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.