Wishing you a Merry Christmas

Another ecard by Smilebox

Christmas is almost here!

Well, the Halloween and Thanksgiving festivities have passed since our last post and now we look forward to the celebration of our Savior's birth. Since we're not back in Bothell, the girls longed for something that felt like home so the pestering about getting a Christmas tree began a day or two after Halloween. The parental guilt of not going home for Christmas added to our inability to hold out until after Thanksgiving. So, two weeks into November, our little tree was already up. We bought a few lights, ornaments, and a fairly cheap 6-foot tree and the girls took delight in decorating it. Since the tree was a bit short on ornaments, we decided to cut up some cardboard boxes and make ornaments of our own. It is a bit surreal to celebrate Christmas when it is sunny and 70 degrees every day but don't in any way take that as a complaint.

School is bumping along as normal with kids (and teachers) anxious for Christmas break and music concerts just a week away. Kimberly has been preparing all of her choir classes for this concert since August so please pray that things go as planned and that the students will perform their best. Over break, Kimberly's sister will be coming down for about nine days to check out our life here. We plan to take her to all the main sights here in Tegus and then spend four days hanging out on the beach in Amapala. It will be fun to play tour guide to our first visitor and even better to have someone from home to celebrate Christmas with.

On Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we had the opportunity to serve some less fortunate kids. There is a breakfast program at a small church in a rather poor part of Tegucigalpa that welcomes volunteers to help out. So, we packed up the girls and went with a few other teachers to help make breakfast and just hang out with the children. Our girls were fairly hesitant to go but after it was all done, they didn't want to leave and asked when we would return. It is such a blessing to see the joy our daughters get by serving others. We figured that a good expression of our thanksgiving would be to extend our time and energy to others. It was an enriching experience that we hope to do again sometime soon.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! Here are a few photos of our fall party, Christmas tree decorating, Thanksgiving, and volunteering in Tegus.
November 2010 Photos

Fun in the sun!

The first quarter of the school year is now over and we're rapidly headed into the holiday season. For Kimberly, this means that the choir class rehearsals are limited before the Christmas concerts. As any performance-based teacher knows, it never feels like you are ready but things generally do fall into place on the big day. For me, this time of year is busy for seniors completing college applications and scrambling for scholarships in order to pay for college. There is no such thing as "in-state" tuition for these students so finding financial resources to help cover college costs is often the deciding factor of whether or not to go to the states for college. I also start coaching high school boys soccer this week. The girls will also be starting up ballet lessons in the next few weeks. There aren't many extracurricular options for elementary kids here so they (and we) are looking forward to this new opportunity for fun and exercise. Please keep us all in your thought/prayers as we enter this new season.

Some of you may wonder what our mission is here? Well, although this is a private Christian bilingual school, the main reason that many families send their students here is for the opportunity to learn English. They don't mind that it is a Christian school as long as their student is taught in English and has the opportunity to some day go to the states for college. Although Kimberly had high hopes of serving single mothers in some capacity and perhaps will be able to in the future, our main objective is to serve the students at Pinares and be a light to them and their families. This is fresh on our minds as we are in the midst of spiritual emphasis week here at the school. We are blessed to be surrounded by a wonderful staff who share in this mission.

On another note, we were able to take our first vacation here in Honduras. It was nice to see more of this beautiful country. The weather was fantastic (85-90 degrees) and the time for rest and relaxation was even better. We continue to praise God for providing a car for us so that we could take this trip to Coyolito (near Amapala on the Pacific coast). It was a 3-4 hour drive on paved, gravel, and dirt roads. My ability to dodge potholes is becoming an artform. While in Coyolito and Amapala, our eyes were opened to the fact that even in "touristy" areas, the poverty is still prevalent. Case in point, Bernabe, our "captain" for the weekend, has lived his whole life in the area surviving as a fisherman. He was telling us that it has been a hard life with little opportunity to make a living. When asked about his family, he proudly spoke of his daughter who now lives in Texas working at a restaurant for $200/week. We might see her financial situation as poor and deprived but to Bernabe, she had "made it" and was well off. Hmmm...perspectives. Bernabe was happy to take us by boat from island to island in the bay for the weekend knowing that this may be one of the few times he could earn money this week (or even this month). Below are two links to photos of some bugs, insects, and zoo animals here in Honduras and photos of our weekend getaway. Although we do miss our friends and family, we don't particularly miss the weather. 80 degrees every day here in Tegucigalpa is treating us just fine. We hope you are all doing well!

Bugs, insects, and zoo animals
Trip to Coyolito and Amapala

October is here already!

So, here we are in October and we can even feel the fall season in the air here in Honduras.  The last few days have been chilly (55-60 degrees) in the mornings so the Hondurans throw on their winter coats, hats, and gloves.  By the afternoon, the temps rise back up to 75 or so.  For those of us who are used to the lower temps, we appreciate the autumn chill as it reminds us of home.  While somewhat embarrassing to admit, I found myself scanning the pages of an October 2007 Martha Stewart magazine and reminiscing about October activities.  We hope you all are enjoying the change in seasons.  Here in Honduras, there really isn't a fall season so this little "cold" spell has actually been somewhat welcome.

The reality of life here in Honduras is sinking in more and more as we experience things and hear stories about students at our own school. We are quite safe here at the school because we are outside of the city about 20 minutes but here are few things that we've seen or heard since arriving.  First of all, we attended a church service downtown a couple of weeks ago and on our way to the bus stop, a crowd had gathered at the edge of a river that flows through the city. I, of course, had to see what was going on and saw the police pulling a dead body out of the river...not something you see every day.  The kids asked about what was going on and it lead to a nice discussion about being smart and safe here in Honduras.  Another story I'd like to share is that of an elementary student here at Academia Los Pinares (ALP).  She was riding in the family car with her single mother last year when some guys came up to the car, shot both of them, and took off.  Unfortunately, her mother died yet she lived and has bullet scars on her neck as a reminder of the tragedy.  Since then, people have surrounded her with love and support and she has been able to continue to attend here at ALP.  My last story is of another student whose father was assassinated last year.  He held the position of drug czar here in Honduras.  One day after he dropped his student off at school, he was followed back into town and was ambushed while stopped at an intersection.  I mention all of these not to strike fear or cause worry but just to portray some of the differences in safety that people have to live with here in Honduras.  I urge you to truly be thankful for the general order and safety you experience in the states.  It's not like that everywhere.

On a more positive note, we recently purchased a used Honda Accord from one of the teachers here.  We were feeling a bit isolated without transportation so this car is truly a blessing.  Below is a slideshow of a few activities we've been involved in over the past month or so.  We are enjoying our time here yet do miss you all and think of you often.

Now we are in the swing of things!

Here we are, into our fifth week of school already.  It has been a whirlwind with trying to get the family settled in, preparing for new jobs, adjusting to a different culture, finding a new church, etc. but now it is finally starting to feel like home away from home.  Kimberly is teaching 5th and 6th grade general music as well as 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th-12th choirs.  While it has been difficult to adjust to teaching full-time again, she has mentioned how much she enjoys her job here.  There are two secondary counselors so my partner is taking on grades 7-9 while I'll be working mostly with grades 10-12.  This is the group I'm most comfortable working with so it is a great set up here. I must say that the job here is very different from working in the public school back in Washington.  I don't have to do any course scheduling and things are generally much more relaxed here.

The girls started off the school year fairly well too.  Amelia began kindergarten with Mrs. Hernandez and she looks so cute in her little school uniform (see photos at link below).  The class is taught in both English and Spanish until Christmas so she'll probably be the one to pick up the language faster than anyone.  She says that she doesn't understand what is going on sometimes, she still has a smile on her face and a positive attitude.   Clara started 2nd grade with Miss Hydeen and she seems to be doing quite well in class.  She's a bit more reserved than the others when it comes to meeting new people so she doesn't have many friends yet.  She has a few classmates she occasionally hangs out with but no one who she considers a close friend yet.  Please keep this in your prayers.  Maddi is in 4th grade with Miss Frasso.  All three of the girls' teachers are fairly young and "hip".  I'm not sure where Mrs. Hernandez is from originally, but she is now married to a Honduran and has lived here quite a while.  Clara and Maddi's teachers are ironically both from Michigan and I think this is their 2nd or 3rd years teaching here.  All the girls are being challenged academically as well which is nice to see.  They may not be too fond of it, but we like it ;)  Last Friday was "Day of the Child" so each classroom had a party with games and plenty of sugary food. The Honduran parents go all-out for this affair.  The girls wondered why we don't celebrate this back in the states.  I told them that when they come up with "Day of the Adult", we can then celebrate both of them back at home.  Independence Day is on Wednesday this week so we work two days, have a day off, and work two more days.  Viva Honduras!

For prayer requests, please pray for good health.  Maddi came down with a fever and runny nose last Thursday and has battled the fever all weekend.  Tylenol has helped keep it down but it seems to keep returning.  She did go to school today but looked exhausted.  I won't be too surprised if she ends up in the nurse's office.  Amelia seems to be coming down with a cough as well.  Please pray for healing for both of them and protection from illness for the rest of us.  Thank you and click the links below to enjoy some more photos of Academia Los Pinares and the open market downtown.

Academia Los Pinares
Downtown and the open market

We're here!

Well, we finally arrived here in Tegucigalpa just over a week ago.  It's been quite a whirlwind past few weeks so it is nice to get settled into our home here.  Two weeks ago we were moving furniture into storage, painting rooms, cleaning every nook and cranny of our house, packing bags, and making decisions about what to keep, throw away, or donate.  Fortunately, we had a few days after moving out to chill with the Bells and say our goodbyes to family and friends.  We took a red-eye flight at 12:45am on Wednesday, August 4th and arrived here in Honduras at around noon.  All things considered, the flights went very well and our kids did much better than I expected.  That's not to say there weren't tears shed or tired whines heard from time to time, but overall, they did great considering they only slept a few hours that day.

For the past week or so, we've been getting settled into our house and attending teacher orientations.  We are very blessed to have neighbors next to us with 6 kids.  Our girls have spent a lot of time with them and have developed some great friends already.  We also have a maid named Maria 5 days a week which is normal for teachers here and is truly a blessing for us.  She cleans, does laundry, watches the kids for us, and even cooks.  She has already made some awesome homemade flour and corn tortillas, Honduran beans and rice, fresh squeezed orange juice, plus a few other things I don't even know the name of yet.  Regardless, they are all delicious.  We could really get used to this.

For prayer requests, we just ask that you pray that the school year would start of well for us and our girls (school starts next Thursday), that we would stay protected and healthy (there's a bit of a dengue fever outbreak in Honduras right now), and that all of us would adjust well to this new culture.  We truly want to immerse ourselves into it as much as possible and hope that our lives can be a witness to the students and families we serve here at Academia Los Pinares.

Here are a couple of links to our photos here in Honduras, so enjoy:
Our house and Tegucigalpa
A typical Honduran home

Our support letter

We finally met with the missions council at our church and been given the OK to send out our support letter.  The letter covers why we are going to Honduras and what we'll be doing there.  We also ask that you support us with your prayers and if you feel led to support us financially, there is info about how to do that as well.

Support Letter

We are still looking for a renter for our house, so if you know of anyone looking, please pass our info along to them.  Click here to go to our house ad.  We also need to find a home for our cats if anyone out there is interested in a couple of laid-back black cats (14 and 15 years old), let us know.  

On a more fun note, I'm pretty excited about the USA advancing in the World Cup tourney.  I nearly pulled my hamstring jumping out of my chair when Landon Donovan tucked the ball in the back of the net in stoppage time.  We're headed out on a 6-day camping trip on Saturday.....but not until after the USA vs. Ghana game.  Priorities.  Go USA!

Things are starting to move quickly!

Well, here we are just under two months to go until we leave.  A few weeks ago, we bought our tickets for an August 4th flight.  Wow, that really makes it all sink in.  The big news today is that we sold our beloved Subaru to another couple with three kids here in Bothell.  Craigslist is awesome.  It only took about a week to sell.  So long buddy....it's been nice driving ya.

Fortunately, we're storing my mother-in-law's car here until she arrives in late July so at least I have some form of transportation until then.  Our house is now official up for rent and is listed online.  If you know anyone interested in a nice rambler at a good price in Bothell, please let them know about it. We're also working on a support letter and will send/post it when we have it all ready to go.  It is amazing to see how God has provided for us as we prepare to go.  It's just a confirmation that this is all a part of His plan for our lives right now.

Oh my, the details!

While the excitement and anticipation is obviously still there for our trip, the reality of preparing for it is setting in. Rent the house, sell the car, rent a storage unit, organize our finances, decide what to pack, etc., etc.  Ugh.  Today's chore has been sorting through some of the clothes we need to get rid of, those we want to store here, and those we want to bring.  This is just the beginning of this process but I guess you need to start somewhere.  We also went shopping for luggage today.  It truly is unbelievable how much the stuff costs.  Oh well, we're going to need it so we went ahead and bought 5 large suitcases that are just under the allowable size for airlines. The extra $150 per oversized bag is not a surprise fee we want to be faced with on travel day so we measured the bags before purchasing.  The girls had a great time "shopping" and had claimed their own uniquely colored suitcases in a matter of seconds.  Surprisingly there wasn't any conflict involved....there were three to choose from and each girl was happy with their choice.  Another evidence that God is at work.  Seriously.

Just for fun, we added two new things to our blog.  One, attached to this post, is a Google Earth video flight from our house to the school we'll be working at.  Enjoy.  The other is that you can leave a voice message for us anytime as long as you have a microphone on your computer.  Press the blue "Click to Call Bryan and Kim" button and it will start recording whatever you want to say.  When you are done, press the button again and BINGO, it is automatically sent to us.  We'd love to hear your voice in addition to your comments/emails.  Just as a reminder, feel free to subscribe to or "follow" our blog.  We'd love to keep you updated with what we're up to.

First post on our new blog!

So here it is....our first post.  Kimberly and I are excited to announce that we have applied for, been offered positions, and signed one-year contracts to work at Academia Los Pinares in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.  I'll be working as a secondary school counselor and Kimberly will be an elementary music teacher.  The Lord, in his perfect timing, has allowed a variety of things to fall into place for us to go.  We have talked about working overseas again (we worked at a school in Paraguay from 1998-2000) for many years and now we are actually doing it.  There are quite a few things to organize and details to take care of but we know that God's hand is in this so we're confident that it will all work out.  We ask that you all keep us in your prayers as we prepare to go (Aug. 4th) and when we start our work in Honduras. 

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