A Rough Patch

Hey everyone!

Well, my regular 2-week check-in has slowly turned into a 2-month one...yikes! Sorry for the long delay...the rollarcoaster life of Honduras has continued to have its adventurous ups and downs...

Hmmm...where to start...

Well, about a month and a half ago, I went through the dreaded 'culture shock' syndrome, and it was not-so-fun. I was incredibly homesick for a good 3 weeks, as well as physically sick with the worse 3-day virus I've ever experienced...blah!!! I wanted nothing but to return home. I had no desire to be here, and I even started looking for jobs (even those in spanish!) and potential grad schools to start back home...I seriously thought that, if I hadn't already made travel plans with my sister and friend in January, I would have very quickly booked a flight back home. It was definitely a rough stretch, because I also switched my job in the baby house for 2 weeks, and I was no longer working with 7 babes ages 2 to 4 but with a whopping 37 boys ages 4 to 10...whom had no desire to listen to me, their new tia. It was complete chaos! I also switched my weekend rotation, which meant I was working with a whole new group of co-workers and had my break weekends to relax with a different group of volunteers. And amidst the transition, I had my camera and half of my month's stipend stolen from me on the city bus...NO FUN!!!! Lots of new stuff and worries after having been here for about 4.5 months made for an uncomfortable combination and long stretch which I just had to 'get through.'

Well, thanks be to God, I have made it past the rough hump and am now on the up-swing with things...back to enjoying the culture...time with my godson and time at my new church with new friends...and the warm weather! And of course the Christmas season is always fun, especially with the anticipation of dozens of little kids filling the air! Each day with my little kiddies, I try to share the Christmas story of Jesus' birth as we munch on bon bons (suckers) from the daily calendar. Last night, we planned the grand 'Cena Navideña'...the biggest, best dinner of the year for the kids and staff! It was the true beginning of the Christmas excitement for me.=) The kids and staff are also currently constructing a huge nativity scene in the middle of the baby house, so I can't wait to see that finished! I know that I will definitely miss celebrating Christ's birth with my family back home, but I am very excited to experience Christmas here with so many children...the word 'magical' comes to mind, especially since I know that SO many ex-volunteers return here year after here for the holiday!! I will let you know how it goes! Though I must say, I am definitely missing the Christmas tunes in english right now...

Though things have been going better for me, I do have a big prayer request I want to share with y'all. I absolutely love my little kiddies with whom I work, and I really fall more in love with them everyday, but I am still considering a job switch here on the Ranch. I am constantly exhausted here and work a lot more than the other volunteers, so I really struggle with this and my lack of energy for the kids most...if not every...day. There is a job opening right now in the office which translates letters to and from the children and their monthly sponsors. I feel that this job could be interesting for me since I'm a madrina myself, but I do not want to switch jobs for the wrong reasons or against what God wants and has for me here as a volunteer. Please pray that His will be done, and that if I need to step out of my own physical feelings and selfishness, I would do so. If I switch jobs, I will still be working with my kids in the baby house, but just for dinner each night and every other weekend. And I still plan to do my Bible classes with them!

Well, amidst the struggles and longings for home and comfort, I have reminded myself almost daily to laugh and find joy in the little things I experience with the kids. I've made mental notes of the things that make me laugh or smile each day, and I will try to share those things with you the best that I can:

Daily 'warm fuzzies', courtesy of my little babes:

1. Little Kevin, age 4, who asks me 2 questions EVERY day: 'Where do you live?' ('Kevin, I live in my house, close to the boys' dorms on the other side of the Ranch') And, 'Can you remove your finger?' (I have a trick I do with the kids that my dad taught me as a kid...I act like I'm taking off my finger...the kids totally love it!) I think the 2^nd question is asked like 5 times a day, actually, though I only actually do the trick like twice a day...the other times I have to disappoint him and tell him that I just can't do it because it hurts too much....haha!

2. Little Maynor, age 3, who tries desperately to explains things to me all the time, but because his language can't keep up with his busy, intelligent mind, he ends up spouting out a couple of words with much exasperation...I giggle every time, and he just smiles back at me with his, 'thanks for understanding me, Jenna' look.=)

3. Josue, age 4, who randomly has his moments of extreme joy in which he is jumping up and down and giggling profusely...for no apparent reason...all I want to do is hug him and jump with him.=)

4. Mauricio, age 8, who daily comes and hugs me during meals at my table. At first it was so precious and I thought he really loved me, and then he daily started asking me for the food in front of me which he knows I don't like...aprovechado! These kids are more obsessed with food than me, it's hilarious.

5. The fact that 8-year-old girls can kick my butt in soccer makes me both laugh...and cry.

6. Jarvin, age 4, who rolls his spanish Rs (rrrrrrrrrrr) like no one I've ever heard...he needs to teach me his spanish...his is beautiful and hilarious at the same time!

7. Every once in a while on the weekends, we head to a big field in a nearby town with all of the kids from the Ranch. Because the walk is too long for the little kids, we pack all 60-SOMETHING of them into the back of a big truck, and though the trip is only a few miles, it is the funniest yet most dangerous thing of my life. All the kids have to stand, but every time we make a turn or go over a bump, they are falling all over each other, screaming and hitting each other. Also, there is not back door to the truck, so the Tios have to guard the back with their life so that the kids don't fall out. I feel so bad for the little kids who are always getting crushed on our 20-minute tour, but at the same time I can't help but laugh..only in Honduras! It's a 'you have to be there!' kind of experience!

Ok, so there are many more little moments, but those will have to come in a later post!! Don't want to bore you all too much...

Sending you all my LOVE, HUGS, and CHRISTMAS BLESSINGS!!!! May the Lord bless your Christmas moments with His love, peace, joy, and incredible presence. Glory to God in the highest!

“Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing;

Come adore on bended knee—Christ, the Lord, the newborn King!”