My Bienvenido at Buen Provecho

When I got back to the Breakfast Program, AKA The Plentiful Life Program, now known as Buen Provecho which is a segment of the Plentiful Life Program, the kids cheered and raced for my car.  Then shoved each other out of the way and climbed inside onto my lap as I opened the door.  I was smothered in hugs and kisses and told I was greatly missed.  The welcome was so intense, somehow my car alarm started going off and I couldn't get it to stop.

This week a lot of kids tell me they love me.  This is something new.  It used to happen sometimes, but now it is on a daily basis, at random times.  A person can never be told too many times that they are loved!  So I make sure they know I love them too.



Not sure what the boys' pose means

Violet, Milagro, Walter (he's new!), Samuel, Misael and Jose



Samuel

Jose

Marco Tulio asked where I had been.  He missed me!

Samuel and Misael playing "viejos" (old people)

The aches and pains of being Viejo - Hahaha!

Milagro and Violet cooked for me until my lap was full!



Then they cooked for Don Juan

Samuel heading off to work with his briefcases

Scarlet brushing her new haircut

Proud boys!  They finished their "Rey McQueen" puzzle together.



Cristian reading out loud in English
to practice his homework

The curriculum for English classes must have changed this year.  (Remember the school year just started in mid-February.)  In the past the kids never spoke in English.  Their work was all written.  As a result they did not have confidence to say anything aloud, no matter how many years they studied.  This year almost every homework assignment is to read something aloud in front of the class, to carry on a conversation, or to give/follow directions.  I think it is really great!  But I do feel bad for the kids who don't have someone to help them at home.  The teacher has them copy things down and expects them to come prepared to pronounce it correctly the next day.  My personal goal is that the kids from Iglesia en Transformación have the best grades in their class and feel comfortable speaking English.  So far they are doing really, really well.

My cousin Carolyn's wedding in Guatemala - Part One

 

Guatemala was everything I hoped and more.  It was absolutely great.  I got to spend time with my cousins and my Aunt.  I met Edyn and his family, who were all amazing people.  I got to run along Lake Atitlan, which if you Google "Most Beautiful Lake in the world" you can see photos of.  (On the other side of the lake were 3 volcanos.)  And I kept up with my cousins who run marathons!
After the weddings (there were two - one civil and one in the church) I went to visit Los Seaman, a family from my church in Honduras who moved to Guatemala City last year.  My time with them was super too.

I got a camera the third day in, but unfortunately I spent that day in bed.  The girl who has not had any stomach problems for two years in Honduras got an upset stomach and lost a day in Guatemala.  Luckily it was sightseeing day, not wedding day.

In the 48 hours of the civil ceremony and church wedding I took 793 photos.  It took a while to get used to my new camera, but it was a fun learning process.



The mural outside of my hotel window

Flowers from a local market
Given to me by my cousin's wife when I was sick

My cousin Jack (brother of the bride)
And his awesome wife, Kadija

My cousin Lisa (sister of the bride) and me

Boats on Lake Atitlán



CAROLYN AND EDYN'S HOME
Everything built by hand

Gathered in the new house before the civil ceremony

Carolyn explaining the day to come

Carolyn and Edyn's new kitchen


Then the civil ceremony:

Edyn's Mom with Jack's wife Kadija

Edyn, my cousin Jack, Edyn's Dad

Edyn's nephew, mother and sister

Carolyn and Edyn coming in

Carolyn and her soon-to-be nephew

BODA!  (Wedding!)

My family - Aunt Ann, Cousin Jack and his wife Kadija,
Cousin Lisa

The ladies cooked during the ceremony

The ceremony

 

Cousin Liz, signing as a witness

Kadija signing as a witness

Fingerprints for some

The Godfather



Ladies cooking for the dinner after the ceremony

The men served the food

Chicken, a traditional soup, and tamalitos

Delicious!

Being Me

Got back from the gym just in time to shower and catch the sunset.  The sunset itself tonight was not spectacular, but I am able to watch it from one of the most beautiful places in the world.  Which led me to thinking.  The flowers on the tree are gorgeous.  All of the plants, bushes and trees have started to fill in from the fire last year so it feels like my house is more secluded again.  The birds are chirping away.  And today was a great day.

There are a few things in my life I would change if I could.  But if I could be any person in the whole world, I would be me.  To be able to say that in all truth and sincerity is pretty amazing.  I wish more people could feel this way.  There is not one person I would rather be, not another life I would rather live, not another place I would rather dwell.  I really love almost everything about my life right now.

The situation I used to not write about has been really good for about two weeks now.  I am cautiously hopeful it will continue as it is.  The kids love me more than ever, and I have developed relationships with even the toughest of them.  The church members here are so kind, thoughtful, generous and caring.  I have friends here whom I have grown to really love.  They come from all walks of life and they all have something I can learn from.

Today I am so grateful to be me.  So grateful that of all of the people in the world, God chose me to be in this place, at this time, with these beautiful people.  Sometimes I don´t feel worthy of all God has given me.  But I know that is the enemy whispering in my ear.  God wants me to receive from Him, with gratitude and joy, all He has blessed me with.

Thank you for sharing this journey with me.

Feliz Dia!

In Honduras we do celebrate Valentines Day, but here it is different.  And better.  I think you´ll agree.

In Honduras nobody dreads Valentine´s Day because it has another name.  Translated, the name is ¨The day of love and friendship¨.  It is a day full of hugs and love, but it is more focused on friendship.  In Honduras there is no possibility that you won´t have a Valentine.  Because everyone has a friend or someone they love.

It so much more healthy this way.  The kids all made cards for their mothers, or anyone who was on their mind.  I got candy hearts and anyone who could translate them from English could earn them to give to their friends.  (The ones about kisses and ¨call me¨ I gave to the little kids to eat before they left the church.)

Earlier in the week, Don Juan invited all of the ladies of the church for a special meal.  Yes, Don Juan is married.  But remember, in Honduras this is a day about love and friendship.  He bought steak and the ladies grilled it.  Then everyone contributed rice, beans, cheese, chismol - everything for a traditional Honduran barbecue.  Someone even brought strawberries and I brought Dove dark chocolates for desert.

Don Juan refused to eat with us, so it was just a ladies lunch.  It was absolutely delicious.  There were 10 of us and we enjoyed each other´s company as well as the food.  It was especially nice for other reasons too.  We have some new members of the team who have started serving every day as tutors, or to help keep everything in order.  It was nice to sit with them and get to know them a little.  We learned that one lady used to sell food for a living, and we have her cleaning.  What a blessing it would be to have her in the kitchen!

Also Ethel and Eunice joined us.  It was special to have them sit and eat with us because normally we don´t get to eat with them.

And it felt nice just to be treated like special ladies for the day.  Don Juan is a great guy.

So, if you are every sad about Valentine´s Day, come join us in Honduras where we celebrate friendship too.  Or follow our traditions wherever you may be!  I highly recommend it.

Feliz Dia del amor y amistad.  Happy day of love and friendship!

I luff you

Marco Tulio

I got to see Marco Tulio again today.  Yesterday he brought his brother.  Today he brought his brother and his friend Oscar.  His Mom still waits at the door.  She is really nice.  We find a way to chat, even though she is deaf.

Last night I had dinner with a family from the church to talk to them about how I can raise more money.  This morning I got an email from a lady who visited with the team from Ohio a few weeks ago.  She said she was sharing my story with friends.  One couple told her that they would like to help me out financially.

I know I am supposed to be here.  It is so clear to me.  I can see my role here growing almost every day.  So I have faith that God is going to provide the money I need to live here.  The email this morning was exactly what I needed to hear.  It felt like God was affirming that I am on the right path.  It is amazing to me that complete strangers want support me and what I am doing here.

Today I stayed really busy tutoring the kids who are in English classes at school.  They hand me a piece of paper with words misspelled in English that is supposed to be their homework.  They have no clue what it´s about.  It is awesome to watch them go from feeling lost and sometimes discouraged, to proud and confident!  I love teaching them English and they love to learn.  There is already one girl who has asked for help tomorrow.

Today I brought those little candy hearts with sayings on them.  I picked out the ones that said ¨Kiss me¨or anything else inappropriate.  The kids who came to me for English tutoring got to earn candy hearts by learning the words on the hearts, like, ¨Dream Big¨ or ¨Smile¨.  Misael (5 yrs old) was hanging around because he saw the candy.  He heard Lolita say, ¨I love you,¨ and he imitated what he heard.  It was the cutest thing in the world!  Misael spent the morning telling his Mom, me, Eunice and Belinda ¨I luff you.¨ We all told him, ¨I love you, too!¨

When the older kids were done eating I was in the kitchen collecting their dishes.  I taught them ¨fork¨, ¨knife¨and ¨plate¨ in English.  They handed in each item as I asked for it in English.  You´d think they could be annoyed by that, but they loved it!  I am going to integrate a lot more English each day since they all really want to learn and seem to enjoy it so much.

I had a dentist appointment this afternoon.  Two cavities.  Today I just got the cleaning.  Have to go back for the fun stuff.  Shelly, my dentist, used to be in an English class I offered at the church.  She is eager for us to start English classes again and has even rustled up some more students.  Learning English is important to people of all ages.

It feels super good to serve in ways that I feel competent and know that I am meeting important needs of the people here.