"Man's" Best Friend

I don’t think I’ve written a blog yet about Carl, our (Weimaraner) dog out at the Villa. Carl originally was Betsy’s dog, but he came out to the Villa about 2 years ago. Carl adapted to life at the Villa extremely well. There was a lot of space, plenty of food, and a ton of kids to give him love.

Sadly, Carl died on Tuesday morning. I am currently at home in De Pere, but apparently Hae Young found him Tuesday morning; she thought he was sleeping, until he didn’t get up.

Losing a pet is never a fun thing, and I am actually very thankful that I wasn’t there for the whole ordeal.

I wouldn’t really call Carl “man’s best friend”. In fact, he didn’t really seem to like men at all. It makes sense. He was raised by Betsy and her kids and then came to the Villa to live with Hae Young and a bunch of kids. Not a lot of men in that mix.

But Carl was a fantastic guard dog. He always came on our hikes and always had to be the leader (even if it meant running ahead of everyone and pushing the little kids out of his way). When I went walking alone during the day, he always stayed by my side and wouldn’t let anyone get close to me. By the time Carl had arrived at the Villa, he had lost most of his teeth (due to eating chicken bones), but his 80-pound frame was enough to keep strangers at bay.

I have one memory of Carl that shows his true colors. One day I was in the shed looking for paint and was struggling to get the lid off the paint bucket. A construction worker was walking past, saw me struggling, and offered to help. Of course, his helping meant that he’d have to enter the shed as well. Carl stood in the doorway (between the two of us) and refused to let this man enter. It wasn’t until I exited the shed that the construction worker could get in to help me. That’s how Carl always was when I was around strangers; he’d put himself between me and the other person as a barrier!

It will be sad to return to the Villa without my "little" dog there to greet me, but I guess that’s a part of life as well. We’re in the process of looking for a puppy of the same race; the kids want to name him Carl!

2010: Year in Review

Year 2011, you have some very big shoes to fill. I can't possibly try to fill this blog with all the ups and downs of 2010, but I can try.

So here is my top 10 list of 2010 (in no specific order, except for #1)

10. I have taken my bathroom for granted.

I have to admit this.

One thing I have learned in 2010 is that I love my bathroom more than I thought. Taking care of 11 kids means that there is not a lot of peace. In Honduras I usually had someone in the bathroom with me while I was getting ready or brushing my teeth, and often I would have to kick kids out of the bathroom so that I could "go" in peace.

And flushing toilet paper? Forget about it...that will back up the septic system for months. In the states, I have to tell myself "flush your toilet paper".

9. Time in the word + a good workout make me just about invincible

I try to make a conscious effort every day to read my bible and pray. But I've realized over the past few months that this is a necessity in my life. The days that I don't take time to pray and talk with God or read His Word leave me with less patience and more frustration. But when I do take the time to draw near to Him, I have a greater sense of peace throughout the day. Even the kids notice.

And I've found that working out is a great time for me to clear my mind, no matter how many people are around me. When I'm in Tegucigalpa, I go for runs in the park, usually with the kids running with me for a lap or two. And when I'm at the Villa, I pop in a Jillian Michaels DVD and have the girls work out with me. I don't know about you, but when I'm working out, I can't think about anything but the workout...and when I finally get back to thinking, somehow problems don't seem as big anymore.

The combination of the two have seriously changed how I view myself and how I interact with others, plus I've lost 30 pounds so that's a plus!!

8. A word of encouragement is priceless.

We had a speaker come in that told us that our kids need to hear 8 positive things for every 1 negative thing we say to them. I think it's true for all of us. We need to hear those encouraging words each day. This is why I am so thankful for my family and friends back home who have been encouraging me from day one!

7. The more love I give, the more love I have.

We have 26 kids in the ministry that have been taken away from their families. They require a lot of love. At the beginning I thought "do I really have the capacity to love them all?" The answer is yes. And I've found that the more I love them, the easier it is to love them. It's a great-big cycle.

6. I have two ears and one mouth for a reason.

I am learning to listen more and talk less. My mouth has always gotten me in trouble and this year was no exception. While I didn't make any huge mistakes, I'm learning that sometimes it's just better to stay quiet.

5. Crying is not going to solve anything.

I cried a lot this year. A LOT. But as Elvia pointed out (on many occasions), nothing is being solved by my tears. Not that tears are always bad, but I'm learning to be proactive and not take things so personal.

4. The Packers on ESPN live in Honduras make me smile...every time.

Like any good-Wisconsin (born and raised) girl, I love my Packers! Having attended a game nearly every season for the last many years (thanks Uncle John and Aunt Ruth), I was a bit sad to miss the season. And then I realized that ESPN airs the games in Honduras...FANTASTIC!! A little piece of home, and an added bonus that the Packers had such a good season.

3. God gives us exactly enough time to do everything He wants us to do.

At the beginning of my time in Honduras, it felt like there weren't enough hours in the day to do everything on our list. But then I realized that I was the one making the list and not allowing God to be a part of it. He has given me the perfect amount of time to do His will, but when I try to add my own agenda, I end up with a lot of unfinished things.

2. Patience is a really good thing to have when living with 11 kids.

I wasn't exactly characterized as a patient person before Honduras. But I have learned a lot. Whether it's waiting an hour in rush-hour traffic, or waiting 25 minutes for Josue to finish his dinner, or waiting 8 months for my residency papers (we're still working on it), I'm learning that it's all in God's perfect timing. So, yes. I am getting a lot better, at least in one aspect :)

1. It's not about me.

I didn't intent to be self-centered when I arrived in Honduras. But somehow I did have the idea that it was about me...at least a little bit. But what I have learned is that it's not about me at all. I am in Honduras to do God's Work, God's Way. End of conversation. It has taken a lot of humility and submission, but slowly I releasing my desires and letting God be in charge. After all, it's His money, His time, His ministry, and His children.

Christmas: Honduran Style

The week leading up to Christmas was filled with the question "will this be your first Christmas in Honduras?" which was then followed by "are you ready for it?"

I wasn't quite sure what exactly I was supposed to be ready for, but my first Honduran Christmas was a success.

All of us from the Villa came into town for Christmas week and we divided the kids up between Betsy's house and Elvia's house. I was fortunate enough to have Jaime and Edgardo open up their house to me. They also invited 3 of the kids from the Villa to spend Christmas Eve with us. We had a full house: 2 teenage girls, 4 boys, and 3 adults but it was a blast!!

(picture: Edgardo, Jaime and the crew...Noe, Angie, Dani, Jonah, Daniel, and Carmen)

We started out the night with a church service 7:30-9:30 complete with songs, dramas, etc.

Then the 9 of us went back to Edgardo and Jaime's house for Christmas dinner. By the time we had everything ready to eat, it was nearly 11 pm (which I'm told is early). When midnight rolled around, Christmas day was ushered in with fireworks shows from all directions. We took all the kids outside to see the show and enjoy the bangs.

(picture: freshly arrived from church and cooking the turkey!)

Once Christmas Day was fully upon us, we settled down with cups of hot coco to open our presents. Then it was time for a Christmas movie and finally off to bed at 3 am.

From what I've gathered, Christmas Day is more of a day of recovery since most of the celebrations take place on Christmas Eve. But we enjoyed a relaxing day at home: watching movies, going for a walk, playing with the new presents and celebrating Jesus' birthday with birthday cake and singing!

Honduran Christmas wasn't exacty what I was expecting, but what a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of our Savior.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ~Isaiah 9:6

Ten Monkeys In A Tree

Wow! It has been almost a month since my last blog, I can't believe the month got away from me, but here are some of the highlights.



- Hae Young (my boss at the Villa) and Betsy (the director of the ministry) came home from Korea which means that everyone is back. After 2.5 months of various people traveling, it's nice to have the Jericho family all back at home.



- Thanksgiving! Although Betsy has been an ex-patriot for 30 years (more than half her life), she still makes it a yearly tradition to celebrate Thanksgiving. This year we celebrated at Jericho School in Tegucigalpa and over 60 people came! It was a beautiful time to be together and the girls and I were in charge of the pies (pumpkin and pecan) which turned out great!



- My dad came to visit! It was a huge blessing to have my dad visit for 10 days. I was a little nervous about how he would react to 10 rowdy kids but he held his own and the kids loved him! Dad was here for Jericho graduation and Thanksgiving day so he pretty much got to meet everyone in the ministry. I loved having my dad here and being spoiled for a little bit.



One day while my dad was here, we took all the kids out hiking to show my dad the land. We came across an avacado tree that the kids have always begged me to let them climb. Of course I couldn't say no this time, so we hoisted the kids (two-at-a-time) into the tree. It was so fun watching them get to the top and pose to have their pictures taken. Dad became the hoister which all the kids enjoyed...they loved climbing up on his back to reach the lowest branch.



I've been trying to load pictures for the past two days and the site is not being cooperative. So as soon as it's working again, I will have pictures up and posted.

Last Day Part 2

I wasn't the only one who celebrated a "last day" yesterday.

The kids also celebrated their last day of school for the year! The school year runs February thru November for many of the schools here and Jericho has adopted that schedule.

While Miriam, Eduardo, and I are tried to decide how we're going to keep the kids busy for the next 2.5 months, the kids celebrated that they could now sleep in (usually we're up by 5 am), and not have to do homework in the afternoon.

Yesterday was spent cleaning the school, and celebrating with a great lunch and a big cake. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day.

Here are all the desks and tables outside to be washed. I was very amused when I cam downstairs to find everything laid out so neatly as if they were going to have class outside!

The kids with their teacher Miss Lorena. She comes every day from a nearby city (about 20 minutes). She is absolutely incredible! 10 very rowdy kids with 7 different grade levels, all in one classroom for 6 hours. I don't know how she does it, but she is incredibly patient and loving with them. Everything you would look for in a teacher!

Last Day

Hae Young comes home tomorrow!

Well, technically she comes home today, but tomorrow she will be at the Villa.

I have a lot of thoughts and emotions going through my head and have put off processing them until right now.

Thoughts like:

THANK GOD!

Honestly, life hasn't been too crazy. The kids for the most part behaved themselves and were respectful to my authority. I've honed my stick-driving skills, and we didn't lose any kids or staff or anything while I was "in charge".

But being in charge is a lot of responsibility and there were a lot of situations where I felt inadequate making the decision.

That being said, I am perfectly content handing responsiblity back to Hae Young. Of course, I will still have a large role in taking care of the kids, but she can have the finances, being in charge of staff, and cordinating with Tegucigalpa.

AM I READY?

That's a funny question to ask after I just wrote a nice paragraph about how excited I am for her to come back. But it will be a transition and I don't quite know what my new role will be. Hae Young's authority will now be first which means that instead of me making decisions and answering questions, I will have to go to her first.

Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with her authority what-so-ever; but it will be a time of change for me as my authority role changes in the house.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Basically we have been talking/preparing for Hae Young to leave since March. She taught me how to drive stick so I could take the kids in and out of town, she spent countless hours telling me about the kids - signs to look for, personality traits, how to address each one, etc - she taught me how to pay the staff, and basically how to run a household.

So Hae's visit has been in the back of my mind pretty much since I arrived at Jericho. Now it's over, now she's back. I don't have to prepare for anything right now. What will I do with the extra time? Will we get more kids? Will the women come back? Will some of the staff leave? What is my new role?

Lots and lots of questions. Of course, I don't have to answer them because I know that God already has a plan formulated, and I will accept that plan once I know what it is!

So for now, we are content at the Villa. Preparing for our "Omma" (mother in Korean) to return. We are all excited to see her, hear her laugh and of course listen to stories from Korea!

October in a Flash

I thought October would be a big month of blogging. But things have been a little crazy.

Here's a quick run-down on life at the Villa in October.

Life is crazy. People come and go and sometimes it feels like a revolving door but God always provides just enough people so I don't feel like I'm going crazy.

Things break. Sometimes they cost a lot of money to fix but then God provides money or other solutions so that when the water pump breaks, we don't get dehydrated.

Kids fight and then they're angels and then they fight again. Sometimes they have to be punished. Sometimes they cry. Miss Katie is not a huge fan of any of these things (except for the being angels part).

To sum it up. God is always in control and I am learning to be content no matter what the circumstances.

"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."
~Philippians 4:11-12