Time Never Slows Down

Almost three weeks....it's been almost three weeks now since I've been back in Honduras after a fabulous summer off and being back in Michigan. Time always goes too fast and it sure did this summer as well, but I was so blessed to be able to get quality time with my family and friends and got to travel to Wyoming with family to visit my brother Jason. It's not always easy to jump from one 'world' to the other. It's a blessing to know that I'm comfortable in both but there's a discomfort and a comfort with both. I'm comforted to still very much have a life and friends and family in MI but I don't have my daily routine there which I need. Here in Honduras there are many inconveniences but that's part of the life here although not always easy and I don't think I'll ever just be "used" to it.

Summer highlights:

Rachel and James's wedding

Got spoiled by so much time with these rug rats! They are my joy!



Lauren and Ben's wedding and the International School gang


Got to celebrate my 25th birthday at, where else than, a restaurant called 25 Kitchen and Bar! So blessed to have so many share it with me.


While in Wyoming, I was able to witness one of the coolest natural phenomenons ever, a full double rainbow. It was unreal.

It was so good to see my brother Jason who I hadn't in over a year. Good to see that he's happy and doing well.

The family

Stefanie and Greg's wedding

It was such a blessing to be home for birthdays, weddings, engagements, and just plain make new memories, which is something I have such a hard time missing being away. Life does go on for others and with some our relationship is affected by the distance, so it's nice to have a chance to renew those and invest in them while home. Yet, I'm called to be here and am glad to be here although difficult at times.

So summer came to a hault and I was quickly back in Honduras. I was greeted by flowers and open arms from my boyfriend Darwin in the airport. I'm sure most of you have heard about him by now. We've been dating for almost 4 months now. He's a Christian, agricultural engineer (aka. farmer), kind, loving, thoughtful, good listener, bilingual, amazing cook, and knows how to spoil and take care of me. It's been nice to be together again after doing long distance during the summer. Now we can just be together and allow time to do its thing. I treasure my friendship with him and who he is to me. He's a hopeless romantic, and we celebrate things like 100 days of being together, and I get showered with flowers all the time and good meals. Ok, I'll stop now so you don't gag. But I do just have to share that he surprised me with some other amazing gifts. He made me a chest made of mahogany with my name and our names on it. It's phenomenal! He also made me a set of two shelves and a table top that I can arrange in whatever way I want. So cool!





So starting on day 2 of being back, I jumped right back in to being North American Coordinator again this year. It's always a whirlwind of things to get done before the teachers arrive and we've found ourselves with, I believe, 16 houses this year, one of those houses being contracted to rent the day before they arrived, and 38 teachers. The new teachers are awesome and I'm loving getting to know them. We've had our bumps along the road already of illnesses, housing repairs, houses and classrooms flooding due to intense rain, etc. Welcome to Honduras friends! It's been good so far and such a blessing to have my friend Merideth DeVries as part of the Coordinator crew this year too. She's such a help and it makes the load lighter. It's different though being in my 3rd year. I'm one of the few North Americans that has been at IST for this long. So I get looked to for a lot which I'm glad to help and answer questions. It just seems so odd to me that after only 3 years of teaching that I'd be considered the "knowledgeable" one. School also knows me well enough and knows I'll say yes to a lot, and this past week they got me to say yes to being videotaped for a IST promotional video. I was by far surprised when rolling cameras came in along with umbrella lamps, etc. I'll try hard to get my hands on a copy of the final video to share! Another thing that is different that I've noticed so far this year is that for me, I live here in Honduras. For how long? I don't know. I'm here until God calls me elsewhere. But I am constantly reminded that for other teachers that come down here, this is just an 'experience' for them, a temporary thing. I feel more like an old-timer and a host that is here to show them around. It's nice in that sense but I've already noticed that the thrill I used to always get of traveling around and going places has started to ware off. It's home now in a way; there becomes less and less that is 'new'. However, I still look forward to attempting to cross off all the Central American countries off my list this year.

Flowers that my superintendent sent me as a thank you for the job I do as one of the coordinators. There was fruit and chocolate sent too!

So here's to year 3 of teaching 4th grade at IST. I've already survived week 1 and a full and crazy week at that. It's always filled with getting kids to get their materials to school, teaching them routines, reminding them how to speak English, etc. I'm blessed to have 19 kids this year. I'll gladly accept a smaller class size this year. After the first week, I can already tell it's going to be a different year than the others as their English level seems to be lower than any other class I've had before and I have quite a few ADD children. It's going to be pulling teeth at times to get them moving at the pace that they should. I'm encouraged by the fact that I feel confident in my abilities as a teacher and the fact that I know how I want my classroom to function, whether or not if it always functions as I'd wish. Without boasting, it's nice to not have to reinvent the wheel all the time and as I am the only 4th grade teacher returning to IST this year, I have 3 coworkers that I see stressed still by figuring things out and inventing the wheel. They'll get there soon enough. We all do.


As this year has been off to a super busy start and being ill, I haven't even had the chance to see all those that I love at Micah Project where I volunteer at. I hope that as soon as I find a pattern here and get over this sinus infection that has kept me home today from activities, that I'll get to see them all soon.

Before I wrap it up, I'd appreciate if you lifted a few things up in prayer for me:
-Patience and kindness with my students and coworkers
-Strength and growth in my relationship with Darwin
-Protection for all of us as the National Weather Center predicts major hurricanes this season and the amount of rain we've had has been tremendous and has damaged roads and homes
-Growth in my relationship with the Lord

Peace and love.

Someone's Gotta Do It

Rewind a little less than a year and I never quite imagined what I was getting myself into when I said yes. I never imagined that one job title would really possess so many. This year has possessed so much more than I could have imagined. Many times I feel the weight, and yet the joys, of being a 4th grade ESL teacher, 4th grade team leader, and North American Community Coordinator. However, what makes me chuckle is the fact that I never realized that those jobs would really entitle so much more then is written in the job description. Because supposedly being a teacher and a coordinator really means being a:
• nurse
• money changer
• tour guide/travel agent
• translator
• librarian
• party planner
• referee/ judge
• counselor
• phone operator/information hot line
• taxi driver

I feel like I'm even missing a few. Yet, I really do enjoy it. There are certain days, like recently, where I almost walked into my superintendent's office to slam down my keys, telling her I've had it, tell her she can have whatever is in my bank account, and walk out, and freaking walk to MI for all I cared. Yet, there are other surprising days where I actually feel needed and that my NACC job is important, like today.

So some of you may be wondering why I'm telling you any of this about my jobs. Well, I've realized that I haven't really publicized my decision for next year yet. (Drum roll please). I have officially decided and actually already signed my life away to doing the same jobs again next year. As some of you know, I was offered the elementary principal position and obviously have chosen to not accept it. I thought about it for a long time and wrestled with it and ended up with a LONG list of why not to do. Thus, I'm content with that decision. So, I can't believe that this could have been it. This could have been the end, the "experience" as people call it. Not nearly done, I don't think. So we're looking onto another year. But first, to survive the rest of this one first.

Next week we start the beginning of our last marking period. I have no idea where this year has gone. I some days feel as if I haven't done enough. However, I could say that every day of my life and never be satisfied. But, I really do pray that I haven't failed these kids in some way. I attempt to give them my all and some days struggle to do so. We have basically a week and a half and then off to Costa Rica for a week for Easter break! WAHOO!

However, I'll close with asking for your prayers for strength, good health for myself and my community as we are at risk of an H1N1 scare again and a few have some other health complications, and prayers for wisdom and God's presence.

So, I'll leave you with hopefully a few good laughs. This hopes to become a tradition now: It's called: Kid's Say and Write the Darnedest Things
Keep in mind these are English Learners and well, children!

Said/Wrote: Meant it to be:
The governor raises a taxi. The governor raised the taxes.
I want to do the governor. I want to be governor.

I would marry an apple if it were legal. I love the apples.
The mens like number two. ( Ok maybe I just have a middle schooler’s mind)
Name one of the Great Lakes: Lake Homeles (Lake Huron maybe!)
I am going to held. (I hope not kiddo!)
My mom inspired me to do a doctor. ( to be a doctor)
In my feature, my work will be a pastor and do games of Nintendo.
Yesterday I found a dead dinosaur.
It is impossible to drink water with your feets.
Miss Kerekes is prettier than my dog.


Blessings to you and yours.

I want to be your hands....

Well over a year ago, God put it on my heart to develop a partnership with a less privileged school and give our students the opportunity to share and serve. Last year the ball got dropped, and I feared this year the same would happen. However, with months of planning and preparing the school approved my proposal to have International School's elementary collect school supplies for another Christian elementary school called El Verbo. IST works on the American school calendar and El Verbo follows the Honduran calendar, thus they started school last week. For all of January each classroom of IST was assigned a material to collect. Those baskets were then collected, divided and sorted, decorated, and gifted. God orchestrated it all. I just got to be his hands.

However, the best part of it all was that I got to take 2 students from each section of our 2-5 grades. So with 29 students, we went to El Verbo this past Wednesday. Baskets and snacks in tote we were ready to go. These students couldn't sleep the night before they were so excited. Some told me they were the first up in their household that morning. As we drove up the mountain to Nueva Suyapa, I knew my students were seeing things they never quite had before. They hadn't seen houses made out of wooden pieces or the marks of poverty. It's good for them to know it exists right within their own town. Love them to death, but they are too sheltered.

During our time at El Verbo, we met one another, sang songs, delivered baskets to classrooms, and played games. Most of all, God did what I couldn't do. He worked in those kids' hearts. He spoke to their hearts. He shown threw all of them. I was even touched as I fell in love with some of El Verbo students. I too spent more time with those other students then the IST kids. They caught my heart. And just like the IST kids asked, I also plead, "When can we go back?"

God is at work.











I've also just continued to be encouraged by the developing relationships with those through Street Soccer. Times are hard at times, like yesterday 2 fights broke out and I was stuck in the middle of one, but God is at work. I pray for God to pry Satan's hands off their lives and their weak holds.

Pray for Honduras.

Puzzle Pieces

I love when the puzzle pieces of life come together. God has been working right underneath my nose for the past two years or more, and in this past month and this morning I’ve been able to see some of them be pieced together.

For about a year and a half, while living in Tegucigalpa, in my spare time I’ve been able to participate in a ministry called Micah Project. Micah Project is a boy’s home that has a youth home and a leadership house. In the youth home are currently about 11 boys under the age of 17. These boys have entered Micah Project to get off the street and/or to get an education. You’d imagine most of these boys to not have families and that’s why they are on the streets. That’s usually not the reason. Typically socio-economic status pushes children to the street. Their families simply just aren’t able to provide for everyone in the family. Thus these children turn to the streets in search of food and many times much more. Each of these boys has a different story. You can learn more about them on the website: http://www.micahcentral.org/ The Micah Project provides these boys with a Christ focused home and education. My participation has usually been joining them for Sunday night worship gatherings and having them join us for Ultimate Frisbee on Sunday afternoons. But more than anything, I’ve enjoyed investing in relationships with these boys.

Micah Project has a good balance though. They still also make sure to minister to those still on the streets. Thus, every Friday night some Micah staff and many International School teachers including myself come together to host street kids for an hour of soccer, sharing in God’s word, dinner, and foot washing. It’s a great time of fellowship together. Yes, sometimes the street kids bicker and fight with each other or someone tries to steal food, etc. However, God’s presence is there. Each of those street kids is now willing to give up his glue bottle to join us in this time. Almost each of the street kids is a glue user. They buy shoe glue and put it in a Coca Cola bottle or a baby jar and huff it. It’s a quick high that removes their pain and hunger. It’s what they use to fill them because they feel there is nothing else to fill them. More so, glue is a drug that can cause severe irreparable brain damage. These boys and an occasion girl or two are looking for what’s going to fill them. When they’re ready to give up their glue, that’s when Christ is able to step in and fill them with what will last, what they are really hungering for.

Since we’ve started the New Year, God has been working in my heart in regards to these boys and their needs. I should have realized that this was going to happen when I realized over Christmas that I was not only missing my friends and my students but I was also missing the street kids. Since having returned, a couple friends and I have realized that as we’ve invested and developed these relationships with some of these people through Friday soccer, that there is no reason that we can’t spend more time with them. Thus, now on Saturdays we also invite them to lunch with us downtown and then we hang out for hours after. These two Saturdays so far have been absolute eye openers and blessings. The Holy Spirit’s presence is there with us the entire time. For example, this past week we were able to take 12 guys to lunch and afterwards we walked around and the group lessened in numbers quite a bit. We were able to relax in a park and the next thing I knew our conversations had led to singing Christian songs. Right there in the middle of the park were these gringos (white people) and street kids singing songs about Jesus. AMEN! I’m sure we looked ridiculous to one who can’t see with Christ’s eyes. We were singing and dancing around and playing soccer and we were “locos por Cristo” (Crazy for Christ). I crave my time with these guys because in so I’m spending time with God. God is so present in our time together.

And here’s where another puzzle piece comes together. For the past two months, I’ve been reading a book called Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer. While reading it, I’ve been inquiring God how he wants me to fast. What does he want me to give up/sacrifice? Well, this morning as I lay in bed copying down into my notebook all the quotes from pages I had dog-eared, the puzzle piece connected right in front of my face. The entire book was about Isaiah 58.

Isaiah 58
True Fasting
1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back.
Raise your voice like a trumpet.
Declare to my people their rebellion
and to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 For day after day they seek me out;
they seem eager to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that does what is right
and has not forsaken the commands of its God.
They ask me for just decisions
and seem eager for God to come near them.
3 'Why have we fasted,' they say,
'and you have not seen it?
Why have we humbled ourselves,
and you have not noticed?'
"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
only a day for a man to humble himself?
Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed
and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD ?
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
and break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.
9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
"If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
13 "If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath
and from doing as you please on my holy day,
if you call the Sabbath a delight
and the LORD's holy day honorable,
and if you honor it by not going your own way
and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,
14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,
and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land
and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob."
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

So although I’d been asking God for how I could be fasting and felt I wasn’t getting an answer until this morning, I realized I already was fasting. According to these verses, I’ve been breaking bread with the hungry (vs 2), seeing the naked and covering him (vs 4), being sympathetic to those that have the same flesh as I do (vs 7), and giving my soul to the poor and afflicted by sharing Christ with them. I’ve been fasting without realizing it! I’ve been doing these things and loving it. I’ve been fasting in order to seek God and have found him!

Now don’t get me wrong. This is not a “Hey, look what I’ve done” kind of post nor am I saying “give your life to the poor and then you can be saved”. Not in the least. I hope through my words you can sense how exciting this all is for me and how excited I am because of what GOD is doing. I pray he’s changing other’s lives while changing mine because in these verses he gives us promises. He promises the darkness in your life will become light, and it has in mine. He promises to be with us (vs 8), to guide us (vs 11), and to satisfy my soul with Him (vs 11). God also promises that if we give ourselves to the poor, God will restore the ruins of his city and his people (vs 12). These promises I already see God fulfilling in my life.

There are two promises that I cling to in hopes of seeing them laid out. He promises to guide us in verse 11. I pray that God will guide me in showing me how I can make a difference. Right now we are just meeting their immediate needs but I don’t feel that can always be enough. I’ve contemplated many things. Do I open a soup kitchen? Do I open a home for these guys? Do I start dance classes for at risk kids? What do I do? Tegucigalpa has few resources for these people. God will guide. Please pray for me in that I could hear and see his guidance clearly.

I also cling to the promise that God will restore the ruins of this city and his people. These street people live in the ruins of the city in my opinion. Last week we were able to go with them for the first time and see where they live. Our friend Edwin led us through tight winding market streets and we popped out into a back alley, walked down the alley, and stopped in front of a large mound of scrap metal, pop bottles, and trash. He didn’t call it home, but when he started introducing us to his dogs and his wife, I realized this was what he led us to see. As I stood there kind of shocked, I finally asked, “But where do you sleep at night”. He pointed to the black tarp. Edwin, his wife, and his underdeveloped 5 year old sleep there together. Some of them don’t even have that. They just find their pavement and lay down. God has the power to transform their lives and this area.

Although they are precious jewels in God’s eyes, society doesn’t see them that way. Society sees them as trash. Yeah, they smell bad and are dirty. But I’ve been blessed to see who some of them really are when they respectfully stop huffing their glue to spend 3 hours with us on Saturdays, and their souls are beautiful. However, just walking around town with these people, my eyes are opened to their lives….they are the rejects of society. They’re willing to venture around with us, but they are more comfortable down in their alley and I realized yesterday why. I realized why when the man in the pharmacy was short and not friendly with Edwin because of his appearance and manner. I realized why when we were in the grocery store and one of the managers was asking them to leave. (Edwin has more control than I do because I was ready to make a scene. He was a client with us for Pete’s sake!) I realized even more embarrassingly so when the police made sure to stick close by as we hung out in the park. Or worst of all, I realized how society treats them when Edwin got kicked by a drive by motorcyclist while walking too close to the street! A God firing rage rises up in me when they are treated like this. This is not how God intended it to be. Thus, I cling to God’s promises for change.

So as I excitedly share with you what God is doing in my life, I encourage you to believe the promises that God has for you also.

I leave you with this to be encouraged that we too are nothing without Him. I am no different than the people on the street. We all need Christ.

A version of Psalm 63:3
Father, I’m empty but you are full. I am hungry, but you are the Bread of Heaven. I am thirsty but you are the Fountain of Life. I am weak, but you are strong. I am poor, but you are rich. I am foolish, but you are wise. I am broken, but you are whole. I am dying, but your love is better than life.


My friend Jenna who joined working with Micah Project this year with street kid Rosa. Rosa has to hide her appearance as a female to survive the streets.
Playing a little bit of soccer.
Al digging through the dump behind the soccer field with young Eddie.

Foot washing afterward.

This is our crew that we hung out in the park with on Saturday.
Two of the children of street kids. They are the CUTEST kids ever! However, not being well nourished they are underdeveloped.
Kevin is very special to me. I've known Kevin for over a year now. He's made moves towards getting himself into a youth home. This past Friday he showed up to soccer and shouldn't have been there. He had glue on him. I want to believe that he was given 3 days to see his family. Pray for Kevin.

These guys know how to make us laugh.
Al and I have been investing in Jonny a lot. I know God has huge plans for him. I see Jonny getting closer to being ready to make a change in his life. Pray for him.

If it works, you can see more photos here:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2088841&id=15305745&ref=mf

Celebrating, Crashing, Catarata, Canopying, Comrotery, Costumes, Conferencing, Cough, and Car

So how can so many cs describe my life as of lately? Well, let me explain.

Celebrating: At the beginning of October I was able to plan a trip to Lago de Yojoa for the North American community to celebrate surviving our first partial (marking period) of school, which only ended up being 35 school days total. Thank you Mel Zelaya, Swine Flu, and World Cup!

Crashing: So on our way to Lago de Yojoa which should only be around a 3 hour drive from Teguc ended up being a 7 hour trip! Thank you crappy construction (hey, there’s another C!) on the high way, being stopped with the bus off for one hour straight, and following that getting in an accident with a small pick-up truck that was heading towards us in our lane. This isn’t all too often in Crazy honduras; however, he didn’t get back off while trying to pass. Our bus driver screeched to a stop and by the time we were basically stopped the truck hit us. We were fine with a few paint scratches. The truck was not so fine with fluids leaking everywhere. Interesting how Hondurans completely swarm around these things. Not like Americans right from across the street, I mean there were probably 30 people standed right next to us within minutes checking the stituation out up close and personal. Guys had no money, no insurance, no license, nada. We were fine, so we went on our way. After a great night of dinner and sharing we crashed (to our beds).


Just a typical sight.

The crime scene.


At Finca Las Glorias, our hotel :) This year it wasn't practically buried under water.

Crocodile..another C! This bugger gave us a run for our money at night. We threw rocks at it from 15 feet away until we were convinced it had to be fake! Thankfully it was.


Best trees in the world to climb.


So Lauren and I along with Ben and Leslie climbed to the top and stuck our heads out for a peak. What a sight!

Canopying: The next morning we got up and headed to the catarata (waterfall) de Pulhapanzak. It was great to visit it again. However this year, I decided against going under the waterfall and instead decided to go above it. I’ve canopied before but never hundreds of feet over a waterfall before! It was awesome weaving back and forth over the river and finally over the big drop of the falls! I was so focused on the camera, I never even looked down. 


Gorgeous rainbow.

You say "catarata", I say CANOPY! :)Yup I want over it! Here's the proof!

Getting excited.

There I am!

Still stoked afterwards.

Costumes: Yup, Halloween baby! Honduras and the Christian influence is VERY against Halloween. It’s basically the equivalent of satin worship in their eyes. So us North Americans did what we wanted. ;) We all got together for a fabulous costume party. The costumes ranged from water tank and water pump (common in all of our houses), child on a roller coaster, Fanta girls, peacocks, pirates, salt and pepper, bed bug, to a “cereal” killer (yours truly). We topped it all off with carving papayas. Found out they are a lot easier to carve, juicier, and sure rot faster!










Guesses as to what she was? DARLA! From Finding Nemo! Genius!

Conferencing: First parent teacher conferences of the year came and went. Another lovely Saturday spent at school…boo. All conferences were pleasant except one. Hate feeling personally attacked by parents who want explanations as to why their child got a 95% instead of a 100%. Grr. This week following conferences has been pleasant and enjoyable as students have been on their best behavior with parents being on them. I feel like we may actually be getting to the point of a happy community together. I think it took about this long last year too.

Cough: I’ve been sick for over a week now. It’s been a doozy. It nicely moved into my chest also. I’m on my last day of antibiotics and here’s to hoping they work because I can’t go through a kleenex box and a half a day like I did today!

Car: So, what else could that mean besides the fact that I got a car!!!!! The school decided they would help me out in my volunteer job of North American coordinator by getting me a car. That meant they had to search out a 4th car as all 3 were already taken this year. So they ended up getting a VW Jetta. I watched that thing sit in the parking lot glowing in all of its beauty for 2 weeks only to be told that a coworker would get it and I would get her car.  However, that’s my one Complaint. I’ll stop there. I HAVE A CAR! Wahoo! I just went for a cruise with my trusty friend Ben today for about an hour all over town. I feel ready to conquer the world! They say if you can drive in Honduras, you can drive anywhere in the world. Come on world! 
This is what my car looks like.

Well I hope each of you are well. The weather here has finally turned a little chillier (for here) at about 60 degrees daily. I know, I know. Trust me. I tell Hondurans daily that they don’t know what freezing is! But it does feel bone chilling some days.

Happy Early Thanksgiving as I’m sure I won’t get another update out until after hopefully a long trip. Be in prayer for Honduras as elections are on November 30th. There still is no current resolution and it could potentially get ugly. Pray also for the teachers that are having a hard time adjusting to being here and are already debating not returning after Christmas. Also, I’d appreciate prayers in filling the hunger that I have for knowing Christ more and leading my children to him.

Love to you all.