The People Who Help Me

Yesterday elections were held here for the mayor and the senators. It's very different from the US. A lot of people here don't know how to read and write, so they mark the picture of the candidates and the flags of their political parties. The poles closed at 5pm and then most of the town gathered outside the school here where the voting was held and waited for the news of who won. I had to prepare for the kids this morning and for getting up at 5am and so I didn't wait up with them. There were a lot of cars going back and forth - not normal for this small town. Their was a lot of shouting. Mirian (my neighbor) was very worried about me being outside in case a fight broke out. Thankfully, there were no fights, but it they did get to shouting excitedly a couple of times. I slept pretty soundly through most of it. :)

Rosme - he's such a funny little guy!

We had a quiet day with the kids today. School was cancelled because they were putting the classrooms back in order after the election. A lot of people were up late last night and so didn't bother to bring the children today, especially since the other children were home. :) We still had 6 children this morning and 1 lone child this afternoon. It was so much fun to hang out with a small group of kids though. They were very funny today. Anderson and Rosme were particularly enthusiastic about English and reciting the Bible verse today. They were so funny to watch. Rosme is the youngest I have - not yet 3 and he very excitedly shouted out English words today. We worked on colors and he loved saying "yellow!" I went on to blue and he kept shouting, "No, yellow!" They loved the Bible story today. Sometimes I wonder if they are even listening, but today when I asked them about what they remembered from last week, Anderson shouted out, "Adán y Eva!" which means "Adam and Eve!" :) I was encouraged. 

Anderson pouting because we won't let him fight over the balls. :)

The children are just full of all kinds of fun and keep us laughing all day! They definitely keep us on our toes as well, but we love every minute of it! I want to tell you all a little bit about the people working with me. Gloria cooks for the children. She prepares a snack in the morning and then lunch. She makes the tortillas with the masa that I bring back from the mill every morning. Gloria is married and has a girl who is 9 (I can't remember or even spell her name right now - it is very different) and a boy who is 7. The boy's name is William and he will be coming to the center for a couple of hours in the afternoon. The children are very sweet and Gloria's husband, Tonio, is a carpenter. He made the table that I have in my kitchen right now. Gloria is a good cook and she's really good with the kids. She's always making sure they fill those little tummies as full as she can get them. Gloria joins in the fun with the kids whenever she's not busy in the kitchen. :)

Gloria helping Rosme finish his snack. 

Matia is the one who helps me with the children. He also helps me with the finances, grocery shopping (I think I would get lost in Gotera without him :), setting up phones and internet, bringing in children, and cultural concerns among many other things. Ah yes, and he rescues me from scorpions. :) Matia speaks and reads and writes English very well. He helps teach the lessons to the children and is very good with them all and especially the difficult ones that are higher maintenance. He is on top of all of their tricks. ;) Matia also has experience in teaching, accounting, and knows practically everyone in Meanguera. He has been a huge help. It has been fun working with both Matia and Gloria because they both love the children so much. 

Matia with Olman, one of our more difficult cases. :)

Celso usually takes me to Gotera once a week to buy food for the children. Gotera is where the market is and where the biggest grocery stores are in Morazán. Pastor Roman has also been a huge help and is always available whenever we need him. Mirian, Sara, and Chila who live across the street always save me a spot in line at the mill and help me when it's my turn to mill. I could be here all day talking about people who help me! Everyone pitches in and keeps an eye on me. :)

We are working on getting an area set up outside the house with a fireplace, a mill, and a stone for making tortillas. Cooking corn takes up a lot of gas from the stove and cooking it over a fire is much quicker. I usually have to wait in line for a while at the mill in the morning, so we bought a hand mill. I think the tortillas taste better coming from th hand mill too. I'm starting to get finesse with my taste in tortillas, haha. They are not all made the same! I will take a picture for you all when it is set up so you can see the mill and the stone and how it works. It is a very neat process and each step has a distinct purpose. I'm still learning all the details to cooking the corn - there is always so much to learn! 

Keep us in your prayers!  Pray that God will work in the hearts of these little children. These children need to know Christ's love. There is a lack of love and affection in many of their homes. I'll tell you more about them later! Thank you all so much for your support and your encouragement! You all are a special gift from God to me. :)