Ps. 37:4...and he shall give you the desires of your heart.

Wow! What a day Becky, Maria, six 9th graders and I had on Thursday. We took the kids on a field trip to Tegucigalpa which is about 45 minutes away depending on traffic. Becky and I discussed places to go, and it was my bright idea to take them to the post office, San Felipe Hospital, the airport, and hopefully to go inside one of the passenger planes. My treat for lunch at Denny's.  Well, we couldn't go into a plane because we needed to have a letter written a month ahead to the airline company which of course we didn't know.  But now we do for the next time. But I wanted them to be able to see a plane take off and land so bad. So we decided to go to university museum instead. God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. That isn't a scripture, but the principle is true. First we went to the hospital. The people in charge did not honor the information that was given to us originally. What's new?? However, a lady named Rebecca, (Becky and she got a long well !), took us to the maternity ward. We walked right in there with the mothers and their new babies! How precious! In our group of kids, we had one boy of 16 years. He was enthralled with the whole situation. He had his camera/video going full blast. It was totally awesome to watch these teens. Next we went to the post office. There they have a museum. There were things there that I had never seen. Very interesting. Again the kids were just soaking up everything. Then we went into the normal post office. You should have heard their exclamations of surprise and joy when Becky opened our box and mail was there. Well, guess what happened? I had a notice saying I had a package at the airport! Woohoo!!! I knew the package was from one of the ladies from ND that said she would send me multiple copies of beginner readers for my students. So off to the airport we went. We decided that Becky would park the van and pick up my package while I took the kids inside the airport. She said we had to leave there at a certain time in order to be on time for the rest of our journey. So I was keeping an eye on my watch. God is absolutely the best! They saw a small plane land, and two big passenger planes take off. Our fellow was thrilled. Again with the camera! Next to Denny's. Another adventure for them. Watching them trying to figure out what to order was very interesting.  Next we went to the university. So we saw stuffed animals, skeletons, babies that didn't make it, in jars, live crocodiles, snakes, and other such stuff. One of the girls asked me if the babies were real. She didn't think they could be. So Becky explained about natural abortions-miscarriages. And then we headed for home. We left the school at 8 and returned at 5. It was a full day. A joyful day. I couldn't stop praising the Lord. He had  answered so many prayers.

Now all this sounds a little boring for most folks, until you realize that these kids have never been to any of these places in their entire lives. Only two of them had been to downtown Tegucigalpa. To see the awe and joy on their faces is a picture I will never forget. One reason that I wanted them to visit the hospital is because they had never been to one even to visit someone. I found this out after I had written a short story about a boy being in the  hospital with a broken leg after being in an accident. Their assignment was to write a conversation between the boy and two friends that were visiting him. They had zilch! They were totally lost. I hope visiting the mothers and babies helped in this area! Will see. Let me give you a picture of the maternity ward. It is a long rectangular room with single, simple beds (not hospital beds) on each side. One half of the room was for mothers who had had caesarians and the other half for normal deliveries. There were no curtains between the beds. No such thing as privacy.  Compared to the U.S. some  things here are still quite primitive.

I'm still praising the Lord for that day. What an awesome God we have!

Ps. 91:5-6 Thou shalt not be afraid...nor for the pestilence that walkest in darkness...

We are in the countdown for the school year's end. And we are all ready. It has been a difficult year for a lot of the teachers. New kids with a lot of discipline problems, need for at least 3 more teachers, etc. When a teacher has 42 students, it is very difficult to do the job well. There is not time to help those that are having troubles in the learning and behavior areas. It is so different here! But we have good teachers, and they do their best. Today we had a meeting between the director, me, Becky and the other two teachers from the elementary school and high school.  We met to discuss problems and solutions. We need to have behaviors and consequences written on paper to give to parents and students. Plus each of the teachers all need to be on the same page! We also will now have a calling tree. Woohoo!! So on Saturday, the 27th, they are coming to my house so we can do just that.  Becky and I are fixing lunch!

I had some really good news today. While in the meeting, the director said that one of the director's in a public school here has one of my former students, and he told her that this student speaks very good English compared to the students that are using the program "Hi Honduras." When this student was asked questions, he answered all of them correctly!!! I am so pleased. There are a lot of mistakes in this program.The national director has asked me to go through the books and mark down all the mistakes. He is going to take it to the district and talk to them about it. What a job!

I started this a few days ago! So now I must finish it. Today a group of four came to the school to check the Jr. High kids for Chagas disease. They prick the finger and take a blood sample. I went on line to check out this nasty insect that can cause big trouble when it bites a person. Hopefully, none of our kids will have the disease.  There is no cure, and the two medicines that are available are expensive and has many side effects.  This is the second insect that I have learned about here, and they are nasty critters. The first was the Bot fly. UGH!! 

So tomorrow is Friday! I have to give the devotional for the teachers. So we'll see how well my Spanish works!

I am  looking forward to December! Even though it will be cold, I need the time there. I praise God  that He is always with me.