Soon!

We are just hours away from being State-side.  Can't wait! 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

(in case we don't get a chance to update while we are on vacation)

Christmas Break

It is hard to believe we’ve only lived in Honduras for a little over four months.  The time has flown by, and it’s already time to pack our bags and head to the states for Christmas.  We’ve been thinking about all the things we've missed in the past four months and also made a list of things we want to bring back with us. 

Here is a short list of a few things we are looking forward to…

1. Driving in an organized road system (with traffic laws that are obeyed and enforced)

2. Road signs

3. U.S. Dollars

4. Signs in English

5. Family

6. Flushing toilet paper (Tim's #1 choice)

7. Hot water in the sinks (Tim's #2)

8. Reliable electricity

9. Heat
10. Trash cans that get used (Tim's #3)

Even though teaching in Honduras is enjoyable and learning a new culture has been exciting, I'm looking forward to a break away from the confusion to a place of comfort and familiarity.  However, I’m sure I’ll be ready to return to my new home in two weeks.

Merry Christmas

Thankgiving with the Neighbors!

We planned to go on a trip over Thanksgiving break, but it just didn't work out.  So we decided to cook our own meal.  Ruth and I worked hard on the turkey as well as LOTS of other items.  Susan made amazing mashed potatoes and hot apple cider!  The six of us enjoyed spending the day together.  Of course there was football on TV for the guys, a huge bird for them to carve (way to go Luke!), and then later a movie to relax after a long, hard day cooking and eating.

Before putting the turkey in the oven...

...the finished product! It was delicious!  Good job Ruth! :-D

Working hard carving the turkey perfectly.

Homemade pumpkin pie...by Ruth Holtrop

 
Friday, the six of us piled in Susan and Joe's car and headed to a Bed and Breakfast down the road.  We rode horses for a little while, played card games, had a great dinner at the restaurant, and finally watched a movie before heading to bed.  It was such a relaxing time away from home with friends.  Saturday we rode horses once more (Tim was an expert by the end) before rushing home to watch the Michigan Ohio State game (MgoBlue!!!).  Ruth and I decided to watch a movie during the game, but we still heard the guys yelling from the house next door.

 We had a great weekend of relaxing and spending time with friends.  Now we are all ready for our Christmas break! :-)

Tim and I, Susan and Joe, Luke and Ruth

Tim and I are so thankful for the opportunity to serve here in Honduras and for the many friends we have made in the past four months.

Thanksgiving Party in My Class

Here at Pinares we have Thanksgiving (Thursday and Friday) off from school.  Thanksgiving is not a holiday that Hondurans celebrate but some parents told me they enjoy spending the day with their families, having a nice meal, and thanking God for the many blessings He has provided.  Two sets of parents signed up to plan our class Thanksgiving party.  They did an amazing job and I wanted to share some pictures of the food they provided.

Such a cute idea! 

We Saw Jesus!!!

One of the advantages of living in the mountain of El Hatillo is that you have breathtaking views near El Picacho ("the statue").

El Picacho is a park that is full of beautiful scenery... and of course JesuCristo.

Jesus stands at an impressive 65' in the air on a 40' pedestal.  From a distance when you first see him, he looks clean shaven.  Kinda funny.

The park was absolutely beautiful w/ gardens and reconstructions of ancient Mayan buildings.

And busts of famous Honduran leaders =-D  There is even a statue of Confucius at this place.  Pretty impressive park if you ask me.

There was a lemon tree that Stephen and Tim decided was worth the eating... we were pretty hungry.

Happy Birthday, Lori!

Today is yet another sisters birthday and she's turning 20!! :-)  I wish I could be there to celebrate with her but I keep reminding myself we only have 26 days till we fly to visit them all for Christmas!  Time is flying by.

Well here are a few pictures of Lori.  I love you and hope you enjoy this special day!

Sorry, Lori! I just had to post this! haha

Happy Birthday, Traci!

Well today is my sister-in-laws birthday.  A big family party took place at my parents house and since I wasn't there to wish her a happy birthday in person, I'm going to do it over the internet! :-)

Happy Birthday, Traci!  I love and miss you!

Wii Bowling :-)  Great job Traci!

I miss hanging out with all the girls! 

I miss being around my family especially on those special occasions.   But Christmas is right around the corner and I'll be able to spend it with the whole family! 

Loving Prezi's

I have recently switched from the old standby PowerPoint and switched to Prezi's.  I love the Prezi's, they are so much easier and a lot more fun.  Here is a presentation I made of a comprehensive definition of the gospel below.  Try it out and tell me what you think.

The Gospel on Prezi

The definition is not perfect, and it is certainly long.  But it is a good representation of the 4 key aspects that the Bible lays out for the gospel. 

Spiritual Life Week & Haggai

Last week was ALP's "Spiritual Life Week" on campus.  For 4 days, the high school had chapel and some other events.  Of the 4 chapel days, I spoke 3 of them for a total of 9 preaching engagements ("talk" rather than "sermon" is the cook, relevant terms these days).  I was mentally exhausted by the end of it, but God did some awesome things.

I did a series on the book of Haggai (pronounced Hagg-ai NOT Hagg-ee-ai).  It was a tough message especially for teenagers.  But God's Word is always powerful.  For some background, Haggai was addressed to the post-exile Jews who returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity.  They found Jerusalem in shambles with the Solomonic Temple destroyed.  After building the foundation for a new temple, the people left it for 18 years and built for themselves "paneled houses."  The series went like this:

Serve God first and foremost (chpt. 1).  The thrust of chpt 1 is to motivate the people to rebuild the temple.  The people's avoidance of the temple communicated 2 major things: they did not care about worshiping God and they did not care about the presence of God.  You see, the temple was the dwelling place of God, the house of God.  God residing with Israel is in part what distinguished them from the nations (for the nations).  It was also the ordained Old Covenant format of worship.  No temple means no sacrifices and etc.  They avoided God, and instead built their own houses and livelihoods.

Chapter 1 is a radical message that ministry to God come before everything: family, friends, comforts of life, and so on.  So often, we put our own needs first, but God demands from his disciples first in everything.  This was the primary thrust of Jesus call to followers-all or nothing.  But he wasn't the first to preach a radical message.  Haggai did the same.

Not only should God come before everything else, our service for him is more important than everything else.  I am not convinced that the Bible says family is the first "institution" that should have our focus.  I believe our focus should be solely and completely on Jesus.  He is the one that requires everything of his followers, even our family and lives.  This is the implication of Haggai.

Chpt. 2 addresses the 2nd problem, the presence of God, by reassuring the people that his presence would return.  Imagine the situation.  The temple of Solomon, so beautiful and magnificent, has been destroyed.  This new temple is really no comparison in its majesty.  Yet God reassures his people that the value of the temple is not how it looks but based on the One who dwells in it.

This was also significant since the concept of God's dwelling w/ his people is a constant theme throughout the Bible.  When his glory left the temple as mentioned in Ezekiel, it was a big encouragement for God to say, "I am with you."  The focus of believers should not be heaven or a place but rather the presence of God.  Just as the Israelites understood that entering the promised land w/out the presence of God was not a good thing, Christians need to have a Christ-centered focus and not a heaven-centered focus.  Heaven is after all a creation.  To desire a creation over its creator is idolatry (cf. Phil. 3:7-9)

Ultimately, the new temple brought the elderly Jews who had seen Solomon's temple to tears (cf. Ezra 3), yet Haggai says that the glory of the 2nd temple was greater.  I believe that this is progressively fulfilled in Jesus as the new temple who judges Herod's temple and points people to worship him rather than a place (big theme in John's gospel account), the church is expanded as the temple of God w/ the Spirit residing in us, and ultimately the New Jerusalem is one large temple where all the nations gather to glorify God as he promises to dwell with his people and be their God (beautiful covenant language and fulfillment in Rev. 21:3ff).  This prophecy was a big encouragement to keep working no matter what the new temple looks like.

The last 3 verses of chpt 2 are very messianic.  There is exodus language, and clearly Zerubbabel is a figure of Jesus.  God, who takes his grandfather Jehoiachin off as a signet ring, re-establishes the Davidic line by making Zerubbabel his new signet ring.  This New David would conquer the enemies and shake the world.  This earth shaking event is described in exodus terms, bringing the thought of a New Exodus to mind.  Redemption is provided by the New David, Jesus Christ.  This is the final encouragement to the people, that there is a New David coming who will bring the people a New Exodus.


I praise the Lord for how he used this series.  At least one child that I know of committed to follow Jesus.  Other teachers told me how there perspective was refocused on Jesus.  Praise the Lord for his grace!!!

Rainy Season

When we arrived in Honduras I thought we were in the middle of rainy season.  It would rain almost every evening.  But then October came.  I have never seen so much rain and MUD!  I took a few pictures one day on our way home from church.  We were headed back up the mountain and it felt like we were driving up a river.  If we ever bought a car here it would have to be an SUV of some sort.  Small cars were struggling.  During these few weeks of constant rain roads washed away in parts of Tegucigalpa, people were flooded out of their homes (further down the mountain), and everything appeared to turn to mud.

It seemed that everyday at around 10:50 am it started to pour down rain which was right before our recess time, and my poor students (actually poor teachers) couldn't go outside to get their energy out. I took a picture during one of our indoor recess times.  It looked like a river was running through the middle of their soccer field.

Tim and I had to wear our rain boots to school a couple times because our road was pure mud and very slick.  Some people slid on the road when they tried to walk to the school gate.  Thankful we live right across from the gate so we don't have to walk on the road very far.

I know these pictures are hard to see but it's just because they were taken inside a car and it was pouring down rain. :-)

I wouldn't buy a small car while in Honduras.

Lots of traffic and lots of water rushing down the hill.  There is actually a small ditch on the right side of the road that is for the water.  Clearly, it was overwhelmed in the storm.

This is our road.  Once you get around the curve (where the other car is) the ALP houses begin. 

The top left side of the picture is part of the soccer field.  There are little streams flowing through it after a hard rain.  This is our recess time.  :-( Poor kids!

It's hard to see in the picture but top part of the side walk is a huge puddle of water.  My kids enjoyed jumping in it when we were headed to the buses.  (And there is a river running down the hill.)

I LOVE MY JOB!

I LOVE teaching here in Honduras and especially at ALP.  These students are so sweet!  I finally took pictures of them and wanted to share.

They're all working so hard!

Math Groups

Aren't they cuties!!  I enjoy going to work every morning to teach these students.  Everyday I learn something new about them.  They LOVE it when I share stories about my life and family back in the states.  These students find joy in the simplest things like having homemade cookies as a reward or an extra 10 minutes of recess.  Teaching at this school has brought back my love for teaching.  The stress level is so low compared to how I felt back in the states.  I praise the Lord everyday for giving me the opportunity to teach here in Honduras!

Thoughts from a year ago...

The other day I went through the documents I've saved on my computer and I found a "journal" entry.  I wrote it about a year ago, and at the time I was uneasy about my job and with the reduction in force taking place in NC.  I was on the list (or so I thought).  It was a stressful period, but God gave me peace right when I needed it.  Ironically enough, I wrote this about five months before we even heard about ALP.

Here are my thoughts from a year ago...

The possibility of me losing my job in less than year is not a scary thought.  It’s actually quite exciting!  When Tim “lost” his job a year ago it was frightening at the time, but looking back we see that God had plans for us that we just didn’t see.  Tim and I have grown closer to each other  as well as to God during this time.  Losing my job would open up the possibility for a new ministry.  God may be closing the door to my ministry at Newport Elementary but a new opportunity will arise, whether here in North Carolina, the United States, or another country.  I don’t know what the future holds but if my time is limited at Newport, then I need to get busy and share the good news of the gospel as much as I can. 

Acts 11:17 – In chapter 11 of Acts, Peter is explaining why he went and ministered to the Gentiles and how they were filled with the Holy Spirit.  In verse 17 he gives a flat statement that no one can argue with.  “If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”  Applying this to my life my statement would be, “If God has closed the door to this job, who am I to complain or worry about the next step in our lives?  Who am I to stand in God’s way of leading my life where He wants me?  Isn’t that what I’ve been praying for all my life?”  Yes this job loss is scary because I don’t know where or what we will do next, but God knows!  That should be comforting enough for me. 

Speaking of radical statements, the men and women of the Bible gave up what they had (family, money, jobs, and so on) to serve God fully.  I’ve prayed for God to use me how and where He sees fit.  This is God answering that prayer!

Honduran Vacation

Liz and I had an amazing opportunity to take a short 4 day 3 night trip to Isla del Tigre (“Tiger Island”) and experience a truly authentic Honduran vacation.  In other words, hardly any gringos go to vacation at this island.  The occasion was for the Honduran independence day, so we had Thursday and Friday off of school.

Isla del Tigre

We drove down with some other teachers who have vehicles.  On the way, we stopped at a cool restaurant that had a zoo out back.  After looking at the exotic animals (my favorite was the puma which growled at me), we had an amazing breakfast.  The beans tasted out of this world!  Of course, Liz wouldn’t touch it.

We finally arrived at the dock where we would take a ferry to the island.  The view was stunning.  The ride was pretty fun too.  Liz and I (along with Luke & Ruth Holtrop) looked extremely out of place.  It was so obvious that we had no idea where we were going (still not sure where we had made reservations), a random person walked up to us and spoke in perfect English.  Praise the Lord!  It turned out she was from Atlanta, GA.  We never saw her the rest of the trip. 

She got us set up in our hotel.  While this place was not a 5 star hotel by any means, it was surprisingly clean.  But the best thing about it was the A/C.  Once I could figure out how to run it, our room was cold.  After all, they don’t have much use of comforters in Central America, so the paper thin sheet didn’t do much for body heat.  We also had our own patio complete with some plastic tables and chairs as well as two hammocks. 

The view from our room was pretty cool as well.  After living at the beach for 4 years, it was a nice change to look out over the ocean and see more islands rather than the vast expanse of an endless ocean.  Our hotel also had a great restaurant (more about that later).  It was also the hub for much of the commerce and taxi service.  So when the sun came up, the noise came up too.  But I was used to getting up at sun-up.  It made it a wonderful time to get some coffee from the restaurant below and read. 

The view from our hotel door

The restaurant (our hotel is behind it)

Taxi Service

Our first day there, we went to a nearby beach.  That was the first time we rode in a tuk-tuk (mini-taxi). The 4 of us (plus driver) squeezed in and got down the road.  The beach was fairly secluded, except for the random donkeys.  They didn’t bother us very much though.  More families started showing up, and after wading in the heated water in that bay, we decided to leave after 2 hours of warmth from sun or water. 

Our first night there, we ate at the restaurant.  It was a larger menu than I expected.  The fish was advertised in small, medium, large, and very large (in Espanol of course).  Both Luke and I were a bit timid about trying the fish, so I went with the carne meal while Ruth and Liz got a chicken sandwich.  Luke opted for the fried chicken.  Everyone enjoyed the food, but the best was yet to come. 

The next day, we visited playa de grande (“long beach”) where the other 6 teachers were staying.  That beach was a bit busier.  It even attracted jelly fish, which we saw about 5 (the kids enjoyed pulling them out of the water).  The beach also had a cool cave that if you were daring enough, you could swim through to the light at the end of the tunnel.  That is, if the bats didn’t swarm you.  We cracked open a coconut to try the local fruit.  Not a huge fan.  Luke and I got the chance to fish a little bit off of a pier of some an extremely nice Honduran family whose daughter is an alumna of our school.  We have an open invitation to return whenever we want.  We didn’t have any luck with the fishing, though Luke got a few bites.  I snagged the rig I was using, so I swam out (during high tide) to try to loosen it.  My effort was to no avail.  I felt bad returning his rod without a rig.  But he didn’t mind too much. 

Leaving that beach was an adventure.  We wanted to stay for the sunset since it faced east.  The rain clouds started to approach as it was getting dark, and we could not find a tuk-tuk‼!  Eventually, our hero Michael (name???), came to our rescue and took us back to our hotel.  Since we were famished, Luke and I decided to be bold and try the fish.  How I wish I would have done that a day earlier.  We got the medium fish (which came with fried plantain slices) for $5‼!  It filled me up and then some.  And the flavor was absolutely mouth-watering.  I knew what I was getting the next night.  Liz was somewhat sickened by the fact that the fish still retained its head.  But I loved it.  It was fried in some way.  When you finished the first side, you flipped it over and ate the other.  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

The last full day on the island, we decided to go to new beach – play de negra (“black beach”).  This was my favorite of all.  You could see parts of El Salvador and Nicaragua from this one place.  The beach was smaller, but the water was much more refreshing.  Although, we had to run off some dogs that wanted to sniff our stuff.  They weren’t the only ones confused about our practice of laying out on the beach.  People in Central America prefer to be lighter skinned because those darker skinned people are clearly not as rich since they must work outside.  Therefore, to stay cool and to stay light, people always remain in the shade.  And there we are, rolling out 4 towels and laying in the sunlight trying to get darker.  Oh the irony. 

We visited the main city of the island, Amapala.  It was a quaint place complete with a large Catholic church and ice cream shop.  We met a man named Bob who spoke fairly good English and tried to give us a tour.  He expected to be paid for taking us to places we already knew their locations.  Since we didn’t ask for his help nor did we need it, we decided to just leave and go back.  I hope Bob understands.

Riding in a taxi to the city.

A bad storm was coming so we decided to head home.

In the taxi :-)

The last night was spent at the restaurant where we saw our new friends dancing and partying.  They were enjoying themselves.  But the real party was the first night we arrived since it was their independence day.  The fish was better the second night (and a bit larger than before).  Luke and Ruth introduced ucker to Liz and me.  We taught them how to play hearts.  Of course Luke, who is similar to Liz, has no real desire to play games.  So that was fun just to watch them both dread the enthusiasm of Ruth and me. 

Our last dinner at the restaurant.

We never knew what animals were going to join us for dinner.

Liz's dinner the last night.  It was delicious chicken!

The return trip was a bit more crowded on the ferry.  But it was still nice.  We made it home, and I was ready to go back (mainly for the fish!).  The island doesn’t have much to do besides beaching and eating.  But if you are adventurous and enjoying hiking, the island has a 20km road going around the island that would make for a great bike ride.  The island is actually an inactive volcano that takes about 3 hours to hike to the top.  Using Google maps 3-D, I wish I would have made the climb.  I guess there is always next vacation.  For my outdoorsy friends who are looking for an authentic Honduran vacation, I highly recommend Isla del Tigre!  But don’t stay longer than 3 nights, or you’ll get fat off of the fish!