The Bicecreamman´s Birthday Celebration

Greg has officially joined the ranks with many other distinguished and mature 27 year olds. Happy Birthday! After my week long celebration in January full of surprises and fun events, I couldn´t let Greg down.

The first celebration of the day (on April 15) began at 6am. 5 good friends helped start Greg´s day off right with a breakfast of champions at none other than Comayagua´s own Dunkin Donuts! (It opened here about a month ago). After pumped our bodies full of sugar and caffeine (we were literally shaking) it was time to go to school. We had ´gate duty´that morning - which involved standing at the entrance and welcoming kids into the school - and I really think that we scared some of them with our hyper active actions!
Anyway, after the crash when our blood sugar plummeted, it was time for our next rush, I mean, party. My 4th grade class and Greg´s 7th grade class planned a joint suprise party for him. However before it began, Julio, the computer teacher, had his own surprise planned for Mr. Greg. You see, here in Honduras life revolves a lot around soccer - or futbol as they call it. Of course, being the sports guy that Greg is, he jumped on the fan train and has self proclaimed himself to the #1 fan for Hispano - Comayagua´s professional futbol team. And it just so happens that there is an Argentinean player on the team named Sergio Diduch, that people say resembles Greg. Diduch has light skin and long blonde hair like Greg, however, he is about ½ his size! Random people at the games and even driving down the road yell out ¨Diduch!¨ when they see Greg. Of course, he loves it and hoped to one day meet his local hero twin. Okay, so back to Julio - apparently he has some major connections in the area because he actually invited him to come to the school to surprise Greg and attend his birthday bash! Sure enough, he came and completely blindsided Greg! Julio hid him in the computer lab, while I guided Greg in (not before accidentally slamming him into the wall first). The look on Greg´s face when he opened his eyes was priceless, I think he was in the beginning stages of shock! They chatted for a little bit - meanwhile the kids and I were preparing the classroom for the party.

The students brought sandwiches, chips, tacos, candy, soda, ballons, streamers, a piñata (shaped like shark in orange in blue to represent the LA Riptide), and a huge strawberry cake. The children went nuts when Greg and Diduch entered the room! It worked out perfectly too because I got Greg a Hispano Diduch jersey for his birthday gift, and he was able to get it signed by him while he was there! After lunch, we brought out the cake. After being serenaded by all the attendants, Greg blew out all 27 candles. Before we served it to eat though, one more thing had to be done - the traditional Honduran ¨cake to face!¨ Sure enough, we snuck up behind him and gave his head a good shove, right into the frosting.

He said he opened his mouth and took a huge bite! After he got cleaned up, it was time to bust up the piñata. With the help of Mr. Greg and the kids, they had that thing raining candy in no time!

Not soon after, it was time for class to resume. I felt bad for the teachers that had to teach the kids that attended the party all sugared up and hyper. Fortunately, there was only an hour left of school. Afterward, Greg and I went home and crashed. We slept for a good couple hours, then got up recharged for one more celebration. We got take out (barbeque) from La Casita then went to Kyle and Crystal´s house. We finished out the day hanging out with great friends, then hit the sack around 10:00pm. Greg said that he had a fabulous birthday! He wondered if it was a little creepy that he was Diduch´s #1 fan (since they are both are grown men) but I assured him that it was okay. I did think it was strange though when he slept in his jersey though…. Just kidding!!!

Las Alfombras

Use your imagination if you will and travel back with us to Semana Santa (Holy Week, post surf board smackdown!) Easter week is huge in Comayagua. Semana Santa’s festivities here are really what put our city on the map. Good Friday is the culmination of the events. On Thursday night beginning in the evening, some are even started as late as midnight, construction of the “Alfombras” begins. What is an ‘alfombra’ you ask, well, in English it means carpet - that word does no justice to the beautiful landscapes created on the alfombras during Holy Week. These carpets are very unique as they are typically made of sawdust, rice, beans, eggs, leaves, hay, bark, and other natural materials. Some of the supplies used are dyed in bright colors to create picturesque biblical scenes and murals in the carpets. Each carpet is sponsored (for lack of a better term) by a family, organization, business, or institute (Hogar de Nazareth – the orphanage even had one!) Each group is given a designated area on a specific street surrounding the town’s square. All of the roads are blocked off on Thursday evening and the work begins! The images are often chalked on the street before hand then string and cardboard cut outs are used to help separate the different colored materials when filling in the design. People work for hours on the carpets, many staying up all night and barely finishing before 9:00am when the ‘Station’s of the Cross’ parade begins. (Here is a click from the parade.)

Ultimately, the carpets are made only to be trampled over, so people get up early to walk around and admire the amazing vivid images that were so delicately fashioned. The Good Friday procession that lasts for several hours and marches slowly around the town’s center, is filled with symbolic scenes and traditions from the different Station’s of the Cross all representing the events that lead to the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The march begins at the designated first carpet, then ends after it has slowly crossed over each one. In addition, there were many stationary sites along the path too, mainly with children acting out the different scenes. There were also a number of males, ranging in age from about 18 months to grown men dressed in robes, sandals, and a crown of thorns baring a cross and marching through the streets. It was a pretty moving experience, different than anything we had ever seen before, that is for sure.

From what we’ve heard the tradition of creating alfombras, or sawdust carpets, in the street started many years ago in Guatemala. Comayagua adapted the custom about a decade ago and it has been a huge hit here ever since. In fact, people travel from all over the world to Comayagua to view the beautifully designed carpets. We have never seen so many people on the streets here - especially of so many different nationalities. The Good Friday traditions here were a pretty amazing occurrence, and we were very glad to have had the opportunity to experience it

God´s Purpose for Ants

It seems like not matter how much we clean, our kitchen continues to be over run by ants! Tiny little things crawling around in search of the smallest morsel of food to heist and take back to their colony. I Clorox Clean Up all the counters (we have 2) at least twice a day, but still, the ants attack! I guess ´safety in numbers´must be one of their mottos though, because there is never just one. When I spot one, within eye shot I seem to find at least 5 more. They all seem to just be running around frantically with no direction, swirling about on the tiles scaveging for something worthy of taking home. They crawl everywhere over everything - they know no boundaries. Every once in a while I bust them all crowded around in circle honing in on something so tiny that I can´t even tell what it is! This is what I call an opportune time to get out the Raid and go to town! Another time when I have the advantage over them is when they travel. They all line up and just follow the ant in front of them. I usually can´t find the beginning of the line or the end, but when I see the middle, I RAID! However, I have discovered, I am fighting a losing battle. No matter how many I kill, they just keep coming back....and bringing their friends! So as my annoyance with ants continues to grow, I have been questioning, what is the purpose of ants? Why do they exist? They must have a reason here on earth...but what? A couple days ago when I was reading a specific passage in the Bible, I just glanced over to the page before and the word ´ant´caught my eye. Ants, even in the Bible? I can´t escape these things! This is the passage that I read:

Proverbs 30: 24 & 25

Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise. Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer.

So apparently, ants are here to teach us about preparation for the future. They also set a great example for working together. There you have it, even God gave ants a purpose for living. That doesn´t mean that I have to like them though right? God has such a sense of humor! I was questioning his motives and he lead me to the answer!

Sometimes in this confusing, mixed up world I wonder what my purpose is. Although I may never know or discover it during my life on earth, I truly believe God has a unique purpose for every single thing in his creation, just as he does for the those tiny little ants that are invading my apartment!

Did you know this about Ants....
*In the Amazon rainforest, ants and termites make up nearly a third of the total animal biomass.
*About 20,000 species of ants are known. Scientists believe at least twice as many species of ants have yet to be discovered.
*The queen ant lays all the eggs in the anthill.
*The queen ant lives up to ten or twenty years.
*Some ants sleep for seven hours a day.
*Some ant nests can have up to three queens.
*Ants can lift 20 times their own body weight.
*When combined, all ants in the world would weigh about as much as all the human beings in the world.

http://www.animalcorner.co.uk/insects/ants/ant_trivia.html

Playa Tamarindo, Costa Rica

Happy April! Wow, how the time flies! It is unbelievable that we been here for 8 months already! The school year is winding down, with only about 10 weeks left (June 6 is the last day). It seems that when we finally get a handle on our schedule, writing lesson plans, and grading papers, it will be time to head back to the United States. We are still unsure of our plans for next year. We would appreciate any prayers for divine direction and guidance! God has not left us guessing yet in our journey, so we feel confident he will continue to lead our hearts to where he wants us to be. However, we do know that we will be in the USA for approximately two months this summer (from June to August). Not quite sure where we will be, but we at least plan to be on North American soil for a while! We aren´t concerned with the details, we are just looking forward to good quality time with friends and family. Greg will be all over the place, as his lacrosse season begins May 17, with their first game at Denver.

Okay, below is a video of our recent trip to Playa Tamarinda, Costa Rica, in a nutshell! Greg created this great video that will put you in all the action of the latest ¨Bice Adventures¨ in Central America. We had an entire week off school for Semana Santa (Holy Week - the week before Easter). We took advantage and planned a trip to Costa Rica, this time in an airplane (not 20 hours one way on a bus) and this time to the beach! We had an awesome trip...check out the footage below for all the details! We hope you enjoy!

One final thought....As my sister reminded me, Easter is a time for new beginnings. In light of this ´second opportunity´Greg and I have decided to make some positive changes in our life. We have clung to the following scripture, and hope in your quest to live a fulfilling life that you will too!
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed. Proverbs 16:3
GOD BLESS YOU!