Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Wonderful World of Skype

One of the things that helps keep Nathaniel and I from getting too homesick in Honduras is the ability to talk to people on Skype. It has been so great to not only hear people's voices, but also see their faces on almost a daily basis. If any of you out there don't yet have Skype, please get it, and add us to your contact list! Our skype name is Danielsdevotion.

During one conversation with Nathaniel's parents, I was able to take this snapshot:



And yes, that is a Halo on top of Merd's head. She had recently purchased one for herself and her granddaughter, Bekah, and wanted to show it off.


In other news, we recently received a care package from our friends back home at Touch of Fire Fellowship. It had (as requested) 8 lbs. of peanut butter in it! Peanut butter is so expensive down here, so we asked them to throw some in for us. We didn't know it would be that much, though! Here is a picture of Nathaniel with the jars:



They also threw in some books, homemade cards from the kids, and Jelly Belly's for me! That day, I ate a few too many. Here is the before:



And the after:



The weather here has been considerably cooler the last couple of days as we officially head into rainy season. It makes me really in the mood for some fall traditions: Spiced apple cider, candy corn, and changing leaves. Although, fall means winter, and I don't think Ill miss Indiana winter too much. :) More to come next week!

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Wheels on the Bus go Squeak, Squeak, Squeak

Since Nathaniel only has to teach at Destino on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I usually ride the bus to and from school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In the mornings, this is fine because the walk is not far, and they have 2 different buses that pick up all the kids and teachers. The afternoons, however, are a different story. They only have 1 bus that takes home alllllllllll the destino kids, teachers, and even some workers (except kinder and prepa because they leave at 12). So, you can imagine, the bus is very crowded!

So, I ride the bus in full Honduran style on those days...4 kids to a seat. You'd never see that in the States! Usually, I'm standing in the aisle, because I prefer it over sitting next to 3 sweaty, dirty kids. Let me just show you a picture of what I mean...



You may think that this picture looks like the kids have just gotten on, maybe they're getting settled and then it won't look so chaotic- WRONG. Now do you see why I prefer standing in the aisle? Its because I don't wan to look like this:



When the workers ride the bus, they take home anything and everything...like the other day one of the workers was holding a live duck (its body was in a plastic bag, its head was sticking out and no, it didn't look happy), and a melon. Life is very interesting here. I wish I could've gotten a picture of it, but I didn't have my camera.

Soon to come- some lovely Skype pictures, and more news on our crazy lives! Love you all!

Friday, September 11, 2009

A Turn of Events

As most of you have probably alreay heard, Nathaniel and I got robbed a couple of weeks ago. The thieves stole our laptop, digital camera, and other smaller items. we are doing well, though, thanks to all of your prayers. We have not been living in fear, as thieves in Honduras won't usually come when you are home. They wait until you leave becasue they don't want confrontation.

Despite this horrible event, life goes on. We have been careful to remind ourselves that they are just "things", and that the work we are doing here is much more important. Rhonda advised us that we must always hold everything God gives us lightly in our hands. How true that statement is! We have heard stories of previous missionaries who have left the country due to similar circumstances, and we will not let that happen to us. The precious souls of these children are much more important!

We have been learning about God's provision at church. The idea is that God knows what we need and the problems we will encounter before they happen, and that He goes before us and has the solution before we even know we need one. Well, we saw this first hand when we visited a friends church in San Pedro Sula, and they took up a special offering for us to help replace the items we lost. It was so amazing. That pastor gave us the money and said it was a "symbol of God's provision." How awesome!

There was a special holiday on thursday, September 10th called "dia de los ninos", which means "kid's day". It was quite the interesting and chaotic event. Hondurans are known for going all out for any occasion, so there was cake, coke, pinatas, candy, more candy, and lots and lots of chaos. the kids were basically allowed to do whatever they wanted allllllllllll day...and it was a very long day. Here are some pictures of the fun.





This is a good picture of Nathaniel teaching P.E.



And one of me teaching.



This little boy's name is Hairo. He looks a lot like my nephew, Adan. He's so sweet and adorable!



More to come soon! Love you all