Wow! Almost 6 months since my last entry, I am really sorry about that. Well, where to begin?
September: Our retreat in Bonito was wonderful. It prepared us well to welcome 8 new missionaries to the Farm.
October: New missionaries arrived, and in that group and new nurse!! Ashley has been a huge help to me in the clinic. Finally having someone to talk to during the day in the office I think I may have made her believe I never stop talking, oops! We have found a good balance and work really well together.
November: I was able to unexpectedly be in Ceiba for a week over Thanksgiving with one of our kids for
health reasons. It was really beautiful to spend Thanksgiving with 9 teenagers who had never celebrated the holiday and 2 other missionaries. We (one of the kids and I) cooked all day while the other kids worked and Nils and Mary Kate ran around town doing their chores. We went to 7pm mass and eat dinner after everyone (standing in a circle) had said one thing they were thankful for. It was hard to understand this holiday was something they had no idea about. They all really enjoyed it and to my surprise took it pretty serious. This day definitely made it to my Top 10 Memories of the Finca list! Another was when one of our youth fell and cut his leg and needed stitches. After this experience we will remember the other forever.
December: Posadas ending with a bang this year as the missionary house did a live reenactment with Mary and Joseph, the Three Kings (I was one!), the shepherds, shining star, etc. We went to each house by candle light gathering those inside and continued our walk until everyone was gathered outside our house. It was tan bonito, very beautiful! Another Top 10 Memories of the Finca addition.
January: A good friend from Camp, Jackie, came to visit! We had fun eating at T-bay, walking the beach, spending the day in Ceiba, and just enjoying the simplicity of everyday life here at the Farm. This month marked the beginning of the school year…yes, this year I am also teaching! I will be teaching health in colegio (7,8,9 grades) as well as 1st and 2nd grade, quite the difference. I am learning teacher really have their work cut out for them, so thank the teachers in your life! We also had three broken bones and two falls out of trees…we are reinforcing the already present no-climbing-trees rule I can assure you!
February will bring my parents for a visit to the Farm and to the Islands! It must be the month of parents because two other missionaries also have their parents to come and visit. I hope all is well with every one of you, many blessings and prayers from Honduras!
Les Quiero Mucho, Deirdre Ann
