Nelson

Nelson at "El cajon"

Nelson just graduated sixth grade this past Saturday, and this is a big deal here in Honduras. Usually this means the boys head on to high school (which starts in 7th grade here), so Nelson was feeling mixed emotions about graduating and leaving his elementary school. The same class has been together for years, so they’re all best friends. Next year many will split up and go to several different private schools in the capital, so they all were really soaking up these last few days. We had a luncheon in honor of them where they each received a personalized award and their certificate of graduation from ABSS. 

6th grade graduating class at the dam

Two Saturdays ago I woke up at 4 AM to go pack up my car and pick up Nelson to get on a bus by 5:30 AM to head out for his class trip. We left Zamorano around 5:45 and headed northwest in Honduras first to El Cajon, one of Honduras’ biggest dams. We received a private tour which included an area by the river where there were natural hot water baths- from hot water that came from the mountains. Next we headed to Olla Grande where they have a huge zoo with many impressive animals. Of course the kids love this, because in Honduras (at least in Tegucigalpa) the zoos are pretty weak-sauce. But the zoo we visited really compared with some of the zoos I’ve visited in the US. They had private pools, restaurants, gift shops, blow up games, roller coasters (for kids), etc. We had lunch and stayed here until around 6ish. 

First time seeing an ostrich

That night we made the long trek to Pulhapanzak. This place is a hidden treasure in Honduras. LOOK.IT.UP. They have private cabañas where we stayed - air conditioner included - and I had 8 people in my cabin... 4 kids and 4 adults. Either way we were exhausted so we slept well. 

our cabins overlooked this gorgeous scenery (Pulhapanzak)

The next morning we woke up and after breakfast had the opportunity to choose activities to do on their campsite. They offer zip lines (OVER THE WATERFALL) and a group tour where you hike down to the actual waterfall and hike underneath to the hidden caves. 

Before zip-lining!

Both of these were relatively affordable, so as soon as Nelson showed me he was brave enough, we bought our tickets and got our harnesses on. Most of his class (each student was accompanied by one parent figure) did the zip line together, which was so, so fun! The final one was directly out of the forrest and over the impressive waterfall. Everyone felt like we were flying! 

waterfall at Pulhapanzak

After everyone finished we met back up for our hike. This was literally the most adventurous/brave/impressive thing I’ve ever done. We hiked (about 20 of us) over extremely slippery rocks (also very large) all while the water splashed in our faces. Once we reached the first cave (to the bottom left of the waterfall) we were told that the hardest part was yet to come. We broke off into two groups and all linked hands. Walking sideways with our backs facing outward, we crouched, inclined our heads, and were told only to breath through our mouths. 

 Nelson's 6th grade teacher zip-lining over the waterfall

This was really scary, and you had to completely trust the person who went to your right who was technically leading you by pulling on your hand. You felt like you were blind and hunched at the waist with the weight of the waterfall on your back. The caves behind the waterfalls weren’t really that impressive, but in the end I think everyone was so proud of themselves for completing the task. I was proud of myself as a 24 year old doing this, so Nelson being half my age really impressed me. 

the whole group before heading out 

We had a great weekend, and I’m so glad I was able to spend some quality time with him. On Monday I headed to Tegus with the interns and our director to officially enroll Nelson. He’s going to attend one of the most prestigious schools in all of Honduras, and  this is such an honor to be accepted. We are currently fundraising for Nelson’s education fund, so if you’d like to see how you can help, please email me! 

DCIS's newest wildcat!

After seeing his school for the first time, I could easily see Nelson was overwhelmed. It’s ironic I lived a story quite similar to his current situation (with some obvious exceptions) - moving to a completely different city, school, house, and not knowing what to expect. I absolutely feel God has placed me here to help encourage Nelson during this time of transition.  

we celebrated with ice cream after officially being enrolled

Because this is a big accomplishment not just for Nelson, but also for JEC, we recognize that with this great opportunity comes great responsibility. Please pray for him as he starts this new age of his life.

End of the School Year (& Everything That Goes With It)!

I am so sorry for my EXTREME lack of blogging, but we’ve had horrible internet issues (leave it to Honduras to tell you your internet is working fine but you can’t even open your email) and it’s been a crazy month of June! 

Casa Verde (photo by my friend, Lindy)

We’ve already had at least 7 groups coming through to visit. These groups do an array of things - whether bringing lunch to the boys, piñatas and candy, pouring cement and doing manual labor, etc. Everything these groups do help us in many ways, and the boys absolutely love having so many visitors (and the attention, too!).

Fredy Cruz & Gary, the cat in casa rosada

This week the executive director stateside for JEC brought a group and have been working on certain projects here and in the area. These include buying and packing food baskets for all our employees (rice, beans, butter, milk, etc), pouring a concrete floor in one of our employee’s houses, and painting our new shop to sell our souvenirs. 

Today the group is having a VBS at the public school where all our elementary school boys attend, and tomorrow they’ll be heading out. My youth group from Harpeth Hills (Brentwood, TN) arrived to Tegucigalpa yesterday and are making their way to JEC on Thursday. I’m obviously elated for personal reasons to be able to spend time with my past youth ministers and relive how my love for Honduras began in the first place. 

back when I visited JEC with my youth group

Last week was literally insane - so many groups, visits, meetings, graduations, etc etc. Antony graduated kindergarten, so I acted as his guardian and walked him down the isle with his cap and gown (Honduran tradition). His class sang and performed a song/dance in english, had a slideshow of baby pics, and then each received a diploma and a small gift. We had taken his class trip a few weekends ago to a private club in Valle de Angeles (abt 2 hrs from Zamorano), went swimming, played and had a meal together. 

Antony on the morning of his kindergarten graduation

I will write another blog about Nelson later, since he graduated 6th grade last week - meaning he's heading to high school here in Honduras! We took a weekend trip with his entire class, and it was absolutely amazing. More details to come.

We've had plenty of reasons to use our projector for soccer games, movies, etc. The first Friday all four interns were here at JEC we built a fire and taught the boys to roast marshmellows. We've had movie nights with the boys in each house, popping popcorn and watching our fair share of bootleg movies. 

campfires, popcorn, marshmallows, etc

I also had the opportunity to go to the stadium for the big Honduras vs. Costa Rica game. This was the only one in Tegucigalpa (which is only about an hour away from Zamorano), so I went with several of my friends who teach in the local bilingual school. We all wore our jerseys, painted our faces, and had a blast. Luckily Honduras WON, and we even had front row seats.

Last night Honduras played the USA in Utah, so we of course had to project that game on the big screen and make popcorn. Our interns wore their american flag tshirts while all the Hondurans talked trash all day. Unfortunately for the boys, USA won scoring the game's only goal. I walked around telling the boys "I'm so sorry", and of course they all couldn't help but smile after all the smack they had talked the last week or two.