The Trade

Life here is simpler in a lot of ways than in the States.  Or perhaps a better way to put it is that life here is less exciting :-)  You know its true when the highlight of your week is going to a soccer game on the weekend just to get out of the house and be able to talk to some different people.  I won't go so far as to say that life is boring, because there's always work to do and I do enjoy it.  But... in the way of recreation Comayagua falta (is lacking).  All that to say, I hope we get to go hiking soon because I need to do something different and outside before I go crazy.

This past Friday we had our first round of parent/teacher conferences.  It was crazy.  The parents basically came into the classrooms seeking out the teachers they wished to talked to and we would meet with them as they came.  Meaning that I was trying to talk to parents from 8th then 5th then 7th then another from 8th then two from 5th and one from 6th and.... you get the idea.  Next time I'll know what to expect and be prepared to whip out any grade for any student at a second's notice.  I kept teasing Emily about being nervous about the meetings... turns out she knew better than me.  Thankfully, none of the parents were rude or obnoxious, but you definitely felt like your work as a teacher was being scrutinized.  Which isn't normally a big deal to me because I do pretty good work... but normally I know what I'm doing.  It's been a major stretch for me to not know what I'm doing and be under scrutiny at the same time.  God gives me the strength for everyday and that's the only reason I've made it this far (and I'll probably keep saying that even at the risk of sounding like a broken record :-)

This morning at church we talked about many things: God's grace and mercy, our need of forgiveness, light vs darkness... but one of the verses we read reminded me of something I need to remember in my work here.  The verse was John 10:10 "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  Sometimes during the weeks here it is difficult to see where the "full life" is supposed to be.  Between the lack of recreational activities and the uphill battles at school, life seems difficult and dry on occasion.  Even in my life in the States I struggled with this: seeing the full life God has for me amidst the everyday things.  But here is what the Christian walk is about: trading what is good for what is better.  The treasure in the field.  The pearl of great price.  The kingdom of God is about trading what is good for what is best.  And that's what my weeks should be about here.

I have traded this year with my family and friends and starting medical school for this year in Honduras teaching science to students in hopes of sharing the gospel with them in the process.  Because of the call I felt to come, I have no doubt that the trade was for the better.  But I have to remember to keep making that trade every day that I'm here.  To remember that I did not give up this year to struggle through a difficult task by my own strength, weary myself, and come out the other side empty-handed.  I gave it up to pursue a new adventure through the strength of my Father that his will might be done and his name given more fame.  My prayer today is that I remember the trade.  That I remember every morning to lay down what is good for what is better.  Beauty for ashes.

God is so good at making all things new :-)

Science AND God (not "or")

Upcoming this next week at school are my two greatest teaching challenges I foresee having this year:  teaching human reproduction to the 5th graders and teaching on Creation & evolution to the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders... Let's leave the former and just talk about the latter.  

The principal has requested on no uncertain terms that I teach a literal interpretation of Creation to the students in line with the values and beliefs of the school.  On the one hand I want to honor that request and respect the school's beliefs.  But, I don't agree with that interpretation.  In my desire to be a good teacher, I am desperate to share with the students my understanding of science and God and how they are intimately connected, not in opposition to each other.  My fear is causing the students to think that they either have to believe the Scripture literally OR believe the scientific research that’s been done.  

It is a dangerous road to propose that such a significant part of the Word is directly opposed to scientific study: 1) because I do not believe God calls us to belief separate from intelligence and 2) because all science does is study the world that our Creator created.  Science is not evil. 

I would really appreciate specific prayers for this issue as I struggle with exactly what to teach and how to teach it.

Adventure #... I've lost count.

We made it back from Tegucigalpa last night and what a blessing it was to have been out of Comayagua for a few days!  Here's quick run down of the trip:

It started with me waking up late (7:15 a.m., lol) and we headed to the station to catch a bus at 9:00 to Teguc.  When we got to the bus station we found out that there was a riot on the way in a town called Flores, meaning they weren't letting anyone pass on the main road, obviously, lol.  No buses had left for Teguc yet that morning, so the driver decided since it was already 9 they'd give it a try.  It's transportation like this that makes me understand why Hondurans are never really concerned about being places on time, haha.

Anyway, several firsts of the weekend:
*watched my first TV show in a month and a half
*flushed toilet paper down the toilet for the first time
*AND drove a car for the first time in Honduras! (and maybe the only time that'll happen, lol)

We went to a few of the malls, a bowling alley, and then drove outside the city a bit into the mountains and visited a little town called Valle de los Angeles.  All in all it was uneventful, but very nice to be doing something different for a few days.  Then of course it was back to planning for classes...

Such is the life as a teacher here :-)

We stayed overnight with the University students from the hogar.  There was only one girl in the girls' apartment this particular night, a medical student.  I didn't get to talk to her a whole lot, but I imagined myself trying to go through med school without the love and support of a family... I didn't like it.  I thank God for giving me everything I need to do what he's called me to and I praise him for making some stronger than I that he'll use for his purposes too.

And the next great challenge is teaching evolution in the adventist school... I'll blog about that tomorrow :-)

La vida de una maestra...

The life of a teacher... is BUSY.  Especially when you are teaching 8 classes, working at an orphanage two afternoons a week, and taking Spanish lessons.  The first two weeks have been nothing short of intense and nothing short of extrordinary.  Hopefully I can fill you in, in relatively short order.

First of all, praise God for my students!  Some of them are difficult, complainers, lazy, and a thousand other things, but I already love them!  My greatest desire is to be a light to them and I feel so inadequate for the task but I pray God will show me ways more and more as I continue forward.  And yes, we've only had 12 days of classes and I already know all of their names.  I hate to brag but I'm pretty proud of that one :-)

And although the details of some of the classes this passed week may make for interesting reading, I'd rather talk about how we are done with classes for the week!  Sept 15th (today) is El Dia de Independencia for Honduras!  Did we get to get out of classes Wed, Thurs, and Fri?  yes!  Did we get to march in a parade with our school? yes!  You can check out Facebook soon for more pictures but here are a few:

It was hot, but a lot of fun!  I may have mentioned in a blog before that when Americans (especially females) walk down the street there is a lot of yelling that happens and kissy face noises that are made.  My comment to Emily was:  Ya know, this is the first time that I've walked down the street here and not felt self-conscious and I'm in a PARADE.  How ironic.  Lol.  Thankfully, today there were plenty of things more interesting then me to look at!

Tomorrow we're hoping to go to Tegucigalpa (the capital) so I can see it for the first time and next week I get to start teaching some interesting topics like reproduction, Creation, and evolution.  Look forward to reading blogs about those soon :-)

Miss you all!  Love you all!  And God is good.  Thank you for the prayers.

Ten days later...

Man I really need to update.  Maybe when I need to take a break from planning and writing quizzes tomorrow.

For now, God is God and he is good.  Amen?

No hay problema

Sometimes I forget how much I truly enjoy the feeling of a challenge that shapes and grows you.  If teaching at the Marantha Bilingual School is like climbing a mountain, I'm a novice climber with a scribble on a piece of paper for a map.  Fortunately, there are some experienced teachers that are willing to answer questions and re-explain things when things get lost in cultural translation.

My first few days have been... really good all things considered.  Praise the Lord that I don't feel defeated or totally exhausted yet.  But I understand now why the teachers' reply to Emily's question about what they do in their free time was, "free time? what free time?"  Although they do manage to play a game or two of futbol every week.

Here's the run down of my day: wake up at 4:30, yes that is a.m.  Eat, pray, read, get dressed, make lunch and out the door by 6:30 (most mornings).  Needless to say, doing laundry by hand in the pila has fallen to the wayside and we'll be using the washing machine on the weekends from now on :-)  Get to school, have devotions with the other teachers, and go to class #1, which on any given day is different or might even be a break period for me.  Class #2 is always 7th grade section B, but after that there's no telling depending on the day.  Thursdays are the worst because I teach 6 forty minute classes in a row; we'll see if I can survive after that tomorrow.  The kids leave at two thirty and we get to leave at two forty-five.  The afternoons are full of either Spanish class or library work at the hogar, then dinner, then maybe an hour of planning for the next day then bed.  But I've discovered that the desire to do something... fun can keep you up late even if you know you've gotta be up at 4:30.  Hence the reason why I'm blogging at almost 10 at night.  Let's talk about vicious cycles, ha.

So, can I do this for a year?  No problem.  Right?

No seriously, it has been a wonderful experience so far.  Stretching me for SURE.  But I figure I need as many "what doesn't kill you only..." experiences before med school as I can get :-)

I could spend another two hours just describing how different the system here is than the one in the States, but I'll just give you one example and leave it at that for now:  I am not permitted to test over material that I have already given a quiz over....wait... what???  And I'm required to give 3 quizzes and 1 test every quarter.  Figure that one.

The bottom line:  God is good.  He loves the kids and wants to love the kids through me.  And I'm doing my best to let him, even when I miss...well... everyone.