8 Miles...

That´s the approximation of how much I walked today. I started out walking from Teni´s school-- I´m guessing that´s about 2 miles. Then, after picking her up we walked to the Thomas´ house to change into the swimsuits to go to the beach. Then all of us walked to Popeyes. I´d say both of those trips were about a mile. So we go to the beach in a taxi and swim... which was AMAZING!

We had a great time getting to be together again. The kids enjoyed it and the waves were PERFECT. A dog stole our leftover chicken so that was a bummer... but we built an incredible sand castle. So we get ready to go knowing we have to hike back up the dirt road to the main road in order to even find a taxi. We´re hiking... it´s pretty hilly... I have mine and Teni´s towels in a backpack and we´re good to go. During the hike we get a phone call from Brian saying he and the team are on their way back from the villiage and will pick us up on the main road. We make it to the road and keep on trucking back to La Ceiba hoping the team will be coming soon to pick us up. We get to a point for a rest just when we see the team pulling over. We are guessing this walk was about 5 miles. Whew! It was crazy... fun... uncomfortable-- sand and wet pants... NOT FUN! But I LOVED IT!!

Tenisha doesn´t have school tomorrow so we´re going to treat it as our ¨last day¨. She doesn´t know this yet... ha! That way if plans happen to change there will be no dissappointment. But, I´m hoping to take a bus over to the center of town and go to the Carrion-- a namebrand store-- and buy her a birthday outfit. Then we´re going to go and get a hotdog and enjoy it in the town square and we might even stop and get a juice drink. I think it will be fun and it will get us out of the house. Then it´s Saturday-- that´ll be a lay low, clean up day. Sunday-- is church, Monday-- we´re going to eat Baleadas at the mall and then walk over to the Thomas´for one last afternoon with them-- Tuesday is decorations, birthday Robin day! EXCITING!

Ok, sorry for all the lasts Martha-- I know we´re not talking about it... It looks like an exciting next few days but they are all planned out by God so we´ll see what ACTUALLY happens in them. We have had a fabulous last week together so far and I know it is going to continue to be filled with blessings. I do thank you for your sweet prayers concerning the matter. It is getting easier for me to ¨leave¨ knowing that we had a great last week together but I know it´s still going to be very difficult to leave this child and the country.

Pray also, for Amanda´s husband Orlan. He has been VERY sick over the past few days but has gone to the doctor and is at home being taken care of by his mom. But pray for his healing and for Amanda´s peace during this time.

Love Ya´ll!

One Week!

I will be home in exactly ONE WEEK! Can you believe I have been here nine weeks? I know I can´t. I have decided not to stay at the school the rest of my time here. I feel like my ¨work¨there is done. I really feel like I´m needing time to just somewhat relax in the morning and more or less wind down and take in all that I have been growing through since being here. It´s all great stuff but I know that coming home is going to be an adjustment. Plus, it´s giving me time to just be relaxed and really ENJOY the rest of my time with Tenisha. The next six days are just for her and no one else... we are hanging out with Martha tomorrow and going swimming-- somewhere... It´ll be a great time for both of us.

I spent the morning in my favorite park enjoying the mountain and then picked Tenisha up from school. We went to the market and got some fruits and then stopped on the way out and got some corn tortillas and like this cheese stuff. We ate it once when Robin was still here-- it´s really cheap and filling so that´s what we did for lunch. I´m determined to eat a lot of the food before I leave. Tomorrow is pastillito day and maybe Friday we´ll do hotdogs. EXCITING! We tutored and played Uno. We cooked corn tortillas, chicken, plantain. It was a very Honduran meal and it was DELCIOUS!

Anyway, I guess I´m going to go. I´ve got a few things to do before tomorrow and I´m SO tired! So I´ll chat with you guys SOON! Keep sending the prayers this way! Love ya´ll! See you in a WEEK!

Pics from the week!

Here are pictures from the last Tuesday that we spent the night with the Thomas', Teni's papaya, Fiesta at school, hair styling, and David's birthday party... enjoy!! Much love to you all!

My sweet and precious Martha!

Making the sweet tea! ECK!

Can we say excited???

Teni and her papaya

That's inside... umm...

Celebration at the School!!

Girls in costume-- they are both deaf

Boy in costume...

Teni's braids for the party!!

Surprising David!

The cake!

The paper chain and decorations!

Me and my girl at the party playing UNO!

Giant Paper Chain and Internet!

I am posting again tonight because I am so excited that we have internet again at our house. I almost wet my pants and probably would have if I wouldn't have gone before walking into the office to see that the light that had been orange for a week had now turned green. I jumped with excitment and ran to both computers and turned them on... to which they BOTH connected to the internet. AHH! I was THRILLED!

We had a great time celebrating David's birthday! We made a paper chain that wrapped around the entire living room/dining room area we're estimating 400 links... crazy! Tenisha LOVED it! We did the Honduras tradition of an egg on the head but made a confetti egg-- Teni has NEVER seen this before nor made one. It was so fun to see her excited about it and for her to expirence something new! We ate lots of cake and cookies. Brian cooked some AMAZING chicken and plantain. It was a great and fun night.

I'm tired from the excitment. I'm not too sure what all tomorrow holds... there is NO telling. I'm going to not stay at the school the rest of my time here. I think I'm going to walk to the center of town tomorrow and sit in the town square and walk to Tenisha's school after getting a Honduras hotdog. I think that'll be fun. I want to expirence all of it this last week.

Ok, I'm going to end this one so I can post more pictures. From the past week. Love Ya'll! Thanks for prayers... keep them coming. My heart and my girls heart is breaking!

ON to the Last!

I'm officially at the point where I can say... this is my last Tuesday here, this is my last Wednesday here... etc etc etc. I offically hit the 2 month mark yesterday. CRAZY huh? I'm a little taken back and like Whoa! I've been here two months... it's nuts. I leave in a week! SEVEN DAYS!!! Count them! That's all...

I'm using the Thomas' internet. I'm ok that we don't have it at the house... it's not super convient not having it there but it works out great for me and Tenisha to just have our time together without it... besides I'm going to have to start making decorations for her birthday, packing, baking, and yea all the other fun stuff that comes along with a birthday!

We are celebrating David's birthday today so we're over here making decorations. I made the cake and decorated it... it looks pretty I think! Yippie! I'll take pictures so don't be sad! You'll see it...

I feel like we have a lot to do in the next few days but don't have much at all. I'm not planning a sermon I'm just going to do a thank you, goodbye thing on the off chance that people actually show up this Sunday. Ha! Anyway... I'm not sure when I will be back. I'm pretty sure the taxi passed the internet people going to the house today on my way to the Thomas' but it's ok.

Just keep praying and I'll be on soon! LOVE YOU ALL!

From Sunday...

Sunday Julio 27, 2008
Today is church day! We had a relaxing morning… I slept until 9:15—that was AMAZING! I had already finished the sermon so didn’t really have a lot to do. We of course don’t have internet so that eliminated one thing although I did try and mess with it just to see if I could get it to work… no luck! Oh well, I think I’m ok with it now. Tenisha and I played UNO and then got ready and headed to church.
Now, this is the weekend Amanda, Orlan, and Nancy were gone to a camp in the capital city. It’s their annual camp and since they are the leaders in the church the went. I was a little doubtful as to weather or not people would show up for church or if they would just automatically assume it was canceled or just don’t like my preaching. No I’m not kidding or being over exaggerate. So let me start off with the funny story.
So we get in the taxi—as normal and get to the church which is just beside a restaurant so I go to pay him all I have is 100 lps. It cost 40 for both of us. He of course doesn’t have change… argh! I ‘m like great he’s like well go get change. At this point I’m like argh… you are the one that is suppose to have change! So we walk into the restaurant are greeted by a waiter and I’m like can I get change? He’s like huh? I’m like change? He walks outside with us when I turn to find someone new that can help us. He sees the taxi and realizes we need change to pay him. He doesn’t have it so he goes out to pay the taxi driver. I then order a bottle of water so that I can pay him back and break the hundred. AHH!! It was really funny. Tenisha’s confused the whole time and I’m just laughing and slightly angry at the stupid taxi driver. But whatever.
We walk across the street to the church and guess what… NO ONE WAS THERE! At this point I’m laughing. I’m like ok yea go figure. We wait a few minutes and one family shows up. The attendance for church today was 2 people, their 5 year old child—who can’t walk, that they carried to the end of the road for the taxi, Teni, and me. We waited until 2 o’ clock. We sat around and chatted… I loved on little Jasmine. We prayed and we walked to the street with them so they could catch a bus and we a taxi.
The rest of the afternoon consisted of walking to the gas station to buy a cake mix for David’s birthday cake that we are baking and taking over on Tuesday and getting change so we can pay appropriately tomorrow. Ha! We’re just relaxing now but I had to sit down and blogish… before I went insane. Ha! About to tuck my girl into bed.
OH!! Mom, while I’m thinking of it since I forgot earlier. Grey’s Anatomy starts back September 25th. So mark the calendar… it is VERY exciting!


Monday Julio 28, 2008
I feel like there is so much to report on but I can’t think of ANY of it! My hair is being style at the moment by Tenisha… ha! I’m sure it’s going to look wonderful… last time she did it in pig tails… HILARIOUS and yes we took pictures. Unfortunately you probably won’t see them unless we get internet back. They are suppose to come look at it… FINALLY—a week later--- tomorrow morning. Luckily, I will be here since I don’t stay at the school on Tuesdays.
I didn’t stay today. I’m kind of at the point where I feel like now my work is done there. I might be stay on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday but we’ll just have to see what those days present. I am being more of the teacher when I’m there instead of just an assistant. But I feel good now not staying. I have three places to go in the neighborhood so I don’t have to walk home. Dunkin’ Donuts, Burger King, and the park in El Sauce. The latter is my favorite just because of the view. Speaking of view the mountain looked AMAZING this morning. I’m hoping it looks that good in the morning so that when I video the house I can get the perfect view of it.
Lets see…. After, I “blogged” last night me and Teni had a talk. We talked about how she has been sooo good and respectful since Robin has been gone. She realizes Robin will be home in a week and is excited about it because she expressed that she really misses her. She also knows that I will be leaving in a week. I told her I was going to be really sad and cry when I have to leave. She was like yea I’m going to be sad too. I said, Tenisha I love you and I’m going to miss you SOO much! To which she responded I love you too and will miss you too. Then we changed the subject because I didn’t want to talk about it anymore ha!
So today… we get home after a good day at school and me having a good day in at Dunkin Donuts getting journaling and other stuff figured out for the week and then walking to the mall for icing for the cake I baked—more on that later. We got home and Amanda was telling us about camp and then told Teni to go to the other room. We’re in the middle of a conversation when I hear all these sounds coming from her. I’m like uh… is the kid dying? So I walk to the office and am like what is your problem? Are you ok? She’s like I’m hungry. I’m like well just wait I’m talking to Amanda. A few minutes I hear her throwing a crazy big fit crying like I just went in there and told her she couldn’t eat for a week and then spanked her. I ignore this issue and continue the conversation. When we’re done… I go back to the office where I find my “poor and abused” child. I’m like SIT UP! Yea, I yelled in sign language. I’m like why are you crying… she’s hungry. I’m like did you forget where the food is in this house? Her famous blank stare… I’m like… DID YOU FORGET WHERE THE FOOD IN THIS HOUSE IS?? No response and same blank stare to which she was sent to her room. I walk in a few minutes later and ask again… still no response and a lot of pouting. So I just walk downstairs to make myself some lunch and to make Teni her punishment food—Peanut Butter and Jelly. You see, she knows how to make a cup of soup or at lease get a bag of chips—point is she could have eaten something and knew Amanda and I were talking. So I go with the PB and J knowing this will be punishment enough for this insane behavior. She comes downs stairs and is met by me and the sandwich. We have a conversation that she knew I was in a conversation and she also knows how to make the soup and today for lunch she would be eating the PB and J. She’s like but I don’t like that… I know but you could have made the soup and didn’t. Go sit down at the table and eat your lunch. To which another crying fit happened. I just eat my lunch in the kitchen thinking she’s probably going to throw it away and get something else. Ok, so basically she took one bit and went upstairs to fix her hair and came back down to eat the rest. I sat her down and asked why she was being so bad today? She’s been good all of July and one week left she’s going to be bad? Blank Stare! I’m like talk to me child, what’s wrong. Blank Stare! I’m like ok, I’ll just call Martha and tell her we won’t be coming to David’s birthday party tomorrow. The tears start and I’m like stop crying and tell me what’s wrong today. Do you just miss Robin is that why you’re being bad? The tear roll down her face and her head nods. I’m like whew! At least I got a solution to the issue. We discuss that it is ok to miss Robin and that I miss her too and we can cry together about missing her. At this point we hug, I tell her to go make soup and I’ll eat the PB and J tomorrow. Things were SO much better after that… it’s understandable. I’m sure her heart is really confused. She misses her mama Robin and is read to see her but I’m leaving the next day so I’m sure that’s difficult too. Pray for her heart and understanding.
We tutored and cleaned up her room. Amanda found a bag of black beans one of the teams bought to make shakers with the hearing kids. She jokingly says cook them. I’m like uh ok. She laughs and says I’m just being silly. I take the beans and cook em. You know, it was my first pot of beans to cook but they taste AMAZING! I was hoping to not have to eat rice and beans anymore while I’m here. We have enough other stuff to not have to but nope, Tenisha wanted to eat rice and beans tonight. Ha! I kept some for use for this next week and froze the rest for when Robin gets back. We also baked a chocolate cake today for David’s birthday tomorrow. I’m going to decorate it tomorrow morning but wanted Tenisha to be in on the baking. She really enjoys the kitchen and cooking. It was fun… taste pretty good and of course we ate the raw dough… that was the best!
My hair is still being styled. Apparently my everyday hairstyle of a messy bun and clipped back bangs is ugly now. As I’m told by my precious daughter. I don’t think she understands that I can’t just wear my hair down it is way to long and thick and it’d be super poofy. Ha! Ok, going to go now… I will talk to you soon. Love You All!

Happy Birthday Jill Rowan!!! Hope it was great and full of blessings! Love and Miss YOU!

Finally... for today

I'm really at a lose for words... its Saturday! I have exactly 10 days left of this journey. I'm confused, frusterated, in love with my Creator, and just a whole bunch of emotions all wrapped up in one body. It's scary very scary.

I think the other blogs from the past few days express how my feelings are toward not having internet. I'm trying to find God in the situation and make the most of it... part of me feels like well this would be happening if I was on the normal mission trip. You leave home for two weeks and have limited but often no internet of communication with the family or friends. But somehow, I can't put myself in that catorgory. I'm not on the normal mission trip... I've been here almost 9 weeks with good communication with the family and friends and to go from good to NONE is pretty much just miserable to be quiet honest and blunt. Please be in prayer for me as I deal with this.... hopefully the company will come by today or a guy from Baylor will be able to look at it and fix the problem... either one would be SO greatly appreciated.

Todd and Lori-- I'm MISSING being there and seeing you and the kids! But Yes, I suppose this will give me a good reason to come up to Celina... finally... for a visit! You are all in my prayers! and I Love Ya'll!

I'm not sure what the rest of the afternoon or Saturday holds... probably just a little down time and I'm sure UNO. Tomorrow is church so I will let you know how that goes soon... and then Monday starts a new week. We are celebrating David's birthday with the Thomas' on Tuesday and will probably join Tenisha's with his just for fun. They are a week apart. So if you don't hear from me again look for me on Tuesday... I'm sure Martha will allow me to use the internet again at that time.

Love and Miss You all more than you know!

What I have Become...

When I came to Honduras May 28th. I was a 21 year old college student. I went to a private university and grew up in a small town. I have an amazing group of family and friends. I was the average college student.

I have become so many crazy things… I am still all of the things mentioned about except the average college student. I am now…
A mother—the mother who gets the notes from the school, who searches all over town for the perfect papaya needed the very next day, irons their child’s school uniforms, forces their child to take a shower, eat right, and brush their teeth for school the next morning, who’s child gets an attitude, I am a mother who will play 15 games of UNO just to see my child’s face light up. I am a mother whose favorite time of day is tucking my child into bed watching her say her goodnight prayers. I am a mother?
A Teacher—To my own special child every afternoon from 1-3, the one that has taught her how to count to 200, I am the teacher to a class of 10 deaf children from ages 4 to 16.
A Preacher—Along with this comes a counselor, shepherd, ultimate teacher of God’s word, encourager.
Not to mention…a hairstylist to that precious child that made me a mother, a Honduran chef to meet the hunger need of once again that precious child, Bilingual (almost trilingual), a plumber to make sure all the toilets flush in the house, an artist because that’s what the kid likes, so many new aspects of what I am have been revealed to me this summer. I am no longer who I was and can never go back to that person. I will always be me but with so many new titles added on… My favorite is that I am a child of the Creator.

From the Past...

Soo... We have been out of internet since Tuesday evening. I know you're thinking this was just a test to see how many people actually read the blog or were really starting to miss me... it was not and trust me at this point I am on the brink of insanity. I am at the Thomas' using internet so if all else fails I will be here a couple of more times to give you updates. This post will include updates from the past 3 days... since Wednesday... they are dated...


Wednesday July, 23 2008

I woke up this morning at the Thomas’ house. Tenisha and I slept in the same room with… AIR CONDITIONING!! Can you say amazing? This is the first time all summer either one of us has shared the luxury. Normally, I would have had that baby cranked down to the coldest it would go… but I guess because I’m use to just a fan and the outside air med cool on temp setting 3 was cold enough. It was the BEST nights sleep in a long time… probably since I’ve been here. No roosters… Dark room… ahh!
I so needed Tuesday with the Thomas’. What a blessing… I woke up this morning SO refreshed and ready to start into the final 2 weeks of this journey. I am just so praising God right now for knowing EXACTLY what I need and giving it to me even though I would have never thought I needed it.
We picked Teni up at school and then went to Burger King with Martha and the boys for lunch. It was a lot of fun. But the real fun started when I got the note all mother’s dread… ha! You’re child will need to bring one papaya cut up tomorrow to school. I’m like uh great… a papaya. My child would be the one to picked that or be given that fruit whatever the case may have been. We couldn’t get a banana or apple or even a pineapple—I at least know what all of those are and how to cut them up.
So we go to the super market and of course they are out… luckily we found one in a road side stand. When I say find… I mean you could see this thing a mile away. Ha! Ok, maybe not that far but I get out and ask for a papaya and this lady points to a fruit the size of a watermelon shaped like a squash. I’m like uh yea? So we get it take it home and I think this is where the battle with Satan began.
We get home and have an unexpected and at this point unwanted guest. She is not suppose to be in our house and I have the feeling she’s only in it to snoop and spy on what all me and my girl do. I’m like AHH! NO! Not now please not now… I feel like I have just come off a weekend of relaxation and renewal (even though it was one day) please don’t let the attacks happen now.
Nope, not lucky enough. They started! I start cutting this papaya and chopped my finger off… ha ha… just kidding. But really… you should have seen this thing. I would post picture but I don’t have them with me. It taste weird to say the least but I think it’s semi growing on me… I know crazy huh? So the fruit cutting went smoothly, the person left… and it looks like we’re back onto a normal afternoon.
WRONG! We have no internet… which is why you are just now reading about Wednesday’s adventures. I worked on EVERYTHING that I know how to do… I’ve even disconnected and reconnected the cable to the outside and I’ve got nothing. Got in contact with Sofia who has been in contact with the company but still nothing. It’s sad!
I did end up getting over it and finishing the sermon and everything else in a normal week only hoping it would be fixed. We were suppose to Skype and webcam Robin today (Wednesday) but of course the internet is broken. Overall relatively successful.


Thursday July 24, 2008
Still no internet… ok I take that back. We have internet but the sent and received bytes are VERY far from being close enough to get a good connection. We will get this fixed soon. We have to or I might finally go insane. Ha! Once again this morning after a long night of not good sleep… I’m thinking oh this is not going to be a good day I’m not even awake and am tired. But, God provided again… the much needed phone call from the madre. Whew… I wouldn’t have expected a phone call but for a phone call do be exactly what was needed to make it man … THANK YOU GOD! And thank you mom for calling!
Nothing overly major has happened today. I feel like I am the official teacher for Tenisha’s class. I attempted to teach this afternoon since the teacher said it was much needed for her to help get stuff prepared for the fiesta tomorrow—which by the way I personally am VERY excited about… So whatever, I taught. I’m also the other mother that the other kid’s parents gossip about… but whatever. Tenisha pulled a semi attitude but we’ve talked about it and are good now. We had a good afternoon of tutoring… attempting to fix the internet… picking out pretty close for tomorrow… and then it happened…
I braided her hair… I’ve French braided a couple of times but I mean today I actually braided it like a little black girl’s hair would look. Ok, so I’m sure it’s looks very much like a white girl did it but well add some beads and you’ve got a pretty authentic look. Can you tell that I am impressed with myself… because I am? Don’t worry we took pictures and I’m sure there will be plenty from the fiesta tomorrow. I would venture to say that it took about 2 hours total to do. About an hour to braid it and then an hour to bead it… I’m telling you. As a kid I have made tons of beaded jewelry. You just string it right along. Beading hair is no easy tasks folks… in fact it’s rather difficult. And I’m pretty sure we’re probably going to have to cut the tiny rubber bands out but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Robin called too. She’s back in the US and is involved in her brother’s wedding on Saturday and is preparing a sermon for her sending church for August 3. Please be in prayer for the Lord’s leading in that area. We will hopefully Skype on Monday. Please be in prayer for the internet to get back and working SOON!
I’m going to call it a night on this blog so that I can write another one I feel you will appreciate and just one that I want to have to look back on. Thanks for the continued prayers and support. I have missed your lovely, encouraging, comments. Love Ya’ll!

Friday July 25, 2008
Again without internet… AHHH!!!! I don’t think I can scream enough right now. I am literally um… losing my mind. It’s not that I am so addicted to the internet that I HAVE to have it… but here in this country, thousands of miles away from home, it is the only thread that connects me to America, my family, and friends and without it not only do I not have the ability to send an email or post a blog or read an encouraging comment… but I lose my ability to call home via Skype. This is killing me! I’m trying to stay positive and know that God has a big plan in mid and is some how using this in the journey but really I’m about to the end of knowing how to be positive… Of course by the time you read this I will have internet again… or at least have some type of plan worked out so that I will have some kind of access. I’m really hoping it’s the first one. Onto other things…
We celebrated Day of the Indian at Tenisha’s school this morning. It was a lot of fun to celebrate another country’s holiday. Some of the kids dressed in the traditional clothing… I took lots of pictures so you can see it too… They kids just played and although it was a lot of fun I’m sure if I knew the language it would have been even more enjoyable. We didn’t win the drawing for out cow so we will not be adding a new family member… it’s sad. Ha!
Anyway, I’m going to go… not sure what I’m going to do but yea… Prayers for the next 11 days are greatly needed and appreciated… Love Ya’ll

Crazy Fun All Around

I'm posting early because this thing is telling me there is a scheduled outage for 5:30 plus our day is pretty much winding down except for dinner tonight and a round or two or ten of Uno attack. Plus, I figured I might try and hit the hay a little earlier than normal just because I know the rooster won't wake me up at 4:30.

At this point I am exhausted. I am getting to that point where the exhaustion is starting to be come evident. I'm physically and spiritually exhausted but I feel so full of energy and so ready to go and press on in these next 14 days. Oh my! I am so excited to see what all the Lord has in store for them. I know they are going to be absolutely amazing and I can't wait!!

I've been at the Thomas' since about 7:15 this morning. I guess they haven't gotten sick of me or Tenisha yet. Ha! I dropped Teni off at school and walked over. They had asked me to stay with the boys while Martha drove Brian and his team to the villiage they are working in this week. The group is spending the night there so they don't need the vehicle. Picked my girl up and came back here. We rested a little bit and ate the pastillitos I made last night at 10. Ha! Apparently they turned out good. Martha, David, and Tenisha all seemed to enjoy them. I learned that the dough has to be refridgerated before stuffing them. They puff up when you cook them so although they look small when they are uncooked they will get bigger so don't combine two balls of dough or it will be a GIGANTIC pastillito. I am SO excited to make them when I get back! ECK!

We went to the mall to get the boys some shoes and then headed out to the river. It was really nice and relaxing and cool. The current was too rough for Jonathan to actually enjoy swimming in it so we decided to check at the Jungle River Lodge to see about swimming in those pools but they are empty for cleaning. On to the beach for a little bit is what we decided. Now, I've been to the beach a few times since being here and I have NEVER seen the water that rough... OH my.... the wind was blowing like CRAZY. I'm not sure if this is a side effect from the nice Hurricane coming onto the Texas coast or if there is some other tropical stuff in our neighborhood but either way we played a little bit and then figured it would be more fun to come home clean up and play Uno.

Which is where we are right now. We are all showered. Tenisha and David are playing Uno and we are about to head out the door to go to the resturant. I have my camera today... FINALLY so I will take pictures with this sweet family and hopefully post them soon so you can finally meet them. Love You all and again thank you for your prayers.

Going to Grub!

New Day...

I had a new day today. I know you´re probably thinking DUH Bridgette... everyday is a new day. I know that but normally if I don´t stay at the school-- which has really just been Tuesdays then I at least stay in the neighborhood so I don´t have to pay for a taxi. I generally go to the Dunkin Donuts or I´ve walked to the El Sauce playground just down the road to enjoy being outside in God´s creation. Either one works and is close to the school. After a while at both I generally walk to the mall and hang out there before walking back to the school to get my kid.

Today, I was going to stay at the school but really felt like I needed to just have some time for myself and for God. So I walked to the little playground. Spent some time with God then I caught the bus and road to El Centro-- the center of town. I went into the store where Robin and I bought our cheap dresses. They have name brand clothes for really cheap. Infact, I got 3 shirts today for 4 dollars. TOTAL! Ha! It made my day! Then I walked around the corner and got an Orange with Granola juice drink. I´ve tried strawberry, banana, watermelon, and pineapple. So I figured why not branch out and get orange with granola today-- that´s what Robin always gets. Ok so that IS NOT a favorite! ha! I´ll stick to my other ones until I´m brave enough to try mango, papaya, or carrot-- yuck!

Walked back to the school just in time to wait a few mintues for Tenisha. I got a phone call from Martha while I was waiting. She has invited us over tomorrow after school-- it´s SO nice that they live just right there and we are able to just walk after school. But tomorrow is extra special. Brian is taking his group to a villiage that is about 4 hours away so they are spending the night int he villiage. SO... we are having a sleep over! YIPPIE! I waited until about 4:30 to actually tell Tenisha about the sleep over part but she is SO excited about it! I think it´ll be really good and fun for us and them too.

I´m planning on making pastillitos in the morning and taking them over for lunch. Martha hasn´t had a meat one yet and we have the stuff so I thought it would be a fun idea. Hopefully they will turn out right... ECK! I´m a little nervous but... I guess not too much could go wrong except the flour tortilla part... umm... I WILL let you know how that goes. I´m excited too because it will be the first time since I have been here to sleep in AC and not be woken up by a rooster... YEA! It´ll probably the best night´s sleep that I have gotten in the past 8 weeks.

I will try to blog tomorrow but no promises. Pray for safety and protection from Satan. It is evident to me that there is a lot of spiritual warfare going on. It´s like there are only 15 days left in this journey BUT Satan is going to try his hardest to throw a lot of mess in the way trying to prevent me from leaving my mark-- making an impression-- and impact. Pray against Satan´s fight.

Love You all So much! Thank You again so much for all of your faithfulness and devotion to this blog.

Lots of RANDOMNESS

Today has been wonderful and God filled. I got to sleep in a little bit until 8:30. Got up and fixed me and Tenisha a really good breakfast-- one of those special once of eggs, bacon, and toast. She LOVED that! I did too. I had already finished my sermon and preparations because it is the lesson I was going to teach last Sunday when Tenisha got sick so it really all worked out perfectly. I was able to eat, clean up , and get ready and have time to sit and relax before having to go. I was jamming out to KSBJ and heard a Chris Tomlin song that I think is absolutely perfect for the next 16 days and to sum of this summer. It´s called God of this City and talks about how there are still great things to be done. Man it is a GREAT song and I´m thinking I´m going to have to find the CD and learn it to sign.

As you all know, I´m really not much of a reader. Infact, I would say that I strongly dislike it for the most part. However, of course there are the few that I really do like to read-- you know the fun ones or Bibliographies. This summer I have fallen in uh... love? with religious books. The first one I read for the internship is called Chasing Daylight by Erwin Mcmanus. Martha and I were talking about good books the other night at dinner and she had mentioned to me a couple she had brought with her to read during the time when Brian is in the villiages with the team. So I was telling her about Chasing Daylight. When we walked over on Friday, I took her the book and got one of hers called The Shack by William Young. Ok, so I HIGHLY recommend both books. Chasing Daylight is about seizing diving moments in everyday life. The Shack is based on a true story of a Father who goes back to the shack his 6 year old daughter was kidnapped and murdered at. At the Shack he encounters the trinity. Oh man, I stayed up late last night reading... I read this morning before church... and you BET I´m going to read some more before going to bed tonight. It is really eye opening to how we view God and how he really longs for us to view him. WONDERFUL!

Ok, so yea! I am feeling like I could really be Honduran. We went to the grocery store after chuch to pick up so fruits and vegetables. Which for those of you wondering are all natural to Honduras. The fruits-- oranges, pineapple, bananas, you know basically all fruit except apples are from Honduras. We actually import apples from the US. The vegetables-- plantain, onion, advocates, you know veggies. Yea, so we have A LOT of fresh fruits and vegetables so it´s pretty wonderful.

We normally have buy bananas and have them throughout the week. I´ll have to buy some tomorrow-- they were out today. But we did get advocates (which became guacamole), plantain for my girl Teni to cook up, an egg plant to cook later in the week, and a WHOLE pineapple. Yup and I cut that sucker up all by myself... and let me tell you IT TASTE SOOO GOOD!!

My roommates better get ready for all the crazy stuff we´re going to be having in our apartment next semester. We´ll have homemade tortillas, fruit, veggies-- plantain cause they sell those at walmart, and lots of other fun Honduran stuff... oh duh! Beans and RICE! ha!

Anyway, it´s very exciting... I´m thinking we are going to be stocked up on all of the fresh stuff for the next 16 days. I really wish I could bring some home so you could all taste the freshness of it!

And, church went very well this afternoon. It´s still partically a struggle to deal with the um... I think immaturity is the only real way to describe it. But, I am learning SO much from Amanda. She seems to always be the butt of the jokes or gossip and lies but yet she still loves everyone. Ah, to be like Amanda to have such a loving and forgiving heart. Anyway, Pray for the next 16 days. They are going to FLY by! Love Ya´ll!!

Saturday Traditions...

We have developed a weekly routine and apparently are starting a new Saturday routine. It looks like this...

Tenisha wakes up at her normal 6 am even though she goes to bed about an hour or two later than normal. She hangs out in the office and watches TV or plays the computer until I wake up normally at 8 or 830. We eat breakfast... ok I eat breakfast because by that time she has already finished and cleaned up the kitchen. I then insist on getting the clean kitchen dirty by starting to make Flour Tortillas. THey turned out a lot better today so maybe I´m getting the hang of it... ha ha... we´ll have to see when I get back in the states what happens.

Then, if we haven´t already lost power you can bet there is going to be a power outage happening soon. Today it happened at 11 and lasted until 2. Not bad. But this does make for a rather BORING afternoon. We played solitare-- off the computer. Made some crafts. Cooked lunch in the dark again. Played more solitare and the lights came back on. Since then we have just chilled and had a relaxing day.

We were suppose to go swimming with Sofia but that is another Saturday tradition. Making plans to do something with Sofia and them not working out... ha ha! It´s cool though... we have had a busy week running running running and hanging out with friends that it was not bad to just take a day and stay at home.

We´ll have church tomorrow so that´s exciting. I´m about to relook over my sermon that was prepared for last week and then put my child to bed and have some just Bridgette time. WHEW! Then the week starts again... YIPPIE!

Love You Guys and appreciate your faithfulness and prayers!

Btw: The raffle for the cow was canceled and there are not termites... Praise the LORD!

Rain Rain go... to TEXAS!

Greetings from Soggy La Ceiba!

Today was just one of those days I wish I could have stayed in bed. Not because I had that gut feeling that I it was going to be bad but just because it had been raining this morning since about 4 when Mr. Rooster started his crowing that it was nice and cloudy our room was decently dark and cool... it was WONDERFUL!

I stayed at Tenisha´s school and actually got shoved into teaching the older kids today because their teacher left to go to with a friend to the hospital or something along those lines. All went well.... I taught them some math-- same stuff our Tenisha is working on at home, we played hide and seek during recess time and then went back in and I taught them sentences using the read by color stuff. So it was actually very good. Tenisha did A LOT better today too. I love that God keeps throwing me into these situations where I really have NO idea what I´m doing but it always causes me to rely on him and trust him and have a little faith that he is going to use this expirence at the school in the future even though I can´t see it all right now.

We walked over to the Thomas´house to spend the afternoon with Martha and the Boys. Brian and his team had gone into one of the villiages so they were going to be gone the whole afternoon. Me and Tenisha are slowly walking to their house-- enjoying our drinks just being plain lazy when I notice the sky. I´m like oh it´s going to rain this afternoon... what´s new?? About the time we turn down their road it starts raining I look at Tenisha give her the sign to speed it up and luckily we made it there just in perfect time. It rained from about 11:30 this morning until 6 this evening when Martha and I ran up to Pizza Hut to pick up dinner which they included us in again. So the roads were flooded but it is cool. And I was SO wishing I could send some of this nice weather and wonderful rain to Texas. Pray for the Two Baylor girls-- Kim and Nicole and one of the Profs safety tomorrow as they fly home. Pray the rain will stop and everything will go smoothly. They have two more girls and one or two guys coming in on Sunday.

The only downside to this rain is that it looks like it might have brought the termites with it. Which in this country-- is NOT good! Actually I don´t think termites alive are fun anywhere but here´s what Robin told us before she left. They come like a plague for one day and stay the entire day-- Bridgette-- that´s the day you HOPE you can stay inside the whole day. Apparently, they lose their wings within 24 hours-- GROSS!! They fly into anything open-- ears, mouth, nose... lose their wings and basically it is DISGUSTING!! Doesn´t sound to fun or pleasant does it? I think not. Pray that if the termites are here that they will be gone by tomorrow evening and we will be able to avoid them.

All of your continued support and prayers mean everything over here. May you each be blessed this weekend in the presence of the Lord. Love Ya´ll!

It started Rough...

The day that is... but luckily all of the wonderful prayers being sent up smoothed things out. I helped at the school this morning which went really well. I helped the teacher teach them how to learn sentences. But it also gave me an idea on how Tenisha acts at school which is um... very much like the child being raised by Americans. She kind of acts like she knows it all-- which I´m not saying she doesn´t but... yeah. During their break she pulled some MAJOR pre-teen additude stuff. So we had a serious talk when we got home about how she better change the way she acts at school and unless she wanted to miss out on a lot of fun things this weekend she better change the way she was acting toward me. She apologized and has been great since then so hopefully we have that little bout out of the way. But man, I sure was thinking it was going to be a ROUGH day.

The afternoon consisted of tutoring and craft time. She loved both. We played solitare and Uno about a million and half times. But she loved it all. It´s crazy that another week has gone by-- where are they going to quickly???

We´re walking over to the Thomas´house after school-- her party was canceled tomorrow due to a strike within the education system. Our school isn´t participating because we are private but they thought it would be better to cancel the party until next Friday which will work out perfectly. They are having the Raffle Drawing for the Cow so hopefully I´l l be able to let everyone know that we won a baby cow tomorrow... ha ha!

Anyway, I better go so I can get my wonderful child motivated and off to shower and bed. Talk to you all soon! We are in the teens on the days until I will be home... 19 to be exact and it´s absolutely INSANE! Thanks some more for the wondeful prayers!

And Yes Lori, it does appear as though she got a physics lesson in... ha!

Stuck in a Rut

Greetings after this Long Day!

Tenisha was out of school and so I wanted to plan a fun adventure for us and well we definetly got an adventure and great stories to tell. We just got home so I´m waiting for my girl to shower and get in bed since she is officially 2 hours past her bedtime which for her is a stretch but I´m sure she´ll be up at her usual time excited and ready to go to school.

Martha, Dr. Somebody for Baylor, Kim, and Nicole picked us up at 10:00 this morning. We did some souviener shopping with them at a couple of places and ended up eating lunch and getting fruit juice drinks at the mall. From there we stopped at their house to leave the Dr. and pick up the two boys to head out to the beach. We got there about 1 or so and swam and layed out and build a sand castle-- Tenisha´s never done that-- and swam some more until about 3:30 when Martha and I decided it would be good to start rounding up the troops. This is when the adventure started...

We all pile in sand in all and get ready to pack out and well I can´t make the sound affect but the back left tire spun. We´re like uh oh ... put it in four wheel and try again... nothing. So Nicole and Kim-- both engineering students at Baylor, jump out and are like ok we´re going to have to push it. YEAH RIGHT!! So all of us girls attempt to succeed at pushing a SUV. It was a great sight. We tried from the front and back but the tire only got deeper. Infact, it had dug down to the top of the hup cap-- prolly 2 feet or so. At this point we´re like uh... we need to dig. Sooo... yup you guessed it all three of us are on all fours digging around the tire. About this time all of the Hondurans come out of hiding to see the show the GRINGAS are putting on. Sand is flying and we´re praying that we can get unstuck. NOTHING... So these two smart engineer majors get to thinking... finally we´re like we need to find boards to put under all four wheels so they can grip and we can get unstuck. I´m not going to tell you that we got three of the boards off of one of the sacks that is there for shade. But we found four boards and with Martha in four wheel and us three girls in the back pushing we got the car out. I know your thinking that at this point we´re on the clear and came home. WRONG!

For some reason Martha never turned to the right or left once we got her going forward. Nope she just kept going straight. You´re probably thinking... she went straight into the water. WRONG! Instead, she gets about 3 or 4 feet from the wet sand... about 10 feet from the ocean and stops. We´re like oh this isn´t good she has to turn. Then, along came a Honduran guy who could speak some english. He´s like oh this isn´t good... UH DUH! You just need to back up. We´re like but we´ll get stuck in our tracks-- she´s going to go forward and turn around. He´s like uh well ok.

PAUSE: At this point I´m sure this guy is thinking. Um... excuse me you three Gringas, one mama Gringas, two children Gringos, and the solo honduran child who is deaf... but don´t you think you should just listen to me. After all you are just feet from the ocean with not many options and I´m tellling you at least if you back up and get stuck you´ll be father away from the water-- instead of going forward bringing you closer to the water. But... whatever learn for yourself.

Ok, well he let us learn for ourselves alright. We only inched forward until Brian called telling us to just stop our efforts he and one of the Baylor guys Jason, were on their way to rescue us. We were like well uh ok. So if you think about it. There are plenty of places to get stuck. But man, I couldn´t have picked a better place than at the beach surrounded by mountains. Oh! and I´m telling you the way the car was looked like one of those TV commericals with the car right on the edge-- and yes Kim got great pictures that I´ll share soon! Needless to say, Brian got there. Repositioned the boards in the back of the tires and backed that sucker straight out and back on hard ground. We were like oh well we could have done that. Honduran man that tried to help at this point is thinking, ¨AHH!!! Stupid Gringas! Why didn´t they just listen?¨

We went back to their house for them to shower and change to go eat. They invited us to go along so we joined them. It was a great day! Tenisha LOVES being out in the water and out of the house is ALWAYS good! We missed tutoring today but I think it´s ok to get a complete rest from school every now and then.

So... I´ve been in this wet and sandy swimsuit long enough. I´m out to get cleaned up and to bed for another wonderful adventure tomorrow. Just wanted to share about our day so you could all get a good laugh. Mucho Amor to you faithful readers!

Jumping IN....

Literally... I got a call about 12:45 saying... ¨Hey Bridgette! You know how you said you wanted to help out at the pool? Well can you come now... the teacher called in sick?¨ So off Tenisha and I went with her afternoon tutoring book in hand.

It was me and two other guys doing the classes. We did two and probably had 15 kids total. It was ALOT of fun. For some reason when I got there I was like oh great... I don´t know what to teach and I don´t even know the language. Silly me! I should know by now that this culture doesn´t believe in organization and a set plan. ha! Basically you have a pool full of 7 or 8 children-- boys and girls-- some with disabilities-- some know how to swim-- others have NO clue... but basically each ¨coach¨got a child and would teach them some techniques depending on their level and then go get a new kid. For the kids that know how to swim, it is a time for them be in the water strengthing their skills. The kids with disabilities are freed for the first time in their lives. It was WONDERFUL!

Tenisha doesn´t have school tomorrow so we´re going to try and hook up with the Thomas´and maybe do something with them and then Friday there´s a party at her school for Day of the Liempera.... and no one that I have asked really knows the whole reason for this holiday but it´s a party so whatever. ha!

But things are still going GREAT!! Talk to You soon! With more adventures and stories!

Just another day...

Thank You all for you Wonderful Prayers concerning Tenisha. They have been answered and our precious girl is back to her good ol self. Infact, she´s so back she just got a tiny attitude but we got that taken care of REAL fast! Her fever has gone down and the pain as well. She went to school today and I was able to stay and help out there this morning but we had to meet with the lawyer again at 10:30 so I just hung out at the school and journaled at one of their picnic tables. It was nice.

I finally was able to talk to Sophia about helping out in the swimming pool. I got this response, ¨UH... Well DUH! We are ALWAYS needing help... just bring your suit and jump on in...¨ I´m pretty excited about it!! I think it will be fun and if I´m ever not needed at the pool I´ll be able to help out in Tenisha´s class or anywhere else. I think I´m still going to take Tuesday´s off since Amanda is up there anyway so Teni is able to ride the bus back with her and it saves us money. I will probably start doing that on Wednesday.

That´s really about the extent of our day the rest was normal. Tutoring which is still going VERY well. We got a package in the mail today full of those little capsuls you drop in water that become sponges... THANKS MOM!! She was a little confused and like... uh... what is this?? But ended up LOVING them! I took pics so I´ll share those soon.

That´s about all for the evening but again Thank You for your prayers for Tenisha and your continued prayers and faithfulness to this blog. The support is greatly appreciated!! I can´t wait to see you and give you hugs for all of your support!! It won´t be long!

Love Ya´ll!!

Mommy

I love babies... well kids in general. I work at a day care and when I go home I make every effort to keep some of my favorite babies. I have even kept kids over night before and longer. And believe me after those nights I´m like whoa.. not having kids for awhile and especially not single. Well I am currently the mother of a 11--almost 12-- year old deaf child. This is a completely new expirence in itself. She´s older so its easier for her to entertain herself and she doesn´t wake up in the middle of the night crying to be fed.

But I have NEVER in my life felt more like a mom than I did this morning at 8:30. I woke up to Tenisha crying in pain that her side was hurting. I´m like oh great... not today... please not today. So I lay her down and take her temperature. It was a good and very solid 101.8. At this point there is no doubt that the doctor is getting a call. He ended up coming to the house at 10 and checked her out. He was concerned that it might be a urinary tract infection so he did a urine sample and drew some blood at his office. He tested it all and it came back normal so he said it may just be stomach pains and will pass. But he gave her a shot for the fever-- she was NOT happy about that. I don´t think something has ever hurt me so bad than seeing MY CHILD on the table getting a shot and then crying out in pain.

At this point. I´m thinking of all the times I´ve had to go to the doctor or have had surgery or have cried out in pain. The most recent was getting my wisdom teeth out and being in pain from that and allergic to my pain medicine. And then Lori-- you came to mind. Watching your sweet 4 year old go through so many surgeries and other operations. I can´t even begin to imagine all of the pain you went through. All my child got was a shot and some medicine. I don´t think I will ever look at a mother´s role the same way after today. Thank You Mom for being so brave and never showing me how much you were hurting when I hurt. Lori- You are my new hero! To all of the others who read this-- wow! You are incredible and I believe God is going to bless you in big ways.

So we got some medicine, came home and started her on them. Dr. C. also said rest would help so in a quick decision with church looming and having to preach about an hour away. I weighted my options. Take this sick child to church... leave her alone... find a sitter... txt the leaders and let them know that we won´t make it. It was a very difficult decision. I knew I couldn´t take her or leave her alone, finding a sitter would be pretty much impossible. But I was leary on not showing up. I know there are already a few rumors about my ability to preach and take care of Teni. But I knew that´s what I needed to do.

When I told Teni we weren´t going her heart broke. An American, Jennifer, that use to work with signs of love is in town visiting with her husband and were going to be at church today. Luckily for us she was so kind and stopped by with Ruth, Kenneth, Orlan, Amanda, and Xiomara. They stopped by so I could meet Jennifer and to check on Tenisha. She felt like one special little girl getting SO many visitors all at one time and all for her. Amanda said church went well and she explained to everyone we were at home because Tenisha was sick and they would be praying for her.

She does seem to be doing better since getting the shot and getting some rest. We played about 15 games of uno 10 of which she won. We´ll check her temperature again before bed and then again in the morning to see if she will be going to school. Please continue to pray for her health and for my strength of being a mom.

Love You all!

No Light

Greetings!

I woke up this morning at about 7 when my fan turned off. I was like oh great we´re already going to start the day with out any electricity. I haven´t reported on this Honduran problem but it has happened a couple of times since I´ve been here. Having no electricity eliminates A LOT of things, AC, TV, Fan, lights, being able to open the fridge to eat. There´s really no guarantee how long the power outage will last. Once since I have been here have lasted 10-30 mintues. Not bad but still bad enough.

Power wasn´t restored today until 3. NOT FUN! We cooked spaghetti even though we had some in the fridge. Played some Uno. I finished my sermon preparations. Teni´s still sick so she´s been real lazy and blah again today. It´s no fun! We have her on meds. She´s running a low grade temp tonight-- gave her some children´s motrin and we´ll check it in the morning before church and if she´s not any better we´ll be calling Dr. C. Please join me in prayer that she will regain her health and will start to feel better again FAST!

That basically sums up our day. Tomorrow is church and I feel really prepared about that but be in prayer over the sermon and the church participants to have open ears and opened hearts. You are all wonderful! thanks for the continued prayers!

The Mountain and the School

Keylin coloring her kite...
Dennis and Miguel coloring their kites
Playing a game and learning to count...
Painting with their real teacher
RECESS!!!
This is the Moutain when it's stormy... you can't see it... crazy...
Our road turns into a river... it's neato
My sweet Tenisha watching it rain...
Best for Last... this is the view I got yesterday! AMAZING! Thank you Father for creating the mountians on earth for us to enjoy and in our lives... Help them both lead us closer to you!

Machete Man...

Dad, I forgot to tell you this story but figured you would appreciate the title of this blog. It's creative I know. ha ha!

So I stayed to and helped out at the school today and I'm sitting there during their break on the bench enjoying the breeze and watching the kids play when I look to my left and see this big group of people coming in the gate. The ladies are holding the rakes and the men are holding their machetes. That's what they use to cut the grass here so I'm not overly concerned with this site. Then, the man sits down... with his machete and starts talking to me. I actually knew what he was saying so I answered that I worked at the school just for July but was working for Senas de Amor. He starts asking more questions and I'm like, "No hablo espanol, muy pequito" he's like ah. Your from USA? I'm like si! Anyway, basic conversation continues... at this point I'm impressed with my new spanish abilities and the fact that I'm having a conversation with a man while he sharpens his machete. It was a great moment! That I wanted to share with you.

Sophia and I went to the lawyers office today. She was very nice and also informed us that her brother is deaf. EXCITING! We found another deaf person and the process of becoming a recognized non-profit in Honduras that has taken the past 5 years will be in the works by Tuesday. We are VERY excited about this and she is charging us 10,000 lmp less then what the real price is. What a BLESSING from the Father and a great surprise for when Robin gets home. We're not telling... shh...

Tenisha and I went to the mall ate a baleada and got a juice drink then taxied home. She wasn't feeling well today so we didn't do extra tutoring this afternoon. She relaxed and played solitare which she is LOVING!! But I got her to half way stay up until 8:30... an hour and half past her bed time. So maybe she'll sleep later in the morning. That plus the Children's motrin has got to do the trick right?

Sophia's coming over in the morning to finish one last minute thing before the lawyer goes to the captial on Tuesday and is then taking Tenisha back to her house-- if she feels better-- to play with her little boy. It'll be a good thing for Teni to get out of the house and it'll give me some alone time to relax and work on the final preparations for my sermon.

The days are ticking by... this week FLEW! I can't believe it is the weekend already... where did the week go? Pray that Tenisha starts feeling better SOON!! Pray for the final sermon preparations and for open hearts on Sunday! Pray this weekend will be restful!

Thanks to each of you! May you find yourself abundately blessed this weekend!

New View of the Mountain

Let me just tell you that when I stepped out of out gate this morning with Tenisha to start walking to find a taxi and the first glimpse I saw was the mountain-- the one you can see off our balcony-- with one loney cloud hanging in its presence. I KNEW it was going to be an INCREDIBLE day in the Lord.

I dropped Teni off and walked to a little park where we met the Thomas´. It was a nice morning sitting in the shade of the trees feeling the breeze. Just enjoying the creation God made for us to enjoy and starting at the BEAUTIFUL mountain that was really clear this morning.

And then God spoke to me... ha ha

You see... I´m really hoping that there are more mornings when the Mountain is this clear, although mornings do seem to be less cloudy as the rain showers build up in the afternoons in the mountains. But I really want to get a good picture of it because just starring at it is absolutely breath taking and such a great reminder that the creator of the Mountain also is our creator.

Looking at the mountain this morning reminded me of the story of having the faith of a mustard seed and being able to move the mountain. But as I sat there I was reminded that the God that created the Mountain also has the ability to move it. The creator of the Mountain in La Ceiba, Honduras is also the creator of Moutains in our lives.

We have been taught that it takes a tiny bit of faith-- the size of a mustard seed- to move the Mountains in our lives but we don´t have to rely only on ourselves we have the ability to call out to the creator who holds all of the world and all of the Mountains in his hands. We can call out to him and should call out to him to move the mountains in our lives.

We must remember in the process to enjoy the Mountains in our lives and to learn from them. Just like sitting in the park this morning enjoying the view of the Mountain it caused me to draw near to God and to reflect on his beautiful creation. To know that he created it just for me to enjoy and to remember that he is my creator too.

We should sit and reflect on the mountains in ourlives-- they should cause us to draw near to the God that created us and them. We can learn from our mountains whle trusting the creator to move them from our life.

The rest of the day has been normal. Picked Tenisha up. We rode the bus and succeeded so that will be our new form of transportation unless we for some reason are in a hurry or walk to the mall and then we would get a taxi home. But anyway, tutoring now but I had a break before she starts on her words and wanted to post real quick. Guess that´s about all. Thanks for the sweet and encourgaing comments. All of you continue to be sweet blessings in my life. Love You!

Another Day...

So today has been rather productive. I stayed at the school this morning and things went very well. I taught the Noah´s are story with my homemade felt board. They really enjoyed playing with it and learning their animals. They really enjoyed the noah´s ark craft as well. It just made for a long day so I´m pooped alreadyand it´s only 6:30. Whew!

Tenisha continues to do well with her learning and behavior. I am SO proud of her. We tried the bus again today and were SUCCESSFUL!! YIPPIE! So we´re going to do that again tomorrow and probably make that our afternoon routine. It´s easy enough and brings along adventure in the afternoons plus one of the stops is the center of town so we could always walk around there one afternoon and eat lunch in the town square. Gives us another option.

Yea, that´s really about all... it was uneventful but a good day. I´m not staying at the school tomorrow but am considering staying in the neighborhood and working on the sermon for Sunday. So we´ll see how that goes or what I plan on doing in the morning. Anyway, that´s about all tonight...

Oh last thing I am becoming quit the chef. We bought chicken before Robin left-- it´s a treat for my little Teni-- but i divided it up and we had four meals out of the package so tonight I cooked some wrapped in bacon which is even more of a luxary. It would have been an expensive meal but I figured we could sacrifice for ONE really GREAT meal. Then we´ll go back rice and beans, and spaghetti... hee hee

Faith vs. Faithful

I was able to stay home this morning after I dropped Tenisha off at school. It was so great to have the time to get some things done around here. Work on finishing up my stuff for this internship to count as a class. Spending much needed quality, crying out time with God. I even finished reading my book. Man it closed in such a great way. I would love to share everything that I enjoyed but you´ll just have to read the book yourself and maybe we can compare sometime on what all God taught you.

I think the word Faith is always linked to missions. People are always saying oh you are so brave and have to much Faith. I know I personally have gotten that response from so many people that heard I was going to spend my summer in Honduras. But to me its more of just being Faithful. I know that God has called me to serve here this summer I am just being faithful by being here. It´s not scary here, I don´t feel in danger, or threatened. Chasing Daylight hit on these two words today in my reading here´s what the author said:

Faith: a big word that is exciting, daring, and magnetic

Faithful: an ordinary word, somewhat dull, routine, and bland

Many of us would like to be known by faith, but resist the tedious journey of being faithful. We expirence God´s blessings and become his instruments, not from our talent or capacity, but because of our willingness to be where God is moving. Half the battle of seizing divine moments is just being there, just showing up. There will be places on the adventure where you will have to stand alone, your challenge may involve real conflict and battle.

How true is it that we always say, Oh, I just wish I had more faith. We define ourselves as having faith or lacking faith-- of trusting God and stepping out or holding back. But like the author says, being faithful is tedious-- it´s difficult to be faithful to God because we aren´t promised an easy journey. Infact, most of the time the journey is more difficult. But all we have to do to be faithful is just show up and be where God is working and moving. We can´t live our lives to avoid the moments we will be alone (without humans, God will be there), if we live that way we are guaranteed to miss out on God´s big plans on the divine moments.

Here is one more thing the author said when referring to prayer: Small prayers have huge impact when they come from people who are living a life of obedience to God. I thank you all so much for your prayers-- big or small-- God answers them and they are having an impact and are very felt over here.

I´m here in the moment where God is working and that also means Satan is working just as hard. Please be in prayer for me as I continue to preach at the deaf church. The church has gone through many changes in the past year, as all churches do. I think this church has a lot of factors playing against it. It was started by an American Woman, who is hearing. The Deaf here have been hurt and neglected by hearing people for all of their lives that it is difficult for them to understand and comprehend that someone, like Robin, would give up everything to live here and to help them. Over the past 9, going on 10, years that she has been working in these people´s lives they have begun to develop a lack of trust in her and what God is doing in this ministry. The chuch is often full of gossip and lies. But then again what church isn´t. But again the factors that are against us, being hearing white American women, make it difficult to show the love.

Long and short... I was asked by Nancy to help teach Robin Julia english. I told her I wouldn´t be able to because my afternoons are filled with tutoring Tenisha and she is the reason I´m here and I can´t take time away from her. So, I´m not sure what all rumors are started concerning me not accepting the offer but I do know there are some. Please just be in prayer for strength on my part to be strong against the spiritual battle with Satan. Pray also for me to love even my-- enemies. God is still at work and is still using me!

Today was typical. Love You ALL!!

Typical Day and Leaning on God

Things are going so GREAT! Tenisha and I had our regular routine today. Dropped her off at school, I walked to Dunkin Donuts and hung out there jounraling and reading ¨Chasing Daylight¨until about 9 when I walked back to the school to meet up with Sofia. We were suppose to meet the lawyer today but she never called. I ended up walking to the mall about 10 to get some groceries and then picked Teni up and came on home. We had lunch and just kinda of relaxed until about 1. Then we started our tutoring.

She counted to 150 today-- almost completely by herself!!! SO exciting! She added and subtracted numbers 1-20, and filled in a missing number chat 1-100. She is learning so much and really needs the one on one time. She is doing so WELL! We even started her on four more food words today with her felt food. That is working so well. We have the food, the flash card, and we sign it too so she can connect them all together. I found some other activities to do with her so that her language tutoring time will last longer than 5 mintues. But we ended about 3:30 or so and made some necklaces and bracelets with stuff I had brought from home. She LOVED it!!

Made dinner rice and beans, played uno, ate some ice cream, watched some TV and she is currently getting ready for bed! WHEW! What a great day we had. This is our regular routine. I don´t think I´m going to stay at the school anymore after this week. It´s just not working out. I feel like things went SO much better with Tenisha´s tutoring since I didn´t stay at the school then it had been.

Chasing Daylight has got to be a book written exactly for this moment in my life. I strongly encourage each of you to take some time to read it. It is inspiring and challenging. The author is rather blunt in his approach but I think most the time blunt is exactly what we need.

This whole summer I feel like I have been learning to rest in God. It´s not always easy because most the time it feels like it is going to be easier to try and figure things out and when things get tough it´s easier to pity ourselves and get down instead of resting in the Father´s arms and gaining his strength and confessing to him that we´re confused, hurt, betrayed, depressed, scared, whatever. God likes for us to lean on him.

When you lean on the arms of God, you may find yourself in the most alarming situations, not safe from alarm. When you begin leaning on God, you begin leaning forward rather than backward. God´s instructions are to go, live life, take risks, move forward, advance. We can lean forward on God´s everlasting arms. (Chasing Daylight, Erwin McManus, Advance)

Its true I think that when we do fully rely on God and we do truly rest in his arms things get tough. I love that when we lean on God we lean forward instead of going backward and getting out of the arms of God. It´s not always easy to go forward-- we don´t always know what´s going to happen-- but we can lean on God´s everlasting arms and go forward in life and live it even if that means taking risks we don´t feel prepared to take or don´t want to deal with. We have to move forward instead of backward. We HAVE to rest and lean on the arms of the Father!

Can I get an Amen?

Ok not really. I don´t think this morning´s sermon deserved an Amen. But I think it did go well considering the circumstances of well me preaching. I do feel like things did go well. I was a little concerned that they didn´t quite understand but after I was done and they sang their songs and incorporated what was taught it was obvious that God had opened their hearts and minds and removed me from the picture. What a blessing to see them learning.

Church really consumed our whole day. We had a very relaxing morning and afternoon getting prepared for church, playing cards, currently watching Hannah Montana. Could life get much better? ha!

I´m going with Sofia tomorrow to meet with the lawyers. We are in the process of getting SofL to be a recognized non profit organization here in Honduras. They have been trying for the past three years so hopefully it will all work out this time. I´m excited to be a part of it! And back to the routine after that with tutoring Tenisha. I´ve got to sit down tonight and draw out some lesson plans and worksheets for her to do. But that´s really about all.

Thank You all SO much for your prayers for today. They were felt and answered. The Lord is so Faithful! Love you all so much! See you in EXACTLY a MONTH!! It seems SO crazy that in approximately 30 days I will be stepping foot back in America. Wow! The summer has flown by and I have learned and grown so much.

Getting Out...

We went to the beach this morning at 11:30 with the Thomas family. It was SO nice to get out of the house and to have some playmates for Tenisha. We really enjoyed ourselves and are thankful for being included. It gave me some more time to work on the tan which is always nice.

I´ve prepared my sermon for tomorrow´s Deaf church. I´m teaching the Potter and Clay. I think it is something they could really benefit from. Please be in prayer for all to go well tomorrow and for them to comprehend the lesson. Pray that the Holy Spirit will take over and speak through me and my hands. You are all a sweet blessing in my life.

I better get going. I¨ve got to finish the last minute preparations. Do some journaling and a little more reading. Love You All!

Before the Celebration...

I stayed at the school today. Prayers would be so greatly appreciated concerning this situation. I´m going to go back and stay Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I´m going to use the ark on Monday, the Rainbow on Wednesday, and Friday I´m going to just do a review with a couple of different games that involve counting. But I think this is going to be my last week. I´m not enjoying or benefiting from being there. Pray that this week will be benefical for the kids and that they will have open minds and will learn. Pray also for the time I will have to prepare more intense lessons for Tenisha and the extra time I will have to invest completely in her.

We met up with Brain´s wife Martha and their two boys David-11 and Jonathan-7. We ate lunch at the park that is a block away from their house and about 5 blocks away from Tenisha´s school. We then walked back to their house and spent about two hours over their playing Uno Attack. Tenisha LOVED it! She had so much fun with the boys and they did with her as well. This is such a precious family and I´m thankful to God for placing them here at the same time as me. They have invited us to hang out with them anytime we want and infact have invited us to spend the early afternoon with them at the beach tomorrow. It will be SO good for Tenisha and me too, to get out of the house and for her to have kids to play with.

As you can see from the pictures below we barley celebrated 4th of July. I feel anti-american right now. I didn´t come to Honduras to live like an American so I´m not allowing myself to stay in the American mind set. We ate corn tortillas-- I made those handmade btw-- with chicken, refried beans, veggies, and creme. They were really yummy. Watched Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blonde-- I figured this would be a great way to celebrate. Robin left us sparklers to celebrate with as well. It was DIFFICULT to get them lit and enjoy them but we got two lit for a second and then decided to end our celebration for the night.

I hope each of you enjoyed your 4th of July and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Stay safe out there! Thanks so much for your prayers and support. You each mean so much in my life!

Happy 8th Birthday Reagan!! Have a Fun Birthday!! Love You!!

Happy Fourth of July!!

Happy Fourth of July!!! May each of you be blessed today! Don't forget the sacrifices that have been made for you sothat you can enjoy your freedom and celebrating it surrounded by family and friends. Thank You Phillip, for putting yourself in danger so that I, everyone reading this blog, and all Americans can have the luxary of freedom.

Me and Teni preparing to Celebrate!
Eating unAmerican food!
Finally, Celebrating with Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde! HA!
For the grand firework show... a sparkler!

Chores... Honduran style

Took my Teni to school this morning and then walked home. I enjoy the walk in the mornings. There is hardly anything going on. Mostly all of the shops are closed and all the kids are on their way to school and it´s still kind of breezy so the temperature is nice.

I had to wash the truck today. I was suppose to do it on Tuesday but never did. Robin left it dirty to eliminate one less thing that had to be done before she left and it saves money if we do it. The only thing is you don´t wash a car the same way here as you do in America. You must eliminate the use of the water hose. This requires two buckets. One will be full of soap and the other will be filled with clean water to rinse. It was a crazy process and the washing wasn´t done in super detail but the dirt is gone and you can definetly tell it´s clean! YEAH!

We didn´t try the bus again today. I think we´ll wait until next week and maybe try it again with Amanda. We have done all of our laundry which takes a long time now since we have very little water pressure ended up just filling up the same bucket used to wash the car to fill up the washing machine. I´ve NEVER had to do that before. Tutored Tenisha, baked cookies for the fourth of July, played a game, made dinner, and now I´m about to journal and go to bed.

I talked to Sophia about the school this evening. She talked to the teachers and they said to just come, sit in and watch how they teach and help out wherever needed. So I´m really not sure what I´m going to be doing there... I don´t know if I´m suppose to teach ever or if I´m suppose to teach the teachers or mentor them or counsel them or yea I really have NO idea. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring some kind of idea of exactly what I´m going to be doing there if anything at all. It doesn´t matter to me either way. I´d love to help if I´m needed but I don´t want to intrude or take over. It wouldn´t bother me to drop Teni off, walk home and prepare lesson plans for her. She is learning so quickly and at this point I´m kind of running out of ideas for her to do. I´m just going to have to sit down and get some stuff together for her. It is exciting that I am having to go above and beyond to teach her because she is learning so quickly. But Pray for the school and for things to work out according to God´s plan, not Bridgette´s plans.

We are meeting up with a lady named Martha Thomas and her two little boys. One is 11 and the other is 7. The arrived July 1st with the father Brian. He was here late May when I arrived arranging for his family to come back and for some teams to come. He is an engineering professor at Baylor and will be going into the villiages doing that stuff. I got incontact with them this evening. They are living about 2 blocks from Tenisha´s school in a nice neighborhood. There is a playground nearby that we are walking too where the kids can play and we can visit. I´m really excited! I think it will be fun for Tenisha to have some friends to play with and me to have another American. Hopefully we´ll be able to hook up with them some afternoons and weekends to get away and out of the house. I´m taking the sparklers and cookies to share and to celebrate the fourth!

I´m going to journal and crash tonight. Pray for this weekend. It´s my first weekend alone with Tenisha and I need to prepare a sermon for Sunday. Thanks for all that you do!! Love Ya´ll!