25 hours until I step foot on California soil. Getting prepared for flushable toilet paper, carpet, driving, chick-fil-a, taco bell, and most exciting: my family and friends!! See you soon.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
coming soon to an airport near you...
25 hours until I step foot on California soil. Getting prepared for flushable toilet paper, carpet, driving, chick-fil-a, taco bell, and most exciting: my family and friends!! See you soon.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
a caribbean christmas... not quite
Well, i guess if Christmas technically starts on the day after Thanksgiving, then technically it was a caribbean Christmas. Casa Verde and Friend, consisting of Anna, Corrie, Megan, Melissa, Eduardo (Megan's bf) and I traveled by bus to the caribbean coast of Honduras where we caught a 1.5 hour ferry ride to Utila, one of Honduras's three Bay Islands. We were able to spend Thanksgiving Day and Friday riding bikes down the beachfront, playing frisbee in the water, reading in the sunshine and spending time with friends. It was a wonderful vacation.
Upon returning from the actual Caribbean, Anna and I returned to another Caribbean, in full force: "A Caribbean Christmas" this year's preschool Christmas program. Imagine for a minute, 200 children between the ages of 3 and 6 performing a number of songs with choreographed dances. Cute, right? Adorable. Now, imagine those same 200 kids 1 week before the actual performance, practicing for literally 3-and-a-half hours a day those same songs and movements. Those poor things: standing up, sitting down, shaking their shoulders, shaking their hips, flailing their arms, bouncing their knees, trying to smile while singing at the top of their lungs in a language they don't know. They hate it. We practice from 7-9am, do some phonics, have snack and recess and then practice again from 10:30-12, followed by some more classes, lunch, and then the occasional in-class practice of our own class song for the program. The look on their faces when I line them up for the second rehearsal of the day kills me. Now you know what my life has been like since Thanksgiving.
In other news, we did not end up going to San Pedro to visit Nandi and her family last weekend. Some things came up and it didn't work out. There is still a chance that a couple of us may go this weekend, but my confidence in that idea is quickly fading. Please continue to keep them in your prayers though as the dad is still going through some major surgeries, Nandi has about a month of recovery before she even begins to do physical therapy to re-learn how to walk, and the mom is having to be so strong going back and forth between the hospital where her husband is at, and her relatives house with her daughter.
in less than 8 days I will be back home in California!! I'm so excited, I can't wait. But there is yet so much to be done between now and then (homeless dinner, tamaleada, another filling, possible SPS trip, Christmas program, and more), so I'm sure the next 8 days are going to fly. And when I get back it's not going to slow down much either. Lots to see and do in Cali as well. Pray that I find time to rest. My love is with you all. Can't wait to see you!
Upon returning from the actual Caribbean, Anna and I returned to another Caribbean, in full force: "A Caribbean Christmas" this year's preschool Christmas program. Imagine for a minute, 200 children between the ages of 3 and 6 performing a number of songs with choreographed dances. Cute, right? Adorable. Now, imagine those same 200 kids 1 week before the actual performance, practicing for literally 3-and-a-half hours a day those same songs and movements. Those poor things: standing up, sitting down, shaking their shoulders, shaking their hips, flailing their arms, bouncing their knees, trying to smile while singing at the top of their lungs in a language they don't know. They hate it. We practice from 7-9am, do some phonics, have snack and recess and then practice again from 10:30-12, followed by some more classes, lunch, and then the occasional in-class practice of our own class song for the program. The look on their faces when I line them up for the second rehearsal of the day kills me. Now you know what my life has been like since Thanksgiving.
In other news, we did not end up going to San Pedro to visit Nandi and her family last weekend. Some things came up and it didn't work out. There is still a chance that a couple of us may go this weekend, but my confidence in that idea is quickly fading. Please continue to keep them in your prayers though as the dad is still going through some major surgeries, Nandi has about a month of recovery before she even begins to do physical therapy to re-learn how to walk, and the mom is having to be so strong going back and forth between the hospital where her husband is at, and her relatives house with her daughter.
in less than 8 days I will be back home in California!! I'm so excited, I can't wait. But there is yet so much to be done between now and then (homeless dinner, tamaleada, another filling, possible SPS trip, Christmas program, and more), so I'm sure the next 8 days are going to fly. And when I get back it's not going to slow down much either. Lots to see and do in Cali as well. Pray that I find time to rest. My love is with you all. Can't wait to see you!
Friday, December 5, 2008
::update::
Here is the latest of what I have heard on the family who was in the car accident. Maria, the mother, who suffered the least physically (several fractures as i understand), is now in a recovery room in the hospital. Nandi, the little girl, broke both of her legs and her wrists. She had surgery on Wednesday on one of the legs and yesterday on the other one. I think she is in the recovery room with her mother. Jose, the father, is still in intensive care. He has finally come to, but is suffering from memory loss. He apparently recognized his wife, but he has no recollection of the accident. I'm not sure how much of his memory has been affected. Elisa, the sister who passed away in the accident was buried in Nicaragua (where the family is from), while the parents are still in the hospital. Yesterday, a few teachers from the Bible department at IST drove up to San Pedro Sula to visit them in the hospital. Rumor has it that when the little girl saw Mrs. Nieto, her Bible teacher from last year, she was asking about me and my assistant too. Myself and a couple other Kindergarten teachers and assistants are planning to make the 4-hour drive up there on Sunday. Please, please continue to pray for this family, and for us as we drive up that same stretch of highway where the accident took place. Pray that God will give us wisdom and peace in the midst of it all.
Monday, December 1, 2008
you never know
This is Nandi. She was one of my smartest students last year. This partial she got High Honors in First Grade. Yesterday afternoon Nandi and her family were in a very serious car accident. Her twin sister, Elisa was killed on impact. Nandi, her mother, and father were taken to the hospital where Nandi and her father are both in critical condition and her mother is being sedated because she has suffered numerous fractures to her body. Please pray for complete physical and emotional healing for this family, and peace for all those involved in their lives.
http://www.latribuna.hn/news/45/ARTICLE/50216/2008-12-01.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
