For Such a Time as This

I didn't realize it had been so long since my last post. Sorry about that. Things seem to be getting busier around here and I find myself spending less time on the computer. Lately we have been covering houses. We go to the houses at around 6:00 and stay until the next morning. It is fun to be with the kids outside of school. School is still going strong. I can't believe that we are half way through the semester. We get out the day before Thanksgiving and do not come back until mid-January. It doesn't seem that I have been here for 2 months. Last Wednesday, Mr. Terry Parks came over from Nicaragua to visit for the afternoon. I had a wonderful time with him. It was a nice piece of home.
I was thinking the other day how God placed me here in his perfect timing. I am thankful that I was able to teach in the states for 3 years before coming here. I love teaching here. I know that God has placed me here for such a time as this. I feel so at peace here. Thank you so much for your support.

Día de la Independencia de Honduras

Monday is Honduras Independence Day! We will be out of school to celebrate and also out on Tuesday for Day of the teacher. Friday we had a program for Independence Day. Each class gave a presentation of a different department. Our department was Francisco Morazan. I had one of my boys dress up like him and tell what all he did. The others told about the department. They did really well except one of them got really nervous and forgot what he was supposed to say. He finally remembered and did really well after that. After all the classes did their presentation we had some typical Honduran food to taste. All of it was wonderful. After the program we went back to school and had a fun day.

Last Saturday a group of us went to a place called Valley of Angels. It is a small little town that mostly has souvenir shops. We left early that morning from the ranch so we would have plenty of time to shop. Once we got there, we parked the car and the shopping began. I found a really pretty painting, some pottery, a basket and some other little things. We had a wonderful day.

When you are a teacher you never know what each day is going to hold. I believe that is true no matter how many children you have in your class. I have four boys all with outgoing personalities. They keep me on my toes but they also keep me laughing. We have so much fun together. I wanted to share some of the things that they have said.
The other day they were writing in their journals. I told them they could write about whatever they wanted. Favio announced to the class that he was going to write about Transformers. Nate said he was going to write about God. I told them both would be good. They got to writing and once they finished they wanted to read them to me. Favio went first. We were all expecting to hear about transformers, but that is not what we heard. I guess he changed his mind and wrote about God. Nate said to him that wasn't about transformers that was about God. Favio said I know I changed it because you are supposed to put God first in everything. What a wise young child.
Nate loves to sing. All day long that is all I hear. He sings whatever is in his head and most of the time it is not a real song. One day in particular I just couldn't take anymore. I asked him to please stop. He said is can't. I am practicing to be a Hit 80s Musician. To which I replied ok. I know that there are plenty more, but those two stick out in my head.

I know that I have many faithful praying supporters. I have some specific things that I would like for you to pray for.

-Continued strength for me to just be here
-The four boys that I teach everyday
-Salvation of our children at the ranch
-The government of this country

Thank you! You all are awesome!

Class Pets and an Adventure

This week my boys decided that we needed a class pet. We went through all kinds of animals from a dog to a snake trying to decide what would be the best for our class. Well Thursday we had the outside door open and a butterfly flew in. They got all excited because they thought this could be our class pet. So they shut all the doors so it could not get out then tried to catch it. They were discussing what they should feed it and one of the boys said we should get it some grass. Well they decided that maybe they do not eat grass and one of them suggested we get it a flower. After all the feeding debate they next had to decide where to keep it. They found an empty chip bag and put it in there. After much arguing it was decided to just let the butterfly go and not have it as our pet. Friday we tried a new pet. This time it did not fly into our room, but we had to go outside to get it. We have a little stream that runs just down the hill from our school. Our kids like to play down there and on this particular day they could not stay away from the water. Well come to find out there were tadpoles in the water. They went and got some buckets and cups to catch them. They ended up catching 3 or 4 of them. They put them in empty baby food jars with some water and mud in them. Once they caught them they were deciding what they should eat. One of the boys said that they just eat the mud in the water, so before he left for the day he asked me if I could come to the school on Saturday and give the tadpoles some more dirt to eat. We still have them in our classroom so if they stay alive we will keep it to watch it grow into a frog. They named one of them Freddy which will probably be the name for all of them.

On Saturday, two other teachers and myself went to the school to get some work done. We had been working for a while and were ready for a break. We have this hill at the school that our kids like to play on. They have been repelling down using a rope tied to a piece of concrete. It looks really fun, but we never do it because there are always tons of kids on it. Also this week they got these tubs and began sliding down the hill. Again it looks like a lot of fun but we never did it because there were kids around. During our break at school on Saturday we went sliding down the hill. We had a fun time and now know why our kids can't wait to get out there. After that we went on a little adventure. Behind our school are millions of coffee plants. We walked up the hill to see what all was up there. When we got to the top we saw coffee plants and banana trees growing together. It was really neat looking. After all of this we went back and finished our work. It was a fun day.

I love it here!!!

I love it here. This seems to be what I tell everyone when they ask me how I like Honduras. I am not even sure that describes how I really feel about this country. The work that we are doing with this ministry is amazing. The kids that we have here are so precious, but not only that they are children of God. Every Friday morning I take my boys to high school chapel. I am always amazed at the talents and abilities God has given to these kids. I have to just stop and thank God for putting me here and giving me the talents and abilities he has blessed me with.

This week at school was relatively the same as the others. I feel like I am adjusting to teaching 2 grades at the same time. It is still not easy, but I am figuring it out. I often remind myself that on Little House on the Prairie they taught all the grades together all the time. It is a comforting thought and gives me the push I need to teach my 2 grades. I think the highlight of the week was when we were painting their boxes made out of popsicle sticks I let them paint one hand. Now this is not something I would do in the states but I figured why not there are only 4 of you. They did good and did not touch anything on the way to the sink.

As I said in my previous post, our duplex is complete. They are still working on the outside, but the inside is good. On Wednesday this week the boys poured our concrete for a sidewalk. We decided it would be fun to put our hand prints in the sidewalk. So after giving the concrete a little time to settle we did it. This picture is my roommates and I putting in our hand prints.

Friday night we all went to eat at this restaurant called La Cumbre. It was about an hour and a half drive from the ranch but worth every minute. It is a very fancy restaurant that overlooks the city. It was absolutely beautiful up there. We all got dressed up which was a fun change from everyday life around here. We met up with some of the people who work at the mission house and had a wonderful meal. It was a good time of fellowship with others that we rarely get to see. I have some more pictures but they are on another camera. I will post them another time. I do have one of two of my roommates and myself. Our other roommate did not go with us.

I could never say enough thank you's for all the support I have recieved. I do from the bottom of my heart appreciate all that I have recieved. Please continue to send me some more butterflies! I love them! Also leave me comments!

Second Week of School

It is hard to believe that I have already completed two weeks of school! The second week was even better than the first. I feel like I am getting adjusted to teaching 2 grades and 4 boys. I am starting to figure out their personalities and what they really like and what they really don't like. Every week in our Bible class I have a verse for them to learn by the end of the week. Well one of my boys learned it the first day and said it everyday the rest of the week. He asked me if he could say it anywhere or just at school. I told him the more places he said the better it would be. So he replied with, "So I can even say it on the soccer field?" Of course I said yes so he was happy. Well Saturday I was walking close to his house and he ran out shouting Miss Kelly I still remember the verse. He was so proud of himself so I let him say it again to me and off he went.

Saturday the other half of the duplex I live in was completed, so the other girls moved in. Now all 6 single female teachers are living in one house. Everyone was really excited. I also decided to rearrange my room and put things on the walls. It is starting to feel more like my home now because I put pictures all over the walls. Sunday we went to church and ate at the mall. We did some grocery shopping then headed back to the ranch to get ready for school on Monday.

Things are going really well here for me. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that this is right where I need to be this year. Please continue to pray for school and my boys. Thanks for your prayers so far. I was telling a friend the other day that there are hundreds of butterflies everywhere here and how much I loved them. She told me that they were all the prayers that were being sent my way. That was the most comforting thought and everytime I see them it reminds me of how many people are praying for me. Thanks again!

First Week of School

We started school this week. I am teaching 2nd and 3rd grade and I have all boys. They are so much fun and there is never a dull moment with them. This week has gone really good so far. On Wednesdays we only go to school in the morning. This Wednesday I went to the city to do a little shopping. This week we had a medical brigade team here for a tour of the ranch. One of the things that they do is play soccer with the kids right before lunch. It is a fun time for everyone. On Thursday mornings we have chapel for the elementary kids. This week we talked about Abraham and how God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. The kids really enjoyed the story and singing songs. It is fun to have all the kids together for a little while. Everything is going really well. Please continue to pray for stronger relationships with the other singles on the ranch and for my kids at school.

Teacher Inservices

Well I have officially been here about a week and a half. So far it is all I expected and then some. This past week we had teacher inservices. We had meetings in the mornings and had time to work in our classrooms in the afternoons. We start classes with the children on Monday. Our classes will last until right before Thanksgiving. We will have about a 6 week break for Christmas.
Last night all the single teachers went to the city to eat dinner. The restaurant of choice: Chili's. The food was good and tasted just like in the states. It was like a little piece of home. Here in the city they have alot of the same restaurants that we have in the states.
Please pray for me this week as I get adjusted to teaching 2 grades at the same time. Also I will have 4 boys in my class. I am looking forward to the year to come. Thank you for your continued support.