Butterflies and Reading

Our "summer" break is almost half over already. (I use the term summer for my American friends.  It is always summer here.  The kids don't even use the term.  They just say vacation or holiday.)  Dennis and I don't really take a break from visiting the village.  As a matter of fact, we tried to take a whole week off recently and we were not happy people.  We were happy to be back out in Buena Vista again!

During July and August we still visit the village three days a week, we just change what we are doing.  Since there is no school we go to the student's homes and keep reading.  I just call it my Reading Program.  We also have visitors at the house on a regular basis.

We had some girls over and made butterflies out of melted crayons and paint.

These young ladies were very focused.

It is always a pleasure just to spend time with the kids.  We chat and laugh.  Dennis always comes in and causes a great commotion!

Dennis and I go to four different homes and teach the alphabet, phonics, sight words, and general good reading skills.  We are always met with smiles and hugs.  We have a fun time.

That is Patricia, Joseline is in the pink and Danny is the little guy.  Joseline is very intelligent and I see signs of a future teacher in her.

We started visiting Joseline's family before school got out.  They had arrived recently from Salvador or Honduras.  None of them were ever taught English.  This was my first time teaching English from square one.  I hope I am doing it right.  I am on the internet often seeking help in this area.  I am licensed as a Special Ed. teacher, not English.  

In the background is the mother of all the kids.  I can never remember her name.  She often gives us fresh fruit to munch on while we are there.  A few times she cooked some wonderful food as well.  She is a great cook.  We see her sometimes selling her food in the village.  Very resourceful woman. 

We sit in the main room for about 90 minutes at a time.  We have quite a time when there is no interpreter there to help me.  Patricia has been a big help.  

That is Memo (Jose) in the middle.  He keeps all of us laughing.

If you are a person who requires a quiet, organized world in which to study, I would say this is not the place for you.

This is another house we visit.  Some of you will remember tall Wendy.  This is her home.  We sit in the future kitchen area spending alot of time on phonics and memorization of sight words.  We just finished the first of the Magic Tree House Books.  The kids really enjoyed it and that was the point.  Most of the students do not read for enjoyment.

Adonias, very smart guy! 

We are scheduling a day when the whole group will come to the house!

Wendy

Kerlin

Justin

Nataly, she will start Infant 1 in September.

Coloring a picture of a T-Rex from the book.

The kids wanted us to join them in a game of First Catch, which is just like our Tag.  Since it was over 100 degrees we declined.  They are just like any kids.  They love it when adults watch them!

We are right where God wants us to be.  We feel blessed even in the heat.

Love you guys!

Treasure Hunt

Not being all metaphorical here, talking about an actual treasure hunt.  One of our boys was wanting to go on an "adventure".  When he started talking about it I was a little wary.  His idea of adventure was way different than ours.  It took me a while to figure it out but I think I nailed it.  We had them go on a real "treasure hunt".

We had a few goals in mind.  We wanted them to start to work together as a team.  We see a lot of the "every man for himself" kind of thinking here.  So we told them they had to stay together and everyone had to help.  I would love to tell you that they are praying in the picture above but they are not.  However, they are thinking and talking and planning just like we asked.

We started out with a clue which led to another clue and so on.  There is a park in Spanish Lookout called Countryside Park.  As you can see it is beautiful and includes a large lagoon.

Some of the clues were rhymes.  Many of them included compass coordinates.  This was a big leap for these guys.  Dennis gave them instructions on orienteering and they caught on quickly.

We put this clue on the side of the bridge.  

At this point we had them sit for a minute and practice the Men Of Honor Axiom, which they did very well.  

There is a special little area in the corner of the park dedicated to the history of the Mennonites.  They have a listing of family members and when they settled in the area.  We made a "cypher" that spelled out the next place for the boys to go.  It took them a few minutes but once they figured it out it went quickly.   

We had to remind them often that they were supposed to stay together and work as a team.  This is something that we will be working on.  Looks like they were enjoying the morning!

They waited for me to cross the spillway so I could get ahead of them.  We had a clue right under where they are sitting on the wall.

Brian using the compass.  A few of them caught on quickly.

They had to run through a small section of thick trees and collect the pieces of a sentence and then work together to figure it out.

Clearly, Brian was having a great time.  The treasure was in a coffee can buried under the X.

The treasure was poured out on the table and the boys started grabbing!  I made them put it all back and divide it fairly just like any decent pirate would do.  Just a few marbles and glittery things with some candy, but they really enjoyed it.

Cadmir, Jermias, Brian, Sean, and Elil.  We are at the new Western Dairies.  For those of you who have been there in the past, you will not believe how big it is now!

We had a really good time.  We had an adventure!!!

Love you guys!

Catching Up--Katie and Emmy June 2015

This is the first of about four posts that I am putting on here.  I feel bad and I apologize for not staying current with the blog.  Sometimes we go through times when stuff happens and we feel quite uninspired.  That time is past and now it's time to move on with a fresh perspective from God and even more joy and hope for the future. When we go through valleys we find ourselves walking closer with God.  Then when we get to the mountain top, on the other side we stand firm in our faith.  And once more we trust in the promises of our Lord!  Yay God!!!!!

Katie and Emmy came at an odd time here.  We were at the end of the school year and there was much chaos.  All routines were out the window.  The two of them just rolled with it.  They were a real joy to have around.

Emmy applying the "banana" face mask.

One of the things we did was try out homemade facial recipes on a few unsuspecting girls!!  I have never done this before and did not realize a few things.  Face masks drip---a lot after you get it on your face.

Jamila, Jaury and Glendy.  

All of the girls were a lot of fun.  Of course, none of these young ladies really needed any kind of beauty treatment.  As you can see, God already did a perfect job on each one.

Katie attempting the banana mask.

There is a Glendy under the salad here.  They loved the cucumber thing.

Jaury giving the thumbs up that she was still doing OK.

Notice the dripping....Yea it got real messy, real fast.

Jaury, Glendy, Jamila and Katie.  They just finished playing Pretty Pretty Princess, and had a great time with it.

As you can tell, this really wasn't about trying to look more beautiful.  It was about getting together and spending time with each other.  All five young ladies were kind and gracious.  They did help me figure out that I probably won't be doing facials in the future.

We had one more adventure before the girls had to go home.

Big Rock Falls and then Rio on Pools

This is where we have jumped in before.

That is our Katie being all brave!  She is now a member of the Belize Jumpers Club!

This was the first time I made it to the little pool just under the falls.  The rocks are almost impossible to climb on.  Very very slippery.  You may be wondering about Emmy up there on the side.  She is still considering the question.  Jump or not jump.  Or..."I really don't know what is in that water!"

The rocks make a good slide.

Yes!  Emmy is in the water!

Later, Emmy told us that she had to overcome the fear of the dreaded unknown.  She had waded into the water a little ways and her shoe string brushed her ankle!  That is one of those adrenaline moments that you laugh about later, and we did.

Playing in the water.

So, we had to go back for one more jump.

Emmy joins the Belize Jumpers Club!!

Katie is just enjoying herself now!

  

Only God knows the plans he has for the future of these two young ladies.  But it is good to know that their future is in His hands.  We are proud to call them friends and sisters in this journey.

Love you guys!

P.S.  I forgot the mention the pterodactyl sighting in San Ignacio!