Thursday at school Wilmer was upset that he had forgotten my birthday gift. So when I got to school Friday he asked me to help him study for his Science test. He reached in his backpack and pulled out a giftbag, then hiding it behind his Science Pace he hands me his Pace and says SURPRISE! And then here comes Mauro with a little gold box for me too.

These two boys are so sweet! I opened my gifts and showed them off to Miss Candy who was in the room with the kids. I took pictures so I could share them with you here.

This is Mauro's gift, earrings and a matching necklace.

Mauro's gift reminded me of a time when Joshua was probably 11 or 12 and he bought me a necklace with a large sparkly stone on it. He was so excited and told me he wanted me to have a diamond! I still have that necklace in the heart-shaped jewelry box that Joshua made me one year for mother's day.

Here is the necklace from Mauro up close. Isn't that pretty!





Here is Wilmer's gift. He got a pencil holder with a bird on it (there is a funny story I will share about this), and a bracelet and earrings and a necklace and earrings. It was so sweet of the kids and so precious seeing how excited they were to give me these gifts.



Above is the necklace and earrings....and here is the bracelet and earrings.




The kids are only there until noon for vacation school. So I was sitting with them while they were waiting on someone to pick them up (which actually an hour later they finally decided to walk home)...while we were waiting, Wilmer said Miss do you know that is a pencil holder I got you? I told him yes, and that I was very excited about that because just the day before I was thinking that I needed a pencil holder because I just have pens and pencils lieing around in drawers and things, because I don't have a good place to keep them, but now I do! He was so happy that he had thought of that and I was wanting one! He then pointed out that there is a bird on it, and birds eat worms and he is Wilmer the Wild Worm...(if you don't know that story it is a post from last year about Wilmer)...he is such a fun kid!

This was so special and I will be sure to wear their gifts to school often as I know it will make them happy! They mean so much to me because I know that for them to give me a gift was not easy, it meant a sacrifice on their part or on their family, so it is precious! It was from the heart, as were all the sweet gifts I received here on my birthday!

If you are looking for my birthday update....keep scrolling down to the next post, it's there.

This is a picture I promised Stacy.

You know sometimes you get used to things, like knives with handles, vegetable peelers that do not bend....you know, everyday items that you normally don't think twice about.

Well I was very excited when Elaine bought me a vegetable peeler for Christmas...yes they have those in Honduras, but mine is so flimsy that everytime I tried to use it, it would bend...so I finally gave up and threw it away.

Then my knife...the blade is great, it's the handle, or lack thereof that is the problem! One day when I was cutting a piece of fruit the handle just snapped in half. The blade is great, and I love it, but it can be difficult using it at times.

Stacy bought me a cute kitchen knife with it's little protective sleeve...yeah, it doesn't take much to get me excited (Just ask Starla about my thermometer! the best Birthday gift ever!)...okay, so my knife.

Well I got very excited over the knife at Christmas and had to explain to everyone what the big deal was....so I told Stacy I would send her a picture of my knife.... so here it is, my Honduran speicalty and my new knife from Stacy!


Now you understand why I was so excited!!! And I have been using it already!

Just wait until I peel some carrots or potatoes, I will probably write about that too!

This morning I was standing in my bathroom at 7:30 and I heard guitar strumming. I thought oh wow someone is outside playing a guitar. Then I heard singing, and I thought well now isn't that neat, someone is outside singing, I will have to go see what they are doing. Then it registered WHAT they were singing...Happy Birthday to you....

It was Patty, Henry, Dinora, Lisette and Rosi outside my gate singing Happy birthday to me. I was running around my house looking for my keys so I could go oustide (can't open any of my doors from the inside or out without keys)...I was so excited! It was so much fun! They scerenaded me with about 3 songs and Lisette gave me a little gift and they headed to school.

It was so much fun and so sweet! Two of the other teachers told me when I got to school that they had been waiting at the arch at the beginning of my neighborhood, waiting on the group to come by, but somehow they had all missed each other, so Candy and Cessia said we were singing to you in spirit. :)

Later that morning Henry came and said Miss Patty needs you....and as I went there was everyone sitting in a room with cake and ready to celebrate some more. So we filled us and our kids on vacation school with cake and banana soda.

Patty's daughters gave me 6 roses.

Then...yep there is more....some of us went to lunch at Pizza Hut. It was fun to sit and visit with my friends, and celebrate my birthday.

One of the students, Wilmer, was so upset this morning, he said miss I forgot your birthday gift. I got to school this morning and remembered that I had left your gift at home. I assured him that bringing it tomorrow will be just as special!

Here are all 7 of my roses that I received for my birthday...

...notice my lovely vase...it is a plastic pitcher! It does the job!

My flight was completely uneventful – a blessing! All 3 of my bags were within the 50 pound limit. I checked in and while going through security, rang a bell because I had a carry-on full of electronics. So I had to unpack it and put each one through individually, but other than being unable to get everything back in as neatly as the first time all was cleared easily.

My flights were each only about 2/3 full. To the point that they even announced that if you wanted to change seats to sit with your group, you were free to move around. I don’t think I have ever been on a flight where that was announced.

I arrived on time in Tegucigalpa and was met by Henry with a Honduran Flag. My gift for returning home!

When I came through customs in Honduras with my bags a worker came and loaded my bags onto the dollie…and normally I have had them carry my bags all the way to the car…but this guy walked out of the airport with Henry and I and then unloaded them on the sidewalk, waited for his tip, huffed and grumbled at the amount and then went inside. I would have happily paid him whatever he asked for if he had carried them all to the car…so there went Henry and I carrying at least a total of 200 pounds. I don’t know if he dumped my bags on the curb because I was with someone who was Honduran, or because I was with a man. Not sure what the guy’s thinking was, but I was shocked when he just dumped my bags on the sidewalk.

But we made it to the car…and after hitting several places of road construction, made it out of the city and on our way to Comayagua.

Right outside of Comayagua we stopped to eat. It was a new restaurant for me, and it was very good. I had baked chicken and rice…I passed on the salad as I had the gringo fear until I let my stomach catch up with re-entry.

With only one hour of sleep I was pretty exhausted, but was so happy to be see Samson. I perked up a little, enough to find some of his toys in my suitcase and went outside to play for a bit. He was so excited, jumping and jumping and knocking me over and chewing my arm (his way of being affectionate). He was so happy with his new toy he destroyed it…oh well! So much for that strong rubber that even the biggest chewing dog can’t get through! I hope he enjoyed his tug-o-war rings for the 10 minutes we played .

I threw him a pig ear thinking he could chew on it for a while….3 minutes later all signs that a pig ear ever existed were gone!

I dozed off and on all afternoon Saturday. But then got a second wind and finished unpacking not getting to bed until after 11:00 Saturday night.

All my bags arrived safely in Honduras and all the pictures and other breakables I had carefully packed arrived safely and in one piece. Funny, the only thing that did not survive was one plastic cup…Stacy had bought me these cups I loved from the Target dollar section that had glitter in them….and I thought oh they are plastic, they will be fine…and one of them cracked. But I still have one that I am drinking my Coke Zero out of.

Sunday I slept in…until about 11:00. Got up and showered and headed to the grocery store. So happy to see my favorite fruit – guava – and I loaded up on fresh fruits and vegetables.

I spent Sunday afternoon napping again and playing with Samson.

Monday I was so excited to go to the school, and see everyone. And see the kids who are attending vacation school. Of course my “Honduran son”, Mauro was there, as well as Wilmer. I was so excited to see them. He and Wilmer were a little embarrassed as the teachers were telling me how they had been asking for me, so at first they tried to ignore my being there …but they finally got over it and became my boys again!

The school is amazing…how big and how great it is going to be to have class there! It was also great to see the teachers who were there. Tuesday is the first official workday for all the teachers, however many of them have been there most days getting prepared for that first official work day.

They must have forgotten what I looked like, Lisette and Dinora told me how young I looked and asked if I had gotten plastic surgery while in the U.S. ha ha ha!

Today we were at the school painting the kids' offices. We need a faster plan or we won't be ready for the first day of school. Today after 8 offices were painted everyone disappeared. I guess time to go...so MaryCruz stayed with me and we painted a few more.

I have been enjoying having a thermometer - thanks Starla! It has been 78 - 80 degrees during the day and dropping down to the low 70's...yesterday it was 67 degrees and feeling pretty chilly in my house. I'm sure that sounds like a heat wave to those of you battling ice storms and snow in the U.S. Sorry! I am glad I got out of there before that started!

Last night I shared a DVD that Joshua had made for me. I gave him about 100 or so pictures of my kids and life in Honduras and asked him to make a DVD with these pictures and a song. He did a great job on this for me!

When I got back to the U.S. I was driving (in the van loaned to me by Calabrese Auto - THANKS TIM! YOU ROCK!) and I was listening to the radio and this song came on that made me cry. You know when you hear a song that says what you feel in your heart and you think... wow someone else feels like I do, someone else understands this desire I have in my heart...well this was that song!

Of course I had to go out and buy the CD immediately, and I love every song on the CD. The band is called Starfield, and the song is I Will Go. (you can check out the cd on their website http://www.starfieldonline.com/)

Here are the words to this song...

To the desparate eyes and reaching hands
To the suffering and the need
To the ones the world has cast aside
Where you want me I will be

Chorus:
I will go, I will go, I will go
Lord send me
To the world, to the lost, to the poor and hungry
Take everything I am
I am clay within Your hands
I will go, I will go, send me

Let me not be blind with privilege
Give me eyes to see the pain
Let the blessing you poured out on me
Not be spent on me in vain
Let this life be used for change

Chorus

I wanna live for You
Go where You lead me
I wanna follow You


This is the way I believe we each should live our lives, you don't have to go to another country to walk this out. There are people each day you see that need a touch from Jesus, who are hurting, lost, cast aside, they are everywhere! And you can be the touch from the Lord that they need.

I had a great time Saturday at my party, getting to see friends and sharing about my love for Honduras and the kids that I spend time with each day. I loved having that time to fellowship with friends before I return home to Honduras. It is funny how easy it is for me to say that now, “home to Honduras” and truly feel it in my heart.

During the days around Christmas I was thinking about the amount of time left before I needed to return to Honduras. At that time I was wondering am I really going to be ready to go back. Then as the holiday festivities had ended and the New Year celebration was over I realized I am ready to go home.

It is like having your heart divided between two worlds. My heart, my purpose for this time, is in Honduras. But my family, those whom I love so much are in the U.S. It is hard even for me to understand how I can be away from them.

Today was my last time to be at church before I go home. It was hard to say goodbye to some friends. One sweet friend Marjo, gave me a hug and I just broke into tears. I just love my friends so much and I hate saying goodbye and being separated from them, but at the same time the love and friendship and relationships that I gain in Honduras are such a blessing!

When I return to Honduras I will be going back to the NEW Ruach. Although I have been away during the construction and move I have gotten to see the progress thanks to the pictures Henry has been posting on Facebook.

The old Ruach has been disassembled and the construction is complete at the new location. The school has been moved and the interior will be painted and decorated this week. I am so excited we will be in the location with more space, bigger rooms, and a much larger Learning Center. We will even have grass for the kids to play futbol (soccer) rather than playing on concrete! And I will have a door on my classroom! (last year I did not have a door on my 2^nd grade classroom)

The empty space is where the Learning Center used to be! It's gone! Well the old one is gone...but we have a new Learning Center

The NEW Learning Center! The new location is so much bigger, we have more classrooms, bigger classrooms and a much larger Learning Center. The Learning Center is where we have class for the grades 3rd through 11th - all together....that's a lot of kids and we now have room that we can add to the number of kids accepted!

I have been talking with some of the teachers this week about the new school and getting ready for the kids. We even had one of our students who showed up for school the first week of January, looking for vacation school. It’s funny when our kids really want to come to school!

Please be praying for the registration to increase! Now is when we are really needing and expecting the families to come and register kids. Many took advantage of the discounts offered for early registration. With the new location we can have many more children, and we are praying for those kids to come!

I couldn't resist.....this has to be about the best thing I have ever read. Either that or I am just extremely tired and delerious! But I love it....

6 Truths of Life

1. You cannot touch all your
top teeth with your tongue.



2. All idiots,
after reading the first truth, will try it.



3.
And discover that The first truth is a lie.



4.
You're smiling now because you're an idiot.






5. You soon will
forward this to another idiot.




6.
There's still a stupid smile on your face.

I apologize
about this .

I'm an idiot and I needed company .