Updates

We can't believe another month has gone by since our last post. The February team accomplished a lot while they were here. They finished building a new house for the small boys (ages 5-8). The toddler house was overflowing with boys so this new house was very much needed. The orphanage decided to run this house a little differently than the others. Instead of all men running the house, they have one of the staff couples in charge of the house as well as some more male and female staff. Having both male and female influence on the kids should be really good for them. The house is absolutely beautiful and really has a homey feeling to it. They even put up pictures of the kids. The team was also very busy with the dental clinic and were able to clean all the kids teeth as well as do necessary dental work including pulling teeth, crowns, root canals, and caps.

Kari began working in the school, which has been quite a change of pace from being with the toddlers all day. She is still with the toddlers before and after school and on the weekends. The first couple weeks of school Kari got the library in order so that it could be used. There are so many books that have been donated to the library but they weren't being used because the library was in such disorder. There are two libraries; one in the elementary school and another in the high school. Kari is currently tutoring children in English as well as having reading groups and activities for the kids. The kids are definitely enjoying the opportunity to read books that they want to read and find interesting. For some it's like watching a kid in the candy store.

As for Kellan, he is still working with the medium aged boys. With the new house opening, the number of boys in his house dropped from around 90 to 65. What a difference! Kellan has also been working on various projects as needed. Because it is dry season, fires in the area have to be watched closely. Kellan spent a lot of time creating firebreaks along the property line. He also helped build new fire-burning stoves for all 8 kitchens, using hot water heaters and scrap steel. He is also still a maintenance machine, just trying to keep up with everything.

More pictures to come in a couple of weeks...we are temporarily without a camera.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To Kill a Pig, Honduran Style

Image
Today I had the opportunity (or misfortune) to kill a 400lb pig. Here in Honduras, we don't have any modern tools or techniques to kill animals like they would in the States. Lethal injection or a single bullet seems like the most humane way, but in Honduras, we use a sledgehammer and a knife. I didn't participate in the killing today, but I will have plenty of chances later on. How To Kill A Pig, Honduran Style: 1. Put food on the ground so the pig can enjoy his last meal. 2. While the pig's head is down, hit it on the top of the head with the sledgehammer. Depending on the pig, it will usually take 4-5 solid hits. Today's pig took about 10 blows. 3. Once the pig blacks out, use the knife to cut it's throat. 4. Lift the pig on the back of a Gator and drive to the slaughterhouse. 5. Pour boiling water on the pig and shave it's hair with a knife. 6. Hire a butcher to come in and cut off the legs, head, and insides. Give him the aforementioned items and 5...
Read more

Continuing To Settle In

Hi all! Things have been busy as usual. Here is what we have been up to this past week…. Kellan is going to be taking over the maintenance while the main guy in charge is on vacation for 6 weeks. It is a big job to keep up the maintenance on a campus this size. This will be a great opportunity for him to gain some handy man skills. He has started with fixing all the toilets this week. Kari has been continuing to work with the toddlers. There has been an outbreak of boils with the toddlers this week. Two thirds of them are infected and each day more and more kids are getting them. The puss from the boil is contagious so it is very easily spread to other parts of their bodies as well as to other children. Some of the children have it everywhere including their face, ears, and scalp…it is so sad. We have been trying to keep the infected children separated as much as possible. We are thinking of starting volunteer meetings every other week. We felt so lost when we got here...
Read more

Week 2

Image
Bulls on Parade This past week has been quite busy. A church group from Panama Beach City, Florida has been serving here since Wednesday. They came to build a new awning type structure next to the playground and share the word of God with the children. It is always exciting to meet new people and hear their stories. On Saturday the team provided hot dogs and chili beans for all 400+ kids here. It was a wonderful change of pace and it is awesome to be around people with such warm and generous hearts. The pastor of this church has also been teaching a class on The 5 Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. It is a six night seminar for the staff and some married volunteers. As a recently married couple, we feel it is very important to understand each others needs and speak each others "language," especially as we adjust to a life completely different from anything we are used to. We've found that the love languages should not be limited to just y...
Read more