School, School, School

With all the business of school, we still found time for pranks. A life of excitement!

Well, this past week has been busy preparing for final grades and upcoming parent teacher conferences this Friday. But, none the less a well worth it week.

This past week, Shannon's (missionary family) father died so he went back to the states for five days. So, Kristi asked Kendall and me if we would spend the nights while her husband was gone. We were happy to help out, but it definitely was different getting out of my normal routine for school which made for a weekend where I could relax and take a few naps. It was nice to stay in a home where there were couches and purified water out of the sinks, but like they say there is no place like home (even if I have a home that is not always put together).

Anyways, my kids are finally learning the long vowel sounds and many words with the long vowels sounds. I am so happy to see their progress and keep reminding myself to take the little progress I have and be thankful for it. It would be so different if English was the first language, but because it isn’t my patience are definitely growing. I hope I can be that teacher for these kids that they will never forget whether they learned the long o sound or not. I am learning to keep life in perspective and enjoy the little moments. I do love it here and I am learning so much!

This weekend I played some soccer with the Minerva teachers (the other bilingual school in Gracias) and then on Sunday, believe it or not we had a super bowl party and projected the game onto a wall outside. It was fun to hang out.

Well, another week of school is ahead of me. I am looking forward to Wednesday because the sports teams from La Union. I practiced with the boys’ volleyball team today so it should be interesting how they do because some of the boys have never played volleyball in their life, let alone a game. So, it should be interesting. It is so fun to see the school grow as they get more sports and the students begin new things.

This Friday I have parent-teacher conferences so please pray that all goes well and that no parents are too upset with me. Help me to say the right words to the parents and encourage them.

Well, that’s all for today. Have a great week! Until next time!

A Good Week...and the Zoo

My new door decoration. My assistant does
WONDERFUL job!! Yeah for valentines!

School continues on. I cannot believe it is almost February and the weather here is absolutly perfect. I can't imagine sitting in Iowa around the heaters trying to stay warm. I am able to wear t-shirts and shorts everyday and not feel cold. I would have to say this is the first January I have ever felt this way!

Book Buddies

Taking a shot at the target.

 It isnt a lie when you say "time flies when you are having fun." I have been enjoying being here so much. Last week started off rough as usually but graducally got better. The fourth graders and my first graders started reading buddies with eachother. To our surprise, the kids LOVED having an older kid read to them and help them read. I do believe that it is helping my students a lot to have book read to them out loud. Also, a group of people from the hospital in San Pedro came to our school and gave all my first graders Bibles, played baseball with them and archory. The kids loved playing with them and as bad as it sounds I need to pry the Bibles away from them during school. The kids are so excited to be reading about God. I hope my kids continue to grow and learn everythign the Lord has blessed them with. Also, at the beginning of the year I tested my students for letter sounds/names and words. I have again tested them with the same sheet and it is rewarding to know that they have learned something. They know more than what they did before they came. I try to keep the slow reading proccess in this perspective, so I dont drive myself CRAZY. We have been working on long vowel sounds which throws a little bit of complexity to reading but for the most part the students have been handling it well. I struggle with keeping each Phonic lesson interesting and am trying to use my resources (that I have) and try new things.



We celebrated Mrs. Delmy's birthday.
We had a "surprise" party for her and my kids LOVED it!
We made nice little birthday hats!

This past week I went searching in our "library" ( books on shelves) for books that my kids could read. And I found many treasures of books. An organization in South Dakota donated many books and they were all leveled for my students. Therefore, I am able to get the appropriate book for each child right on reading level. I can't wait to have them take these book home to read.

Additionally, this weekend some of us went to Lago de Yajoa again, but this time we went to go see the zoo. One of the high school classes gets to go on a fieldtrip later in the year to the zoo, so we went to check it out before hand. It was a blast! The zoo was a Christian zoo—how cool!! They had worship music playing throughout the whole zoo and the staff was very friendly! It was awesome. The zoo was very hands on, clean, and there were a ton of animals!  There were Bible verses posted everywhere and the atmosphere was so pleasant. I had a wonderful time!

How sweet it was to be this close to God's creatures!

Now, I am back to school for another week. Today was one of those days where I wished I was home sick, but thankfully tomorrow is another day and all I can do is move forward and do my best for God's glory. I do look forward to going to school, but I am sure if you talk to any teacher you have those days of insanity. Now I understand what my mom means when she says "It is going to rain tonight because I can sense it in the kids." Crazy how true that is.

Well, its been a good time here in Honduras and if anyone feels like they want a little vacation to a warmer country  then please let me know! I would love to host you over here! Have a wonderful day and stay warm.

It has been a JOY

This past week has not always been easy, but it has been a joy. I would like to thank Dordt College for the use of their nice yellow bags. My kids love having reading books available at their desks and love their new white boards and markers inside their yellow bags. With a little creativity with shower curtian hooks and yellow bags my classroom is able to run more smoothly.

It is amazing how different each day of the week can be in a classroom. Monday and Tuesday this week were a little rough. The kids were more chatty and rowdy, but soon they calmed down throughout the week. One of the teachers from a previous year sent one of her friends to our school to visit my students and brought them some coockies. My kids were so excited to hear from one of their old teachers.

This weekend the teachers and I went out to eat at a local pulperia where the food is cheap and delicous. After the supper one of the teachers brough clue  back with her to Honduras. The first game was a flopped because Jenn guessed everything correctly on like the 3rd round. The 2nd game was a flop because the confidential envolope  did not have a person in it, but two rooms and a weapon. So, hopefully another day will be another good clue day. It is one of my favorite games so I am determined to play it again!

Saturday, I did a lot of school work and we headed off to Santa Rosa for the day. We went out to eat and I got a HUGE salad. You have no idea how much I miss my salads sometimes. I also tried this soup called Mondongo Soup (cows intestines or stomach  lining). It wouldnt be my first soup to eat but at least I can say that I tried it.  We did a little bit of grocery shopping and then headed back to Gracias.

Alone in the house, Kendall and I, were up to no good. We started brainstorming ideas of things we could do to our roommates. So, we drew a nice picture of a cockroach and taped it to their food cupboard. They have been having problems with cockroaches in tehre so we thought it would be perfect. When Jen and Jaime arrived home we we sat at the kitchen table playing the piano to the song La Cucaracha. The results were priceless. We also taped pens down to the desks (with clear tape) and other things so that when you go and grab them the person is unable to pick it up. Upon arriving home we put an open umbrella hanging from the door so when they opened the door they were hit with it (dumb I know, but what ever woorks to get a little laugh).

Today, I am headed off to the house church with Kristi and Shannon. We have been studying Romans and I am excited to learn more about what God has to say in Romans. I hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend! And I'll write again sooN!

A New Year for New Beginnings

Well, to be honest going back to school was not high on my priority list. I came into my time back fairly negative. Yes, I was excited to see my students and have routine again, but I was not not expecting my students to have changed so much. By the grace of God my students seemed to have made a complete 180. Not only in my first grade class but also in my 8th grade class. All the students have matured so much and have been trying so hard. Maybe it was me that had changed as well. Christmas gave me more of an open mind to think of new ideas and implement them into my classroom. The new year has made me a new person.

Over Christmas I went and observed in a first and eight grade classrom at Sioux Center Christian (thank you Mrs. Wierenga and Mrs. Broers). I enjoyed talking to them and getting new ideas on how to teach my students. I am not going to be the most perfect teacher, but as long as I am trying and continue to re-evaluate each situation I am doing all I can to the best of my ability that God has given me.

In my classroom, I run a "card" system which means green is good, yellow warning, orange not good and red go to the office. Well, if all my students stay on green all day I would bring them a treat the next day. Of course, this week they stayed on green ALL day and they got a treat from me. They were so excited (I never thought this day would come)! However, the next day because they were so excited they were not the best listeners. Well, I guess I live and I learn. What works and what doesnt work. I love my kids dearly, and I love Honduras. I know that this is where God wants me and he is working through me. I hope I can continue to be a blessing on my students and I thank God for the blessings they have been on me.

Thank you for all the love and support everyone back home has blessed me with! Have a blessed weekend and I will write again soon. Also, sorry I dont have any pictures to update on my blog...I guess this was more so a blog of reflection, thankfulness, and growing. Happy New Year!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its off to travel we go...

Well, I am back in the wonderful country of Honduras! The the sun is shining and the birds are singing. It's hard for me to imagine that I was just an Iowa a week ago where it was chilly and snow is in the forecast. I'm back, back to my place  I call home. I am so thankful to be back here where I feel the Lord has called me to do his work. It is not going to be easy getting back into the swing of things and going back to school. I hope and pray that I will have courage and wisdom is this upcoming year.


(Dec. 17) Well, I was blessed to get to go home for Christmas this year and spend a few weeks with my family. I enjoyed seeing my new little niece (Emma) and my other nieces and nephew. It is amazing how fast they grow. I enjoyed going to my Jill and Jena's basketball games and love watching them play. I also had a good time with my family and friends for Christmas and New Years, we celebrated together. Thanks again family for helping me come how for christmas!

A few days before I left to go home for Christmas, the school informed us that we would have an extended Christmas break until the 9th. Already having my flight paid for the 2nd coming back to Honduras, some of the other teachers and myself decided that we would take advantage of our break and do a little traveling. So, on Jan 2, I flew into San Pedro Sula and spent the night in a hotel with some of the other teachers. Early the next morning we headed off to the bus station to catch a bus to Porto Cortes where we would get on a bus to Guatamala. The bus dropped us off on the side of the road and where we got bombarded by many people wanting to exchange money. It was a bit over- 

The Guatamala boarder

whelming but we continued to walk. We walked passed a place that look like boarder control where they asked for one passport and then shooed us on to walk some more. On the other side of the boarder we caught a bus through Guatamala (2hour ride) where we saw the beautiful country side of Guatamala. We arrived at our port city where we ate a declicious meal and got ready to go on our boat ride which was called a ferry...but it was more like a small fishermens boat. The waves were fairly large and the rain was coming down so the captian gave us tarps to protect ourselves from the wind and the rain. This boat would then take us to Belize.

Boarder of Belize

On our boat to Belize

When we arrived to Belieze we asked for directions to get to Hopkins Bay. We got on the bus that we thought would take us to the beach. However, the bus took us to a fork in the road where we would have to wait for someone to pick us up. We were dropped off on the side of the road with a sign that says 5.6 miles to Hopkins bay. We thought and prayed about what we should do standing under the street light. A few miniutes later a police truck stops and asks if everything is okay. They told us to get in the back of the truck where they took us to Hopkins bay. We were so thankful for the ride.The people in Hopkins were SO friendly and kind. It was also comforting to know that everyone spoke English so we had no problem communicating with anyone. I instantly fell in love with the 
place.  We then looked for a nice place to stay and found this hotel right on the beach where our windows looked out into the waters. We loved our place! We ate a quick supper and headed off to bed because we were exhausted! The next day we spent most of the day enjoying the sun and the beach. We also rented bikes to go around the village and see more than we could of feet. I love Belize!

Our little Hotel where we pushed the beds together to fit 5

Our  view out of our hotel

Our new friend Jones

The next day we headed off to the city of Plecencia. This city is more touristy and also had many beautiful beaches. We stayed in a nice little cottage on the beach where we could sit in our hammock and watch the waves come in. We relaxed for most of the day, walked around the city and enjoyed eachother company. It was beautiful! I think one of my favorite parts were eathing supper at the Shak and watching about 5 dolphins jump out of the water. God is good. 


Our cottage in Plecencia

 The next mid morning (friday) we headed back to Honduras. We got on a ferry (more so a ferry than a boat but still small) and traveled 4 hours back to Honduras. I my stomach did feel a bit sick for a little part of the ride because the waves were large and rolling. But, we made it back safely to Honduras where we were bombarded by people wanting to exchange money with us. We headed from Porto Cortes to San Pedro Sula where we caught a bus back to Santa Rosa (only an hour from home). However, there were no more buses leaving for Gracias that night so we spent the night with a missionary family in Santa Rosa. We finally made it home early yesterday morning. Honduras welcomed us home with a fridge full of mold where Kendall and I tackled the mold with bleach, masks made from coffee filters, and bags protecting our hands. You got to be creative I guess! What a trip, four countries in about 24 hours (U.S., Honduras, Guatamala, Belize).



Well, hi ho, hi ho, its off to school  (and reality) I go.....(tomorrow)
I was so thankful to see all of you back in the states for Christmas and I am back in Honduras safe and sound. Thank you for all your support!