Honduranisms 'n Such

Hey everyone! Well, this past weekend marked 2 months for me here in Honduras...wow, the time has flown by. Well, some days it feels as though time couldn't move slower...but overall, I can't believe how fast everything seems to be moving.
I feel like I've been here long enough now to have a decent-sized list of all the random idiosyncrasies, rarities, hilarities, and the-like with regards to this place. I also feel like I've learned and re-learned some interesting things...here goes...

1. Cockroaches, lice, and water and electricity outages are simply parts of life. Deal with these peculiarities, and they will soon become your friends.:) Mornings with no water no longer really faze me, and loss of electricity has led to many adventures...haha. One night I even was finally able to just glance up at the stars and truly enjoy them while I waited for light...God will use whatever He wants to make us STOP sometimes.

2. Never, ever, EVER take hot showers for granted. Pretty please. They are the most glorious thing God has created...almost.:)

3. If I never again in my life eat beans, I don't feel as though I will be missing out on anything. At all.

4. Saying good-night to kids is one of my most favorite things in the whole wide world. Especially saying the Numbers 6 blessing to them...both in english and spanish:)

5. It really is quite fun to improvise when you don't have all of the proper kitchen utensils...it has become one of my most recent hobbies, actually (that, and jaloning:).

6. The generosity here never ceases to amaze me. Wow. I mean, little kids will even give you their CANDY. I am in heaven.:)

7. Only in Honduras will you see several kids under the age of 8 using machetes...all at once. And they've got way more skills than I do!

8. Sometimes I forget that dishwashers, disposals, and air conditioners really do exist. Weird.

9. You will never find a list of safety rules on any sort of playground equipment here. There really are no safety rules or precautions...anywhere. And yet, I think the kids here get hurt just as much as the kids in the US do...so interesting...yet more nerve-racking for me, at times.:)

10. The phrase, "EN SERIO?!" is definitely my favorite spanish phrase...as well as the Honduran lingo that I am slowly learning here...

11. Fried plantains have changed my life!

12. The rainy days here (well, that's almost every day right now:) are way better. Seriously. I can't explain it. LOOOOVE it.

13. The most exciting thing about taking trips to Tegucigalpa (well, aside from the bus ride) is the FOOD. En serio. Oh man, that's all I crave when I know I'm going to the city. Crepes never tasted SO good.:)

14. Who woulda thought that exchanging money in the street with random hoodlums could really be so legit and easy??? haha! Seriously!

15. The kids' favorite things to say here are, "Regaleme!" (give me!) and "Enseneme!" (show me!) I think I hear these phrases like 67 times a day.

16. You guys thought I was a sugar fiend in the US...wow, it's gotten worse here! I can never get enough sugar! We all eat so much here, it's crazy...must be all the changes...

17. Only here on El Rancho can adults get away with calling kids, "Usted," "Tu, and "Vos" in the same sentence! It's madness, I tell you.

18. Wanna win a kids' heart here? Just keep bakin' pasteles (cakes:). That's all they really want...ha.

19. Leave your shoes outside on your porch overnight, and they'll be gone the next day. Seriously. I miss my NewBs. Tengan cuidado!

20. I've really come to LOVE the slow pace here, and the fact that I have to walk everywhere...even miles...to get somewhere. I really don't miss my car! It's so freeing. And I get my workout in every day, right?:)

21. The Honduran people really work SO hard...I get exhausted just thinking about it...they are my heroes!! If only I had that kind of work ethic...whew.

22. The 'in' music here (aside from Reggaeton...blah!) includes all of the goodies from the 80s and 90s...Whitney, Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson...etc. It's tremendously amazing and hilarious at the same time!

23. This country truly is BEAUTIFUL, and I'm in love! Ahhhh...if only I didn't have to wear bug repellent everywhere I went!:)

24. The "Padre Nuestro" (Our Father) prayer is beautiful...especially when the kids say it. Oh, anytime they pray is SO great...absolutely love it.

25. Public nose picking is definitely more kosher here...haha...I see it way more often than I do in the States...ha!

26. I love love some of the names here (hey, they all get 4 names instead of 3, no fair!). Two of my favorites: Dulce Milagro (Sweet Miracle!), and any of the names that include, "de Jesus"...Luis de Jesus, Benjamin de Jesus, etc...so interesting!

27. The men here are even more confusing than the ones in the US. HAHA. That's my closure.

Hope you enjoyed though, y'all! I'm sure there will be even more to share soon. So stay tuned!
Love you all!
Please keep praying for me...I need all I can get...

Everything and Nothing

Wow, life has quickly gotten very exhausting! My days are full, yet at the same time I feel so stripped by God. He has really brought me to a place of weakness in many areas...but I must glory in Him in knowing that His strength is filling the gaps...even when I can't feel it.

Here's a run-down of my usual schedule:

6-8 AM: Up with my 6 kiddos (ages 19 months-almost 4 years), shower them, dress them, change diapers, feed them breakfast, brush their teeth, change them into their uniforms, do the girls' hair, send them off to school...make sure to give lots of hugs and kisses.:)

8:05-11:55 AM: Mi descanso! A break for a few hours to email, eat, relax, nap, and just hang out with Jesus.

Noon-8 PM: Get the kids from school, change them out of their uniforms, feed them lunch, put a couple of them down for naps, free-time play, organize their clean clothes, change more diapers, read with them, outdoor play, dinner, brush teeth, shower them again, change them into pjs, say good-night, wash dirty cloth diapers by hand, get uniforms from the laundry room, organize dirty clothes for the laundry the next day, do any extra chores (dependent on the day), etc....

So yes, my days are full! And I am currently on a 14-day work week, because the Ranch will have its "Olympiadas" next weekend, which I will have to work. Ah, I love it all some days, and other days I really wonder what the heck I'm doing here. Many times I feel like I'm not using my 'gifts' (according to me, that is:), other times I don't see God in my day-in, day-out tasks (especially in those poopy diapers), and still other times I don't feel like I'm loving my kids or the people around me as I could or should...there definitely is no feel-good 'glory' in serving others daily with no 'seen' reward...and I am learning to try to glorify God in the small things...which, when it really comes down to it, are the things of utmost worth and importance. A life of integrity is the toughest yet most God-glorifying life one can live. I'm learning to keep pressing on when I don't see...anything. It's really hard some days. I'm used to those crazy relationships with students, parents, kids, in which I can communicate well and show my true personality...and in which I appear to see fruit...I guess "There is a time to speak...and a time to be silent."

Right now, God is speaking to me (for the first time in Spanish!) with one word...
"Espera."
Wait, child.

Wait for Me to bring you those relationships you are seeking. It is in your waiting that I will become Lord of these relationships. Let me ordain the relationships in your life, so that I can receive greater glory, and so that you may keep me King of these relationships.

Wait for Me to give you each and every word you need to speak in each and every occasion. Don't try to hold on so tight to what you are learning and what you have to 'prove' to everyone back home and here.

Wait for Me to show you My glory through you while here. Don't lean on your own understanding of 'your ministry,' but rather just wait...and glorify Me through it all...and through this you will see your purpose...My purpose.

Wait on me with your struggles. I am emptying you so that I may become more in your life. Trust me. When you don't see Me, when you don't feel Me, when you don't sense My strength...Trust me. When you have no one, no place, nothing to trust in or lean on...choose Me.

AMEN. So here I am...waiting...and the next chapter is the Lord's.