El Hogar

Sunday I got up and went to the Hogar to see all of my little babies. I accidently came during their lunch time so I had to wait for a half an hour until we could all play together.

Take a look at these sweet faces...

José David

A new little man named Walter...how cute!

My guy Max

Maria José LOVED the Barbie my friend Heather gave her :).

Every time I go to the orphanage the kids want to take pictures on my camera. I usually tell them no at first because it makes me nervous, but I always end up giving in.

Maria José's picture of me.

 Maria also took this beautiful portrait of this sweet girl...

 I love seeing pictures of kids taken by kids, they come up with some incredible images.

Here's my baby Jillybean. I love this child so much! She is full of sass and so sweet!

How could you not love that face?!?!

If I could adopt José Alberto and take him home tomorrow I would. He just isn't thriving in the orphanage in my opinion. He has so many issues, but he has such a beautiful heart. I'm overjoyed when I see him run to me with a big smile on his face!

After hanging out at the orphanage for a few hours Lacey and I went to Bessy's house for dinner...

 Here's our dinner group...

It was so wonderful to see so many of my friends from last year! I LOVE, love, love, love these women :D!

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring" -Marilyn Monroe

It's A God Thing

Last Saturday night Lacey and I made a spaghetti dinner. I realized once I had the sauce going that I had forgotten to get some cheese. I also saw that Lacey's house needed a new jug of water so I ran down to the pulperia to get both. A little boy was standing outside and asked me for one lempira. Last year I probably wouldn't have given him one because then every time I saw him he would ask. Since I knew I would be going home in a week I said "Sure, as soon as I buy this stuff I'll give it to you." As I was waiting there I thought "This poor kid is only asking for a single lempira, which is just change in the US and he looks hungry", so I also asked if he also wanted some bread. He shook his head yes, and would you believe that when I bought the water, cheese, and bread I had exactly 1 lempira left. 

It's a God thing :)...and oh how good he is!

"The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway." - Mother Teresa

Arrival

I left for Honduras Friday morning around 5am. I flew Delta so my layover was in Atlanta. It worked out perfectly because Peggy (my friend/principal from last year) just happened to be at a conference in Atlanta and was also flying back to Honduras on December 2nd. I was SO excited to see her! I couldn't believe it had almost been six months, yikes! Our flight only have 50 passengers, so we were able to sit by each other :). The next 3 and a half hours were filled with lots of laughter as we filled each other in on life's happenings. It was wonderful to have that uninterrupted with her!

When we landed in Tegus Lacey was waiting for us. We exchanged huge hugs and then the three of us got in a taxi and headed to our hostel. We hung out in the room for a few hours catching up some more and then went to TGI Friday's. It was a really special treat for Lacey since she's been eating nothing but beans, rice, tacos, tortillas, and tajadas since August. 

The next morning Carlos (Director of OAF) came and picked us up to go to Juticalpa. On the way there we stopped at a rico restaurant for some carne asada...

It was incredible to drive into Juticalpa. I immediately felt like I was home and had never left. After being in Lacey's house for only twenty minutes or so I saw two of my students. They were playing across the street at the neighbors and it made my heart so happy to see their little faces light up when they saw me. I scoop each one up and talked to them briefly about their school year so far. Then we had to say goodbye, but I assured them that I would be at school on Monday. 

I realized I needed to buy groceries for the week so Lace walked with me to the Bodega Olanchano for some grub. As we were walking I heard a little boy yell "Miss King!" I look up to see Anyelo, one of my students from last year. He was hanging out on the patio of his house and ran down to see me. I waited for a few seconds for him to get down the stairs, then he flung open his front door, and slammed into me for a hug. I just wanted to cry because I was so overcome with joy! When I told him I was going to be at school on Monday he said "You, at my school, Monday?". When I confirmed his face lit up and he slammed into me for another big hug. I love my students from last year so much - I am so blessed!

"Dear God,

Thank you for this beautiful life 

and forgive me if I don't love it enough"

Me Voy A Volver

I'm officially going back to Honduras at the beginning of December for a week! I need all the help I can get in raising some money and getting some school supplies down there.

Here are the things the Olancho Aid Foundation need the most:

• Monetary donations:
• Your donation would help with:
• Shipping costs for boxes
• Construction of 12 classrooms and electricity for a bilingual high school
• Teacher training and program certification
• Technology improvements, including additional computers for students and staff
• Purchase of vehicles for volunteer projects and student transportation
• Expansion of administrative offices to help Olacnho's projects grow and better serve Olancho families.  
• Double sided foam tape: http://www.officemax.com/office-supplies/tape-glue-adhesives/tape/mounting-tape-squares/product-ARS2409
• Spanish Children's Books
• Dry Erase Markers
• Stickers (for teachers to put on student work)
• Math Manipulatives
• Base 10 Blocks, Unifix Cubes, Fraction Tiles, etc.

If you can't give anything at this time please pray for my trip, for the Foundation, and for the people of Olancho.

THANK YOU for your love, prayers, and support!

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today" (Mt 6:34)

Graduation (The Final Honduran Chapter)

WOW! I can't believe ten months have come and gone and I'm writing my last blog post!


I read back through the first blog I wrote when I arrived in Honduras and I couldn't believe some of the things I said . Like:


"I cannot believe I will be living here for the next ten months! The transition so far has been extremely hard on me" -- Now I can't believe I'm leaving! They say Olancho is easy to enter but impossible to leave and it's so true!


"The water only runs from 4p.m.-5p.m. everyday" - this isn't even true, so I don't know where I got that info.

"I discovered that no one here really speaks English, which I wasn't expecting" - AHAHAHA! Now that statement sounds crazy, but the only other international teaching experience I had was in Kenya where a lot of people speak English. So it made sense that I thought that way, but I still can't believe I said that!

"None of the teachers at Santa Clara (my school) speak any English, so it is going to be VERY difficult to communicate" - Non-verbal communication goes a LONG way :)

"...and right as I was about to dose off I heard multiple roosters start screaming their heads off" - The roosters were still driving me crazy by the end of the year but I slept soundly almost every night.

It's crazy how much can change in a ten month period. I feel wiser, more at peace, and happier than I did ten months ago. I feel confident as a teacher and in who I am as a person! The "volunteers" I blogged about at beginning of my trip are now some of my best friends! And I fell in love with 54 little people who I will never forget!

This year has been a beautiful gift!

Before leaving Juticalpa for the last time I got to see the Kindergarten and Sixth grade graduations!

Here are the sweet Kindergarten kids in their caps and gowns...

They came up one by one to receive their diplomas and have their picture taken...

Miss Jackie with one of her students

After the graduation ceremony was over we hopped into cars and traveled about 10 minutes to the party location. I couldn't believe my eyes when we got there! They had a moon jump, covered tents with tables and chairs set up, and delicious catered food. The kids all had a great time playing with each other and the adults enjoyed conversing over their meals.

After the party was over Wendy gave us a ride in the back of her mom's truck. There are few things I love more than riding in the back of a pick-up truck!

Me and Alejandro (Wendy's son)

The next day it was time for the sixth grade graduation...

Jonesy, Me, and Jeff - we clean up nice, huh?!?!

All of the kids looked so sophisticated in their caps and gowns...

Father threw up the peace sign during his homily, haha...

Jeff giving one of his kids a pat of congratulations, I love this picture...

Photo credit goes to Mike Jones

It was really special to watch these kids graduate from sixth grade in a country where over half don't...

How fun!

The sixth grade team...

Profe: Bessy and Mr. Ball

I love Bessy...

Oh, Jonesy noticed half way during the ceremony that this lady and I had on similar dresses, so I took a picture with her...

***Thanks for letting me borrow the dress Maks :)

I was able to meet Beth, last years first grade teacher, at the graduation...

Peg, Me, and Beth (Future, Present, and Past)

She was just as friendly and nice as everyone said she was!

After the ceremony Sor tried on one of the graduation caps :)...

She is such a character!

Walking into the party afterwards blew me away. It looked like a prom/wedding reception. 

Check it out...

After an adorable slide show was presented and speeches were given they let the graduates have a little bit of champagne. They were all freaking out and felt so cool...

I love the kids face in the second row...he's saying "SCORE!"

The boys wore very nice tuxes and the schools wore beautiful dresses...

There were backdrops throughout the room where the grads could have their pictures taken.

Jeff got in on a few...

It was great to see all of the teachers one last time and a few of my students...

What a face!

After everyone ate and had full bellies we danced the night away! 

Congratulations Class of 2011!

Thank you all for reading my blog for the last ten months. It's been a great way for me to stay connected and it's really helped me to reflect on my experience. Your words of support and encouragement have meant a lot! You really helped carry me through this year with all of the ups and downs I experienced!

A HUGE thank you to Peggy and Maki for putting your heart and soul into everything you do. I'm amazed at the amount of work the two of you accomplished this year. The students at Santa Clara are better people because of the two of you!

Thank you to all of the other volunteers. Every single one of you mean the world to me and I'm a better person for knowing you! This year would not have been the same without you!

This has been the BEST year of my life and I'm SO grateful for every moment! God is incredible and I'm happy he loves me so much :)!


I can't believe it's over, but I'm ready for the next chapter...


Bring it on!

“When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me"" –Erma Bombeck