Always On My Mind

Hello Supporters of APUFRAM!

I'm sorry it has been such a long time since I have posted on here. If you didn't know, I am now back home in the United States. Although I have been back here for several months now, the children of Honduras are in my heart and mind every day. I have their pictures posted all around my house. Every time I look at the pictures, I smile. At the same time I am smiling, a little piece of my heart is breaking.

As I wake up and start my day, I think about the kids getting up early to do their chores before going to school. As I travel to my job as a special education teacher, I often wish I was traveling to Honduras to teach English again.  When I see soccer and baseball teams practicing in the park, I think about the kids playing soccer on dirt fields with no nets for hours at a time. In the evenings, I think about the many nights I spent watching movies and eating popcorn or having a dance party with the kids at Guadalupe and Margarita Cook. These memories often make me laugh and put me in a good mood. Sometimes, however, I cannot help but cry. The main reason I cry is because I think about the fact that the kids are not receiving visits from volunteers. I know how much they look forward to visits from groups and individuals and how sad they are when no one comes. I wish I could jump on a plane and go down there, but my job prevents that. I do plan on going on my Spring Break this year. However, I hope that in the meantime, other people will find the inspiration to travel to Honduras to experience our kids and give them the thing they need most- love.

I know that not everyone can travel to Honduras, but there are many things that can be done in the United States to help the children. Knowing that some children may not be able to come back next year if there are not enough funds breaks my heart. What APUFRAM does gives children hope and a life that they may have never thought possible. I constantly remember something a ten-year old girl told me after Christmas break- "Back home, nobody loves me or takes care of me. Here, I know that I am loved and that everyone cares about me. Next year, I don't even want to go home for Christmas." Thinking about that girl having to go back home because there is not enough money to keep her in school makes me want to win the lottery. If you can help our children in any way, please do so. There are also many ways you can help APUFRAM International that don't cost anything but time. I continue to help coordiante volunteers. Please see our current newsletter for more ways you can help.

As you go about your day, I hope that you think about the children in Honduras going about their day with APUFRAM and will consider supporting them in any way you can. I know that the kids are praying for all of us, so please keep them in your prayers as well.

Peace and Blessings,

Megan Meyer

A Seasoned Volunteer Reflects

Below is a reflection from Twana, a volunteer who has been to Honduras several time and was here again in March.

  It has been just about 6 weeks since I returned from my fourth volunteer trip to APUFRAM’S site in El Conejo Comayagua, Honduras Central America.

     Each time I must leave to return to the states, it gets harder to say good bye. With each departure, I find that I leave a little more of my heart behind with the Hondurans I have grown to love.

    This was my first return to the St. Teressa of Lisieux Volunteer Center since the Honduran coup that occurred June of 2009. I was deeply saddened to learn that at the time of my trip (March 17-March 26, 2010), I had been only the third volunteer to the center since the coup. It is the children and mothers we serve that are hurt as the result of lack of volunteers since the coup. According to current volunteer director, Megan Meyer, the children stopped asking in January when more volunteers were coming. They had, it seemed, given up hope that we would be returning.

   La Villa-San Antonio de Padua is the site of our boarding facility and school for boys ages 5-14 yrs. The school at La Villa has been forced to close since the coup. The boys are now attending classes at Guadalupe, the site of the school for our girl’s school.

    It is my desire that those considering a volunteer trip to Honduras will understand that it is perfectly safe there. I was greeted warmly everywhere I went. I never once felt uncomfortable in any way.

I was truly loved and welcomed by the local Hondurans as well as those whom are served through APUFRAM’S programs. It was as though a long missed family member had returned home to the Hondurans when they saw their “Su amigo, un miembro de la familia percibida, Twana, que pasa por el camino.” (Their Friend, their perceived family member, Twana, walking down the path).

 

As a student of Journalism at my college, I covered my Honduran experience for my college newspaper. I had the opportunity to interview local business owners in Honduras as to how their lives have been affected since the coup. As part of my journalism work for my college, I am working on a video of my March trip to Honduras.

     The one constant is and remains the Hondurans are a loving, kind people that would willingly assist anyone in need. One of our children at the Guadalupe site, in her broken English said to me: “Twana no go back to America. You stay here, Honduras be your home now.” How do you hear something like this from an innocent child and not be affected by it?

     Those of you considering a volunteer trip to APUFRAUM’S Honduran sites, listen to your heart. You will be enriched in ways you never dreamed.

Twana Pinskey

The Second Time Around- Words from a Volunteer

Below is the reflection of a Loras College alumnus who recently volunteered with us in Honduras along with six of her friends. They were true blessings for everyone they came in contact with and we were all sad to see them go. Several of the kids even cried on the group's last night here. Even though they left nearly three weeks ago, the kids still ask about them and want to know when they are returning. When I explained that they had to work and study so they couldn't come back right now, one of the kids said, "Well, then just write a note to their teacher or boss and tell them they need to come back to Honduras." This proves that the relationships volunteers form with the kids, even if only for a week, are true friendships that neither one forgets. I see the positive affects those relationships have on the kids and, from Erin's reflection, you can see the affect the kids have on volunteers. 

I first experienced APUFRAM in Honduras in March of 2008 and it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  I absolutely fell in love with the volunteer center from the second I stepped foot in it, and knew after that first service trip that it would forever hold a place in my heart.  There is nothing that could have prepared me for what I would see and experience while there.  The kids are absolutely amazing gifts of God.  From the second meet them you feel more than welcome and whole-heartedly loved by each and every one.  It never ceases to amaze me how much joy and love they seem to have in their hearts even when they have next to nothing in their pockets.  They are amazing examples of faith and unconditional love to me.  I enjoyed the trip so much the first time that I recently went back for the second time for 10 days over Holy Week and Easter.  The mission and the kids exceeded my expectations from two years ago.  I was thrilled to remember some of the kids from my last trip and amazed that some of them even remembered me.  Both of my experiences in Honduras were life changing and I would highly recommend the trip to anyone looking for a little faith and love in their lives.  I know I’ll be going back again as soon as I get the chance!

Erin Horst – Dubuque, IA

A Special Day

Yesterday I attended a "convivio" with some of the fifth and sixth grade boys and girls from our school . This is an annual conference for students from some of the Catholic schools in the Comayagua and La Paz area. The students from our school were selected by their teachers to attend the special day. I was there as a chaperon, along with one of the teachers from the school and one of the house moms from Guadalupe.

The students were so excited to get to leave El Conejo and venture to La Paz, which is only about a 10 minute drive. Before the conference started, we explained to them that they were representing our school and needed to be on their best behavior and participate in all the activities. Since none of them had ever been to anything like this, they were extremely quiet and nervous at first. Believe me, this is not how they normally act.

I was so impressed by the behavior or our students throughout the day. They were extremely respectful of the presenter and I never had to tell them to be quiet. The same cannot be said for the other schools. I was appalled at the behavior of some of the students. Even at the break times, we were having fun, but our students were not running around the school causing problems like the other students.

The day consisted of a bunch of icebreaker-type activities- silly songs with actions that we had to sing or games that involved a lot of running around. There was also a song which involved standing in a line and moving together. It was a competition among the schools to see who could perform it the best. While the leader declared a tie, I definitely think that our kids did the best:) After the kids performed, the leader made all the teachers do the same thing. We were much worse than the kids. They couldn't stop laughing at us.

The day also included some reflections on the Resurrection. We broke into groups and the kids were challenged to think of ways that we could live the Resurrection daily. The groups consisted of a few students from each school. I was put in charge of one of the groups. After explaining the activity to them, they all just stared at me. The students from our school were the basically the only ones offering suggestions. Most of the other kids didn't seem to care. I was so surprised by this. I tried to ask them questions to pull them in to the conversation, but they didn't respond. Instead they just walked away. Eventually a few more helped out, but it was not the kind of participation I was expecting.

At lunch, I was discussing with the other teachers what happened in the small group and they said that they had similar experiences in their groups. One of the teachers then explained to me why there was such a difference between our kids and the other kids. She said that these other schools are very expensive to attend and most of the students are children of doctors and lawyers. She said that because they are from the upper class, they have a sense of entitlement and don't respect authority. Our kids are from the complete opposite end of the spectrum. They don't take anything for granted. While what they get in our schools may not compare to what these other kids have, they know they are extremely blessed to have APUFRAM's help. To them, this was such a special day because they hardly ever get to leave the boarding facilities. They really wanted to take advantage of the opportunity and enjoy every minute of it.

After she said this, my observations of the way the kids were acting changed. During a game involving forming groups of a certain number with kids from every school in it, our kids were almost always the ones left out. Watching their faces, it seemed like they knew they were not on the same level as the other kids. It broke my heart to see these kids who are usually so outgoing and not the least bit shy, just stand back and watch everyone else. Once I realized this, I tried even harder to get them involved. By the end of the day, they were themselves again. It didn't matter that we had to bring our lunches while the other kids got to buy hamburgers and chips or that we had to cram on a tiny buy while the other schools rode nice big buses. What mattered is that we were having fun with each other and enjoying a special experience. I guarantee that our kids got a lot more out of the day than any of the other students.

Attending this conference is something that neither the kids nor I will forget. We still sing the songs and laugh about things that happened that day. It is also a motivation for the younger students to study hard and behave. Only the students that the teacher thought best represented our school were chosen, so it was an honor. Hearing about the fun the other kids had will hopefully inspire them to work hard so they can attend next year. The overall message from the day- Christ has risen! Alleluia! May He resurrect every part of our lives so we may be better able to serve Him and others!

The Great American Pastime- Honduran Style

A couple of weeks ago, Twana, a volunteer from the United States, came to Honduras for the week. One of her main goals in coming down here was to bring baseball equipment to use with our elementary-school boys at La Villa San Antonio.

So one afternoon, we had an "American Saturday" at La Villa. We started with hot dogs and chips. Many of the boys had never seen or eaten a hot dog before, so they were a little hesitant. They looked at it, smelled it, ate pieces of the bun, then finally took a bite. Once they tried it, they devoured it. It was fun to watch them try something new, especially when it is something that almost every kid in the United States knows and loves.

After the hot dogs, the kids were given a new baseball or basketball shirt and a new hat. They all felt "cool" in their new shirts. I really enjoyed watching them pick out their hats. It was a big decision and they wanted to make sure they got the perfect hat. It is amazing to me how something as simple as getting a new hat makes them feel so special. Usually, they are just given clothes, but being able to actually pick out the hat made it really feel like their own. Some of them have worn their hats every day since.

Now that they were properly dressed like baseball players, it was time to "play ball." While the children are all familiar with baseball, very few of them had actually played it before. They play a version called "bate," which involves them hitting a tennis ball with their hands. It's not quite like real baseball. They were very excited to put on gloves a swing a real bat. It took a lot of explaining to get them to put the gloves on correctly and to hold the correct end of the bat. But once we started playing, they didn't want to stop. I did a lot of rule-explaining while we were playing and while they didn't see the reasoning behind some of it (i.e. foul balls), they actually tried to follow the rules.

I was amazed by the natural talent of some of the boys. For having never played before, some of them were able to whack the ball pretty far, resulting in many home runs. Catching took a little longer to learn, but throwing on target wasn't a problem for most of them. Of course, some of the boys didn't catch on so quickly.   But the boys were patient with each other. Everyone was allowed to play- no exceptions. Even though it was hard for some of them at first, they realized the importance of including everyone. We didn't follow the three strikes and you're out rule for some of the younger boys and no one even mentioned it. When one of the boys who was struggling finally got a hit, the other boys were so happy for him. Even the kids on the other team patted him on the back.

Watching these boys play made me reflect on the true reasons that sports were invented and how much of that has been lost in American culture. Sports bring people together. It is a way to pass a Saturday afternoon with your community. Sports shouldn't involve a lot of pressure or cause people to dislike each other. It should be about a love of the game and sharing that love with others. Of course, winning in nice, but in the end it is about trying your best and supporting each other's accomplishments. I think it would do professional athletes or even some Little League coaches a lot of good to come and watch these kids play sports. Maybe we wouldn't have kids crying because they struck out or other kids being left out or sitting on the bench the whole game because they aren't as talented. Maybe parents wouldn't be getting in fights with each other or the umpires. Maybe, just maybe, sports in the United States would return to what they once were and still are here.

In the end, we had a great day bringing a traditional American activity to these children in Honduras. We ended the day with everyone's favorite thing- cake. These kids go crazy for cake. One of the best things about the day was that we gained a lot of new baseball equipment so that we can continue playing. Who knows, we might have the next member of the Honduran national baseball team in our midst:)

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

Reflections from a Christendom College Student

Our recent trip to Honduras was an incredible, eye-opening experience in many ways.  Although only a four- hour plane ride away, stepping off of the airplane into the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere from the metropolitan DC area was like walking into a different world.  The first thing that hit us while driving from the hills of Tegucigalpa to the flatter region of El Conejo, where we did most of our work, was the abject poverty of the people.  Many were walking from their houses to the towns barefoot, or riding a pony.  The homes themselves were little more than cardboard, with newspaper serving as a covering for the doors and windows.  The children were carrying heavy loads of fruits and vegetables on their backs to sell at little roadside stands to help their families make a living.  All of these things which seemed so commonplace to them were completely different than we in our modern luxurious society had ever witnessed. 

Soon after our arrival, we were able to meet the children we were going to form a pretty tight bond with before our trip was over.  They were the sons and daughters of abused mothers who lived in a home for women established by the APUFRAM founder “Fr. Emil,” as we called this “Mother Theresa” of Honduras.  The home was built on the same site as an all girls’ school, which we were also able to frequently visit and make friends at.  Spending so much time with these simple, yet blissfully happy children was the highlight of our trip.  We did activities with them like making tie-dye shirts, drawing pictures with crayons and markers, and playing soccer and baseball.  One of the boys told us, “We are poor, but our hearts are rich,” which was visibly apparent with all the Hondurans we came across with.  Those who had almost nothing were willing to share with us foreigners even those few things which they had. They had a bigger impact on our lives than we, who came as missionaries, had on theirs.

All in all, it was a life-changing experience.  We are all deeply grateful to have had this unique opportunity, and thankful to Christendom College for providing it for us.  We would go back in a heartbeat if the occasion arose again, and would recommend the trip for anyone who is willing to give a very little bit to receive a hundredfold in return. 

Elizabeth Twaddle

Christendom College

Yay for Volunteers!

Last week a group of 12 volunteers from Christendom College in Virginia traveled to Honduras to work with our children and APUFRAM. This was Christendom's second year coming to Honduras and it was a very positive experience for everyone. For their work project, the group helped with the irrigation system for 200 new banana plants that were just planted. They all said they wanted to do hard, manual labor so that is what we gave them! They enjoyed learning about agriculture from Emin and Roger, the APUFRAM employees in charge of the project. By the end of the morning, they were tired, but felt good about the work they accomplished.

The group spent their afternoons doing activities with the children at the different sites- the Mother's Project, Guadalupe, and La Villa. They brought materials for every kid to have a chance to tie-dye a shirt. It was a very messy, but fun project that the kids really enjoyed. They loved seeing how they turned out when the rubber bands were taken off. When I went up there this afternoon, nearly half of them were wearing their tie-dye shirts. The volunteers commented on the great joy that they experienced when playing with the children. They said that although they have so little, they were much happier and loving than most of the kids they know in the United States. The last evening they were here, it was very hard for them to say goodbye.

I am so grateful to the Christendom College group for being the first group to come since June. I can't even explain the joy and hope it brought to the kids to have volunteers to play with again. When I got here in September, the kids asked me every day when a group was going to come. About January, they stopped asking, almost resigning to the fact that groups were not coming any more. So imagine their surprise when these volunteers showed up! Now they keep asking me when the next group is coming.

I truly think that this trip changed lives. The kids, especially those new students who have never experienced a volunteer group, were shown that people in the United States truly care about them and love them. I tell them this all the time, but it means so much more when they can actually experience that love and care first-hand. I also think that this trip changed the lives of the volunteers. They all said that they want to come back to Honduras some day, some possibly as a long-term volunteers. We look forward to more volunteer groups and long-term volunteers coming in the future. If you or someone you know wishes to volunteer, please go to apufram.org for more information.

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

School Days

Saludes a Todos!

Well, the school year is well under way and every day is an adventure. I am teaching English class two days a week and computer class one day a week. I teach both subjects to all six grades. This year, the boys from La Villa San Antonio (our elementary school boys boarding facility) are attending the same school as the girls from Guadalupe. It has definitely been an adjustment for everyone now that we have more boys that girls in the class when last year there were a lot more girls than boys.

There are a lot of new students this year and all the teachers were worried that it would cause a problem in the classes. But once again, the kids have shone like stars at the beginning of the year. The first day, many of the new students would not even talk. They were very confused and visibly nervous. It was easy to tell who was new. But after the first day, some of the "old" students started befriending the new students, explaining things to them, helping them with their work, etc. Now, a little over a week into the school year, it is much harder to tell which students are in their first year here and which ones aren't. One thing I will never get tired of is seeing the tremendous love our kids have in their hearts and how willing they are to share it with others, even someone who may be "different."

The English classes that I am teaching are going pretty well. It is difficult because some of the students have been here for several years and therefore know some English and some of the new kids have never spoken a word of English in their lives. For the most part, the kids love learning English. They always tell me what a "strange" language it is. But we play games and do activities to make it fun, so they love English class even if it a little bit difficult for them. I am amazed by how quickly some of the students pick it up. There are a few that if I teach them a word one time, they will remember it forever. It really speaks to the fact that some people are naturally gifted in certain areas. Once the kids learn a new word, they are very proud of their new knowledge. I love when they come up to me and start using the vocabulary or grammar they have learned.

Computer class is the class that most of the kids look forward to all week. Right now, we only have six working computers and some of the classes have 35 kids. Figuring out how to give them all a chance to use the computer in a 40 minute class has been a challenge. I was so scared the first day of computer class. I was sure that it was going to be a disaster, especially since I was loosing my voice and could not talk much at all. However, God must have been watching over me, because the classes went better than I ever could have expected. The kids can sense when they have to be on their best  behavior and thankfully I had one kid in each class who wanted to act as my "translator." I whispered the instruction and they repeated them to the whole class. I am actually really excited to go more "in depth" with computer class this year. The kids love it so much and know that it is a privilege to be there, so they are generally very well-behaved in class. I think I even found a way to print things that they make on the computer, so they will finally be able to see the finished product that a computer can generate.

Please continue to pray for our children, especially those who may be feeling homesick. We continue to pray for all of our supports.

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

Sharing and Strangers

Hola Amigos!

Sorry it been a VERY long time since my last post. When I realized that it had been so long, I started thinking about why I don't write as much. I think it is because this life has become so natural for me. Things that a year ago I may have thought of as "something to write home about" now seem normal and I don't think about it as much. Anyways, here are some of the highlights of the last month: 

* The kids have returned. On the day they came back, the first thing a few of them did was come running to my house to see me. It made me so happy to know that they missed me, although probably not as much as I missed them. Many students did not return, which always worries me. There are many reasons that they don't come back, but I don't think it's usually because there parents aren't poor anymore or their living situation has gotten better. I just pray that they are safe and happy wherever they are. I had a few kids tell me that next year, they don't want to go home for Christmas because here people love them and they are much happier. I almost cried when they told me this. I can't even imagine what their home is like if they don't even want to go visit. 

I was very touched as I watched all the kids become reunited with their friends. They were genuinely happy to see each other. It reminded me of moving back to college after summer break, which is essentially what it is for them. Of course, everyone was talking about what they did over their break (which rarely included anything other than staying at home and playing with family and friends). Some of the students returned with new toys and treats from different family members or friends. Some even returned with a little bit of money, which they promptly spent on candy or chips (typical kids). Some children returned with even less than they left with. What I noticed was that the kids who had new things did not brag about them or keep them to themselves. They quickly shared their doll or puzzle and gave their friends candy and chips until there was hardly any left for themselves. This is probably the one of the few special treats they will get just for themselves this entire year (if they get anything else special, usually everyone else gets it too). And without even thinking about it, they shared with their friends and even with the new girls. I find this truly incredible, but not at all surprising from these kids. 

* I had an incredible meeting of fellow Americans on Sunday, "a God moment" as we are calling it. I was treating myself to Wendy's and was just about to leave (literally taking my last drink), when this guy came up to me and said "you look American." We started talking and I found out that he was leading a group of missionaries (from my hometown of CHICAGO!). They work with orphanages around Comayagua. One is literally across the highway from the volunteer center. I see it all the time, but have never visited. They happened to be going there that afternoon and asked if I wanted to join. It is an orphanage for boys and is smaller than our place. After we spent some time there, I took them on a tour of the Mother's Project and Guadalupe. They really enjoyed seeing it. They invited me out to dinner as well. I know that they were complete strangers, but I felt comfortable with them. They were very kind and very interested in my work. 

We also went to the orphanage for girls and younger boys. I was very impressed by how well it was run. The kids all go to local schools and this all seemed to be coordinated perfectly. As I was talking to the girls, I was shocked by how similar they were to the girls at Guadalupe and the Mother's Project. They asked me the exact same questions the girls ask me all the time (is the US beautiful, do I have a boyfriend, what's it like to speak English, how do you say my name in English, etc.) I was surprised by how quickly I felt connected to these girls. Of course, I still love my kids more than anything, but it gave me another perspective. I also got some ideas from their place, the biggest being the beautiful American playgrounds and soccer fields they had. Dreams for the future for us. I was touched by the generosity of this group of strangers to invite me along on their trip and to open their hearts and minds to our kids. They gave me a bunch of clothes and toys for our kids because they saw the need when they walked through. I truly felt the grace of God in connecting me to these people. Now I can look across the street and not think "I wonder what that is" but think about the people and kids I met over there. 

*School is starting on Monday, so we have been preparing classrooms, lesson plans, and class lists this week. We will have over 130 students this year! Several classes have 30 students in them. If we don't find another teacher soon, third and fourth grade will have to be combined, leaving one teacher with 50 students! Please pray for the teachers and children as we start the new school year. 

Well once I started writing, I guess I found a lot to talk about. I hope it was not too long. Please keep all of us in your prayers and we will keep all of you in ours. Thank you for your support of our children!

Peace and Blessings,

Megan

A Honduran Christmas

Hola Amigos!

Almost all of the kids are on vacation, so it has been really quiet around here. Most of the kids will be back on Friday and I am SO excited. I was not aware of just how much I would miss them. I find myself thinking about them all the time- wondering what they are doing and if they are OK. I know that for a lot of them, their home lives are not that great (which is why they are here), so I worry about them. Needless to say, I don't know who will be happier that they are back- me or them.

A mom and her three kids and one girl from Guadalupe, the girl's boarding facility, have been here the whole time. The six of us have become like a little family in the last month. We have done lots of fun things together that we wouldn't have been able to do if all the kids had been here. I have really enjoyed getting to know these kids better.

Anyways, I am sure that you want to hear about Christmas in Honduras, so here it is:

*A few days before Christmas, I had the kids that were here come over and make sugar cookies. Decorating sugar cookies was a tradition in my family, so I thought I would try it with them. They were skeptical at first (one even asked if we could watch a movie instead), but once I showed them what to do, they got into it and were good little bakers. I had already made the dough and baked some of the cookies so they could start decorating right away. I had them take turns helping me roll out the dough and cut out the cookies. I tried to find Christmas cookies cutters but couldn't so we made mini animals that I think were made for use with Play-Doh and circles (with a plastic cup as the cookie cutter). They thought it was a pretty cool process. One girl was very good at rolling out the dough and cutting out the cookies. Eventually I just let her do it and I worked on the other things. We ran out of frosting (tragedy) halfway through the cookies. Luckily I remember reading about painting cookies before baking them. So I ran and got the recipe and we painted the cookies. They turned out really cute. It was so much fun to do something that for me was tradition with kids who had never experienced it. They liked it so much that the next day they asked when we were going to do it again. I wasn't planning on it, but next week we are going to make cookies to give the kids and moms as "welcome back" treats. They are counting down the days until we make more "galletas."

* Christmas Eve, we had Mass at the high school and then afterwards we ate tamales (the traditional Honduran Christmas food) and drank hot chocolate. Any kids that were still around as well as APUFRAM staff members and their families attended. It was fun and the food was delicious. The kids had never had hot chocolate before and were scared to drink it because it was hot. Even after 15 minutes, they wouldn't drink it. I finally showed them how to blow on it to cool it off and then to just take a sip. Once they figured out how to drink it without burning their mouths, they couldn't stop. They kept going back for more:) We stayed out pretty late, which was a big deal for the kids. We all slept in on Christmas morning.

* Christmas Day, we had a huge feast at the high school. It was very "Americanized"- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, baked beans, corn, etc- but it was so good. Again, most of this was new food for the kids, but once they tried it they liked it. We all left with very full tummies and big smiles on our faces.

In the evening, the kids and I had "our" Christmas celebration. I brought over some of the cookies we made, we watched a Christmas movie and I gave them a couple little gifts. That is when it really felt like Christmas. When they got their gifts, they didn't even know what to do. I had to tell them to open them and see what was inside. They were just little things from the dollar store (a doll, a foam ball, a Princess toy, a bracelet, etc.), but they acted like they got a shiny new bike. Their faces when they open the presents were priceless. I almost cried watching them look at their new toys. These were the only gifts they got for Christmas and they were so happy. They hardly ever get "new" things, so they didn't even want to take them out of the package at first. But after a while, they were playing with them and thinking of all the things that these little toys could become. Did you know that a "slap" bracelet could also be a telephone and a spoon and a runway for a Barbie doll? Being with these kids on Christmas was such a blessing. It reminded me what Christmas is all about. It is not about the biggest presents or the perfect celebrations, but about being with people you love and sharing the joy and peace of the season.

I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year wherever you were. May God bless us all in the coming year!

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

Through the Eyes of Children

As you know, we have been hosting Honduran retreat groups in our house on weekends. This weekend we had a group that has been coming for several years. One of the women that was attending the retreat brought her three young kids along. As I have the natural habit of befriending children, they were my buddies throughout the weekend. Basically, that means I had four boys following me around for three and a half days. They were some of the most adorable and sweet children I have ever met, which made me willing to let them use our games and watch movies.

I was particularly impressed by an eight year old boy named Daniel. One night, I was walking to my room and he was laying in a hammock. He said hi to me and asked me a question, so we started talking. He said, "tell me about your life." I asked him what he meant and he said he wanted to know all about my life in the United States and in Honduras. He was genuinely interested in my life, not just asking questions the way kids do. I told him all about my life in the states and he hung on every word and really tried to understand about snow, my big family, my job, etc. I seriously felt like I was talking to an adult. He even clarified what I was saying by saying, "oh, so you mean..." Those are listening skills that most adults don't even have.

I asked him what he wanted to be when he grows up and his answer was probably more well thought-out than most high schoolers. He told me he wanted to be an artist (the way he colored showed me he was a good artist). He said that is what he loves to do and he can't imagine doing anything else. However, he also said that he knows that he has to make money for his family so he will be a taxi driver too. But he will work for himself because the taxi drivers that work for the companies have to give some of their earnings to the boss. He will drive taxis in the day and paint at night and sell his paintings to different people. I mean, really. This kid has his whole life planned out and he is eight! I know that some kids have dreams about what their future will be like, but usually they are about being a movie star or professional athlete. This little boy's dream is actually realistic and given the way he carries himself, I think he will achieve it. At first I was kind of sad because I thought that part of a being a kid is having big dreams and believing that you can be anything you want to. However, when I thought about it, I realized that part of it has to do with what you consider being a successful person. In the US, many kids think that you have to be famous or rich to be successful and happy. But doing what you love and still being able to make money for your family is considered success in the eyes of this little boy, so in a way, this is a dream just as big as those of kids who want to be famous. The difference is that this little boy is much more likely to achieve his dream than those kids who dream of being famous. And I firmly believe that this little boy will be doing just what he dreams and I pray that achieving this dream which others may seem as simple will make him and his family very happy in the future. I also pray that we all learn a lesson from this little boy about what makes a person successful and happy.

Cero Azul

Hola Amigos!

The kids and families left for Christmas vacation a couple of weeks ago and will be gone until January 8th. This is actually like their summer vacation because the school year is over. One mother and her three kids and one girl from Guadalupe are still here so we have been spending some good quality time together.  This has given me some more free time though. Alicia, a 20-year old girl that works in the APUFRAM office at Flores during the day but lives at the mother's project, invited me to go to a national park called Cero Azul with her. I said "yes."

Alicia gave me instructions as to how to get there. I had to take a bus from Comayagua towards San Pedro Sula and get on in a place called Vaca Dia. Having never been there before, I had no idea what this place looked like and since the smalls towns aren't marked, I wasn't sure how I was going to know when I was there. I asked the guy sitting next to me if he knew where it was and he said yes and that he would tell me when we were almost there. It turns out he had no idea what he was talking about. Long story short- we passed it, I got dropped off in a different town and had to take another bus back to Vaca Dia. I met Alicia and her "friend" who lives in Vaca Dia and was going to show us around. We had to take a mototaxi to his house which is actually inside the national park. His family was extremely hospitable and even gave us lunch.

I had read that Cero Azul was a big tourist spot, so I assumed we were going to see lots of people. But we ended up taking the backwoods tour. We had to hike for 30 minutes through some rough terrain. The views along the way were breathtaking. Eventually we ended up at a beautiful waterfall. If we wanted to, we could have actually stood underneath the waterfall. It was hard to see but if you looked up at just the right spot, you could see that this was actually part of a much bigger waterfall, which made it all the more amazing.

The waterfall was wonderful to see, but what I was most impressed by on this trip was the town we visited. It very much reminded me of a small town or neighborhood in the United States. They were kind of cut off from the rest of the world (it was a 20 minute ride in the mototaxi to get there) but it was not like the other mountain villages I have seen. The houses were probably considered "middle class" in Honduran standards. They were still nothing like houses in the US, but I was impressed by how nice they were. Not to mention that they were located in the middle of this beautiful park with a waterfall literally in their backyard. When we were there, there was a soccer  game going on in the middle of the town. It was actually high school girls playing against girls from another town. They had uniforms and everything. Much of the town was watching this game. The other big event was a meeting at the church. I'm not sure what it was about, but many people were going to it to give their opinions about something. It is kind of hard to explain the feeling I had when I was there, but it was definitely one of peace. I have been to other villages in Honduras and not had the same feeling because of the great poverty the people were living in. These people were not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but they had what they needed and they all seemed genuinely happy.

It was a wonderful and adventurous day trip and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to see another part of Honduras. We said we would come back so we could see more of the park and I really hope that we do. The picture at the top of this post is of the actual waterfall. Below are some more pictures from the trip.

A babbling brook- this was the clearest water I have ever seen

Alicia and me at the top of a mountain

There were lots of little crabs at the bottom of the waterfall

A long, scary bridge that we had to cross to get to the soccer fields. There is no way this would pass inspection in the US.

Plane Conversation

Hello Friends!

Once again, it has been a long time. I was home for Thanksgiving. It was great to be home with my family and friends. While I love living in Honduras, there is just nothing like spending time with people who know you so well and that you love dearly. I did miss the children though, especially as the time went on. By the time I left, I was definitely anxious to see the children again.

I wanted to share with you an experience I had on the airplane from Houston to Chicago. A man in his late 20s/early 30s was sitting next to me the whole plain ride. We had a few friendly exchanges throughout the flight, but for the most part kept to ourselves. When we were told to turn off our IPods to prepare for landing, we began to talk. Eventually the conversation turned to me talking about what I was doing in Honduras. This man was extremely interested in my experiences and my reflections on life in the United States compared to life in Honduras. He asked me what I thought when I landed in Houston and if I was in culture shock. I stopped to think for a minute before I gave my reply. I told him that it wasn't so much the material things (although paying $7 for a sandwich nearly killed me) or the language difference (although I did try to order my sandwich in Spanish) but it was more watching the people that got to me. I had some time in between flights so I just sat in the terminal and people-watched. What I saw made me sad. I saw all these people running around, talking on their cell phones, visibly stressed or upset about something. I wanted to scream- "RELAX! Whatever it is about that business deal that is upsetting you is not what is truly important in life." After living here, I have learned what truly is important- family, faith, and community. I think that if this man saw the joy on a child's face just to have someone play a game of soccer or Uno with them, he would realize that getting so upset and stressed about a business deal doesn't do any good.

I also wanted to yell SLOW DOWN as I watched a woman anxiously rummaging through her briefcase and looking at several files and then getting on her cell phone. I mean, she could have accomplished the same thing by taking a deep breath and removing the files slowly to look at them. We had over half an hour before the plane boarded, so I'm sure she had the time. The culture in the United States is just so busy and it makes people more stressed and unhappy than anything else. I have truly come to appreciate the pace of life in Honduras.

As I told this to the man on the plane, he just kept saying, "Wow." He said that he realized that he is one of those people and he needs to change some things in his life. He said he would love to do something like I am doing. I told him that I love what I am doing, but that not everyone needs to live in Honduras to make a difference. There are small things that you can do in your own community. He said that he would be up all night thinking about what I said. Now, I don't know what impact just sharing my story ultimately had on him, but I would like to think that if nothing else at least he might stop and think the next time he gets overly stressed about something at work.

I never expected to have an experience like this on the plane, but I learned a lot from it too. Sometimes I am hesitant to share my experiences because I don't want to sound "preachy" or like I am bragging about what I am doing. But this time I didn't think about how he would react to it. I didn't plan on having an impact on this guy. I just wanted to share my story because it is something I am passionate about and he was interested in it.  After this, I think I will look for more opportunities to share my experiences in Honduras with people in the US. You never know what people need to hear and sharing my story may inspire someone else to make a change in their life.

Celebrations Galore

Hi Friends!

Sorry it has been so long in between posts again. School may be over, but we have more things than ever going on right now. Here is a rundown of some of the events of the past week:

•        Elmer, an older gentleman who has been coming to Honduras every November and December for the last five years, arrived last Monday. So I am no longer alone and I am even living in the volunteer center full-time again. I am enjoying having someone to talk to in English and share the experiences of the children with.
•        Saturday was a huge day around here. It was graduation for the sixth graders. We spent lots of time making decorations and setting up for the big event. It was held in the morning and all of the children had at least one family member there. I was surprised that everyone had someone there. These children come from extremely poor families, so I know that it was a major sacrifice for some of them to travel for the graduation. But for several of the families, this is the first child in the family to graduate from sixth grade. You could see the pride on the faces of the family members. It was beautiful to see. You could also see how happy the kids were to know that their family was proud of them. They were so eager to introduce me to their families and I just told them all how smart and wonderful their children are. They just lit up to hear their children praised like that.
  
  The ceremony started with Mass. The whole school was present for both the Mass and the graduation ceremony. It was also the end-of-the-year assembly for all the students. The graduates processed in and then the first through fifth graders that passed to the next grade were called up and received their grades. Then the principal gave out the honor roll awards to the top students in each class. Finally, the sixth graders received their diplomas. It was not practiced or really organized very much at all (like most things in Honduras), but it was still extremely special. I was asked to sit at the head table and hand out the diplomas with the principal. It was a huge honor for me. I definitely teared up when I looked at all the kids sitting in their caps and gowns with huge smiles on their faces. When they called the child’s name, he or she came up along with the people he or she had asked to be their sponsors for the graduation. I was asked by two girls to be their sponsor, which was very touching. After they all received their diplomas the president of the class gave a short speech, which also made me cry.
  
  After the ceremony, they had lunch for the graduates and their families. Chinese rice with chicken, meat, and shrimp is a favorite special food around here. I also made six cakes for the celebration. One of the girls that I sponsored, Yossari, only had her mom with her, so she asked if I would sit with them at lunch. They really made me feel like a part of their family. At the end of the meal, her mom even said I was like a member of their family.
  
  Reflecting on the graduation, I realized how simple yet meaningful it was. The kids didn’t need to walk in in perfect lines or shake hands perfectly and we didn’t need to have the fanciest decorations or the most perfect music to have it be a beautiful ceremony. For these kids that have worked so hard to get to where they are and for the families that made sacrifices to allow them to achieve this goal, it was perfect. I cried tears of joy several times just amazed by the beauty of it all. I also cried some tears of sadness because I will really miss these kids. They are the closest things I have to best friends down here. I am so proud of them and can’t wait to see what some of them become, but it will still be a little lonelier here without them. However, in the last couple of weeks I have figured which of the incoming sixth graders will become the leaders of the school and my new best friends.  Many of these girls that graduated will be going to our high school next year, so I will see them again. It makes the goodbye a lot easier. 
•          In celebration of their accomplishments, Elmer and I took the sixth grade girls to town today to enjoy an afternoon of fun. We started with Pizza Hut, which of course everyone loved. Afterwards, they got to play in the play place at Pizza Hut. It is much bigger and nicer than any of the play places that I have ever seen in the US. It even has a mini soccer field. Watching the girls play reminded me that they are still kids. They had so much fun running and climbing and sliding. I even climbed around with Miguel’s son, Emilio, who is 3 and was afraid to go alone.  After Pizza Hut we went to the Central Park area where we ate ice cream. It is still very hot here, so it was a much welcomed treat. I could tell that many of the girls were not used to doing anything special like this because they didn’t know how to order or what to do. I ran into my friend who gives tours of the Cathedral while we were there and asked if he would take us up in the bell tower. All the girls got to go up and see the clock tower. It is the oldest working clock in the western hemisphere and the second oldest in the world. I had been in it once before and thought the girls would like it. They really did enjoy seeing the whole city. We took lots of pictures to document the adventure. It was an extremely fun afternoon for me and the sixth graders. I am glad that we were able to do something special for them to show them that we were very proud of them.
•          Saturday is the baptisms and First Communions for the kids that are new this school year and haven’t received the sacraments yet. I have been asked to be the godmother for at three kids. It should also be a very special day. Some of the kids are so excited to be being baptized and “receiving Jesus” as they say.
•       On top of all these very exciting things, we have had Honduran groups in our house every weekend. Of course, the power went out just as the group was arriving Thursday night. I was literally running around the house trying to find every flashlight we have so they wouldn’t be too mad at me. Thankfully it was only out for about an hour. You just never know what is going to happen around here. That's OK though. It keeps life interesting. 

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

From Mundial to Vacas

Hello Friends!

Sorry it’s been so long since my last e-mail. This is a busy time
around here. Here are some recaps on recent events:

• VAMOS AL MUNDIAL!!! Honduras qualified for the World Cup last week.
It was a very exciting series of events. The United States beat
Honduras on Saturday, October 10th. That was a fun game to watch. I
wore my red, white and blue and went all out for the good ol’ USA. It
was me against 50 girls. Every time the US did something good, I made
sure to yell really loud. And the girls shouted even louder when
Honduras did something good. Common expressions during the game were
“cheater!” “foul!” “you’re team is bad” “almost” and of course
“GOOOOOOAL!” Some of the younger girls couldn’t understand why I was
cheering for the US. I guess they really do think I am Honduran The
US won 2-1. It was a very exciting game and went to the last second-
Honduras even had a penalty kick in extra time that they missed.
Needless to say, Americans were not very well-liked after that game.
But that all changed on Wednesday. Wednesday Honduras played El
Salvador and the US played Costa Rica. The games were at the same
time. In order for Honduras to qualify, they had to win and the US had
to either win or tie against Costa Rica. Honduras did their part. They
won. Costa Rica was beating the US with just minutes left, so we
pretty much thought it was over. Especially since the US had already
qualified and didn’t need to win. But, by a miracle of Our Lady of
Suyapa (the patron saint of Honduras), the US scored with seconds left
leading Honduras to qualify for the World Cup. We all watched it
happen and it was probably one of the most exciting things I have ever
seen. It was almost an unreal moment. Girls were crying and screaming
and dancing. The president declared the next day a national holiday.
There are now commercials thanking God and the country of Honduras for
helping the team to qualify.

• School is quickly coming to an end here. This is the last week of
classes. Next week is final exams. I will be giving exams in English
and computers. Don’t worry…I won’t make them too hard. Most of the
kids take these exams very seriously. I think that they study more and
get more nervous than many high school and college students taking
finals. And they are only in elementary school. The sixth graders just
had a big test that they had to past with an 80% to graduate. It was
the equivalent of the eighth grade Constitution test that we have, but
it was on the national anthem. The test had written, oral, and singing
parts. I was honestly impressed by how well the students knew the
material. It was a booklet with 100 questions and answers that they
had to memorize. I don’t know if I could do it if I tried.

• I am in the Christmas spirit already. I have spent the last two
weeks creating Christmas cards for the kids to send to their sponsors
in the US. The next step will be to translate over 1000 letters. It is
a huge job, but I think I will be able to get it done without too much
trouble. Once school is over, I won’t have much else to do during the
week, so I will just put in some movies and write every day until my
hand falls off.

• Our house is become a popular place in the area. We have Honduran
groups for every weekend except one in November and December. Luckily,
none of them are 90 people and many of them don’t even want us to
cook. It is a much better setup. But, this will still be a busy place
in the next couple months.

• I have had some interesting animal encounters lately. There are
random cows that cross the street and come and eat our grass. I don’t
know where they come from. But, recently they have discovered the pila
at the back of our house. The pila is where I wash my clothes and it
is usually filled with water. The cows think they can drink the water,
which is disgusting. I am not washing my clothes in water cows drink
out of. One day I came back from teaching and a cow was standing in
front of the door. How do you move a cow that is standing in front of
the door to your house? You don’t. You walk to another door. And today
they must have stepped on a pipe because water was spraying everywhere
when I got back from teaching. Dang cows. I also had a rat in my room
the other night. I thought I heard something and then sure enough
there was rat staring right at me. I ran and got a kid to get rid of
it. I haven’t had any more since then.

Well, I think that it all that is new with me. I hope that things are
going well wherever you are. I am sure fall is in full swing. It is
kind of hard to imagine fall weather, although we did have one day
this week that almost felt like fall. But the next day it went right
back to being hot. I think it is going to break soon though. I feel it
coming.

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

94 Hondurans+ 3 cooks + 1 baby - tortillas= one crazy weekend

Hi friends!

I know it has been a while since I wrote last. Sorry about that. Even without having groups here, I still find that I have things to do all the time. I thought I would share my experience with the Honduran retreat group. We survived, barely. Reyna and Berta are our two cooks (they are sisters) and the three of us were in the kitchen all weekend. We literally worked from 4:30 in the morning until 10:30 at night, at which time I had to force myself to stay awake until midnight so that I could turn off the lights. Here are some things I learned from having 94 Hondurans (88 participants and six body guards that accompanied two of the kids) in my house:

1.)    Tortilla delivery men are unreliable. Of the six meals we cooked, four involved us worrying about where the tortillas were. And tortillas are a staple. They literally won’t eat without them. We had ordered 450 tortillas for each meal. The first night, the boss didn’t show up for work and the employees didn’t know about the order. Luckily someone from the group was able to pick up tortillas, but the food had been sitting for an hour and a half by the time he got here. The tortilla people assured us that they would have the tortillas there in the morning. They didn’t. Apparently the guy got lost and went to another house and they said they didn’t want tortillas, so he went back to town. Duh! Who would order 450 tortillas and then decide they didn’t want them?! Once we figured out what happened, he turned around and came back. So for lunch, we switched to a different tortilla guy. He was perfectly on time for lunch and just a little late for dinner, which made us very happy. But of course, he was an hour later than he said he would be for breakfast the next morning, so Reyna and I were having slight strokes. He made it before breakfast was served though. Then, he had trouble with his motorcycle (yes, they deliver tortillas by strapping a big cooler to the back of a motorcycle,), so he was late for lunch. At this point, all we could do was laugh. Why we were cursed with tortilla problems is beyond me, but next time, I think someone will go in to town to pick them up.
2.)    Some aspects of retreats are universal. This one was a confirmation retreat for high school students, but it consisted of talks, small group reflections, large group reflections, praise and worship songs, goofy games, lots of talking, and even some crying. With how tired and drained I felt and the amount of reliance I had to put on God to make the weekend work and just watching the retreat play out, I had many flashbacks and memories of leading retreats when I was college.
3.)    People will steal ONE bag of groceries from the back of your pickup truck. We had an entire truck full of groceries and apparently someone stole one bag. We learned this when we didn’t have enough cookies for snack time and they were listed on the receipt. I ended up having to walk several miles to the nearest store to get some cookies for the kids. My feet were raw when I was done (I wore thin flip flops expecting to take the bus), but at least it was a break from being in the kitchen…
4.)    There is always something to do when you are preparing food for 95 people. We literally didn’t leave the kitchen/dining room the whole time. We always had to be chopping, boiling, or peeling something for the next meal.
5.)    Adding a baby into the mix actually helps. Berta has a four month old son, so we put a crib in the kitchen and he stayed with us the whole weekend. He actually helped us stay sane. When we got stressed, we would just hold him and say “what are we going to do, Francisco?” After holding him for five minutes, I was usually calm again.
6.)    It is possible to set a table for 95 people in ten minutes. By breakfast of the last day, I had learned the fastest way to set the table. I also learned the fastest way to clean it up, but it takes much longer to clean.
7.)    Some Honduran teenagers are crazy. Some of them were far worse-behaved than any students I have ever worked with on a retreat. And the leaders didn’t seem to want to do anything about it. They even knew that they were STEALING FOOD from the people who didn’t get to the dining room right away and didn’t do anything about it. So we took things in to are own hands and I caught a couple red-handed.
8.)    If even one student had a powerful retreat experience, all the work was worth it. When they were leaving, I could tell that some of them had definitely had some powerful experiences on the retreat. Some of them also came in to the kitchen and thanked us for everything. Just those two things alone made all the work worth it.

That was my adventure in running a restaurant/hotel.  Sorry it was such a long recap. I don't think we will ever have that many people in our house again, but I learned a lot and, as Reyna said, it was a weekend we will never forget. I think my favorite memory from the whole thing was Saturday night at 10:00 when we were still in the kitchen and had become slap-happy. I saw a side of Reyna and Berta I don’t know if I will ever see again. I haven’t laughed that much in a long time. These are memories we will treasure forever, but never want to relive again:)

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

Dia de Independencia

September 15 was Dia de Independencia- Independence Day, so there was a big celebration at the the school where I teach and where all the kids from Guadalupe and the mother's project attended school. This one involved a lot of traditional dances, poems about Honduras, and songs. One thing I have noticed is that they really celebrate every holiday (and they seem to have a lot of holidays). The kids learn so much about why they have the holiday and they all put a lot of work in to making the celebration meaningful and well-done. It has made me realize how often we don’t do that in the US. How many holidays come and go without us ever even thinking about why we have them (President's Day, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, etc.) except for having a day off school or work? Maybe we need to take some lessons from this school on how to celebrate national holidays. Anyways, enjoy the pictures. 

Students getting ready to do a traditional dance. The two in the front are only in third grade. Aren't they so cute?

Some of the fifth graders after their performances. All of the dresses were hand-made by the teachers, the girls, and the moms with random fabric we had at the house.

First graders memorized information about different Central American countries. I spent lots of time helping them practice. They all knew their part as of that morning. Too bad when they got up there, they got stage fright and forgot most of it. They are still precious.

Please keep us and the country of Honduras in your prayers. We especially need prayers this weekend as we have 88 Hondurans, most of them students, using our house for a Confirmation retreat next weekend!!! We’ll see how it goes. I am a little worried about it, but hopefully it will work out well. Using our house as a retreat center is a good service to provide to the Hondurans while we wait for US groups to come back. However, 88 is a lot of people for a house that only has 89 beds. 

Peace and Blessings,
Megan

We are OK

Hi friends,

WE ARE OK!!! We have had some changes in the political situation in this county. Monday, Zelaya (who was the president and then was forced out of the country) snuck into the country through the Guatemalan border and ended up in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa. Obviously, Michelleti (who took over as president when Zelaya was removed) is not happy about this. The kids keep saying “we have two presidents,” which pretty much sums it up. Neither one is backing down. This means that in Tegucigalpa their have been many demonstrations and marches. Michelleti has issued “taque de quedas” from 5pm-6am every day since. Tuesday, it lasted all day. This basically means that you are supposed to stay at your house and the only people on the streets are emergency personnel and the police. It is meant to keep the protests and such down and to not allow people to travel to Tegucigalpa. We are not being affected here except that we couldn’t go to Comayagua to buy food or use the internet on Tuesday. But everything is still calm here. I feel completely safe. I don’t even know how much of this is on US news, if any of it. But I wanted to let you all know that we are fine. 

Hola Amigos!

Wow! What a week it’s been since I last wrote. I have definitely settled into my routine of life down here. The kids had their end-of-quarter exams this week, so I spent most of my nights helping them study. 

On Wednesday, I watched the Honduras vs. Mexico soccer game with the girls from Guadalupe. They were so funny. It is really hard to describe how important these soccer games are to them. Half the girls don’t even like to play soccer, but they still watched it with intensity and hung on every shot. Sadly, Honduras lost 1-0 so they are not guaranteed a spot in the World Cup yet. Last Saturday, I watched a game that they won 4-1 with some of the kids from the mother’s project. I had to explain parts of the game to them because they were younger, but they just kept saying “our country is winning” and got so excited every time they scored a goal.

Thursday was Dia del Nino, a Honduran holiday, which means “Day of the Child.” It is a very special day for the kids. I spent Wednesday afternoon and evening making Jello and cakes with Miguel and his wife to take to the school. We also bought piñatas and lots of candy. There was a program at the school which involved some of the kids singing and dancing and putting on short plays. Then the teachers had planned some different games. They had potato sack races, relay races, spaghetti eating contest, and many other games. The kids were just ecstatic and had so much fun (screaming, laughing, jumping up and down). Each grade got a piñata or two to break open. I learned that hitting a piñata is a dangerous activity. I was terrified someone was going to get hurt, but the kids loved it and no one was injured. They also catered in a special lunch for the kids. It is so special to them to get something different since they eat the same food every week. They had so much food and candy that by the afternoon they were all complaining that their stomachs hurt. I think that this day is so good for the kids. They don’t get many opportunities to be completely care-free and to have their only worry be about having fun. It was a joy to see them just being kids. They were silly and crazy and somewhat out of control, but I loved watching them play and smile like they were the happiest kids in the world, which they very well might have been. Here are some pictures from the event: 

Spaghetti-eating contest. He won.

Pinata. This is one of the teacher's sons trying to hit it. The kids were very good about taking turns and letting even the ones who aren't in school yet try.

So happy (and overloaded on sugar):)

Friday, I taught my first English classes since I've been back. I am teaching English Tuesdays and Fridays and computers on Thursdays. I teach from 8:00-12:30 (six classes) straight, which makes for a long day. The first day of English went well. The kids were very well behaved because they are so excited to have someone different teaching them. 1^st grade is learning animals, 2^nd grade is learning how to say “I am happy, sad, tired, etc.” The 3^rd and 4^th grade are learning family members. 5^th and 6^th grade is learning “I like/don’t like (to run, to sing, to study).” Most of them like English class, but they always tell me that my language is very strange and sounds funny.

Saturday, the students from the university in Tegucigalpa came to celebrate Día del Nino with the kids. They did some songs and games with the kids (including more piñatas) and had a special lunch. This was another fun activity for both the kids and the university students. A few of the girls that came actually went to school at Guadalupe so it was like a homecoming for them. It was beautiful to think of these girls having started where the little girls now and seeing how grown up they were. They were very cognizant of the fact that they are where they are in large part because of what they received at Guadalupe. I also loved telling the girls that one day they can be university students and come back for Día del Nino. They all thought that was pretty cool. 

Hola Amigos!

I made it! I am back in Honduras safe and sound. For those of you who don't know me, I was a long-term volunteer here from January until May of this year. I am now back to serve as the house director for the volunteer center. I got here on Thursday afternoon. Hector, our driver, and Miguel, the Honduran that was in charge of the mission while no one else was here, picked me up at the airport. It was so good to see them. I don´t know who was more excited, me or Hector. As we were driving back to the mission, I had to remind myself that it had been three and a half months since I left. It felt like I had been gone a week. As you may know, the political situation in Honduras is a little tricky right now. However, as of today, I still haven’t seen anything other than some graffiti on the side of the road (which is normal) that would make me think there is a problem here. That doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem, but it is not as bad as I imagined it.

When I got to my house, it was easy to see that no one had lived there in two months. Things were left in disarray (ants in the refrigerator, stuff everywhere, etc.). That’s OK though. I will spend these first few weeks organizing and cleaning the house to get things ready for groups to come back. I like organizing, so it will be fun. I have to say that seeing the kids made me so happy that I came back. As soon as they saw me, they started running and were so excited. They haven’t even seen any “gringos” in months, so they were probably happy just to have someone new to play with and talk to. Seeing their faces and getting their hugs told me that I would be able to handle whatever tasks were put in front of me in the coming months. I wasn’t sure if I should come back to Honduras, but I know that I am where I am supposed to be right now.

Peace and Blessings,
Megan