My computer broke the first time I tried to use it here, so I have not been able to upload pictures (And to be honest, I have taken very few. When you are going to live in a place for 2.5 years and nothing quite so out of the ordinary is passing, it can be weird to take around a camera everywhere.)
But I want to take you on a virtual tour of where I live by describing a typical morning. (What a true statement- I LIVE here, and am so aware of this life that God has blessed me with!)
I wake up in the morning for the first time about 4 a.m. to a lovely rooster crowing outside of my "window" (There aren't really window on our house, just bars where a window would be, so that the breeze can blow through). (I am still unsure of why we have so many roosters, and have plans with my fellow missionaries to eat them before our time was through... unfortunately, now that I have posted this, people will know I was involved in this plot.) After returning to sleep, I wake up again at 5:30 a.m. to jump in the shower quickly before 6 a.m. morning prayer (Either laudes or a Communion service with the entire community)
As I walk out of the house the very noise I hear is the crashing of the waves that are about 50 yards away from the front of the house. The only thing that is between our house and the beach is the stove and oven made of mud that we cook lunch and dinner on (Fires take about an hour to heat up before you can start cooking, so plan accordingly.) While walking to the Chapel one encounters first many many trees with birds singing beautiful songs high in the branches, closer to the ground, there are always children running around getting some morning chores done before prayer. This is one of the best times of the day: all is silent expect for the humming of the waves and singing of the birds as the sun has just barely began to creep over the mountains, as your mind has time to wake up and fully appreciate the beauty that is God's creation before rushing into a busy day.
When walking into the Chapel I am really woken up and one or two little hands run up and ask me to sit with them (The youngest girls love sitting with one of the missionaries in the morning)
Midway through morning prayer in the Chapel the sun really begins to rise, and lights up the beautiful stain glass window that sits above the Tabernacle. By the time prayer is over, a full sunrise can be seen above the mountains right as you walk out of the Chapel.
After prayer, everyone heads back to the house for breakfast. All 24 in our community gather around the massive table to share the food that one or two in the community have prepared for us. (Normally in the morning this includes bread that was made the night before and fresh fruit. Delicious!) This is one of the few times that the entire volunteer community is together by themselves (apart from dinner, and on some nights community meetings or community nights) After breakfast each person heads off their own perspective jobs- teachers, social workers, and nurses. For me this means heading over to the middle school which the science teacher to begin either teaching or tutoring young (angsty) minds in math and computers.
Hopefully I will have pictures soon to help you share in this beautiful adventure, but until then, I pray this will suffice! Thank you all for the thoughts, prayers, and letters! They have meant so much and have truly given me the strength to continue waking up every morning!
There was a dance! Two of our children graduated from 6th grade and three graduated from 9th. (In Honduras you are only required to pass 6th grade, so not many children go past this, which is why it is a great privilege for our kids to further their education. All three will be moving on to high school in our Phase two program)
We've already celebrated two (American) holidays here! First: Halloween! I'm not quite sure what I dressed up as because we only had 5 minutes to find a costume. This is my group and the pumpkin we carved.
Next American holiday: Thanksgiving! (I found this to be a hard one to explain here due to the relations that happened with the Pilgrims and Indians shortly following this lovely meal. Still- What a beautiful day to appreciated all that we have been giving in our lives!
To celebrate we had a football (American) game. The teams were the Indians vs. the Pilgrims. The children really enjoyed watching our crazy game that makes very little sense to them. 
We also cooked dinner for ourselves and 100 guests. My job was to cook rolls.
Picture this pan times 5. It was a 6 hour ordeal, but everyone was satisfied in the end!
