Just Another Day

I wrote a while back (maybe February 2010) about the typical schedule at Jericho Villa. It's changed a lot, so I thought I'd update with a typical day in the life of Katie Hutjens...missionary in Honduras.

4:40 am- The alarm goes off
I manage to groan out "everybody up" and then hit the snooze button until 4:55 when I drag myself to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

5 am- Prayer
We all manage to get ourselves out of bed and downstairs to the living room where we have worship, prayer and read the daily devotions. This is hard for me. My flesh wants to pretend like I didn't hear the alarm, but we somehow make it nearly every morning.

6:15 am- Chores
After prayer, the kids all run off to put on their uniforms and clean their rooms. I head to the kitchen to help with breakfast. Or I grab my cup of coffee and do the rounds, making sure that beds are made, pajamas are put away, and things are organized.

6:30 am- Breakfast
Self explanitory

7 am- Arrival of Miss Loreana
I love when the teacher gets here. She gathers all the children to the school and my "time off" commences.

7-8:15 am-
I don't have a good name for this time but it's when I have my time with the Lord, read the Bible, journal, do my homework for my Bible class, and prepare my classroom. I usually consume a few cups of coffee during this time...hey, I gotta have my energy!

8:15-10 am- English class
I have two levels of students. I love this time of day. Teaching kids English is so much fun. Seriously.

10-11:30- Run
I know that the fact that I "run" 1.5 hours makes me sound like an athlete. But the truth is, I have to walk 10 minutes to get down the mountain, then I run, then it ususally takes me 20 minutes to get back up because the last thing I want to do after a long run is walk back up a mountain.

11:30-12:30- Grab bag
In this time I do everything else that I need to get done while I still have personal time. I shower, check emails, write lesson plans, chat with Haeyoung, make lunch.

12:30 pm- Lunch

1-5 pm- Supervise
The kids have to do their homework and their chores in the afternoon. Then they can play. My job is to walk around the Villa and count to make sure that all the kids are accounted for. I also help the kids study in this time and hang out with them once they've finished their chores.

5-6:30- Dinner
I hang out in the kitchen and help the older girls cook. Translation: I watch them make the food and "taste-test". It's a great job! 6 pm is dinner and then dishes.

6:30-8- Family Time
We hang out in the living room and play games (Checkers and Uno are favorites), listen to music, sing, tell stories, etc. Sometimes when we don't have electricity, we make a fire. Basically we just hang around as a family before bedtime.

8-9:30 pm- To the bedroom
At 8 we pray together and then head off to bed. I share a room with the 4 youngest girls (Paola, Kimberly, Lesli, and Carmen). We goof off and dance around and tell stories. It's really quite fun acting like a teenage girl! I never had to share a room growing up, and I never thought I'd end up sharing one with 4 girls, but I'm having a blast!

9:30(ish) pm- Lights Out
The best thing about getting up at 5 am (besides having time with God) is that we get to go to bed early! This definitely didn't happen when I was in the University!



So there you go. 24 years old and a "mother/older sister" to 13 kids.

I never EVER would have imagined my daily schedule as the one above but I have learned to love it and embrace it.