In Conclusion

Time...

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!

Yonder on Calvary's mount outpoured, there where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

This was one of the songs we sung in worship two weeks ago. Grace, Marvelous Grace.

Anyways these last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activities. But not really any new stuff come to think of it. I really broke a computer that I was trying to fix... so I'm spending any free time I have to still trying to fix it. Waiting on it now.

It started out with just a virus, and now it won't even turn on. Fried motherboard. I've given up on it and am in the process of sorting through six broken computers to see if I can salvage one to work.

This has just been a bad month for electronics. Well at least for me.

My computer keyboard is flipping out, headphone broke again... but hey God is good. And at least I was able to salvage my keyboard enough to write this.

I'm really going to miss this place. Don't get me wrong. I miss home, but this place will forever have a place in my heart.

So weird that I only have a month or so left. Does not feel like I've lived here almost nine months. Wow does time fly.

The Parents Are Coming

My parents were able to come down for a week and visit me. Although short, the time with them was great. I wasn’t able to hang out with them very much, as I still had school as well as my other activities, but I was able to take a day off of school and hike up one of the mountains and then go to a public school and “fix” computers with my dad. I would have liked to make it to the waterfall, but we were unable to find the time. But my parents were definitely a blessing to the missionaries here, and are wanted back.

Spiritual Warfare

So I now believe even more in spiritual warfare....

Background information: Anmy = the student any teacher would die for. The one who always get her work done, always gets good grades, and always is at school.

Setting: A little open air champa in Honduras. A place we call school.

Story: One day this past week I handed out a math homework sheet to 4 of my students. Anmy took her sheet and then proceeded to fold it up into a small square, putting it in her pocket while she thought I wasn't looking. When I finished handing it out the other 3 students I came back to her and played dumb.

"Where did you math paper go? I'll just get you another one." - Me

Well this time when I handed it to her, she immediately took it and proceeded to rip it up into little pieces. Yeah this was very surprising, I don't think I could speak for the next minute. Then another student proceed to take bites out of his worksheet, while the rest of the class started shouting "hurray rebel."

Yeah pretty much didn't know what to do. Felt kinda like in a movie where the teacher runs out of the school crying because the students revolted. Something was weird... Anmy never had done anything remotely like this before. I believe that Satan was working. Maybe trying to get me to quit, maybe he hoped I would get angry, or... I don't know.

I told the kids to put all their school away and that we were just going to talk, talk about anything they wanted to. While they were talking, I went into another room and just prayed....

I told God that I didn't know what to do and that I needed help. And I told him to keep Satan away.

Then a very interesting thing happened. Hannah, the student that does not like school and will do anything to get out of school, (the girl that is currently writing an essay about how wer should have more breaks at school) started saying.

"Guys we really need to respect him. He has come all this way to teach us. Think about that. We have to do our school. Do your school, do your school..."

When I came out 5 minutes later, everyone was doing their worksheet, and the rest of the day went smoothly.

Moral = Satan is out there and he does things, in hopes that we screw up and sin. Prayer is good. God does work, and he can use anyone he wishes.

Just Another Day In Paradise :)

So yesterday… yeah lots of adventures.

I broke into a person’s house to get a school book. Then after breaking in and putting in the screen and all the windows slates back, I realized I left my Crocs in the locked house. So… I rode the bike back barefoot to school, and then had to pick up my shoes later that night and tell the owner of the house how my shoes ended up in his house.

Last night I jumped off a Land Cruiser going 20 miles an hour and skidded to a halt on the Honduran road only to have my face stop in a puddle. Limped up to my house and chased off a horse… again, and took a shower to clean all the mud off only to find out that I now have a bruised shoulder and knee, that my forearm is all scraped up, and I have a scraped chin.

And now today has been pretty good. Only had a half day at school and during the second half we showed Toy Story 2 because the kids have come on time and accomplished their homework this month.

Now tonight I have a bible study with a few Honduran guys. Have been going through Romans and it’s been really sweet. Love how in the first few chapters it “levels the playing field,” so to speak…

“What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’” - Romans 3:9-12

The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. - Romans 3:22-24

It’s a gift people, you can’t earn a true gift. You can’t buy a gift… That’s what a gift is, - something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned.

Grace is amazing... that’s all I can say.

And now since my battery is dying, I am off to make dinner and prepare for Bible Study. Adios

3 Trash Cans

So there are 3 different types of trash here.

First we have Burnables.

This is the main type of trash, composed of all things that burn. This includes all paper trash (boxes, paper towels, cartons, toilet paper) and plastic burns... yes plastic burns. All this trash is taken to the incinerator. A big black metal box that has 25 foot long stove pipe attached to it. When this gets full, it is lite and smoke bellow out of the top of the pipe telling people not to open the heavy metal door but to leave their bags by the building for the next fire.

Second is Recyclables.

This trash contains things like glass or metal. This this includes tin cans, jelly jars, soda cans, glass bottles, and anything else that doesn't burn. This is taken to a big metal container that is located right beside the incinerator, up on a cement slab. Once you climb the up the 7 or so slanted steps, while clinging to the PVC pipe railing, you throw all the recyclables together in the big metal box.

The final trash is Food Scraps.

This is any left over food pieces that you left over from cooking or your meal. This can not be left more than 24 hours before dumping. Ants are the primary reason for the rapid throwing out, although smell is another. This trash is taken out to the pit... a 15 foot hole that is about 4 feet by 4 feet. The smell isn't the best and the hole is now filled with a rancid water and rotten food mixture. For some reason I always end up taking my scraps out to the pit at night without a flashlight. The fear of falling in to the gooey mess is always a factor because there is like now way one could get out once they plunge in.

Well there you have it. :)

ANTS

Ants.... ANts... ANTS...

Ant's are everywhere down here in Balfate. First there are the little tiny sugar type ants that are always on my counter tops. Cleaning up any scraps of food that I leave out, or getting in to any unsealed container.

Then there are the leaf cutter ants out by the laundry room. These little fellows are always marching along carrying their cut up vegetation. I was on my way to do laundry the other day and was surprised to see a path about 2 inches wide.... The ants had cut a path!!!

Finally there are the ants at school. These are the most problematic of the three. They come in hordes, thousands and thousands at a time. We can hear them walking!!! They are very fast and take over the school buildings. Causing us to retreat to another building when we run out of killing spray or bromic acid. They kill everything in their path. Including, but not limited to; helpless bugs, small animals, and even wasp nests. They HURT a ton when they bite, almost like a bee sting.

Pictures of ant lines.

And now a video