Holy Fire

rayinOn Saturday, the youth group had a bonfire, with songs, games, a skit, and, at the end, marshmallows! (yum.) I thought it went really well. Almost fifty kids showed up. We sang some good old-fashioned gospel music, Honduras style, and played some Honduran camp games. After that, we watched an object lesson about leaving the old self behind for the new self given by God.

I mention this event because I felt really encouraged watching these kids put on this program. In the middle of the program was a time for testimonies and thanksgiving, and after a nervous pause, one kid stood up to share, and then another, and another, and another, until finally the youth leader had to cut it off so we could move to the next activity. As I listened, I became very aware of how much God was moving in these kids' lives. I was grateful, and I was humble, because I realized that so much of what they are learning about God is coming from sources that can really feed them, (in their own language). I was relieved about this, because I realized that we missionaries view life around here on one level, but they see it differently. While we worried about discipline, class schedules, and paying the bills, they had found the most important thing and focused on it.

I don't know if any of that made sense. Just know that I was filled with joy at what I witnessed Saturday night.

A few pics, and a video, for your enjoyment.

Miguel, taking care of his marshmallow.

A little dancing and singing around the campfire.

This video is of the closing song, called, "Yo Te Busco", or "I look for You". It's a very nice song. The film is a little dark, and as you listen, some of the kids might be off key, but, I like listening to them sing, because they sing with heart and faith. The mumbling in the background is the sound of people praying.

Feliz Cumpleaños, Amy!

Yesterday was Amy's birthday. She is twenty six years old. When I woke up, I realized that I didn't have a present for her, so I made a cake and invited all the missionaries over to help us eat it.

We have a running joke about frogs. Hence the frog-shaped cake.

I cracked a (confetti-filled) egg over Amy's head. It's a Honduran tradition.

High Jinks

So, I looked out my window the other day to see that a couple of boys where weeding the flower beds. Okay, Gwen, so what?, you are saying. Well, take a look at the picture below!


That's Omar, about oh, twelve feet up in the air. He claimed to be fearless. Ay de mi.

School Projects

A few weeks ago, I gave my students a couple of projects to work on. I was trying to get creative in my teaching. So, I told them that they had to write a report, and present it to the class...in English.

For the tenth and eleventh grade class, I divided them into groups, and each group picked a state of the good ol' USA. They then had to find out about that state: it's capital, the population, the governor, the topography, the biggest city, etc. They had to then present that information, in English. This, they thought was going to be realllllly hard, and it was, but, with some help from me and others, they got it done: facts found, sentences translated, and posters made. They were so cute on presentation day. I was very proud of the eleventh grade class - I could see that they had worked very hard. They didn't pronounce everything perfectly, but, it was obvious that they had practiced.

My ninth grade class had a slightly different assignment - to present a how-to speech. Classic, yes. They had to pick a subject and present the different steps in English. They also did a very good job. I learned how to plant corn, how to plant beans, and how to make tortillas. The pictures below are from the ninth grade class.

Jose Lorenzo, Edwin, and Favio, with their presentation:

"How to Sow Beans"

Allen, Victor, David and Fredy:
"How to Sow Corn"

Eunice, Marian and Sarahi:
"How to Make Tortillas"

Lunchroom nostalgia

Last week, I went to a banana plantation, where they produce bananas for Chiquita. It was a neat tour, although I felt a little bit like I was watching Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. "Okay kids, today we are going to see how bananas are made." My favorite part? The authentic blue-and-yellow Chiquita sticker I received at the end of the tour. I don't think the Hondurans quite understood why we North Americans found this so exciting.

Whoot, whoot! I have some Chiquita stickers!

The banana fields. It felt a bit like being lost in an Iowa cornfield.

"Bagging" the bananas.

Washing the bananas.

The sticker ladies.

These bananas are on their way to Wal-Mart and Kroger!

Random Sightings

I saw this going down the street in Tela. I'm not what to call it. Car? Truck? How does he keep everything on his cart? It was very amusing, especially when the driver waved.

On bikes and Beijing

I enjoyed this article from the NYT, about bicycling around Beijing. I'll keep this in mind if I ever go there. Bicycles are very popular here in Honduras, as well, being cheap transportation. However, you will not ever find me using one to get around Tegucigalpa! Yikes!

Copy and paste the link into your browser.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/15/sports/olympics/15bikes.html?ex=1376452800&en=cb83c8cc87e37312&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Exam Week

My junior and senior classes had their English exams this Thursday. They are very relieved to be done with them! All week long they have been bugging me "Gwen, is the exam easy?" "Gwen, I think I'm going to fail." "Gwen, what's going to be on the test? Can you give me the answers?" I tried to calm their fears, because I knew they would be okay (especially since I am extremely lenient when it comes to grading. I give away a lot of free points).

I was very pleased with their tests - the majority of them passed, and more then half actually earned a "c" or better. Some of them were so cute when I told them their grade. Elvin, normally a shy kid, chattered non-stop all evening because he was so wound up and excited about his 88. Jimmy did a little fist-pump when he heard about his 80%.

This is Elvin, in the metal shop. He is studying industrial mechanics.

Jimmy was hamming it up for the camera with my ranchera hat.

Day of the School Highlight Reel

Check it out - a little multimedia for your enjoyment.

Day of the School, in review

Day of the School is over. Somewhat sad, but somewhat a relief - it is a very busy, exhausting event. After it was over, at noontime on Saturday, the boys disappeared into the dorms and didn't come out again until Sunday.

To follow up where I left off...Friday ended with Red and Blue in a close race for first place. Red won some big points in the baseball game, and turned around and played basketball and soccer that same day. Our boys where exhausted, but they cheered up when Lori and I bought them all Gatorade. On Saturday, Red again won some badly needed points in the obstacle course, but it was not enough to gain the first place spot. Blue won the title of Day of the School champions for 2008, with Red finishing in second, Yellow in third, and Green in fourth. Although disappointed, I think as time passes, the boys tend to remember the fun and games and the sting of second, third and fourth fades.

The obstacle course was a lot of fun - the boys had to push a four-wheeler loaded with tractor tires, there were some hurdles, a tire course, a slide through the mud, and a rope climb. They got good and messy doing it. Red team dominated this event, winning by over a minute! Go Red!

The Red team!

Edwin and Miguel in the arm wrestling event.

Carlos and Julio compete in ping pong.

The Red team finishes their drama.

Cristian won the 100m race.

The Green team goes through the mud pit.

Josue goes up the rope to ring the bell.