Graduation, Holidays, and Stones....

Hey everybody….
I just wanted to update you all on things going on around here at the ranch. To start off with first, we had graduation back in Nov. for two of the seniors here Oscar, and Nilsy. (which I taught public speaking too) I am so excited for them, and was very impressed with all that they learned and their speeches they gave for graduation. I am very sad to see them leave Oscar moves to the bridge house in Jan. and Nilsy already is at the bridge house. But I’m excited to see them start a new journey in their lives.

Next we had thanksgiving at the mission house with all the WGO staff. I was very nice we had tons of yummmmmy food- and had plenty of good company and laughs. Plus they had a place to watch football, make free phone calls, play with the little ones , and the view from the mission house is amazing . I got to look out over the mountains and city and realize how grateful I am to be here in Honduras , teaching , learning new things, and growing closer to God everyday. So it turned out to be a very nice thanksgiving day.

The next thing I wanted to share is ‘Christmas” – all of us single girls decided to do a secret santa and we actually did it in Nov before Jae and Brett left for the states (they are getting married so they went home to prepare for it –). So thast what we did. So actually even though its technically not Christmas yet to me it kinda feels like Christmas is already over- but it was still very nice to have a tree that’s all decorated, plus stockings we hung on our wall- we also have all been listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies together so its been very nice holidays for me here in Honduras. I got a very fuzzy, warm blanket from my secret santa which turned out to be Kelly (one of my roommates). Plus a very awesome calendar. So I enjoyed our holiday time together- I will miss not being with everyone at home for the holidays but know that my thoughts and prayers are with you all- I hope and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

The last thing I wanted to share is to ask you all to be in prayer for me and my health. I have been struggling for about 3 months now not feeling well and having lots of pain in my stomach and back- Well last Tuesday Jennifer, Hannah, and Sarah rushed me to the emergency room thinking it was my appendix- and thank God it wasn’t and there was no need for surgery- but the doctors did figure out that I have kidney stones- so I have been drinking tons of water…and praying that I’ll get better here very soon!
My pain is off and on but I think that I am starting to feel better- so well see. Guess water will be a close friend of mine from now on- because kidney stones hurt beyond belief. So learn from me…Drink water!!!! Lots of it…LOL

Well just wanted to update you all about what’s going on with me here, and all the new things happening around the holidays. I love , miss, and pray for you all. Keep in touch as much as possible- I love hearing from you . I will write again soon. Till then God Bless, and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Residency and the circus....

Hey Yall! I Just wanted to let you all know that I have an HUGE praise.....I am now officially a Honduran Resident! YAYYYYYY! I am soooo excited! It hasn't been the easiest thing for me- I have had alot of trouble from papers not being done correctly, to visa renewals, to checks problems and so on... So I just want to praise God and let you all know its completed and done with .... I am now a resident...I should get my official card for it here in a few months after it gets made...Right now i have a paper copy of it. This is such a great relief to me, no more struggling with it. So thanks God for such a wonderful blessing and a great day in the city as well.

The next fun thing i wanted to tell you is about what we saw sitting in traffic after getting our stuff done at immigration today. We (me, jennifer, and kelly) well we were in jenns car waiting on traffic to get moving when we heard this loud goofy music playing and two clowns waving and being silly- all of a sudden here comes these cages with 5 to 6 tigers... then another vehicle with this elephant and someone riding him, followed by another cage with llamas, camels, goats ect... A circus on wheels in the middle of traffic..HOW COOL HUH? How many times do you get entertainment like a circus while waiting in a long line of traffic...I thought it was awesome and just wanted to share about my blessed and fun day in the city....Hope you all are doing great too....I love and miss you all very much and continue to pray for you everyday! Well gotta go for now- send me emails about your days and blessings as well as prayers when you get a chance....Well talk to you all agian very soon. God Bless!!!!

Update plus two animal stories for ya...

Hola everyone.... just wanted to say first that I'm doing good- miss you all very very much!!! I have been busy doing school things, staying in houses while houseparents are away, and organizing the art room for the school which is looking much better now a days.... :) Its getting pretty cold here so I'm also trying to stay nice and warm since i didn't bring warm clothes (silly me thinking this place was going to be beyond hot and stuffy....lol) But anyways hope everyone is doing great too- I'd love to hear from you all (it makes me feel close to home) so if you have time and want send me a little email and I'll get back to you as soon as i possible can. We are having a little problem right now with electricity so I haven't been on alot lately- but when i am i love reading emails from family and friends so keep on sending them..... Well now for two little but exciting stories (well kinda scary for me- but I thought you might like ot hear them...)
The first story is about ...u guessed it a SPIDER. The other night I went out barefoot to do my wash and as i turned around to head inside to watch a movie with Jae and Brett- i noticed this "thing" that jumped..I truly thought it was a frog because it was big and hoppy... so I actually turned back around and was going to try to get closer and catch it or something...WHAT WAS I THINKING.....lol.. well i guess you figured it out...wasn't a frog Amanda...lol... nope was a big giant black spider... i was sooo scared i dashed to the door to look back and see it running after me (now i know most are going to think it wasn't chasing me and I'm sure it wasn't after me either ) but all i saw was this thing chasing me so i slammed the front door almost in tears i may add- and said umm Brett, Brett, can you do me a favor and he had already figured it out.... so hes like spider..okay i can kill it.... and headed for the door...as he got there opened it a tad and slammed it back he said "Holy crap that's a big spider...." but he did open the door again and kill it for me...YEAHHHHH I was happy..Thanks Brett!!!! By the way i made a new Amanda rule: NO going barefoot on the porch anymore...lol

The second story happened just a few days ago... It was 12 and I was heading my preschool class back to their houses and me and Cristian were walking a head - all of a sudden he stopped and turned to me and said "Miss Amanda, Snake...." I thought he saw one behind us so as i went to take another step forward i also turned around to see it- and as i did i happened to look down and realized it wasn't behind us it was under my foot.....ahhhhh! I was inches if that from stepping on it- it looked and me and i at it and it took off as fast as can be....Now I'm not scared of snakes but the idea of my foot being pretty much on it kinda freaked me out....Cristian the rest of the way home said "I save Miss Amanda... I saved Miss Amanda..." He's my little hero.... First live snake I have really seen here and yes leave it to me to almost step on him- plus if he wanted to he could have bit me no problem because i was wearing flip flops.... so I watch where I'm walking a little more carefully now...
Well hope you liked the two stories- I thought you would want to here my little adventures.... I love and miss you all sooo much... Thanks for all your support and love and continued prayers for me ...I will blog again soon....Till then God Bless! And Be Safe!

Hi Again Everybody

Hi everybody, its me- sorry it's been awhile! Staying busy with school, getting my residency started, and all the in between stuff going on here at the ranch.

First, a big praise- is that my residency is finally started...Yeah!!!! Now every 30 days until it is finished I have to go to immigration and renew my visa. God willing it won't take too long to go through.... But i also know it all in God;s timing so I guess we will see. :)

The 2nd thing i wanted to share with you all is school stuff going on... We just had "Culture Day" for their dia de independencia... or (independence day). We had a huge celebration in the bodega ( like our big multi-purpose room). Each class/ grade throughout the school did presentations about Honduras; discussing people, places and foods typical to our location. I thought it was very interesting. My little preschoolers dressed up as indians and they were sooooo adorable!!! I also had a chance to see my pubic speaking class present to an audience- and i have to say i was impressed! They all did so great! I was so excited to see the difference in them from the begining of the semester to now . They have learned quite a lot already. At the end of the program we had
food that was typical to Hondurans. Man was it good. Yummmmm, especially the little totillas filled with beans, montiquea (kinda like sour cream), and cheese... i loved them things and eat them on a regular basis for lunch....

The last thing i wanted to share before i go is to say how much I miss and love you all! God has blessed me with so many wonderful friends, supporters, and family, plus the best parents anyone could ever have!!! They do so much for me and I am soo thankful for them each and every day! As well as all of you and i thought that was very important to let you all know. I pray and think of you all daily.Also i wanted to ask you all to please keep me informed with any and all prayer requests and praises .I would like to worship our God with you, as well as pray for any needs that may arise. Well got to run for now- until next time with love and prayers , God Bless!

Everybody's Birthday Day

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYBODY!!!
I just wanted to tell you guys how much fun i had and the children had Friday at our "Everybody's Birthday Party."It was sooooo exciting. To explain a little bit of why we were haivng this party is becuase all my children had their birthdays (two that week, one before school started, 1 in teh begining of Aug. and one in Dec when were already out of school) So i thought why not celebrate them all at once and make one huge party full of fun out of it....So thast what we did..... I set up a little Thursday- but finished my room off with balloons, little party whistles, hats, a b-day sign, and stickers Friday so it would be a surprise for them, I was all set and ready for when the little ones got to school. I asked them what today was and they just started screaming and hollaring about a party...it was too cute. When they walked in and saw the balloons they were beyond happy/ excited (i was too so i cant blame them...lol) we started our day by coloring bday pics that i had found for them. My kids LOVE to color so i had a bunch for them.... After that we had balloon time (my favorite part of the day). They were tooo cute and had sooo much fun that i had severall teachers come in to just watch them play with'em. Cristian even decided to dance with as many balloons as he possibly could it was too funny. After all the excitment with balloons they calemd down "a little"...lol... and we watched a movie (Veggie Tales is awesome) and they love it...As they were watching thier movie i got things ready for next Monday for class- so it was nice to have them so quiet and calm but still have a blast. After their movie time we had cupcakes...and man were they good. Karen three of my kids' mom made them for us..... YUMMMMMY ! Much thanks to Karen for all her help..... We then did centers which they really enjoyedwe did people centers animal centers, dinosuar centers, blocks, and playdough......It was a blast..... then we had more balloon time, and topped off the day with some story time! I think the day went great!!!! Alot of FUN! The only problem of the day was little Deisy had a siezure and scared me to death, we knew she had them and so I called Jennifer right away so Jennifer came to check on her and make sure Deisy was fine (which praise God she was) ....just scary for me and miss reina.... that was at the very end of the day so at least she had a blast and loads of fun before all that happen. After that we got their shoes on, pakced up their bookbags, and took them to their families....Ithink our everybody birthday party went great. I kinda wish we could have on of them parties everyday...lol...
Well i gotta go for now but i wanted you all to hear about our fun, excting and very crazy b-day day....I'll be writing and updating my blog again very soon so keep in touch. I love you all and pray for you all everyday! God Bless!

School and all that comes with it.....

Hey everyone! I miss you all sooo much. I hope your all doing great! Know that i am thinking and praying for you all everyday. I am doing pretty good- staying busier now that school started. We are into our second week. It's so awesome.....God has blessed me so much to be able to work with the children here. My preschool children are tooo cute, they keep me busy- but its a load of fun. I love it! My science class (the one I was worried about the most) seems to be going very well too. I have 3 girls and 1 boy in that class (2- 8th graders, & 2 - 9th graders). The girls told me before class ever started one night "i hate science- i don't like it..." so i was kinda worried but its going great. They are very hard workers. My Public Speaking class is amazing. I have 4 - 12th graders . They work very hard too, and we have had a lot of fun so far this year. They already had their first speech (last Friday). It was an "About Me" Speech . They did awesome. All A's & B"s so i was extremely excited- and when i actually get my public speaking book that mom is sending me, then I think the class will get even better. Music and PE are so much fun- in fact my music classes are going to be singing for graduation in November. I'm not sure what the 2nd & 3rd graders are singing. But my 1st grade class is singing: Jesus Loves Me & The B-I-B-L-E. My 4-6th grader class is singing "Lord I Lift Your Name On High....I think I am going to have an incredible year-!
Wednesday's when we have brigades here at the ranch, we go to the compo (soccer field) and the older kids play soccer with the brigade team, and my class and the kindergarten class plays on the playground until 12 then i take them to their houses. And schools over for me for the day! It's really cool.
This week is going to be exciting for my preschoolers because today was Marlon's B-day, tomorrows is Deisy's b-day.... Yolibeth was in July, and David's was in Aug as well....Cristian's is in Dec. (but were not in school for it) So Friday is B-DAY PARTY DAY for everyone!!!! Karen (David, Yolibeth, and Deisy's mom) is making cupcakes and I'm going to find games and have them able to play diff. centers all day long.....no actually work just FUN!!! Their very happy and excited. (me too...yeah!!!!)
Other then that i pretty much just hang out with my roommate's/ other teachers, watch movies, listen to music, and grade papers when needed...fun stuff.....Well i have to be going now- Going to go watch a movie with Jae and Brett.....Love and miss you all ! Keep in touch... God Bless!!!!

What's new with me...

Hey everyone… I miss you all and pray that you are all doing very well. Nothing major has been going on lately. I arrived 3 days earlier to the Ranch then expected, due to easier pick-up timing. Which I was very excited about. I have realized something God teaches and sends you to do things that may not really be what you think they are for. Confused yet? Lol…What I mean is that for instance me and Jennifer were talking and yes I went to the city to learn Spanish , but I really don’t think that was Gods goal for me in the city, and Jennifer agreed . I mean I learned a lot thanks to my teacher and more importantly GOD himself, who helped my out more then I could ever explain. But I think he wanted me there to learn more about myself. He wanted to teach me that I can do anything through Him. (which is my favorite verse in the Bible - Phil. 4:13) But I truly saw that first hand and learned that as well. I was happy to learn Spanish but the feeling that I accomplished the 5weeks in the city without giving up; that I actually did it all on my own, in a foreign country was amazing. I know I could not have without Gods help. But I also on many occasions just knew I was never gonna make it, but hey I can and did with Him by my side. Wow He is an amazing God. I sure hope that makes sense to you all. Now I am also finishing getting my room and our house here at the ranch fixed up and comfy. I love it, it’s more like home now that I can put up pictures, get into my own room and quit living out of a suitcase. Lol… I am so excited. Plus I am in a house with 3 other teachers (Jae, Hannah, & ). They are sooo nice and they have been very helpful with everything.

I think within the next week or so I will be getting very busy here. Right now it’s very slow and laid back. Watch movies, listen to music, get settled in, stuff like that. But starting next week is teacher training. I am kinda nervous but also very excited and hopeful. I want to do my best for God as well as the children. I am defiantly teaching (which I have mentioned several times) but now its pretty official: Preschool, 12th grade Public Speaking, P.E., Music, and Science. Please continue to keep my in your prayers as I start getting ready for the school year. Any suggestions would be very helpful as well since I am new at teaching these classes. I still at times look around and am wowed by the fact that I am really in a foreign country and on my own living for God and hoping to be a good teacher who the children can open up to, trust, and learn from. I still really miss home and my family and friends but being at the ranch and with my roommates will defiantly be helpful, I don’t think I will get tooooo lonely with everything going on here. I would love family and friends pics though (if anybody has some to send for my family/friends wall, you can do so through email). This really has helped me. Whenever I am alone and start to miss home all I have to do is look up and see everyone, and I feel a little better. Well I got to go for right now I will post again soon. I love you all and miss you all bunches! God Bless!