First Glances

Well, it's been almost two weeks since the arrival here in Honduras. Life in the jungle is treating me well and teaching me plenty! I never thought I'd learn so much about construction, babies, and butchering but I can tell my life skills are shaping up quite nicely.

above are some very limited pictures of the property -- the path to the other side of the property from the main part, the volunteer house that I'll be staying in, and some of the bodega and library. One of my favorite parts about living here is all the fruit! I picked 500 oranges with some of the other guys that live here to deliver to one of the schools here. We barely made a dent i the supply.

Here lies the evidence that I actually went in the chicken coop without being attacked to collect the eggs. David, the guy in the red shirt said if I opened the door they wouldn't come out. That was a lie. The new ladies are doing some serious egg laying though -- much to my breakfast delight!

Yep. I know you all have been waitin' for this one...it's was probably a bit bigger than a softball. This papa spider is the second of it's kind we found in the living room. Luckily there are some people around here that are not plagued by arachnophobia so I can cower in the opposite corner during the killing process.

Last week we ended up butchering one of the cows -- a 4 a.m. to 2 p.m. process from kill to freezer. I woke up to witness most of it since this is all very foreign to me. It didn't turn me vegetarian and we ground almost all the meat. I think we all grew some muscles that day.

Something I'm really excited about here is the ministry we've got going on Friday nights. The goal is to have a place where everyone from all the villages around here can come and worship together and hear about God without it being affiliated with a specific church. The vision for this is mainly geared towards young people in the community but everyone comes and it's been an awesome time to witness unity. It's been encouraging to see how many people are interested in coming. I love getting to know all the young people around here -- I think that's what makes me smile the most.

These are the two cuties I get to hang out with during the day sometimes. All mamas need a break around here and I'm happy to be the nanny. It's good practice and I think I'm learning about many of the things they don't tell you before you have kids...hah. Love iiiiiit!

Believe it or not, Thanksgiving in the jungle is almost as good as Thanksgiving in the states. So. Much. Food. All the usual stuff plus some southern goods and the lamb legs from the mornings butchering adventure. On the left is all the Americans together at the clinic sharing dinner together. And on the right is Kelly, Monica and Kelvin's daughter, who fell asleep like that and didn't wake up until after my arms were numb. I could probably hold that little sweetheart all day long if she wanted. OH! and yes, we got to watch the Packer game. Or should I say..."los empacadores!"

These are some pictures from Jenny's graduation. She is one of the six sisters who I am lucky enough to live with in the same house. She just graduated from sixth grade and her oldest sister from high school. This is a really big deal for both of them because many students don't get as far. We celebrated with a special dinner for each one of them and movies. It seems like there's been one party after another since I got here so we are in no short supply of cake!

Here's a little peek at Tontín, our new little lamb. His mom was a bit overwhelmed by too many kids so she ended up rejecting him. Which just means we get to be his new mamas for the time being. He's real cute, isn't he? You know what else is cute? His crazy little lamb noises early in the morning in the living room...not.

Overall, it's been great here. I love what the ministry here is doing to encourage kids to prioritize education and grow in their faith so that they will grow up to be good parents, teachers, farmers, etc. And most importantly that they are people who love God and do everything with integrity. All of the people living on the property are so much fun to be around and work with. Thanks for all of you who are supporting us prayerfully and financially. It is such a blessing to be here!