Happy Birthday Fernando

On Tuesday, Fernando turned 10. We have been trying to do something as each kid has a birthday. Generally, we go to the pulperia and let them pick some candy or ice cream and a drink. It provides some special one on one time with each of them.

I gave Fer the option of a pulperia or to Byron's cafe for desert and a drink. He had never been to the cafe before, so that is what he chose. The cake of the day was chocolate, which is always very rich and moist. He chose that plus a granita supreme to drink. The granita supreme is full of chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and cookies along with the iced coffee-milk-sugar combo. Fernando had a few sips of the granita and about half the cake. He very politely asked of he could take the rest home for later.

I enjoyed my time with Fernando and hope that he felt special as we celebrated his birthday.

Haley and Bible Class

From the time we moved to Costa Rica until recently, Haley HATED Bible class. She always cried when it was time for class. Seeing a teacher outside of class caused her to go into a panic After we moved to Honduras, Haley made a transformation in Bible class from scared baby to class bully. Although she is one of the youngest, she is also one of the strongest. Before class we had to give her the ten commandments of Haley... No biting, no pushing, no hitting, no screaming, etc. However, I always got bad reports from the teachers. She had hit or stolen a chair from another child. The list goes on.
About a month ago, we started hearing good reports. She participated. She was kind to the others. She didn't cry. Sunday when the little kid class came to sing, Haley did not sing, but she did the motions of the song. When I picked her up, they told me that she even said her Bible verse. The rest of the day, she quoted the verse she learned in class.
Below is a picture of Haley doing the motions in front of everyone.

Antonio

When Matt and I were in the States, Antonio was playing soccer with Fernando when he fell and broke his tibia. He had to have a surgery and now has a rod in his leg. For a week he could do almost nothing, but for the following couple of weeks he tried hard to do nothing but watch movies. This afternoon it wasn't raining in Santa Ana (a sharp contrast to my time in the city this afternoon) so the kids were outside playing. Most had joined in a soccer game, even Antonio. He was on his crutches in one spot, but if the ball came his way he would pass it with his crutches. It made me smile to actually see him up and around this afternoon.

RAINS POUR DOWN

Today as I left teleton, it was raining one of those torrential downpours that I've always imagined Noah having to be in. Haley, Fernando, Guadalupe and I were all soaked just going to the car. The windshield wipers were going fullblast. Water was rapidly flowing out of every drainage pipe we past and just as fast down the mountains the road I was on, which is a major highway in Honduras, was really more like a river. Part of me was wondering when we were just going to float away. As soon as I saw th conditions of the road, I prayed that we would make it home safely. PRAISE GOD we did.

ADONIS

Adonis is 9.  He is brilliant, but easily bores in school.  His mom didn't really lay down any rules for him, and didn't do anything if he didn't go to school.  He finished first grade, but in second grade, she called IHNFA (Honduran DHS) and asked them to come take her son because he was uncontrolable.  Given, she did nothing to try to control him.  And now he is here.

Adonis lives in the house with the babies, and the little kids.  He is older and acts out a lot trying to get any attention he can.  He feels insanely rejected in his life.  His own mother didn't want him anymore and he hadn't even completed his 8th birthday.  I imagine he feels like if his mom doesn't want him, how could anyone.

Adonis steals everything he can get his hands on.  He is a chronic liar.  He destroys things around the house.  He won't do his homework.  He is stubborn.  He has almost been expelled from school.  Yet somehow, Adonis has worked his way into my heart.  I love him and pray for the best for him.  I have taken on the task of working with him, his sister Guadalupe, and Fernando on afternoon homework.  Mirian has her hands full with the babies and little ones, and Pamela, 14, was being left to supervise the homework.  I thought that was very unfair to Pamela.

Homework with the 3 of them, especially Guadalupe and Adonis I am sure is more painful at times than ripping off your toenails one by one, but I also feel (and hope) that I am making somewhat of a difference to them.  They are getting a little more attention. 

Please pray that God can use me to make a difference.  Also, pray that we can find a psychologist to work with Adonis on a weekly basis.  Really, we need a psychologist for almost all of our children.  Pray that will happen in the near future.  All of these kids have had a lot of pain in their lives.

WHEW!! I'M GLAD THIS ONE IS OVER!!

This morning started out better than usual.  Haley woke up at 5:30, but my mom entertained her until about 6:30, so I got an hour extra of sleep after going to bed really early last night due to a power outage and the lack of desire to sit in the dark with no computer, no tv, and no one to talk to.  What an awesome day I thought this was going to be.

About 5 minutes before 8 when I was supposed to be up at CdE because I was really needed up there.  I said to tell her that I was on my way.  I got up there to the frenzy of kids trying to finish up chores and work on their insane amounts of homework.  (The teachers were all striking today because they have not been getting paid.  When they strike they provide the students with INSANE amounts of busywork.  For example the 4th graders are having to write from 10,000 to 15,000.  They have already written from 1-10,000 since school started in February.)

I came in, and my mom begins telling me that Karen, Dorian, and Korbin are all sick so Karen was not going to be working today except for the two hours of visitation.  That became quite the kink in our already complicated schedule.

Every other Friday, my mom and Matt go to the produce market to buy everything needed for the two houses here at Casa de Esperanza.  Every Friday, I go to a class at Teleton with two of our girls that have learning disabilities, except the last Friday of the month because that is the Friday where they have a visitation with their moms.  Haley usually goes with me to Teleton.  Today fell visitation and market day, which generally is fine, because I stay here and help Karen with the visitation, and Matt helps my mom at the market.  Last Friday, I found out that there was a REQUIRED MEETING at Teleton during the time of visitation where children were not permitted.  We all knew that would put us in a bind, but a managable one.

At one point, we planned that my mom would go to the market of a morning, and I would leave for my meeting at 1:30, meet her in town and give her Haley.  Well, yesterday, the mechanic came over and said he would be working on my car all day today.  Both cars could not have been used even if both of us had been able to leave at the same time.  My engine was in many parts outside of the car when I left.  My couldn't have gone to the market regardless though with Karen being sick.

The plan was this: leave CdE at 10:30, get to market at 11:30, 1 hour for Rosa to gather everything, leave the market at 12:30, get to Teleton at 1:00, eat lunch, go to meeting at 1:30, get out at 4:30, and be home by 6:00.  Why do I even make plans??  I live in Honduras, and NOTHING ever goes according to a plan. 

The market was a very plesant experience, although I left with only 10 minutes to get through traffic for the meeting.  I don't have to go and figure out prices at the market as most do.  Rosa works with us to help us.  I simply give her the list, and she goes all over the market gathering the food that we need.  It was so nice to see her; I hadn't seen her since November, and she did not even know I am pregnant.  While she was busy gathering, I decided to eat some lunch.  Lunch at the national market is always delicious, fresh, and much of a cultural experience.  For $2, I bought a pincho, which is much like a shish-ka-bob.  It is a stick layered with meats and veggies.  Also, on my plate, I had beans and rice, chismol, mixed veggies, and 2 tortillas.

I got to Teleton at what appeared to be 15 minutes late by my watch, but evidently, I was 15 minutes early on the Honduran clock.  The meeting that was to start at 1:30 and end at 4:30 started 30 minutes late and ended 30 minutes late.  I was so tired at bored when I got out of that meeting.  I was ready to pick up my hot and ready pizza, get my mom's house and RELAX. 

About 2 seconds after I got home, my mom informed me that Reina, Maryuri, and Josue found a small bottle of gasoline, and DRANK IT.  Almost immediately, they were given water and milk which helped rinse out their insides.  The water and milk mad all three throw up A LOT.  My mom, Karen, and I all agreed that they should be seen by a doctor in the ER.

We first went to the one here in Ojojona.  That is never a good experience.  They always want to admit you for cualquier cosa.  The doctor in the emergency room recommended that the three get a chest x-ray to ensure that no gasoline was in the lungs.  I called my mom, and she and sleeping Haley made their way to my car, and we headed to a clinic in the city.

Five minutes into our trip into the city, Reina tells me she has to pee.  I told her to hold it, but a few minutes after that, she had to go so bad she was crying.  I explained to her how she would go on the side of the road.  I opened both the drivers door and passenger door so she could go in between them, then I held her hands to brace her.  As she finished her pee, Maryuri tells me that she too needs to pee.  I turn to see her wearing footed pajamas and rain boots.  I just looked at her not knowing exactly how she was going to not get pee everywhere.  Finally I decided to hold her hand and her pajamas at the same time so thet didn;t get wet.

Right before we got to the doctor, Reina and Maryuri both had to pee again.  This time Maryuri was crying for her need to pee.  Josue peed in the car after he fell asleep while we were driving, but all three of them had to pee before they could see a doctor. 

The kids were all very nervous, and certain they would get shots.  However, the doctor was gentile with them.  He did not really see a need to the X-Rays, so after a short physical for each, we were headed back home. 

All 4 kids were asleep when we got back here to Santa Ana.  Todnight, prayers were heard and our gas guzzlers are well.  Hoping their little tummies feel better tomorrow.  I'm also hoping for a day tomorrow that is not filled with so much craziness.

Haley's prayers

Haley's prayers have become a huge sense of enjoyment in our family.  She usually wants to pray in Spanish, not English, but that is ok because God understands them both.  She always thanks God for the food several times.  Last night she thanked God for both me and my mom about 5 times saying; 'Gracias por Grammy, gracias por Grammita.  Gracias por mami, Gracias por Mamita."  Then when she mentioned Poppy and Daddy, she needed to remind God that they are not here.  Then she started thanking God for her dog, and her dogs collar and the door.  It is so sweet to here her pray, and I pray that she grows up to love and honor God in her life.

Anemic? I thought it was just my work load

I went to a new doctor today.  It was my first time this pregnancy to see and OBGYN.  I had been going to an Internist who had seen my mom during her hospital stay in November.  Dr. Simon knows all about babies and delivery and such, but he felt it would be better if for the last couple months I saw an OBGYN in case any problems arouse. 

So today, instead of Dr. Simon, I went to see Dr. Garcia.  I handed him the results to all of my lab work.  He told me almost everything was on a normal level except that the amount of iron in my blood is low.  He asked if I have been feeling tired lately, and I responded, "Of course, I'm 7 months pregnant and work 10-12 hour days every day on top of chasing my own daughter around."  That would make anyone tired.  He laughed and gave me some iron so that maybe I will feel a little less tired and definately will feel less weak.

One really nice thing about seeing the doctor here during pregnancy, is that you get an ultrasound every single time.  Baby Emma is very healthy.  If she was born today, she would weigh about 3 lbs. She is growing as she should, and there are no evident problems. 

The nicest part about seeing Dr. Simon was that he saw me for no charge simply because he really respects my family.  Since Dr. Garcia does not know me, I knew I would be charged.  I was charged a whopping $35 to see the doctor, get an ultrasound, and get some iron pills.  Not bad I say.

Today, I am 29.5 weeks pregnant, and very excited to meet this baby.  Both Dr. Simon and Dr. Garcia believe that I will be able to have this baby without having to endure another C-section.  Let's pray to God that is so.

STUCK

Last night we went to feed Tibbie.  Evidently, this is becoming quite the adventure for us, feeding the dog.  Normally, Matt parks on the pad by the outdoor kitchen, and we are usually in our Mitsubishi 4X4.  Last night we were in a Toyota Hiace which is a narrow, low to the ground van.  There has been 10 inches of rain this week alone.  Matt pulled towards the pad and felt the wheels spinning.  he decided he was going to go ahead and turn it around rather than get stuck.  He got mostly turned around, but there was mud everywhere, and the front wheels got stuck in it pulling back on to the path out of the property.  I went on in to feed the dog and look at Haley's newly painted room.  When I got done inside the house, he had called Richard, who came to tow the van out of the mud.  Thank God we have good friends that can help us.

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

Last night, I went to feed my dog at my house.  We have been staying at my parents house while some construction has been going on there.  Right after I got out of the car, I slipped in some mud and fell to the ground.  That was probably the springboard for my day today.

When I fell, I knew immediately that my legs were sore.  A few minutes later I realized that my belly was hurting, but not too badly, and that my back hurt pretty badly.  I came back to my parents changed, and tried my hardest not to move at all off of the couch.  At bed time, I spent about 45 minutes trying my hardest to get into a comfortable possition, but with an aching back and a beldging belly, it just wasn't going to happen.  Not in the bed anyway.  So I moved to the couch.  That was a little better, but I still was restless all night.

Mirian took a day of vacation, and I had agreed to go to her house at 5:45.  Her house in the morning could make anyone crazy with three in diapers, several who can't sit still or listen, and 3 that have to eat, brush teeth and do chores before leaving for school.

I finished in time to shower and show up late for preschool.  Both my first and second choices for breakfast were gone, so I did what any logical grown-up would do...I cried.

I went to preschool class, and no one wanted to listen.  Any kept telling me no any time I told her to do something.  Haley told me she didn't hear me.  Josue threw everything he could touch across the room in a temper tantrum. 

After preschool, I hurried to get myself and Haley fed and changed.  I ended up not changing because the only pair of jeans I could find were the ones covered with mud.  Haley did not really care that I was running late and in a hurry.  She was not.  She took her time with everything.

Teleton was the normal run of boring.  When we got home, I headed up to work on homework with Lupita, Fernando, and Adonis.  I don't know why I decided to make this a daily habit.  It is really more of a self-inflicted punishment to try to do homework with Adonis and Lupita.  At 6:00 I finally sent Adonis back to his house saying he couldn't eat until his homework was done.  It isn't that he isn't smart.  He is one of the brightest kids we have.  He just refused to work.  He didn't even have that much homework.

I realize, none of this is major or sounds that bad.  Really, a bad night's sleep combined with insane pregnancy hormones make several small events each seem like its own crisis.  Sorry to bore all 3 of you that read my blog with my whining, tomorrow will be better.

El Torneo de Amistad

On Monday, a teacher at Teleton asked if her church's youth group could come out today to play soccer with the kids.  The same group came out in October, and our kids really connected with them.  We asked that they did not bring gifts this time, and they agreed.

Right on time at 2:00 the group arrived.  Our little kids were tired, many had just gone to sleep when the group got there, but they were allowed to wake up to participate with the group.  Pom poms were made for all of the kids and most of the youth group too.  Then 4 soccer teams were formed so the kids could have a tournament.  A few in the youth group were on each team.

They wanted all of the kids to feel very special.  Each game they either made one of the littlest kids or one of the kids that needed the most attention to be the capitain.  On the sidelines, all of the kids were waving their pom poms and chanting for both teams on the field, which really encouraged everyone playing.

At the end of the tounament, everyone got medals.  All the kids on the two teams that did not win plus our kids such as Yair and Doris who did not play soccer received a 3rd place medal.  The team that one one game got silver place medals.  And finally, the all girls team that won both games received the gold medal.  While the medals were home made, the kids wore them with pride.  Many, even after their showers, wore their medals with their pajamas.

After the tournament, and the medal presentation, the group pulled out a guitar and sang a couple of songs for the kids.  Also, the group learned a song in sign language specifically for Rosy.  I was touched that they would all learn that just for one girl.  Many times, because so many of us don't know sign, there are not many special things just for her.  To finish the afternoon, cake and drinks were served to everyone.

Guadalupe cheering

Sisi, Cris, and Jackson in the soccer game

Most of the kids with the youth group

Yair, the cutest fan

Olman came out to watch

So did Josue

I survived el Cine 2012

The past several years, a college group has come for several weeks at the end of May and at the beginning of June.  One of the things this group always did with the kids from CdE was take them to the water park Aqua Splash.  My dad decided that since the college group didn't come this year, and the interns weren't coming until the end of the month and would be hitting the ground running, we would take them to Aqua Splash.  About an hour and a half before the planned time to leave for the water park, I was called by my dad, and he said it was raining hard and today would not be a good day for the water park.  I said to him he better have a back up plan, and he better come here and break the news to the very excited kids that they were not going to the water park.

We decided to go to the movie instead.  After lunch, the kids all hurried to get ready.  Going to town for our kids means putting on their best clothes and doing their hair.  It really is a big deal for them.  All 28 of us loaded up in the van and in our vehicle and headed to town.  We had several of the older boys in our car.  The guys in the in the furthest part of the car had their windows open, and one just couldn't keep his head inside the car.

The newspaper said that the movie we were going to see started at 2:30.  We got there about 2:15, only to find out that actually, the movie wouldn't start until 3:15.  Fortunately there is a nice indoor playground in the mall that we could keep the kids occupied for a bit.  As usual, some were a bit more wild than necessary, but that is what you get with that many kids.

We got back to the cinema, and everyone had to go to the bathroom.  Here, when you buy tickets, you immediately choose the seats you will be in.  We had two full rows and two seats on another row.  We all got to our seats, and my dad and Matt headed out for the mile-long line to get the promised cokes and popcorn.  The next 30 minutes or so became the  most challenging game of whack-a-mole I have ever played.  As soon as one kid sat down, two more stood up.  Fortunately, that didn't last the whole movie.

Soon the popcorn and coke arrived.  I think only one of the buckets of popcorn was spilled (but there could have been others that I didn't know about).  With 22 kids, most of whom are girls bathroom runs are a frequent in the movie.  After eating a lot of popcorn, Haley told me she really had to go potty.  I scooted all the way across the row to go down to the bathroom with her, and on the way out Katy and Maryuri joined me to go to the bathroom as well.  About the time that Haley sat down on the potty, I heard Doris the employee, Any, Guadalupe, and Rosy walk in.  Lupita was two seats away from me, and I had to pass over the other two to get out of the row, yet none of them felt the need to tell me that they too needed to go to the bathroom.  The waited until I got out the door and told Doris.  About 2 seconds after Doris, the 6 girls and I sat down, Cindy began tapping my shoulder saying she had to go pee.  Fortunately, I saw Christina walking out with another girl, and sent Cindy running for her.

On the way home, I had to rescue the popcorn that was set aside from my mom who loves movie popcorn, then our leaky radiador began to heat up, so as has become a regular process, Matt had to stop and add water to cool it down (the radiador will be replaced soon).  When you take the cap off of a hot radiador, a lot of steam comes out, and the boys were convinced that Matt had blown up the car.  While today was fun, it was enough fun to last a long time without going to the movie again with that many kids.

Yaslin

A few weeks ago, when I was at Teleton, I met Yaslin (pronounced Jasleen).  Yaslin always wears a smile, braided pigtails, and glasses.  My goal is to always talk to her, make her laugh, and make her feel beautiful.  She is in a wheelchair at Teleton, but the one she uses there belongs there.  She does not have one for the rest of her daily life.  Today, I spent some time talking to her dad, and I learned a lot about this smiley little girl.  She was born with the bottom half of her body paralyzed and hydrocephalus.  At Hospital Escuela, they needed $300 to acquire some sort of helmet to help with the water on her head, and the size of it.  While to us it seems very easy to find a way to find $300 to provide for our child's medical need, but here in Honduras, people just simply cannot come up with that much money.  I also found out that at one time she did have a wheelchair, but the terrain of Honduras wore it out after a couple years, they do not have the means to get a new one.

Yaslin's dad was not telling me this for me to feel sorry for his girl, nor was he asking for help.  We were just talking about our kids and why they were in Teleton.  It was encouraging to me to see that they are not mad or bitter about Yaslin's situation.  Grateful to have the opportunity to get to know Yaslin a little better today.

Preschool

Back in February when I started my morning preschool class, it seemed like the most helpless class.  I didn't think I could actually make a difference to these kids or that they would ever learn anything.  Of the 7 in my class, only Haley could recognize some shapes or colors and  none of them could recognize any letters, numbers and other basic things that most preschoolers know.

At first no one could sit down for more than 30 seconds at a time.  They would not listen to even one story.  I did not have a set curriculum, and pretty much flew by the seat of my pants on a daily basis.  Now we read 4 or 5 stories and sing songs.  I have a plan for each week, and the kids are much better with their behavior.

I thought my starting point would be asking "What color is this?" or "What number is this?"  Instead I had to go back and teach what colors, letters, and numbers were.  I think Haley, Cris and Josue have made the biggest leaps since February.  The three of them recognize most colors most of the time.  They know almost any animal I show them pictures of and what that animal does.  When their name is written down on paper, they recognize it as their name.  They can all participate in story time through interaction and answering questions.  The three of them recognize the pattern of each day and can always tell us what is coming next.

Some days, I feel like Any has made no progress.  Still she cannot sit still for more than 3 seconds.   She does not listen.  No discipline seems to work.  Today, however, God shows me that some things are, in fact sinking in with her.  She is able to recognize some animals.  She is speaking a little bit better.  She completed a somewhat challenging star-shaped puzzle today.

I am thankful that I can see that these kids are learning some, and I praise God for the changes he is making in their lives, however little bit at a time it is. 

Our Thursdays

Our Thursdays are our most special days together.  Matt and I both have very busy schedules, but Thursday is our day off.  Day in and out we are with the 24 other children at CdE.  Many of them call us Mommy and Daddy, and it is very hard for her to share us.  Thursdays are usually very laid back for us.  Most of the time we try to not even come to the Casa campus.  However, we are staying here with my parents, so we are on the casa campus. 

We made plans to leave early enough to go to town to get donuts, and knew that we would stay for lunch too.  It doesn't really matter what we do on Thursdays, they are just our special days.  While there are few parks with playgrounds here, almost all fast food restaurants and malls have nice playgrounds, so there is almost always a time in the day that Haley gets to run and play.

I mentioned earlier Haley gets a little jealous sometimes of the other kids and the fact that she has to share the attention.  We always try to let her know how special she is to us and that while we help care for the other kids, she is OURS.  Thursdays help a lot with the reassurance that she is our special girl, that no matter what we are there for her, and that she comes before the other kids.  Our days off are always full of laughter and usually involve something special like a donut or ice cream.  I cherish our day off, and instead of looking forward to the weekend, I am always looking forward for my Thursday.  Thank God for Thursdays!

Taller de Autoestima

Recently at Teleton, Reina was recommended for a "Taller de Autoestima" or a self-esteem workshop.  I wasn't very thrilled about it because it meant for 2 months instead of going to Teleton a minimum of twice a week, I would be going a minimum of 3 times a week.  This week I was going to have to go 4 times, 2 being today.  My first appointment this morning was frustrating to say the least.  All of the doctors schedule all of their appointments at 7:00 am.  In order to be close to one of the first ones seen, one must arrive at Teleton at 6:00, wait outside of the gate for 30 minutes then try to maintain the same near-front-of-the-line position when arriving at the nurses station so that you can receive a good number in the order patients will be seen, and finally wait in the waiting room an additional 30 minutes or more in order to see the doctor.  After getting up at 4:15 this morning and hauling baby Josue into town for his appointment for which the doctor had gone on her honeymoon, I was dreading making another trip back this morning.

Matt had left for the dump, which meant Haley was to go to Teleton with me.  I brought a book to read to Haley and a magazine for myself if Haley chose to play.  My mom took Reina the first week, and last week was just for parents, so I did not realize that the workshop was for the parents as well as the children.  Each week, we have a list of materials that our child is supposed to bring in order to do a project to build the child's self-esteem.  Today, Reina and I made a house with construction paper and glued it to cardboard.  Reina had to write her name on the door, then I had to write everything else.  On the windows and roof of the house, I had to write qualities that I see in Reina.  On the sun I had to write what she means to me, and on the tree, I had to tell Reina how much I love her.  Because Reina cannot read, I dictated to her that which I was writing about her, and she clapped and squealed with each thing that I wrote. 

The way home, Reina and Haley laughed the entire way.  Between seeing how great Reina felt after the workshop and hearing the girls laugh, I knew this workshop was a great thing and definitely worth my time to go to Teleton one extra time each week.

You Mean You Have to Attend School to Learn??

One of my biggest, constant frustrations of living here and working with kids is the public school education system (or lack there of.)  It is a rare occasion that all of our school-aged kids go to school all five days in a week.  There are no substitutes in this country; in fact, the regular teachers do not even always receive their pay.  Therefore, if a teacher cannot make it, then the students do not have class.

We see overcrowding so bad it makes elementary schools who complain about the overcrowding problems in the States look as if they have empty class rooms.  At our kids school there are between 40-50 in each grade, and only one class per grade.  The children are not allowed to think for themselves.  They spend pretty much all of their time from kindergarten to sixth grade doing meaningless copy work.  For example, I went to see how much homework Maryuri had, and it was 8 pages of copying one word on each page.  They do not learn to come up with their own sentences.  Most 5th and 6th graders cannot even write a simple paragraph with 3 or 4 basic sentences.  In history and in science, the tests are only questions from a guide that a teacher gives them, and the tests are usually in the exact order and format of that from the guide.

One day, I gave a ride to town to the 4th grade teacher.  She is thought to be one of the best teachers at the school.  I was talking to her about a book that I was required to read in Costa Rica.  It was about 120 pages and on a 3rd or 4th grade reading level.  I was asking if she had ever read it.  Her response was astonishing: "A 100 page book, and you think that is 4th grade level.  I don't even know if I would be able to read that."  This same teacher incorrectly taught the kids Roman Numerals and marked incorrect several of their multiplication problems that were in fact correct.

I started writing this because I found out that once again the school for tomorrow is canceled.  My frustration is huge.  Education is one key step to breaking the cycle of poverty.  Our kids miss school almost as frequently as they attend, and when they are there, they are hardly learning anything.  I wish the teachers, school boards, and government of our country realized that one of the key ways to break the continuous cycle of poverty is through education the next generation, and doing it well.  Please pray for a large change in the education of this country so that children CAN learn and CAN one day obtain good jobs.  It is an injustice for the education of an entire country to be so BAD.

Progress on the House

Our house has been a constant project since we moved into it in March.  Sometimes the to-do list of needs on the house seems overwhelming and impossible.  We went 10 days without water at one point.  We have had some electrical problems and some bug problems.  When we got home from Baton Rouge on Tuesday, we received a warning call that our house might be a big mess because of some of the work going on.  We got there and they had been putting floor supports in the ceiling of the first floor in order to make our second floor safe.  To our surpise, they cleaned up pretty well after themselves.  When we got home on Thursday,  they were putting varnish on the new supports.  We unloaded our groceries and packed our bags for a couple nights while they finished the varnish.  After talking to Dorian and Richard about the plans for the house (Dorian and Richard are overseeing all of the work happening on our house) we decided that rather than moving in and out a bunch of times we should just pack our bags for a stay at my parents. 

All of the floor supports are put in and stained.  Some of our doors have been stained.  Much of the ugly kitchen counter tile has been removed and replaced.  Soon there will be a pump for the well and a second cistern to hold water.  Also, soon we will have regular door knobs on our doors, all of our rooms will be painted, the outside of the house will be painted, and the electricity will be re-wired so that we will have more than one outlet per room.

We are excited to see the daily progress on our house.  This is going to be a ministry center that will affect the lives of several young ladies.  Also, on our property, we will have a mission house complex, so this will also be the central place for all of the Honduras Hope groups.

The Travel Bug

I remember traveling with my family as long as I can remember anything.  I always loved everything about traveling (except 20 hours in a car watching Dumb and Dumber repeatedly to the point that everyone in my family still knows all of the words.).  I love everything about traveling.  My favorite vacation from childhood was a 2 week long road trip in the red minivan.  The five of us began in our Memphis suburb and visited Niagra Falls, and all five Great Lakes.  We did a lot of camping and hiking in between Memphis and Canada and on the trip back home.  We took numerous trips before and after, but I truly believe that trip 21 years ago permanently sealed my love, even my deep desire for the adventure that comes with travel.

There is a great adventure in traveling to new places.  The most traveled places are either places of culture, places full of history, or places in nature.  Those of culture and history make me love more the people of God that he did not make us all the same and that he made so many diverse cultures.  Those of nature make me feel more at one with the creation as well as the Creator. 

Recently, I have been receiving THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER, and have been feeling the itch deep within me to travel the world.  In this world, I have been as far west as Hawaii, as far east as Greece, as far south as Costa Rica.  I have lived in 4 countries, and visited 15, 7 states and traveled to about 35 of them.  I have been by boat, car, plane, train, and bus. 

For me it doesn't matter what the adventure brings me in the different corners of the earth, but the adventure of travel, near and far, invigorate and excite me.

Sometimes, now I reflect on how little I am able to travel.  That may sound wierd, considering I live in a foriegn county filled with new experiences daily.  However, day to day life in a foriegn country does not equal trekking with only a backpack, a camera, and water bottle into the unknown of the world.

Living in a foriegn country as well as traveling the world over both require that one maintains themselves as a life-long learner.  A person will always be rejected if they go into a new place acting as if they know everything about everything.  There are many other things I could learn from my travels that I could apply to my life as a missionary, but I don't have the time to write all of those things.

I'm sure that my desire to visit as many places in this world before I die will never be quenched.  I hope that my girls Haley and Emma will love to travel and can one day see much of the world to know of the vast creation of our God.

(What I wish my passport looked like)

Feliz Dia Mama!

As you know, tomorrow is Mother's Day.  Here in Honduras, it is a huge celebration.  All of the schools do something special for mom.  Our kids have prepared all week for this special celebration.  I imagine that Mother's Day is a bit of a sad day for the kids at CdE because their biological mother's are not a regular part of their lives.  However, I am very happy that we can be here to love them, and I hope they know it.

A few of the kids were told they had to be at the school at 8:00 this morning, so instead of starting the day at 7:00 like we usually do on Saturdays, we began the day like a school day.  Everyone finished the chores and was ready to go to school for the program.  None of the teachers of the kids who were supposed to be there at 8:00 arrived until about 8:45.  The program was supposed to start at 9:30, and in true Honduran fashion, the program actually started about 10:30. 

Fortunately, the teachers put on some music that kept most of our kids distracted from the boredom of waiting.  Also, the mayor of Santa Ana sent a Mariachi band to entertain us for a while.  As annoying as mariachis can be I find some great level of enjoyment any time they show up anywhere.

Almost all of our school-age children participated in their classes skit or skits.  Our first graders, Maryuri and Guadalupe wore traditional Honduran dresses, and each danced with a little boy in their class.  The second graders sang "Alauete" (sp) a French song, and later, both Adonis and Nohemi sang "Jesus Loves Me" in English.  They were very proud of themselves for being the only ones in their class to know a song in English.  I was proud of them too.  Sisi was our only third grader to participate with her class.  She danced in both skits.  The first, she and her classmates were these funny puppet characters.  They wore sacks over their heads with cutouts for their eyes.  The sacks came down to the hips, and the kids put pants and a shirt with the sleeves cut on their legs.  I think this was one of the funniest skits.  It was only made funnier because Sisi's mask kept turning to the side making her not be able to see.  Most of the 4th graders recited a poem, and Jose and Ana also did a dance.  Although in real life they are brother and sister, in the dance, Jose was a farmer that was trying to win the pretty lady's heart, and Ana was a beautiful lady that had no interest in the poor farmer.  Only the child with the biggest attitude would have been able to pull this role off as well as Ana did.  Ana was especially beautiful in her skit.

In between each skit, each class had a raffle for a basket full of home goods.  We were hoping not to win anything, but with that many kids and with a minimum of 2 baskets for each grade, we were destined to win each one.  Only one of our kid's numbers was drawn, and I had to go receive it.  I decided to give it to one of our employees who couldn't come because she had to work.  She appreciated it more than I did.

During the program, all of the moms received cake and banana soda.  I gave my banana drink to some of the kids who had come to sit by me and my mom after their part in the program was finished.

CULTURE SHOCK

Going anywhere with Haley always provides us with a lot of laughter and funny experiences.  She is a great traveler, and watched the same episode of Dora all the way from Tegucigalpa.  She has lived in Central America almost 2/3 of her life, so some things that aren't that wierd to us, were strange and funny to her.  And it was quite entertaining to hear her point of view on some things in the States.

We got to Houston, and the bathroom in customs had a toilet that flushed by itself, a sink that turned on by itself with very warm water, along with soap and paper towels that self-despensed.  She hadnever used a toilet that had an automatic flusher, so she jumped out of her skin when that thing flushed when she was still doing her business.  I think she would have played with the automatic soap and water the entire day had I let her.

Haley began to potty train after we moved to Honduras, therefore, she has never been allowed to flush her toilet paper, she has always had to throw it away.  Not all bathrooms have come equipped with trash cans, so more than once she has been very confused with what to do with the paper.

Other things Haley has been very amused by is warm water coming out of sinks (right now we don't even have warm water in the shower in Honduras), water fountains, and the seemingly endless supply of water.  She has been a little surprised that everyone does not speak Spanish or understand her when she does. 

We are having a great time with Nana, and laughing a lot as she is shocked by her new experiences that seem so normal.