Life Update

I know that it has been awhile since I have updated anyone on how my life is, and for anyone else who knows me and is not currently in my circle of frequently seen people (a.k.a. roommates, co-workers, boyfriend, etc.) I have been leaving you all in the dark as to my current state of being.

Amongst first glances, I must obviously be doing alright if I am sitting in front of my computer on a Thursday afternoon and in fine condition to coherently string thoughts together and physically type them out. So, for those of you worried that I might have had a serious injury or be lying dead in a ditch somewhere, your minds may be put to ease. I also have not fallen off the face of the earth, because I am sure that if one were to do so, typing up a life update on a blog would not be possible.


I will give you a quick re-cap of my life on a usual basis. I wake up at 5:50 even though my alarm is set for 5:30, and I usually take a hot shower (which is so nice and really a luxury here in Honduras) and I eat my breakfast and pack my lunch which usually consists of 80% fresh fruit and vegetables that we buy at the market. We ride the school bus with the kids in the morning, but because I don't get car sick I can read my bible and do my devotions for the 45 minute ride that I have each morning. As soon as I arrive at school, I'm usually bombarded with my kids from the moment I step off the bus. This is another reason why I like to do my devotions on the bus ride, so I can meet these kids and their tales of pushing and shoving without wanting to bite their precious little heads off. I teach 22 kindergarteners, and they can be quite a handful. Compared to last year, my students this year are exponentially more difficult, but I must say that the improvements that I have seen are quite spectacular and are finally starting to provide me with encouragement that I am not this awful, wretched teacher that sometimes I feel like I am. Above all things, they know that they are loved and they are learning to read, write, add, subtract, and speak English. Something okay must be going on then, right?


After being gone from the house for about 9 hours, I usually arrive home to grab something to eat, shed any evidence that I am a kindergarten teacher (i.e. teacher bag, washing paint from under my nails, changing my clothes, etc.) and run out the door again to any number of things. It may be a free jazz concert sponsored by the French Embassy, an independent movie at my favorite little bohemian coffee shop, my salsa class with the magnificent Lula, kickboxing with Christian, or just a day full of errands. I feel as if I have settled into this almost predictable pattern of life, but there is something extremely comforting in routine. We have even given certain days of the week names according to our routine. For example, Saturdays have been appropriately re-named "Wellness Saturday." We start the morning off at a respectable time (usually about 8 a.m.) by going to the market for enough fresh fruits and vegetables to feed a small pueblo. We come home, purify our goodies (which at this time happens to be the season for cantaloupes, honeydew, & mango), and change to go to our pilates class. After sweating profusely in our non-air conditioned gym, I shower and quickly change to head out to the feeding centers. Wellness for mind, body, and soul. On Sundays, I go to a church that meets in a movie theater, sing on the praise and worship team, and usually spend a low-key day trying not to think about the fact that in just a few hours, I will once again be bombarded with tales of pushing and shoving.


So, that is a basic re-cap of a fairly ordinary week. Here is the latest news...


I am very excited about starting a discipleship program for some of the older girls who attend the feeding centers but are too old to really get anything out of our little kid lessons about Noah's Ark or Daniel & the Lion's Den. After going to the feeding centers almost every Saturday since May 2007, I have really began to become connected with many of the children there. I know many of them by name, their family situation, what grade they are in at school, and where their houses are. For some time now, I have really felt in my heart that something more needs to be done for the older girls (age 12 and up) that the feeding center is currently not able to provide. Having lived in the culture for some time now, I can see that for many of these girls, they are left with no other options than to 1. Move in with a man who will promise them a wonderful future 2. Become impregnated 3. Find that in reality that he cannot provide for them, let alone them and their baby, and 4. Probably has at least one other woman that he is seeing. These girls are so beautiful and in so many ways so innocent, and I feel like I am left with no other option but to do something. So far, that something is just to pull the girls outside during the little kid's lesson, have a small but meaningful Bible study, and just listen to them. I'm not really sure what it is that I can really do, but I do know what God can do and I just try to be faithful when He presses things upon my heart. Melvin is currently doing the same sort of thing with the older boys, and its really special to feel like together we are sharing a ministry and outreach. Actually, I think its pretty stinkin' cute if you ask me.


Slightly related to this, I have also been feeling for sometime the itch to begin driving here. It has taken some time to feel this because quite honestly, driving can be overwhelming when you first arrive. Primarily, people are maniacs on the road. Passing on blind mountain curves? Sure! Driving on the sidewalk to not wait in a turn lane? Why not? But surprisingly, I see far fewer accidents here than in the States. In addition to maniacal driving, I also need to learn to drive stickshift in the madness, and in a mountainous city. For about a year and a half, taking busses and taxis has been sufficient for my needs, but as my needs have shifted so have my aforementioned driving fears. Mainly, I would like a car so that I can continue to go to the Feeding Centers and be more available for ministry purposes than I currently am. To drive to the centers, you have to have something with major power, something not all that short of a tank or an army jeep. After praying about this for awhile, I was approached by a missionary who works at Pinares that wants to sell me his Land Cruiser because he knows the work and ministry that I do outside of school. I have even told him that I don't really think that I have the money for this, and he has still come back to me, after lowering the price by $500, and says that in his heart, he feels that God is telling him that He wants me to have this car. It has double four-wheel drive, was designed for the Australian outback, and is basically indestructable. So, I guess I'm looking at maybe being the future owner of a Land Cruiser? That is, of course, if God can help provide. Luckily though this missionary is not leaving until almost August, will accept payments, and I will receive bonus pay at the end of this school year. Still, having to make this sort of decision is difficult, especially in a foreign country and especially on my own. I could really use your prayers about this. Actually, I could really use your prayers about a lot of things. If you promise to keep praying for me, I'll promise to be better at updating. Promise.