It's hard to believe that I've been here for almost 4 weeks now. On one hand, I feel like I've been living here for so much longer. I have my routines, a job, and amazing friends who I get to work with. On the other hand, I can't begin to comprehend how that much time has gone by already. Whatever the case, it's happened. I've lived here for almost a month. Time is such an interesting concept as it is, but I'm trying to do what I can with my time and make the most of my moments here.
I haven't done anything too crazy outside of school. I've been to Union church twice now, and I've loved both of my visits. The people are wonderful, and I even got to exchange information with the Barahonas so I can get together with them sometime soon. I've gotten a phone, paid my share of the cable bill, ridden in a few taxis, and experienced more power outages than living four years at MVNU. Last night, I went out with a few friends to watch the Honduras vs. Mexico game (WE WON!!), and after waiting for an hour at Chili's, we went to Denny's. I can tell you that I've never been in a Denny's that was so loud or excited. It was so great.
School has been going for 2 weeks now, and I have a feeling that I'm really going to enjoy my job. I'm already enjoying working with the teachers and getting to know such a wide age range of students. This week, I pushed into a few classrooms and had conversations with many students. I have no doubt that this is where God has called me. With the one-on-one conversations I've had with a couple students, I am so excited to see how God will move in them throughout this school year. There is one particular student who has A LOT of energy, and I'm thrilled for the opportunity to work with him. I have a good feeling that the Father is going to use my relationship with him in a big way.
One of my favorite days of school so far was yesterday as we celebrated Children's Day here. After lunch, the students went from classroom to classroom playing games, making hats, and eating lots of candy. I stopped in a second grade classroom to help with making hats and ended up leading the craft after the teacher was called away for a meeting. After there was still no sign of the teacher when school had let out, I lead many students down to the buses and loved being in the company of these second graders.
A miscommunication and quite a hike later, I walked one student back to the main parking lot to get picked up by his dad (after he told me he rode the bus) and found a different student sitting by herself. Paola's in the second grade class I work with, so I sat down next to her and asked what she was doing. She was waiting for her sister who is in high school (I only figured that out after a lot of English/Spanish misunderstanding and some laughter). I decided to wait with her until her sister came. We talked about what she liked and blew some bubbles. I would say it was my favorite moment of the day. You see, she doesn't appear to have a lot of friends in her class, and she has some trouble walking as well. Yet when I took the time to sit and talk with her, you never would have guessed that there was anything wrong. Paola lit up, laughed, and joked more than I could have ever imagined. As her sister came walking down the sidewalk from the high school, I noticed that she had a lot of difficulty walking as well. She smiled as I introduced myself and said goodbye to my second grader. I'm so looking forward to spending more time with Paola and seeing how I can show her love through giving her more personalized attention.
Show God's love is sometimes just about being present. I've heard this phrase a lot over the past year or so, but this was so reinforced as I sat and talked with Paola. Her smile was the most beautiful thing I saw that day. God's light was shining through her, and I hope I was shining a little bit too.
