Hola to all! This has been a great week in Honduras. I hope you were all able to hang on for an extra week without an update this past weekend. Our internet and electricity was off and on most of the weekend due to lots of damaging wind that took out several trees in the area and had our electricity out for some time. When one of the trees fell, it landed on one of the lines, somehow sending a power surge straight to the ranch. The surge tripped lots of breakers and even took out one the brand new copying machine at the school. On top of that, it was kind of a slow week, and there was not too much to update on. However, this week was full of goodness, so let’s get to it!
PICTURES
Community Outreach/New kids--
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027535&l=d1f39&id=156800196
Other Pics From The Week
http://jsu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2027536&l=2101f&id=156800196
NEW CHILDREN AT THE RANCH!!!
This week, we got to experience the arrival of three new children into the family of WGO. They are Katherine and David, who are siblings, and Darwin. Katherine is 5 years old, her brother is 2, and Darwin is around 17 months. They arrived Wednesday after Paul, our Children’s Services Director, and numerous others spent many trips to the city at the agency that we get our children from. The arrival of these children was a long awaited blessing.
I have not been able to see Darwin yet, but Katherine and David both accompanied their house parents, Karen and Ronal, to our community program down the road. I was very happy to see that both of them seemed very comfortable and it seems that the transition for them to life here on the Ranch will be a smooth one.
The other day I got to speak with Paul and found out that many of the kids we have do not even have birth certificate, including some of the children we have just received. Many of them do not actually know their birth date or how old they are. I know that may seem insignificant to life, but it just made me realize to know who I am and where I came from. It’s a big thing we take for granted to know who our parents are, where and when we were born, and other things related to our past. It just helped me get a grip on that and to be thankful for being able to know.
We’re still legal!/COMMUNITY OUTREACH
Last Wednesday was kind of a bummer in one way, but very good in another. This past Friday marked 90 days that we have been in Honduras, which meant we had to renew our visas before that day. Since Wednesday is the only other group trip into town, several of us had to miss out on the community program in order to go to the city and renew our visas. The process was not nearly as bad as I had heard about, and we were very blessed that all of our paperwork was correct and that the renewal process went very smoothly. So, we missed the community program, but at least we’re legal!
Thankfully, we were able to participate in the community program that took place this past Wednesday. We are continuing to have about 25-30 children each week. Most of them are repeats, which is good, but we are also seeing some not be able to return, which is sad, while we are seeing some new faces each week, which is good. This week we spent a good deal of time teaching them some new songs, such as “Gloria a Dios,” which is the same music as “Allelu, Allelu, Allelu, Alleluya, Praise ye, the Lord.” Also, we taught them “Mi Dios esta Grande,” or “My God is go great, so big and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do!” They really seem to be enjoying them and I am loving being a part of it. Karen is trying to get me to do the “welcoming” and introductions by myself in Spanish, which is a stretch, but I am getting there.
The memory verse this week was Matthew 17:20 which basically says “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to that mountain, ‘MOVE,’ and it will do so.” During the month of October, our lessons are revolving around simply trusting in God during all of our situations. The kids in the community definitely feel defeated and incapable of doing a lot of things and it is important that we teach them that they are most capable of doing what they set their heart and mind to.
Music heard ‘round the Ranch
Not too much to be said here, but I have to take a second and tell everyone how great it is to have musical instruments on the ranch now. Since the crate has arrived, the kids have spent lots of afternoons and evenings learning drum set and keyboard. I have really tried to spend some time with the older kids teaching them rhythms and beats on drums and have even got to where a couple of them are playing some basic rhythms with me accompanying them on keyboard, and it is fantastic!
Not only that, but the younger kids are now able to learn hand bells and Boomwhackers (pitched tubes), and I feel like we are accomplishing a great deal. They are really starting to get a more “hands-on” approach to learning with many different types of instruments now.
If there is any downside to any of this, it is that sound travels really well through the Ranch, and the drums can be heard from just about anywhere!
Visiting team from Illinois
Also this past week, we had the pleasure of sharing an afternoon with a visiting team from Illinois. I really enjoyed this team because they were all very kind and really treated the kids well. That may seem odd to mention, but sometimes the teams just don’t really gel and mix with the kids very well, so it’s always nice to have a team that does. Not only that, but those that didn’t play soccer seemed to enjoy themselves talking to some of the others that live on the Ranch. I think the most enjoyable thing was that the field was still very muddy and slippery from all of the rain lately. This makes perfect field conditions for some of the most humorous soccer you have ever seen. Many players kissed the dirt that day, and the wet stench of mud flooded the nostrils of all who were there. Ahhh, great day.
House of Words
I have to share this, simply because it’s too much fun not to share. I have mentioned before, I believe, that Karen has started helping us on Saturdays to learn Spanish. Well, one of our first assignments was to label as many things as possible in our house with the Spanish word for that object, such as “cama,” which is bed. Well, I had so much fun doing that, that I thought I might as well go ahead and just do lots of verbs, adjectives, and even the parts of the body. Not only are the words in Spanish, but if you flip the card, you can get the English word on the back! So, our house is now a house of words and is a perfect atmosphere for learning. It really makes for quite colorful living conditions!
Adios!
I hope all is well for all of you in the states! With only a measly five weeks before coming home, the excitement continues to build. It will truly be a blessing for me to get to spend time with family and friends over the month of December. Can’t wait!!!
Please continue to pray for all of us that are still considering a second year. I still feel strongly about a second year here, but your prayers are still requested.
Love you guys a lot! See you soon! E-mail me!!!
Hasta luego!
-Jesse Tiner
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