Life is Beautiful

Here are just a few pics of some of the activities that have been happening on the Ranch in the last few weeks...

Back in August we had the annual 'Olympiadas' games here on the Ranch...so fun...and my team actually won (well, duh, right?)! So this past week, a total of probably about 50 of us packed into a bus and headed to the big city for lunch at Pizza Hut...yummmm...and a movie at the cinema. It was a great experience for me...and the first time I had been to a spanish theater. The movie was the latest one with Eddy Murphy (can't remember the name), so of course it wasn't too tough to follow...haha. And it was so cute to see these kids in the big city...they don't get off of the Ranch much, so so many things are novelty for them...escalators, movie theater seats (they thought they were broken because they folded up on them...ha!), bathroom sinks with hand-sensored water, soap that looks like 'shampoo'...hilarious!! So many things we take for granted...

The past couple of weeks have also been full of random festivities...
A few of us took a trip to another city that had its annual "Corn Festival," which resembled the Minnesota State Fair, so that was a great taste of home for me! And the honey-covered apples were glorious, though incredibly sticky.:) I even went with a fellow MN volunteer, so there was plenty to reminisce about.

One of my little chiquitos turned 4 at the end of August, so 2 weeks ago we had a big Honduran-style little-kid bday party for him, which included plantains with quesio, a pinata (of COURSE! It ain't a party here without a pinata!), plenty of candy, and of course cake. So fun, but definitely crazy with about a dozen 5-and-under kids running around my house!

I've also just learned that September is the month of holidays here...Last week was El Dia del Nino (Kids' Day), which included nothing but games (with pinatas) during school and lots of sugar-coated food. This week is the Honduras Independence Day, so on Friday the kids participated in a parade close by...they were so cute in their little outfits for it! Then I guess the next week is Teacher's Day...and I've also heard that October is a big month for holidays, so it should be fun! I'll keep you all posted on the activities.

By the way, I must note that I made my first batch of flour tortillas from scratch on Friday...I felt so cool...haha. I had Fernando (my godson) over for the day, and all he requested for lunch was flour tortillas with quesio (a kind of cheese here)...it was great. Finally I was able to relax with him for a bit...there usually isn't much time for that here!

Prayer request: This week I am starting a "Bible School" for my little chiquitos...this is something I felt led to do, but I'm a bit nervous about teaching a dozen kids this much in spanish! It will be a good challenge, and I hope that kids will love it.

I hope all is well up north...I've been beginning to feel that I won't be able to make it a whole year without returning home to see y'all!

Milagros y Misericordia

Hey all, I'm back! Sorry for such a gap in time since my last post...life continues to get more and more busy as I slowly integrate myself into the culture here. And...there have been quite the random happenings in the past couple of weeks that I'll make note of here...hence, my title: "Miracles and Mercy."
(Don't think I'm even slightly close to being fluent yet...I had to look the 2nd word up in my dictionary...haha!)

Well, a couple of weeks back, we here at the Ranch experienced quite the scare. Three of our volunteers and one of the Ranch's employees were involved in a pretty serious accident. They were hitching a ride in the back of a truck when it spun out of control and rolled into a ditch. The four passengers were all obviously flown from the truck and had serious injuries...BUT, by the grace of God, they are all ok...in much better condition than they should be after such an accident. Only one of them had any broken bones, though all of their heridas y cortadas (injuries and cuts) were definitely not sparse. The recovery process for them has been slow for each (involving casts, crutches, and stitches), but with such a big team here, we've been able to support them pretty sufficiently (I hope:). (By the way, Mom, I'm really sorry if I made you worry even more with this story--all is OK!!:)

Well, shortly after the accident, I had my own personal little miracle (ok, tiny in comparison to the previous story, but a miracle nonetheless). But it didn't start out that way...
Well, my injured roomie Tezra was the only one home one afternoon when one of the orphans here walked into our house (only the screen door was closed). He walked right into my room and I guess sat down on my roomie's bed. Tezra tried to get him to leave, but he was resistent (I found out later that there's been lots of difficulties with this young boy here), so she left to go call someone for help. He then walked out of our house rather ubruptly, leaving Tezra feeling a bit emotional and violated.
Later that night, I heard the story. And an hour or so later, I decided to show my roomie one of the pics I had recently taken on my (less than 1-yr-old) camera. Well, lo and behold, the camera was not there. Right away I knew where it most likely was...or had been...in the hands of this little boy. So...the search and recovery process for my beloved Canon quickly ensued. The story is long, and I will spare the details, but I was stressed for a couple of days because the boy admitted having taken the camera, but we couldn't find it where he stated he left it...and the day after he had entered our house, his brother mysteriously fled from the Ranch for a couple of days. Of course I had my presumptions. Of course I felt violated. And angry. And I couldn't believe this kid who had lied so many times before. Oh, and mustn't I mention that I felt bummed about my cute little material item being...as far I as I knew...long gone. I really was just a ball of emotions, but I tried to keep it all in the Lord's hands.
And guess what happened 4 days later?
The camera was recovered. AND it was found very close to where the boy claimed to have lost it.
BUT...
It had been left outside in one of the BIGGEST rain storms I've experienced here yet.
The lens was completely washed out.
The buttons didn't work.
It was all beat up.
BUT...I could turn it on.
There was hope.
But I still cried when I saw it. (Ok, ok, I know it was just a camera, but I think I was having a hard day that day...or something)

SO...I waited. I pried open the face of the camera to dry to air it out...and I tried to be patient.
A couple of days later, I could see through the screen...but the buttons still weren't working. And then a couple more days later, the buttons worked, but my lens wasn't zooming in and out correctly.
But then...finally...I could take pictures. And man, my camera takes good pictures, if I do say so myself.:) I was so happy. Who woulda thought that such a little gadget could have such a big story behind it!

So...aside from the functioning of my camera, I went through a process of trying deal with my emotions with this boy...it was a prayerful process, and through it God taught me about mercy, forgiveness, and love...it's a freeing feeling to be able to look at someone who has somehow violated you and still really care about that person. I know the story may be a little one in comparison to other stories of forgiveness, but God spoke big through it, so I had to share.:)

Wow, I have more to say, but this post is WAY too long, and in an effort to keep you from (more) boredom, I'll write more in a couple of days, and I'll add pics, too!