Restoring Faith in Honduran Humanity

People can say what they want about the safety of this country (stranger danger) and how Hondurans can be unfriendly towards foreigners, and I would probably agree with you for the most part, but every once in a while there is a shining star in the crowd. I believe that no matter where you are it’s always refreshing to come across this type of person and it restores your faith in humanity – there are genuinely good people who exist that are not burdened when asked for help, in fact they readily offer assistance when a situation like ours arises, and they ask for nothing in return. They help out of the goodness of their heart.

Recently, we were traveling out of La Unión for one of our long weekends when Jake’s car got a flat tire. We hadn’t reached the safe haven of paved roads yet so Jake inquired at a house if he could pull his car into their cement lot in order to have a flat surface to change his tire on. As soon as Jake pulled in, this man named Roberto took over. He was on the ground, underneath the car before Jake could even bend over (maybe because as a Honduran he was naturally closer to the ground than Jake’s tall body) and putting the car up on jacks. There was no problem getting the flat tire off and putting on the spare, but that was the easy part. The spare was flat too. Before Jake even had time to worry about what to do next, the man was offering the spare tire from his own truck. He took one look at the tires to compare their sizes and determined that Jake’s car could definitely handle the truck’s spare.

As if Roberto was not generous enough changing the tire and giving us his spare, both without hesitation, he was not even worried about getting his tire back. We were leaving town on a Saturday and weren’t planning be back through until Monday, so Jake asked him if he was ok waiting until Monday for the tire. He responded with recommending a repair shop to stop at once we reached the city (his friend owned it) and said we could just leave the tire there – he would pick it up himself whenever he got around to it. What a guy! We were all blown away by his kindness and generosity. It was as if, in those short 30 minutes, we had become close friends and he trusted us completely. On our way back from vacationing we stopped by his house and brought his family strawberries (a rare fruit to find) as a meager thank you for everything he had done for us.

Roberto’s willingness to help and give was refreshing. He reminded me to not be so guarded with strangers. There are occasions when showing kindness to others is more important than self-preservation. It reminds me of the idea of paying it forward: if someone does something kind for you, turn it around and do something kind for three strangers you come across, and eventually everyone will be touched by kindness. I hope Roberto’s story brings a little warmth to your heart and renews your faith in humanity, just like he did for me. 

Splishin and a Splashin and a little White Raftin

The first half of the year is peppered with long weekends to help school pass by a little quicker.  It’s perfect for getting out of La Unión (when it’s easy to feel trapped here) and explore what the rest of this country has to offer. Last year we were constantly scouring the travel guide books to figure out what crazy adventure we could find for the next break. We quickly hit all the hot spots in Honduras and saw the highlights. This time around, since I’ve already done all the major touristy things, I’ve looked forward to my breaks being a little more relaxed. I have no problem re-visiting those places because now I get to look for the hidden gems in each town – which not every tourist finds at first glance.

Admittedly our first long weekend vacation choice was driven by my need for adventure. Last year for Christmas my sister and I went to the coastal town of La Ceiba and the one thing that we didn’t get to, that I had really wanted to do, was the white-water rafting. I had heard scintillating rumors that the rafting in Ceiba was not only the best rafting in Honduras (which, to be honest, was not a shock so much as hearing that Honduras even had rafting) but that the river was genuinely rough and boasted crazy rapids; so the rafting promised to be thrilling! I had to go back and eagerly recommended it to everyone for our 4-day weekend off.

My awesome persuading powers were successful and we soon were all piling into Jake’s car for our mini-vacation. Everything else that I did in La Ceiba over that weekend is meaningless next to the rafting. The hotel was nice, the food was average, the mall was cool, the grocery store was neat… but the rafting! (My whimsy for big cities has slowly diminished since living in La Unión is not this giant, mind-blowing transition this time.)

The Cangrejal River winds through a valley that splits two national forests in Honduras. You are surrounded by pure, natural beauty and many eco-lodges. Over the weekend that we were there it had rained a considerable amount so it wasn’t exactly safe or recommended for us to start rafting at the very top. When Honduras in general seems to lack concern for safety, I truly appreciate the moments when someone is looking out for us and guides us into safer situations. We drove along the river until the guides found a starting location where they felt confident enough in us as river navigators and the river itself to start the journey. Once they picked the ideal location, I knew in my heart they were spot on as soon as I saw the ‘Colorado’ license plate hanging from the gate. Perfection.

There were 6 of us girls, 2 guides, and 2 boats. Rachel (Suby-Long) and I, being the Colorado natives that we are, were the only two of us teachers who had ever been rafting before. My crew consisted of Kate and Rachel (Liscombe), and our fearless leader, Victor. We named ourselves the ‘vampire bats’ and came up with our own bat battle cries. We felt ferocious. Before embarking down the river we practiced in a little cove; we worked to synchronize our rowing forward, backward, and on opposite sides, and diving into the boat for safety. (Bragging rights: at the beginning, our guide demanded more from Kate and Rachel because the two of them rowing on one side together was not matching the strength of my lone soul rowing on the other side.) Finally Victor found his confidence in us and we were ready to begin!

We swiftly paddled from one rapid to another, always rowing out of them with grace. We were soaked from head to toe as water continually blinded us and flooded our raft with each dip into a rapid. (Earlier that day I had checked with our hotel liaison if our trip was still scheduled to go since it had been raining. She laughed at my because she misunderstood me and thought I was worried about getting wet when in reality I was trying to figure out if the water levels had risen too high, potentially making it too dangerous for us to go. Darn language barrier.) A few times I was a little worried about losing a contact from the force of the water splashing into my face! On one or two instances we had to abandon our paddling and dive into the raft to avoid all being tossed out. I am pleased to announce that my leg has a natural survival instinct programmed into it – I almost fell out but as my body was leaning dangerously closer and closer to the river, my leg reached out and wrapped itself around Kate’s leg to keep me from falling completely in. Kate’s mouth met my fist on one bouncy rapid and then met her own paddle during another, giving her a slight fat lip (but this was the only blood spilt in our boat). The other boat did not have as much luck as we did. Molly fell in during one of the first rapids; it was a little scary to watch her body being rushed towards some unfriendly rocks. And while trying to haul her back into the raft, the guide lost his stability, yelled “Oh shit!” and then tumbled in after her. Thankfully they both were fine. Through it all we were always in a fit of laughter by the end of each rapid because of how much fun it was!

We stopped for a snack break half way through the trip. They sliced up some juicy pineapple and poured refreshing iced tea for us to indulge in. The second part of the river journey was much more subdued and risk-free. It felt more like a lazy river as we just floated down it and moseyed our way to the end. (I think Molly greatly appreciate the change in pace after being tossed out earlier.) Our raft was dying for one final hoorah (maybe have someone launched into the river or play bumper boats to the death with the others) but no such craziness happened. We floated safely to our destination, but we were still all smiles from the trip. It is something that I am very glad that I went back for and would recommend any tourist to go take part in!

Pray for our safety as we have another long weekend ahead of us and will all be traveling around the country. This year is a little different in that we don’t all travel as a herd of gringos; we’ve been picking separate destinations and heading in opposite directions. Would you please pray for everyone as we travel to different cities over this weekend? Pray for smooth bus rides, easy transitions, and safety wherever we find ourselves. 

Kid Tested, Teacher Approved

Children’s Day can only accurately be defined as a day, unlike any other, to celebrate and rejoice in the lives of the Honduran children we teach. The objective is to pack in as much fun as we can into a half day of school and inject as much sugar as legally possible into their tiny little bodies. Controlled chaos is what it really is (the ‘controlled’ part may not be as obvious as the ‘chaos’ part). Would you accept that mission?

I always walk away from days like these and just collapse into a heap on the couch from exhaustion. I have this great, on-going inner debate about which is more torturous – teaching a full day with my munchkins or trying to entertain and manage them for a half day of mandated fun? The half days seem to always kick my butt a lot more than the alternative. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting to embrace my inner child and play alongside of them, but in reality the day is all about them, not about me whatsoever. I have to remember that I am the adult, I am the responsible one, and I am the one in charge so I have to act my age. (What a stupid notion!) Thankfully it is just a half day so I only have to survive until lunch when I can rejuvenate my body with a delicious meal followed by a well-deserved nap. And the real silver lining? I get to send my hyper and sugar-fueled students back home to their parents. Ha!

This year the fun of Children’s Day was not just handed to our students, they had to earn it. We still had the first two hours of classes in the morning. (If we were going to put up with that chaos to come, they would have to tolerate a little teasing of our own.) But it wasn’t long before the madness unfolded. Rachel and I decided to join forces and have a joint 3^rd/5^th grade event for our students. Our brilliant idea was to put on the Marshmallow Olympics! We would gather them all together and pass the marshmallow torch to commence the games. Then we would test their balance and speed in a marshmallow relay by balancing a marshmallow on a spoon and making them carry the spoon in their mouth while running down the court. Following that race we would require them to step up their strength and hand-eye coordination in a marshmallow toss to see who could throw the farthest while their partner caught the marshmallow in a cup. The ultimate challenge was the last one: a battle royal with marshmallow shooters. They would need to either become sharp-shooters aiming the marshmallow ammunition at the others running by and trying to nail them, or be swift while dodging through the marshmallows to get to the opposite side. (If all else failed we had planned a task for the stretchy-cheeked: the classic ‘chubby bunny.’) Our expectations were high for the Marshmallow Olympics.

Our event was not executed as perfectly as we had envisioned it. We couldn’t get the marshmallow torch lit to pass amongst the students. They outsmarted us with the relay by licking the marshmallow and sticking it the spoon so it could not fall off. We didn’t even make it to the marshmallow toss. And the marshmallow shooters all broke one by one as the balloons snapped off the cups. Thankfully we were playing with marshmallows and what child doesn’t love those sugary little puffs? Most of them quit at one point or another and just feasted on the marshmallows we had given them. (So it’s almost like we played chubby bunny!) Although you probably won’t be seeing our Marshmallow Olympics featured on ESPN or ABC News, the day was not a total loss and the kids had fun with it!

As well, the 11^th and 12^th grade students were divided up amongst the primary grades and asked to put on a few activities for each class to help with the day. I was very glad to hand over my little ones to these guys. They started by playing a game where pairs of students competed against each other to hold an orange between their foreheads while dancing to music. They looked so goofy dancing while their heads were stuck together! Then they adorned everyone’s faces with face paint. The girls looked very pretty with swirls and flowers dancing across their faces. And then boys looked ferocious with war markings splashed across theirs. With fresh paint they headed outside for silly races. My students competed in the traditional potato sack relay (except here in Honduras we use rice sacks) and the race that requires you to spin around in a million circles before stumbling back to your line. Those kids spent the majority of each race on the ground in a fit of laughter. They were just not coordinated enough to finish each race. I was laughing equally as hard on the sidelines.

The day finished with the mayor making an appearance and handing out toys to all the students, a giant conga line around the school, and candy of course. I let out a big sigh of relief when the bell finally rang for all the students to go home because all the sugar and noise left with them. I am genuinely glad to spend the day celebrating my students. I love watching them being kids and just having fun. I think it’s healthy for them run around screaming their heads off and inhaling sugar in various forms (once in awhile). I love them dearly and will always accept the opportunity to celebrate them. They are giant blessings my life and deserve a day to recognize how incredible and delightful they are.

Although Children’s Day is all about the students, I am sending up prayers for the teachers. Pressure is coming from all angles. Some are beginning to move past the honeymoon period of moving here and really feeling homesick for their families, friends, and comforts back home. Others are being tested and pushed to their limits by the students. Whatever the reason may be, we cannot afford to have anyone throw in the towel and go home. Pray that the Lord reaches their needs, whatever they may be, and gives them the strength to fight through. I feel like this is a common pray that I have here, but it is completely necessary. Our efforts are not enough for this job. We all need the Lord to guide us. I pray that he works through the students and teachers alike to ease the tension and make this job a little easier for those who are feeling weak. 

Simplicity

Every morning I like to start my day by drinking a cup of coffee (for physical energy) and reading through my daily devotions (for spiritual energy). I read through one a couple of days ago that I thought was very fascinating and thought-provoking because it delivered a message I have grown up hearing but from a different viewpoint. It has been the focus topic in the past few whole-group devotions we hold once a week with the primary grades. I also recently had a conversation with the pastor of our church here with the same theme. I feel like God has been hinting at it in my life in many ways so I am sharing my thoughts. Here it is: (from “The One Year Walk with God Devotional” by Chris Tiegreen)

Death, the Equalizer
All can see that wise men die; the foolish and the senseless alike perish and leave their wealth to others. Psalm 49:10

IN WORD     It is one of life’s greatest mysteries. We who were created for eternity and given the capacity for eternal affections often place those affections on transient things. We are all capable of the Sinai treason: While God was speaking eternal truth to Moses on the mountain, the Israelites were in the valley worshiping a golden calf. A piece of metal. No breath, no life, no power – just an earthly material that shines. God still speaks eternal truth by His Spirit and the Word, and we still worship gold. The mysteries of life rarely change.
                Perhaps “worship” seems a little harsh. We all know that having wealth isn’t the same as wealth having us. We can own it and use it without being controlled by it. But our sense of mastery over our possessions is often an illusion and always a dangerous temptation. Far too easily, our things begin to own us. We do not bow down and sing their praises, but we would bow down in grief if they were taken from us. We’re far more attached than we think.
                This wisdom psalm by the sons of Korah is right: Death is the great equalizer. Those who have wealth and those who do not will all have exactly the same amount when they breathe their last breath. We leave this world as we came into it – naked and destitute. We may have been well taken care of in our stay here, but none of our comforts last. Wealth for its own sake it only as meaningful as the dirt we’re buried in.

IN DEED     What is our way out of this trap? Most of us do not resolve to go through this life as ascetic monks and nuns or as poor beggars. We have money and we use it often. What is the spirituality in that? We can leverage temporal wealth for eternal purposes. God has made that possible. The money that decays tomorrow can be invested in the lives that last forever. Riches and godliness can be a powerful combination. Wisdom ensures that they are.

When I read this I immediately thought of an incident with my friend a few summers ago: she got in a minor car accident and although she walked away from the accident injury-free, she could not stop wailing about her car being totaled. She kept saying that she had really loved that car and worked so hard to buy it, and it was such a nice car for a great price and she was never going to find another one like it… I could not believe that we were having that conversation! I would have expected her to be rejoicing that she was unharmed in the accident instead of complaining about her vehicle. Her well-being and potentially her life vs. a material possession that could be replaced.

It’s a message we commonly hear: do not have any idols or worship material things. Or even: your life is not measured but what you have but by what you have done. Moving to Honduras has really put those thoughts into perspective for me. It’s a lot harder to notice the hold that material things have on me when they are in my hand than it is when they are stripped away from me. While I may not think that I am making material things idols, taking them away from me really puts things into perspective. I have had to give up a lot of my material things, and I often find myself whining that I do not have them or desperately wishing that I could have them again. But the more time I spend in La Unión and witness the people who have spent their whole lives here, I realize that my life is better without all those things that I think I ‘need’ or simply ‘cannot live without.’

Take for example cell phones. When I was home over the summer I could not help but notice how glued to their cell phones people have become. It is a giant pet-peeve of mine when I am sitting with someone having lunch, getting coffee, or just hanging out and they are more hypnotized by their phones than focused on having a genuine conversation with a real-life person right in front of them. It’s not only entirely irritating, but I find it very rude and embarrassing. Do we really need to check Facebook or our email every 10 seconds? Are we really that determined to get to the next level in a game and have bragging rights over our friends? But here, I hardly ever use my phone is and I could care less if I knew where it was. Anyone I need to talk is within a two minute walk and I would rather see their face than read their message. (In fact, we’ve been living here for more than a month now and I still don’t have all the teachers’ phone numbers locked into my phone.) I’ve learned that I really do not need all those apps to make my life interesting.

My life is so de-cluttered here. Living simply is not that difficult – it may be shocking at first and hard to cope with at times (especially coming from somewhere like the US) – and it is entirely rewarding. Look at the people who live here: their lives are drastically different but I would not say that they are worse off because of it. They have developed different talents and skills to get through their daily lives, most things that I, simply put, cannot do. There may not be a washer or dryer in the whole town, but these women can make the most stained clothing item look brand new. Kids won’t learn how to use a computer until they are much older, but they can still computer numbers, write papers, and create their own games to play. No one owns a lawn mower but they have machetes to trim the grass around their homes. The list could go on and on and my friends and family back home are always shocked to hear how people live here. There is always this moment of feeling sorry for the population of La Unión but it seems silly to feel that way since this devotion tells us that we, as citizens of a first-world country, will leave this Earth on the same level of these people from a third-world country.

The pastor from our church here took his family on a trip to the United States for the first time ever this past summer holiday. He told me that after seeing the US he now has a deeper appreciation for the teachers who come down here. He kept talking about the great sacrifices we make by leaving our homes, families, and comforts just to teach the children here; he focused so heavily on the material lives that we come from and how much easier it is where we call home. I wanted to stop him during his rant to tell him that we were incredibly blessed to be down here. We are given such a unique opportunity to see a different way of living and to learn from the families we interact with. I feel like I am becoming a better person by minimalizing certain areas in my life so that I can grow in new ways. I do not have fast food restaurants or even grocery stores with easy-to-make dinners so instead I am learning how to cook things from scratch, and loving it! I am building incredible relationships with people just by spending my time sitting and talking with them rather than watching tv or surfing the internet. I can take a shower and flush the toilet without any running water in the vicinity, both very valuable life skills.

My relationship with the Lord has been affected the most. Without all these constant distractions in my life I find my mind wandering into praise more and more often. I have plenty of time to contemplate and mediate on my devotion every day since I do not have tv, internet, my phone, stores, etc. to demand my attention. I am surrounded by his beauty found in nature and in the genuine goodness found in people’s hearts. We often find ourselves getting into religious conversations about our pasts or things we witnessed throughout the week. And we get to share our faith with our students and help them develop into men and women of God. The only word I can think of to accurately describe how it feels to surround myself with pure and holy things is: refreshing. Even the people in this town have shown a deeper and more intense faith than I am accustomed to see. Since they do not have resources like medicine, education, or food, they pray fervently to the Lord every single day (you can hear their prayers rising up from the church or from their power circles or from their homes) and they rely on him to meet their needs and answer their cries. It is incredible how many miraculous things happen in this community. If you need to renew your faith, come here. A great majority of the people in La Unión has figured out how to live their lives in full devotion to the Lord, and the day that I die, I will leave this Earth just like them – empty-handed. 

If these boys were Superheroes

As soon as I knew that I would be returning for a second year of teaching here I started to scope out the 2^nd graders since they were my future students. I wanted to identify and know them before starting the school year in August so I could anticipate what my class would be like. My assumptions and expectations have been smashed by some and amplified by others. Here they are in their cute forms!

Abner ­– The Gentle Giant. This guy may be large but he is full of sweetness. (His older brother is in my 8^th grade math class and they are two of a kind.) He is so jolly all the time and can turn into the biggest giggle-bug in the classroom. He is not very smart but he makes it easy on me to be patient with him and work a little harder. He wants to succeed and I love that attitude in him. Whenever he knows the answer and is dying to give it, instead of yelling “Miss! Miss! Miss!” like the others, he puts both hands in the air (touchdown style) to increase his chances of being called on. He is very artistic and draws some hilarious pictures – to emphasize his boyish kindness he recently decorated one of our vocab cards with flames and hearts. He has a big crush on Kara and is already planning out his moves on how to take Lenny’s place in her life.

Carlos – The Bouncy Ball. Boy does this little guy have energy and he never tires out during the day. It would take bungee cords and superglue to keep him in his seat, and a leash to keep track of him when we go outside. For how energetic he is, I am really impressed with the excellent grades he gets. I would have thought that with all that bodily activity going on he would hardly have any time to pay attention in class, but he does! He gets some of the best grades in the class and it still surprises me. My favorite thing about him is that whenever he raises his hand, he always seems to forget why he put it up. There is an inevitable time lapse between when I call on him and when he remembers his question for me. (Almost like his body just had a major twitch that resulted in his hand inexplicably going in the air so he feels like he needs to ask something.) He also gets a really concerned look on his face when he asks to go to the bathroom so I hardly ever say no to him – I don’t need any accidents in my classroom!

Elman – The Repeat… he’s back! This face may be familiar to you because he was in my class last year. If a student has a failing average (from all the quarter grades) in any class by the end of the year, it is Honduran law that the student gets an opportunity to take a cumulative test in that subject. If they pass this recuperation exam, they move up to the next grade but if they fail then they are considered for being held back. Elman had 5 recuperation tests to take: Reading, Language, Spelling, Science, and Basic English. He actually passed two (Spelling and Basic English) but failed the other three so the principal and I had a meeting to decide what was best for him. He struggled all year in my class and I highly recommended that he be held back. His English was low and he would always be at the bottom of his class if he continued on. I wanted to give him the chance to succeed. Since I was his teacher last year, I already know how to work accommodate for him. The repeat material would be really great to develop his English. He is already doing great in my class! He has his moments of confirming my decision in holding him back because of low grades, but he equally has his moments where I am proud of his progress. I still love this little guy with a fierce love.

Francis – The Musician. If you hear desk-drumming or singing in my classroom, I guarantee you it is coming from Francis. Because of him, I am looking for more ways to incorporate music into my classroom and lessons because he is, without a doubt, musically-minded. He is famous amongst the primary grades for his solos during our weekly devotionals. (He is a Honduran Justin Beiber in the making.) He is too smart for me to keep up with. Also because of him, I need to come up with challenging extra work for early-finishers because he races through anything I give him and almost always gets 100%. When that happens, the artist inside of him gets working right away on a drawing or a paper creation. For now I let him work on those types of things because I know he understands the material and this way he is staying quiet and well-behaved. He is also too cute for me to punish because he has some killer dimples on those cheeks!

Gersan – Mr. Smooth. Just thinking about this little boy makes my heart flutter – he is beyond adorable! I know he is 9, but doesn’t he have such a great baby face? He is such a little gentleman and would look great in a miniature tuxedo. His intelligence is out of this world and he is always eager to participate in class – he practically crawls out of his seat and onto his desk trying to reach his hand higher while shouting “I! I! I!” He is such an obedient child and will do any task that I ask of him. He is one that I want to protect and to not let Honduras change his kind heart; his innocence is something I genuinely admire. He helps anyone in class and keeps the other kids in line for me. I could see him being a great pastor some day.

Juan – The Monkey Man. It may sound cruel but look at that face… and paired with his monkey noises? The resemblance is uncanny. Juan is my oldest at 11, but has the tiniest little body (despite the size of his head). Whenever I see him outside of school he runs and jumps on me with a giant monkey-hug. His smile is the definition of contagious and I will do anything to see it each day. He is a little lower on the academic level but just needs additional work. I recently had to spend extra time with him practicing addition-with-carrying math problems; after 20 minutes of working together something finally clicked and he has not gotten a problem like that wrong since! When he finally understands things, those are the moments when I feel the most proud as a teacher. He will raise his hand as many times as it takes for him to get the right answer in class.

Matias – The Strongman. He is already too grown to be one of my cute little boys. He doesn’t give out hugs and he doesn’t draw me any hearts. Thankfully he doesn’t have a sour attitude or make fun of the other boys, he just isn’t into all that sentimental junk anymore. (I think I can excuse him for this because I get my fair share of hearts and hugs from everyone else.)He isn’t very outspoken in general. He just kind of sits in his chair in the back corner and decides to participate every once in a while. He does have a soft side and will help the girls who sit around him with their work. He is decently smart but could benefit from paying attention a little more. I have no real complaints about this kiddo! He’s just your average kid – not a real tough guy but certainly not a softy.

Please pray for each of my little men by name. Pray for their spiritual and academic growth throughout the year. Pray that the Lord would provide me with the right wisdom and techniques to teach them in the best way. Also pray for their homes and families, because each one comes with a story that would surely break your heart. Living here is no dream but these boys are given an opportunity for a significantly better life with this education.

My Pretty-Pretty Princesses

As soon as I knew that I would be returning for a second year of teaching here I started to scope out the 2^nd graders since they were my future students. I wanted to identify and know them before starting the school year in August so I could anticipate what my class would be like. My assumptions and expectations have been smashed by some and amplified by others. Here they are in their cute forms!

Bessy – Confession: she could pass as a relative of my previous student, Geovanny, whom I had a particularly difficult time finding positive things to say about and being patient with in class. I was worried that every time I would look into her face I would see his and just cringe. Thankfully that is not the case! (Not only did I learn to like Geovanny but I also never think of him when I see this little girl.) She is very intelligent. She gets excellent scores on any assignment that I give her and since alphabetically she is at the top of the list, I typically use her papers as an answer guide for the rest. It is super encouraging as a teacher to start off grading with such an academically-strong student!

Emelyn – Emelyn reminds me of a fairy. She is really clever and catches onto new concepts quickly, but she is usually lost in her own world while learning. I frequently find her wandering over to something on the wall or to another student’s desk, but without her really realizing that she’s out of her seat. When she’s doing her work, she just sort of whimsically sits there until she completes it, and then her little voice pops up to participate in the group lesson or let me know that she is finished. She is also very girly with her beautiful long hair and assortment of bows and head bands. She has a weird obsession with organizing things on my desk and after one occasion when she completely rearranged my bookshelf, making it frustratingly difficult to find anything, I have had to keep a close eye on her and ask her to stop.

Eny Yulisa – This little one embodies the word ‘precious.’ She is the tiniest girl in my class, possibly even in the whole school. Her noggin barely reaches my hips when she hugs me every morning and her feet do not quite reach the floor while she’s sitting in her desk. She is incredibly smart, loves to use her English, and she works carefully through class, hardly getting anything wrong. She’ll spend her lunches just sitting with us teachers and chatting away; just the way she talks can almost be characterized as proper and poised, she could talk even the cruelest person into saying ‘yes’ to her! My favorite thing she does is she will ask to use one of my markers and when I say yes, she will run across the room shouting “Wahoo!” Then she will ask to switch out her one marker for a different a color and when I say yes again, she will bounce right back across the room shouting “Wahoo!” And let’s be honest, how can you not love those dimples?!

Gabriela – She may not be the smartest crayon in the box, but she has her shining moments. She is actually really clever in Reading class and I am impressed with how developed her comprehension skills are. She is a slow worker and loves to color coordinate all her notes. When she smiles her eyes crease and for a moment I have a little “chinita” in my classroom. (Although, this picture makes her out to be a tough girl.) Whenever we do a fun, physical activity she gets into it the most and always ends up at my side loving every moment of the lesson. Her inner joy for life is so contagious.

Gissela – (The ‘G’ is pronounced like an ‘H’) She is ridiculously quiet but when she starts giggling, you are guaranteed to erupt with laughter because she is so dang cute. She is such a soft-spoken and sweet little girl – whenever I glance over at her she is usually swinging her legs, twirling her hair, and grinning back at me. I have already grown a soft spot in my heart for her because she is not the most popular or social girl in the class, but there are countless things to cherish about her, she just needs a little encouragement to come out of her shell. She is a very slow worker so I constantly have to stand over her to keep her focused. She loves bringing flip books over to me and making me guess what is underneath each flap.

Karla Nohelia – What a smarty pants this one is. I was nervous about having her in class because she is our principal’s daughter, and her father is a teacher at the public school, but she is great. She knows the answer to everything and has a hard time raising her hand before talking or keeping her mouth shut when someone else cannot figure out the answer. (We have had a little conversation about giving everyone an equal chance to participate in class.) She is also very girly and is constantly twirling her way around my classroom or doodling flowers and hearts on her page. She is a leader in the classroom amongst the girls and very confident in herself. I can always count on her to help me out if needed.

Lenny – Lenny is very shy. She is quiet like Gissela but barely even interacts with her classmates. (However, I have seen her at home and that is where she comes alive!) Jake told me that the first time he sat down with her and her family to let them know that she had gained acceptance into our school, she bawled her eyes out. I’m very glad she is at the school because she has a lot of great potential. She is extremely smart and will always do well in school. I make sure to call her every time her hands go up because it is such a rare occurrence. I wish everyone would behave like her because she spends most of her time just sitting quietly in her chair and waiting for directions. She is also very artistic and creative. When we made our class puzzle pieces, she turned hers in last and had created a masterpiece. She is such a diligent worker and always turns out amazing work!

Noemi – She is my little shadow. She is also a bit on the soft-spoken side but she sure loves to talk to me. If she’s not glued to my hip, I am guaranteed to find her trailing close behind. I am already falling in love with her greatly because she seems like one who undeservedly lacks a lot of attention at home. She is so curious during class and always rummaging through my things to discover something new. She participates more frequently in class and learns the new material pretty rapidly. She absolutely hates reading so I am going to have my work cut out for me trying to change her mind. She is full of love and has already drawn me a beautiful picture that reads, “I love you too much.” Gah, my heart melts for her!

Ricxi – She is another sweetheart in the group but a little more sensitive than the others. Her father told me that she has been bullied in the past by the other girls so I keep a careful eye on her. She gets fussy when things don’t go her way either with her friends or is she does not understand the lesson. She constantly asks me to check her work step-by-step so that she is confident there will be no mistakes. I think it’s fair to say that she requires a little more patience from me, but I never want one of my students to feel inferior. She draws me some beautiful pictures and makes sure to say thank you as often as she can. She is the most willing to help me pass things out, clean up, collect papers, or organize the classroom. I sincerely hope this year is better for her.

Rut – Rut is by far my sassiest girl. She can get the attitude that she runs my classroom or like she is entitled to anything she wants; she is not one to take the word ‘no’ easily. Because of this she is probably my most troublesome girl in the bunch. She doesn’t like listening to my orders so I find myself having to shout to get her attention and repeating requests with her. However, her energy is infectious and she is always smiling. (I just need to learn how to channel her energy into productivity.) She loves to dance! She likes to organize and lead a group of girls in a dance number for the weekly primary devotions. It is absolutely adorable to watch her up there shimmying and shaking her little booty in front of everyone. She is a fearless risk-taker!

Sofia – Her verbal English is outstanding. Rolando (one of my spectacular students from last year) is her cousin, and her two older brothers are in 9^th grade so she gets a lot of practice and exposure to the language at home. She can carry a normal conversation with you in English and she often translates for her classmates if no one understands what I am saying. However, every superstar has their weakness and hers is math. It does not come as easily to her so I have to find extra time to work with her. She may be pint-sized but she has a loud presence in the classroom. She is small but also comes with a lot of sass. She is another leader amongst the girls and is never afraid to voice her opinion. I hope she learns to use that power for good because a lot of the other girls really do look to her for help.

Xotchil – (Pronounced “so-chi”) She is the psychologist’s daughter. The psychologist joined our team last February when Abundant Life’s orphanage moved to La Unión and her daughter ‘audited’ 2^nd grade. Xochtil was smart enough to be in 3^rd grade last year, but she did not know English so she sat in 2^nd grade for half the year to learn it and try to catch up. Her English is still notably the lowest in the class but she is learning quickly. She is a smart a little girl once she understands the words. Her first week of school was a little rough because she was constantly disturbing my class by talking to others since she was not paying attention to me (for a lack of understanding anything I was saying) and would frequently copy answers off of her neighbors’ papers. But after talking to her mom that behavior is gone. She is much more attentive in class and dedicated to learning on her own.

Please pray for each of these little girls by name. Pray for their spiritual and academic growth throughout the year. Pray that the Lord would provide me with the right wisdom and techniques to teach them in the best way. Also pray for their homes and families, because each one comes with a story that would surely break your heart. Living here is no dream but these girls are given an opportunity for a significantly better life with this education.

Too School for Cool

I love being a teacher. Of all the names that I have accumulated over the years – BrookeO, Brookie, Brookers, Awesomecabbage, O’Sasquatch… just to name a few – ‘Miss O’ is by far my favorite.  I may have only found my calling 4 years ago, but I know for certain that I am in the right field. I am more eager to shop for my students than for myself, and I will typically back away from a $30 pair of jeans but will drop $100 on classroom supplies without hesitation. I get overly excited about the lesson plans I have created before I even start to teach them. I eat, dream, and breathe my students.  So here I am, in a job that I am animated about every day, starting my second year of teaching in Honduras.

I went into and completed my first day feeling eons more confident about myself as a teacher after one year under my belt. This time I knew my way around the school and the rules, I knew who all my students would be and what level they would start the year at, and I knew quite a few of my fellow teachers and was thrilled to be working alongside of them again. (Put aside working in a new school, moving to La Unión is an adjustment itself and I’ve already conquered that transition as well.) I put on my usual navy blue pants and picked out my finest white button-down shirt (I based my decision on which was the brightest white and least crunchy), stepped into my new (and yet already slightly dusty) black shoes, and braced myself for my new batch of kiddos! Man, was I looking put together and sharp!

These are some highlights from my first week back at school: 

*Since the theme of my classroom is ‘zoo animals’ I bought foam animal masks to make with my students. The pieces were already all cut out so all the students had to do was help me glue and then make their most ferocious animal noise! I had one student wear his zebra mask during an entire math lesson and credit his speedy addition skills to the power of the mask.

*I am already incredibly impressed with the level of English that my students are starting at! There is a large majority of them that understand what I say and/or translate for others in the class; they are already surpassing my last class with how well they read short stories and answer questions; their vocabulary is more extensive than I imagined; and they are very clever and easily pick up new concepts that I teach. They are contributing greatly to my confidence in teaching since they are a little bit smarter, they make me feel like I am doing a good job of teaching!

*Each student got to decorate a puzzle piece that I will put all together on the wall for a ‘Third Grade’ mural. Innocently, one of the boys decorated his piece like this... all of the teachers are questioning his intentions but I am fairly positive that he had (and still doesn’t) no idea of his… eh em… coincidental mistake.

The main joy of my week rests solely in my students; they really do steal the show. I greatly miss my students from last year but I am lucky enough to be their neighbor at school so I see them daily and most of them will not leave school without giving me a hug. I know they are ready to conquer fourth grade with Mrs. Turcios as their teacher, and they will surely make me proud more than once throughout the school year. But now I have a whole new bunch of munchkins in my classroom and they are tiny vessels ready to be transformed! I have 19 students – 12 girls and 7 boys. I absolutely love having more girls because they are very well behaved and dominate the classroom with that attitude. Some of the girls are so itty bitty that they barely reach my hips! Their feet do not reach the floor from their desks and sometimes I feel like they are dolls for me to play with. However, the boys are not completely lost in the princesses’ shadows. They are making their presence known, but not in the most pleasant way – almost every other day one of them is digesting something foul and the smells that come out of them are toxic. I have been worried about a few and actually asked another teacher to follow one or two to the bathroom to make sure no accidents happened in their pants. Boys will be boys.

(I am posting different blogs to introduce you all of my students. But since I have so many of them, I figured it would be easier to read about them separately. Go check out their adorable little faces!)

As well, I am teaching a couple secondary classes this year. I teach the 8^th grade math class – Pre-Alegebra – and I am a huge fan of that class right now. (I taught 9^th grade math – Algebra 1 – last year but refused to move up with them to teach Algebra 2 because of how difficult that class was. That group of students is not very math-minded and I struggled all year trying to teach and get through to them. I graciously handed that task off to one of the new teachers.) I have always liked the quirkiness of middle school-aged students and I get plenty of that in this class. They have a ton of energy and are always eager to participate – I even have to calm a few down sometimes when they start bouncing out of the chair trying to answer a question. Sometimes appearances take priority over math and I have to confiscate mirrors, hairbrushes, lip gloss containers, and spray deodorants just to get my students to focus on their work. The only thing that I do not appreciate about them is the smell that trails behind them when I teach them immediately following lunch on Fridays. We are working on solutions to this problem.

I also supervise the 12^th grade students when they teach English at the public primary school once a week. These students are teaching because they are required to complete a social service project over the year, and they are doing a phenomenal job. Originally they were going to rotate in groups and just teach to the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th grades but since the original ten have been performing so well, the public school requested that all of our students come and teach every section of grades 1 through 6. They have been generating really helpful and creative ways to teach their lessons. I even find myself learning from their teaching style: for instance, when introducing the alphabet, they wrote out the alphabet based on the phonetic sounds in Spanish. I really hope they are learning to appreciate the job teachers do and are feeling the satisfaction of giving back to their community through these little kids. Big things are going to happen through this social project!

I am truly looking forward to what this year holds for me as a teacher back in Honduras. I get to teach a phenomenal group of 19 little 3^rd graders, an enthusiastic group of 18 quirky 8^th graders, and a life-changing group of 27 determined 12^th graders. Without a doubt, each class will teach me new things as a professional and as a person. I know the Lord has big plans for me to grow in great ways because of each student that I get to interact with. Will you be praying for me this year? It’s time for me to start my prayer requests again because I know that I need international support. I cannot do this alone. I have encouraging coworkers and incredible students, but I am nothing without my loving Father and the prayerful support of people back home. Thank you in advance for sending your love and protecting me through your prayers :) This week I am asking for prayer for my fellow teachers. For the returning teachers, buttons are being pushed and tempers are rising as if we never took that summer vacation. For the new teachers, the school, city, and students can feel overwhelming more often than desired. Pray for patience, perseverance, endurance, and most importantly, love, in the heart of every teacher at our school. We are all in this for the long haul of 10 months and we need to start strong. I am not ready to start seeing my coworkers defeated. We need the strength of our Lord.