FEBRUARY
I went to a birthday party of one of my students. It was really fun getting to know her family. They own land 45 minutes away from the city with horses, lots of land, and a one story house with a wrap-around-porch. It was fun to hit a piñata. I hadn't done that in so many years. The best part was how all the people of every age group collected the candy.
February is also the month of love. Here in Honduras they call it "Dia de amor y amistad" which means Day of Love and Friendship. I love this because it's the truth... that's what this day should be about. I celebrated it with some Honduran friends and Keri (of course). We had a lovely shrimp dinner :)
I've been coaching soccer for the Varsity girls' team with Mr. Aleman. It has been a lot of fun getting to know this group of girls. There are 18 of them, Freshman through Seniors. I love to play the game, but I don't know the technics and that's wear the other coach comes in. We did not have the best season, but we made it to the ABSH tournament which is a huge competition between the 3 best schools in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula.
At the end of this month, we had a teachers retreat with ALL the teachers at Pinares and their families. I got to jump off a cliff into water, go behind a waterfall, play American football and soccer, and bond with the Honduran teachers. It was a fun time of fellowship, worship, and adventure. I had not been to Lake Yojoa since I was little, so that was pretty sweet.
March
The first week of March I was out of school for 3 days with my soccer team. We had so much fun playing soccer and shopping. (The best of both worlds for these girls). We didn't place to get a trophy, but the varsity boys got 4th place.
Family Fun Day was the 2nd Saturday of the month. It's a way for high school classes to raise money for their class funds. It was crazy to see signs that said Class of 2016. Throwing waterballoons at your teacher was definitely a highlight.
I went to another birthday party for a Kindergarten student with Keri. She's now the kindergarten teacher and it was her first birthday party here. Birthday parties are a big deal here. You invite all the kids in your class, the teacher, and family. That makes for a lot of people. The party was held at the children's museum here. The theme was Lion King and the piñata was as big as the students.
As many of you read on my Facebook status, my family in Japan is doing okay. My grandmother and aunt live near Tokyo. They had been without water and electricity for a few days, but thankfully, they have those things now. It made me reflect on my day and how much I rely on these things. I challenge you to take a moment and list all the things/times you needed water or electricity. It's definitely something we all take for granted. It's a tragic disaster all that is going on in the mainland of Japan.
Unfortunately, Tegucigalpa has been in some turmoil as well. The public school teachers have been holding strikes on made roads for the last 2 weeks. March 17 is St. Patrick's Day and we didn't have school due to the people on the streets. The teachers and rioters throw rocks at cars, buses, taxis, and policemen. They had to throw tear gas on the road to calm the people down. Although things were going on in the city, the mountain was peaceful as always. My housemate had her birthday party with an Alice in the Wonderland theme. I was the Queen of Hearts and half hour later, the bunny. Here's the cast:
Father's Day was celebrated on March 19 and the students had a concert. (My kids are on the far left)
My church, Impacto, had their 10th anniversary celebration on Sunday. It was a beautiful service with hundreds of people coming up to profess their gratitude to the church. They had people come up and light candles if they had given their lives to Christ because of the church ministry. It was amazing to see all those people of all ages! After the service we had Honduran food and soccer. We went to church at 9 am and didn't get home until 5 pm. I wish every Sunday was like that.
Now, we're almost up-to-date... Yesterday, Francisco, Keri, and I went to the circus. I've never been because I have a phobia of clowns and start crying the instant I see them. Well, I fought my fears and it was really fun. The clowns only had their mouths painted, so I wasn't too scared unless they got near me. The acrobatics and animals were fascinating. I even got to ride an elephant!!
I'm going to update this thing more often. Sorry it was such a long post, but I hope you get a glimpse of my life down here. There's always a story to tell. For my petitions, continue to pray for Japan and other countries in the world. Until next time... hugs and kisses.
