Things are getting closer and closer to coming to a close. Today (or possibly tomorrow) the last of the students will leave. A few regular students, plus all of the Bible school students have stayed here for a Christian camp which finishes this morning. It will be sad to see them go. Right now I have plans to see several of them in the last few weeks as I will be travelling near their home areas, but it's still hard to see them go.

I finally feel much better. After over a month of having one type of sickness or another I am finally starting to have energy. I still have a certain amount of pain from the shingles, but it makes sense that my body needs to heal and it's not zapping my ability to get things done.

In the past few weeks I have begun to try to get things ready to go home. Finding a job doesn't look like it will be easy, but I don't feel that there is much that I can do from here...and in fact little that I can do while in Kansas...and maybe not really much I can do til January, haha. But I'm still trying to look-to get ideas of where to apply if nothing else. I already have a place to live and a roommate, and that is a huge blessing and a lot of worry off my mind.

I am so very sad to be leaving Honduras, but I am excited about this next year. While my life here is great, I don't get much of the indepence 24 year olds from the States are used to (you have no idea how excited I will be to have my car back!!!) I am looking forward to seeing my friends, going to my church, and starting life as a "real adult" (though I doubt the last one is half as exciting in reality as it sounds).

A Long Awaited Update...

Sorry it has been SOOOO long since my last post. I've been super busy and trying to figure some things out concerning my future and I didn't want to write til I got more figured out. I'll write about that more below, but first a more general update:

The boys have left. They finished out their school year, we had a graduation and their families picked them up. It all happened so quickly. We still have a couple of students on campus who are staying for a Christian camp that will be held here. The Bible school students are also here until this camp. This makes the place less lonely but campus still feels rather empty. It's sad to see them going, especially because many of them do not have homes (or good homes) to which they are returning. All we can do is pray though. Many of them will have to try to find work, which can be difficult to find just to have food to eat and a roof over their heads. Many of them will be returning to old temptations like drugs and alcohol, so they need our prayers.

It is encouraging though to see the changes that have been made in them over this last year. New confidence. New work ethic. New goals. New faith in God. For many of them this school was sort of a last chance. Not all of the boys made it through the school year. We had a few leave of their own free will-including for family reasons. Several had to leave because of discipline issues. But I believe that these boys had the seed of God's love planted in their hearts. The name of the school, El Sembrador, means "the Sower" and it is such a fitting name. Many important men in Honduras went to Escuela El Sembrador. Some became Christians at the school. Others didn't during their time at the school but later did because of the seed planted in their hearts during their time at the school.

The last few days I have been having to take it easy because I have shingles. It's very painful, but fortunately we have good medical care here on campus thanks to the nurse, Lillian. She took care of making sure I got on the right antiviral medicines right away and when I went to her yesterday about the pain she sent me into a very good doctor in Catacamas. (By the way, doctor's visits and meds here are very cheap here-$13 for a doctors visit, a shot, and pills!). I am still in pain and still have a nasty rash, but I am feeling much better.

So...I have had to make some choices concerning my future. I had applied to volunteer here next year and been accepted earlier this year, but in the last month I have done some thinking and believe that the best thing for me at this point is to return to the States to live and maybe study some more. I feel an attachment and calling to Honduras and the ministry here, but I feel that now is the time for me to think about a long term commitment to it and I believe that being back in the States is the only way for me to get perspective on this important decision. It's very hard for me to leave and know that I will not see many of these people again, but I feel that God is calling to live in the States next year just as He called me to live in Honduras for this one.

I plan to live in Tahlequah since I have a wonderful church and friends there and there are more job opportunities there than there are closer to my parents in Kansas. I have found a place to live and I am excited to see what God has for me in this upcoming year. Please pray that I will be able to find a job and if you hear of a job possibility, let me know!

Update

Ok...so...the students have had their second rounds of big tests for the year. The grades this time were over all lower, but much closer together. Then it came time for retreat. All WGM missionaries and volunteers headed for Tela for a week of much needed rest and fellowship. It was a great time of encouragement and I returned feeling refreshed and more ready for the final stretch of the school year.

The week after retreat my mom came to visit me! She got to spend a week with me, during which she attended one of my English classes in the highschool, my weekly English class for the school employees, and got to spend some time getting to know the student that my parents sponser. We also spent some time in Catacamas, which is the city the school is near to, walking around so that she could get a taste of life here.

This week hasn't been a normal school week either. The students had class Monday and Friday, but the upper two grades (I & II Bach) went to Tegucigalpa to go visit universities. Enough of the teachers went with them that there wasn't enough teachers on campus to teach so the boys who were left didn't have school. In the eveniings we put together a couple of fun things for them to do. One night we watched a movie and another night we had a bonfire and roasted marshmallows and played games.

This last week things have been back to normal, though I am getting used to a new class schedule. I have started a computer class for two of the school employees who really wanted to learn. We have 3-4 classes a week (as schedules provide) which include computer basics, Word, Internet (email, Facebook, etc), and typing. My students are Ana, who runs the snack shop, and Yuni, who cleans the Conference Center. They are both single and around my age and it's a great way to get to know them.




I also am working seriously on trying to get some art classes together. I bought supplies so that I could have classes of 15 at a time. My thought it is to have two classes (about an hour long) a week, one for one set of 15 and one for a different set of 15. I would love to be able to give the two sections different focuses. The problem is schedualing. The times when boys have free time are times like weekdays at 7pm when they really just want to watch TV or play soccer or on the weekends when they really just want to sleep or watch TV...so, we'll see. I may end up trying on the weekends and seeing how it works, though I tried it before with little success. I am hoping that a better option will present itself.

Praises:

*For the new computer class.

*That a 2 month long problem with the hydroelectric plant that provides the school's power has finally been fixed. It has been an expensive problem and frustrating problem for those involved...

*For the friends God has given me here-both my "missionary family" and the Hondurans I work with.

*For my students. They don't know how much the bless my life.


Prayer requests:

*For the school as they recover from the expense of the electrical problem.

*For the missionaries and school staff as we week to minister to the boys. For wisdom, patience, and understanding as week work with them and try to show them Jesus through our words and actions.

*For the boys-that their hearts would be open to hearing God's word and that they would understand how much He loves them and how much they need Him.

So...it's time for us missionaries to get a rest. That is, we are leaving for retreat on Monday. We will be spending a few days at the beach. It's all the WGM people in Honduras and we will be getting lots of time rest as well as time to get together and special devotions every night. Right now I am in Tegucigalpa at the mission guesthouse. It's so good to have a chance to rest. This last week was exam week and it is exhausting for teachers as well as students. We have to make sure we have the homework graded, write tests, watch the students take the tests, grade the tests and figure out GPAs. I haven't been able to sleep much this last week as well as it being a stressful time in general (it's hard to write tests that aren't too easy or too hard and to prepare the students for them). They have these tests 3 times a year and they are like midterms or finals, so it's a big deal.

It's funny, it feels good to be away from the school because I haven't been off campus (other than day trips to Catacamas) for several months. And it's great to see people I haven't seen yet. But it feels weird to know I won't be back to the school for a week.

A while ago I wrote a blog entry about my life here, but never posted it because I was waiting on some more pictures. By now it has become outdated enough that I decided to start over.

A week in my life:

Sunday- Morning-church, afternoon-hang out with the boys (sometimes there is a softball game-I just watch), evening- more hanging out.

Monday- Morning and afternoon-work with Kelly on various graphic design and photography projects, as well as working on things for my English classes (like planning and grading), evening- hanging out with the boys.

Tuesday-Friday- Mornings are mostly spent teaching English classes, afternoons are same as Mondays,

Tuesday evening-missionary prayer meeting

Wednesday-Church night-either a service or discipleship group depending on the week

Thursday-teach English class to school Employees

Friday-hang out

Saturday- Morning and Afternoon- I got to Catacamas with Kelly to hang out, go shopping, and just kind of get off the farm for a few hours. Evenings I cook supper for Steve, Kelly, and Nick and sometimes a few others.

This schedule is of course subject to change-and it does regularly.

Days here start early- I have classes starting at 7:40 or 7:00. Lunch is at about 11:30, which isn't too early, but supper is at around 4:30, which is kind of odd. I dont have a set bed time at all, but it tends to be earlier than when I would go to sleep in the US. The boys have to be in their dorm by about 8:30 every night. It seems strange, but really the whole day is just shifted forward and hour or two.

I eat breakfast and lunch in my apartment and during weekdays I eat dinner at Steve and Kelly's. This is a great arrangement since I live alone and cooking for one person gets tiring really quickly.

Several people I used to hang out with have come and gone. For the first 4 months I lived with Charith Dunbar, who taught school to the Mks (Missionary kids) out here. We had a lot fun and together and I miss her company a lot. The Gouge family was here for the first few months I was here too. I got to meet them when I was here last year and I miss them a lot too. More recently we said goodbye to Scott, another VIA, and Luke. They were both a lot fun.

Right now at the farm there is another VIA, Simon, who is helping me with English classes (whoo-hoo! Help!). He studied linguistics and does a good job with the teaching and he speaks Spanish, which is nice.



I've mentioned the Solheims too. Steve and Kelly and their 13 year old son, Nick are here for a year as volunteers. Steve works on computers and helps with electricity stuff and work projects and Kelly does graphic design, the school's webpage and the communications stuff in general. I spend a lot of time with them as Kelly and I work together and I eat my suppers with them.
Also on the farm are Jerry and Sherri Murphy and Jeremy Umbaugh. Jerry and Sherri are full time missionaries with WGM. I wrote about them in a previous entry. I don't see quite as much of them as I do of Simon and the Solheims because in general we our jobs don't cross paths as much. However, when I need teaching advice I go to Sherri and I sometimes help her with translation that needs to be done. Jeremy is a volunteer, but he has been volunteering for song long (about 9 years I think) that he is like a full time missionary in many ways.

My Honduran friends:

Gaby:


Is the events coordinator out here. She's very energetic and is rather ornery. She's learning English, but she's very shy about it, so we speak Spanish, which goes fine until she gets excited about something and starts talking really fast. She lives in Catacamas, but she is out here a lot.

Eddy:


Is the electrician out here. He speaks some English, but refuses to use it around me, except in the Thursday night English class which he attends. He's always joking and sometimes his jokes get him in trouble. We also talk about things seriously and he is helping me with my Spanish a lot as I can understand about 98% of what he says to me Spanish.

Omar:



Is the grounds keeper out here. He's always running off somewhere and has an amazing amount of energy. He rooms with Eddy and they have a running joke about which of them is the “woman of the house”. He's always coming up to me and saying something (unimportant) that I half understand and then leaving, thinking that I understood. He has two bunnies, whom he talks about a lot.

Then of course there are my students:

They are all so great. Some of them I get along with better than others in the classroom, but when we leave the classroom, they still seem to have a certain amount of respect for me, but we can talk and have fun and talk when we hang out in the evenings. Mostly hanging out involves watching while some of the boys play soccer. Occasionally it involves helping with homework, but there isn't a lot I can help them with as only their English homework is in English. There is a small soccer court where the boys get together to play pick-up games and there is the big soccer field where they play actual games against other teams that come and I like to go watch both types-but more for getting to spend time getting to know my students than for the actual game. They don't seem to play much basketball this year, but they have a small court and last year it got used quite a bit. As I said before, they play baseball (well, softball) sometimes on Sundays. They don't know anything about football, but I think it would be hilarious to watch them try to play.

Stuff I have learned how to do here:

1) Make bread.

2) Make tortillas.

3) Burn trash.

4) Teach. I am definitly still learning to do this, but I have come a ways.

5) Speak Spanish. Once again, I am still learning...still learning a lot, but I have come a long ways.

6) Plan. And then learn to re-arrange plans. (Be flexible)

A few random and not so random things about life here

So...My time here is almost halfway done. I can't believe it. It makes me so sad...at this point I have been in Honduras for 8 months of my life. Crazy, huh?

A few of my random and not so random thoughts on living here:

1) I never wear closed-toed shoes...I brought down only one pair it's a pair of tennis shoes-I have worn them for maybe 3 hours. Other than that-sandals!

2) Cleaning takes a long time here. No dishwashers, tons of dirt that blows in, lots of bugs, having to burn our garbage, etc... but it's probably good for me.

3) It's amazing how much language one learns by just living somewhere. I brought down several different books to study, but I haven't used them much...and yet I have learned a lot of Spanish. Everyday life here demands that I learn more and more and while in a lot of ways it's harder than studying a book, it's far superior and it's faster.

4) I've learned also about how another culture works. I certainly don't claim to be an expert on Honduran culture by any means, but I've gotten more or less used to having to learn new things and trying to see things from a different perspective. Sometimes I can anticipate a cultural difference before I see it or am told about it, sometimes I can't. It makes life here more of an adventure. I don't really look at my time here as me learning the culture so much as I look at it as me learning how to live in it and relate to it. I could live here for years and I would still think like a North American in many, if not most ways. We tend to learn cultural values and customs when we are very young and this is what is most natural to us. This is not to say that we don't enjoy the other culture. I love it down here- I am actually a lot less shy here! (I would have to be to teach 25 boys at a time, wouldn't I?)

5) I have learned the importance of good friendships. When you are far from everything you have ever known it's important to be able to have relationships with people. It can be easy to sometimes lock yourself away in your house and only go out to do your specific ministry. But it would be a sad, sad life. Here I have made some really good friends. The missionaries here are great and we can relate to each other. It's good to have people who understand how it feels to have limited contact with the people you love and be away from everything you have ever known. And it's great to be able to speak English! On the other hand, I love my Honduran friends here. We have so much fun together working together on things and having inside jokes that we tease each other about. And it's great to practice my Spanish!

6) Saying goodbye is hard to do. Yesterday we said goodbye to the Gouge family. They were Missionary Volunteer Partners (MVPs) here for almost a year. They got here a bit before I came to Honduras last fall in August, so I have never known what it was like to be here without them and the place already seems a bit emptier. They lived in the house close to Charith and I's apartment and I spent many afternoons sitting and talking with Ruth and working on something...or just sitting and talking. It's hard to see people leave whom you have come to know and love, but it's part of life on the mission field. Being so sad to see someone leave is hard, but it's a sign of how special their friendship has been to me and the rest of the mission family here. So, they will be missed, but not forgotten and can certainly expect emails and facebook messages.