9 months down...1 month to go!

Time sure does fly when you're having fun! I can't believe I only have one more month of my experience here in Honduras. Leaving will surely be a bittersweet event. I will miss my kids, the other volunteers, my Honduran friends, and most of all--my roommate, Sarah! However, I know that I'll never forget my experiences here or the people I shared them with!

Lately, I've been trying to take advantage of any opportunity to hang out with people or go to a new place. I've been going to soccer games, taking Spanish lessons (finally), and have gone on some hiking adventures. Last week I'm pretty sure we almost died trying to climb Boqueron mountain on an off trail trek that led us through poisonous bushes, ash, falling rock, spiky trees, and steep, slippery slopes. Well, I lived to tell about it! :)

Today Sarah, Dan, and I accompanied a family from school to the river at Boqueron. They brought their grill and a plethora of carne! We had a great time just relaxing, eating, and swimming. Hondurans sure know how to enjoy life! Needless to say, this Saturday was opposite the intensity of our climb last weekend.

This past week at school was overall...amazing!!! I feel like after 9 months we're in our groove. Better late than never I suppose. I FINALLY started using the centers I set up at the beginning of the year. I think I was always scared the kids couldn't handle the centers and it was crazy enough without them--but, they LOVE them and are trying to be on their best behavior so they have more time there. I've also pumped up the motivation and am rewarding students who have good behavior...after 150 days of school, they should know how to act! My new phrase is, "Let's make God smile!" I'm going to miss being able to talk about God and singing Christian songs with my kids...that's been one of my favorite things!

Last night I received two boxes...one from my lovely mother and one from my sweet boyfriend. It's amazing how much excitement getting a box of goodies can be. I feel so loved and blessed that they spent time and money to send me some treats (for myself and my kids) to get me through my last month here. It's crazy how much I appreciate simple things like a box of cinnamon life cereal, french vanilla coffee creamer, and crystal light packs. I'm so lucky to have such wonderful people in my life!

Well I'm going to enjoy my last month here to the fullest before I return to the states. I've got to make some more memories so I have more stories to bring back to share with my family and friends. Here I go!

This is my amazing bilingual aid, Wendy.
These are most of the volunteers and I supporting Mario's (in front) soccer team.

This is the mountain we so vigorously climbed...Boqueron.

Progress

Well, we're in the last nine weeks of the year and the end is in sight. At the beginning of the year, most of my students did not understand a word I said and certainly couldn't respond in any coherent English. Now, I'm finally starting to reap some of all that sowing I've done. My kids are speaking English with reckless abandon and getting better each day. From the countless hours of planning and teaching, I'm finally seeing progress!

Today was a pretty spectacular day at school! Some days just click...and I love that! Afterwards, I went and got a smoothie and sat in some AC and read my book, Three Cups of Tea (an excellent read, by the way) until my parent meeting. What a success! I had a few things to tell the parents (in Spanish) and then one parent stood up and said (in spanish), "Congratulations! We can understand your spanish now....AND you are doing a great job teaching my child. My daughter comes home speaking so much English and I'm even learning from her. Thank you." How wonderful it was to hear such a compliment when all this year I've never felt good enough. My principal was also there and mentioned what an incredible amount of English the first graders know and how much improvement she has seen in their reading and writing. Needless to say, I couldn't contain a smile from sweeping across my face.

So right now I'm feeling encouraged and pleased knowing that I'm making progress in the work that God has called me here to do. This has been a challenging journey, but it's not over yet. I'm giving these last few weeks of school everything I've got and then we'll see where God leads me after that. :)

Big Things

I've realized that I'm more of a journaler...and not so much of a blogger. However, along with the ten other goals I've set for myself lately...I want to try to keep people posted on what's going on in my life in Honduras!

After Christmas break (2 weeks of pure joy at home) I came back feeling refreshed and pumped up for the rest of the school year. However, teaching is really like a roller coaster...it's different day to day and week to week. Some days are wonderful and I feel like I'm making such a difference...and other days I feel insufficient and unsuccessful.

This week I had one really rough day. Those are the kind of days that I ask God to remind me why He brought me here. THEN I had a whole day off to work in my class (for the inauguration of the new Honduran president, Pepe Lobo) which gave me a chance to get my classroom organized (what a big help)! Also, Friday was one of the BEST days of school yet! There was so much LOVE in my classroom. Let me give you a picture of what it was like...

-My students walked in giving me hugs, kisses, smiles, high-fives, and/or handshakes (I always say good morning to each one and expect them to say it in return.)

-Once they are situated I say (like every other day), "Good morning boys and girls..." and they reply "Gooooooood morrrrrning Miiiiiiiiisssssss Mevisssssssen!" (LOVE IT).

-Their journal for the day was, "Who do you love? I love _______." Almost all of them said "I love Miss Mevissen. " :D

-During our daily morning meeting I picked Frank's stick to be my helper (I've just recently let the students "be the teacher" for calendar time). After he lead the normal routine I gave him the choice for our morning prayer to sing a song to God or say a prayer...and he choose to pray (the first kid to do so)! He said an entire prayer to God in English all by himself as the class repeated, "Dear God, thank you for my family, for my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister, my teacher, my friends. Help me to be an excellent student. We love you. Amen." I was bursting with joy and could have cried the most happiest of tears. It was a beautiful and touching moment.

-We had a wonderful day together making fact family houses, learning about letters, and writing about places. I had fun teaching and I'm pretty certain the kids were having fun learning.

All I can do is give thanks and praise to God for bringing me here and allowing me to serve Him in this way. All I can say is I think God is doing big things here and I'm pretty certain He's got some even bigger plans in store.

In other news...today was the first day of our new youth group aka Life Teen! Sarah, Dan, and I kicked it off today for the 6th and 7th graders of Santa Clara. Although we had a small turnout, we had a great time and I'm excited to see what God has in store for this. Like I said...BIG THINGS.

Futbol and Teaching

So here is my first attempt at a vlog (video blog). If it works, I may keep it up! :)

Help me pray for PEACE

This summer the president of Honduras, Mr. Zelaya, was ousted for trying to change the constitution. Some say this was a military coup, others say that removing him from office was simply following the proper motions of the constitution. Nevertheless, it has caused political unrest as both sides of this political situation are heated about the matter.

Well, Zelaya somehow got back into the country on Monday and is seeking sanctuary at the Brazilian embassy. A curfew was imposed on the country so people would not leave their homes to flood the capital with political riots. School has been cancelled for the past two days and nobody knows when things will go back to normal. A compromise must be found between Zelaya and the interim government.

Please join me in praying for PEACE in Honduras and that a peaceful solution can be found.

A perfect vacation....well, almost.

This week my fellow volunteers and I had a week off from school for the celebration of Honduran Independencia. Instead of having to be in a march with the school, we got the week off and four of us were off to the beach! We looked to the guidebook for guidance, which lead us to Trujillo for the prettiest beaches! We set off early on a long and windy bus ride through the mountains. Once there we heard the best place in town was Casa Kiwi (http://www.casakiwi.com/), a quiet place outside of town run by two sweet women from New Zealand.

We couldn't believe our eyes...this place was PERFECT! I'm talking about beautiful white beaches, thatched huts, hammocks, a room for 100 Limpira ($5) a night, and the best food and hospitality one could as for. We basically had the place to ourselves except for one sweet couple with the best British accents I've ever heard. The whole week was amazing...and the sunsets were breathtaking.

Every day I'd get up early, get a hot cup of Honduran coffee, have some quiet time in a hammock while looking over the beach, eat a hearty breakfast (like banana pancakes), and then spend the rest of the day on the beach reading or in the glassy water. We even snorkled out to a shipwreck off the shore...which was phenomenal until I got stung by a jellyfish!!

We went into town one day to see the sights, and were approached by two men with a gun. They took our bookbags (mine had my purse, new digital camera, and other little things like my headlamp!) Luckily our stuff was all they wanted...and they just left with our stuff. This experience was one of the scariest moments of my life, but I know that I'm blessed to be alive...things are replaceable, but people are not. I was upset about my things (mostly my camera) but the next morning during my quiet time, God showed me a few things that I needed to see: (all from Matthew 5 and 6)

1. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.

2. Give to the one who asks you and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

3. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

4. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

5. Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.

*I'm thankful for good friends to laugh with through the good times and bad. I'm thankful for a loving family. I'm thankful that God has called me to this country. I'm thankful that every day Christ makes all things new. I'm thankful for every breath and so much more.

Oh, Honduras!

So....yeah I live in Juticalpa, Honduras. I've been here for over two weeks (sorry it took so long for a blog) and I've been pretty busy! So much has happened, but here are some of the important things so far:

1. Honduras is beautiful and amazing..I love it here! I wish I knew more Spanish...but I think that will come with time.

2. The food is amazing...so far my favs are gringas and boleadas (good thing I like beans)!

3. There is something so beautiful in living simply!

4. I don't think my roommate, Sarah, and I could be any more compatible than we are...and we love our house...(even though we usually only have running water 1 day a week....thank you, Lord for our pila of water...and for Carlos!)

5. My principal gave me a hug when I met her (I bet that doesn't happen much)...and all the other volunteers are wonderful!

6. My first graders are ADORABLE....and FULL of energy.

7. Teaching is tough...challenging, but rewarding!

8. I'm so blessed that God called me here and I can't wait to see what He's going to do.

9. This experience will change me forever!

10. LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL! Es verdad!