weekend with friends

We have had a good weekend, that would be great, but I have had a horrible cold.  I got a bad cold last Tuesday and today it is finally getting better.  Friday night we had our small group at our house.  10 for soup, bread and apple spice bars makes a cold night warm.

Saturday Guillermo played soccer for an hour or so and I rested and got ready for our next guests.  The Yanes (Anibal, Yadira, Abigail and Jose Anibal) are our good friends.  Guillermo and Anibal work together.  We have spent a weekend at their house and so this was their turn to visit us.  We had Mexican enchiladas for lunch and Saturday and also a little scavenger hunt for the kids.  Later they went to a birthday party while we went to youth group.  On Saturday night we went to a concert of the Honduran Philharmonic Symphony downtown.  I don’t have pictures from Saturday because I was too sick to think about much else.  Sunday we slept in, had a nice big breakfast and then walked all over the Hatillo before we had lunch and they headed home.

Abigail

Jose Anibal

He is quite the talker

Yanes family at Pinares

Little buddies

At the overlook

Amigos del alma

Dad and daughter

Jose Anibal balances

 

another great Christmas with Advent Conspiracy

Video

Website

 

s’mores

Teaching the fine art of making s’mores: translating s’mores into Spanish, seeing the excitement on their faces when I said they would each get their very own bar of chocolate, teaching them how to roast and make the sandwich, getting to luxuriously hand out marshmellows from the never ending bag thanks the the generosity of the group from Wabash church.  OK- we did cut a few off after like 10, but at least we are not at camp and they had to go home at the end of the night.  So fun doing things for the first time!

Around the fire

Good form!

Singing and watching the fire

We couldn’t get it going with out gas (I am so embarrassed, but fire making is a little harder in humid Honduras than dry Colorado)

Making sandwiches

The horchata crew

 

game night

Sometimes at youth group, we deviate from the normal Bible study, prayer etc for an alternative form of growth.  Ever since Guillermo and I read the book Play: How it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul, we have been looking for ways to incorporate play into youth group.  Most of the youth in the group come from a background that didn’t afford them a lot of time or materials to play.  Some of them lack some important emotional and social skills that will actually be crucial to their success in life.  When I see a 13 year old go up on front of the church to receive a diploma for English class with a BIG SCOWL on his face, I know we have work to do.  Just learning how to win and lose is a good skill.  So…

Chinese Checkers

Pick Up Sticks

This is one of the most popular games

Dutch Blitz

I couldn’t resist

Doing what jovenes do best- playing around!

Not quite!

Regroup

Try again

 

soccer

Meet some kids in the ‘hood, invite them to play soccer, bring food, talk about Jesus.

 

shout it aloud!

 

scenes from the “new normal”

Some scenes from Tegucigalpa.  These were taken on a Saturday afternoon, on our normal route in and out of town.  Most are near the Brazilian Embassy, where ousted President Mel Zelaya is.

a group of soldiers march towards el centro

graffiti everywhere

 

familiar faces

Making friends

With Fernando

A happy couple

Our good friends, Jose and Karla

Best buds

 

La Quinceñera

We attended a quinceñera party for Marlen last Saturday night.  It is a special birthday celebration for girls when they turn 15.

Venus gets ready

Man to man

Boys club

Pretty Denia

Ready to make an entrance

Oh the theatrics!

Open air church with lights of Los Pinos in the background: beauty in the simple

Birthday princess

 

dance party

Once every three months we have a birthday party for the youth group, here are some pics:

Game time

DJ Memo and boys who don’t want to participate in the dance game

Snacks!

Alex

Milton