At last....photos of Providence.... where I work!

Here are the children getting their morning snack that the school supplies - today was cornflakes with hot milk! 2 of the mums handing out.
Working on a group project - we're learning about animals at the moment! All so creative I could be on Blue Peter these days!

This is my classroom and my Prepa kids. There are only 15 of them! The classroom is enormous, sadly next year they are dividing it in half to make more classrooms.

Another group of children .

Little Carlos. These kids all look so smart in their uniforms that are provided, you wouldn't know they were some of the poorest children from the mountain village. I am only reminded of this when the bus drops them off and their older brothers/sisters/mums come and get them with no shoes, torn clothes etc. Then you remember what they have come from!

Angie in Kinder is adorable!

Here is the link to more photos!

On the up! (lots of catching up for you too!)

Things are definitely getting better again round here. After 3 long weeks I can now say I am starting to love my Prepa kids at work! They're getting used to English and are lots of fun! So, work is kind of settling down into a routine. So, thats good.

On Friday I had all the Youth Pastors in Sigua round for dinner. In the end only 5 churches turned up but it went really well. It was all to do with this talent show I'm organising but as I sat and listened to them talk I decided I needed to make a suggestion to them. Everyone is having the same problems with low numbers, encouraging the teenagers etc. So I suggested these leaders meet more often, share ideas, encouragements etc! And so in September they are all coming back to my house for dinner again, and bringing someone with them! Hilarious! I'm not even a leader but am getting all the Youth Pastors in the town together! We're going to arrange a service for all the Youth together in October. It all just makes me chuckle but someone has to do something to get them moving and help them.

The new teachers have arrived at the Bilingual school. I met them last week at Bible Study (with 17 of us there, impressive) and they seem normal enough. 3 of them came to Youth Group with me last night. We played a game there, I have never ever played any of the games with Youth group, not my thing but as there were these new people I decided I should join in. Never again, as I was running a girl ran straight into me and her head knocked me square in the mouth and knocked out my false front tooth. Talk about learning humility there and then. I had to spend the rest of the evening with a huge hole in the front of my teeth - much to the amusment of everyone!!! Thankfully, there is an American dentist who comes twice a year to Sigua and he had just arrived and so today (Sunday) I was able to get hold of him and he put everything back in it's place. He also checked all my teeth and I'm going to go back to get my teeth cleaned on Tuesday. HE works on the teeth of the people in the seminary and Missionaries and his clinic is in the Seminary and so I just had to pay a very small donation! Amazing timing. So all is good. (Did I mention I had pink eye this weekend too and so last night I had a pink eye and no front tooth - looking good!)

With the ups come the downs!

First things first - I went to another Honduras football match on Wednesday in San Pedro. It was the best yet. I went with 4 guys from church - who would never normally hang out together! Amanda - it was Kike, Adony, Adelson and Jaime's friend Darwin!!!! Was hilarious. The match was phenominal, I got very into shouting. Some had said it would be dangerous in the stadium (political protestors etc) but it was completely fine. It was against Costa Rica and was 4-0 to us and we played the best yet. Good fun.

So, I have now been teaching in Providence for 2 weeks. I had my first week actually teaching last week. To start with the children were too shy to talk to me - yet would talk to me through my Mr Iguana hand puppet!! What has become of me?! They don't know anything and so am starting with the very basics. I know this is where I am meant to be and it's great, but I do find it hard - as in I get very bored as I only teach til 10am and then hang around til the bus takes me home at 1pm - although I d get a cooked lunch every day. I get lots of planning and work done which means I never take anything home and thats great. I kind of miss my old school, but as this school grows it will get easier - and busier!

This weekend I was meant to go camping and fishing with Youth Group but I just needed time out from everyone. It has been a hard week in many, many ways and I just needed to get away - and so I am up at Ken and Sue's house relaxing for the day.

On Friday I have all the Youth Pastors from all the churches in Siguatepeque coming to dinner at my house. It's part of the planning process for the Talent Show. Not sure how I will seat that many people in my house but I have a week to work on that! I have no idea how it ended up in my house either!?

So a mixed week in many ways!

New job....Heaven help me!!

I am teaching pre-school.....am I insane?! These children reach my knees!! Aggghhh!

So, I've started my new job!! It's the biggest adaptation and change I have had to make yet. Having worked in Chesswood and the bilingual school, which are both big schools, I find it a bit weird working in such a new school, and it is gong to take me time to adapt. There are just 30 children in total at the moment. 15 in Kinder and 15 in Prepatoria. I am the Director of English and teach Prepa - just 1.5 hours a day. I then assist in the other classes - Spanish classes!!! This is great for my Spanish and I can't tell you how much it has improved. Apart from the 1.5 hours of teaching English my day is spent entirely in Spanish - an assistant for Spanish classes, leading meetings with staff, arranging things with parents..not a word of English. I even have to lead devotions in Spanish. Who'd have thought?! There is going to be a lot of work and responsiblity, I am in charge of discipline amongst other things and if Luz the director is not in the school I am the next in charge...hahahaha!!! It's very good for me, but a huge change. These children come from the community and are very cute..I dont always know what on earth they are saying to me, but heh!!? But really.....pre-school?! I have to decide the curriculum, choose the resources, books etc - review other teachers plans (I'd better make sure I write my own!)

I know this is the right decision and I am really going to be able to develop this school... I just have to remind myself of this!

I am also in charge and the General co-ordinator for the Talent Show for our youth group. This is a huge event that had about 200 people last year. I was voted to take charge, which I agreed. It seems to involve a lot of meetings (again not in English). I am working along side a guy called Mario, who is Mr Keen - but didn't go last year so has NO idea! I have managed to get Adony to come and help me explain it all to him, and so our first meeting is tomorrow, before we have to meet with everyone else.

We had our fortnightly evening prayer meeting on Sunday night. Again, there were 15 of us at Adony's house and it was a lovely time with friends.

That's about it for now. Think of me with my mini-people every day! (The good thing about it is I am home by 1.40 every day! The bus picks me up from the end of my road at 7am every day and school starts at 8 and finishes at 1, the school bus drops all the children off in the village and then takes the teachers home again)

New address!

Finally I can give you my new address. As I don't really get any mail it seemed crazy to get a P.O box and so I am going to share Hollie and Israel's. If you send me anything please can you let me know when you've sent it so I can make sure the box gets checked every so often - they forget!! It's not v different to my old address but has a different PO number.

KATHARINE MARROW
C/O The Hollidays
Apdo 40
Siguatepeque
Comayagua
HONDURAS

Feel free to send me anything!!!! Things have started coming through fine again, with a little patience!!!