A drop in numbers...

Frowntown! A few weeks ago I found out one of my students, Eric from 2B, was being pulled out because he was moving to live with his dad in the States. At first I was so bummed because I didn´t really get to say goodbye, and he looked so sad on the day he left. I started going on about how his english was really lacking, but he was finally starting to participate in class and getting so many more high-fives throughout the day. Irene (we´ve sort of become each other´s fountains of positivity) reminded me that his breakthrough in reading-phonics abilities and English comprehension just meant that he was ready to be fully immersed and let his education flourish. So it might have been a loss for 2B, but we´re praying for a big win for Eric and family. The following day we added a new student to that class, sweet Nahomy, and she´s been a fun new addition.

Then today I found out that 2A has also suffered a loss. I´m getting sad just typing about it! My sweet Alan David´s parents decided to pull their kids from the school. Alan´s older sister was in our fourth grade, and a total beauty. His baby brother was in prepa and his smiley waves could make your knees melt. Alan wasn´t an A student...he actually wasn´t a B or C student, but we all loved him! If you have been reading since the beginning, you´ll recognize this name as the little boy who climb on me in the pool at our Day of the Child celebration. I am so bummed I won´t get to see him in class anymore!

In lighter news, we went for a great walk around town today. I got to hold Yemi´s baby Aran for a good while, and he was sweet enough to curl up for a nap against my chest while I chatted with mama and helped a nice gentleman pick out scarves for his wife and daughter. In case I haven´t mentioned her before, Yemi is our neighbor and her family owns the souvenir shop in town. The whole family is incredibly nice. We introduced Karen to a few different people around town, and I walked her down to Angela´s for some fresh bread. She had a great tomato, cheese and cucumber sandwich for dinner. It looked delicious, and she seemed quite satisfied. They make the tastiest bread.

Tomorrow´s my first day with 7th grade Lit--exciting right?! Time to rest up so I can tackle an action-packed Tuesday. Sad for the drop in smiling faces, but thankful for the bright futures I know they all still hold.

May Schmay!

Oh that Armando telling me I wouldn't have a ripe mango until May. Apparently there was an early cosecha this year! Mmm the market is spotted with baskets of sweet, pink and yellow mangoes. They're not the fat daddies I'll be able to find cheap come May, but they're delicious. And such an unexpected surprise at market! We were in Guatemala not long ago (story to come) and I learned a fun new way to eat mangoes. Turns out bananas aren't the only fruit for on the go. Did you know you can peel a mango (mas o menos) like a banana? Incredible discovery. Not exactly ladylike, but so conveniently tasty.
So here's my thing. I love love love mango. But cutting it can be a slimy mess, and I don't love the way it feels when the fruit bruises under the weight of my hand while I'm cutting, or slides out of my grip as I try desperately to shave off a few more slivers of goodness. I know after you get it all chopped you can suck the seed, but something about struggling to cut and then still having so much goodness stuck to the pit...defeating in a way. It's not surprisingly hard to describe my feelings towards slicing mangoes, likely because only someone like me would have feelings about something like mango slicing...

I raise an exciting challenge to any mango lovers out there. Find yourself some alone time. This part is very important. At least for your first go around. Even if the only other person around is your husband or wife, you really should wait until you're truly alone. Once alone, and craving mango, grab yourself a bowl and a cloth napkin/clean dish towel. Stand yourself over the sink and you can skip the bowl for sure.So far for me this has been a great way to start the morning, so if you can swing it that's what I'd suggest. Put on a string of high-energy songs and start grooving. Pinch a piece of skin at the top of the mango, and start peeling down and back, working in sections. From here you can basically start going to town on the juicy little guy. I'll warn that some prime mango gets stuck against the peel, so you might want to give that a good tooth scraping. One of the biggest reasons I suggest mango sucking solitude is because it's tough to give any seed a good cleaning if you're worrying about manners. I personally cringe at slurping sounds (even my own) so I try not to let those happen, but mangoes are juicy, and your first couple times eating one like it's a banana can be a little tricky. Mmm I'm craving mango.

I've gotten so good at the peel and chew that I got to enjoy one at school the other day. Delicious. I need to make a list of things to try and ween myself off of before I head back to the States. So far we have mangoes, avocadoes and tajadas...

Answered Prayers

We have a new teacher, Karen, from Clemson, SC. She has great energy, more than twenty years teaching experience and an adorable accent. She is absolutely prayers answered. With our students learning English as their second language, they understandably struggle with reading and phonics. Would you believe those happen to be Karen's specialty? I guess she's just good like that! She arrived Monday afternoon, and we've all been curious how they'd work her schedule at school. Looks like she'll be covering a lot of my phonics and reading classes, which opens up some free periods for me. I almost can't wrap my head around having this many breaks during the week. The opneing in my schedule makes me free to help with other classes, and I'll now be teaching 7th grade Lit! Crazy right?! I thought so too, but I'm pretty excited. I remember learning all about hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration and all that fun stuff in seventh grade. I haven't gotten to see their book yet; it will be fun to chcek it out tomorrow and start getting down with some Literature. I also remember not applying myself as much as I should have in seventh grade. I suppose maybe this is my second chance.

Can you believe it's March 1st? Anyone else having a hard time with that one? I know I still have a while before I'm due to come home, but time is absolutely flying. And we even got an extra day this year! My mission team gets here SO soon, then Mom will be here (yay! And I see she and Karen really hitting it off) the fourth quarter of school will be well underway and I'll be home before I know it...phew that's a little dizzying to think about. We'll leave it there for now.

I can't figure out how to add bullets, but there's no 'big' story from today so I had my heart set on listing...

-I don't find meals nearly as satisfying when they don't include about half an avocado. This could prove troublesome (for my unemployed wallet) when I get back to the States.

-Pinterest seems to be awesome...and has the potential to be awesomely distracting. Should be fun!

-I'm turning into that woman...the one who doesn't hesitate to lick her thumb and wipe something from a child's face. The other day it was pen from a little girl's chin. Today I'm wiping something from Daniela's cheek and she smiles, telling me not to worry, the junk is a result of her conjuctivitus. I just stared at her for a beat, eyes dancing between my confuncted thumb and her chariming smile. Let's hope I let that one be a lesson learned.

-I'm getting baptized in the river this Sunday.

-We visited a man from church's father, Roger, tonight. He's been battling some tumor issues for the last decade, but really taken a bad turn as of late. We chatted for a good long time; it was a great evening. Toward the end he started asking more questions about me, and it turns out his brother lives in Manassas, VA just about 20min from where I live in the States! Roger asked if I studied theology which makes me smile.

-Pastor Alfonso's bakery now sells galletas integrales (wholeweat cookies), which is of course exciting. Claro que their semitas are still delicious...claro. Especially toasted like little biscotti points.

- Irene's best friend is getting married soon, and today we recorded a maid of honor toast they hope to play at the reception. It really isn't easy missing things like that (sorry again Lori!) but we're so thankful for technology. It's fun to film a little video we felt like we were making some sort of documentary.

-Life has changed when the end of your workday rolls around and you find yourself craving a watermelon. Well, half a watermelon complete with a spoon and a nice breeze. Mmm. And laughing through conversation with good friends.

The Construction Team

I met a very special group of people back in November. For the first time ever (I think!) Friends of Barnabas sent down a construction team. They didn´t bring any medical supplies, and they didn´t travel into any mountain villages. But they did some great repair work, and really bonded with the Honduran staff. And a friendly missionary! I met most of them after translating one night at Don Melvin´s church. It was my second time translating a church service, and it was so great. The pastor´s message was all about the power of positive thinking, and I caught myself nodding along and smiling through most of his preaching. I also discovered that I can translate with much more fluidity when I actually understand the mensaje, so that was encouraging. I ended up getting to spend a few evenings with the team, and translated for them at the Friday service as well. That service was a bit more of a struggle, but everyone was able to receive something and we enjoyed some great fellowship afterwards. The walls of Casa Alfredo are painted with hearty laughter!

The team requested translation assistance in San Pedro that weekend. One of their team members did something to his back one of the first days here (construction team, lots of painting and ladder climbing...) and actually spent his week in the hospital in San Pedro Sula! The whole story got me so sad! He didn´t speak any Spanish, so I can imagine his time at the hospital was a bit trying. In fact, he has a funny story about needing the restroom and some major confusion with the nurse, but I can´t remember all the details. The poor guy´s back was in such bad shape we had to coordinate a special flight straight to the Duke hospital. I felt like it was some of the most intense translating I´ve ever done, but it was neat to get to experience new vocab and different parts of the hospital. And this team had such a cool bond it was special getting to know some of them so well. There were a few Hokies, and we know that´s always fun.

It´s sort of interesting being so backlogged on posts. I feel like I already have such a bond with some of these people, and I barely spent a few evenings with them! That must say a lot about their character. I know I´m looking forward to visiting them when I get home. I think over half of them have told me I have a place to stay, so I may have to spend a few weeks in Danville just to soak up some southern hospitality.

Planes en Los Planes

Ok the title of this post felt too witty to pass up. What a wonderful day I had! Which is wonderful, because I have a pending post from yesterday that starts with roughly the same sentiment. Although I think I described yesterday as lovely, I am enjoying enjoying every day. Que bendición verdad? This post has me realizing some good news and bad news. The good news is my computer is now Honduran so it´s easier to type with the proper accents and tildes. The bad news is my computer got a virus and had to be cleaned, transforming it into a Honduran keyboard making spellcheck function in Spanish and punctuation keys completely changed. I finally figured out how to type a question mark, so that´s positive! 

This morning Marvin Isaac greeted me with his hands behind his back, which surprised me because normally he just runs up with a huge hug. Man I forget exactly how he worded it, but it was too cute. He said something like, "Miss, for what I have in hand?" I said, ¨Hmmm...a popscicle?" He shook his head and revealed a shiny red gift bag! Inside was a stuffed ranita (little froggy) with a complete candy bars and oreo cakesters. I´m wondering what the cakester is all about; I was always partial to the double-stuff. Mmm and the mint cream. Maybe I´ve missed Oreos more than I realized. So how cute is that? My kids are too cute. I feel like something else win-worthy happened at school today. Emiliany came with correctly completed math homework! Charades were a roaring-success for verb introduction in 2A! Aww and the fourth graders were adorable. I was vigilando during their English class so their teacher could run to the highschool, and they were working on sentences with I vs me. Before they could leave for recess they had to tell me a proper I or me sentence, and a couple of them said "I love Miss Harris." Blatant brown-nosing by some, and lazy copying from others, but I´ll take what I can get duh!

After school I headed to Los Planes to meet with the director of their school. Pastor Alfonso and I are sponsoring a little boy´s education, and we needed to hammer out a few details. It was such a blessing of a visit! First of all, it is so pretty up there. The sky is crazy beautiful at night. Covered in stars with a shadowy mountain backdrop. The moon looked cool tonight too. It sat on an angle, and was just this little sliver of a thing but you could still see the outline of the full circle so it looked like it hung from a nail up there. I keep seeing scenes that make me wish I could paint, so maybe that´s a sign I need to start trying to be a better painter. The director, Profe Mauro, seems to be a man with great vision and determination. Hearing him talk about the projects he has in the works, and dreams he has for the school and education in his town left me brainstorming how I could help. He has a dream of erecting a community center of sorts where they can hold after school programs, tutoring and help with homework. His description reminded me a lot of something I´ve detailed in journal entries, so maybe that´s why I found it so touching. We were talking about students who struggled in different subjects, and what a shame it is that they don´t have much access to specialists or testing to understand and execute the most effective method of mejorando sus estudios.

I´m putting this out there so I have to hold myself to it: one day I will play part in an educational facility that inspires learning, not just in the classroom but in life experiences as well. A place children can come to create and develop spiritually, mentally, creatively. And all with wreckless abandon. It would be awesome to bring this dream to life as part of the organic farm I´ll own one day. Maybe David´s right and my kids will be total hippies...but they´ll be happy, educated hippies.

It was a really great day. Because, once again, I was determined to make it one. That determination has turned the last few days into great ones. And tomorrow´s Friday! The weeks are flying by, and reasons to smile are growing in abundance. 

Show and Tell

I got all excited when I realized I could use Show and Tell as a fun activity with the kids. Most of them are SO shy to actually speak English. We started dedicating some time to writing about different topics, developing them more at home and then having a show and tell at the end of the week. I think I win the "Silly First-Year Teacher" award for saying, "I guess that would be ok..." when Andrea asked if she could bring her rabbit to school. Because it led to other animals coming to school...

Yeah...Amilcar brought his dog to school. I about died.

We've since had a few more Show and Tells, with a strict NOTHING BREATHING policy. It's a fun topic, but I'm anxious (excitedly) for my kids to gain confidence and get more creative. We had one about their favorite place and only a few got more creative. Although they made me hide quite the laugh...when Jenny Su Lau was up presenting in 2A the class was being a little impolite (breaking one of our rules!) and I stopped her to quiet them down. When I asked where her favorite place was, because none of them could hear her, a couple of the kids responded, "China." Jenny is in fact born of Chinese parents, and they even own a Chinese restaurant in Las Vegas. To clarify, her favorite place is Tegucigalpa because she has family there, and she seemed unfazed by the China comment.

Wow. I still can't get over sweet Amilcar bringing his pup to school. And the look on his face when I talked to him about having to call his parents and keep the dog outside until they came to get him... He barked here and there throughout the day, which always made me cringe in embarrassment. But it's ok because a great percentage of my kids presented in front of the class, in English, with excited smiles. And stickers aided in encouraging their progress. I love it :)

Arte Navideño

Not sure if anyone remembers, but forever ago I was gushing about the never ending box of goodness Cristy Rugo sent my way. One of the surprises in the package was a fat stack of foam create-ables. I have no idea what you would actually call them, but I think you get the idea. There were all sorts of shapes and colors, but a special bag was full of Christmas ornaments ready to be adorned! They came with glitter, sequins and even the little gold ribbon to make the loop for tree-hanging. I decided to make Friday before Christmas break's art class a holiday fun-day. And it turned out to be just that :)

Thank you again, Rugos and friends, for the awesome package. My kids went crazy with glitter glue, sequins, markers and creativity. They made some awesome ornaments! Some of them didn't have trees at home, but that just led to a fun conversation imagining all the neat places they could hang their personalized ornaments. I was a little nervous to let them run wild with the glitter glue etc, but a friend counseled me and suggested I "let that one go and just see what happens." Confession: I can be unwantingly (made up words are fun, embrace it) and unknowingly controlling at times, but kids get sticky and glitter is too fun to waste on the floor! But you know what? I am so glad I...what was it...let it go, and saw what happened. They were awesome. Art is with 2A; there is really no telling what would have happened in 2B. But they were careful to put the lid back on each pen, they shared like patient little wonders, they made sure I had each and every glitter stick at the end of class, they wiped their desks with wipees and they even picked sequins up off the floor! I was (I guess not shockingly at this point) a misty-eyed teacher taking in all that was happening. I have some talented kids, and very loving friends. We felt blessed to have such a fun Christmas craft! 

La Feria Campesina Nacional

One afternoon, months ago (of course) Maria, Irene and I spent a couple hours in Sigua. We happened to be there the day of the Feria Campesina Nacional, so wasn't that just perfect timing? We sampled some delicious honey, looked at various manualidades...hand crafts that people were selling and enjoyed local music. There was even a stand from an organic farm school somewhere in the area. I don't live close enough to frequent their farm, but it's certainly nice to know they're around. Mmm we came back later for lunch and the food was tasty.

We wandered around their market, in and out of random stores and really had fun killing a couple hours with new scenery. We checked out various types of hair clips, talked to different produce vendors and eat bought a pound or two of beans. I love getting to buy fresh beans, so much so that it doesn't bother me to have to be extra careful picking out the rocks and twigs. Mmm black beans. And red beans. And soft, ripe avocados. Why doesn't avocado get an e when you make it plural? We just covered "nouns that name more than one" in English class...I should know this one.

I can't remember the exact weekend we went to Sigua, but I know it was before our school Christmas pageant, and we were all looking at different Christmas decorations. There was a store with some crazy items for sale! It seemed like the store where broken or boxless items went to be sold at a lower price. I'm talking big cardboard boxes of unboxed, tangled and tied light strands, crates of damages ornaments, nativity sets with a few broken pieces. I liked it because it made me feel a little better about all the things that get damaged or lose their boxes. They don't just sit and rot in landfills, they get sent around and sold in stores for discount prices! I scored a couple yards of this awesome ribbon--it went from an olive green to a dusty purple all mixed with gold and I love it. I thought I'd use it for some Christmas decorations around la Casa Rosada, but my bow making skills didn't exactly sharpen like I thought they might. Maybe next year :)

In one of the little tiendas a young lady translated "fifty lempiras" after a woman quoted Maria a price for some sort of rattle. (To clarify, Maria was looking for something the kids could use as a prop during a round of Jingle Bells at the Christmas show, not baby shopping :) Here and there you run into people who know some of the numbers, so we weren't too startled to hear the English but when we complimented her English she kept the conversation going. A very impressive young lady, Giselle, is a fourth grader at a bilingual school somewhere near Sigua. She spoke English beautifully, and was a beautiful girl. She had an amazing set of grey-blue eyes, and as we were leaving I told her how pretty her eyes were. Her response was a thank you, a smile and to tell me they were pretty like mine! Intellect, and a kind heart!

On the way home we stopped at Mario's for fried fish and tajadas. Mario is father to Tiffany from 2B, and his wife (I embarrassingly can't remember her name!) spoiled us with some fresh chimol, and some rice, beans and avocado for my plate! The food was delicious and the company quite enjoyable. I still can't get over our perfect timing heading to Sigua on the very afternoon they were having their national farmer's market. Good stuff :)

A weekend away

I went on a retreat a couple weekends ago, and it was such a expectation-exceedingly wonderful experience. It would be strange to try to put it all into words, I think that's one of those times written journals are here for, but I had to share the sunrise. I was way up in the mountains near El Progreso, Yoro. The sky was ridiculous at night--I'm not sure I'd even seen so many stars. We had a bonfire one night and I swear the stars all huddled closely together over us, and were way more spaced out the farther you got from our group. The sky is a wonderful thing :)

I woke up early Sunday morning and was greeted with this view...

and then turned around to see a rainbow...my eyes get misty picturing it again--the sky does crazy things!

FOBF English Classes Begin!

Last Tuesday kicked off week one of my English classes with the Barnabas Foundation! Kip and Nancy had been talking about how some of the staff seemed interested in learning English, and we all agreed my being here was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. It was pretty fun to have a small class of adults looking at me for a change. We went over different greetings, just getting our feet wet for the first class, but I think it should be a nice way to spend my Tuesday afternoons over the next set of months. We won't hold classes on weeks when mission teams are here, but other than that we have a weekly date! There is a new Honduran director, Nury, who already speaks English so she's going to help follow through with their homework each week. I'm a mean teacher making them practice whatever conversational skills we're working on! Since the class I've run into Delilah and Denilo...both of whom blushed and told me they hadn't studied when I said, "Hi, nice to see you. How are you?"

I think one of my (selfishly) favorite parts of last week's class was the few minutes I hung around after the lesson. To eavesdrop on a meeting between Don Melvin, Denilo and Nury hashing out plans for the...GARDEN they intend to plant at the front of the property. And Nury says I'm welcome to help :) which is even more exciting because Joel, my natural medicine enthusiast, has returned to the States for at least a few months. For now all I can do is admire his produce, but not get any real farming lessons! I'm looking forward to seeing what Melvin and Denilo can teach me. And I think they're looking forward to getting my hands dirty! I'm also interested to see how much I can talk them down from their herbifungipesti binge. And to hammer them with English terms while we work! Have I mentioned how great it is to be living in Honduras? You never know what's around the corner.

Super Bowl... Dance Recital Sunday

Our sweet Maryann had a dance recital last weekend, and it was a great way to spend Super Bowl Sunday! Well, that depends who you ask. Eulogio didn't seem thrilled to be missing the game to (wait over an hour for the recital to start!) "pay to watch some kids...and Maryann dance around." But most of us enjoyed it!

So again, the show started about an hour late, and his boredom/lack of yearn to be there led to a random photo shoot...his face, his feet, my feet, the girls...

Irene and I were obviously happy to be there! I'm wondering where the picture with Leah is, but that must be on her camera!

Months ago she started taking dance classes at this little studio in town, and they've been planning the recital for a while now. She was in so many numbers! I think she had a couple ballet routines, one or two for tap, a great jazz number, an odd hide kids under your skirt performance that still makes us laugh and a rockin solo. She brought major sass to "Black and Gold" --some of the parents are still talking about it!

Pretty ballerinas :)

This one looked exhausting!

Words wouldn't do this one justice...the kids were ridiculous. 

She was awesomely excited about the awesome card we made for her :)

One of my student's little sisters dances at the same studio. She always gives the best hugs in the mornings, and even had one waiting for me at the recital! She's such a little beauty.

The Honduran Thanksgiving

It likely goes without saying Thanksgiving isn't a holiday here in Honduras, but I knew that going into the trip. I wasn't prepared for just how much I'd miss my family over my favorite holiday, but we all got through it just fine! Because we're good like that :) On Thanksgiving day I got to enjoy the blessings of technology and have some video chat with family. Just like every year, they were together for our fun Harris Family Reunion, and it was neat to get to experience part of it with them. Even if it was just my face on a screen for a little bit! Now, I don't want to be misleading: I most certainly did not spend Thanksgiving uncelebrated! Would you believe I went to three Thanksgiving dinners? Each were completely different but of course wonderful.

The school had a Thanksgiving dinner for the staff down at Las Glorias. It was nice to spend some extra time with coworkers, but the numbers were few and I have to admit it was the least festive of my Thanksgiving celebrations. Mmm but the post-meal coffee was bien rico. Lisa and Gordon had a big dinner at their house, which was a nice time. They had a table cloth hung on the wall for everyone to sign so that was pretty neat. Some of the guys got super artsy drawing big flowers and elaborate initials. I can't remember exactly what I wrote, but I think it was a spanglish message of gratitude for the lives of so many people I can consider family while I'm so far away from my own. Their dinner was a potluck of sorts, and the spread was great. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a couple kinds of gravy (and red chile thanks to our New Mexican contingent) a couple trays of veggies (thanks to the gringas :) some banging rice Emely prepared, I'm sure other savory things I can't remember, and a table full of pumpkin and pecan pies. I'm not sure any pecan pie compares to Aunt Jane's, and Katie's for that matter, but the piece (hunkin chunk) I had was pretty t a s t y. Of course a couple days later I found myself listening to a doctor's radio chat that got into the effects of holiday indulgences like pumpkin and pecan pie. Darn you!

they had these adorable turkey headbands they'd made in that week's English class, so of course we wanted to try them on!

Javier and Kerem's departure fell the week of Thanksgiving, so that Monday they had a huge dinner at their house. Javier's mom was in town and darn if she didn't cook alll day. They also had quite the spread, and a dessert table that left everyone smiling. Javier's mom put together a couple types of flan, and those went quick. I think I saw Javi shed a small tear when he was made aware we'd run out. They put the furniture outside, and lined their cozy living room with chairs so everyone had a place to sit, and suprisingly comfortably! I'd never thought of lining the perimeter of the room with chairs and having everyone hold their plates as they ate, but I have to say it worked just fine. Bring on the dinner parties that at first thought seem to big to host in your tiny apartment! Scoot the table out of sight, line your walls with chairs and you've got yourself the perfect setting for endless chatter and laughter. So many people from church were there, and we spent a good while passing the guitar and singing out on the porch. It was a great night, and one that I'm truly thankful for because it allowed us to have so many laughy memories with Javier and Kerem before they left. I love the Thanksgiving tradition of going around and saying what you're thankful for, but grateful lists are harder to talk about when your list is ever-growing.

Allan had a "diva" moment earlier that week, and we all enjoyed  showing him how ridiculous he  looked/sounded!

Hahaha. The faces in this one kill me. Obviously things got funny, but also apparently only to me?

Like brother and sisters

Guate!!!

Where to even begin... Every ninety days my visa needs to be renewed, and for our first trip back in November Emely organized un viaje a Guatemala. I was looking forward to experiencing a new country, but I really wasn't sure what to expect. I'm of course pleased I went into the trip without expectations. I said "increíble" so many times I'm inspired to look in a thesaurus for some synonyms. I've gone through some major spiritual development over the last...since I've been here. Every day I'm learning more and it's like the lessons I'm learning are hand-selected, special for me. ...what's kind of exciting is that I jotted that down in a journal months ago way back in November, and it still holds so true...


At the time of the trip, and maybe/likely even still, I'd been struggling with stress management and letting my mind calm down. That weekend was exactly what I needed. Que regalito. The trip Saturday morning was a bit longer than any of us were expecting, but it ended up being an incredible day. I saw the sun both rise and set that day! And what was cool about that was each time the view was undisturbed by wordly distractions. Nothing but  outstretched earth and bright, breathtaking sky. The sun was rising as we happened to be driving through a big stretch of no-man's land (the same stretch where I saw a rainbow coming home from San Pedro a while back), and I watched it set over the river in Guatemala. From a boat! Que bendicion. So Saturday's sunrise...I'd fallen asleep in the van, but I popped my eyes open at one point to a view of clouds that were just starting to part over the mountains, illumniated by a tiny section of pink. Up ahead the sky was dark, and to my left were clouds of gray... but to my right was the beginning of the sunrise and I smiled in appreciation of this little reward for waking up so early. It was of course smiley foreshadowing for the day that lay ahead, but I didn't make that connection until later. Once we reached Guate and were winding our way up the streets of the town I couldn't get over the smiliarities between our markets. All the colors of Central America could keep you entertained for hours. It makes me wonder if the makers of Crayola didn't spend time in A de C during their color-planning stage. I have been feeling like I'm so much more aware of my senses here--sights, sounds, scents and even textures.

El Castillo--that surely has a proper name, but I really have no idea!

Emely found us a tour guide with a boat, and we set out on the river. We road by an old castle that was smaller than I imagine castles to be, but the canons and cuentos de piratas made me smile. We were all very hungry after the long bus ride, so we stopped at a little restaurant for some much needed yum. I had fried fish (mojarra) and it was fantastic. As you can tell... Oh and Emely shared some food ettiquette over lunch: Si nada o vuele lo puede comer con las manos--if it swims or flies you can eat it with your hands.

So we spent the bulk of Saturday in a boat on Río Dulce; it was a nice day filled with nature's wonders, and when it finally came time for bed I lay down with a corazón llenado de gozo.The Guatemalan river banks were spotted with these grass-roofed "huts" that looked so cool. So of them were so large I can hardly consider them huts, but with the grass roof I'm not sure what they'd be called. After lunch we a long way up the river to Livingston which was a neat little town, filled with all sorts of extranjeros. The view from the middle of the river was incredible. Something about the water helps me recenter, and as I write this I'm thinking about the lovely lake we have so close to home. I'd forgotten a student's dad offered to take us out on their boat anytime we wanted--excellent idea, sir! We all took turns dozing off at one point or another,and it was nice to get a little nap with the wind in my face and my feet dancing over the edge. I'm glad I didn't sleep too long because the mountains almost demanded attention. There were so many types of trees I was missing Teets and his botanical wisdom. The mountains were high on both sides and covered with trees. There were these tall, super skinny trees that stuck out here and there, especially around the top of the mountains. They were all flaquito trunked with a tiny bush of leaves at the very top. Totally adorable, but seemed a little out of place, like Dr. Seuss trees as I think Irene called them!

When we arrived in Livingston we wandered around town for a while and all enjoyed some local treats. I had my first coconut with a straw sticking out of it, and it was delicious. On the ride back down the river we stopped at a natural hot springs and went for a nice little dip. It smelled like pure sulfur, but the water felt incredible. I think we all felt like we could feel the stress just melting away. Night started to fall a little sooner than any of us seemed to be expecting, which made for a chilly boatride home since we were all wet from the hot springs (and none of us had a towel!) but we managed just fine. The view of the sky was incredible. There I go with the increíble! The sky was doing some amazing things, and I'm not sure any of my pictures do it justice. The way the blue mixed with the oranges and pinks in these beams of light streaked across the sky...it was really something.

Maria isn't overly comfortable out on the water, so we snagged her a life vest and she seemed much happier!

My first coconut! She thought I was loca because I didn't want her to add anything to it, and I asked for one that wasn't too cold...it was yummy :)

Crazy, wonderful hot springs!

We found a hotel with cozy rooms, but we were all so tired I'm not so sure the rooms would have mattered much to any of us. The place we went for dinner didn't have tortillas or tajadas (we're not in H-town anymore!), but we all managed to eat ourselves full. And sleep like babies. Sunday morning we got together for breakfast, and I love the way I'm learning most meals in Central America, even at a hotel restaurant, have the feeling of something home-cooked in the kitchen of someone familiar. Plates come out in spurts as each is prepared individually with manos cuidadosas, but the coffee runs a plenty and conversation generally flows with ease. It was such a blessing of a viaje, and I think it was God's way of reminding us that He's always here for us; just look to nature to be restored.

a view that changes you

Dirigiendo para la Primera Vez

I guess this calls for another confession, but my Friday night plans have seriously changed over the last five months. Just after the new year Elvia (my Honduran mami) started a weekly celula meeting at her house. She and her daughters, Gisselle and Sara, have taken me in as one of their own. So la celula is like a small group meeting where people get together at someone's house, and worship together on a more intimate level than you can achieve at church. We have a nice group that gets together every week, and Elvia says it's a good way to "practice" expressing yourself in a smaller group so you can build up enough courage to do it in front of the church. Irene's been coming with me, and so far it's been a nice way to spend my Friday evening.

Over the last few weeks Elvia has been encouraging us to share a song or la palabra, so we said we would for tonight. We spent some time talking about it the two of us, and decided that this week I'd talk about the meaning of a song I really enjoy, and then sing it together and Irene could preach. Then next week we'll switch and just support each other the best we can! We were the first to arrive at Elvia's, and when I told her Irene was preaching she said, "Bueno, entonces usted va a dirigir." Which meant that I would be the one leading! My initial thought was, "Yikes!" but then I was excited to give it a try. Earlier this week I came across 1 Timothy 4 and the whole chapter is pretty great, but I really like 12 and 14-16. It helps me have the courage to accept that I'm "young" with Christ but that it shouldn't deter me from living life in a godly way and speaking my opinion or beliefs when the opportunity presents itself.

I lead us in prayer to start the meeting, and my voice still gets shaky in the beginning but I'm starting to develop more confidence praying aloud in group settings so that's positive. Then I referenced a couple verses and what they meant to me over the last week, and we sang Dame de Beber all together. The lyrics to that song are few, but I find them powerful and was pleased no one seemed to mind when I asked if we could sing it. It talks about drinking from His manantial, and I recommend researching what that is and letting the imagery flow. Irene shared a wonderful message from San Mateo 5: 25-24 and Salmo 143:8 and we all appreciated el consejo about the importance of not worrying our way through life. Our days here (on earth, not just in Honduras :) are meant to be enjoyed! We ended up with a very small group tonight, but that was better for Irene and I to get our feet wet so the nerves are calmer next time. With it just being a few of us there was more time for everyone to share, and it was nice to sit in the circle and go around talking about different scripture that had touched us during the week. Joel,  Gisselle and Sara's little brother and our youngest member (10 or 11 I think) read from chapter 3 of Proverbs and he spoke profoundly for his age. Elvia talked about Isaias 43: 18-19 and how struggles from our past are thrown en los profundos del mar, and we should leave them there. We all appreciated the reminder that "Otra vez abrire camino en el desierto, y rios en la soledad." Joel also closed us in prayer, and I'm still in awe of how well spoken he is for a boy so young.

I'm so grateful for the opportunities since I've been here to really push my boundaries. It can be so refining to push the edges of your comfort zone, and that's sort of part of our calling right? To refine ourselves more and more every day?

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
Philipians 3:12

Curried Cauliflower :)

I ate curried cauliflower last night! With lentils! And a rack of other veggies. It was so good :) Loq and Leah had been traveling for a bit, so not long after school Irene and I headed over to catch up with them. What I was enjoying as a nice afternoon turned into a lovely evening, and rapidly grew into a sleep over and enjoyable morning with friends! I've been reading a great devotional, but sometimes the message gets over my head. I can't explain how nice it is to be able to go to their house, (we're coming to know it as the commune, but that might be a story for later...) and talk about real things. Not just mindless chatter, but really bond and get to know each other. It is an incredible blessing getting to share so much spiritually inside their house. I brought my devotional with me, and asked Loq if he'd try and help me understand it better. We all ended up chatting for what had to have been over an hour, not just about that day's devotion but I guess more letting the Spirit guide our discussion, and touching on all sorts of topics. There was something so (gloria a Dios) calming about the whole conversation.

We chatted so long we worked up an appetite, and had a good time figuring out what we had on-hand, searching a couple recipes and walking to market in search of "whatever variety of vegetables the hippie thinks look appetizing" and some curry powder. It's so fun whenever I get to cook dinner (or any meal really) with other people. Normally I'm in the kitchen rinsing, chopping and stirring solita, and it's nice getting to chat and laugh while doing one of the things I enjoy most. It is an added bonus that there's more room to experiment with recipes when you're cooking for more than one person. The lentils were delicious, and Zenaida ended up joining us which was of course a nice addition to the table. She even ate her veggies (except the really green ones) which might not seem like a big deal, but trust me we were all sure to let her know how proud we were! She's a menacing little thing and brought a bag of fresh, fluffy semitas...they were bien ricas con cafe despues de dinner. Hah, I actually just filled out a survey for a website I frequent and when the question came "Do you follow a gluten-free diet?" I couldn't help but let out a disappointed little chuckle. A few weeks ago when I asked Pastor Alfonso what was on top of semitas that made them taste so good he responded with a smile, "No se preocupe, all things natural." ....

The girls and I had hopes to get up and walk dark and early in the morning. We stayed up late chatting and I ended up sleeping over. When the alarm went off this morning (Leah coming in with a sleepy smile to say good morning :) it was pouring the rain, so our walk has been delayed to another time. We both went back to bed for a couple hours, and then enjoyed a nice quiet morning together. We've known each other such a short while, but I love talking to her. We both feel a strong connection, and they're moving in March so that's a bit of a bummer! Leah and I are already plotting the possibility of eventually living closer to each other in the States, so we'll see if we can't make that a reality. We had a great breakfast of some sweet potato, carrot and regular potato hash. Loq says it's too green to call it hashbrowns, unless we're willing to call it hippie hashbrowns. I just call them tasty. Especially with the addition of the rosemary, roasted garlic, caramelly onions and side of bright green aguacate. I am going to miss $0.30 avocados. So the conversation flowed and spun all morning, and then the girls came over for a spur of the moment Bible study. We listened to a Beth Moore goody and all enjoyed her message. Oh yeah--we were supposed to be travelling this weekend, so we had a Friday off of school! The great, sunny afternoon has turned into a still great, but rainy evening. I'm preparing for celula at Hermana Elvia's house so that should be great. Mmm suddenly I'm craving curry leftovers.

a Sunday in Sigua

There are a few memories I've been wanting to get down, but ever since Javier and Kerem left (back in the end of November) I have been struggling to put the moments into words. They are an incredible couple who touched my life in such a special way. I miss them, but so appreciate the blessing of fellowship.

As the day of their departure was drawing more and more near, we started spending a lot of time with Javier, Kerem and the kids. Never a dull moment, and always ridiculous amounts of laughter and joy. One day (shamefully all the way back in early November) we packed into the truck (Guadalupe) and headed to Sigua to enjoy a change of scenery for the afternoon. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and the drive out there was so pretty. I love that there's always something new to appreciate about the views here. We went to Javi's favorite place for cake and coffee, and he gushed about their cake so much I was definitely excited to try it. The cake was a perfectly plan vanilla, moist and delicious, and their coffee was soothingly strong. Mmmm now I'm ready for another trip to Sigua!

So bear with me here, but the bathroom at this place was pretty incredible. I don't remember anything overly fancy about the actual bathroom, but the little room that led to the women's and men's rooms was like this hidden oasis. I didn't have my camera (and why would I carry it to the restroom?) so you'll have to close your eyes and try to imagine. These double doors opened to a heavily windowed room with a pretty fountain covering the right wall. I heard some birdy chirpings and thought they must have one of those nature sound cds. Or a room full of free-flying birds, so brightly colored and wonderfully cheery it almost brought tears to my eyes. Yeah, I know, it doesn't take much. I remember these branches across the ceiling, and either really high windows or some glass in the ceiling, and I was stopping to appreciate the calm of the fountain when I saw a baby macaw flying around! It was such a cutie, and there were more like him! All sorts of baby birds flying around, singing their chipper songs and flaunting their vibrant feather. I don't know enough about birds to list all the types, but there were at least four or five differently colored cuties flying around in there. When I got back to the table I told everyone about it, and they were all surprised when they got back saying they thought I meant there were birds in cages. Cage free baby!

The rest of the day was great too. We found a merry-go-round that I think Maryann enjoyed more than anyone, and a swing set that was fun once the world stopped spinning. I'm not sure how kids handle being on merry-go-rounds for very long. I was bien mariada after a short time spinning, but it was so fun to hear the kids laughing and see how crazy their faces got when they realized how dizzy they were getting. At one point I was sure Ana was going to get sick, and I think Marvin was just trying his hardest to hang on until Maryann finally gave in. Unfortunately for Marvin, our sweet Maryann is some type of super-human who can spin in circles for what seemed like hours and never stop laughing. She made the most ridiculous pouty "heck no I won't go" face when we told her it was time to leave...I need to get with Kerem for that picture too.We had a mini photo shoot on the swing set, and then wandered around Sigua's mall for a bit.

The mall was funny to me because I think it held a total of eight stores, and two little eateries. We wandered around the stores for a bit and eventually realized how late it was getting--we hadn't had lunch and it was crunching in on the time to leave to make it back for church. We gorged ourselves at the pupusa place (yummm) and I think everyone was ready for a nap on the ride home. It's so nice thinking back to this day I can't help smiling. I remember I had been "in my head" a lot that week, thinking and over-thinking and letting myself fall into former patterns of stress and worry. This was right around when I was really starting to bud spiritually and understanding more of the seed I was planting inside my heart. On the drive home I talked to Kerem about how meaningful the day had been to me. Not just because it's always so great spending time with them, but it also had a liberating effect. I've been developing a lot spiritually, and thinking back to November I can remember jotting down the importance of starting each day giving thanks for all of your blessings, and deciding not to be stressed or anxious over anything but rather let Him fill you with the sweet fruits of love, patience, joy and kindness. There was something so freeing about being on the swings and smiling up at the sky (it helped that it was a lovely blue that day :) receiving comfort knowing there's someone up there who wants to be in control, so why not let Him?

That night at church Pastor Alfonso's preaching really touched me, and was so perfect for the state of mind I'd been wearing. I have written that we talked that night about baptism, but what stuck out most to me was when he said to let the seed of the word into your heart, and it will grow quickly. I find something poetically calming about that.

A baby shower

Way back in November I went to my first Honduran baby shower. Oddly enough, I attended another baby shower earlier tonight, so what an ironic day to write about the first. It's funny to sit and remember the baby shower, because I've held sweet little Camilita so much since then. Elvira y Orlin (mommy and daddy) are part of my Honduran family, and they make me feel like I'm practically an auntie to Camilita. Would you believe Elvira went into labor the morning of the baby shower? Mommy and baby came home the following day both happy and healthy gracias a Dios, and we enjoyed the shower even though we were missing them. The shower was at Orlin's brother's house just up the street from Javier and Kerem's. I'll have to get with Kerem to get a picture or two of the decorations, but it was so cute. They had cute little girl clothes decorating the walls, and a line of rope across the ceiling with more clothes, like a clothes lines, and a little message saying "baby girl" in little lady pink. So super cute. And if memory serves, one of the shirts on the wall was a vibrant kelly green and read "kiss me I'm American" and I just had to laugh.

We fit a lot of us into their sitting room, and just lined the exterior of the room with chairs so we could all see each other to chat. A group of friendly faces from church was there, so it was nice to get to know them a little better. We shared some food and chatted for hours. I'm not sure what lead us up to it, but we spent a good bit of time sharing all kinds of embarrassing stories. I'm pretty sure we all laughed until our cheeks hurt. It was so fun! To be honest, I think one of the coolest parts for me was being able to understand (for the most part...) and share funny stories all in Spanish. Remember this was back in early November, so I hadn't been here all that long yet. Every now and then I wouldn't get what they were saying, as jokes can be tricky to pick up on with the whole 'play on vocabulary I'm still learning and developing' thing, but Kerem would translate and we'd all get a second laugh at my delayed laughter. I told the story about when I was here in March and I mistakenly asked a woman to raise the price if I bought two of something of course intending to ask if she'd lower it. And now I can't stop laughing at the different things I've said since then that are equally if not even more ridiculous.

I remember it was a rainy day, in fact we foolishly decided to walk home from school that day and the sky decided to open up before we were even half way. When we were walking to their house after the shower Kerem and I hung back and watched the girls, elbows linked, heading on in the wet, misty darkness still laughing at some of the stories people told. Back in November I hardly knew most of the people at the shower, although I recognized most of them from church, but it's very exciting being able to now say I know most of them as family. It's a special thing to recognize the greatness of God, and how sweet He is to have such careful selection putting different people into our lives.

Look at this sweet thing!

Family Lunches

First period exam week proved to be a bit of a different animal than I was expecting. In talking with Emely she painted it as this relaxing week with the students getting out at noon, lots of free periods and break times to grade exams and sort of just take some much needed deep breaths after a long first quarter. Not so much. But there's that saying about life and lemons...I can confidently say when school/work/life hands me lemons, I make great lemonade, so bring on the lemons. As a complete aside, lemons mixed with the proper sweetener (honey, mmm) and fresh herbs can be juiced into a tasty popsicle. Does anyone else almost always struggle with the proper spelling of popsicle? Since the kids left right at lunch time the whole week, a lot of us teachers would get together to dig into some food and share stories about our day. We of course could have used this time to eat at our desks and grade mountains of papers, but that would have ruined the lemonade. Monday's "family lunch" sort of happened by chance, but the rest of the week it became this special thing we (or at least I) came to expect and really appreciate. Some days the table was a balanced mix of Spanish and English speakers, others it was mostly just us girls, but we always found something to talk about. It was nice getting to connect with some of the other teachers on a more personal level, and we even got to know the cafeteria cooking crew a little better.

Monday kicked off second period exam week, and we are trying to keep the family lunches alive. It gets me all nostalgic looking around the table for Kerem. Now if only someone would grade those exams...

A Girly Sleepover

Before Javier and Kerem left I spent an incredible amount of time with them and the kids. We spent countless nights at their house laughing and carrying on, having dinner, telling jokes, grading papers, watching movies, painting nails, just enjoying each other. They are of course a fun couple, and the kids are a great time so we generally ended up awake far too late for teachers who had to entertain hoards of kids bright and early in the morning! The girls had been dying for Kerem to spend the night in their room like a fun little sleepover, and the perfect weekend finally came along. While Javier and Marvin headed to Yoro with some other guys from church, us girls had a great girly sleepover! We painted nails, played with each other's hair, listened to music and danced around, did face masks, ate some junk food, told fun stories, wore girly pajamas and all piled onto pillows and blankets to watch Tangled. As a side note, that's a great little movie if you have a chance to watch it. And the song "Mother Knows Best" is a fun sing-a-long! 

Maria put my hair in these ridiculous pig tails which had us all laughing way too hard. I made face masks out of alpiste and the girls were so funny about it. A few of them were really freaked out at the thought of putting it on their faces, but we all participated and enjoyed our soft, smooth skin. We were determined to make it a slumber party to remember, so when one of the girls, I think it was Carmen or Ana, was ready for bed Kerem wanted nothing of it. She insisted the whole point of a slumber party was to stay up all night and talk about boys, and that just made us all laugh. I definitely fell asleep at some point during the movie, but we rewatched the ending the next day so I didn't feel sad about missing anything. The sleeping arrangements were silly but totally fun. The girls wanted us all in the same room, and their room is decently sized, but there were eight of us girls! We moved mattresses and made it work so that somehow everyone slept well that night. I guess I shouldn't speak for all of us, but I'm pretty sure we all slept pretty well. I climbed into the bunk beds and shared a mattress with Deysi, but we both slept through the night. I woke up to her listening to her iPod and coloring in a Disney princess coloring book. It was nice to feel like a little girl again.

I am pretty sure I spent the entire weekend at their house, but we were just having too much fun with each other. It was also hard to pass on any chance to spend time with them since they were moving away so soon. While the thought of having a daughter can be terrifying, it's fun to think of getting opportunities like that to channel your inner little girl and be silly for a night. Or a weekend. Or a lifetime :)

El Aniversario

I'm not sure when the actual anniversary of the school is, but the anniversary of them being at the current property is November 4th and every year they celebrate with a big deal parade. We were forewarned that the parade can get a little stressful, but to try and take it all in stride. The kids were broken up into different groups, like my baton twirlers I mentioned a while ago. Someone thought it would be a good idea to put me with a group of boys who were marching as cadets, but gracias a Dios Mr. Cook was able to join us. He was apparently a cadete when he went to school is Mexico, and it was a lot of fun to see and hear him with the boys. They got these serious little faces, and I loved getting to yell with them Braveheart style. Too cute. If you hear me shout "YA!!!" as I throw my arm forward and take off at a strong march, don't be alarmed. It's just me channeling my inner cadete.The baton twirlers weren't as budget-friendly as I'd first thought. The reason the made batons out of sticks is because they had to buy new batons (with shiny red knobbies) to match their outfits, and they were waiting for them to arrive. It made me sad that some of the girls weren't able to be palionas because it was so expensive, but the girls who did get to participate twirled with big smiles so that was nice. Some of the boys were mimes, and some got to be robots which was pretty silly. Indira from 2A was so excited to march in the drum line, and that is definitely one thing they do really well here. Listening to the drummers could get anyone off their feet! Now I just need to learn to dance punta...

All of their faces crack me up! The pomponeras are behind us, and the soccer team is behind them. It was quite the parade!

The day before the parade all the teachers stayed late to decorate floats with obscene amounts of colored paper and tape. Some of them turned out really pretty, and it was nice to get that time to chat with a few teachers I didn't know all that well. We were worried about the evening rain, a pretty constant thing around here, but were told there was a backup plan! The backup plan was apparently to move the floats to the gas station if it started to rain, but everyone quickly learned that once the rain came (generally hard and fast) it was too late and just not feasible to get the trucks moved under cover. It was a little sad to spend so much time working so hard on something only to see it wilt and ruin under all the water. But something awesome happened as it was raining that totally trumps any ruined decoration frowns. I saw the hint of a rainbow coming over the mountains, and then realized it was a double rainbow. Too cool! I'm not sure I had ever seen a double rainbow, and if I have it definitely wasn't this deeply colored. It was crazy to see the beams of ROY-G-BIV arching across a mountain. It was a little eerie to watch the rainbows fade away until the disappeared, leaving behind this thick gray bleh in the air. But it was really neat to see the arcoirises (rainbows) and a memory I think I'll hold onto. I didn't have my camera when they popped up, and it was raining far too hard to make a dash for it. Maybe one day I'll learn to paint and capture the mental image!

Ok, so it was a long walk, and Guillermo (like me!) was ready for some water, a snack, some shade and a change of clothes, but his mama wanted a picture so Mr. Cook and I obliged!

The day of the parade was pretty hectic, but the kids and parents seemed to enjoy themselves. Ok, the rest of us ended up having a good time too :) We got to school early to repair the rain's damage, and I think the floats turned out even better than they were the day before. Love how that works! My stomach and I weren't exactly getting along that day, so I wasn't too cheery at the thought of walking through town in the heat, but it was fun to march with my boys! Lots of parents snapped pictures and I loved getting to experience their pride for their children. Kerem was the leader of her Preparatoria kids and their band which was way too stinking cute. Maryann made her a crazy shirt, but she rocked it in all its ridiculousness. After the parade we got to enjoy an earlier than normal release from school, and it's always fun to start your weekend earlier than expected!

Even. More. Boxes.

Big, huge, belated thanks to Mom, North Elementary, Grumpy and his Sunday School class and Cheryl Watts and family. You guys know how to make a struggling teacher smile! We headed to Santa Cruz to check with the mail lady one afternoon and I seriously didn't believe her when she said I'd received four boxes. FOUR! My eyes watered just seeing Mom's handwriting on the packages, and then when I realized a couple were from Grumpy I thought I'd have to take a minute to regain composure. Thanks you guys!

The boxes were filled with an unbelievable amount of school supplies, some wall decorations, lots of interesting idea books, a whole box of early reader books and I'm sure a number of other things I'm rudely forgetting to include in this list. The donations were so abundant they will be able to support a number of students from different schools and towns. It would have been cool if I'd gotten a picture before I started dispersing supplies, but the teachers were excited to receive classroom sets of markers, colored pencils, crayons, regular pencils. A couple decks of alphabet cards have helped in both first and second grade classrooms. Christmas borders and a fun wreath were used to make the hallways more festive.

I met a young boy in San Luis Planes who is nine years old and had to quit school after first grade. He's been out of school for two years now because his parents can't afford to send all of their children. The supplies are expensive, and tuition for three isn't in their budget. Being blessed with care packages like these help kids like Josue get back into school. He's very excited to start his studies, and Pastor Alfonso and I are determined to get him reading by the end of the year. Let this serve as an outpouring of my love and appreciation for all of your support, and I don't just mean sending expensive-to-ship boxes filled with donations.The boxes are of course great, but the spiritual support I'm receiving from so many of you, the kind thoughts and well wishes, those are what get me through the days. Those are what bring me closer to kids like Josue and the different schools I've visited. Thank yous, love and hugs all around!

Eager Readers

Apparently life picked up somewhere toward the end of October, and didn't start to slow down until now! Hell it still hasn't slowed down. A while ago I had such a breakthrough reading day with the kids I couldn't wait to journal all about it. And here we are, months later, journaling about it. I'm just good like that! It's the general trend that 2A can be a little more outgoing than 2B, but of course they sometimes surprise me. Reading class with 2A can be a cricket show, so the same with 2B is one of those times I plan a rack of different activities in case the response for my first few plans is a room full of blank stares...

Color me ecstatic when my little angels in 2B came to life one day during reading class! I was sure some of the hands in the air must have had dust and/or cobwebs on them. I am embarrassed to admit that I expected a few of them to be asking to go to the bathroom. Kids who might not have raised their hands all year threw them up excitedly when I asked who wanted to read us parts of the story. I'm blushing just starting to type this, but seeing their little faces so stoked to read out loud, and hearing them practice their phonics on the words they found more difficult got my heart so warm I had to remind myself it would likely startle them if I started to cry. With my hand on my heart I let them all know how very proud I was at their progress and how contagiously exciting their energy was. I honestly don't know what brought it out in them that day, but I'm certainly not complaining. I was so overjoyed by this surprise increase in participation I decided to give a little sticker to each of my readers. It's incredible how much stickers mean to the little ones. I hope they don't lose that excitement, but I think I still have most of my excitement for the little things, so I'll just have faith they'll hang on to theirs as long as they can. I will go ahead and put it out there that yes, I was that teacher who bragged about her kids all throughout lunch. One of my guys wants to stay after school for tutoring "so he can read with the miss" --there are not enough hugs and/or happy tears in the world to express how much that touched my heart!

Sunday Translation

This has been so long ago I really can't believe how quickly time is passing. Leah commented that I could update more regularly if I said a little less in each post, but I don't seem to work that way. Apparently I'm chatty no matter what my medium! Toward the very end of October a Barnabas team was here, and Melvin Martinez invited them to a service at his church. Don Melvin's church services are of course in Spanish, and he was asking about translation help for the team. I didn't have any plans for the night he needed me, so I agreed no problemo. I'd never been to his church, Ebenezer, and I love any chance to do something new while I'm here. While I know I'm not fluent, especially when it comes to scripture, I figured it would be nice to hear a new pastor and whisper translate to the person next to me. I love getting to know the teams who come down, so it's hard not to jump at an opportunity to help them! Don Melvin had told me Ebenezer was organized pretty similarly to La Roca, so I fell into the rhythm of the round of alabanzas before the sermon. As we took our seats after the prayer and worship songs Kerlin, Melvin's daughter, came up to tell me there was a microphone for me up front. I looked at her like she had eight heads and said she must be confused. Don Melvin then came into view and he made quick moves with his eyes and without opening his mouth clearly told me, "Get that look off your face and walk your happy butt to the front. Gracias."

It's funny to write about this now, and I'm making a mental note of some potentials for my "work on me in 2012" list...like journal as promptly as possible and embrace self-confidence a little more quickly. This first translation at Ebenezer was enveloped with so many different feelings. I remember leaving feeling sort of strange. Like I'd pushed my comfort zone to its extreme, and successfully, which was motivating. But now I've translated a few more times, and it's sort of funny to remember all the initial nervousness. Pastor Martir is so animated and passionate I think he does a wonderful job motivating people with scripture and his preaching. And all his animation makes translating for him a little fun, because I can gesture toward him and say, "What he did" rather than acting things out. He had a great message that night, but I spent about the first half of the sermon in this mental war. Part of me was having trouble not imagining dropping the microphone and running out of there, part of me was considering crying and another part of me was saying hellloooo you can do this, and you kind of have to do this so please get on board! From what I heard after the service, no one noticed this internal debate, so that's comforting. I gained experience that night that I'll always cherish. While I was struggling in my head I was reminding myself that this was so much bigger than my little worries about saying the wrong thing or not knowing the words. It felt like a weight was lifted when I decided all I could do was stand up there at the big scary microphone and break a language barrier to bring some of God's people closer together. Of course I could worry about missing something, but then that's what would have my focus. Instead I decided to focus on opening my heart to receiving the message, and giving it my all to convey that message to a couple rows of smiling faces. I could go on and on about the amazing power of perspective and the intent behind your actions, but instead I'll just recommend pushing your limits a little further than you think you can handle.

After the service Nancy came up and gave me the best hug and said some of the nicest things. She really is a special new friend. We spent hours one night talking about faith and all sorts of life lessons, and it was great getting closer to her. Most of the medical teams travel with cross necklaces that they wear everyday to give to people they meet throughout the week. They're given to someone you think needs the cross, or someone who touched your heart. I am pretty sure most teams travel with an abundance of necklaces, because their goal is to give lots away. I know when I was down here in March I gave a couple crosses away to people I didn't want to stop hugging. This country is full of kind hearts and incredibly interesting people. After Nancy's hug she told me some great things about the service, and then gave me her cross! It is a beautiful cross of nails and white wire. I have it hanging on my wall, and looking at it reminds me of the power of pushing your comfort zone and embracing your potential to grow. That team was full of lovely people, and they all had great hugs after the service. I spent a little more time with them before they returned to the States, and I feel blessed to have met them. It is pretty neat to bond with the teams as they travel, especially since the majority of the people are from Virginia! I think Melvin was the best after the service though. You see, he knows me well enough to know what was going through my head, but fortunately also knows how much I needed to experience that push. He had the sweetest face when he smiled and said to forgive him, but he knew I could do it.

It is nice to know there are so many people believing in me. Very cool to gain experiences I wasn't expecting over this year away, and motivating to think how much I'll gain if I push limits at every opportunity!