Hot Dog!

    This is my last Sunday, in fact, I am leaving on Tuesday morning...so there's not really much time left.  I haven't really had any Sunday's where I have taken kids to the Tienda (store), and since there's a group here and groups tend to treat lots of kids, I wasn't so sure I would do that today either.  In the month I have been here, I really haven't spent a lot at the store, as opposed to normal years that my younger kids accompany me (and then they get $5/week each as well as each Sunday when they want to treat many kids to the Tienda as possible).  I lived a little bit more like I did when I came down here without kids, letting kids know by the time I spent with them (rather than the things I bought them) that they mattered.  Listening to them.  My primary love language is acts of service, secondary is quality time...and down here, both get hit.  David and Lydia have told me that I bless the kids when I am down here, but it is really a 2-way street because my bucket gets filled enough to mostly get me through the next school year back in the States.

   Nora and I went to church and the youth pastor from Alabama preached more on "Emmanuel - God With Us", continuing his teachings from Friday's circle.  He had the teenagers that had come down in his group stand up and I counted 12, which means HALF the group is teens because he said they were a group of 24 this year.  I hope that this trip greatly impacts them and their lives, and that they go back with full buckets as well.

   After church we headed back to the house and Nora swept.  I told her I would mop tomorrow while I was doing laundry and packing, since tomorrow is my last full day here.  I tried my Honduran phone on the charger, and miraculously it charged!  Not sure if I mentioned that it has not been working since sometime last weekend-ish when we had some torrential rains and I had it in my pocket as I ran to get snacks for the Toddler House.  It has been sitting bagged up in a bowl of just a little bit of salt to try to draw the moisture out, and after a week, it finally pulled a charge!  

   I began walking towards the Toddler House about 10:30am and by the time I got to the Team House area, Mirna (who takes care of cooking for the teams) caught me and said that lunch in the Comedor would be an hour earlier today because the team was serving lunch.  So I headed down to the Comedor to check things out (because I had been planning on buying the medium boys 2 huge bottles of soda at some point to thank them for sharing their eating space with me.  The team was serving soda, so I put my idea on the back burner for tomorrow.  They also served hot dogs, chips, a piece of chocolate, and a piece of bubble gum.  The team also ate in the Comedor.  They gave most kids 2 hot dogs, which means I got 2 hot dogs, but I knew I would only be able to eat one, so I gave my other away to a kid who was more than happy to get it.

Lunch provided by the Alabama Team

   At some point during the morning (or lunch) the toddlers asked to see Mindy (our puppy back home).  I brought up the kitchen cameras and found her and Bella snuggling together in the kitchen since the gate was up (Kaylyn and Jaden were working and Bob was headed to Madison to pick up Noah).  The kids shouted "Mindy, Mindy, Mindy!!!" into the microphone and the dogs perked up when they heard the kids, so I captured a cute picture of what they get to see sometimes when the dogs are actually in view of the camera.

Bella and Mindy wondering where the sound is coming from

   After lunch, I headed down to the Toddler House with Nora and sat down for a bit on the step outside their rooms.  At one point Dunia came over and we had a really long chat that lasted until lunch on 3 separate topics, none of which I will share here as the conversation was a bit more personal...but I am so glad that Dunia is here for the kids.  There have been so many changes since her and her husband and children have come.  She has truly been a blessing on Emmanuel.  Nora and I walked with the Toddlers to the Comedor for supper, and then after supper I settled into the Volunteer House for the night because tomorrow will be a big day of work (laundry, cleaning, packing and giving a lot of things away) before I head out on Tuesday.

Noah Heads for the States

   Each morning I check my sleep from the night as well as verify my steps that I got in the day before because our insurance plan is set up so that we "get" paid if we meet a certain requirement.  They try to make it sound good, but from going from a decent paycheck in December 2023 to quite a bit less on each paycheck in January 2024?...we're not really getting paid, they just raised the rates by that amount and are now forcing us to earn it back.  From someone who can remember a day with no deductibles and no copays to what we have now (a $10,000 deductible?), this is just ridiculous.  I am upset with the way things are in our country, and yet just another reason why I refuse to retire here.  Whether many Americans want to admit it or not, I truly TRULY believe that corporate America, along with the government, is slowly eliminating the middle class.  Like putting a frog in a pot of boiling water and slowly turning up the heat (the frog doesn't notice) until the frog dies.  They say we have the power to change things through voting and elections, but in my opinion most Americans are just like the frog...they really have no idea what is happening.

   Anyway, enough of that...today is the day Noah leaves back for the States.  He has been her 5 months and most kids (and staff and tias) are going to miss him.  I am not guessing, they told me so.  Everywhere I went all day today, the first topic of discussion was Noah and that he was leaving (or already left as the day went on).  What shocked me was that Noah was all packed with time to spare!!!  When it came time for him to move out of his shared bedroom in the States and pack to come down here, we had to wait on him because he took longer than expected, and the clock was ticking and we were afraid we would hit nasty traffic and he would miss his flight.  Noah brought me a few of his extra supplies that wouldn't fit in his 2 suitcases (he was pretty much maxed out at 50 pounds).  These were things that either I had given him filters for the PUR water filtration system I had brought down in April, shoes) and then a few things that we typically keep in our suitcases from year to year like (night light, sunscreen, DEET, etc).

   Noah also made his rounds saying goodbye to everyone as well, since he has a late afternoon flight, so his taxi wasn't coming until 10am.  He took a few pairs of pants to Hector (and Hector told me later in the day when he saw me to say "Thank you" to Noah from him), a bluetooth speaker to a kid and a few things to others.  He finished up by spending his last hour with the small girls in the yard in front of the Girls Volunteer House.  I was working on math all morning and made it my goal to finish as close to 9am as possible...and 9:01am was my permanent finish time.  Now 8th, 9th, and 10th grades all have decent lessons with adequate examples and the homework all worked out for their teachers for the next unit.  About 9:45am, I went down by Noah who was still with the small girls, and the taxi came about 10:15am.  I walked down to where the taxi was in front of his house and waited while he said his goodbyes.  And in the end, all the small girls decided to walk down with him to say their goodbyes.  I reminded him to let me know when he got to the airport in Comayagua as well as landed in Dallas.

   After Noah left, I went up to the house to clean the 2 pairs of size 14 shoes that I brought down for him in April, which would NOT be staying down here because absolutely nobody here has feet THAT big!  I will take them back with me and sell them, since he no longer wants them.  I also chatted with Bob for a bit before it was lunch time.  When I got to the Comedor, so many came up to me to talk about Noah, including Oscar who said Noah never came to say goodbye to him.

   I walked the toddlers back to the toddler house and then headed back to my house and since the office was locked (where Nora works on Saturdays), we chatted for a bit.  I only have 2 more full days here before I leave and then she will be in a situation like Noah where she will be in this house for a few weeks yet all by herself.  I believe we'll be cleaning the house tomorrow, although since it's just been the 2 of us, it really hasn't been all that bad!

   About 2:30, I headed back to the toddlers as they should be up from their naps.  Brithany came over and sat next to me as I chatted with some of the teens from that house.  The toddlers took their showers and got into their pajamas, and as they were putting on their shoes to walk to the Comedor for supper, it began to rain...HARD.  So we waited a bit, put their raincoats on, and then made a run for it!  They told me I would get soaked, but it wasn't too bad.  After supper, they headed back to their house, and I headed to mine and rested for the evening.  Even though I didn't live with Noah on this trip, it sure does feel different with him gone.  Through the past few weeks I could hear the kids shouting for him and hear his voice every time he passed by...he will definitely be missed by the kiddos here!

Winding Down...Guacamole

    This morning was pretty typical again, aside from having to get a picture of the clouds settling on the mountains in the background.  I think just about all of my children (especially Kaylyn) have said that they like waking up to the views here because it is absolutely beautiful!  Being Friday, and with me leaving on Tuesday, this was my last "big circle".  They decided to go back indoors again, so last week was my only true big circle.  We were in the Comedor and the Grandecitas recited their verses, then the man that leads the Alabama team that is here is named Rick.  He talked about the meaning of Emmanuel...God with us.  And then talked about Adam and Eve, Noah, Daniel, and the 3 men in the lion's den (Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego) and how God was with them every step of the way.  The team handed out blue "glow in the dark" bracelets that had Honduras written on one side and Emmanuel written on the other.  They are a really beautiful color when they glow!

Morning view with clouds settling on the mountains

Grandecitas reciting their verses

   I headed to the Toddler House, but when I got to the area outside where they wash socks and other things in a cement tub-like structure that has a built-in washboard (I should really take a picture of this), one of the big girls asked if I could carry the huge pot of spaghetti with her to the Panaderia so they could put it in the fridge and save it until lunch.  I believe this is left over Team House food that they pass on to either the babies (and their moms) or the Toddler House to use for lunch the next day.  So we walked this super-sized pot filled with spaghetti and sauce to the Panaderia.  Lourdes was there and making tortillas, so I naturally asked her what they were for and she said she would be making burritos to sell later.  So I ordered two - one for me, and one for Noah.  

   Then I walked back to the Toddler House.  I had downloaded the Emoji movie earlier in the week from Netflix and let the bigger girls know that I would be mirroring my phone to the TV for the kiddos to watch, because they have a limited amount of movies to watch on their TV.  So we enjoyed that for the length of the show and when it was over, Noah arrived just in time to hand me one of the burritos.  We walked back together because I needed to get back to my math lessons.  Actually I had finished the chapter lessons yesterday and just now need to make an answer key for all of the homework problems.  I worked on math for about an hour and then used the rest of the time before lunch to cut up the tomatoes and cilantro so it would be ready for the guacamole this afternoon.  I finished just in time to head to the Comedor, where they were serving potatoes with vegetables and a freshly made bun.

Burrito made by Lourdes

   After lunch, I came back and worked on more math answer keys (I will be done before Monday) and then had to cut the avocados.  That is when my accident happened.  I had set the knife down (which was VERY sharp by the way), and it began to wobble on the edge of the cutting board.  I went to grab the handle and as my hands began to close around the knife, it tipped upward and fell, cutting my pinky finger pretty well (since my hand was in the process of closing around the knife) as it dropped to the floor.  Instant blood.  I grabbed the towel to put pressure on it, picked up the knife and put it in the sink and then headed to my room for the triple antibiotic and my bandaids.  Thankfully I have learned what all should get packed into my suitcase over the years for this trip!  As I came back into the kitchen, the entire time putting pressure on my finger with the towel, I saw quite a few drips of blood...oh boy.  I kept pressure on a bit longer as I opened the bandaid and got the antibiotic ready.  Then I turned the kitchen sink water on, ran my finger under it (more blood) and applied more pressure while drying the wound.  The next steps had to be done as quickly as possible.  Put the antibiotic on, and get the bandaid on with the same amount of pressure the towel was on (more blood).  When that was done, I realized that I needed a 2nd bandaid because the first was a bit "gooey" from the antibiotic and might not stick very well...so I got the 2nd bandaid.  I could see the blood soaking into the bandaid, but at some point it seemed to stop.  And thankfully no throbbing of the wound.  I will check it out tomorrow morning if the bandaids last that long.

   I finished cutting the avocados and mixed in all the other ingredients.  It didn't have as many tomatoes as I wanted it to have and it had way more white onions than I was ready for, but it turned out pretty well and at supper time, it was "Noah approved".  I normally make guacamole for the kitchen staff as a thank you for all the meals they have served me while I have been here.  Noah also asked if I could serve it to the big boys and him as well, so I made a little extra.  I took it down to Oscar, who got pretty excited.  There were 4 girls there who were going to help serve all the bowls and they asked what smelled so good, so I served them a teaspoon size portion into their hands to try it.  They all really liked it.  Normally most kids don't like veggies, and raw veggies even less...so that was a nice surprise that they all liked it.

Chopping avocadoes (before the accident)

Guacamole

Big Boys serving

   I headed to the Tienda to wait for the toddlers to come through to the Comedor (since they pass right by the Tienda on their way).  When Brithany came by, she came up by me to give me a hug.  I took her to the Tienda window and ordered some blue Chokis (cookies like ChipsAhoy) for her to eat only AFTER she finished her supper.  I let her know that if she didn't finish her supper, they would be given to someone else.  I headed into the Comedor for a little bit.  All the big boys were excited about the guacamole and said Thank You.  Then I headed to the house to do an unexpected load of laundry (due to the knife incident).  Noah stopped by after supper to drop off some flashlights, a solar charging block, and the huge water filter I had brought down in April.  He leaves tomorrow, so would most likely be busy all morning distributing a bunch of his things that he will be leaving down here as well as saying some good-byes.

   Nora and I and a few others (but not all staff, as they are spreading that out over the days the team is here) were invited to the Team House for dinner tonight.  This will be my last team dinner for 2024.  It was good, and we chatted a bit.  On the way back to the Volunteer House, Nora just about stepped on a huge toad, so she shrieked and grabbed me, and when I saw it I jumped a little bit...but would have jumped moreso had it been a tarantula or a snake.  And we laughed back to the house.  We chatted for a bit there before calling it a night.  My days here are winding down fast, so I will need to make sure I am taking each one in and making the best of it from here on out.

Typical Team House dinner

Happy 4th of July!

   Happy 4th of July!!!  Today is my son Jaden's birthday...and while at the Toddler House, the kids once again asked to see if the dogs were in the kitchen.  We got a pleasant surprise because they were both in the kitchen and so was Jaden!  So Jaden was gracious enough to hold up Mindy to the camera in the kitchen for all the kiddos to say "Mindy!!!" into the camera.  Later in the day, I popped back on to tell Jaden "Happy Birthday" and chat with him just a little bit.

Jaden holding Mindy with Bella in the background

    This morning was a normal morning all the way up to walking the toddlers to school.  Typically the toddlers have been walking past the Team House when the team is leaving (in case any team members want to give last minute hugs), however when we walked past the Team House today, the teams were already gone.  I guess their departure time was 6:30am rather than the typical 7am (we go by about 6:45am).  

   After dropping off the toddlers at the school, I had a long day ahead of me with preparing the upcoming unit in 10th grade math for Profe Jorge.  I had already taken care of 8th and 9th grade and dropped them off with Profe Dayana.  This upcoming unit in 10th grade was on functions (linear and quadratic).  I would like to have it done by Friday afternoon, but we shall see.  Today I focused on all the notes throughout the day, definitions and formulas.  I was able to get through all that and will work through the "homework" tomorrow.

   I took the bag of green grapes I had bought to the Comedor at lunch for the kitchen staff to share.  It is now time to start giving away things that I am no longer going to use or not taking back with me.  I came down with 2 suitcases (checked bags), another smaller suitcase (carry-on) and a backpack.  I will only be leaving with 1 checked bag and 1 backpack...so most is staying back here.  I also bought a box of chocolates (bon o bons) in town this last trip, so I took that to Dunia (unopened) to give 2 each to her older girls who care for the toddlers, and then she could take the rest home to her own family.

Box of Bon o Bons

   When I got to the Comedor, Lydia came up to me and said that Noah has been such a special blessing to Emmanuel and asked if I knew that he bought lunch for everyone at Emmanuel who eats in the Comedor today.  He purchased arroz chino (chinese fried rice with chicken, shrimp and steak) as well as bought soda for everyone.  I did not know he was going to do this.  Noah has had such a great heart for the kids down here and I know they are all going to miss him!  He leaves on Saturday back to the States and to start the next chapter of his life, whatever that may be.

Pages of lesson notes for 10th grade (2-sided)

   After lunch, I spent an hour doing the last of the math notes, so that tomorrow I would only have to make answer keys to the homework (if I would have time for that).  Then at 1:30pm, I headed down to the Tienda to work some more with Dominic and division.  With the team gone, the store was a lot more tranquil and he could focus quite a bit better.  We worked for about an hour and I gave him a handful of mechanical pencils to take with him...he was very appreciative because pencil sharpeners down here are a "luxury" item.

   I headed to the Toddler House and sat with them for a bit before they had to take their showers.  After the showers, we waited for the rains to stop before walking to the Comedor for supper.  While in the Comedor, Josecito once again chatted with me (this is a daily thing when I eat in the Comedor because he sits right behind me).  At one point he asked me what I was going to do this evening, and I told him that I would be crying quite a bit.  He got a super worried look on his face and asked why and what happened.  I smiled and said, "I'll be chopping onions!"  My plan is to prep the onions tonight for the guacamole I will be making tomorrow, haha...I got him!  So after the Comedor, that is exactly what I did before settling in for the night.  What I didn't realize is that I wouldn't actually shed a tear because my glasses must have provided enough of a barrier between the onion strength and my eyes.  But the smell was so strong that Nora let me know she could smell the onions before she even came into the house when she came back from the small girls for the evening.

Chopped onions ready to go for tomorrow's guacamole

Math Lessons are Not Done

   This morning began the same as most the others with getting up, showering, dressing, eating and heading to the toddlers in the Comedor to walk them back to their house and sit with them as we waited for school.  When we got to the Sala, the kids asked to see the dogs (back in WI).  For Mother's Day, Bob got 2 cameras to set up in the kitchen so that we could check in on the dogs if we were away.  So, I opened the app to see if the dogs were visible to the camera (or in another room and then we wouldn't be able to see them).  Both dogs (Bella and Mindy) showed up in the camera along with Bob, so I turned on the microphone so the kids could shout "Mindy!!!" into the camera (Bob would hear this as well).  We chatted via the camera a little bit and Bob held Mindy up closer to the camera so the toddlers could see and there were a lot of happy toddlers.

   We went to school and when the kids began lining up to get ready for class, I headed down to the high school.  I stopped by Profe Dayana first to give her the 8th and 9th grade books and lessons I had prepped so she minimal work to prep first few weeks of the next trimester if she uses my notes.  Then I headed over to Profe Jorge (10th and 11th grades).  The books I had of his ended with the first trimester, so I let him know that if there was anything he wanted me to prep for him for next week or the upcoming weeks, to let me know.  He said 11th grade is now done with math for the year, but he would gladly give me the new 10th grade books for the trimester that begins on Monday.  So my morning was filled beginning prepping for the first unit on polynomial functions, specifically linear and quadratic.

   When it was time for lunch, I headed down to the Comedor and then Noah let me and Nora know that we could all head to town (he had checked in with Danielle, the volunteer coordinator) right after lunch. So Nora and I ate and headed back up to the Volunteer House to get ready to head to town.  I had to get avocados and cilantro to make guacamole later this week for Oscar and the ladies in the kitchen who cook for the orphanage.  I also bought coffee to take back home.  On the way back to Emmanuel, we stopped at Matilda's to get a frozen chocolate covered banana.  Noah paid for them (Thanks Noah!), and I mentioned to him that perhaps we needed to make these to sell at the rummage sales each year because they are absolutely delicious!

Frozen chocolate covered banana with sprinkles

   Then we stopped by Glenda's to say our goodbyes and I bought her last 6 avocados (we had stopped quickly on the way into town to see if she had some because then I would buy less in town).  We chatted for a bit, she has been sick the past 3 days but is now on the mend...just a bit weak yet.  Before we left, she said she wanted to give me her earrings (if you remember, back in April, I gave her my earrings when she told me that she liked them).  Her earrings were very cute, gold with black circles that had a clock's markings in Roman numerals.  So I put them on, paid her for the avocados (and told her that she should keep the change), we hugged and went on our way.  In retrospect, I am a bit sad that I forgot to get a picture of us, but I will cherish each time we get to visit.

   Before we went into town, Nora told me that she received a message from Danielle that we were going to have 2 women from the government staying with us tonight.  Noah was supposed to have a guy staying with him, and when we stopped at his place on the way into town, he already had his bedroom made up for the guest.  So after putting all the groceries away, Nora headed with the small girls to the activities going on in the gym (a group came today, just for the day, to do activities with the kids) while I cleaned and made up the bedroom that Anna and Olivia stayed in.

The bedroom made up for guests

Activities at the gym

Pinatas, nail painting and other activities in the gym

   I made my way down to the gymnasium just to catch a glimpse of what was going on before the toddlers came our way because it was just about supper time for them.  They typically come down about 3:30ish.  Supper is supposed to be at 3:50pm.  Because this group was serving supper, the toddlers had to wait quite a bit longer than normal for them.  Dunia told me that they were not called down to the gym to participate in the activities.  So, some of the members of the groups that had been here all week saw the toddlers sitting and waiting (hungry) and offered to take them to the Tienda for the smallest $4L churritos (chips) just to snack on while they patiently waited for supper.  They were excited to go to the store!  The big girls in charge of the Toddler House got a little bit bigger size chips as well as something to drink.

   In the Comedor, this group that came today served pupusas with refried beans and thinly sliced raw veggies soaked in vinegar and a cup of Pepsi to drink with it.  They were a break from the normal and really good!  After everyone was settled back in their houses, the 2 teams that had been here for a while had a mini service up in the gazebo at the Team House (since church was cancelled this evening).  We sang praise songs with a boy playing the guitar as we sane, then the youth leader from CA did the preaching, and then Andi played guitar to close us with Matt Redman's "10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)".  Nora and I walked back to the Volunteer House and we chatted a bit, waiting on the 2 ladies that were supposed to spend the night here.  After waiting a while, she messaged Danielle to check in on what time they were supposed to come this way (because orginally Danielle said "late") since we tend to turn in by 6pm-ish.  Danielle said they had decided to grab a hotel room in town, so tomorrow will most likely be taking down the bedroom and putting all the blankets away so they do not get dusty/dirty.  So with that, we closed the doors and windows and called it a night.

Supper - It was so good I forgot to take a picture of the pupusa in the box!

Math Lesson Preparations DONE!

    This morning after getting all ready at the Girls Volunteer House, I made my way to the Comedor to the toddlers and walked back with them to the Toddler House.  We were in the Sala watching Charlotte's Web for quite a while (I was assured they had school today), when a fight broke out between Sara and Abi.  They were punching each other with their fists and pulling hair, over a TOY!  So after them not listening to me tell them "no", I went over and separated them.  I put Abi on the mattress on the floor and she stayed there (she is typically fairly obedient), and then I moved Sara to a mattress on the opposite end of the room, closer to the TV.  But as soon as I set her down, she quickly got up and started running back to the toy.  So I got her and set her in the same spot.  She got up again and started to run (towards the toy).  This went back and forth a few times before I decided to set her up in the raised bed (with railings) in the room...which I only did because another fight broke out, between Fernanda and Natalie.  It is typical for these 2 girls to get into a fight, whether with each other or with other toddlers, but they were doing the same thing, punching with fists and hair pulling.  So that was my next mission was to separate them.  They stopped fairly quickly when they saw me coming.  I put them each on a separate couch.  It was then that I looked around the room and saw that there were no big girls in there to stop these fights and/or help me.  So I headed to the door to see where they all went because me with 14 toddlers???  Well, toddlers are just not my specialty.  God gave me a gift to work with teenagers.  As I neared the door, Moises decided to grab Gerson's head and repeatedly slam it against the brick wall.  I definitely needed help.  Dunia was outside the door talking to all of the big girls that lived in the Toddler House.  Some of them were crying.  She told me later that she had to have a fairly serious chat with them about some things going on around the house.

   I walked with the toddlers to the school and once they were in class, I headed to the Volunteer House to try to finish up the lesson preparations that Profe Dayana gave me.  At some point during the morning (possibly following all the toddler fights), my right eye began twitching and just wouldn't stop all morning.  I had to take constant breaks from lesson prep, just to settle down a bit.  I swept the entire house and cleaned a few other things around the house.  About 11am, I thought perhaps if I took some Ibuprofen, it would stop twitching (since perhaps it was muscles around the eye doing this).  By lunch, the twitching had stopped.  Thank you, Ibuprofen!  Also by lunch time, I had finally finished all of the lessons that Profe Dayana had given me to prep!  I will be taking them to her tomorrow to see if there is anything else I can do before I leave.  At lunch, Nora told me that there was going to be another team dinner.  That would make 2 team dinners, however to be fair, there are 2 teams down here right now...one from TN and one from CA.

   In the afternoon, I did some more cleaning and lost track of time.  I was supposed to meet Dominic at the Tienda at 1:30pm to work on more long division.  However, by the time I checked my watch, it was 1:45pm.  I headed down to the Tienda quickly, but he was already gone.  There were so many team members taking entire houses of kids to the store that I am not sure we would have gotten much done anyway with all the chatter and distractions, so later I found him and told him we would work more on Thursday, which is the day the teams were headed out.  That way it would be more quiet.

   I made my way to the Toddler House then, since they should have been just waking up from their naps.  It was still pretty quiet in the Sala for those who were still napping.  Brithany came over by me just to sit and stay by me.  When everyone was awake, they were taken to the bathrooms to shower before supper, and then we headed to the Comedor.  I made sure Brithany ate all her food...I don't feed her until the last 2-3 spoonfuls when I am scraping the bowl to make sure she eats everything.  When the toddlers were done eating, I said my goodbyes to them and then made my way back to the house to organize a few things, clean out the coffee pot and put some dishes away.  At 6pm, Nora and I headed to the Team House for dinner with the teams and the other staff.  We had pork, potato salad, salad, and some sort of bread with garlic(?) as well as a cookie of some sort.  Once again we sat with LaShawn and had a good time.

Dia de Independencia Absoluto de CentroAmerica

    This morning when I walked the toddlers back to their house from the Comedor, the toddlers saw the cream colored dog just outside the Comedor.  I am not sure if this dog belongs to a neighbor just outside the orphanage, but it's here pretty much on a daily basis.  Some of the toddlers wanted to pet it.  Eva told them to be careful because some dogs who come onto the orphanage grounds are so skittish that they might bite.  Plus, Papi (David) doesn't like dogs roaming the grounds at all.  They tend to get into the garbages, tipping them over and dumping all the garbage out...kind of like if you leave "good stuff" in your kitchen garbage back home and then leave your dog unattended.  

Eva with the toddlers

   When we got back to their house, I learned that the toddlers wouldn't have school today.  So I stayed in the sala with them while they watched some shows.  Around 8am, Dunia decided that the 2 girls who were in the house should take all 14 toddlers on a walk, so we walked to the front gate of Emmanuel, then over to the farm to the cows, then to the horse barn, then it began to drizzle so we headed fairly quickly back to the house.  I hit my 10,000 steps before 10am.

Walking towards the horse barn

   At 9:25am, I left the Toddler House to head to the school to see if I was needed in any teaching capacity this week.  Recess is at 9:40am, so I had time to stop at the Girls Volunteer House really quickly to gather my books and stuff (just in case they would have me start teaching already this morning), but when I got to the school, I could see that they were getting ready to have a celebration.  Students were dressing in costumes and rather than being at recess, everyone was still in their classroom waiting for the celebration.  Both on the elementary and the secondary side of the school, they were celebrating the 201st "Absolute" Independence Day for Central America.  Students presented on this day, talking about the Honduran heros of the independence, the historical facts and dates, the food, the culture, and ended with a traditional dance.  It was very informative.  When the presentation was done, they excused the children to lunch.

Josary presenting

Jeremias (yellow) and Noah's friends: Olvin (blue) and Maycol (black) 

Lunch

   In the afternoon, I worked with Graciela's son, Dominic, on long division.  He is in 6th grade and math is a real sore spot for many of the kids here, not too different from those in the States.  We worked through problems at the Tienda for about 1.5 hours, even while the team brought groups of kids to the Tienda for treats (which definitely didn't help us with focusing).  I sent Dominic 6 problems to work on at home and we said we would meet at the same time tomorrow for more practice.

   After working with long division, I dropped my backpack off at the Volunteer House and then headed down to the yard to sit with Elsa, who watches the small girls.  We chatted for a bit before heading to supper and once supper was over, that was pretty much the end of the night for me.  I headed back to the house, relaxed and soon after headed to bed.

Noah's "Family" Pictures

    This morning John did the sermon in church and talked about his struggles during the time he was here, and he referenced James 1:3-4 which says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  Either I did not know or I did not remember (because John was here over a decade ago) that his church had denied sponsoring his time here, and his parents were not Christians, so did not support him financially either.  He came down here all on his own accord (much like Noah) with his own money and that was it...when it ran out, it ran out and he was down here with no financials.  He talked about marrying his wife (who is from Emmanuel) and their trip to Costa Rica, which due to a misunderstanding with his visa, left him with NO MONEY as they traveled towards Costa Rica.  But through the power of prayer, which his wife encouraged, God can be faithful.  And not only did they do okay in Costa Rica, prior to coming back to Emmanuel, he got 3 sponsors through email all in one day!  John is now a youth pastor back in the States and his sermon was absolutely energetic and impactful.

   After church, Noah wanted me to take a bunch of pictures with 2 boys here that he grew up with ever since his first trip when he was 11 years old, Olvin and Maycol.  There were also 2 girls (sisters) that he wanted to bring along and get into the pictures as well (Lorena and Erika)...he now calls these 4 his family.  So we took a few pictures on the small bridge to the farm area, in front of the greenhouse, and out on the huge soccer field out in the campo.  There were many photos where Noah's eyes were almost closed, I have noticed this about him in the past few years and had to say something to him about it to see if we could get a picture with his eyes a little more open, but with the bright sun that was difficult.  I actually got sunburned while out in the campo taking pictures of them.  I am hoping through all of those pictures, he has some he really likes.

Lorena looking at Noah's closed eyes after I mentioned something

Noah trying to pick the boys up like he did the girls

This worked better

   On our walk back, Nora and I decided since it was so close to lunch time, we would just hang out at the store.  There were quite a few team members with kids at the store (it tends to be a busy place when teams are here), so we chose to head to the other side where there were 3 tables, but no one seated there for a little more peaceful setting.  And then we just chatted til lunch.  After lunch, I began a load of laundry and then put the lighter clothing in the dryer and hung my jeans and towel on the gate in the living room area to dry.  I took time in the afternoon to also upload the blog from yesterday and get the pictures.  My phone is still registering that the inside has moisture in it from yesterday's torrential rains, so it was down to 4% and unfortunately still wouldn't charge.  I really hope that it does dry out at some point.  In the meantime, I had moved the Honduran SIM card from that phone to the phone I use in the U.S. so that I could get internet and the blog taken care of.

   Around 3pm, Noah messaged me to let me know that the team was hosting a dinner for staff and volunteers at 6pm.  Since supper in the Comedor was at 3:50ish, I needed to head to the Comedor to chat with Oscar and let him know I wouldn't be eating supper this evening because that would just be too much, to eat supper twice.  From the Comedor, I headed over to the Tienda because Graciela and her big girls were over there.  Graciela let me know that the team was buying the girls each a soda and chips.  That Tienda is going to be sold out before they can get the truck here to replenish them!!!  It's all good though, definitely helps support the efforts of Emmanuel.

   When I saw the toddlers walk by towards the Comedor, I headed in with them and sat by them.  I fed Sara (she will eat extremely slow otherwise) and chatted with a few of the girls that live with the toddlers.  Clara came over by me and asked me when her mom (Evelin) would get her sucker and chips.  She was not there yesterday, so I had set them aside for her to give when I saw her.  I reassured Clara that I had her mom's treats and let her know I would bring it to breakfast for her tomorrow.

   At the team dinner, chicken, rice, refried beans, a tortilla, salad and a brownie were served.  Two team members sat with Nora, LaShawn and I, as well as Wade's 2 older daughters.  We had some good conversation about some of the kids here at Emmanuel and how long each of us has been coming here.  At some point, Wade came over to talk to his 2 daughters and we all had a really quick conversation with him before he turned in for the night.  Shortly after he left, we got up from the table and Nora and I walked back to our house with Elsa.  She asked if I wanted to walk her to her house, and I asked why...she said that she didn't care to walk in the dark, so I gave her my flashlight and told her to keep it for those walks home after team dinners.  I still have one more flashlight back in my room, so it was completely okay.  She was pretty excited about that, so we all said our goodbyes for the night and hugged before heading in and calling it an evening.