The Fish Farm

Alina has been doing a lot of circles and meals with the medium girls this week.  She has acclimated well with them, after having a slight break-down the first week when they all swarmed her and spoke quickly in Spanish and had been avoiding them.  I have sent her with the medium girls from time to time (sometimes, at first, against her will)...but it's paid off!  Last night she spent the night in the medium girls' house...a sort of sleep-over!  I did make sure with the night lady that it'd be okay.

Today's my last day of classes!  The last class of the day was cancelled by the teacher, due to the 6th graders taking a quiz during that time.  I returned all of the books, notes and preparations I had done to Amy over at the high school.  We've been doing laundry all day, especially since Alina & I will be leaving most of our clothing here.  She's sending hers with Zue (the one in charge of the older medium girls), and I sent my clothes to Veronica & Julieth...who are 2 staff people here that work in the kitchens of the team house when there are teams.  If there is anything that doesn't fit them or that they do not want, they will make sure it gets to someone who does.  We also sent everything (food-wise) to them as well...they were very grateful to get it!  We spent quite a bit of today making sure all of the "extras" in the apartment went somewhere.  Kimberly had instructed us to get her coffee pot to Felipe - done.  I took my tennis shoes and sandals to Invisible (Pamela) as promised.  It's rare to find someone with the same size feet as me down here.

Bob spent the morning at the fish farm.  They rounded up quite a few tilapia and butchered them (they call it "harvesting them") so that there would be a bunch available for the kitchens.  The fish farm was started last year and has been going well!

Bob & the "Sassy Fish"

We headed to the school to get a few pictures.  I'm including 2 pictures with boys from the past.  First is Kevin.  Kevin is a special needs boy who got the chicken pox 3 years ago.  Because he didn't quite understand me explaining to the children that you cannot scratch the pox, he scratched so much and so often that many of his pox got infected severely.  He was in the clinic that year much longer than any other child with the chicken pox.

LoriAnn & Kevin

Then there's Tony...who's just a little sweetie!  Two years ago, I watched after him in the clinic when he had his ear ripped off on the trampoline.  (You'd have to go back to that blog to read about it).  Here's Tony today:

LoriAnn & Tony

After serving the little girls lunch, Alina, Bob & I went to the tienda for one last lunch at Emmanuel.  Then, at Doris' request, we headed to the toddler house to get pictures of her older sisters (Lourdes & Wendy) and their babies.  We came back to pack before I headed to the medium girls' house for their ensenanza (Bible study).  We had supper with the little girls, did bath time and then went to church.  I began Date #7 for Alina & my Secret Keeper girls group, but Doris knocked on the door and came in & started crying.  She felt horrible that I was leaving "so quickly".  I spent a bit of time with Doris before she was called in for the night.  I've been here 4 weeks & 2 days...longer than ever before, but yet it doesn't seem like it.

A Special Supper for the Big Girls

This morning began with devotions, circle and breakfast once again.  What was special about this morning was my chat with Karelia and how difficult it can sometimes be watching and caring for these little ones.  Some of them come from such broken homes and act out in ways that have always been acceptable from where they came.  The staff here want the children to be able to distinguish between good and bad behavior, between good & bad actions, between good and bad language, etc.  Your own children know you and know your expectations, but Emmanuel is constantly receiving new children...and it takes time for them to learn that some of the practices (i.e. abuses) that they experience with their parents and family at home are not acceptable.  It takes time, patience, and love...which makes it hard work, because it's a constant ongoing process with each new child that comes in...but it's worth it!  Karelia and I chatted a bit about our own children and how we handle problems with them in our own homes, and then how it's different when the child is not your own.

Once again when I took the little girls to school, Leslie was not able to teach.  I'll plan to teach today and tomorrow yet, right up until I leave.  I was glad to only have 3 classes today because I'm still pretty congested and was slightly feverish yet.  I did take an ibuprofen this morning.  After my 3 classes, I headed back to the apartment to rest for a bit, to try to get rid of the fever (it didn't work).  Alina used the remainder of the morning to catch up on 4 days of journaling. We had lunch with the little girls and then went to Emmanuel's gift shop to purchase the children's CD of songs for Jen, my cousin who asked Andres to "facebook me" and ask for a CD.

After buying the CD, Alina & I headed to the Casita to help Elizabeth with her special needs class and then we headed back to the house a bit to drop our purchases off before going to the little girls' house once again for supper and to give baths.  This afternoon Bob worked extremely hard to prepare a supper for the "en cargadas" (big girls in charge) of the little girls' house.  He made barbecue chicken, cole slaw, potatoes, and bread.  It was ALL a big hit!  Elizabeth & Karelia joined us, and Bob made enough for Karelia to take back to her husband (Robert) and her kids...she wouldn't have to make supper...she was so thankful!

Bob with the Big Girls, Elizabeth & Karelia

A Night with Doris

I woke up this morning feeling a cold coming on.  I was slightly feverish...it's been going around the little girls' house and even Elizabeth & Karelia  have gotten it prior to me.  I still woke to have my devotional time with God, and then Bob woke so we could do our morning devotions together.  I headed to the little girls' house once again at 6am and helped with circle and breakfast before walking the girls to school.  Leslie is a volunteer who was planning on taking over my reading classes at the school, but she met me there to let me know that the need was greater at the toddler house and was wondering if I would take the classes for the day.  Since I had originally planned to teach through Wednesday, it wasn't really a problem...but it would mean that I most likely wouldn't get through the Narnia book with all of the notes and preparations for whichever teacher would take over the classes.

During a break in the morning between classes, I headed back to the apartment to heat up some white rice that Bob had made the night before and put the last of the fruit salsa (from David & Lydia's supper last week) into the rice, hoping that the "extra Vitamin C" would kick this oncoming cold a little faster than the others in my small girls' house had been suffering through it. I headed back to school to finish up classes and then took the girls back to their house for lunch.  They didn't have classes in the afternoon, due to marching practice (the Honduras Independence Day is coming up in September) so Bob, Rebecca and I headed into Guaimaca to purchase some items.  Bob & I wanted to get food for tomorrow's dinner that we'd be cooking for my big girls who work/live in the little girls' house, and we'd also make extras for Karelia & her family.  Rebecca hadn't yet gotten the opportunity to get into town, so she needed to stock up on some personal foods.  We stopped by Glenda's place.  I've known her since my first year here (and since there had only been 1 supermarket in town).  I love to support individuals trying to make a living, so I try to buy various fruits & veggies from her on each trip in...she's also so welcoming and kind...more personalized service!

Glenda, Bob & LoriAnn

We headed to the older of the supermarkets first, then to the bus station just to check on times that the bus for Tegucigalpa leaves in the morning.  We'll be trying to catch the 7am bus to Teguc on Thursday so that we can get to the airport to head home on time.  After the bus station, we headed to the newer supermarket and then to the TIGO store.  TIGO is one of the 2 major phone/wireless/internet companies here in Honduras.  It's interesting how the first 2 years I was here, TIGO worked really well at Emmanuel...then the following 3 years, it was the CLARO company, and now it's back to TIGO again.  Rebecca needed to get a modem, which comes on a USB stick and then you just pay for a month's plan.  You do need to be careful though with how much GB you're using, because you are limited.  It's a pre-paid plan, kind of like a Tracfone, but with modem/internet service.  We headed to a couple of bakeries, but unfortunately they did not have the type of bread Bob was looking for, so he'd have to make his own for supper tomorrow.  Glenda had held on to our purchases, so we made one last stop at her place before walking back to Emmanuel to say our goodbyes and "until next year".

I got back just in time to help clean up for supper and to give baths.  After bathtime, Lorraine (from the CA group) came over to have Doris paint her toenails.  We had a very  nice conversation while she was getting her nails painted.  I'll be looking her up on facebook!  Doris insisted on painting my toenails afterwards.  I let her.  She had been taught by a sister of one of the staff her and has become quite good at it.  I'll post a picture of my nails below, but please if you look at the picture...focus on her talent and not my "dry, cracked missionary feet".

For an hour or so after she painted my nails, we headed to her room and just spent time chatting about her and how difficult life outside of Emmanuel will be (should she decide in the near future to leave...she is 21 years old and does have the option).  We talked about her sisters who are currently here at Emmanuel with their babies.  And we just spent some precious time together before I'd be leaving on Thursday.  I really do like these moments with her, when all the other little ones are sleeping and we can just chat about things that are important to her - as a young adult.  I came home around 7:30pm and since I had been slightly feverish and congested all day, headed to bed to rest.  Please keep my health in your prayers as I'd like to finish these last few days strong and as healthy as possible.

Doris' Gift to Me...Painting my Nails

That Rat!!!

This morning I decided to sleep in for an extra hour or two since my morning didn't "officially" start until 8:00am (rather than 6am every other day).  When I did wake up, around 5:00, I found that there was NO RAT caught in the trap.  Bob had put peanut butter and some granola on the trap (which looks like a super-sized mouse trap) to lure the rat.  When I looked around the apartment, I deduced that the rat knows about these traps somehow...and here's why:

1. the rat left a dropping on top of the container of peanut butter - as if to say, "I don't need just a little peanut butter on your rat trap when I know where the big jar of peanut butter is!"
2. the rat tore a hole in the bag of granola overnight (This bag was placed on top of the refrigerator by Kimberly before she left, thinking that the rat could not get up there) - well either the rat is a rope climber (climbing the water hose that goes from bottom to top in back of the refrig for making ice) or the rat is trying to remind us that he is a distant cousin to the flying squirrel.
3. the rat left a dropping in the doorway of our bedroom - as if to say, "I know where you sleep!"

I'm hoping to be able to catch this rat (and all of its relatives) soon!  After being disgusted by not having caught it yet, I made a pot of coffee and then sat down to have my devotional time with God.  It wasn't long before Bob came out for us to do our couple's devotion.  After that, it was time to get Alina up & get ready for church.

We had invited Michell to church with us and although she said she wanted to go, when Alina went up to get her, she had changed her mind.  Bob saved us a spot in church and we listened to the message given by the Ohio group pastor.  He asked us if the Spirit had our heart?  I'll let your mind dwell on that a while before moving on to the rest of my day...the question is NOT 'Will you give your heart to Jesus?' but 'Have you already given it, 100%, wholly & completely?'

Bob, Alina, Michell & LoriAnn

After church we changed clothes and then took Michell to the store where we bought her lunch.  Back in May, Alina & I had done a Secret Keeper Girl Mommy Daughter Date where Alina went on a shopping spree.  She had $20 to spend at the Fox River Mall and had to get 3 items with that money, each item coming from a different store and only 30 minutes in which to complete this shopping spree...and one more twist...her purchases were to go to a girl here at Orphanage Emmanuel - she chose Michell.  The purpose of the shopping spree was to teach her about mean girls, since eventually she'd be running from store to store and running out of patience as she looked to complete the task.  So today was all about giving Michell these items over lunch.  Michell is a very quiet, shy girl; but has been taking care of Alina (like a big sister would) while Alina's been down here this year.

Michell & Alina

After lunch, Alina spent the rest of the day with the medium girls out in the yards and playing soccer.  I joined them for a bit of the afternoon/evening, and Bob came out later in the evening to play some soccer as well.  He even scored TWO goals on Alina!!!

At the end of the night when we came back to the apartment, Bob and Alina went looking for critters outside and THAT is when it happened...I was sitting at the kitchen table doing a word search, and the rat decided to "play" with me.  First it came out from the ceiling and then headed back up through the hole...TWICE!  I thought it'd be gone for a while, but then the next thing I know it's walking along the brick wall from the microwave to the stove in plain view!  I was pretty freaked out.  I could hear Bob and Alina outside, so called for Bob to come inside.  He couldn't find the rat, but loaded the trap up with more peanut butter and granola and put it directly underneath that hole in the ceiling.  We're hoping to catch something by morning.  YUCK!!!

Kissing a Cucaracha

Today's breakfast was back to oatmeal and moon pies.  After breakfast, the little girls were sent into the sala (living room) so that the big girls could do a thorough cleaning of the house, like they do every Saturday.  Alina & I didn't want to cause too many problems (the girls get a little rowdy in that sala when Alina is in there), so we headed to the medium girls' yard to hopefully play with them.  They were actually all sitting up on the steps, checking each other for lice...which is also another "common thing" down here.  So Alina & I waited patiently to get checked too.  We're CLEAR!!!

After the girls were allowed to go play, I saw a girl with a pretty neat inverted french braid (for all you beauticians or hair fanatics out there, I'm not sure if that's the proper word).  Anyway, I asked the girl who did the braid and she was quick to point out Estefani.  The girls around me asked if I wanted her to do my hair, and I said only if she wanted to.  They called her over (she seemed REALLY shy) and told her to start putting a braid in my hair.  She just looked down & didn't move, I think perhaps because she didn't know if I actually wanted her to do it.  I asked her if she would want to put a braid in my hair, and she was very quick to say, "YES!" and she asked if she could make the braid into the letter 'S'.  I said that'd be okay, so she got to work...here's the finished product:

S-Braid, courtesy of Estefani

After getting my hair braided, I trimmed Alina's hair before returning my comb & scissors back to the apartment.  Alina played soccer with the medium girls until lunchtime.  Alina ate with the medium girls and then came over to the small girls house to help serve the ramen noodles & vegetables.  I didn't eat lunch since I had arranged to meet Bob at the tienda to have lunch with him.  After the little girls ate, they went into the sala with Alina to watch the movie Annie while I went to hunt down Bob.  We had some chicken sandwiches and a smoothie...my choice: blueberry & banana, Bob's choice: blueberry & papaya.

Wade had given Bob a rat trap (the thing is HUGE), so he set that up in the kitchen.  Now it'll be a waiting game to see how many rats he can get before we take off for home next Thursday.  I'm sure that trap will be going off in the middle of the night, and most likely each night!  Hopefully we get 'THE BIG ONE' soon!

When I got back to the little girls' house, Alina was gone; so I headed to the medium girls house to see if she had went over there.  She was there inside the medium girls house and they had a sheet up on the wall and a special projector and stereo system to watch the movie Oz - The Great & Powerful.  Neither of us had watched it before...so Alina saw all of it through, whereas I arrived during the last 1/3 of the movie or so.  I don't think I'd like Kaylyn watching it, but it was a pretty neat movie.  Alina said she didn't understand very much because the movie had been dubbed over in Spanish.

After the movie, we headed back to the little girls' house for supper.  Unfortunately Doris didn't keep the fire going strong all day and the beans weren't done, so the girls showered before supper and since the beans were STILL not done, the girls had rice & a small pecan pie for supper.  During supper, I saw Elizabeth freak out in the kitchen.  Water spewed out of her mouth and she was jumping up & down, wiping her mouth.  When she came out, she told us that she had grabbed a glass and filled it with water to drink...when she took a drink, she felt something move on her lips.  She brushed her lips and felt more movement and then IT fell to the ground...an enormous cockroach!  That was definitely the highlight of my day!!!

(This would be why I've checked all my glasses, even back home in Wisconsin, before filling them up...because of having found large bugs in them when I lived down in Mexico)

After supper, Alina & I headed back to the apartment for her to catch up on her journal and for me to get my blogs updated, before heading to bed.

Bread on a Stick

Unfortunately there was no BIG circle today, which marks the 2nd year that Bob has not seen a big circle...oh well, perhaps next year?

So this morning we decided Alina would go with Bob for the day & work like a "varon" (male).  While I was working on breakfast for my little girls and getting them ready for school, Alina & Bob headed to the front of the team house where the road is going in.  Unfortunately by the time I got over there to take a picture of Alina working, the work was just finishing up and the California team was about to head out.  So the only picture I got was of a very dusty/dirty Alina standing and watching the team get ready to head out.

Bob & Alina (after cement work) saying Goodbye to the California Group

There were 2 men from the California team that had some pretty bad burns around their ankles because they didn't bring work boots to wear while doing cement.  They would ooze each day after showering.  It looked so painful.

I headed to school and Leslie was there to start her first "en necesidad" class.  Robert (the director of the school) met me before class started and was asking about how the classes were going & if I had seen any improvement.  We chatted a bit before he had to tend to other things in the school.  Leslie did great with her first class, and after shadowing me the rest of the day, I turned the 4th & 5th grade folders over to her so she can do the classes next week beginning on Monday.  I kept the 6th grade folder & said I'd try to finish the Narnia book & get all the preparations/notes done for her before I left.

After doing cement, Alina & Bob headed to do a bunch of odds 'n ends with plumbing issues and to try to solve the big water leak problem that Wade had mentioned to Bob.  They also got some practice with the cows...in both herding them in and also milking them.

When classes were over, I headed with the little girls to lunch, and since there was no afternoon class we went to the yard out front to play afterwards.  Yolani took me to her costura (sewing) class where she showed me a skirt she had finished.  It's really nice to see the girls learning a trade here, and Yolani did an amazing job on the skirt!

As I was heading back to the little girls' house, I saw the medium girls in the yard and stopped since they were about to have ensenanza.  They asked the pastor from the Ohio group to do the ensenanza and he talked about running a race and keeping your eyes on the finish line...both in the literal sense (because he competes in marathons) and in the spiritual sense.  Then he asked the girls to race him...and said that if anyone beat him, he'd buy them a soda.  There was only 1 girl that beat him, and she ran barefoot!

After this ensenanza, I saw the little girls coming back to their house, so went to get them their supper and showered.  At 6:00pm, the volunteers had a bonfire and made bread on a stick.  Bob & Alina came with me and Alina & I enjoyed bread filled with peanut butter & chocolate chips, while Bob chose to fill his bread with honey.

Goodbye Kimberly & Pastor Jeff...Hello Rebecca

This morning before I headed out, I said goodbye to Kimberly who is going back to the States with Pastor Jeff.  She will have a couple of stops on the way up to Wisconsin to visit people she has met while down here at Emmanuel (Florida, Alabama & Tennessee), so I believe I'll actually get "home" first.  Unfortunately I didn't get to see Pastor Jeff, but I'm sure I'll see him next Sunday in church.

This morning there were chocolate moon pies instead of strawberry ones, so I figured I'd have one (I don't care for strawberry flavor in general, so I haven't had a moon pie yet).  Well, I think my stomach has shrunk quite a bit since being here because I didn't feel so well after having the granola cereal and a moon pie...I felt STUFFED.  I helped with cleaning the kitchen and then walked the girls to school.

Today Leslie shadowed me at school through my classes.  She will be here for the next 10 months, so will be taking over where I leave off in the reading classes.  I did hand the "en necesidad" folders over to her right away since I wasn't able to do anything with those classes over the past 3 weeks.  I counted up how many classes I was responsible for (without the en necesidad ones) and there were 20 classes!  It sounds like Leslie will begin the en necesidad classes tomorrow since I'll still take the ones I'm doing for this week yet and make sure they're all prepared well for her.  This way, she can spend all of her time getting the one class I wasn't able to prepare for ready to go!

LoriAnn with One of Her Reading Classes

I walked my little girls back to their dining hall for lunch and when I walked them back to school, I tracked down Luis David to give him a chili sucker since I hadn't yet gotten one to him.  This afternoon I headed home for about an hour just to have a break for a little bit.  When I got back to the little girls house for supper, I met a new volunteer Rebecca.  She's mostly blind, so carries around her stick.  She seems SO nice & caring though, and is planning on being here for 3 months.  She had supper with Samantha and I at the little girls' house since Katja will be assigning her to a house tomorrow.  Alina spent the afternoon on the slip 'n slide with the medium girls (an event put on by the California group) before coming to the little girls' house for supper.  After supper, it was shower time once again and then getting ready for bed.