Hecticity (in a good way)

So yea, tons of stuff is happening! Visitors, events, people flying home, my youth group back home on tour--the whole enchilada. Everything's below, but before I get started...

Happy Father's Day to my awesome Dad! He can and does fix pretty much anything, he's good at what he does, and a lot of fun to debate with. I love you Dad and I can't wait to see you! God bless you for your efforts in my upbringing! Ask someone else if you were successful or not. :)


And now, back to the hecticity... (Google, stop telling me that's not a word!)

In these last couple of weeks, we've had four different sets of visitors include John and Kate Lapp and family who were here to visit for an afternoon. They had stayed with the Ramos family for a week, but came over on a Friday to participate in our afternoon devotions with the children. I got to introduce them and show them around. After devotions, I traveled with Loncho's and John's to the nearby town of Suchitoto to eat. It was great fun! Thanks so much for coming John and Kate!

Wow, who is that taaalll guy? :) Everyone pauses for a quick pic before
starting to eat. Thanks waitress for operating the camera!

There are more visitors coming in the future, the most important ones for me including... (drumroll, please) MY PARENTS! Dad, Mom, and Katelyn are coming on the 24th of June and staying until July 2. Needless to say, I have the heebeejeebees! (a type of illness akin to having mariposas en su estomago) Don't you love it when you look up a definition, only to need to look up more words 'cause you didn't understand it? :) Anyway, so I'm excited. It's the first time flying for everyone coming down, so barring them getting on the wrong airplane or missing a flight, I expect to post pictures later on of their stay here. I really doubt there'll be a hitch though, because Dad is super organized and usually has his ducks in a row.

This coming weekend from Thursday to Saturday we are having a youth retreat here at CICS where all the youth from different Mennonite churches come for a time of sermons and activities. I'm looking forward to meeting new friends and reconnecting with a few people I already know a little. Loncho Ramos will be in charge here over that time since Nata won't be here due to a trip to the States. And speaking of people leaving...

Matthias recently found out that his visa won't permit him to be here even until August vacation due to some paperwork issues. So he's going to the states for a little bit to be with some of his married siblings. I was drafted to be the chauffeur, so I'll be busy for awhile transporting people to and from the airport, including my parents, which will be no problem for me! :)

This past week, my youth group was on singing tour to the southern United States (SC, GA, TN, etc.) Seeing all the pictures of my friends being posted on Facebook, make me a bit homesick for awhile. But that was soon taken care of! On Saturday, I was given the opportunity to Skype with a whole bunch of different people from my youth group on the tour bus, using James Weaver's phone. That filled the void for a little bit! Seriously, it was just glorious hearing all those voices and seeing faces that I hadn't encountered in a while. Wow, now that I see that last sentence, I realize how much I'm sounding like the female variety, but hey it's the truth! What I just said is the truth... not that I'm a girl... cause... I'm definitely not and believe me, I know!

While on Skype on the bus, I got to hear the "meet your minister" Q&A session with Nate Bange, the minister that was along on tour with his family. And get this, I even spoke on the mic(!) with the assistance of Lyndon Beiler who held the phone up to it. I said a few words. People clapped. I felt special. Thanks everyone, you're the best! It was the closest thing to being on tour without actually going. And I will continue praying for y'all.

School here is going well. We are getting close to having our second competencia which means two-thirds of the year is already over. I can hardly believe it. Joel, my 8 year old, has been the one doing the best in the last while. He is catching up to Eduardo in math and language. For a while I had been keeping him back a bit so that he could be on the same level as Jairo, but after a while I saw that it wasn't going to work. I'm trying to push all my students as much as I can without hurrying, and it's working wonders with Joel. I've also been trying some new things to make class more interesting. Jairo still doesn't always know his word order and he is bored with fill-in-the-blanks, so I started using dice. He rolls the dice, counts the number of dots, and writes down the number that comes next (or before). It strengthens his counting and makes it fun for him as well. He loves it!

I've also used dice for spelling practice for Joel and Eduardo since they're are learning the same words. I give them each a dice and five popsicle sticks and then we play a form of "horse". Whoever rolls the highest dice has to spell the given word. If there's a mistake a stick gets taken away. The winner is the one who survives the longest. That's been working pretty well, also.

Sometimes for spelling, I wasn't sure if my students were just lazy and not studying, so I started making them write a word maybe 10 times in their book if they make a mistake. That has helped them to remember words better, and it also given them a motivator to do better on tests and quizzes. I've found out that there's almost never a time when a child can't learn something. You just need to get creative and you will find a way!

Another more sobering development that has just come up in school is the regression of stealing for two of the older boys. This had been a previous problem for both Carlos and José, but we hoped it had gone away. They both know better and we don't quite know what to do about it. Pray for them that they would seriously think about this and where they are with God during these next weeks. Pray that God would engineer a miracle and transform their hearts from the inside out. We can punish all we want, but only God can change the heart.

Last Thursday, also for school, everyone went to the zoo for the day and then mall and picnic lunch afterwards. For many of these children, this was the first time being at a zoo or at a mall. My one charge, Joel, was pretty much dragging me all over the place the whole day. Oooooh look at the tiger!--oh wow, there's an alligator over there!--please can I go see the monkeys now! And all the while, Eduardo was patiently at my heels, like the calm, cool, and collected guy that he is. :)

As I said, for many of these students this was their first time such establishments. So when we arrived at the mall, we went straight to the escalators and had a glorious time going up and right back down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Shrieks of laughter. What fun! Some of them were a bit afraid and would only go with someone else. No doubt we were looked at strangely by a number of people, but who cares, right? We also took a ride on a one-story elevator. Joel, I think, saw his life flashing before his eyes. :)

As for other random bits... We now have a new-and-improved fart and burp rating system around here. It's a simple 1-10 scale, but oh the competition! (Of which I'm not a part of I might add, being the self-righteous person that I am. I'm much too polite to burp or fart in public!) Elmer, in order to amplify, will quickly rush over to a door, plant his butt firmly against it, and let it rip! It's all fun and games until he happens to do something like that in front of a visitor, which actually happened. He was mortified and terrified and promptly went on his knees to ask for forgiveness--it was hilarious!

I would like to end my ramblings with a commercial. There's this app/website that I discovered called Duolingo. It's a language learning service that's completely free! Besides being good for us Mennonites, by being free, it also teaches you a lot. I've been using it everyday for the last while. Definitely check it out if you get a chance!


Prayer Requests:

• Pray for Carlos and José, not just that they would quit stealing, but rather that God would change them from the inside out. Also pray for the rest of the students in this manner.
• Pray for Silvia. She still has a lot of issues. Pray for Andrea and Melody as well as they try to teach her a better way to express herself other than getting angry and fighting.
• Pray for all the travelers in the next couple weeks.
• Pray for us teachers and staff, that we would be able to exemplify Christ to our students, besides just teaching about math, language, and science.
• Pray for this weekend's youth retreat.
• Praise God that Beatriz is able to continue coming to school, in spite of her dad being drunk. Also pray for her dad that he could become a Christian.
• Praise God that school is going well.

That's it for today. Thanks so much for reading and for your support! God bless you all! If you would like to contact me, check out the right sidebar.

Me doing my job!

Joel peers intently through the chain link pen housing a tiger.

Ride 'em cowboys!

While everyone else stops to rest for a little, Elmer tries to mimic a
monkey's actions in tree a little bit away.
Left to right: Nata, Elmer, Miguel, José

Resting for a spell... Front to back: Eduardo, Mauricio,
Beatriz, Teresa, Melody, Verónica, Ana, Mary, Andrea.

Jairo and Joel excitedly motion the boat closer, seemingly
forgetting about the laws of physics.

We didn't put a coin into the machine, but it's still fun
to ride it! Left to right: Mauricio, Eduardo, Jairo, Joel

Meet a student: Teresa

Name:      Teresa de Jesús Ramirez Rosales

Age:         14 years old

Arrival:    First started coming to CICS in 2007

Teacher:  Mary Eva Pacheco

Friend to everyone, giggly, good student, hard worker...these are all pretty good descriptions of Teresa. Not to say that she doesn't have problems (who doesn't?), however, she is one of those students that rarely needs reprimands or punishments. Her general happy-go-lucky attitude, despite everything she goes through, is a testimony to the power of God in whom she confides. 

Teresa was born in 2000 as the last addition to a family of seven other siblings born to her parents (she has more half-siblings). Of the eight children in this family, six are deaf! Three of her deaf siblings have also come to school here, including Manuel, Verónica (the cook), and Ana (a current student). Her two oldest deaf brothers were never able to go to school, and therefore cannot read or write. These deaf children are more fortunate than some, however. At least they have the ability to communicate among themselves. Children that are the only deaf child in a family are, in general, more isolated and less able to communicate. 

As is the case in many of these students' stories, Teresa's father was, and still is, somewhat of a drunkard. Earning a small living as a farmer, he spent the majority of his money on liquor without much to spare for vital necessities. Sometimes in drunken rages he beat his wife, until finally after a particularly violent episode where the eldest son tried to intervene, the mother had enough and moved away with the children.

Some time later, after promising that he wouldn't drink anymore, Teresa's mom moved back, and peace was restored for a while. Her father's drinking never stopped permanently, though, so even now her mother and the children need to work hard taking vegetables to market in order to have enough to eat. A lot of Teresa's time, when school is not in session, is spent gathering vegetables and helping mom. She almost never complains, though and usually does her work willingly and thoroughly. Sometimes she wasn't even able to come to school because of the work she needed to do. One year, her mom decided to keep her at home instead of going to school, and it was only after many prayers, that Teresa was able to come to school after all. 

But there always a bright to side to every story, and such is certainly the case with Teresa. As you've already read, she's gone through many hard times, and would have more right than most to complain and wallow in self-pity. Certainly more than I!

However, she doesn't complain about her past life and a lot of that is due to her relationship with the Savior. Teresa became a Christian about two years ago. Her life reflects that as well, which is exciting and invigorating! What a great God we serve! Afterwards, Teresa decided of her own volition to wear a head covering. No one told her to. However, once she made that step, several people explained to her exactly what it means and she hasn't taken it off! God has great plans for this young lady, I'm sure, and it's an encouragement to see her grow in the Christian life.

As for her life now, she still comes to school pretty much every day. She learns fast in school and likes to compete with her sister Ana in the thrice-annual spelling competition. She loves teasing and playing around. She often does things with Beatriz, one of her best friends and companion-in-crime.

So, as you think about Teresa, don't feel pity for her. Rather, rejoice in what God has doing and will do in her life! It is not my desire to have you focusing on the admittedly rough life she has had, but instead thank God that you had godly parents that got along, and thank God for all the material (blessings??) that you have. She lives with less, but many times she's happier and has less to worry about, too! Of course, I'm in the same boat with my laptop, phone, car, and nice house to live in, and money in the bank, but it's just something that's good to think about. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required..." 

Pray that Teresa could continue to show the Light of Jesus to others. Pray that she could continue to grow in her Christian life. Pray that God would touch others in her family that are unbelievers. Only God knows, but maybe someday Teresa will be able to go to church with her whole family! Pray for Teresa...

Thanks for reading! Your prayers and support are very much appreciated! If you would like to contact me, my information is on the right. God bless you!

Teresa's home where she lives with several other family members.
It's a beautiful place on a bit of a hill with trees and forest all around. Oh, and
Manuel, get to work!

Understood? Mary finishes explaining the morning's work to her class.
Left to right: Beatriz, Teresa, Paola, Ana

Up, up, and away! Teresa gives Jairo and Ana a shove
on the swing while waiting for the ride home.

Teresa and her sister Ana check their pots to see if there is a
glimpse of the flowers they had planted in them earlier.

Having fun...

Time for school! Beatriz and Teresa trudge in from where they had been
playing keep-away with a kickball during the minutes before school starts.

There's always time for a quick picture with the sis!

Beware chickens! You have met your match! Teresa displays
her macho before taking a handful of chickens to the butchering table.

Best friends... Teresa and Beatriz.