T.V.

With the new season of LOST starting tonight we finally hooked up our television. It has been three and a half months with out. We have really enjoyed not having it and have read many books, and completed many tasks, but for the sake of the best TV series we needed to hook it up.

School is going really well for the both of us. We are crazy busy with our teaching responsibilities and with our graduate class loads. Tomorrow, my class has a field trip to the apple orchard. We were rained out on Monday so hopefully tomorrow will be better. You can check out my classroom blog to read other not so interesting information.

-JB

School Has Begun

I have been sitting here trying to decide what to write about, but nothing came to mind. It's probably because the school year has begun. Since we are both teaching new grades and taking classes, we don't have much time to do anything exciting (or unexciting) that is blog-worthy. We are planning to go to McBain this weekend, so hopefully we can report back on that on Monday.

Phurniture Phinally

Our couch and love seat finally arrived yesterday! Actually acquiring this furniture has been a long process. We ordered them (our first furniture purchased as a married couple) at the end of June and were told it would take three weeks for them to arrive. We figured we could stand that long of sitting on the floor. After three weeks we called to find out what was going on and we were told it would be another 6 to 8 weeks because the factory had run out of fabric. Thankfully, the store offered to deliver some loaner furniture for us to use in the meantime. Yesterday they came and exchanged the loaners for our actual couches! It may have been the longest wait for furniture in the history of mankind. I mean humankind.

Doug's Birthday

Today is Susan's dad's birthday.

Hope College?

This weekend we went to see off Susan's sister Nicole to college. She is going to HOPE. We are really happy for her, even though we are both alums of a different college. Here are some pictures we took from the parents picnic on Saturday.

She's so happy to be a 'Flying Dutchwoman'


Nicole uses the map to help us find our way back to her dorm.

Best wishes Nicole!!!

A Great Movie

I received this information in an email this morning. Check out the web site for more details.

Is GLOBAL WARMING a moral issue?

"The Great Warming," sweeps around the world to show the wide ranging effects of global warming, reveal show climate change is affecting us all, and shows the growing public concern about climate change. This film presents an accurate picture of the challenge facing God's gracious gift of creation.

www.thegreatwarming.com

Film screening September 18, 7 pm
Wealthy Street Theatre
Suggested donation $5 (students $2)
Panel discussion 8 pm
Contact Kate Kooyman for more information,
kate(at)cg-strategies(dot)com

It has been called "the best film about global warming ever produced.”

Panelists include:
·ICCF president Jonathan Bradford
·RCA general secretary Wes Granberg-Michaelson
·Calvin biology professor David Dornbos
·GR Environmental Protection director Corky Overmyer

Greenland Ice

This from the BBC this morning. The meltdown of Greenland's ice sheet is speeding up, satellite measurements show.

-JB

An Inconvenient Truth

A few weeks back we went to see the recent documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" with some friends of ours. It was an interesting film regardless of your political views. To see some of the images presented was shocking. It may seem to some like this whole issue is made up and that no one really is buying it. Fine, you can have your opinions, and I will hold to mine. But I am led to believe that whether you believe changes in climate are happening or not we have a responsibility to use our natural resources wisely. Using less electricity, gasoline, and creating less waste are simple ways to conserve and save what we have been given.

One simple thing anyone can do (and it saves money) is to switch the five most used light bulbs in your house for Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs. These bulbs use less energy to light, and last 10 times longer. If everyone would change the most used bulb in there house "it would prevent enough pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road" (www.energystar.gov).

For other energy saving advice look at the Sierra Club's list.

-JB

My new niece!

On Sunday Jared and I went to Columbus to visit my sister Anne and her husband Gabe to see their two week old baby, Naomi. Isn't she cute?

We're Home

Susan and I are now home from Honduras. We have been back for about two weeks. It is good to be home but we are busy moving into our new apartment, and getting settled. The coming weeks will be filled with unpacking boxes, finding things that we thought we had, and getting ready for our classes that we will be starting in two weeks.

This weekend we went with some fellow teachers to visit some Lenca women who make pottery for a living. They begin with white colored pottery and cover it with a dark mud that they sqeeze out of a baggie. Then the pots of fired and the area you covered with the mud stays white and the rest turns black. This pictures shows the lady mixing up the mud to decorate the pottery. It was interesting to see the traditional way of life of the Lenca people.  

Jared works hards on his pot. 

This is what the finished pottery looks like (when done by an expert). 

Wednesday was crazy hair day. Here are some first graders showing off their wild hair dos! 

Here is Jared taking a rest while hiking in La Tigra national park. 

Our Long Weekend

This weekend we enjoyed a four day weekend here in Tegucigalpa. On Wednesday we survived a half-day of school. The reason we survived it was that it was "Crazy Hair Day" so the kids hair affected how they behaved during the day. When we returned home we went out for lunch and walked from lunch to the mall. As we were walking we went pasted a small group of protesters who were marching towards the president's house. We stopped a distance away from the protesters and watched President Mel's helicopter land and the police keep the protesters away from the main gate of casa presidential. We didn't linger long and continued on our journy to the mall.

The next day (Thurdsay) we rented a car at the airport to drive to some places we have always wanted to visit. We drove a few kms. out of the city to Zamorano, an agricultural university. We looked at the fields, and bought some shirts from the market there. It was fun to get out of the city and see a new place that we have never been to.

The rains have finally come

After many days of extreme heat here in Teguc. the rains have finally begun to start. The rain is a welcome relief because it helps to cool off our house, the mountains are turning green once again, and it also removes much of the smog in the air. We need to make sure to have our umbrellas with us every day now so that we don't get caught in a downpour on our way home from school.

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Here are some more people working on their design. 

On Good Friday we ventured to the Center of Tegucigalpa to see the elaborate sand carpets. The people spend hours carefully placing the colored sand into thier design. Later in the afternoon a processonal walks across them as they make their way to the Catholic Church.  

Here is a picture of some folks snorkling on the reef. 

Sunset at West Bay. We really enjoyed the the beach at West Bay. Not only are the sunsets awesome, but there is a reef just off the beach were you can go snorkling. 

On Monday we left for the island of Roatan. We had a great time there. This is Susan when we arrived at the airport. 

On Sunday we went to Valle de Angeles to do some shopping and to eat at our favorite restaurant, El Anafre. They have the best bean dip at this place.  

Susan's sister and brother-in-law came to visit us during Spring Break. Susan and I waited at the end of the runway to see them land. 

We had crazy hat and shoes day before Spring Break. This is one of my students in the hat she made for the event. 

Teacher's Retreat 3-9 to 3-15

Sunset in La Ceiba

A cool picture of the entry at Palma Real.

This is Jared zip lining in La Ceiba during the teacher's retreat. 

Semana Santa

I know it has been a long time since we have posted anything but we have just had many weeks of straight teaching. So it is a lot of the normal routine. Now we are on our Spring Break so we have a week off from school. Today Susan's sister and brother in-law arrived from Texas. We watched their plane fly at noon and then picked them up at the International Arrivals. We spent the day showing them around our house and a few other places in Teguc. And Henry would like you to know that as we were driving back from the Mall we saw a bunch of vultures eating a dead dog.

On Monday morning we are leaving for Roatan for a couple of days. We are looking forward to spending some time on the beach. We are staying at Island Pearl Resort, I hope it is as nice as the web site shows.

Right now it is raining here which is a surprise because it hasn't rained since before Christmas. Maybe this is a sign that the dry season is over early. Usually the rains do not come until May?

Well, we will write more and have some pictures after our vacation.

-JB

GCS Link

Grandville Christian just sent a group of teaches to Kenya to visit their partner school. They have a blog with some pictures and information about the trip. It is really interesting to read about their adventure to Kenya. The partnership they have with RMA is a great thing. Check out the link.

Susan's mom and dad in our house

Susan's mom, dad, and sister Nicole are here visiting for a week and a half. We are glad to have them here! This weekend we took them to Amapala, the island south of Honduras. Above is a picture of Nicole in the mall food court. 

Here is Dad on the way to Amapala. 

Here is Susan doing some yard clean-up. 

The first weekend in February we drove to La Esperanza to visit a missions group from our church in Grandville. Susan translated for a dentist and Jared helped with a construction project. It was great to see a small village, be involved in something new in Honduras, and to meet new people from our church. 

The dental team Susan worked with.