Year one comes to a close...

Sorry, I forgot about May!

So, it is now June 8, 2011, and in one week (on June 15th) I will have been in Honduras for one whole year. In some ways it went fast, and in some ways it went slow! But either way, it was wonderful- difficult, challenging, tiring, but wonderful=) Some thoughts...

HONDURAS LESSONS LEARNED (in no particular order)

1. It is not as easy as it sounds. Whenever I used to say, "I am going to go to Honduras and teach English for a couple years and help at the Hogar", it sounded so simple. But, I had not considered the trials of teaching, the heavy schedule, the emotional situations that I would encounter, or the cultural differences that would make everything just a little more difficult. I think that if it were not for the Lord constantly reminding me that He has compassion on us even when we are ridiculous, I would have lost my patience a long time ago. But in our weaknesses Christ was gracious to forgive, thus, we move forward in his strength!!

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 2Corinthians 12:9-10

2. It is easy to be a talker and not a doer, even on the mission field. Sometimes I have lists upon lists and talk after talk of how things need to change or how someone else needs to learn something or how we need to teach this or that. And it gets so frustrating, especially when I do nothing about it. I have learned that you cannot expect people to understand overnight, and you cannot ever expect them to understand if you don't talk to them. We must communicate and teach and live lives that help people understand, not just make lists of all the areas where we are struggling.

3. I have a long way to go to be competitive at soccer here. I don't think that requires an explanation... I probably have a long way to go to be competitive at soccer back home, too.

4. Mangos are the best fruit ever, but their peel contains an oil that is in the poison ivy family. Thus, if you are allergic to poison ivy, not a good idea to eat mangos. But, if you just can't resist, have someone who is not allergic to mangos put them in chlorine water for 15 minutes, and peel them, and you are good to go! (Thanks Ashley...don't know what I will do without you next year!!)

5. God is good, and He provides just what we need, when we need it, so that we can proclaim His glory and work for the good of His people! There are so many examples of this, but the most recent is this: my parents needed to buy a very expensive medicine for one of their babies, who has a weak respiratory system. They were able to buy last month's medicine because they ended up with extra money in their budget. They weren't sure about this month's, but yesterday, one of my friends and fellow teachers from school gave them $100 from her dad's Sabbath school class! How amazing is our God?! We worry and stress and plan and plan, but really, we just need to have faith in God our Provider.

"See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dress like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is cast into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" Matthew 6:28-30

Cinderella story?

I remember studying in my cross-cultural communication class that a typical American´s mindset is very positive. We say and believe "You can do anything you put your mind to." We read books to our children where a train trying to climb an impossible hill says, "I think I can, I think I can," and he does. And, we sing and love songs like, "I believe I can fly/I believe I can touch the sky." We hold fast to the American dream, that anyone, through perseverance and education, can "make something of themselves".

I remember discussing that, amidst American prosperity, it is easy to have a positive view of life. However, when you transition to look at the rest of the world, that kind of idealism is difficult to find. Poverty, war, sickness, and other difficulties have their effect on the personality of a society. It has been my observation here in Honduras that, even among the wealthier people, education is not necessarily considered to be of great value. I have been in situations where an adult will encourage a child to copy off the Internet, copy from a classmate, or, the adult will simply do the work for the child, instead of "setting high expectations". You don´t hear a lot of Cinderella stories, where someone through education was able to rise above the poverty. In fact, most of the stories that even come close typically end with, "And then they left and went to the United States."

But here is a good Cinderella story...

On March 23rd we celebrated the graduations of two university students from the Hogar--the Hogar´s first two graduates ever. The university program has been around for about six years now, so it is safe to say that this was a long awaited day.

Many of the university students have not done well in college: they struggle to make good grades, struggle with the social pressures of university and of that stage of life in general, and have had to drop out of the program for one reason or another. Others get to university, realize the difficulty level, and decide not to continue on in their education. The perseverance and desire to keep moving forward, which are necessary to continuing in education, have not commonly been displayed.

These two students overcame many obstacles, some too painful to mention, in order to get to graduation day. No doubt their lives would have looked very different if it were not for God´s grace and his work in some very key people. Before these graduates were even born, God was working in Mami Carmen´s life (the woman who started the orphanage), Linda and Chema´s lives (the parents where the boys live), and the lives of countless others--staff memebers, board members, donors, padrinos, friends, family members, etc. -- so that this day could be possible.

My favorite part of the story is why these graduates say they were able to do what they did. I have been to my share of graduations in the United States, experienced my share of graduation parties, and read my share of graduation cards, all of which point to the graduate as the person to be praised and celebrated. But this graduation was not about "I did it, I did it, I made this great accomplishment." These students, when asked to speak at a small graduation party we had afterwards, were quick to recognize the work of God in their lives and the blessings he had given to them through others. It was encouraging and eye opening all at once, to realize that these students were not graduating because they had embraced the American dream and American value of education more quickly than their peers. They were graduating because God had made it possible, God had given them an opportunity, and God had given them the strength to acheive their goals. They thanked God, and with tears in their eyes, thanked the people that had surrounded them and helped them move forward. They talked about wanting to be an example for the other young people and children in the Hogar, and how they want to give back to what has been their family all their lives.

My prayer is that I would let this sink in and change the way I live my life here. For example, with my own students and with the students at the Hogar, that I would not be pushing education or perseverance on their own, but that I would be teaching about God and about how he makes all things possible.

Catch up...

Favorite Moment of the Week: Today Ashley and I were at the Hogar helping the kindergarten kids learn how to read (which can be frustrating no matter where you are!). So, it is hot and we are tired and we are trying to figure out what each group of kids needs to practice, when we hear a loud "Haappy BEARTHDAY to joooo!" We both turn to see 3-year old Roberto sitting in a desk, wearing some crazy-big zebra print sunglasses, "reading" a book with a birthday party picture on the page. Precious.



I am not really sure what to write about today... so much has happened since the last time I wrote! October, seriously? But, I made a New Year's Resolution to "blog" more often, and considering as it is January 21 and I am just now writing my first blog post of the year, we all see how well that is going!

Thanksgiving was great...a Honduras classic, if you will. Just as we started to serve the meal to a room full of 35 people, the electricity went off! I will forever remember Thanksgiving 2010 as the year I ate my turkey and potatoes in the dark, with a spoon (ran out of forks), from a bowl (ran out of plates), sweating like crazy (no lights=no fans), holding a crying baby (she didn't like the dark). BUT, it was an awesome time... we shared about the history of Thanksgiving, why we celebrate it, and everyone went around and said what they were thankful for. That tradition became more meaningful to me this year... I feel like when I said "I am thankful for my family, for my job, for the opportunity to be here", I really meant it.

Christmas and New Years were really fun, too. The BCM group from Western Kentucky University was here for New Years, and we all enjoyed the "midnight" fireworks (midnight is in quotes because it is really like 24 hours of fireworks!). We went back to school on January 3rd, and God has blessed me with new patience and endurance. I am really enjoying teaching, and I feel like I am starting to get a hang of it.

Favorite Bible verse at the moment is Psalm 121:1-2... (In Spanish, because it says mountains... in English it just says hills, but here we have mountains, so I like the mountain part...)

A las montanas levanto mis ojos.
De donde ha de venir mi ayuda?
Mi ayuda vendra del Senor,
Creador del cielo y la tierra.

When I get up in the morning and look out my window, the mountains in the distance are just beautiful. I love thinking of this verse because I remember that God will help me, sustain me, through each day. I give thanks knowing that He will walk with me in each step, in each class, in each difficult situation that presents itself.

One more thing... we have started a Bible study with the older girls at the Hogar. Our theme is "Why?" We had each girl ask a why question about life, about God, about the Bible; and we are going through each week trying to answer them with scripture. We have met twice so far. Pray that is would go well and that the girls would gain a thirst for scripture.

To the glory of God...

My aunt from Florida is currently here with a group, part of which includes my cousin, Baylor, her husband, Adam, and people from their small group from their church in Birmingham, Alabama. Their church is Brook Hills, where David Platt, the author of the book Radical, preaches. Adam and I were talking about part of this book, where David Platt talks about God being able to use all skill sets to his glory. He tells of a man in his church, who led a rough life and I think came to Christ while in prison. Any way, this man offered his skills to "smuggle contraband across borders" if they ever needed to get Bibles into closed countries!!

I, too, feel like God surprises me in the way He prepares us for things. On Tuesday a lady from the Hogar called at noon and asked me to come to the Hogar at four to teach the girls a "baile de gimnasticos ritmicos"... which translates to a rhythmic gymnastics routine. So, never being one to say no, I agreed. I just happened to remember a routine from high school cheerleading, and I just happened to have the music on my computer. Of course, I don't really think that any of that "just happened"... I think that God was preparing me at age 16 for the job I would be doing in Comayagua, Honduras at age 23.

Stories like this are everywhere down here. My Grampy (my mom´s dad) used to volunteer for Turtle Soup Luncheons at Brooklawn Youth Services in Louisville, which led to my mom and dad later volunteering on their festival committee, which led to my mom tutoring boys with behavioral disorders once a week. Now, down here, that kind of experience has given her a basis to work with some of the kids in their projects. It is always fun to see people come down here who "had a little Spanish in high school", who then find that they remember more than they thought.

I guess the point of this post is that we never know how God is preparing us to later use us for his glory. Whether your skills include illegal transport of contraband across borders, cheerleading routines, "handy man" type stuff, bowling, etc. etc. etc., be assured that God can and will use you to his glory if you will follow his lead. You may be in a phase of life right now where you feel like you are going no where, but maybe this is a season of preparation that will later prove valuable as you serve God. May the Lord bless you as you seek to follow him.