We had to leave the country for three days due to an issue with our Visa's. We spent 40 hours on a bus van thing to get to Costa Rica and back! We called it "the bun". The driver drove crazy and we thought we thought he might kill us a couple times. The roads were terrible, and very bumpy. It was exhausting and we got back Tuesday morning at 12:40 and had to teach. Crazyness yes, we are all so tired.
We spent more time on the bun 40 then we got to spend in Costa Rica. It had to be done though. It was nice to travel and see Costa Rica it is so beautiful there! I have to much work to do and catch up on now though. I feel so behind, maybe because I am :).
I took pictures and so did everyone else, so I'll have lot's to share when I get back...I also took pictures of my school kids today when I went on a field trip with them to the base. I really am so excited about coming home for Christmas! I´ll write a longer blog about our adventure soon...
Peek-a-boo FREE Tricks & Treats for You! Get 'em!
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Crazy Travel Plans & Gecko Blues
Written Oct. 16th
Karen and I were talking about how we miss the green and the trees and the clean clear water and the fall leaves. Its pretty much always the same here…warm and polluted. But that's cause we are in a town. We haven't really gotten to travel outside yet.
Peek-a-boo FREE Tricks & Treats for You! Get 'em!
Karen and I were talking about how we miss the green and the trees and the clean clear water and the fall leaves. Its pretty much always the same here…warm and polluted. But that's cause we are in a town. We haven't really gotten to travel outside yet.
We just found out this afternoon when school got out that the 10 of us SMs will be traveling to Costa Rica this weekend. We will leave Friday afternoon. They are not able to get us a working visa or any more extensions and this Monday is the last holiday we have before our time runs out around Nov. 15th . We'll have to drive like over 10 hours each way! In Costa Rica we will stay at a university. We are excited about it but at the same time not…I mean we will be traveling for hours in a bus or van (they have not worked out any of the details yet…everything is last minute here). And we are really close to the parcial (pretty much quarter) being over and we have lesson plans and tests and grading and putting all our grades into our catrachitos (the crazy way of recording grades). Anyway there is just so much to do…but we have to stay out of the country for 3 whole days so we will probably not be getting back till Monday night really late or even Tuesday morning.
It feels like it has been much longer than two months to me! I have learned so much just in the short time being here. We have had some crazy experiences. Its been really good for me though. I can't wait to come back to Walla Walla next year with a totally new perspective on life.
I feel like I have adapted to life here pretty well but I don't think I'll ever get used to living with geckos and coach roaches! Sorry I just saw two geckos and had to throw that in there.
Anyway its late...well 9:40 but that's late cause I have still have to take a shower and get ready for bed and be up by 5:30! I was thinking about it this morning when I woke up for my devotional that back home I had trouble getting up by 9 and now everyday 5:30! Crazy I tell ya!
Peek-a-boo FREE Tricks & Treats for You! Get 'em!
Creepy Guys & Surprise Parties
October 14, 2007
We had Friday off for another crazy holiday that we are not totally sure out…we think it is some armed forces thing again. It was really nice to have the extra day off. I did not get as much done as I should have school wise. But it was nice to have some down time to just relax and have fun.
I know this is going to sound crazy but I had to sing up font this Sabbath. It was supposed to be all the SMs but they decided that they did not know about it even though we had talked about it a few times during the week and they choose to go to another church. So it ended up being only Lori, Karen and I…believe me I tried to get out of it but they would have none of it. haha…oh well there were not many people there but trust me I never want to do it again. Karen also had special music during church...it was awesome she is an amazing singer! I have told her if she ever wants to make me happy she just has to start singing.
We played skip-bo Saturday night after dinner. It was a lot of fun…you can even play with partners…seriously check out the directions it’s pretty cool!
Okay one random story and then I need to get bed…so last Sunday we went to the market and I was really not feeling good. I thought I was going to pass out…we choose to walk down a street that we don’t normally to get back the main boulevard and we had to walk past a lot of creepy guys. We have gotten good at ignoring their calls and comments…but this one guys decides to grab my back and pull on my shirt. It totally caught me off guard. I mean they always make their little noises and comments but normally they don’t touch us. I had my hands full of the stuff we had gotten at the market and I just jumped forward to break free from his hand and speed up. It really freaked me out and I almost started crying. Thankfully that has not been the norm though.
So I lied I have one more story I forgot to tell. My 3rd graders threw me a surprise party last week! It was so random but I guess they just wanted to. I was walking to the class room to teach after recess and I hear all this yelling and stuff coming form the class and when I walk in they all yell surprise and are throwing things. It was really funny. They had decorated the classroom and made sandwiches, and had soda, ice cream and cake, they even made me a little piñata. To say the least they are crazy kids but I am really growing to love them!
It has started to poor…I really hope that my black pants that are on the clothes line are far enough under the garage that they won’t get soaked!
Blessing to all of you!
We had Friday off for another crazy holiday that we are not totally sure out…we think it is some armed forces thing again. It was really nice to have the extra day off. I did not get as much done as I should have school wise. But it was nice to have some down time to just relax and have fun.
I know this is going to sound crazy but I had to sing up font this Sabbath. It was supposed to be all the SMs but they decided that they did not know about it even though we had talked about it a few times during the week and they choose to go to another church. So it ended up being only Lori, Karen and I…believe me I tried to get out of it but they would have none of it. haha…oh well there were not many people there but trust me I never want to do it again. Karen also had special music during church...it was awesome she is an amazing singer! I have told her if she ever wants to make me happy she just has to start singing.
We played skip-bo Saturday night after dinner. It was a lot of fun…you can even play with partners…seriously check out the directions it’s pretty cool!
Okay one random story and then I need to get bed…so last Sunday we went to the market and I was really not feeling good. I thought I was going to pass out…we choose to walk down a street that we don’t normally to get back the main boulevard and we had to walk past a lot of creepy guys. We have gotten good at ignoring their calls and comments…but this one guys decides to grab my back and pull on my shirt. It totally caught me off guard. I mean they always make their little noises and comments but normally they don’t touch us. I had my hands full of the stuff we had gotten at the market and I just jumped forward to break free from his hand and speed up. It really freaked me out and I almost started crying. Thankfully that has not been the norm though.
So I lied I have one more story I forgot to tell. My 3rd graders threw me a surprise party last week! It was so random but I guess they just wanted to. I was walking to the class room to teach after recess and I hear all this yelling and stuff coming form the class and when I walk in they all yell surprise and are throwing things. It was really funny. They had decorated the classroom and made sandwiches, and had soda, ice cream and cake, they even made me a little piñata. To say the least they are crazy kids but I am really growing to love them!
It has started to poor…I really hope that my black pants that are on the clothes line are far enough under the garage that they won’t get soaked!
Blessing to all of you!
Attacks & Answered Prayers
October 7, 2007
Sorry its been so long since I have written. We are still trekking along here in Honduras. The last Friday in September we had parent teacher conferences. Lets just say I am going to dread the last Friday of every month. There is one mom who totally has something against the missionary teachers and she really does not make my life easy. None of us had an easy time dealing with the parents…Karens homeroom teacher ditched her and left her to try and translate for herself. Stacys teacher was taking the side of the parents. My teacher just sat while the parents ripped into me about every little thing. We made it through though and hopefully we will be able to prove to the parents that we really do care and only want the best for their kids.
That same night Michelle, Stacy, Kimmie and Katrina decided to go on a walk in the park. Katrina ended up having her purse ripped off by a couple of bikers that rode by. We had just gotten paid that day so she had all her money and her passport, camera, keys, credit card and letters in it. When they came back and told us it was just another hit to an already awful and emotionally draining week. We prayed about it in hopes that by some crazy miracle something might turn up. The next day was Sabbath and Karen came over and said after church she though we should just go looking and see if we can find anything. We decided that was a good idea. After teaching English we were riding back with Norma when she received a call from Loida who said a man had found Katrina’s passport. You have no idea how amazing this is! They were saying it is a miracle that anything turned up! Katrina, Karen and I were all crying. It was totally amazing that the most valuable thing she had was found. She also got her credit card, and letters. I had just prayed that morning that God would just show that he is there watching out for us. I think we were all feeling just miserable and abandoned after everything that had happened over the past week. But after her passport was found I think we all realized God really is here looking out for us.
Mark came down with dengue fever last week. He was in the hospital for a week. He was also having a reaction to the malaria pills he was taking. He was finally released today.
I feel like my school kids are finally starting to respect me a little more. I am getting to know them and their personalities. They really are cute kids. I have learned that they absolutely love stickers and if I start giving stickers to the kids that are behaving and doing their work soon the whole class will be working and listening because they all want a sticker too. Its like magic!
So to say the least these past few weeks have been hard but at the same time we have also seen God working in amazing ways. We appreciate all your prayers and support!
Love,
Mindy
Sorry its been so long since I have written. We are still trekking along here in Honduras. The last Friday in September we had parent teacher conferences. Lets just say I am going to dread the last Friday of every month. There is one mom who totally has something against the missionary teachers and she really does not make my life easy. None of us had an easy time dealing with the parents…Karens homeroom teacher ditched her and left her to try and translate for herself. Stacys teacher was taking the side of the parents. My teacher just sat while the parents ripped into me about every little thing. We made it through though and hopefully we will be able to prove to the parents that we really do care and only want the best for their kids.
That same night Michelle, Stacy, Kimmie and Katrina decided to go on a walk in the park. Katrina ended up having her purse ripped off by a couple of bikers that rode by. We had just gotten paid that day so she had all her money and her passport, camera, keys, credit card and letters in it. When they came back and told us it was just another hit to an already awful and emotionally draining week. We prayed about it in hopes that by some crazy miracle something might turn up. The next day was Sabbath and Karen came over and said after church she though we should just go looking and see if we can find anything. We decided that was a good idea. After teaching English we were riding back with Norma when she received a call from Loida who said a man had found Katrina’s passport. You have no idea how amazing this is! They were saying it is a miracle that anything turned up! Katrina, Karen and I were all crying. It was totally amazing that the most valuable thing she had was found. She also got her credit card, and letters. I had just prayed that morning that God would just show that he is there watching out for us. I think we were all feeling just miserable and abandoned after everything that had happened over the past week. But after her passport was found I think we all realized God really is here looking out for us.
Mark came down with dengue fever last week. He was in the hospital for a week. He was also having a reaction to the malaria pills he was taking. He was finally released today.
I feel like my school kids are finally starting to respect me a little more. I am getting to know them and their personalities. They really are cute kids. I have learned that they absolutely love stickers and if I start giving stickers to the kids that are behaving and doing their work soon the whole class will be working and listening because they all want a sticker too. Its like magic!
So to say the least these past few weeks have been hard but at the same time we have also seen God working in amazing ways. We appreciate all your prayers and support!
Love,
Mindy
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Lively Students, Hurricanes & Creative Shopping!
Written September 4, 2007 around 11:30am
Karen is now here with us! She arrived on Sunday…its good to have our group complete. There are actually 10 of us missionaries teaching at the school. The 6 of us from Walla Walla (Kimmie, Stacy, Karen, Michell, Lori and myself) and the two from Southern (Mark and Katrina) and then Greg and Emily who are a younger married couple that are really nice. Just last night they made us a list of safe/good restaurants that they have tried and recommend to us. They don’t have an oven so they eat out a lot.
Yesterday was my first day of class. We arrived at the school decked out in our uniform ready to start the day. When we arrived the reality hit that we were actually starting today. Kids where running around everywhere and no one knew what we were supposed to be doing. After staff worship we were to go get our kids and line them up for the assembly. It was crazy in the gym…hot and noisy and kids doing whatever they felt like. It took awhile to get everyone to quiet down but eventually they were able to proceed with the assembly. After that was over the kids had an hour of recess and parents were walking around the school putting their kids stuff away (even though this was supposed to take place after recess).
I had about an hour with each of my third grade classes. We had just found out last Friday after we had all finished our lesson plans that Monday was only a half day and we were not to start teaching but just play games and get to know our kids. This was harder than is sounds the kids only seem to understand me half of the time and that is after I have repeated myself about 4 times. They are only to speak English in class but the kids that understand more English are always translating for each others. They do not understand the concept of staying in their seat or raising their hand and waiting to be called on without talking. They were constantly yelling Miss Miss or Teacher Teacher. And as soon as one kid says they need to go to the bathroom 12 other kids suddenly all need to go as well. We were all exhausted by the time 11:30 rolled around and all the kids left.
Last night at the parent meeting there was talk of a hurricane hitting Honduras. We all kind of joked about praying for the hurricane to come so we would not have to teach class today. This morning we woke up at 5:00 to get ready for school. We were at the school by around 6:50 only to be meet at the gate by the guard who told us school was canceled today and tomorrow because of the hurricane. They let us come in and I helped Stacy put up a few things in her class room that had fallen down. They asked us to make sure nothing was left on the ground incase things start to flood. We also were able to get online for a bit and look up stuff about hurricane. We have picked up a few extra groceries and got some extra water, just incase.
Roy said it would probably hit us sometime in the afternoon. It is now 12:00pm and the only thing that we have noticed that was different was the cloudy sky and wind starting to pick up. Even if all we get is a lot of rain that can cause trouble here. The river will start to flood and the drainage systems here are not that great so it means water will be building up and flooding streets and areas that are not even close to the river.
Kimmies dad just called and he has been keeping track of the Hurricane online and said we would probably be getting 60mph winds and lots of rain. She explained to him that it’s actually sunny outside rite now.
Well that’s all the news I have for now…I’ll let you know how this whole Hurricane thing ends up turning out.
Fun Facts about Food and our stores here in Honduras
We have named all our stores:
A lot of things come in bags here. Just today Stacy and I went to the "Wal-Mart" and bought Ketchup in a bag. We also saw Mayo, and Mustard in a bag, oil, and we sometimes buy spaghetti sauce in a bag and refried beans in a bag (the picture of the beans looks like a really bad brown loaf but they are actually pretty good). It’s a lot cheaper to buy things in bags.
Written September 9, 2007
Well the hurricane was not bad by the time it got to us. I think it really hit around 2:30am. We got a lot of rain and some wind but nothing major. We really could have had school on Tuesday and Wednesday no problem. But it was nice to have those days off. I really don’t know how we would have made it through a whole week with those rowdy kids. I mean I know it will happen eventually but this week we have Thursday and Friday off and the following Monday because the 15th is Honduras Independence Day. That will be useful time to work on our lesson plans.
Tomorrow is Children’s day at the school. Yes they have children’s day here. I guess it’s just like Mothers or Fathers day except it’s for the kids. We only have class till noon then the last two hours the kids get to pretty much run free it sounds like. My 3rd grade class will be having pizza and a piñata.
We have officially made Sunday our market day. We buy all the food we will need throughout the week. We also buy beans that we cook so we can have beans for the week. We eat a lot of beans and we can buy 4 pounds for only 32lps (that’s about $1.50). We do have to pick through them and get rid of the bad ones and the rocks and dirt chunks but it’s so worth it because we save a lot of money by making our own. Norma taught us how to make tortillas Friday night so we also might start making tortillas on Sundays as well.
Stacy and I have been sick starting around Thursday. It was the worst Sabbath morning. We both work up and could hardly talk. We were all supposed to do Sabbath school at the church and teach English in the afternoon but since we were sick we stayed home and rested. We both feel much better today but are still pretty run down. I’m hoping tomorrow when I have to start yelling at the kids again my voice won’t go out on me.
We did some rearranging of rooms Friday. I am now in the other house with Kimmie, Stacy and Mark. Michelle traded rooms with Lori and Lori and Katrina are now rooming together. A bit crazy I know but it’s something that needed to be done. In our house we have not had water all weekend. It has not been very fun but thankfully the problem was fixed this afternoon. Not that it won’t keep happening but it is at least fixed for now.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Karen is now here with us! She arrived on Sunday…its good to have our group complete. There are actually 10 of us missionaries teaching at the school. The 6 of us from Walla Walla (Kimmie, Stacy, Karen, Michell, Lori and myself) and the two from Southern (Mark and Katrina) and then Greg and Emily who are a younger married couple that are really nice. Just last night they made us a list of safe/good restaurants that they have tried and recommend to us. They don’t have an oven so they eat out a lot.
Yesterday was my first day of class. We arrived at the school decked out in our uniform ready to start the day. When we arrived the reality hit that we were actually starting today. Kids where running around everywhere and no one knew what we were supposed to be doing. After staff worship we were to go get our kids and line them up for the assembly. It was crazy in the gym…hot and noisy and kids doing whatever they felt like. It took awhile to get everyone to quiet down but eventually they were able to proceed with the assembly. After that was over the kids had an hour of recess and parents were walking around the school putting their kids stuff away (even though this was supposed to take place after recess).
I had about an hour with each of my third grade classes. We had just found out last Friday after we had all finished our lesson plans that Monday was only a half day and we were not to start teaching but just play games and get to know our kids. This was harder than is sounds the kids only seem to understand me half of the time and that is after I have repeated myself about 4 times. They are only to speak English in class but the kids that understand more English are always translating for each others. They do not understand the concept of staying in their seat or raising their hand and waiting to be called on without talking. They were constantly yelling Miss Miss or Teacher Teacher. And as soon as one kid says they need to go to the bathroom 12 other kids suddenly all need to go as well. We were all exhausted by the time 11:30 rolled around and all the kids left.
Last night at the parent meeting there was talk of a hurricane hitting Honduras. We all kind of joked about praying for the hurricane to come so we would not have to teach class today. This morning we woke up at 5:00 to get ready for school. We were at the school by around 6:50 only to be meet at the gate by the guard who told us school was canceled today and tomorrow because of the hurricane. They let us come in and I helped Stacy put up a few things in her class room that had fallen down. They asked us to make sure nothing was left on the ground incase things start to flood. We also were able to get online for a bit and look up stuff about hurricane. We have picked up a few extra groceries and got some extra water, just incase.
Roy said it would probably hit us sometime in the afternoon. It is now 12:00pm and the only thing that we have noticed that was different was the cloudy sky and wind starting to pick up. Even if all we get is a lot of rain that can cause trouble here. The river will start to flood and the drainage systems here are not that great so it means water will be building up and flooding streets and areas that are not even close to the river.
Kimmies dad just called and he has been keeping track of the Hurricane online and said we would probably be getting 60mph winds and lots of rain. She explained to him that it’s actually sunny outside rite now.
Well that’s all the news I have for now…I’ll let you know how this whole Hurricane thing ends up turning out.
Fun Facts about Food and our stores here in Honduras
We have named all our stores:
- We have a Wal-Mart (this is a grocery store that has Wal-Mart signs above the cash registers)
- Costco (is a real small store that is in a car garage type thing that sells Kirkland soymilk)
- The Street Market (this is the actual street market where people sell their produce, tortillas and what ever else they can)
- The Jumbo (this is the only grocery store that has an actual name)
A lot of things come in bags here. Just today Stacy and I went to the "Wal-Mart" and bought Ketchup in a bag. We also saw Mayo, and Mustard in a bag, oil, and we sometimes buy spaghetti sauce in a bag and refried beans in a bag (the picture of the beans looks like a really bad brown loaf but they are actually pretty good). It’s a lot cheaper to buy things in bags.
Written September 9, 2007
Well the hurricane was not bad by the time it got to us. I think it really hit around 2:30am. We got a lot of rain and some wind but nothing major. We really could have had school on Tuesday and Wednesday no problem. But it was nice to have those days off. I really don’t know how we would have made it through a whole week with those rowdy kids. I mean I know it will happen eventually but this week we have Thursday and Friday off and the following Monday because the 15th is Honduras Independence Day. That will be useful time to work on our lesson plans.
Tomorrow is Children’s day at the school. Yes they have children’s day here. I guess it’s just like Mothers or Fathers day except it’s for the kids. We only have class till noon then the last two hours the kids get to pretty much run free it sounds like. My 3rd grade class will be having pizza and a piñata.
We have officially made Sunday our market day. We buy all the food we will need throughout the week. We also buy beans that we cook so we can have beans for the week. We eat a lot of beans and we can buy 4 pounds for only 32lps (that’s about $1.50). We do have to pick through them and get rid of the bad ones and the rocks and dirt chunks but it’s so worth it because we save a lot of money by making our own. Norma taught us how to make tortillas Friday night so we also might start making tortillas on Sundays as well.
Stacy and I have been sick starting around Thursday. It was the worst Sabbath morning. We both work up and could hardly talk. We were all supposed to do Sabbath school at the church and teach English in the afternoon but since we were sick we stayed home and rested. We both feel much better today but are still pretty run down. I’m hoping tomorrow when I have to start yelling at the kids again my voice won’t go out on me.
We did some rearranging of rooms Friday. I am now in the other house with Kimmie, Stacy and Mark. Michelle traded rooms with Lori and Lori and Katrina are now rooming together. A bit crazy I know but it’s something that needed to be done. In our house we have not had water all weekend. It has not been very fun but thankfully the problem was fixed this afternoon. Not that it won’t keep happening but it is at least fixed for now.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Monday, August 27, 2007
First note from Honduras
Written Aug. 22, 2007
Wednesday Aug. 15th our flight came in around 3:10pm. Michelle, Lori and I were all on the same flight. We went through customs without much trouble and then went to get our luggage.
They drive to the school was defiantly an experience. Double yellow lines are merely recommendations here. And they seem to have a honking language that can mean many different things. Sometimes it seems to mean go ahead, watch out, I’m coming, what the heck are you doing, and taxis also honk to see if you want a ride.
Once we got to our house they split us up. They said two people would have to share a room Michelle and I said we did not mind sharing a room. Lori is also in this house with us and Karen will be in our house once she gets here. Mark and Katrina are the two SMs from southern and Kimmi and Stacy are in a place across the street.
Our house is pretty big. There are three bedrooms up stairs. Michelle and I have a bigger room with a bathroom connected. Then there are two other rooms and another bathroom. On the first floor we have a kitchen and dinning room and another bathroom with just a toilet and sink. We did not have a stove till yesterday so we have all just been eating together in the other house so we could use their stove. We think we would like to continue eating together. We will just rotate houses each night.
The school will have around 400 students. I just found out today that I will be teaching two 3rd grade classes in math, science, language, bible, and agriculture along with one 4th grade bible class.
We meet at the school everyday at 7:45 for a short worship with the teachers and staff. Then we normally have a little time to check email and then go to a meeting or two. We just got our books today so now we can start working on our lesson plans.
School starts on Sept. 3rd. Once school starts we will have to be to the school by 6:45 every morning for worship and then classes start at 7:00.
It is very hot here. By the end of the day it feels so good to take a cold shower to get rid the stickiness you have accumulated throughout the day. We have gone to the market everyday so far. It is fun to explore the town and try to communicate with the people. The street market where people are selling their stuff is much cheaper and the people have much better produce than the actual market does.
We have not had much rain yet but I guess we are getting into the rainy season. Last night I woke up to pouring rain at 2:00am. It seemed like it lasted forever. But normally the rain seems to come in spurts and not last long but when it rains it pours.
Written August 27, 2007
Last night we were in the middle of dinner and the power went out. Kimmi and Stacy ran and got flashlights. I said should make dinner by mag-light a Sunday tradition. After dinner we played phase 10 by candle light till the lights came back on. They were out for maybe an hour and a half or so. The teachers today said that power outages happen frequently and you never know when the lights will come back on so you have to be prepared with flashlights and candles and battery powered clocks.
Pretty much all Sunday we worked on our lesson plans…only to come to school today and have to change and revise a lot of what I had written. There is just so much work to do this week before classes start next Monday. We are also helping decorate the class room.
Anyway I should get back to work…
A lot of people have been asking for my address so here it is…
Mindy Smith C/O:
Esquela Bilingual Adventista Maranatha
Boulevard Cuarto Centanario
P.O. Box 322
Comayagua, Comayagua, Honduras
Wednesday Aug. 15th our flight came in around 3:10pm. Michelle, Lori and I were all on the same flight. We went through customs without much trouble and then went to get our luggage.
They drive to the school was defiantly an experience. Double yellow lines are merely recommendations here. And they seem to have a honking language that can mean many different things. Sometimes it seems to mean go ahead, watch out, I’m coming, what the heck are you doing, and taxis also honk to see if you want a ride.
Once we got to our house they split us up. They said two people would have to share a room Michelle and I said we did not mind sharing a room. Lori is also in this house with us and Karen will be in our house once she gets here. Mark and Katrina are the two SMs from southern and Kimmi and Stacy are in a place across the street.
Our house is pretty big. There are three bedrooms up stairs. Michelle and I have a bigger room with a bathroom connected. Then there are two other rooms and another bathroom. On the first floor we have a kitchen and dinning room and another bathroom with just a toilet and sink. We did not have a stove till yesterday so we have all just been eating together in the other house so we could use their stove. We think we would like to continue eating together. We will just rotate houses each night.
The school will have around 400 students. I just found out today that I will be teaching two 3rd grade classes in math, science, language, bible, and agriculture along with one 4th grade bible class.
We meet at the school everyday at 7:45 for a short worship with the teachers and staff. Then we normally have a little time to check email and then go to a meeting or two. We just got our books today so now we can start working on our lesson plans.
School starts on Sept. 3rd. Once school starts we will have to be to the school by 6:45 every morning for worship and then classes start at 7:00.
It is very hot here. By the end of the day it feels so good to take a cold shower to get rid the stickiness you have accumulated throughout the day. We have gone to the market everyday so far. It is fun to explore the town and try to communicate with the people. The street market where people are selling their stuff is much cheaper and the people have much better produce than the actual market does.
We have not had much rain yet but I guess we are getting into the rainy season. Last night I woke up to pouring rain at 2:00am. It seemed like it lasted forever. But normally the rain seems to come in spurts and not last long but when it rains it pours.
Written August 27, 2007
Last night we were in the middle of dinner and the power went out. Kimmi and Stacy ran and got flashlights. I said should make dinner by mag-light a Sunday tradition. After dinner we played phase 10 by candle light till the lights came back on. They were out for maybe an hour and a half or so. The teachers today said that power outages happen frequently and you never know when the lights will come back on so you have to be prepared with flashlights and candles and battery powered clocks.
Pretty much all Sunday we worked on our lesson plans…only to come to school today and have to change and revise a lot of what I had written. There is just so much work to do this week before classes start next Monday. We are also helping decorate the class room.
Anyway I should get back to work…
A lot of people have been asking for my address so here it is…
Mindy Smith C/O:
Esquela Bilingual Adventista Maranatha
Boulevard Cuarto Centanario
P.O. Box 322
Comayagua, Comayagua, Honduras
Monday, July 30, 2007
16 days till take off...
If you are reading this than I have made this for you! I already have a Myspace and a Facebook so I really did not think I needed a blog…but as I get ready to leave for Honduras to be a student missionary for the year I have had many people ask me to keep a blog. So here I am starting a blog…I hope this will keep you happy!
I have 16 days till I am in Honduras. Everything is coming together well. I picked up my plane ticket this morning! I also got the last shot I needed this afternoon; yeaaa no more needles! In these next two weeks I will continue working here in the dorm and I will be going to Seattle the next two weekends to visit family and friends!
Peace and Love!
Mindy
I have 16 days till I am in Honduras. Everything is coming together well. I picked up my plane ticket this morning! I also got the last shot I needed this afternoon; yeaaa no more needles! In these next two weeks I will continue working here in the dorm and I will be going to Seattle the next two weekends to visit family and friends!
Peace and Love!
Mindy
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