Rain

Even though we are far from where the hurricane hit, the rain has been coming. It has been raining essentailly nonstop for the past 5 five days. The rain finds its way in through the windows and below the doors keeping the floor consistently wet, but otherwise it has not caused us all that much trouble. But remember to keep all the people who may not have sturdy homes or shelters in your prayers.

The internet has been out, and still is, so I apologize that I have not been able to respond to some of your emails and messages!

Nap Time!

The babies are all sleeping at the same time! That is something that almost never ever happens, but today it did! The house is so quiet. The older girls are all playing in a fort they created with their bunk beds, and since it is Saturday, the school next door has the same eerie silence. The only noises are the fan next to me and some thunder off in the distance. Today has been unusually hot and humid, so an evening thunderstorm would be welcomed. Because it is the wet season, and we are here, up on a mountain, it rains most evenings. Nearly every morning is bright and sunny, but you can expect the clouds to come in late afternoon, and a evening thunderstorm to follow.

While I am happy my spanish is getting better (I still have a ways to go though) I am even more surprised by the few words I have picked up in a third language! All the kids here in the home come from a region of the country where Miskito is spoken. (I don't know if that is how you spell it, but that's a guess.) It actually has more resemblance to English than to Spanish, but due to the fact that a number of the kids here are babies, or have only been here a short time, it has been very helpful to learn certain words or phrases in this language. I will share a few, although I have no idea on spelling so I will simply write how they sound in english.

ah-pea-ah: no
oww: yes
vaal: come here
cow ah-pea-ah: no more
dinki: thank you
mair-pie: beautiful
dow-an: God

God is doing beautiful things down here with this place and these children. He is continually answering prayers and showing Himself in so many ways.
One common phrase we use is dinki pali dowan, it means muchas gracias a Dios, or much thanks to God. Despite obstacles and hard times, God is always so good, and always giving us something to thank him for. Yesterday the running water stopped for the day. Even though many people in this area do not have running water, you forget how easy it is to take things for granted. Today, to turn the faucet and have water come out was just another opportunity to thank HIM.

I don't like to paint

Whenever I hear that we are painting, I am excited, then we begin and I remember why it is that I do not like it. This weekend we took on painting the nursery, family room and hallway. I really like painting with the roller, you know what I mean, when you just can get the paint and go.
What I don't like:
The preparation- moving furniture, taping the door frames and light switches, and finding the brushes.
The details- not getting paint on the ceiling, not getting paint on the floor, painting around the light switches, painting the top up against the ceiling, painting the bottom by the floor, painting the bottom trim without tape to give you a straight line.
The clean up- you finally finish painting the rooms, and are relieved to be done, and then you remember there is a tarp, pans, multiple brushes and rollers still left to clean up.
Finally you are done and then you wake up the next day and start all over with a second coat!

Really it is not so bad, especially when you have great company, but I'm not sure I will eagerly volunteer to paint anytime in the near future :)

Luckily the rooms look great, and are dry for the most part, so we don't have to constantly be guarding the wet walls from running children!

Beautiful Children

As I sit here writing, I have beautiful Olfelia on my lap. Can you think of anything I would enjoy more! Olfelia is nearly four years old but because of extreme malnutrition is barely the size of a two year old. She has such a little personality. Although she doesn't say many words, she can understand most of the things you tell her and then either chooses to obey or disobey with a huge grin on her face. She also has a fabulous laugh and gives lots of kisses!

I am really enjoying everything about being here. I started this week teaching Bible class to the children at the primary school. So far it has been a lot of fun, and the schedule works out really well. I start at 7, teach all 6 grades with two little breaks throughout, and then am finished at noon! So most of the afternoons I have come back and helped take care of the babies, and play with the bigger kids.

The other day we went to Matagalpa, a city a ways from here, and visited a number of preschools and other sites, looking to start feeding centers there. It is an area with such extreme poverty, it breaks your heart, but everyone here is praying that the feeding centers will do well to serve the people.
New Hope Children's Foundation, the organization I am here with is made up of a number of parts. Originally came the school, Mas Que Vencedores (More than Conquerors). There is a primary school and a secondary school that educate a couple hundred children, all here on scholarship. The children's home has 12 children: five babies between a year and a half and Olfelia, six girls between 7 and 12 years old, and one older boy that is 15. The last part is the feeding centers that have been started all over the country in order to help feed the hungry people.

It is almost time for breakfast (we get to sleep in a little on Saturdays :) So I hope everyone is well! Love you all!

HERE

I arrived here in El Crucero two days ago, although it feels like I've been here much longer! Of course I have fallen in love with the children (that only took about 5 minutes)! I started teaching Bible class at the primary school yesterday, and so far so well, I'm on a break right now. Later I will write a with more details, but I just wanted to give a quick update!

Hopefully I am able to blog every so often and let you all know what is going on
Love and prayers!