A Salute to the Oldies

This is just a short note to honor Erin, Alisha, Sheena, Kristina, Francesca, Nely, Georleny, and Scarleth for their 27 months of service to the finca. They all departed this past early December after finishing up their time at the farm, and are greatly missed by all. Their selfless service, great love, and unforgettable personalities were true gifts to all connected with the farm, and will be remembered always. They remain in our prayers in this time of transition in their lives.

New Address!

So many of you have asked if my address has changed since I moved to Ceiba...it has, but no worries, if you send me mail at the farm in Trujillo I still get it! Essentially whenever we have a visitor from the farm I get free forwarding service..very fancy, I know! If you want to send mail directly to me in La Ceiba, where I now live, please send it to:

Mary Kate Battle
Apartado Postal #708
La Ceiba, Atlantida
Honduras, Central America
CP 31101

Also if you have a new address, or have moved in the the past year when I updated my address book, please feel free to email me your new info at marykate.battle@gmail.com, I love sending as well as receiving cards!

Best,
Mary Kate

November: A Time of Graduations, Transitions, and New Beginnings

November proved a slightly crazy, but also retrospectively grace filled month at the finca. We began the month with the graduations of five of our kids, David and Danny from sixth grade and Nolvia, Nelly, and Carlos from ninth grade from our elementary and middle schools on the farm. All glowed with pride for our amazing kids, we even had several former vols fly in from the states to be there with them on their special day. The following week the finca said good luck to myself, Nils, Carlos, Nelly, and Nolvia, as we all moved to the big city of La Ceiba where Fase II (teens in high school) of the finca calls home. This was not easy for anyone, but in the end excitement seemed to win out and all seem at least excited to see what would come with our big move. The day after we moved in Dalila graduated from high school, and the next day received a full scholarship to a university right in downtown La Ceiba. Only 11 days had passed so far in the month! The next third of the month was calmer in terms of events, but slightly crazier in the sense that Nils and I were attempting to learn the ins and outs of our jobs, while simultaneously getting to know the city and attempting to care for teenagers on our own. Luckily we had a ton a visitors from the farm pass through on business trips, which made us feel very supported.

At the end of the month, we had survived; all the teens were alive, and working or volunteering in the city. Nils and I knew more or less what was expected of us, and were also more or less meeting those goals. By providence two vols, our old Guatemalan housemate and good friend Deirdre my fellow ND peace studies major David got stranded with us in Ceiba on thanksgiving, and were therefore around to help us pull off one of the most beautiful thanksgivings I have experienced. We had all the essentials: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, we even had pumpkin pie. We invited kids who had graduated from the farm, the Satterlee family that helps us out here in Ceiba, Sor Keidy even invited a friend. We then opened the dinner by saying a prayer where all had to say one thing they were grateful for, the result was one of the most beautiful prayers I have ever heard. We then enjoyed food until we could not eat any more.

In true teenage fashion we saw the premier of the Twilight movie the next day at 7 PM with Betsy (fellow vol), her visiting family, Deirdre and Amanda (fellow vols), Nils, myself, all the teenage girls (Dalila, Marina, Nolvia, and Nelly), Carlos (Arturo was tired), and Sor Keidy. All 13 of us waited in line and filled an entire row to see the epic film. All were thoroughly satisfied, and rested well that night. I personally viewed it as a mini personal celebration of making it through the grace filled, but crazy month of November!

Ten things from Month Number Ten: October!

October was an amazingly awesome and busy month; here is a list of the ten biggest things that happened:

1. The newbie missionary volunteers arrived! Welcome Kevin (fellow fan of DC as a grad of Georgetown), David (fellow ND peace studies major, shalom!), Allison (super sweet smile and loves to dance), Ashley (now we have two nurses, and this one has east coast ties!), Sara (native of the beautiful states of Tennessee), Erin Marina (fellow Lyons Hall/ ND friend…woohoo!), Erin Lucia (Maryland native…go Mid-Atlantic!), and Haydee (yeah for Nicaraguan psychiatrists)
2. We went on a beautiful retreat up in the mountains of Buena Vista to welcome our newbie vols which was followed by a beautiful mass on the farm and great communal dinner with typical Honduran foods.
3. I covered house 2 one Sunday night with Sara and in two hours we wrote cards, danced to High School Musical, ate gummi bears, and put all the girls to bed!
4. I had the honor of attending the most epic bachelorette party ever for the one and only Colleen Minta at Harry Potter World with Adrianna Chuh, Anna Seghetti, Meghan Thornton, and Kacy Deering.
5. I got to see my mom for an afternoon and hang out while I was in Florida for Colleen and Patrick’s wedding.
6. I attended the beautiful wedding and awesome reception of Patrick and Colleen MacCarthaigh.
7. God blessed the rain in Hondras so that we got stuck at the finca and had to reschedule a Ceiba visit, and were able to celebrate Amanda’s birthday with her in person.
8. I finished my classes at the school, and in a bittersweet day my last students told me gracias and walked back to their general classrooms.
9. I visited Ceiba with the teens and Nils and got oriented about my new job.
10. Nils and I planned a Halloween community night for the vol house complete with a costume contest and jack-o-lantern carving.

An amazing month I will never forget!

Fall: A Time of Change

Here is an email I wrote that was sent out to our parents recently about life on the farm, enjoy:

Hello Parents!

Sorry for the delay in the email, I know you have all been receiving news about the increased security situation in Honduras, and not receiving a lot of news from your kids due to lots of rain and busy schedules. Please know we are all safe, healthy, and eating well. We even had cinnamon rolls for breakfast today (Thank you Francesca!).

Here in Honduras rainy season has officially begun and is in full swing. This coincides with the beginning of fall back in the states. Fall signifies a time of change in preparation for the grand events of winter. Here at the farm, we do lack colorful falling leaves, but we do face a great time of change as well. As our beloved oldies Sheena, Francesca, Kristina, Nely, Erin, Alisha, Georleny, and Scarleth prepare to depart in December; our now experienced middies Nils, Mary Kate, Jacob, Rachel, Lily, Tami, Deirdre, Betsy, and Amanda all face changing roles here at the farm; while our energetic newbies Erin Lucia, Erin Marina, Allison, Sara, Ashley, Kevin, and David continue to adjust to the life here at the finca. Here is a brief update on what everyone is up to:

Sheena is covering house 5 one last time before passes over her teenage boy social worker reigns to David,
Francesca is enjoying making yummy breads from her beloved bread book to celebrate the passing on of her little girls and boys houses to their new social workers Lily and Erin Marina
Kristina is enjoying the joys of the alphabet and crayons as she trains Allison to be the new kindergarten teacher.
Nely is spending time with her beloved first graders and members of the women´s group to squeeze out every last moment she has with them before she leaves.
Erin is busy planning a big graduation party for Dalila in la Ceiba in excitement for her big graduation date that will arrive so very soon.
Alisha is enjoying her last few weeks with Arturo in la Ceiba, while also helping Erin to train to the new Ceibenos.
Georleny and Scarleth are busy training the newly arrived Haydee in the psychology department, and enjoying visits to the teens in la Ceiba.

Nils and Mary Kate are working hard to close out the middle school school year, and getting ready to move with Nelly, Nolvia, and Carlos to la Ceiba to be their new caretakers for the year to come.
Jacob and Rachel are both working hard as parents and adjusting to new titles, Jacob adding that of maintenance man and Rachel changing from accountant to controller.
Lily is getting to know house 3 better as their new social worker, continuing to work with house 6, and learning new things as the new head of social work.
Tami is working very hard to help the school year end smoothly, and excited to start as the new person in charge of the work program for our kids on the farm.
Deirdre is excited to have another nurse around in Ashley, and continues to be a rock star at late night emergency runs and stitches.
Betsy is working hard to close out the school year and excited to start being trained as the new 5 and 6th grade teacher for next year.
Amanda is also working hard to finish out the school year, and excited in her new job as community watchee.

Erin Lucia is learning the intricacies of the life of a finca accountant, while also discovering the many beautiful mysteries of special education at our school.
Erin Marina is full of love and girl power as she becomes the new social worker for our younger girls.
Allison is learning the politics of crayons and monkey bars as she trains to be the new kindergarten teacher.
Sara is learning how to teach balancing equations and hormones as she trains to be the new middle school math teacher.
Ashley is learning how to simultaneously co-run a clinic and heal parasite ridden stomachs.
Kevin is familiarizing himself with the periodic table and our community members as her trains to be the new middle school math teacher and community watchee.
David is learning what it means to be cool in Honduras as he trains to be the social worker for our middle and teenage boys.

Wishing you all the best and sending you lots of love!
Mary Kate and the rest of the volunteer missionaries here at the farm

Congratulations 6th Grade!

The Honduran education system is different in various ways from that of the states; one way being that to pass 6th grade and pass onto middle school one must pass an exam about the national hymn. If one does not pass, no matter what the cause may be, one cannot pass the grade.

The last week of September our sixth graders faced this decisive test. The test consists of oral and written components about the history and meaning of the hymn and a singing of the hymn by the entire class. My student Jessica was very worried about her big test. So the two days leading up to it we simply sat and reviewed questions from her study guide over and over till the bell rang.

On the fateful day, not only did my Jessica pass, but the entire class passed with marks above 80 percent. Many did not believe that my Jessica could pass such an extensive test, but as I knew she would, she proved them all wrong, and came one step closer to passing 6th grade.

This blog is therefore dedicated to Jessica, Zulena, Ana, Eva, David, Daniel, Noel, Edwin, and William, for not only passing their exam, but for all doing so well on their exam despite their nerves and the surrounding doubts.

September Spirituality Retreat

Everybody needs a time away to reflect and re-energize, especially finca vols. So from September 13 through 16 we all got squeezed into 2 land cruisers and headed to the beautiful nearby town of Bonita Oriental. There we had a 4 day spiritual centered retreat led by lay man John who works near Copan, also known as Juancito. We were fed amazingly be the local staff (including fresh squeezed orange juice every morning) while we enjoyed a local mass, talks, and reflection time. Some of us, me included, even took a few runs by the local river bank which was truly beautiful. We played great games, and even called a former vol on their birthday to sing to them all together. Everyone greatly enjoyed the break from their busy work schedules, and each other´s company. In the end we all were able to take a moment to be grateful for the countless blessings in our lives and simply enjoy of beauty of nature around us.