees nest down in the little girls' house. We had quite a big nest going outside Kimberly's bedroom window, but I believe it was taken down by either Julieth or Veronica this past weekend because it's no longer there. Yet there are still a few bees clinging to the spot on the patio ceiling where the nest once was.
Termites - Alina & I found a termite nest started between the slats of our bedroom window. We're not too worried (for ourselves) since it's on the outside and termites go after wood, not humans. But every once in a while some bug comes to the termite nest, looking for some delicious termites and gets pretty loud as its wings flap against the window.
Grasshoppers - These are also much bigger than what you'd see in the states. Generally they're 6-8 inches long 3-4 inches tall (and keep in mind that I'm a mathematics teacher, so these measurements are fairly accurate!) and either green or a reddish color. The first one we saw was out at the farm. Alina jumped and just wanted to keep on walking. We later saw a dead one outside our apartment - again, it grossed her out. The neighbors across from us had a grasshopper get INTO their apartment, so they kept it as a pet until they moved out...then moved it outside into the hallway areas. I think we've seen 2 since, and she's getting more & more desensitized to them.
The first night we moved into this apartment we saw a BIG cockroach hiding in the upper corner of our living room, close to the ceiling. We haven't seen it since, but today a smaller sized cockroach crawled out from under the chair I was sitting in at school while we were reading through a Magic Tree-house book in Spanish. One of the kids killed it right away, and we all laughed.
Last night Kimberly found a moth in her bedroom that was white with all of these colorful designs on it. I have never seen a moth like it! She took a picture and we're hoping that the camera was able to zoom in on it closely without too many problems. Most moths here are huge, like the size of bats. They just cling to walls like most moths do back at home...just much bigger and when they're flying they make you think of bats.
A few days ago, Alina found a praying mantis at the little girls' house. Also there are these TINY snails that crawl around on the vegetation, very cute in a snail-sort of way. One of them was just "booking it" and reminded me of the snail in the movie Monsters University that I had taken Max & Noah to see.
So, there's a glimpse into the critter life here in Honduras! Hope you've enjoyed & will get back to a regular blog tomorrow.
We have a mouse in the house! As she was making coffee this morning, Kimberly found that a mouse had gotten into her oatmeal, and had traveled all along the cupboard of our kitchen. I guess we'll have to be more careful about what's left out on the cupboards and what gets put away into the refrigerator.
I'm not too terribly worried about mice (since Alina & I normally eat with the kids, so we don't have much food here in the house), but ants just disgust me! So I'm very thankful that nothing sweet has been left out for ants to find their way into the house. We have all sizes of ants down here, tiny ones that I 'tweek' off of the kitchen table each morning...only about 3-5 of them each day); then we have the slightly larger ants that if I didn't know better, I'd say they have razor sharp teeth. They make these enormous ant hills in the grass and if you're not careful and stand on one, they swarm up your leg and bit like crazy. It hurts and it takes a while to get them all swatted off. Then there are these super-sized black ants. Think about our big black ants back in Wisconsin and then multiply that size by at least 5! I don't think these ants are harmful, but they just look disgusting. They are currently crawling all around the outside of our apartment.
So on the way to the little girls' house this morning, Alina was in front of me and jumped and let out a half-sigh, half-scream. I asked her what was up and she asked if the "thing" in front of her was a tarantula. It was!...but it was dead. It was still all in tact, not sure why it died. It was fun to see her reaction, although she got over it fairly quickly. I let her know that now she won't be too terribly shocked when she sees a live one.
Bees - they're all over the place, trying furiously to build nest after nest which get taken down by the girls and boys of the houses. Earlier this week, one of the big girls (Daniela) put some paper on the end of a stick and set it on fire to burn a bees nest down in the little girls' house. We had quite a big nest going outside Kimberly's bedroom window, but I believe it was taken down by either Julieth or Veronica this past weekend because it's no longer there. Yet there are still a few bees clinging to the spot on the patio ceiling where the nest once was.
Termites - Alina & I found a termite nest started between the slats of our bedroom window. We're not too worried (for ourselves) since it's on the outside and termites go after wood, not humans. But every once in a while some bug comes to the termite nest, looking for some delicious termites and gets pretty loud as its wings flap against the window.
Grasshoppers - These are also much bigger than what you'd see in the states. Generally they're 6-8 inches long 3-4 inches tall (and keep in mind that I'm a mathematics teacher, so these measurements are fairly accurate!) and either green or a reddish color. The first one we saw was out at the farm. Alina jumped and just wanted to keep on walking. We later saw a dead one outside our apartment - again, it grossed her out. The neighbors across from us had a grasshopper get INTO their apartment, so they kept it as a pet until they moved out...then moved it outside into the hallway areas. I think we've seen 2 since, and she's getting more & more desensitized to them.
The first night we moved into this apartment we saw a BIG cockroach hiding in the upper corner of our living room, close to the ceiling. We haven't seen it since, but today a smaller sized cockroach crawled out from under the chair I was sitting in at school while we were reading through a Magic Tree-house book in Spanish. One of the kids killed it right away, and we all laughed.
Last night Kimberly found a moth in her bedroom that was white with all of these colorful designs on it. I have never seen a moth like it! She took a picture and we're hoping that the camera was able to zoom in on it closely without too many problems. Most moths here are huge, like the size of bats. They just cling to walls like most moths do back at home...just much bigger and when they're flying they make you think of bats.
A few days ago, Alina found a praying mantis at the little girls' house. Also there are these TINY snails that crawl around on the vegetation, very cute in a snail-sort of way. One of them was just "booking it" and reminded me of the snail in the movie Monsters University that I had taken Max & Noah to see.
So, there's a glimpse into the critter life here in Honduras! Hope you've enjoyed & will get back to a regular blog tomorrow.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Invisible
Each morning I wake up around 3:30am here in Honduras (which would be 4:30am Wisconsin time). Just like back in the States, I reserve that time for me & God. I sit down and go through my devotion for the day before writing this blog to update all of you on the previous day's events. I will share the notes from yesterday's message that I entered into my daily journal with you here:
God's Word:
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. ~ Isaiah 30:21
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes His steps. ~ Proverbs 16:9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worth of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:8
Notes I took from the devotion:
According to recent statistics, we make 5000 decisions each day...decisions like what time to get out of bed, whether to exercise, what kind of cereal to eat, which bills to pay, whether to water the plants today or wait until tomorrow, which vehicle to put gas into, whether to react in anger or respond with understanding, whether or not to create drama, whether to set time aside for God, how to speak to our child, etc. In the 5000 decisions you make today, take a moment to pause before deciding. Ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance & counsel. And choose to FOLLOW as He leads the way.
Like David said on Sunday...everything we do is a choice!...We can choose to follow our own voice or the voice of our Lord. Which path will you choose today?
So as we were getting ready to head out for the morning, Kimberly found a millipede in her room. She freaked out quite a bit, which made me smile since she is a veterinary technician, and should love animals, right? I had already taken 2 millipedes out of our house since our stay here, so I took this one outside as well. Perhaps it's the same millipede, just wants to live in our house???
Anyway, Alina & I went to the little girls' house. It was still very wet/damp outside (it had been raining practically all weekend), so the girls' circle was held in the sala (living room). The girls behaved fairly well this morning. After circle came breakfast and then heading to school. It was nice to see the new doorknob on the elementary school library. Since the first 1/2 hour of school I wasn't scheduled to have a class, I borrowed a broom from the main office to sweep out the library. The dirt buildup on the ceramic tile floors had gotten to be a bit much since I hadn't swept last week (I had went looking for a broom multiple times, but never found one). This morning I had 4 classes - all 5th graders.
I took the little girls back to their house for lunch. Finally the sun had come out! When the sun is out down here, it is HOT, so after taking the girls back to school, I headed to the apartment to quickly change out of my jeans to capris. Alina & I headed to the store. She had wanted ice cream but since the power was out all day yesterday, there wasn't any. I'm guessing that all of the ice cream had melted and they will not get more until just before the next team comes this Thursday (to not risk losing it due to another power outage). We bought some M&Ms instead and some juice. When we finished, Alina bought 10 little jello cups (about the size of a sewing thimble) for 5 cents each to give to the girls in the yards playing as we passed by on our way to school. We picked up the little girls from school and brought them back to the house. I stayed with the little girls to do afternoon devotions while Alina went with the medium girls.
When Alina met me back at the little girls' house, she had a drawing for me from an older girl named Pamela. Pamela is a rather special girl to me. Here's the story: I am TERRIBLE with names! So the year I had first met her, I also met numerous other children. The very next year that I came down, she asked me if I remembered her. I do have a gift for remembering faces, however not names. So I was honest with her & let her know that I remembered her face but not her name, so I asked her for her name. She replied with "I guess I'm invisible then," to which I kindly laughed and replied, "Well it's nice to meet you Invisible!"...and that's how I've called her ever since. We share a pretty special relationship now. I've known her for most of the years I've been coming down here and she is a rare girl here at Emmanuel who has the same large size feet that I have, so I tend to leave her with some shoes every time I leave. It's very common for children here to draw you pictures, color you pictures or write you notes before you leave to show their appreciation for you having come to serve them. I am showered with them each time I come. Alina is still waiting for her first drawing but I've reassured her that she will get them as the kids come to know her better.
After devotions was supper-time and then bath-time. When I began combing the girls' hair, all of a sudden my stomach didn't feel so well. I needed to have Alina finish up combing the girls' hair so that I could go home, just in case I needed to be sick. The feeling subsided after an hour or two and I was able to head to bed without much problem.
God's Word:
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. ~ Isaiah 30:21
The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes His steps. ~ Proverbs 16:9
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worth of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:8
Notes I took from the devotion:
According to recent statistics, we make 5000 decisions each day...decisions like what time to get out of bed, whether to exercise, what kind of cereal to eat, which bills to pay, whether to water the plants today or wait until tomorrow, which vehicle to put gas into, whether to react in anger or respond with understanding, whether or not to create drama, whether to set time aside for God, how to speak to our child, etc. In the 5000 decisions you make today, take a moment to pause before deciding. Ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance & counsel. And choose to FOLLOW as He leads the way.
Like David said on Sunday...everything we do is a choice!...We can choose to follow our own voice or the voice of our Lord. Which path will you choose today?
So as we were getting ready to head out for the morning, Kimberly found a millipede in her room. She freaked out quite a bit, which made me smile since she is a veterinary technician, and should love animals, right? I had already taken 2 millipedes out of our house since our stay here, so I took this one outside as well. Perhaps it's the same millipede, just wants to live in our house???
Anyway, Alina & I went to the little girls' house. It was still very wet/damp outside (it had been raining practically all weekend), so the girls' circle was held in the sala (living room). The girls behaved fairly well this morning. After circle came breakfast and then heading to school. It was nice to see the new doorknob on the elementary school library. Since the first 1/2 hour of school I wasn't scheduled to have a class, I borrowed a broom from the main office to sweep out the library. The dirt buildup on the ceramic tile floors had gotten to be a bit much since I hadn't swept last week (I had went looking for a broom multiple times, but never found one). This morning I had 4 classes - all 5th graders.
I took the little girls back to their house for lunch. Finally the sun had come out! When the sun is out down here, it is HOT, so after taking the girls back to school, I headed to the apartment to quickly change out of my jeans to capris. Alina & I headed to the store. She had wanted ice cream but since the power was out all day yesterday, there wasn't any. I'm guessing that all of the ice cream had melted and they will not get more until just before the next team comes this Thursday (to not risk losing it due to another power outage). We bought some M&Ms instead and some juice. When we finished, Alina bought 10 little jello cups (about the size of a sewing thimble) for 5 cents each to give to the girls in the yards playing as we passed by on our way to school. We picked up the little girls from school and brought them back to the house. I stayed with the little girls to do afternoon devotions while Alina went with the medium girls.
When Alina met me back at the little girls' house, she had a drawing for me from an older girl named Pamela. Pamela is a rather special girl to me. Here's the story: I am TERRIBLE with names! So the year I had first met her, I also met numerous other children. The very next year that I came down, she asked me if I remembered her. I do have a gift for remembering faces, however not names. So I was honest with her & let her know that I remembered her face but not her name, so I asked her for her name. She replied with "I guess I'm invisible then," to which I kindly laughed and replied, "Well it's nice to meet you Invisible!"...and that's how I've called her ever since. We share a pretty special relationship now. I've known her for most of the years I've been coming down here and she is a rare girl here at Emmanuel who has the same large size feet that I have, so I tend to leave her with some shoes every time I leave. It's very common for children here to draw you pictures, color you pictures or write you notes before you leave to show their appreciation for you having come to serve them. I am showered with them each time I come. Alina is still waiting for her first drawing but I've reassured her that she will get them as the kids come to know her better.
After devotions was supper-time and then bath-time. When I began combing the girls' hair, all of a sudden my stomach didn't feel so well. I needed to have Alina finish up combing the girls' hair so that I could go home, just in case I needed to be sick. The feeling subsided after an hour or two and I was able to head to bed without much problem.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
A Day Without Electricity
I was excited for today...Sunday's finally here! A day to go to church and possibly have the chance to hear David preach (since there isn't a group here right now...the Maryland team left yesterday morning). As we were getting ready for the morning, POOF!...the power went out. We were told later that they had shut the power down in town to work on some "fixes" and it would most likely be out until about 4pm. Our bathroom has no windows, so gets pitch black when you need to use it and prefer to shut the door. No power means the fridge went out, so you need to make sure that you're not opening the doors to just "look inside" to see if you're even hungry, like we do back in the States. You see, in these 3rd world countries, sometimes the power can be out for days (even when they tell you it'll only be for a few hours).
We headed to church and although last night you could hear the music group practicing and rehearsing, today it sounded completely different since there was no electricity - acoustic only! This also meant that there were no words to songs showing up on the big screen in front (like we have at New Hope), so you either knew the song by heart or you didn't. David did preach today and it was powerful...about being careful not to choose the paths that lead to darkness, about being able to decipher God's voice and not go against it to follow your own. I've heard David speak a handful of times through the years and he has a way to his approach that is so powerful! I'm also in awe how he can speak what would probably be the equivalent of 2 typed pages in Spanish before reverting back to English to translate it verbatim...with none of his sermon written down! I've heard this year that when he dedicated his life to God, he begged God not to make him preach. More often than not, there are pastors here from groups or pastors from town that come in to preach so that David doesn't have to...but it's interesting how God can take what we see as our weakness and the things that we SO don't want to do and use them for His Glory.
After church, Alina & I asked permission to take Yency, Coco, and Michell to the tienda (store) to buy them some lunch. Tuesday is Yency & Coco's birthday. They're twins, although you'd NEVER guess it by looking at them. They are the most non-look-alike fraternal twins I have ever seen! Again, I wish I had a working camera to take a picture each day and post it with this blog so that you'd have a visual to the things I'm mentioning along the way. Lunch for the day at the tienda consisted of rice, a tortilla, fried chicken and potato salad...yep, you heard that right - potato salad. Alina & Coco didn't really care for the potato salad, so the rest of us finished it off for them. The girls at the chicken right down to just the bone, which is something you don't typically see in the States. I think the thing that struck Alina the most was that when they were done eating, they packed up ALL the scraps that were left into the saran wrap that had covered their plate, so that they could either save it for later to eat or take it back to their friends in the yard to share with them. They threw NOTHING in terms of food away! This is very typical for the people here (and I'm talking about in the entire country, not just this orphanage). They do not waste food like many of us Americans tend to do. They know SOMEBODY will eat it. They KNOW what it is to FEEL HUNGER, rather than just be hungry at the moment and run to the fridge to grab a snack like we do.
After lunch we first walked Michell & Coco back to the medium girls' house (the girls were in the dining hall eating), then we walked Yency back to the big girls' house. Along the way, Yency pointed out an enormous toad to Alina. It was dead, but enormous nonetheless. I had completely overeaten & my stomach wasn't feeling well. I headed back to the house to rest a bit. The power was still out and Julieth (one of the staff here who lives in one of the 4 apartments in this quadraplex) said something about music. I got my computer and MP3 player and connected them so she could listen to Christian music as she passed the time without electricity. She brought it back a couple of hours later saying she was SO SORRY that the battery went out. I just smiled at her & reassured her that it was okay, because it really didn't matter to me that much when we don't have electricity anyway.
Kimberly & I had a really good chat about her post-Honduras plans. She's preparing to head back to the States for a bit on August 15th - the same day Pastor Jeff will return to the States from his short visit here. Please pray for her and for strength in her journey, both while she is travelling to the U.S. and also during her time here.
In the late afternoon or early evening, Alina & I went for a walk back past the toddler house. We chatted quite a bit and on our return, stopped at the toddler and baby house to chat with Brandy. I'm excited for her to get a chance to go back home this coming weekend. It'll be the first time she's been back home in the States since May of 2012! I've known Brandy for 3 years now and what a sweet person! She always has a smile on her face and is always very intent on listening to what's going on.
Alina & I climbed up to the water tower, so that I could show her what it looks like to look at the entire orphanage at once. It wasn't yet sun-down, which I hear is a really beautiful time to be up there...but it was pretty nonetheless. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at the medium girls' house to chat (Alina played a bunch of games inside). When we finally got back to the apartment, the electricity STILL was not on. Julieth said that with all of the rain we had today, a pole fell down in town and now the prediction was that it would be on by 8pm. By 7:00, the apartment was completely dark. I sent Alina to bed. We had one of those crank flashlights that only work as you are cranking it. I also discovered there was a miniature flashlight on the end of my Honduran cell phone...but that my battery was close to dying. Julieth brought a candle and some matches over to us, and after quite a while of trying to figure out what exactly to put the candle in (and coming up with an "odd concoction" of a canning jar, the top of an air freshener and tissue paper) we finally made it work and had some light in the apartment. Kimberly & I had a good chat at the kitchen table before turning in for the night.
We headed to church and although last night you could hear the music group practicing and rehearsing, today it sounded completely different since there was no electricity - acoustic only! This also meant that there were no words to songs showing up on the big screen in front (like we have at New Hope), so you either knew the song by heart or you didn't. David did preach today and it was powerful...about being careful not to choose the paths that lead to darkness, about being able to decipher God's voice and not go against it to follow your own. I've heard David speak a handful of times through the years and he has a way to his approach that is so powerful! I'm also in awe how he can speak what would probably be the equivalent of 2 typed pages in Spanish before reverting back to English to translate it verbatim...with none of his sermon written down! I've heard this year that when he dedicated his life to God, he begged God not to make him preach. More often than not, there are pastors here from groups or pastors from town that come in to preach so that David doesn't have to...but it's interesting how God can take what we see as our weakness and the things that we SO don't want to do and use them for His Glory.
After church, Alina & I asked permission to take Yency, Coco, and Michell to the tienda (store) to buy them some lunch. Tuesday is Yency & Coco's birthday. They're twins, although you'd NEVER guess it by looking at them. They are the most non-look-alike fraternal twins I have ever seen! Again, I wish I had a working camera to take a picture each day and post it with this blog so that you'd have a visual to the things I'm mentioning along the way. Lunch for the day at the tienda consisted of rice, a tortilla, fried chicken and potato salad...yep, you heard that right - potato salad. Alina & Coco didn't really care for the potato salad, so the rest of us finished it off for them. The girls at the chicken right down to just the bone, which is something you don't typically see in the States. I think the thing that struck Alina the most was that when they were done eating, they packed up ALL the scraps that were left into the saran wrap that had covered their plate, so that they could either save it for later to eat or take it back to their friends in the yard to share with them. They threw NOTHING in terms of food away! This is very typical for the people here (and I'm talking about in the entire country, not just this orphanage). They do not waste food like many of us Americans tend to do. They know SOMEBODY will eat it. They KNOW what it is to FEEL HUNGER, rather than just be hungry at the moment and run to the fridge to grab a snack like we do.
After lunch we first walked Michell & Coco back to the medium girls' house (the girls were in the dining hall eating), then we walked Yency back to the big girls' house. Along the way, Yency pointed out an enormous toad to Alina. It was dead, but enormous nonetheless. I had completely overeaten & my stomach wasn't feeling well. I headed back to the house to rest a bit. The power was still out and Julieth (one of the staff here who lives in one of the 4 apartments in this quadraplex) said something about music. I got my computer and MP3 player and connected them so she could listen to Christian music as she passed the time without electricity. She brought it back a couple of hours later saying she was SO SORRY that the battery went out. I just smiled at her & reassured her that it was okay, because it really didn't matter to me that much when we don't have electricity anyway.
Kimberly & I had a really good chat about her post-Honduras plans. She's preparing to head back to the States for a bit on August 15th - the same day Pastor Jeff will return to the States from his short visit here. Please pray for her and for strength in her journey, both while she is travelling to the U.S. and also during her time here.
In the late afternoon or early evening, Alina & I went for a walk back past the toddler house. We chatted quite a bit and on our return, stopped at the toddler and baby house to chat with Brandy. I'm excited for her to get a chance to go back home this coming weekend. It'll be the first time she's been back home in the States since May of 2012! I've known Brandy for 3 years now and what a sweet person! She always has a smile on her face and is always very intent on listening to what's going on.
Alina & I climbed up to the water tower, so that I could show her what it looks like to look at the entire orphanage at once. It wasn't yet sun-down, which I hear is a really beautiful time to be up there...but it was pretty nonetheless. On our way back to the apartment, we stopped at the medium girls' house to chat (Alina played a bunch of games inside). When we finally got back to the apartment, the electricity STILL was not on. Julieth said that with all of the rain we had today, a pole fell down in town and now the prediction was that it would be on by 8pm. By 7:00, the apartment was completely dark. I sent Alina to bed. We had one of those crank flashlights that only work as you are cranking it. I also discovered there was a miniature flashlight on the end of my Honduran cell phone...but that my battery was close to dying. Julieth brought a candle and some matches over to us, and after quite a while of trying to figure out what exactly to put the candle in (and coming up with an "odd concoction" of a canning jar, the top of an air freshener and tissue paper) we finally made it work and had some light in the apartment. Kimberly & I had a good chat at the kitchen table before turning in for the night.
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