Thanks for the Memories - by Haley

Today was, sadly, my last day to be with the kids and teachers at the Mission Lazarus school in San Marcos. The day could not have gone better. I spent the hour before school started with kids on my lap. I made sure to smell them, to study their faces, and to feel their warmth, as I want to remember each of these precious ones for a long time. During the Friday morning movie, I was able to sit on the floor, with three of the older girls leaning up against me. Toward the end of the movie we four had a great conversation about my university, pets, English words, and the climate(s) and topography(ies) of the United States. During recess I played with the kids (which included pushing kids on the swings, twirling kids around, and having a seven-against-one tickle fight). I also took a few more photos. After recess the Kindergarten class sang (I pounded the words to the songs firmly into my memory), and read stories. Dismissal was, of course, the saddest part for me. I said goodbye to as many of the kids individually as I could. I dearly hope to see them again - in this life, as well as in Heaven.

This has been an amazing summer. It´s hard to believe that already eight weeks have gone by. I wish that my memory were strong enough to remember for the rest of my life each moment of this summer. Alas, some details will fade. But I think I have a good list of those dearest and strongest memories which I may indeed be able to carry with me for the rest of my life:

• That first medical brigade with the group from Mayfair, and the ensuing flooded trek across hills, fences, walls, and streams back to the intern house
• The homes of the people of Cedeño, constructed of sticks and thatched roofs, home to families with shoeless and educationless children
• The cobblestone street in San Marcos, leading up to the Hotel Shalom - the site of our semi-weekly Spanish lessons and home of the beloved Señora Mari
• Sitting in the park in San Marcos, listening to the quiet, looking at the trees, and loving the peace and the people passing by
• Working, awestruck, alongside Don Porfilio, the ninety-year-old man who could outwork all of us interns combined
• The hugs and smiles and laughter and faces of all of the kids at the school and at the refuge
• The love and great cooking of Doña Cristiana at the school in San Marcos
• Those first successful conversations with Doña Roxana, Don Oscar, Don Porfilio, the children at the futbol field, and the girls at the school
• The air and rain and mountains of Honduras
• Learning to see God at work in the lives and hearts of the people around me
• The way that Jaclyn lightens the air in a room with her fun and always-loving attitude toward others
• The neard, and the man behind it
• The alternately joking and contemplative nature of Kyle
• The air of a leader (and of great cooking) that surrounds Loren
• The unexpected trusting and open conversations with Amy
• The transformation from worry to trust, peace, and eager anticipation in Kendra
• The God-conversations and cattle-herding amazingness with Katie
• The deep discussions and story-sharing with Heather - in El Jefe, under the stars, or on walks back to the intern house.
• The great team that is Jarrod, Ally, Chad, Shelly, Meredith, Gustavo, Arle, Alma, Samuel, Ariel, Don Porfilio, Margot, Jorge, Henri, Juan, Luis, Javier, Lexi, Wilson, Claudia, Carmen, Alba, Olman, and all the other amazing, loving, and hard-working people that serve with Mission Lazarus every day of the year.

To all the people with whom I have had the privilege of spending this summer, thank you for the love, and thank you for the memories.

Que Dios le bendiga.

Haley

A Little Bit of Love - by Haley

I officially love the kids at the school in San Marcos.

I think I started loving them a long time before this, but now I realize that I only have 3 more days left with them, and I am really going to miss them. It´s funny, because I feel about them rather like I feel about my family. The kids misbehave a lot, and don´t seem to respect me much when I try to correct/scold them. But they´re awesome. We´ve developed a relationship, and I love them. No matter what. I think they all call me ¨Haley¨ now, instead of ¨gringa.¨ When we see each other on the street, they call my name excitedly. They make conversation with me, instead of acting all shy. They ask me to tell them stories. They teach me how to play games like ¨cebollita¨ and ¨landa fruta.¨ They play make-believe with me. They ask me to teach them songs and English words. They give me huge bear hugs around my legs, and then lean back to look up at me with big eyes and even bigger grins. They fall over each other to let me take their pictures. They play with my hair, and tell me that it is beautiful. And today, one of the 7-year-old boys stretched out his arms for me to pick him up. When I did, he wrapped his arms and legs around me, gave me a peck on the cheek, and laid his head on my shoulder. We stayed like that for ten whole minutes.

It feels so good to be loved by these kids, and to love them in return. I´m going to miss them so much.

Thank you, Lord, for bringing me here.

--Haley

Teaching On Our Own - by Haley

Tuesday was an exciting day at the school for David and myself. Two of the teachers at the San Marcos school were attending a workshop in Choluteca, so David and I taught the Kindergarten class by ourselves. It wasn´t too far from the normal routine; we just had to manage the 2-hour morning class period without the usual Honduran profesora in the classroom. Although fun, this proved to be a little more challenging than expected: apparently kids don´t listen to substitute teachers as well they listen to the real thing. Who knew? :)

Shelly prepared some arts-and-crafts for us to do, and David and I planned out an English lesson - teaching the children colors by giving them coloring pages with the English words printed on it, similar to a color-by-number. Many of the Kindergarteners were excited to learn and listened well. But a few (aka 4 out of 5 boys present) had a little too much energy and didn´t seem to want to pay attention. That made it a little difficult to keep them quiet so that we could explain directions and help the others. When we finished the English coloring lesson, we let them have some play time. This became a little chaotic as a few of the boys decided to have a screaming contest (indoors), but apparently we didn´t bother the other classes too much.

After lunch we had an extended recess. This was GREAT! The kids taught me some new games, and by the time we went inside, the Kindergarteners were well worn out. Señora Sandra brought her Preparatory class (the grade between Kindergarten and First) into our classroom, where she and I took turns reading to the two classes until the parents came to retrieve their kids.

Overall, it really was a fun day. It was an accomplishment, for sure. And I think my Spanish is getting better. My sentences are coming together more quickly, and I´m beginning to understand better what others are saying. I´m looking forward to going to the school again tomorrow.

Haley

Week 4

1. Copan was absolutely awesome and beautiful and completely worth ten hours one way.
2.It's either a win or lose situation with the movies they pick on buses. Maybe it would have been better if we hadn't of lost the spirit stick.
3.David should have been hospitalized for eating those chips.
4. Playing be my mochila (aka climb on Jaclyn and hang like a backpack) made my day at the school on Monday.
5. Haley took me to an awesome tree whose branches could be trees themselves.
6. God is always good, always loving.
7. Kyle has a new nickname: Domino.
8. And David can dance around on stage like a caged whale.
9. The clinic is spic and span as it has ever been. The walls, windows, attic, floor, chairs, tables, cracks, molecules and every single object has been cloroxed, dusted, swept, mopped, wiped, re-wiped, rinsed, and organized. I think even my kidneys were cleaned there was so much of it going on. The clinic looks awesome now!!!! and it was fun bc Loren played us music the whole time. Nothing like "Paradise City" with a broom as your mic.
10. Clase de espanol is going much better since we have separated the goods vs. the what did she say's. And Loren broke his chair.
11. Clinic today was very good. I cleaned an ulcer on a woman's leg and then put silver nitrate on it. I know that it hurt her really bad, but she was strong. Javi says that you have to be hard then you can cry with the patient afterwards bc it is best for them. He teaches us well.
12. I'm flying to the Estados Unidos tomorrow for one of my best's wedding. I'll be back Sunday. I have a list of things that everyone wants...do you need anything?
13. I am so blessed to be here this summer with these people, with these daily activities. I'm glad that I know God's direction for me was to be here this summer.
Jaclyn

Duck, Duck, Goose and other School Stories

Today was Day 3 of being at ¨la escuela¨ in San Marcos. I feel more comfortable there now, because I´m learning the routine...and I´m able to understand more of what is said now. Also, today Jaclyn came to the school with me, which helped. I felt more confident because I was able to show her the ropes, introduce her, and translate a little for her. I think she had a good day too, even though it was her first day and she is still learning what to do.

I think that we interns are most helpful at recess, because we are able to play with the kids. Today Jaclyn and I pushed kids on the swings, and played fútbol, and tossed a basketball around, and played ¨Pato, Pato, Ganzo,¨or ¨Duck, Duck, Goose.¨ This week in Honduras is a week of ¨vacation¨ from school. Thus, the Mission Lazarus schools only have half-days this week. Today most of the kids left around 12:30 or 1:00. But a handful of kids stayed until 3pm - their parents are working.

Oh, I almost forgot! This morning I led the devotional for the school staff. I was a little nervous when Hermana Roxana asked me last week if I would do it. I spent a lot of time over the weekend praying, studying my Bible in Spanish, practicing what I was supposed to say, and asking the Lord to give me the words. Praise God! I think it went really well! I read from Romans 4:16-22, which talks about the faith that Abraham had. Even though he was 100 years old and he and Sarah didn´t have any kids, Abraham believed what God told him: that he would be ¨father of many nations.¨ And after that happened, Sarah gave birth to a son. The word that God speaks changes things. The word that God spoke created the world. Brought light into the universe. Healed the sick. Raised the dead. Cast out demons. Made the blind to see and the deaf to hear. Turned the sinner into a righteous man. This is the same word that God speaks into our lives through the Holy Spirit. And this word has the power to change our lives. To change our minds and hearts. To change our health. To change our success. To change our circumstances. To change our families. To change our world.

Que Dios le bendiga.

Haley

First Day of School

Today was my first day of ¨work¨ here at Mission Lazarus. I spent the day at the school in San Marcos, helping with a Kindergarten class. Even though I can´t understand much of what the kids say to me, I know the words for the things they are learning - letters, numbers, colors....As long as we keep the conversation to foods, animals, numbers, and colors, I can follow. :) I did learn the words to a couple of songs in Spanish. The rest of my Spanish-song repetoire will take a while to catch up to theirs, I think.

So what did I actually DO today? I helped to mop the floors this morning before school started. I met some of the kids as they arrived. I watched and listened while they prayed and sang their morning songs. I helped to lead a line of kids to the bathroom to wash hands. I helped to serve breakfast to the kids - coffee and breakfast cookies. I helped to pass out paper, crayons, scissors, playdough, etc. during class. I participated in a few games and tried to lead a few. I don´t know many Spanish games yet, but they have a few I recognized: ¨Pato, Pato, Ganzo¨(Duck, Duck, Goose), and ¨Simón Dice¨ (Simon Says). They also have a game similar to London Bridge, but I don´t know the words yet. I helped to serve (and eat) lunch - rice and onion and potato and plantain soup. I played with them at recess - everyone´s favorite part (including mine), but the sweatiest and most tiring. Especially since I spent 15 minutes spinning kids in a circle and giving horsey rides! I also pushed some kids on the swings. Then for the last half hour, there was an old swingset with no swings on it, and I lifted the kids up one at a time so that they could use it as monkeybars. It was hard work keeping the kids in a line with everyone pushing forward (I don´t know how to say ¨back up¨ yet), but I was able to teach the kids how to say ¨1, 2, 3¨ in English and French. (They already knew it in Spanish!) After recess, we went back inside and sang some more songs, and then played with playdough again until dismissal. I made a cat and a dog out of playdough, and after that every kid in the class wanted one! So I obliged.


Oh, by the way, yesterday I went with David and Jarrod to Managua, Nicaragua to pick up Dr. Rick Lytle and his daughter Hannah at the airport. Dr. Lytle is the dean of the College of Business Administration (COBA, my department) at ACU. I´m excited that he and Hannah are here - and I very much enjoyed the trip across the border. San Marcos is only 11k (7 minute drive) from the border, which consists of a rope stretched across the road, then a customs building, then another rope across the road. Crossing the border is pretty easy - one just has to stop at the building, present a passport and exit-entry taxes (about $7 total each way), and then continue on. The drive to Managua was about 3 hours total one way. Good time to relax, chat, and enjoy the scenery. On the way we saw people selling parrots, iguanas, and a monkey along the side of the road!

That´s all for now, folks. ¡Que Dios le bendiga!

Haley

WE ARE HERE!!

I´m Jaclyn from VA and I go to Harding University. I´ll be a senior next year and hope to be a physician´s assistant one day. I am so glad to be here!! I was nervous sitting in the airport all day, but as soon as my feet hit the ground outside of the airport I knew that this is where I want/need to be. It´s like I forgot that I missed it. I guess the unknown part of it kind of worried me...but it´s awesome. I´m so ready to be used for God´s glory I can hardly contain myself.
The other interns are awesome...riding around in el jefe is a beautiful way of getting to know each other. Last night at dinner was awesome for us. We sat after we finished eating and laughed a lot and we are getting closer. I´m glad we are starting work tomorrow. I get to go to the clinic. I ask for your prayers continuosly...that we don´t get sick and can learn spanish and always have good attitudes and show people the love God has showed us!!
-Jaclyn