How to help

As of right now, it looks like Heather and I will be going down to Honduras together a week before orientation. God is good :-) Pray for Heather, because she hasn't yet raised the money she needs for her plane ticket. If you'd like to help me with resources, here's the information you need...

Checks can be written out to me and sent to my mom:
Debra Marino
129 S Edgewood Rd
Niantic, CT 06357

School supplies can be mailed to me:

Rapid Transport

2154 NW Court

Miami, FL 33142

(305) 631-0686 (in case of questions)

Attach an envelope to the outside of the box with clear tape, or put it inside the box. On the envelope, write "Forwarding Instructions". Inside the envelope, write:

Emily Marino
Escuela Bilingue de Siguatepeque

Siguatepeque, Honduras
011-504-9-804-8976

This is the fastest way to get packages to me - it takes about a week to get to Florida, then two weeks to get from Florida to Honduras. Keep in mind that I pay a fee per pound the package weighs. If you're going to send me anything, please let me know ahead of time. What I need now are children's books, newspapers, and magazines (reading levels 4-6).

Most of all, I am still in need of people who will covenant to pray for me on a regular basis. Send me an email if I can add your name to the list. I'm so excited for this year, and I need it to be bathed in prayer. Thank you for all the support you've given me already!

Summary of my first year in Honduras

I graduated from Gordon College in May of 2008 with a Bachelors in Elementary Education and Spanish. I had considered teaching abroad for a year, but when I was asked to be a volunteer at a school run by a mission in Honduras, I told God I couldn't do it. I had tens of thousands of dollars in loans to pay off, and who would I get to even cover my living expenses while I taught for free in some foreign country? Silly me, I forgot that "can't" isn't in God's vocabulary. He kept Honduras on my heart and closed all other doors until I gave in. I left in August 2008, met my two fellow English teachers in the Atlanta airport, and dove into my job, teaching English to the poorest of the poor children in Siguatepeque, Honduras, grades 2, 3, and 4. It was a trying experience. There were times I didn't know if I'd have enough money to buy my groceries for the week, and there were times God wowed me with his provision. There were times I pined away to be back in the U.S., and there were times when I didn't want to leave Honduras. I loved my students more than I've ever loved any other children, but they presented countless new challenges for me in classroom management, effective teaching, and patience. From August to May, I lived in four different houses. The first one was bug-infested and had an unreliable water system that sometimes left us going without showers, collecting rainwater, and pleading in prayer for God to send water. Two of the houses were broken into and robbed of our most expensive possessions, but God replaced what I lost with better things. Through all the trials, I developed a close relationship with Heather, my housemate, as well as the Flores, my neighbors (they became my neighbors after the first break-in). I also have my very own Boxer dog named Tova for protection. Heather and I have been hired to teach in bilingual classrooms at a Christian school in Siguatepeque - me to teach 5th and 6th grade. Rather than teaching English as a foreign language, I will be teaching Language Arts, Science, and other subjects in English. Instead of teaching a class of 30 students, my 5th grade class has 22 students, and I have only 11 6th graders. Rather than provide my own materials and the things I need to survive, I will be provided with any materials I need and a monthly paycheck of $300 - enough to cover my living expenses. I still, however, need to raise money because I have loans to pay. I also need to establish a prayer support base and would like to take the names of people who will commit to pray for me at least once a week - please email me if that's you. And then there is the uncertainty of Honduran politics. With a wannabe dictator just removed from power and the rest of the world ignorantly or maliciously punishing Honduras to get this friend of Chavez back into power, things are going to be different, especially for U.S. citizens. It's possible Heather won't go back to Honduras because of the situation, which would be devastating for me. Please pray for wisdom, favor, and protection. I would like to go back to Honduras towards the beginning of August, but this is what God has been teaching me:
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."-James 4:13-15