Honduras Update February 24th, 2012

Hello everyone!

Sorry it has been a while since I last updated the blog. I’ve been pretty busy and will try to briefly explain what I’ve been doing lately. I am down to less than a week left, which is a sad realization. Austin is taking a visa run to the United States, so we will be traveling together Thursday. I cant believe that 6 weeks have gone by this fast and what I looked forward to all last year is coming to an end.

Kinder has made some progress! An answer to our prayers! The kids are slowing starting to adapt to a school environment and it is making the experience much more enjoyable for us volunteers. Austin and I have also started teaching an English class for first graders in the afternoon with Lily, who also helps out in the Kinder. I really enjoy our afternoons now and even though the kids might not be retaining all we teach them, it is still fun to try because the kids are really eager to learn. We try to think of activities where they can use their notebooks because they are also so excited to have a notebook and pencil that they want to use it whenever they can.

Most of my days here are structured the same with Kinder in the morning and English Class in the afternoon, but each day brings new experiences. Charlie and Amalia have helped us get plugged in during our free time which has been great to always stay busy and use every minute we have. Wednesday we bought 40$ worth of rice and beans, which is 25lbs of beans and 25lbs of rice. It made 16 bags of rice and 10 bags of beans, which we distributed to some of the poorer families in the community. It is amazing how much 40$ can buy and how much of a difference it can make. Austin really wants to feed more families when he returns from his visa run, so anyone who feels like they’d want to help out, you can email him at awfrench@comcast.net. Anyone can make a huge difference in the lives of these kids by simply providing food. It may not seem like much, but most of the families that we fed only have a mother taking care of 3 or more children, so giving food just relieves the mother of one more thing to worry about.

Though I’m not looking forward to leaving, I am looking forward to seeing everyone and sharing what God has done here and everything that I’ve experienced. Thank you for all your prayers!

Benjamin Worley

Honduras Update February 11th, 2012

Blog update 2/11/12

Hello Everyone! This week has been pretty busy and I feel like I’ve done an array of things, from watching the Super Bowl in a American’s bar, to horse backing riding on the beach, to setting up an electrical outlet. It has been a week of ups and downs but I draw near the end of my 5^th week, I had fun times and learned some of what it means to be a Kindergarden teacher from the down times.

Most of the volunteers, with only a few knowing how football is played, went to Ex Patriots to watch the Super Bowl last Sunday. It was a great chance to get some American food and watch a really good game.

This week, as I mentioned in my last blog, this was the first week in Kinder. This is the first time these kids have been out of the house and in a school environment so naturally, there were some issues. On the first day we had quite a few criers and most all of them were very shy. It did not take long for most of them to lose that shyness. By the second day, we had broken the ice enough to have public urination off the playground, a girl push a boy off the playground, and in general, a lot of unruly boys. This week hopefully served as the first step in the process of teaching the kids how to behave in school. We tried our best to discipline them, but not being able to communicate is a barrier. Last year in the Kinder, we had no problems with disobedient children so there is hope for the future. I just hope it doesn’t take until April to get to that point. While the children have been frustrating, I try to start every day with a positive attitude and I hope that the children see my love for them and not just a mean guy who disciplines them.

Kinder lasts from 7:30 – 11:30 so after lunch we have had free time. Most of the other programs that we thought we were going to get involved in haven’t started up yet so for this week we found little odd jobs and activities. Charlie had us set up an electrical outlet in a dental clinic, Amalia brought us along to visit some of the families in the community and Austin and I have just taken a soccer ball to a local field and played pick up games with whatever kids were out there. We got to play with some of the same kids I taught in VAP so it was good to get to see them again and get to run around with them.

Friday, I went with most of the volunteers on a camping trip to the beach. We rode horses down the beach for an hour or so and then set up tents. It was my first time riding a horse and it was a bit scary but fun once I got the hang of it.

Thank you for continuing to read my blogs and praying for me. Please pray that the next week will go well in Kinder and that God will work through me.

Benjamin Worley

Honduras Update February 4th, 2012

Hello Everyone! This week is technically our week off between VAP and school starting so Ive gotten some down time which was nice. We have done some work on the bathroom project. We have finished pouring a 3 inch cement floor so this afternoon we are going to start building the actual structure. We took the day off yesterday to give a good 24 hours to let the cement dry and today we have to wait until 1 o'clock till the wood arrives. We were hoping to be done on Monday but we got a little behind due to the rain so Im not sure the updated finish date.

Last Tuesday marked my third week being down here. It was a weird feeling that it has already been this long and now I am over the half way mark for my trip. It is easy to get caught up in the routine and forget that my time done here is precious and soon its going to over. I have been trying to make the most out of every second and realize that this could be my last time down here in Honduras. Thursday, 3 new volunteers came in. They are three girls, one from Boston, one from Scotland and another from England. It was nice to meet some new people.

Yesterday I helped out with the registration for PEP. School down here only lasts a few hours of the day down here and is broken up into 2 different sessions. Some kids go in the morning and some in the afternoon. PEP is an extra program for the kids to learn English when they are not in school. Registration was held at the church where I did VAP so some of the same kids I taught were signing up. It was nice to see them again even if it was just for little while. I am exited about starting Kinder Monday and I hope that God will work through me, showing His love to the children. With the realization of my limited time remaining, I hope I really make the most of it. Please pray that I will be completely open to God's will for me and He will do big things through me, affecting everyone I meet.
Benjamin Worley