Week 3 of school!

For NEW Pictures go to this page- http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2025257&l=6610d&id=156800196

For old updates and other picture links, visit http://jthoduras.blogspot.com

Hello to all! I hope this week has been a successful one in the states for all of you, and that God is blessing you immensely. I trust that everyone is keeping a close eye on Hurricane Dean and hoping for the best. The way it looks right now, I think we may get some rain but not too much of anything else. This week has been another incredible week-- busy and full of excitement.

The first thing I want to tell you all about is the Christmas in August party we had this past Wednesday. After lots of fun and games, the kids were free to let their creative juices flow and design their own Christmas card. Many of these cards will be “professionalized” and sold as a fundraiser closer to Christmas time. The kids really love this idea and it is a great way to help out the ministry and buy your Christmas cards for a good cause. Please go to the picture link to view some of the pictures from this event.

Also this week we had a construction team on the ranch from Arizona, and they were friends of some of the other missionaries living here on the ranch. This team was bout 15 members and they did a tremendous amount of work finishing the new school. The left half and bottom right half of the school is completely finished now since the construction team completed the porch awning. They also completed a lot of interior work on the upper right side such as painting, laying tile, and installing bathroom components. Even though the building is not completely finished, we are holding classes in most all of the classrooms.

Chapel this week was very different but probably the best one we have had yet. The kids really seemed to enjoy the message and it was much more interactive than previous meetings. The message was about being able to count on friends and being able to tell what kind of loyalty your friends have to you. All of the students really seemed to take the message to heart. I’m glad that they are getting this kind of teaching because here in Honduras, being “macho” is cool and sometimes people are led astray just because they follow someone thinking they will benefit from the relationship. I know that sounds familiar to what we deal with in the states sometimes with children, but it is even more “cultural” here to be this way. However, I can see a difference being made in the students we have here on the ranch. One of the interactive parts was a “tug-of-war” type thing where the point was that it is easier to stand up when you have friends to support you. It started with one person being on one side of the rope being pressured by several on the other side, and of course, that one individual lost the struggle. However, when the tide was turned, and that person had more friends on their side, they were able to “overcome” the opposition. I got to participate, so look at the pictures!!!

Things within the school are going great! I am getting more comfortable working with my 11th grader Oscar. He is really a great kid and smart. I feel like he is catching onto things I try to explain rather quickly, and that is a great step. We have been joking some about my “accent” so I’ve got him practicing some of his Spanish with an Alabama accent. It is the most hilarious thing! I also visited some of the other classrooms this week and got to see what is going on there. It is awesome to see these kids learning. The kindergarten is learning their pledge to the flag of Honduras and doing really well. This school is hopping!

This past week also brought the arrival of our other two teachers, Shelly and Jason. Two of the other ranch missionaries had been “substituting” until Shelly and Jason were able to arrive. Shelly is a returning teacher while this is Jason’s first year also. He is from Little Rock and he and I will be roommates. We picked him up from the airport yesterday and were able to hang out some last night and today. He and Shelly are both wonderful people and it’s great to know that our entire “teacher team” is know on the ranch.

For those that know I love to cook, I was able to this week for the new teachers. One of our new teachers’ mom was visiting this week, and everyone kept talking about wanting to share pictures and this mom was wanting some good pictures of the ranch. Sooo, I thought it would be neat for us to have a technologically updated picture swap. We started with eating wonderful spaghetti cooked by yours truly, and then we “swapped” computers and bummed pictures off of each other. It was a lot of fun and I am really having a great time hanging out with these teachers.

Please continue to pray for each of us teachers and all of the house parents and other missionaries with WGO. Everything is working out wonderfully and I ask for your prayers that we can continue to be effective in this work.

The last thing I would like to mention is my time home in December. I know it is a while away, but I’m trying to plan a little ahead. A primary need I will have for this time is transportation. I am looking for someone who perhaps has an extra vehicle around that I can use for about 4 weeks during this time so that I can travel to supporting churches and visit friends an family throughout Alabama. I would not need anything too large, just a small, economical car, truck, etc. If you feel like you can help me in this area please e-mail me back!

I can’t say that there has not been times of homesickness. I miss seeing all of you tremendously, but God continues to give be peace about being here. It is the right thing for me to be doing, yet I am anxious to see all of you again and share with you personally what God is doing.
I love you all!
God Bless!
Jesse Tiner