THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26th

Today was filled with excitement and anxiety. You can see that today is our last full day here at Emmanuel. People want to know, "Are you ready to go home?". The answer: Yes and No. Yes, we are ready to get back to our home - but sad that we can't take the girls with us as well as help continue the work here at Emmanuel.
Joe and I worked in the school for a couple of hours. About 10:30 AM we were picked up by a couple of missionaries who live in Guaimaca (the town where Emmanuel is located).
Several of our team loaded up a very large pot of vegetable soup, peanut butter & crackers, and Moon Pies then headed into town to help with their feeding program.
We made our way through this interesting little town and pulled in front of the church. Inside there were over 100 children waiting to be fed their only meal for the day.
Imagine eating only one meal a day. Here is the ministries website if you want to know more or to help with this much needed ministry. www.focushonduras.com
We returned to Emmanuel around lunch time. It is so amazing to be serving God with all sorts of people who love the One & Only God. There are many ages: high school students all the way to Everett who is in his around 90. You are never too young or old to serve the Lord at home or abroad.
In the afternoon, Brent & I took the girls to Guaimaca to shop. I must admit I was a little nervous venturing outside the safety of the walls of Emmanuel.The girls bought many things that they needed and wanted. It was fun.
Tonight both of the girls came to dinner. It is bitter sweet to tell them goodbye. We know that they are protected and safe here at Emmanuel but someday we would love to have them come stay with us and study in the States.
I have enjoyed the wonderful time to work here for the cause of Christ.
Until next time,
Bettye

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25th

What a wonderful privilege to be serving the Lord here in this special place. Joe (my Pennsylvania translator) & I had a good day working in the school. Delmy, the teacher, has been receptive to any and all ideas. I have tried to defuse any problems that might occur with the special group.
I worked with the kids with the alphabet. They used magnetic letters and placed them on a clean large vegetable can. They really seemed to respond well.
In the afternoon, Joe and I took a few of the kids to the Craft House to place Numero Bingo. They are so smart!. I am very proud of this little group of kids.
Brent has worked with the Line Crew this week. Today they rerouted the main power lines from the entrance of the orphanage. The power was out for most of the morning since the guys were playing around with the electricity.
Tonight we had a great worship service at the church. Both Ana Yansy & Azucena sat with me in church. The music was awesome and Brent preached well as usual. We took tons of photos and reassured the girls that we love them very much.
Until Next Time,
Bettye

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25th

I am writing this as I am sitting with Brent in our little golf cart on a "date night" in front of the church. We are saying that we are at the drive-in theater. LOL.
Great day - will probably add more tomorrow. Really tired.

Until Next Time,
Bettye

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

This morning was an early morning again. Before breakfast I went to see Azucena along with Brent & Steve. Once she spotted us - she took off flying to come see us. That is so sweet.
After breakfast, Brent & I headed towards our projects. Brent with the Line Crew who turned off the power for several hours. It was interesting teaching without light. I worked in the school.
It was refreshing to see the teacher walk in the classroom with a project for the kids using items from the supplies I brought to teach math concepts. The kids really responded well. The teacher kept things moving and the kids for the most part had a good productive day.
The kids enjoyed going on a Nature Walk. I gave them a piece of masking tape and placed around the wrist with the sticky side out. They were told to put anything on it that they chose. It was so cool to watch. They were so creative. Even Lenar,who chooses not to participate most of the time, had such a blast. His eyes lit up. When we got back to the classroom, the glued their "bracelet" to their paper. They were so proud of the finds. The teacher then taught about Flora & Hoja. (Flowers & leaves).
After lunch, Joe (my friend from Pennsylvania who translated for me) and I went to the Special Needs yard and played a couple of games. Bless their little hearts. They are such a wonderful little group of kids.
Tonight our girls, Ana & Azucena, ate dinner with us. Azucena has always been very "huggy" but this year Ana seems more so than the previous years. I wish I could pack them up and bring them home. Hopefully God will allow that one day if it is His will.

Copy & past the below link for photos:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14108&id=1511774096&l=9ff5b

Until Next Time,
Bettye

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd

Today was work day. My alarm went off at 5:20 AM. I am excited to work in the school today and thankful that my friend Joe will be translating for me.
Breakfast was at 7 - then off to the school while Brent was working with the Line Crew to install new power lines.
I met the teacher who seemed to be open to new teaching ideas and concepts.
The children responded well to the lessons. They wrote their name using shaving cream. They worked with colors and colored pompoms to learn math. They also played a game with a large foam dice. These children are all ranges of the special needs spectrum. I do wish I was more equipped and have constantly been asking God for guidance.

Class lasted until 11:30 AM then off to lunch. The cooks have done a great job keeping this large crew fed.
After lunch, I along with Joe and Lauren met with the teacher to design lesson plans for the future. That went really well.
Azucena and Ana joined Brent & me for dinner. I am thankful for the one-on-one time I have with the girls. They both have been really loving. Tons of hugs.
I am excited to see what God has in store for tomorrow.

Copy & paste the below link for photos:
www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=14108&id=1511774096&l=9ff5b

Until Next Time,
Bettye

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22nd

Worship services at Emmanuel are always such a blessing. The Spirit among the staff and children is so refreshing. People are not always watching their watches to see when the service will end so they can have Sunday dinner. It is not so rushed and a wonderful time of fellowship.

Azucena sang in the choir. She has matured so much. It has been a joy to watch her grow in the Lord. After the music service, a couple of men from our group played their banjo & guitar which the children loved and sang along. That was fun to watch.
One young man on our team gave his testimony about how he turned his back on God and when his friends died in a car accident he renewed his relationship with God. What a powerful story this young man shared with all in attendance.
Brent challenged everyone with a message from God's Word and did a great job. He spoke out of the book of Joshua. It was an awesome message for the kids as well as for the adults.

After church, I went to the school with Lauren to discuss our game plan for Monday.
It is great to know that someone like Lauren will be carrying on helping the teacher with these special children.
In the afternoon, Brent & I took Ana & little Diego to the Tienda to see Azucena, who was working in the kitchen. It was a very enjoyable and relaxing afternoon. I learned how to make a tortilla. That was kinda cool. Can I make it when I get back home? That's a good question.

After dinner, I worked on more school projects. I want to have lots of ideas for the teacher to use in the weeks to come. There are many people serving the Lord at Emmanuel this week - about 75 to 100. Even though we come from different parts of the States, we all serve the same God. It has been wonderful to be a part of this awesome group.

Until Next Time,
Bettye

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 21st

Today was work a little and be with the kids a little.
After breakfast, I headed to the school to assess all of the supplies I brought for the Special Needs classroom and prepare lesson plans while Brent worked with the Line Crew.

My goal for the Special Needs classroom is to equip the teacher with a firm foundation to build upon after I am gone. I am working with a volunteer, Lauren. She is pretty amazing. She is a newlywed all of 3 months, I believe, who along with her husband has decided to start their marriage serving God on the foreign mission field.
All I did today was prepare for school and play with the kids.
I went to the girls yard and saw some of my favorites, Cindy & Dunia. They are sisters and so adorable.
One big highlight of the day was to see Dunia Lopez. She is very dear to our family. She is currently the assistant to the houseparents in the Transition House in Tegu and going to school. We are very proud of her.
I was still recovering from jet lag so I was off to bed pretty early.

Until Next Time,
Bettye

TRAVEL DAY, FRIDAY FEBRUARY 20th

Brent and I woke up at 3:00 AM to start our journey from Nashville, TN to Orphanage Emmanuel in Guaimaca, Honduras. It was very cold outside and it seemed silly to be wearing Capri's but I couldn't help myself. I knew I was heading for warmer weather. Our day in the airports was much of hurry up and wait. Our plane sat on the runway for 30 minutes waiting on the Atlanta flight tower to give us the clearance to take-off. This meant that we only had 30 minutes to make our connecting flight. So once we landed in the Atlanta we had to run or walk very quickly to make our connecting flight.
Once we arrived at our gate, we hooked up with 5 other team members for Georgia and Tennessee. We waited about 15 minutes before they started boarding. Once all were on board the pilot made the announcement that the plane was missing a few essential parts to fly so we had to deplane and walk to our new plane. Problem there - it had not yet arrived. So you see why I said that this day was a hurry up and wait day.
We finally arrived in Honduras and hour and half late but Praise the Lord we arrived.

Brent & I were greeted by David & Lydia (the founders of OE) and instead of riding on the school bus for 2 hours we had the privilege of riding in their extended cab truck with air conditioning.
Once we arrived at OE, we dropped off our bags and found Ana working at the toddler house. It was great to give her a big hug as well as hugging all those adorable toddlers.

We are glad to be here and look forward to what God has in store for us this week.
Until Next Time,
Bettye