The Last Day

What a bittersweet day: on the sweet hand, I was eager for Friday, the last day of the last week, to finally show up because I desperately craved summer vacation; but on the other bitter hand, it meant my final day as the 3^rd grade teacher at Abundant Life Christian School in La Unión, Honduras. Which emotion was stronger? Bitter? Sweet? I’m not sure if I can still answer that, but this is how my last day played out:

Thankfully all of the classes were finished by this day… except math. I am pretty sure it would take me maybe another two or three or ten years in the same teaching position to actually figure out how to pace out the end of the year. Even though I did not have standards or district goals to meet, I still felt that sense of panic settle in as the end of the year crept closer: Have I taught everything I needed to cover? Are they ready to move on to 4^th grade? I remember last year really cramming in some final material at the end and torturing my kids with tests that they were simply not ready for. I vowed to never do that again after tossing those tests in the trash. This year I approached the end at a much calmer rate but still probably put too much pressure on them. Anyways, I knew better than to drop every test on them for that final day… while it may be easier for me in regards to planning that is not how I wanted them to say goodbye and remember me! We needed to spend two class periods working on the math material. Their final test was over ‘time’ and teaching elapsed time is quite the challenge. I knew they had not really mastered that subject so I wanted to help them out as much as I could. We spent one class practicing and reviewing together, and then they went into another class period to take their final test. Once they handed that in… Relief! They were academically finished!

One of the reasons I adore kids so much is that you can turn any task into an exciting activity with the right attitude. We spent the rest of the morning having ‘fun’ cleaning up the classroom. Fully aware of their hoarding and trash-digging tendencies, I forced each one to throw away their papers and then walk away from the garbage can. It took some convincing that no, they did not need any old tests, worksheets, or notebooks and even more so, they did not need the old tests, worksheets, or notebooks that their classmates had thrown away. Since I wouldn’t permit them to fill their backpacks with useless papers, I let them take home all the classroom decorations instead. We went around and anything with their name on it or any artwork on the wall that they created, they could rip down and stuff in their backpacks. This made my classroom-cleaning job easier because their little fingers quickly and eagerly went to work as they stripped my classroom of any decorations and supplies. Then they got to take their desks outside and scrub away. I provided the buckets, water, soap, and sponges and they created their own fun. They were so into washing their desks that I had to tell a few of them that they had clearly fully-cleaned their desk and it was time to let someone else have some fun doing the same. The cleaning ladies can thank me for the sparkling desks by the end.

After lunch I took a break from my wildly-cleaning munchkins and planned to say goodbye to my 8^th grade math class. As I started down the stairs and stopped a few of them coming up with one more annoying, “Ready for math class?” (I always knew the answer was a unanimous ‘no’ but that never stopped me from asking), one of them gave me the strangest look ever and declared that they were watching a movie instead. He was clearly confused by my question and now I joined the ranks as confused after his statement. Sometimes they would forget about our afternoon math class on Fridays (because we had math in the mornings on every other day of the week) or I just had to straight battle them to get in the classroom and make it to the end of the day, but this time… they were right. I made it to the room and was confronted with a boarded up classroom. All the windows were covered and as I crept in, they were all fully engrossed in a movie and feasting on snacks in the pitch black. While it was sweet to personally get the class period off, it was even more bitter knowing that I did not get a proper goodbye with them. I quietly went around and handed back their final exams with a piece of candy, and whispered a goodbye to each one.

The day ended with a combined 3^rd and 5^th grade water games! Rachel and I planned and set up various games that guaranteed the kids would have a fun start into summer vacation and might even get a little wet (ok, definitely soaked). My kiddos started with a balloon stomp: they each blew up a balloon, tied it around their ankle, and then had to protect it while battling their classmates and trying to pop others’ balloons.

We then went into a sponge race: we made two lines and filled two buckets with water. Each team had to soak the sponge and then pass it down the line in an alternating over-under pattern until it reached the end where someone squeezed whatever water was left into an empty bucket. Then we had a water balloon toss and fight: we started with the toss and I have to admit, the pairs made it a lot farther than I anticipated! Whatever balloons were left over afterwards became ammunition in a water balloon fight.

The water games and day ended with an epic slip-n-slide. Rachel and I stretched out a tarp down a hill, lathered it with fabric softener, and hosed it down while the kids slid down it and dog-piled on each other at the bottom. There was not a dry 3^rd or 5^th grader in sight. They could not be stopped as they kept running up to the top of the hill, throwing themselves down the tarp, and then crashing into each other at the bottom. They were soaked, muddy, and covered in grass all at the same time.

Once the bell rang, they took off. Here come the bittersweet feelings again… It was bitter to see them all run off and head home – some of them I would never see again. But it was sweet to get wet goodbye hugs, not from tears but from the insane fun we just had together. It was the best way I could have imagined finishing off the year with them. I didn’t want them to be sad or cry as we said goodbye and parted ways. Instead, I wanted them to be excited about their summer vacation and remember 3^rd grade, and me, by the fun last day we had together. I certainly will. 

Nicaragua

This year for spring break, a gang of us Gringos – Kara, Lenny, Sharon, Rachel, Jake, and I – headed south to Nicaragua to explore one of our neighboring countries. I was especially looking forward to spring break this year because my birthday conveniently fell during the same week, and I love seeing new places! Our week was filled with difficult travels, beautiful hotels, incredible food, and plenty of outrageous activities.

Getting there. Our original plans were to drive in Jake’s car from La Unión to Tegucigalpa, bus it from Tegucigalpa to Managua (the capital of Nicaragua), and then get a rental car to help us navigate around our various destinations in Nicaragua. We were even proactive by planning well in advance by purchasing tickets and making reservations. Driving to Tegucigalpa was a breeze, but it came with some nervous feelings towards travelling to Nicaragua since we had heard about earthquakes hitting major cities there. We figured if we were really in danger, there would be some kind of travel advisory. However, everything started to fall apart the next day.

We arrived at the bus station and as I began to check in, the woman at the desk asked if I was a resident. Back story: recently Kara, Lenny, and I all had our residency cards renewed for the country of Honduras but that process included taking away our tourist visa papers, making new cards, and giving us a temporary piece of paper to prove residency while waiting for the cards to take physical form. When I showed her my temporary paper, she frowned. Uh-oh. She immediately dropped the bomb that I (and consequently Kara and Lenny as well) would not be able to cross the border with those papers. Honduras may recognize that paper form of residency, but no other country will. My mind froze and my heart stopped. While trying to mentally survive the first panic, the woman also discovered, and kindly pointed out, that my bus ticket was for the wrong date: it had been purchased for the following week. Basically, there was no way I was leaving the country that day, or by bus. Thankfully Kara and Lenny were sinking in the same boat with me because of their residency situation, and we had all purchased our bus tickets separately from the others. Jake made an emergency call to the school’s lawyer inquiring about our options. The news did not even faze her as she told them that no, we would not be able to cross the border by land with those papers. However, we could cross by air if we wanted. The three of us did not even have to think twice about it as we grabbed our suitcases and headed straight for the airport. We left Sharon, Rachel, and Jake to get to Nicaragua by bus and we would meet them there later by airplane. It was an expensive change to our itinerary, but completely worth it.

We were able to purchase one-way tickets to Managua for the following day, so we started our spring break with chaos followed by pure relaxation at the Intercontinental Hotel in Tegucigalpa. Our flight to Nicaragua had a brief layover in San Salvador, El Salvador. Usually I am not one to equate visiting an airport to visiting a whole country, but we did have to walk on the air strip to get to our plane so technically we did step foot on El Salvadorian ground… which means I am counting it and I have now been to every country in Central America! When we arrived in Managua we met more disaster. Even though we asked a representative from the same rental car company in Tegucigalpa about securing our reservation, when we arrived to Managua they had given away our car. The woman was of no help and left us without transportation. Thankfully another company had an available car – that wasn’t a minibus or a gas-guzzler – so we hopped in that and were finally on our way to experience Nicaragua! Not far from the airport, a police officer put our adventure to an abrupt halt; he gave Lenny a speeding ticket, but just pocketed the fine for himself. (If I had known the police were so corrupt and easily persuaded with money, I would have taken the bus trip and tried to bribe them to let me cross the border!) At that point our patience was running thin and we all desperately needed the beach to find peace with this vacation. Thankfully paradise awaited us. 

San Juan del Sur is a beautiful coastal town equipped with great tourist attractions. We decided to spend the first half of our week here, soaking up the sun and ocean. We stayed at the Orquidea Hotel which was nestled in the hills (a bit of a drive away from the actual town, and on dirt roads that were not forgiving to our rental car). The place was gorgeous with a pool overlooking the ocean; at certain times of the day you could relax in the pool and look out into the ocean to see whales passing by. They brought strong coffee to our room and breakfast was included every morning. The staff were all very pleasant and kind to us (they even came to our rescue to kill a scorpion). The grounds were adorned with full and brightly-colored flowers, hammocks, and the occasional monkey clan. To say that the hotel exceeded our expectations in both beauty and tranquility would be an understatement.

For my birthday we decided to embark on an ATV tour. Each pair got to cruise around on an ATV to explore the coastline. We first headed up to a sculpture of Jesus overlooking the entire city of San Juan del Sur. It was really windy up there but the panoramic view was breathtaking. Then we travelled down to the beach where we got to race down and spin around on the beach. We practiced donuts and embraced our need for speed through the sand. (Sharon had no fear pushing the limits while I, admittedly, gripped the seat very tightly and prayed.) To get from place to place we drove through the back roads with dust flying in our faces (thankfully we were well-equipped with surgical face masks) and covering our bodies. We visited another beach and stopped there to take a swim. While the water was refreshing, it was not exactly the best idea to get wet because then the dirt really stuck to our skin and clothes on the drive back. It was such a thrilling adventure! You could constantly here shrieks, screams, and laughter coming from behind our masks as we absolutely loved speeding along on our ATVs. 

On a different day we decided to fulfill the dream of becoming surfers. We went to a local beach (interesting fact about the beach: it was once the site for a season of Survivor, and kicked-off members stayed at our hotel) to sign up for lessons and let the balancing act begin. I was the only who had surfed before, but the others picked it up nicely. We perfected our form on dry land before taking our new-found skills to the water. Our arms quickly learned how to stroke and propel our bodies, and board, through the water to catch a wave; our feet learned how to swiftly jump up from a laying down position to taking up the infamous boarder stance; and our bodies learned how to maintain our balance while trying to look cool, calm, and collect while surfing. Doesn’t all that sound so nice? Sadly we did not look that graceful surfing, but we felt pretty confident and very fulfilled by the end of the day. At one point, we even considered giving up our lives of teaching and trading those to become professional surfers, but then our exhausted bodies brought us back to reality.

Like any of our vacations, we planned a lot of our days around mealtimes. We wanted to taste the best that San Juan had to offer. We devoured mouth-watering burgers, seafood, salads, sandwiches, tapas, and our absolute favorite, gelato. I would highly recommend this coastal town to anyone because of all the excellent adventures and food to keep you busy and satisfied. 

Granada is and old colonial town that has preserved a lot of the rich, Nicaraguan heritage. We stayed at a cozy rental home that was quite a steal for us. The house was outside of the main square and had a beautiful open interior. When you first walk in you are in the kitchen, dining room, living room, and courtyard – all at once! It was a great place to cook breakfast every morning and start the day off with a slow, peaceful morning. The people we rented the house from were so kind and went above and beyond to help us with our stay. They gave us directions around town, restaurant recommendations, activity ideas, were flexible with our group size, and their nephew helped us move in and leave, clean daily, and find a garage to keep our rental car.  We spent two days there but I would actually say that one is sufficient (and spend more time on the beach instead).

One of the main roads off the central park is dedicated entirely to restaurants. Our need for fabulous food was met in an overwhelming way. How could anyone choose just one restaurant?? We walked around with our mouths open and watering (which probably led to some drooling) trying to narrow our options down to just one. That may be the only reason to stay many days – to taste test all the restaurants to find the best cuisine. But seriously, the street is lined with one place to eat after another, chairs and tables, and plenty of hungry customers. As well, there are street performers to keep all those food-critics entertained; we had many people try to sell us things, watched a really tall man dance around with his giant-head counterpart, and saw a remarkable dance off. Dinner and a show? I’ll take that deal.

There was not a whole lot to do around the town. Sharon and I spent an afternoon walking around the central park and shopping in the market. We each picked out some intricate feather earrings made by a local. We visited an art gallery, a few of the colonial buildings, found more gelato, and enjoyed the view of the local, yet entirely un-swimmable, lake. When we felt that we had exhausted all the views of Granada, Kara, Sharon, and I found ourselves at a spa indulging in massages, manicures, and pedicures. Granada provided a perfect combination of sightseeing and some R & R during our week-long trip. 

León is home to one of CNN’s “Big Thrills: 50 ways to be a daredevil.” Volcano boarding is number two on that list and you can only check that off the list in one place in the whole world: León, Nicaragua. The very fine, black gravel is what makes it possible to board down the volcano without tearing up your body. You are given a rather questionable ‘sled’ to begin the trek up. In reality, you are given a piece of wood and then start to hike to the top. It is not a particularly tall volcano or difficult hike, but it was rather windy that day and at a few times I was afraid to being blown over and falling down the side. Once at the top you are given a darling, neon green jumpsuit equipped with goggles, a medical mask, and knee and elbow pads. Then you hop onto your board, grip the steering rope, and release the breaks (your feet) to begin the ride! I am slightly embarrassed to admit that everyone commented on how slow I was coming down, but that did not take away the thrill for me! As you race down (or crawl down, if you are me) the protective gear does nothing to stop all the black gravel from finding its way into all your body’s nook and crannies. In fact, Sharon pulled out a decent-sized rock that snuck down her shirt. It took days to get all the gravel out of my hair and the black residue on my face put Lenny into a fit of laughter every time he looked at me. CNN recommends it, I recommend it, which means it’s about time you head down to Nicaragua and go volcano boarding! 

The country of Nicaragua was absolutely beautiful and our trip was one blast after another. The key to traveling, in my opinion, is to keep a flexible and positive attitude. We ran into a few more problems than we would have like, and there were certainly moments when someone came very close to having their head ripped off, but by the end we had loved every minute. It was easy to laugh off all the unfortunate happenings (in hindsight of course), reminisce on all the times we felt like idiots, and brag about all the great things we did. I genuinely hope that you find yourself in Nicaragua one day speeding along the beach on an ATV, catching a wave on the surfboard, boarding down a volcano, or feasting on the streets on Granada. Go explore! 

Turning 24

This year for my birthday, my students planned quite the extravaganza! Being 9 years old made it hard for many of them to keep their plans secret… they always started a conversation with me with, “we’re planning a surprise for your birthday!” And by the time the conversation came was over, I knew all about the ‘surprises’ without any prompting from my end. Regardless, the excitement they had planning a birthday party for me was enough joy to watch and we had a fabulous day celebrating!

My birthday happened to fall on the Monday of Spring Break this year so I celebrated with my students the Friday before. I was already planning to watch a movie during three of their class periods to avoid starting new material right before break, but that also created the perfect opportunity to party. I also supervise the 12^th grade students teaching English at the public school on Friday mornings so my own students had another perfect opportunity to decorate the classroom and set up the party before I got to school. By the time I made it to school that morning, I could see them all running down the hill to greet me at the gate with big hugs and to escort me up to my own, private birthday party!

They decorated the classroom with balloons (conveniently used in Art class the day before) and by writing love notes all over the whiteboard.

They set up a table in the middle of the room with 20 places set (plates, cups, napkins… the whole 9 yards) and a delicious cake! They had collected money from everyone to buy this beautiful cake. My favorite part is that they all quickly agreed I was the best choice for cutting and serving the cake, and pouring the soda in cups for everyone too.

We ate most of the cake but some if it ended up on our faces.

We rounded out the celebrations by watching “Frozen” and hitting a piñata. All of the kids had so much fun, and the best part for me was witnessing their pride in successfully pulling off this birthday celebration! They may be little, but they organized a fantastic party (and they knew it too). I could not have asked for a better birthday with my sweet students! 

Easter - Celebrating Jesus!

One of the things that I love about working for a Christian school, is getting to teach with my faith. I love that not only am I free to but I'm almost expected to pray during class, participate in Bible classes, or talk about my faith openly with students. I like to embrace this characteristic by celebrating the religious meaning behind holidays when appropriate. For Easter this year, I had my kids work on the Easter story for Reading class: I would read different parts of the Easter story, according to the Bible, and then we created our own books. Each days we wrote the story in our words and drew pictures to match. We freely talked about the days leading up to Jesus' death on the cross and the days following that monumental event. Since I am the 3rd grade teacher, we did not get too in depth philosophically speaking, but I did utilize some pretty cool arts and crafts projects to enhance the text. Here are some of the stand-out creations my little ones made!

"When Jesus came into the city of Jerusalem the people waved palm leaves. They shouted, "Hosanna!" which means "save us." They were welcoming their king.

"Sometimes Jesus is called 'The Lamb of God' because he was God's sacrifice to the world."

John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his only so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

"Jesus was nailed to the cross by his hands and feet. When he died everyone was sad, but Jesus died to save us."

"After Jesus died some men put his body in a cave. They put a big rock in front of the cave and there were 2 guards in front so no one could go in. An angel came down from Heaven and moved the rock away from the cave. When Mary and Mary Magdelene went inside the cave, Jesus' body was gone! The angel told them that Jesus is alive!"

"Jesus visited the disciples. He showed them his hands and feet so they would believe that he died but is alive again."

I hope you enjoyed seeing their wonderful craft creations, and had an even more blessed Easter celebrating the death and resurrection of our beloved Christ! Happy Easter from La Union!

Update 12.0

June 25, 2014 is a monumental day for the Abundant Life Christian School in La Unión: it is the day that our very first class graduates from high school! These students in the class are phenomenal kids and are about to experience big life changes in the next few months. For those of you who have been keeping track of them this year, here is their latest update.

Israel. Remember my blog post about this class potentially going to Israel? Well, they’re going! Ok just some of them, but they are still going! The trip is through That the World May Know Ministries and they raised enough money (through the program’s fundraising efforts and some of your own donations too) to send Kara, Lenny, and 15 students on the trip of a lifetime to Israel. The trip is June 2-19 and they will hike all around the country visiting Biblically significant places. God has been showing up in incredible ways throughout all the preparations of the trip. Originally there was only enough money to send 11 students with no chaperones. Since then more and more donations have been flowing in to bring the final number of students going to 15 along with both and Kara and Lenny’s trip paid for. Other donations have been piling up too to fulfill needs from hiking shoes, suitcases, to travel clothes. Kara has been fervently praying for the trip every since she first thought they might be able to go, and God has been answering her prayers in wonderful ways. It may be the only time any of them leave Honduras, but they are about to embark on a truly amazing trip. Their faith will be explored and challenged in new ways; they will undoubtedly come back changed individuals. Please be praying for the group as they prepare themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for this journey: Kara, Lenny, Ricardo, Kevin, Eli, Adan, Omar, Darwin, Nelson, Juan, Ada, Alejandra, Alexandra, Nelsy, Glenda, Karen, and Lucely.

College. A year ago 6 of the students took the TOEFL exam to see if their English skills were up to par with studying at a university in the United States – thus beginning the steps to potentially going to college abroad. After taking the TOEFL, ACT, applying to colleges, and interviewing for scholarships, the results are in: four of our 12^th grade students will be attending college in the US next year! The news gets even better from there… three of them are going on full-ride scholarships! The best part of being their teacher has been finding out about all their college acceptances and scholarship honors before them. Thanks to there being no snail mail system in La Unión and the students’ lack of internet use, the teachers got to plan out how to tell them about their offers.

Darwin and Nelsy both won full-rides through the Walton Scholarship program. The Walton foundation offers its scholarship to a handful of small schools in Arkansas and the scholarship itself goes above and beyond the definition of ‘full-ride.’ They will have all four years of school paid for, any extra fees through the school paid for, all visa paperwork and expenses covered, flights to and from Honduras each year included, and a living stipend so that they have a little extra spending cash to feel like normal college students. They were told on the same day via Skype – they were both informed that a university in the program was interested in them and wanted to do one final interview. While I did not witness Nelsy being told, I watched Darwin receive the news. The interviewers were very convincing and he carried himself quite professionally throughout that final ‘interview.’ All of us teachers were huddled together on the other side of the door listening in on his conversation and waiting for the right moment to cheer in congratulations! He was shocked and brought to tears the moment they told him he had won the scholarship and was invited to study at the University of the Ozarks, worry-free. Nelsy will be studying nearby at John Brown College.

Admittedly, my favorite scholarship belongs to Kevin. Think back to yet another blog post about my admissions counselor, Gary Camp, from Hope College ironically coming out to visit Honduras and we had the rare opportunity meet up to share about Hope with some of these students. One of those students was Kevin, and Gary told me that Kevin stood out to him the most and that I should really encourage him to apply; Gary felt very confident after meeting Kevin that he stood an extremely good chance of winning Hope’s only full-ride. Originally Kevin was not even sure he wanted to study in the US at all, but after a little encouragement and some of his own research, he decided to apply. If you are accepted to Hope College as an international student, they automatically award you a $13,000/year scholarship. The students also have the opportunity to apply for more money that includes a potential full-tuition or full-ride. Part of that application includes an interview so I worked with Kevin to provide information about Hope to help him answer the questions, practice the speaking part, and then also sat with him for an absurd amount of hours trying to get computers and internet to work in harmony so he could record the interview. Then all he could do was wait.

One night I receive an email from Gary titled, “Can you keep a secret from Kevin Noé Membreño?” My heart skipped a beat as I opened the email and read that Kevin had won the full-ride! I immediately leapt out of bed and woke up my roommates to tell them and celebrate! Gary also said in his email that he wanted us to tell Kevin in a fun way so the next morning Kara, Lenny, and I started scheming how we could deliver the news. We planned to have Kara lure him over to her house for help with grading while Lenny and I went the opposite direction to his house to talk with his grandmother. His grandmother is essentially his mother since she has raised him, and her many sacrifices over the years have made her the one person that Kevin loves more than anyone in this world. Lenny and I explained the scholarship and what it meant for Kevin, and that we wanted her to be the one to tell him because of her influence in his life. She promised to keep it a secret for one more day until we would come over the next day and surprise Kevin.

The following day we did the same thing: Kara asked Kevin to come over to help her grade while Lenny and I took off for his house. This time his aunt was there as well so we told her all about the award and reminded his grandmother of what to tell him. When Kevin and Kara came over later we all desperately tried to keep straight faces. His grandmother began by telling us what it was like to raise to Kevin and how his father did not even want him going to school past 6^th grade. When the bilingual school opened Kevin was a bit older than the rest of the students but she knew that if he stood a chance of success in life, this was it. She continued to do her absolute best to support him in his education despite their meager living conditions. When she finally ended her speech it was clear that she was not going to tell him about the scholarship. I asked her if she wanted to share with him the news we received and she simply replied, “No, you tell him.” The only thing I could think of in that moment, as my heart raced with excitement, was, “Kevin, I received an email from Gary Camp Friday night saying that you have won the full-ride scholarship to Hope.” His jaw and head immediately dropped as he was overcome with joy and tears. The rest of his reaction can only be described by this picture:

We are all extremely proud of Kevin and the challenges he has overcome to reach this point in his life. Attending to Hope is going to open countless doors for him and I am positive that he will give back to many people here in La Unión. I am so grateful that he has won this scholarship – the Lord is so good to him! I cannot wait to see how he does in Holland, Michigan next year!

All of these students are destined to do incredible things. The best part about those three students in particular, receiving full-ride scholarships, is that the rest of the world gets to see and recognize how great they are (it’s not just our bias)! Even the ones who are not going to study somewhere else are already on the path of greatness. Recently most of them took the Honduran college exams to see what track of education they are qualified to study for. Many of them received top scores and are planning to go on to be doctors, architects, teachers, lawyers, etc. Please be praying for all of the students as they take this next step. They have been in La Unión their whole lives and all been going to school together, as a group, since 3^rd grade. I can only imagine the mixture of excitement and fear they have as they anticipate leaving. Pray that the Lord continues to guide them along the way and reminds them that they are never alone in their endeavors. 

Panama City

Panama… been there, done that, and I have the hat to prove it!

In February we had a blessed 5-day weekend which left Molly, Sharon, and me with no choice except to jet off to a new country: Panama! As usual, no weekend is long enough (normal or with extra days) so the trip felt like really quick, but I would highly recommend the city to anyone and would love to return again someday. Even though it was a short trip, the three of us packed in as much touring as possible.

The Island of Tobago: Off the coast of Panama there are a series of little islands where you can escape the hustle and bustle of the city for a day and feel like you are in a tropical dream. We decided to spend a day at Tobago – in reality we did not have a choice of how much time we wanted to spend there because the ferry takes you in the morning, and then does not come back until late afternoon. With rented beach chairs and a big umbrella for shade, we found a perfect spot on the beach to park for the day. Sharon and I took a few kayaks out for a while to explore around the island. We went out early enough to avoid any waves or strong winds, and just floated through the water effortlessly. The water was such a beautiful blue in some parts, but unable to mask a sad reality in others. We learned that there is a lot of illegal oil trafficking through these islands and people are often careless with minor oil spills that are ruining the marine life. If you looked close enough, you could see a thin layer of oil sitting on top of the water. Unfortunately, because of this, the water was not ideal for soaking in, but we would dip in every once in a while to cool off from the hot, hot sun. Even still, for a little bit we played volleyball with a few other beach-goers in the water to avoid becoming total beach bums! (Warning: nerdy Spanish moment) I loved meeting other tourists on the island because we were coming from all corners of the world, and yet able to communicate with each other via a language that was not native to any of us.

The rest of the day was spent dozing in and out of siestas in our beach chairs, reading books, eating fresh fish, and exploring the beach. Some people discovered a turtle nest on a busy patch of the beach; sadly, since it was in a high-traffic area, the majority of the baby turtles had already died, but they managed to save a few! Have you ever seen a turtle so little? We babysat this little one for a while to keep hungry birds away while he got used to the water, and now we can only hope he is still swimming somewhere out in there in that big ocean. I also thought it would be fun to get all my little ones a souvenir from the beach (since in reality, most of them may never see the beach or the ocean in their lifetimes). I hunted all along the beach for the most beautiful shells and collected them to bring back to my students. I would like to boast and say that I successfully protected my white skin from the sun’s rays all day, but too much fun in the sun left me with my own souvenir: a sunburn. 

The Canal: What is Panama City better known for than the Panama Canal? It was inevitable that we would make time to visit this historically famous site. Coincidentally we visited during the 100^th year anniversary and celebration of the canal! We inquired about the best time to visit – we wanted to see the canal in action – so we went in the morning to watch boats go through. At the Miraflores Locks there are two chambers for boats to pass through and each one has two holding areas. When coming from the Pacific Ocean, the boats enter into the first holding area and wait for the water level to rise, then they pass into the second where they again wait for the water to rise more. Once the water is at the same level as the river that leads into the country, the boats are released to continue on their journey. While in the chambers, boats are hooked up to little moving cars along the side to help pass them through the canal and not bang into the sides. It is a slow process, taking about 45 minutes for each boat to move through the canal, but it is entirely fascinating to watch.

At the site of the canal you can wander through a museum dedicated to Panama and its world-famous canal. There was no need for us to hire a tour guide because we had acquired a regular taxi driver for the weekend and he volunteered to guide us through the museum. We learned all about the history of the canal and what the future holds for it. I found it interesting that the United States had complete control over the canal for so many years before finally handing over power to Panama. As well, the canal is man-made but I did not realize how drastically the land area changed in order to accommodate it. The river that connects one side of the country to the other, allowing boats to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, was not always a continuous river. La Corte de la Culebra, “the Snake’s Cut,” is rightfully named because the original builders had to literally cut through the hillside to extend the river towards the Pacific Ocean. The rock they blasted was used to build a highway that connects Panama City to a few of the islands along the coast. We also learned the future plans for the canal: they are in the process of building additional chambers to allow more boats to pass through in a day and to introduce a more efficient and economically-friendly process of doing so. However, plans have been halted as the engineers in charge of the project have changed. It truly is a historical marvel! 

Old Town: I absolutely fell in love with this part of the City. In the heart of a city that is very modern and westernized, there is a beautiful colonial neighborhood that has been well-preserved and offers a lot of history to the country. The streets are lined with old buildings that are intricately designed with bricks and columns, and vibrant with brightly colored doors and plants. This part of the city embodies so much history and culture to give insight to what Panama City was like before the modern world shaped into a metropolis. It is an area that is very much alive with Panamanian heritage and pride. We dined here one night at a traditional restaurant, Monola Caracol, that offers a 9-course meal. Each plate was served like tapas and we feasted on fresh seafood, colorful vegetables, homemade bread, and intriguing sauces. The most daring plate involved me eating whole-calamaris (tentacles intact), while the most delicious one included grilled fish, maize puree, and tomato jam. We thought we had died and gone to culinary heaven after this meal! 

We came back another day to see this part in the sun. We wandered through an artisanal market to shop for souvenirs and soak in the beautiful, hand-made crafts. I could not resist and bought the trademark Panama hat! (There is certainly not a shortage of them in that city.) Then we made our way through the streets to awe at the historical buildings. We were on a bit of a time crunch so we power-walked through the main parts, but took plenty of time to stop and snap photos. There were many churches, governmental buildings, and old homes to admire. I just cannot emphasize enough how much culture and character there was to be admired in this neighborhood! As well, there were some spots where you could see the contrast of what the city was and what it has turned into. Between alleys and around corners you could easily catch a glimpse of the city skyline as a backdrop. It was a harmonious mixture of the past way of life and the present reality.

The Amador Causeway: Remember when I mentioned that some of the rock that had been blasted away to build the canal was relocated to create a highway from Panama City to some of the nearby islands? That highway is called the Amador Causeway. We had two main reasons for going out there: alternative transportation and the biodiversity museum. After fueling up with another delicious, fresh seafood meal, we rented a bicycle to cruise around on. Have you seen one of these? It has always been Molly’s dream to ride in one, and she finally got to live it. There were plenty of bikes to choose from, giving the illusion that this was a popular activity to do on the Causeway, but we were the only ones taking advantage of this fun. We rented one for a couple of hours to help us get around the Causeway and see the different islands it connects. To be honest, the Causeway would be more or less not worth the time visiting if it weren’t for the hilarious fun we had on the bicycle. We caused quite the scene pedaling around and laughing hysterically (people who witnessed it were definitely laughing with us). We took turns pedaling (and simultaneously sweating), and driving or criticizing each other for almost running into oncoming traffic or inanimate objects. 

There is a biodiversity museum that is being built on the Causeway and while it is not ready to be officially open to the public, you can arrange a tour to see the progress on the inside. We walked through 4 exhibits. The first one displayed all of the diverse species of animals and plants that Panama has to offer. You could see which ones were more commonly found to the ones that are becoming extinct, if not already; as well, there was a list of all the causes for the disappearance of species. The second exhibit was my favorite! It was a 360 degree, panoramic video of the biodiversity found in Panama. There were just so many places to look and different things happening on each screen; it was a very engaging and intense exhibit. The third one displayed the geographical history of Panama via all the rocks and fossils found in the country. It was interesting to learn about how the land of Panama came together to connect two continents. The fourth, and last, display featured the history of Panama broken into categories: the people (natives and conquerors), the food (indigenous and evolved), the plants and animals, and the modern-day culture. The whole museum was beautifully done and you can feel the Panamanian pride soaked into each display. When the museum is finished and open for the public (a few years from now) it will surely be a spectacle and main tourist attraction. 

That sums up the majority of our time in Panama City! Other than all the touristy places we visited some highlights included our hotel (well-equipped with a high powered shower, dreamy beds, and a scrumptious breakfast buffet, our taxi driver turned best friend who eagerly escorted us around town, and a night out dancing on the 62^nd floor of the Hard Rock Café to welcome the start of Carnaval weekend. We turned every moment into a blast and made the absolute most of our trip!

Please be praying for the teachers who have decided to stay for another year! Jake (of course), Rachel (soon to be married to Jake), and Sharon have all decided to stay in La Union for another year, and that is great news! I know the students are thrilled to have them staying and it makes leaving easier too knowing that good people are staying behind. Pray that they prepare themselves for the year ahead while still finishing out this year with strength. Send up praises that God has called them to stay and continues to use them in marvelous ways here. They are huge blessings! 

Another Decision

It is the time of year again when we are asked to make a decision that answers a very big question: Do you want to stay and teach for another year?

I have decided not to. This is my second year working at Abundant Life Christian Schools in La Unión, Honduras, and I feel that my time is up.

When I think back to the moment I walked out of my initial interview with Jake, I could not have imagined what God had planned for me. It quickly became clear to me that this was the job God wanted me to pursue as I met new people who helped me with the transition, and I received incredible support from family and friends. Throughout both years the Lord continued to reveal himself through this job and I found myself more and more in awe with my incredible Father. It’s all in His timing and part of His perfect plan, right? His blessings and my ah-ha moments are endless but believe me, I can confidently look back on my time teaching here and know that I was exactly where God wanted/needed me, and my time was very well-served in this country.

I love my job. My students have captured my heart and I am not fully convinced that I will ever teach students who compare. They are adorable and loving (in ways that I do not deserve), and smart and ambitious to achieve brighter futures. For the vast majority of them, this education is their ticket out of La Unión to continue learning and growing; it is our hope that they then return to La Unión and pass on their knowledge to change the futures of others in return. They have been my reason for staying here and my daily motivation to persevere through life in a third-world country. My students have gone above and beyond my expectations and made this job immensely rewarding.

The job itself has provided me with an incredibly unique opportunity to start off my teaching career with. I am grateful to have had a lot of grace when I make mistakes, a lot of flexibility as I grow through trial and error, and a laid back environment where students forgive me quickly. Although I am primarily the 3^rd grade teacher, I have had the blessing of getting a chance to teach at the secondary level thus expanding my experiences. My skills have been pushed to extremes while trying to meet the needs of these students. I have been forced to become creative with classroom materials, lesson activities, and projects (without any aid from technology). I have had to re-write the curriculum and develop my own lessons that still cover the material students need to know. And I have had to become very flexible with ever-changing plans, limited resources, no substitute teachers on-hand, and cultural differences.

While all of these things have contributed to me growing vastly as a teacher in some areas, and allowing me to stand-out against other teachers with this unique experience/skill-set, I am discovering that I also feel like it has inhibited me in other areas. That is my primary reason for deciding to leave and return back to the States. Since teaching is the career that I am called into, I find myself deeply longing for a work place that fosters my growth as a professional rather than leaving me to figure things out on my own. My co-workers have always been exceptional and huge blessings, but they can only provide so much support – it’s not that they do not want to help, it’s often that they cannot. I desire to collaborate with other 3^rd grade teachers, math teachers, or even Spanish teachers (for the future) who know the situation and/or students better. It’s those kinds of seasoned co-workers that can offer experience-based advice that is more specific to my concerns. I also wish for more support from my administration. On a whole-school level, communication from the head-honchos is not ideal and we are often alerted of their decisions at the last minute. At my school, it would be nice to have a principal who speaks English in order to accurately supervise/observe me and offer constructive feedback to help me make appropriate changes or focus on certain positives.

There are too many moments when I am reminded that I very much work in a third-world country and it frustrates me. I have no standards to follow or anyone checking on me to make sure my students are reaching certain goals or educational milestones. And honestly, the curriculum is not my favorite to begin with so I am constantly changing it, unsupervised. I do not know how to incorporate technology into my classroom because the lights overhead are the best that I have. Even with the little technology available to us, that I rely on (mainly machines like the copier), I cannot control the power or their functionality so when they fail spontaneously, I feel desperate and helpless. As well, I often find myself being stretched beyond my limits with the amount of classes I already teach and then am asked to step-in and cover when someone is gone, or the extracurricular activities that are non-optional for me to participate in. My patience is constantly being pushed to the limits (God must love testing me that way) and it does not always feel necessary.

With those things being said, I still cannot speak highly enough about my two years in Honduras. Without an ounce of doubt, I will always look back on this time with a huge smile on my face and have a deep desire to return and hug my kiddos again. I think about really leaving (aka not definitely seeing those precious faces within the next year) and my heart starts to ache. I know it will be more than challenging to walk away but I know that the Lord will continue to provide for them and they will achieve incredible things, with or without me. There will be many more teachers that pass through their lives; I can only hope they never forget “Miss O.”! I will cling dearly to the relationships I have built here and the people that are going to stay for a big longer, just to keep in touch with the little ones I am leaving behind. As much as I have impacted their lives (hopefully for the better, and not traumatized them), they have been even bigger blessings in mine.

Thankfully I still have two more months of school so until then, I will cherish every moment with my nuggets. I will cling to their hands a little longer each day, give them an extra kiss, find ways to hear their giggles and reveal their toothless grins, and hold onto their little arms wrapped around me.

Please be praying for me as I look for a job back home. It is my heart’s desire to move back to Colorado and be close to my family – it’s been six years since I have lived at home and it is definitely time for me to go back. I am confident that the Lord has the perfect job planned for me, but it’s all part of his timing for when I find about that job. Pray that I have patience throughout the search and am actively seeking his guidance. Pray for confidence as I partake in interviews and send samples of my professional work to schools. Pray that He gives me the wisdom when it comes down to it on where to accept a position. And until that decision is clear, may I just fully enjoy my final months here surrounded by the students who are my reason for working every day and fill my life with too much joy!

Fiesta Tipica

I have been looking forward to this day all year! If I could pick one weekend for you to come visit, this would be it. In my opinion, this one day is way more worth a trip to Honduras than visiting the hottest “tourist” spots in the country. It’s a day when our students and their families can be proud of and celebrate their Honduran heritage. To me it represents a rare day when the school community comes together to put on a fundraiser like none other.

The students all don traditional outfits that make them look like pint-sized adults trapped in children’s bodies. The boys wear jeans with button-up shirts, both covered in colorful patches. Their western boots were made for walking paired with cowboy hats and flashy belt buckles. The girls get all dolled up with beautiful dresses, intricate braids, and a little too much make-up. Bright colors can be seen everywhere as they adorn these kids’ outfits! Last year I did not join in the traditional clothing but this year I decided to embrace my new-found Honduran self. I had a beautiful dress made for me in the traditional-Honduran fashion. The dresses are big with lots of ruffles and panels that stretch out into a flowing, grandeur dress. They are ideal for twirling around like a Honduran princess.

They took the traditional dresses to another level this year. The day included an “India Bonita” competition amongst the primary and secondary girls. Each grade had one or two representatives that would create a dress using only materials from the Earth and that are native to Honduras. (Emelyn and Xochtil were the indias for 3^rd grade.) These dresses that the girls made were beyond anything I had imagined! They used coffee, beans, corn, feathers, leaves, flowers, and shells or husks from fruits and vegetables. The girls walked down a ‘runway’ in these ornate dresses with poise and grace. The secondary girls had an added element of answering a question that pertained to their opinion or knowledge about Honduras. Only one girl – the 2^nd grade contestant – was escorted by an “indio” and that was my favorite feature of the whole program. This little boy courageously walked down the aisle in a barely-there burlap outfit that resembled something Tarzan would wear. But peeking out from his loin cloth were his little green underpants! Too cute. The elected winners were Jhosselyn from 5^th grade and Sara from 12^th grade. All of the girls looked absolutely beautiful!

Another one of my favorite features of the day is the little village that pops up on the school grounds. Our students’ families come together to make this a memorable event and I am always impressed with the end result. The men are in charge of creating “champas,” or huts, for the women to sell food out of. I am convinced that if you asked fathers, uncles, and brothers to do the same thing in the States, they would not produce anything remotely similar or as impressive. This year each grade was assigned a department in Honduras to represent with their champa – they had to construct it, decorate it, and sell food out of it that was unique to their particular department. The men pulled together bamboo, palm leaves, grass, tree stumps, and Lord knows what else to construct the champas. All next to each other, it really does look like a small village. This year 3^rd and 4^th grade teamed up to build one together. We represented the department of “El Paraíso” and sold chocobananos (chocolate covered bananas), rice in milk, green mangos, and water.

Also new this year, we decided to have a “foreigners” hut and sell our own typical food from it. the champa was not nearly as extravagant as what the other grades made, but our food was quite popular. We made and sold pizza, cookies (sugar, oatmeal chocolate chip, and mint chocolate chip), brownies, and welsh cakes. All of our food was a hit and we were sold out of it very quickly! I, of course, love all the food options this day has. I eat enough food for an entire day’s meals. There are so many delicious menus to choose from – baleadas, horchata, pupusas, oranges, chocobananos, chicken, tajadas, carn asada, lemonade, soup… whatever you could ask for (and is a traditional meal found in Honduras)!

The day is filled dancing as well. All of the primary grades dance to traditional songs and put on a show. The songs range from romantic ballads to ranchera tunes to upbeat punta numbers. The kids all shake their little hips in a true-Honduran fashion. They twirled around, danced in lines, clapped their hands, tipped their hats, swirled their dresses, and marched to the beat of catchy Honduran music. My girls this year are huge dancers so they looked spectacular up there! It was such a marvelous day celebrating Honduras with brightly-colored outfits, delicious food, delightful dances, and families all coming out to support their children and our school. Fiesta Tipica acts as a fundraiser for the school and this year they raised 37,000 Lempiras which is equivalent to $1,850. It was definitely a successful and fun-filled day for everyone!

Please be praying for one of our teachers who is returning to the States tomorrow to be with her family for the whole week. Her family is experiencing a time of deep turmoil and heartache so she decided to go home to be with them and support them with her love as best she can. Pray for her peace of mind with leaving her classes in our hands for the week so that she can better focus on her family. Pray that God is ever present with her whole family and he guides them through this troubling time. They all greatly need your prayers this week.