1st week of school...year 3 :)

We just completed our first week of school! I enjoy all my classes and kids that i'm teaching. This year, i'm teaching pretty much the same kids as last year, but now they're in 5th and 6th grade instead of 4th and 5th :). My kids keep making fun of me because i keep saying how much they've grown since I first got here 2 years ago. I'm teaching all the main subjects (Bible, Science, Math, Grammar, Reading, Spelling) to 5th and 6th grade as well as a 3rd and 4th grade math class. I have 2 5th graders, 2 6th graders, 2 3rd graders and 2 4th graders.
Here are some funny quotes from the week:

When we were on our way out to recess:
student-"mmm...it smells like recess!"
me- "what does recess smell like?"
student- "like freedom!"

While videoing another student with the black and white feature on my camera, one of my students said, "Look, it's like i'm videoing in the 90s!"

We were learning about different types of numbers (cardinal, ordinal, nominal) in math. For one of the answers, one of my students said, "you know...the one like the fair....like...carnival or whatever"

It's my goal to update the blog more often this school year! Thanks for all your prayers and support!
-Hannah :)

Summer Newsletter

Here's a copy of the summer newsletter i sent out a few weeks ago:

Hannah’s Honduras Update
Summer 2009

Dear friends and family,

I hope this update finds you and your family doing well. This has been a busy, yet productive summer complete with graduation, a medical brigade, staying in houses, Spanish class, furlough, and getting ready for school to start again.

In June we had a graduation ceremony for our Kindergartners, 6th grader, and 12th grader. It was a great time of celebration of these students as well as the accomplishments of our whole school. The week after graduation, I was able to go on a medical brigade with the other side of our ministry. I really enjoyed getting to spend the week with several other people from the ranch, as well as a few people from the church I was able to work with last year. God stretched me in some new ways, I was able to share the gospel with several people, a couple people accepted Christ, I was able to practice my Spanish, and hang out with a lot of kids. It was a great week. To read a more detailed account, please visit my blog: http://hannahhonduras.blogspot.com.

When our house parents are gone from the ranch for any reason (whether it be for furlough, their monthly days off, medical emergency, etc), one of us stays in their house until they are able to return to the ranch. This summer I stayed in several houses for a couple of nights. I enjoy doing this during the summer because I can see some of the kids that I don’t usually see as often and get to know them better.

We had a lady come in from the city this summer to teach Spanish classes to the missionaries on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I was able to participate in these classes for a couple of weeks before I went back to the states for my 2 weeks of furlough. I feel like I learned a lot and was glad to have this opportunity to learn more.

July 3rd-17th, I was able to go back to the states for a quick furlough. It was encouraging to see some of you and catch up with what’s going on in your lives. I was also able to go visit my brother Robbie and his fiancé, Mallorie and hear about more of their wedding plans.

Since my return on the 17th, I’ve been busy staying in more houses and getting my classroom ready for school to start! I begin my 3rd year of teaching here in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait! I’m excited to teach the same kids that I have taught for the previous two years. This year, they’ll be in 5th and 6th grade.

You may have heard about the political situation going on here in Honduras. If not, I encourage you to look it up on your favorite news website. Almost a month later, there are still demonstrations and protests in the city where we go at least once a week. Thankfully, most of these demonstrations and protests have remained peaceful. As a ministry, everyone is safe. We’re being cautious and aware of days that we go into the city, etc. Please pray for the country of Honduras and this situation, that God’s hand would be in it and that it would end quickly and peacefully.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!
Hannah Dakel
Hannah.dakel@gmail.com
www.wgoreach.org


“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…” -Philippians 1:4-5

Medical Brigade

This is a long post because I had a busy, yet exciting week...there's also pictures on facebook if you're interested in seeing them :)

Here's the short version if you don't have much time:

This week I went on a medical evangelism brigade in the city with the other side of our ministry. I had fun and had a great week. God is good and taught me some cool things.

But there's so much more, so you should read my long version:

Medical Brigade #2109- June 14-20, 2009

I worked this week with a medical brigade in the city. The team I worked with was a “first” for the ministry…a “hybrid” team of a ranch construction team, the original medical team from woodland park, Colorado, the ranch interns, Emily Schultz, Tammy Lis, Jae, and me. It was a great week and God worked in many ways.

I was glad to get to work alongside the woodland park team again this year. Jae, Brett, and I worked with them last year and were excited to hear that they were returning. It was a fun week of catching up on the year and growing closer to each other as we served together.

When I talked with Kelly (the team leader), she asked where I would like to work during the week. I told her that I didn’t care, and just to put me where they needed people. She put me in the Evangelism station. At first, I was nervous about this and actually kind of dreading it, because even though I’ve had lots of evangelism training in the past, I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Because I was a little nervous, I was able to sit with Janene, one of the ladies on the team, and listen to her all morning before I had my own station. After lunch, I felt ready to begin on my own, so along with Manuel (my translator), I talked with about 10 different people on Monday afternoon. I was praying the whole time b/c I had no idea what to do or say and God worked in mighty ways. We had 3 people accept Christ for the first time, one man recommit his life to the Lord after a struggle with all kinds of temptations, and a couple of people who said everything made since, but they just weren’t ready yet. WE also had several people who were already Christians come through our station. We were able to pray for them and encourage them in their faith. One of these people was a guy who looked about my age or a little younger. He said his son lived in the area, but that he lived an hour away. He was asking for prayer for safety because he had recently become a Christian and decided to leave a gang. He said he never felt safe and needed prayer. I thank God that I was able to hear all of these people’s stories, and that Manuel and I were able to share the Gospel and our lives with them.

On Tuesday, we worked at the same church, but I was stationed in the children’s area. This is my favorite area to work in. Once again, God used me to share the Gospel with several groups of kids using the colored bead bracelets. Before lunch, I was taking a break and a little girl came up and gave me a hug. We started talking and she hung out with me for the rest of the morning. I found out that her name is Angie, she is 8 years old and lives with her grandmother because her mom is living in Mexico and she doesn’t know where her dad is. We talked for a couple of hours that morning and quickly became friends. She told me that she is a Christian and that she and her grandma come to church every week. She asked if I could come live in a house that’s empty next to her.

On Thursday I was in Evangelism in the morning and dental in the afternoon. Once again, I worked with Manuel and we were able to talk to several people. The first lady that came to us was an 85 year old woman. She loved God and loved to tell everyone what He had done in her life. All we really had time for was to say hello and then she started telling us her life story. It was encouraging to see such a strong believer and a good way to start the morning. Thursday morning was also encouraging because many of the people that we talked to were already Christians, and one lady accepted Christ for the first time. In the afternoon, I helped in the dental area. I helped with a couple of patients when I noticed that a north American from a different church was very interested in what was going on and I was kind of grossed out by it all, so I asked if he wanted to help. He said he’d love to, so he stayed there all afternoon and I was able to go hang out with the kids. After the crowds kind of died down, a few of the kids were hanging out with me and one of them asked me to teach her English. Before I knew it, five or six kids were around me wanting to learn. I was able to teach them a couple basic conversational phrases, colors, numbers, and the alphabet. It was fun. The little girl who originally asked to learn stuck around me for the rest of the afternoon until I told her it was time for us to go. I learned that her name was Stefany; she’s nine years old, and lived right down the street from the church. She said that she started learning English at her school; but that her teacher had left and she wanted to learn more so that she could teach her cousins. She asked what time I’d be back the next day and if I could teach her more. I told her when I’d be there, but that I may have to work in another area and may not be able to teach her anything.

Friday was a crazy day. We had about 55 kids come through the children’s station in the morning, but the crowd dwindled about an hour before lunch time. Luis, the brigade manager, asked several of us if we wanted to go for “a little walk” to go see the house where part of the team was putting in a concrete floor. This “little walk” turned out to be about a 45 minute hike up and down lots of streets, across a suspension bridge, and all through a neighborhood. It was a long and tiring walk, but I was glad to get to meet the family that was receiving this floor, and the floor being laid. Friday afternoon, my new friend stefany came back, but I was very busy. The first group that came through, started with 35 kids (they’re usually around 20 in each group), but by the time the songs were finished, 50 kids were in the group. After they hear the story, they receive a gospel bead bracelet, and get their hair checked and treated for lice if needed, washed, combed, and styled. At one point during this time, our tent started falling down, so I was holding it up as well as I could with my head while putting lice shampoo on a girl’s head. It was pretty crazy. Because there were so many kids, we got a little backed up, but God allowed things to go smoothly despite the large number of kids. Stefany followed me around all afternoon and helped with whatever I was doing. We were able to talk occasionally, but not very much. After the afternoon construction group came back, they were very helpful in the children’s area, and eager to help wherever needed. It was a huge blessing. When everything slowed down, and we were cleaning up, Stefany still stuck around and helped. We talked some more and she asked me to pray for her house b/c she was worried. She and her family lived in her house, and a family lived in the house above hers. She said with all the rain we’ve been having, that pieces of the house have been falling into her house. When it was finally time to go, she wrote down her name on a piece of paper for me and I wrote down mine on one for her. She gave me a big hug and walked home with her sister. It was sad to say goodbye, but I know I’ll see her again someday in heaven.

This was a great week of fun, fellowship, and serving, prayer, learning, and once again experiencing the way that God works. I’m thankful that I got to spend this week at the mission house, especially with this team, and I hope to serve alongside them again next year.

Spanish Church

This morning I went to a spanish speaking church. I usually go to an English speaking church, and i like most things about that church, but I've been considering for a long time switching to a spanish church. I went today with a couple of other teachers and a new missionary here that is looking for a spanish church. All that to say, i really enjoyed it! I don't know if it's because it's something new or what, but i found it very refreshing and i was encouraged that i understood the majority of what was being said. that's what's held me back before. i wasn't sure if i could understand enough for it to be worth it, for me to grow at all from church. I can say today though, i understood most of it, and only got lost when he started talking really really fast. This summer and next semester, I think I'll try going to different Spanish churches and try to find one that I like.

I've also decided recently that i need to be working on my spanish more, specifically my speaking. I can understand a lot of what's being said, but my spanish conversational skills are a little rusty. i feel like i'm forgetting a lot of the basic stuff i've learned a long time ago....like basic greetings and present tense verbs. it's kinda sad. So, that's a new goal of mine...to speak more spanish to practice, and not care if i mess up a lot to start out with, because i know i will, but that's the only way to learn and be confident in my Spanish speaking abilities. Going to a spanish speaking church will help with this goal, too :).

Solamente tenemos 3 mas semanas de la escuela! (translated: we only have 3 more weeks of school)

February/March Update

“In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now…” -Philippians 1:4-5

The past two months seem to have flown by! I can’t believe that it’s already March. As always, I’ve been keeping busy. Here’s what’s been going on:

100th Day of School
In February, we celebrated our 100th day of school. Our Kindergarten-5th grade classes spent an afternoon based on the number 100. They put together 100 piece puzzles, made crowns, made 100 handprints among other things. The kids enjoyed having this fun afternoon celebrating our 100th day of school.

Coffee Field Trip
Here at Rancho Ebenezer, we grow and sell coffee to incoming mission teams as well as various organizations and people in the states. As elementary teachers, we decided it would be fun to take a “Coffee Field trip” to learn how exactly the coffee gets from the plant to the cup. Alan, one of our house parents, and the guy who is in charge of the coffee processing, was glad to show us what exactly goes on in the coffee making process. Here are a few interesting facts I learned:
We have 20,000 coffee plants at the ranch, each one lasting for 50 years.
Each coffee plant has “cherries” on it. It takes 4,000 of these “cherries” to make 1 pound of coffee.
Coffee plants are very durable. They can be run over with a car and spring back up to their original condition.

Spelling Bee
Our 2nd through 6th graders had a spelling bee! I enjoyed being a judge for this event and made sure the kids stayed within their time limit of thirty seconds. I was very proud of all of the students. They did an exceptional job, especially my two 5th graders! Elli won first place and Jennifer won 2nd place, although, I can’t take credit because I’m not their spelling teacher.

I had visitors!
February 28th-March 2nd was a very special week for me! My mom, brother, and brother’s girlfriend came to visit me! It was my mom’s spring break from school, so she was originally planning on coming. At the last minute (a couple weeks before the trip), we worked it out so that Robbie and Mallorie could come with her! I really enjoyed having them all here to experience what I do on a daily basis. My mom said she was so glad to see in person what I did because the pictures apparently don’t do it justice. It was such a blessing and encouragement to have them here…like a little bit of home brought to me. They were able to go on the coffee field trip with me, experience the spelling bee, hang out at school with me, meet my friends/coworkers, go to a waterfall, and help me with a sewing project for my home ec class.

Prayer Requests:
Pray that I will daily keep spending time with God…that it would be a priority and that I won’t be distracted by other things.
Pray for my students, that they will continue to work hard and learn more about God.
Pray for me as I teach every day, that I will have patience, wisdom, and creativity with my students.
Pray that God would provide the teams we need to come for the remainder of the year.
Pray that God would provide the preschool teacher and high school teachers we need for next school year.
Pray for our safety. Sometimes we get comfortable where we are and forget that it can be a dangerous place.

Pictures:
Follow the links below to lots of pictures!

Vistors part 1
Vistors part 2
100th Day of School
February and March Pictures



As always, thanks for all of your prayers and support! I wouldn’t be here without your help and God’s provision!


-Hannah Dakel
Hannah.dakel@gmail.com
Hannahhonduras.blogspot.com
www.wgoreach.org

A fun visit!

This past week, my mom, my brother (robbie), and my brother's girlfriend (mallorie) came to visit me! We had a lot of fun! It was a blessing and encouragement to have them here.

While they were here, we had a coffee field trip and spelling bee at school, my mom, mallorie, and i helped my 5th graders sew purses in home-ec class, they helped me with a couple of projects i've been meaning to do at school, we went to the city to hang out with friends a few times, and we went to the waterfall. All the kids really enjoyed seeing robbie again so soon after his last visit in November. I'm so glad it worked out for all of them to come and hope they can come back again soon!

Here are a couple of pictures:

An interesting week

100th Day of School!

Monday, February 9th was our 100th day of school! We had a nice celebration in the afternoon all planned around the number 100. The kids made crowns with 10 groups of 10 things on them and wore them for the rest of the day. They had 100 minutes of free time (broken up into smaller sections so they didn't get bored), worked 100 piece puzzles, made 100 handprints, and wrote their names over and over again in a 100s chart...one letter in each square and each letter a different color. Most of the time it made a cool pattern...see the picture below...

the kids had a great time and it was a fun afternoon.

An almost broken nose

On Thursday of the same week, one of my students almost broke my nose. I was sitting on one of my tables and julio was standing in front of me with his book in my lap. I was looking down, watching him work, and he got really excited b/c he figured out how to do something, so he jumped up and his head came up and hit my nose really hard. It hit so hard, that it made my eyes water and it bled a little. I had to ice it for a little while. Julio was eventually very apologetic, and now we all laugh about it. Kevin, my other 4th grader sometimes just looks at my nose and laughs. Looking back on it now, I laugh too, but at the time it wasn't very funny.

Valentine's Day

The next day was the day before Valentines Day. We had a little party at school for that, too and had cookies, juice, and a few valentines day activities. After lunch, some of the pre-k, Kindergarten, and 1st graders came around to the classes and gave the teachers flowers. It was really sweet. All the kids also made lots of valentines for each other. Here in Honduras, Valentine's day is called, "Dia de amor y la amistad" (or "Day of love and friendship"). My 5th grade girls made a valentine for the 2nd and 3rd grade boys class, but they made sure to underline the word "amistad" or "friendship" because they wanted to be sure the boys knew that they didn't love them. I thought it was pretty funny.

Several of us teachers got together on saturday night and had a nice dinner. we had fun celebrating our friendship as well. We ended up having 3 yummy cheesecakes. At our house, we had 2, one plain, and one with a blackberry glaze. One of the parents sent us a chocolate one as well. We enjoyed the variety. It was a special treat b/c we don't get cheesecake very much here.

Other news:

My mom, Robbie, and his friend, Mallorie, are coming to visit me next week! I'm really excited to have visitors. It will be a fun week! They'll be here Feb 28th-March 7th. Please pray for a safe trip for them and a good week.