Quick Update

Lots of things have happened since I have been at Orphanage Emmanuel. I haven’t been able to blog about anything, but I’ve been doing a pretty good job of journaling each day that I’m here. So many things happen so fast that I’ll forget them if I don’t write things down. I wish that I could share many stories with you but I can’t now for lack of time. I have limited access to the internet here because of time restraints. There are so many things to be done here and not enough hands to do them so I’m lucky if I get 20 minutes a week. Here lately my 20 minute time slot has come on days without power haha. With that being said, I’ll try and update you briefly on a few things going on here. Also if you read the blog entry with a list of needs, you will see some of the other activities that I’m involved in.
This is a really quick summary of the past 3-4 weeks I’ve been here. I’ve really struggled staying well since I’ve been here because of stomach issues and also bug bites. I’ve been attacked by lots of bugs and my legs look terrible. I’ve been able to get some medicines from the clinic so I’m feeling much better. The joke among staff is that you quickly get promoted here and I am finding that statement to be true. I started out working at the toddler house for a couple of days. Then I met with the principal at the school and found out that I will be teaching 4th-6th grade English and so I started writing lesson plans. But many times here you receive a job assignment and it gets changed before you even start. I spent the next week working in the little boys’ kitchen all day every day cooking and cleaning for 3 meals for lots and lots of hungry little boys. It was a challenging week but I learned lots of things. Then the next week I worked in the medical clinic for 1 day while some American doctors were here. That night I found out that I would leave early the next morning to take 20 teenage girls to a Christian camp – Campamento Esperanza (Camp Hope) - outside of Tegucigalpa. So we loaded the girls up on a bus and another volunteer and I took them to camp for this past week. It was an incredibly life changing experience for me – I heard many of the girls’ stories and saw some horrible things in the city that I will never forget. The Lord keeps reminding me of where these kids have come from and what they’ve had to endure before they got to this safe home of Emmanuel, which causes me to love them even more. Every face has a story. In my free time I’ve been playing soccer with the little and medium boys and hanging out with them in their yards getting to know them better. If you know me, I’m sure you’re not surprised that it’s easier for me to form relationships with the little boys through playing soccer than it is to bond with the little girls talking and fixing hair. This has turned out to be a blessing though. There aren’t many boy volunteers and they spend most of their time working; most of the girl volunteers here are drawn to bonding with the little girls. So it just works out perfectly that another girl volunteer and I are drawn to building relationships with the younger boys. Also, I have seen a great need in the little ones to have a mother-figure, someone of compassion – and there is nobody in that role. They have many male role models in their lives to teach and lead and guide them, but they don’t come into contact with any women who can provide that mother role model that is so crucial for boys at this age. The female staff stays so busy even trying to manage the girls, much less minister to the boys. As a volunteer I have that opportunity because of my flexibility of jobs. Many weekends I have spent in the boys’ yard playing all kinds of games and just hanging out.
Now that we’re back from camp I’ve been observing the school today and tomorrow and will begin teaching on Wednesday. I’ll be teaching 4 classes ranging from 11 – 32 students. Each class meets for 45 minutes twice a week. In a few weeks I will be teaching 1st-3rd grade English or a bilingual class in addition to my other classes. My other responsibilities will still continue after the school day is over, but much of my time will now be devoted to preparing for classes. I don’t have my own classroom but instead I travel from class to class to teach. Please pray for me in preparation for this. I am more nervous about this task than I’ve been about anything else so far.
There have been many volunteers here and 10 more arrive today. It makes for much craziness in a house full of 20+ girls but things are good. I am the only new long-term volunteer and so many of the other volunteers will be leaving soon, therefore placing me in the position to receive much responsibility. I’ve met some really cool people here and I will miss the other volunteers when they leave, but I’m sure the quiet will be nice sometimes too! 
My time is up but I just want to say thank you again for your prayers and emails of encouragement over the past few weeks. This place has become my home and it feels like it here, but I enjoy hearing from you. Please continue to pray for me, the other volunteers, and especially the staff here. So much needs to be done but there aren’t enough hands and so the staff members have more responsibility than they can possibly bear. Pray for language learning – as teaching is extremely difficult with this barrier. Pray for healing and wellness. Please pray that I will be willing to step out of the comfortable and to dive in to the uncomfortable willingly and with a joyful heart.