i'm on a horse

It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, and don't take yourself too seriously—take God seriously. [Micah 6:8]

Why do weekends fly by?! Kelly, Zach and I finally know how to set up our diving gear thanks to Stevae, our amazing instructor from Myrtle Beach, SC. I swear the Carolinas are taking over Roatan, Honduras. We went to a benefit on Saturday night in Brick Bay for a woman fighting cancer. We sang some songs and busted some moves.


There was an olympic qualifier triathlon here this morning and Roatan's 1 main road was closed so we all got up early, walked to West Bay and cheered on the masses. Oh yeah, and danced the Papa Americano for at least 3 hours. Clay and Max know how to work it!!




Erin's friend Ian/Spanky was in town and graciously offered for us to ride horses and visit his farm on the island. We drove through the beautiful Flowers Bay with the top to the jeep off, just loving life. Riding around on the back of Kelly's moto has been very freeing as well.








After bumping up a long, dusty dirt road we made it to the beautiful stables and hiked around the mountain. It was gorgeous to say the least. We ended the weekend worshipping with our friends and family at Pastor Jeremy's house, overlooking the Caribbean.

enero

"If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world." [C.S. Lewis]

Apologies for the bloggy blog hiatus, January brought lots of new and exciting changes here in Roatan and if we're not sleeping, we are either: practicing dance moves for All Nations Day, grading exams, playing beach volleyball, mentoring/tutoring, getting SCUBA certified or getting dominated playing Rock Band.

I had a wonderful week and a half back in the states visiting friends and family for the holidays. It flew by. Thanks to all of you who were able to make it to my party! It was a white Christmas in Charlotte and I have to admit it was beautiful considering I left Caribbean temperatures back in Honduras. I was able to head to Charleston for New Years Eve at th SC Aquarium, it was phenomenal. I surely miss all my girls there, pumped Rach is coming to visit in March!



Our Senior class has a social project that they are required to complete before graduating which involves many community service hours around the island. We planted donated palm trees one Saturday, good times in the neighborhood.

Some of my sweet 7th graders.

More to come! Mucho amor!

murry chrimus

Life is still phenomenal here in Roatan. We've been busy at work, busting out exams and study guides for our checkout list before we all head "home" for the holidays. The school had it's annual Christmas play last Friday. Here is the manger: (please notice the toucan, turtles, frogs and pond. Only in Honduras. It's love)













Also dressed up as Mrs. Claus. I know, you're shocked.

CAN'T WAIT TO SEE EVERYONE!!

holy guatemala

Antigua. Ah, bliss. What a glorious place to spend Thanksgiving. Somewhere between riding horses up active volcanoes, roasting marshmallows over lava, getting hair wraps and buying pounds of fresh fruit for 5 Quetzals/lb (roughly $.60) we could not stop marveling at the colorful architecture, smiling beautiful Guatemalan faces and the rich culture that engulfed the cobblestone streets.


So Kelly, Kelly and I got hair wraps like 7 year olds. Mine is brown, white and teal. It looks like an iguana tail and Zach thinks it looks like a salad finger. JAJAJAJA

The view of the mountains and volcanos that surround the city

Loads of fresh produce at the market, we couldn't get enough. Just so many raisins and pinas and dates and goodness.




Volcano jumping, view from the roof of the hostel and epic horseback riding shot - elevation: 7,000 ft.

I absolutely adored this woman. She gave us chocolate covered coffee beans and chocolate truffles and called us her "loves" and smiled like there would be no tomorrow and if I go back to Antigua, I will find her and take her home with me. The end.

Things I've learned lately:

1. Take every opportunity

2. Hitchhike ALL the time

3. If some random guy named Benecio invites you over to his house, just go.

adventure to wherever we end up

12:13pm. Saturday November 6th. I receive a phone call.
John: Let's go to St. Helene's. We'll find a boat and a place to stay once we get there.
Me: Let me pack and I'll be there in 15.



The 4 x 4 square mile island lies at the very east end of Roatan where electricity only resides with those able to afford a generator. We taxied to Oak Ridge, met a man named Alex who boated us for about an hour and a half over to St. Helene's. We arrived to meet a man named Oddlon, a great friend of Alex's. He had long gray and white dreadlocks that flowed down his back and reminded me of a character out of a movie. Thanks to our pastor Jeremy, we had a connection with a missionary living there. His name is Larry Benson. I bought a homemade tortoise shell bracelet from Oddlon and then we headed up the only dirt "road" on the island to find shelter for the night. Larry and his crew of nurses and teachers warmly welcomed us in and then we were on the hunt for food. We waited for about an hour at the only food stand. It was WELL worth the wait. Fried plantains, fish, Caribbean island chicken, carrots, potatoes, and coconut beans and rice. It was the JAM.


Sunday we explored the island in it's entirety and met some wonderful natives along the way. The North and South sides of the island were filled with beautiful beaches, trees, and children. We got lost in the jungle, climbed coral mountains, met a 20 year old talking parrot, named our tour guide puppy Samson, played dominoes with the locals in a tree house and almost missed our ride back to Roatan.











In America, we value time. Time is money. Am I right? What I have learned about this culture is that the people value relationships more than just about anything else. I love it. Every opportunity that John and I were given this weekend was through some sort of friend connection. One of the natives, Kennedy, offered us a ride back to Roatan on Sunday. The cell phone tower ran out of gas so our signals were down and we were afraid he had already left us. We were wrong. He knew how to take care of us. We waited in the pitch black darkness on the end of a dock to be picked up by a small motor boat with no covering AND NO LIGHT. About 6 men were with us, all covered in trash bags. We picked up speed, the sky opened up and dumped her cold rain upon us as we jetted through the mangroves and into the night. We met a man named Stewart from Jamaica who offered us a ride home once we reached Oak Ridge AND a tour of his fishing plant in French Harbour. I LOVE THESE PEOPLE.


First, love all people. Second, sleep on beautiful beaches. Third, say yes to all adventures. CHEQUE

dwellings

Please check out the link below to help support a family here in Los Fuertes.

LOVE!

BLESSINGS.

friday morning lights

My old Bible study leader used to tell us that her prayer for us was that we would grow closer to the Lord each and every day. I love that prayer. But what does it really mean? GROW CLOSER. You can interpret it differently, for sure. I think that one way I feel closer to God is when I am consistently seeking his truth and will for my life which, is phenomenal and all but sometimes I get so caught up in the future that I completely forget what is happening here and now. Yes, I believe that goals are important. Big dreams are necessary. Prayers are essential. And I fail all of the time. I fail my friends, I fail my family, and I fail my students. BUT! I am learning. I am still learning after all of these years. Thank you Lord for your patience, I REALLY appreciate it. I also really want to be a great teacher and this past quarter has been muy interesante. I sometimes feel like I have NO idea what the hay I am doing and as I reflect on the past few months, I think of a lot of things I can definitely work on as an individual, teacher, friend and peer. More planning, less distractions. More love, less frustrations. More giving, less receiving. More laughing, less screaming. An opportunity is defined as: a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal. The large corporation I used to work for described your "weaknesses" as "opportunities." I want to make sure that I am constantly striving to improve my "opportunities," and use every opportunity that I am presented with as a chance to shine for His glory.

BOOM.

"It's not about perfection; it's about our intimacy with God, our connection, our relationship with God. Once we get through that, once we realize that we can be imperfect, flawed, broken; those kinds of things are the ingredients of spirituality." 
[Mike Yaconelli]