Living La Vida Finca

I can hardly believe it's been over
a month since the last time I wrote. So much has happened since the end of September. I think this blog will best be told in photos and videos.

Before all the craziness started we (the missionaries) took a few days away for a retreat in the town of Saba. Just take a look at this view.

It was a great time of celebrating, coming together and reflecting.

A couple more missionaries entered into the ¼ century club (not that you could tell by the pictures since we are all acting like 10 year olds.) Here we are all together:

 

The transfer was made at the end of the retreat... the “oldies” said “goodbye” to Harrison... and my class officially welcomed him into our class since he has discerned to stay a 3^rd year.

On our way back home we made a stop to visit Edgar, Blanca and their 2 kids. They were the house parents in House 5 when my class arrived. Little Suyapa was just a few weeks old when we arrived so it was really great to see her now a year old. She's looking more and more like her big brother Oniel every day.

The following Saturday the entire Finca pitched in to clean up our beach. It's unclear why but one morning a ton of trash had washed up from the bay.

Trash is a huge problem in this country or at least the disposal of it. So hopefully this activity helped show our kids the importance of not just throwing stuff in the streets or the rivers since it all washes downhill and then into the ocean and back up on our property.

The end of September also brought the annual Independence Day school parade.

Considering the only people who come to watch are parents, the missionaries and maybe the odd neighbor it is actually a really big deal.

The kids get really into it and it's amazing to see how disciplined they can be.

I give our Honduran teachers a lot of credit for getting 16 first graders to march in any sort of formation.

The daily grind was broken up a bit when we received a “care package” from Sara. In this care package were 2 doggy bones which brought laughter to everyone since it's something so unheard of here to give treats to a dog.

So that night the few of us who actually sort of enjoy the two dogs (Oso and Canela) that hang around tried to teach them to sit with some success.

The last Saturday of September brought us to our day of the child celebration. We spent the day at a local hot springs/pool resort with food and pinatas from a local rotary club.

 

As fun as pinatas look it is not something I endorse with the least bit of my being.

I'm sure you can understand the stress of putting a stick in the hands of a “blind” child with 30 others hyped up on sugar encroaching out of control and then telling that child to start taking batting practice. But for some reason I permit it to happen.

Amid all these adventures since the start of September we've also been working on a very large project at the Canandian owned zoo/botanical gardens nearby.

     

As part of a competition with 12 other “artists” to beautify their property we have been charged with the duty of creating a sculpture and garden area.

The competition closed Nov. 1^st and will be judged Dec. 1^ste. We could potentially win $5,000 for the Farm and no less than $500.

Our sculpture is the facade of the cathedral in Trujillo with paths leading to it. On the paths are paver stones with the kids names and footprints.

This project would not be possible without the kids work, our maintence team and even more so than anyone Harrison who has really led the charge.

 

October 1^st we welcomed our newest missionaries to the Finca. It's been great getting to know Patrick, Curtis, Noelle, Tiffany and Natalie.

Before their arrival there were some “small” house repairs needed... this was the best water pressure we'd had in the shower for months so some of us were sad to see the shower fixed.

The first weekend of October we took about half the kids to a massive national get-together weekend of children's homes from across Honduras. We stayed at 2 children's homes in San Pedro Sula which gave our kids a chance to hangout with kids outside of our area.







There were lots of fun games and talents competitions. We took home 3^rd place for the most “beautiful and handsome indian” contest along with an award for our traditional dance.

Mid-October Andrea (former missionary/stateside director) came down to visit along with Katherine King (former missionary). Andrea's baby shower gave us all a chance to escape from the Farm for a night and just enjoy each other's company and plenty of cream cheese and cake.

It was also great to hear stories from Katherine of the earlier days of life at the Farm since she served from 1999-2001. This was just after Hurricane Mitch hit in 1998 and while many transitions were going on. It makes our level of “simplicity” seem like nothing now.

October 16^th marked a big day for our youngest and newest child. Yadira turned three and celebrated her first birthday with us here. I can hardly believe it's been nearly a year since she arrived.
 

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A few thoughts on a Sunday morning

I new that sound all too well... the quiet but incredibly annoying sound of my watch alarm going off. It was 5:00 in the morning. My intention this morning was to wake up early enough to get my lesson plans done for my 2^nd graders. (We've had the past 2 weeks off for various reasons so it's going be hard getting back into the swing of things.) Instead I find myself at my computer typing up this blog. (The first since just before leaving the states from vacation.)

I tumbled out of bed after laying there for nearly 10 minutes debating whether I should actually lift my head off my pillow. Without a snooze button on my watch it is truly by the grace of God I ever get out of bed each day. Although the incessant crowing of roosters probably has something to do with it as well.

Anyways, in my half awake state I stumbled into the bathroom and I opened one of the multiple books we have next to the toilet. One of those “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books; this one happened to be on angels. I opened to a story entitled “The Missionary”. “Huh, that's maybe a little ironic, ” I thought. The gist of the short story, told from the viewpoint of a missionary in Africa, was that this man had lost sight of his reason for having answered the call to be a missionary, but was reminded of the call during a “conversation” with an elderly man (in a language he didn't understand one word of). While the missionary was wondering why God had sent him to a deserted African plateau only to have this elderly local man hand him a small sheet of paper in English and with a drawing depicting the salvation story. The man then disappeared into the distance... leaving the missionary and the reader with the question, “Was that an angel?” My response... maybe, maybe not.

I figure if an angel is a messenger sent from God then I am surrounded by dozens everyday... the majority disguised as beautiful innocent children. For example a few weeks back I had gone over to visit my “special friends” (the girls in House 1) to tell them about a little boy with brain cancer who needs their prayers. Just so you know the girls in House 1 are the most dedicated little prayer warriors I have ever met. I have complete faith too that God must hear their prayers above all others simply because of their complete love and trust for him. I gave the girls these bracelets as a reminder to pray for little Braden. There was no hesitation to pray for this little boy despite knowing nothing about him, but then there was one question, “But Kit who is he to you?” I explained he is the nephew of my classmate from high school. “Okay, but what do we say during prayer?” This seemed like an odd question coming from them. “What do you mean?” “Well, we say Laura's Dad or Carmen's daughter or Emily's Grandma, but who is Braden to you?” I said they could just say for Braden and they seemed content with that.

The next morning during prayer when it came time for prayer intentions one by one they each asked God to take care of the long list of people they'd committed to pray for (their memories are impeccable) ending the list with my request, “and for Kit's nephew”, or sometimes it is “for Kit's cousin”, or for my friend or some other relation of mine. So while the rest of the community may not understand their intention I do and more importantly I know God gets it. As an added bonus the majority of my friends and family are now covered in prayers from these little girls.

Just this past Saturday I was “babysitting” the girls while their parents and the other house parents had a couple hours off to go watch a movie. Spending time with them is always fun (in hindsight) despite sometimes running on empty. However, this past Saturday was particularly great. It was Seidy's 9^th birthday so I brought plenty of card games, craft supplies and even Twister (a great game I realized I can use for teaching English). So while some of them made cards for the new missionaries who are coming October 1^st others colored pictures, and while I played go fish with two of them another two played “beauty shop” with my hair. It's usually pretty evident who has spent time with house one by the hairstyles you don the rest of the night.

Around 7:30 without too much hassle they had cleaned up all the games, brushed their teeth, gotten into bed and said their prayers (each with their long list in mind). It took about 15 minutes of me reminding them they needed to stop talking in order to fall asleep, but before I knew it was all quiet as I sat there reading a book. Then from behind me the door to their parents' room opened and little Bety poked her head out. (Bety is the biological daughter of the house parents.) In a concerned voice as if she had to tell me something weighing heavy on her heart before falling asleep Bety said, “Kit?” “Yes Bety?” “Just... Can you please tell all the other missionaries how much I love them.” “Of course Bety, Goodnight.”

As I said before if angels are God's messengers then these kids are the little angels who remind me of God's message daily that above all else love is what matters.

Here are some more photos of the last few months. I fly back to Honduras on Wednesday. It's incredible how fast time flies.

Arts and Crafts time with the House 3 Boys. Over the course of several weeks we made a paper machey volcano.

Me and some of the girls from the community where I helped translate for a medical brigade.

(Above) Our outdoor oven and stove. (Below) Making homemade custard with milk (hand milked by 2 of our summer volunteers) on the wood fire stove.

 Attempting to dance "Punta" with a local Garifuna band for Bill's 70th Birthday.

 We couldn't let the 4th of July pass without celebrating somehow. We spent at least 2 hours singing everything from the National Anthem to American Pie out on the soccer field and I'll let you guess where the first picture is (let's just say someone really enjoys shower singing).

 Above: The refurbished school bus that took us to our clinic sites during brigade week. Below: My pharmacy team in the brigade.

 Inside the "clinic" which is usually a schoolroom.

 Kiddissa and Doctor Robby whom she translated for.

 Doctor Ed and Jamie (one of our awesome summer volunteers).

 Kiddos from the community where we set up the clinic.

 Learning to write his name.

 Sneaking a peak into the pharmacy.

 Taking a break for music lessons.

 Serenading Michel for her 14th birthday.

 The song brought her to tears.

 Most of the brigade team in the community of marones.

 A few examples of the magnets one of our boys paints. He also does key chains. Let me know if you would like one. The money goes to his college fund.

 The boys' radio debut.

 Celebrating the Feast Day of St. Peter the patron of our primary school.

 Brittani hanging out with Missionary/Social Worker Erin Marina at a parade in town.

 Belkis and Seidy waiting for the parade to start.

 Yadira hanging out with our awesome summer volunteer Carolyn.

 Kimberly, Bety and Luz stylin' at the parade.

 Horses performing in the parade.

 Brayan our future meteorologist poses with his favorite horse.

 Yadira all tuckered out.

 Rony with a prime seat to see the action.

 Jose Isabel waiting for the parade to start.

 Wilmer trying to get the best view.

 Still zonked out.

 Practicing their princess waves.

 Yadira rocking an awesome mask.

 Dole fruit co. tossed fresh fruit instead of candy.

 I got a pineapple from Dole while Erin got lard from another float.

 Rose Elena looking like cat woman.

 My house 1 girls super excited by the Delorian style car.

 Seidy counting her candy.

 Waiting to head back to the Farm.

 We tried to drive out, but got stuck in the parade route for the next hour and a half!

 I'd been working on coloring tests for my 1st graders (since we can't print in color) when the power went out (this happens regularly) so then others pitched in and we made an evening of coloring by candle light.

 

The strange but traditional missionary birthday song.

 For religion class the kids had to draw someone who they think embodies service (one of our pillars). 2 of the kids drawings here show Jesus and Saint Francis.

 The termite tunnel running from above my bedroom door and out the window. Just days before leaving on vacation I was also shown we have a huge termite nest in the women's bathroom.

 Nahomi stylin' in her beautiful dress; a girft from her Godmother Lily.

 The girls' radio debut

 The chocolate cookie crumble cake I made for the June birthday party.

 Hanging out during the June Olympic games.

 I'm attempting to explain the ball toss game.

 Jump rope competition

 Hanging with my special friends L to R: Kimberly, Bety, Brittani, Luz, Cati, Rosa Elena and Seidy.

 Making chocolate bananas which never quite worked since the power kept going out so the freezer wasn't cold enough.

 The peace garden decorated for the 17th anniversary party.

 Erin Marina showing off her "watchi" list.

 Wilmer trying to be cool in Haydee's hat.

 Haydee (one of our psychologists) looking much better in her hat.

 MMMM... Chocobananos (before they melted into banana chocolate goo).

 3 of our house moms serving up fruit salad.

 Alexis (one of my 1st graders) and his little sister.

 House 1 performing their song to Mary.

 Julitza singing her original song to Mary.

 "Disaster training" at school. In my opinion the entire training has basically been a disaster. I just hope we never have to find out.

 Arbor Day

 Competition to see which grade can form the best human tree.

 Fun in the sun on the beach

 The awesome sucker tree I made for Easter.

 The Chicken/Soy/Rice packs we have donated from Feed my starving Children based in Minnesota. After having volunteered with them it's interesting to be on the receiving end.

 Laura and I on the way back to the Farm after an afternoon at the nearby resort.

 Sand Building competition.

 Learning to climb

 Getting to know the neighbor dog.

 All by herself