Consequences

A group of preschoolers tried to
sneak up on me outside of my window.

I've now officially been working with Nueva Esperanza for over a month. It has been a very full time with getting child sponsorship packets ready and welcoming students in for another school year (since their schools started February 1), and there are days when I just feel exhausted. We even had a team in from Tennessee last week! Things are starting to feel more normal as I'm finding my community and creating routines for myself.

This week I've started to interact more with the students who come to the ministry. In  the mornings I'm still working in the office with child sponsorship responsibilities. In the afternoons, I get to tutor one kindergartner a day and then work with students who have made bad choices. I love having the opportunity to get to spend more time talking with and getting to know the kids, but I'd be lying if I said it was easy.

Alison is my first kindergartner
who I started tutoring!

My biggest issue in all of these new afternoon duties is not being able to communicate as I would like with the kids. I've taught before. I've worked with students who have had diagnosed behavioral problems. I have lots of ideas to share on how to help these students grow to be people who will bear the image of Christ well. However, doing all of this in Spanish as I'm still trying to figure out the language is a lot harder than I anticipated.

Even though it's been so difficult at times, I am so thankful for these opportunities. Every time I've needed help in communicating my ideas or trying to teach something to a kindergartner, someone has been there to help me. Fany, one of the wonderful staff members at Nueva Esperanza, has helped me to handle some behavior cases with such grace and love. She seems to always understand what I'm attempting to say, even if my verb conjugations are totally off. I have been so thankful this week to have her help me and take control when I literally can't think of words to say.

Typical recess time

I thought thinking of logical consequences for students was difficult before, but now thinking and talking through those consequences is even harder. Even though it's hard, I have come to enjoy my time with kids this week who might be seen to some as "the troublemakers". I love being able to tell them that they're receiving consequences because I want to help them become who God has created them to be, not because I want to punish them. I love being able to pray with them and communicate that I care for them regardless of the bad choices they make. Far above those things, I love sharing with them that we all make mistakes, but God forgives and still loves us anyway. After hearing more about some of their stories today, it's no wonder why they make bad choices. My prayer is that God would continue to renew their minds and show them the love that He has for them. I pray that they would also see more of that love and grace at the ministry. I pray that because of God's love for them, they would start to understand what it means to bring God glory through their lives simply because they want to please our Loving Father.

This is Oscar. He is 73 and still works
at the ministry. He's great.

These kids are wonderful. The ones who are viewed as "troublemakers" still come up and hug me the day after I've made them missed their favorite class to write an apology letter to the kid they hit during soccer. Please be praying that God would be working in their hearts and in the lives of their family members. Please pray for their protection. Please pray that they would see Christ's love so that they can begin to better imitate Him. There are so many bad influences surrounding these kids in their families, neighborhoods, and schools. If they are able to start being image bearers of Christ now, how much brighter will they shine in all the darkness that surrounds them?

A New Side of Tegus

Pano view from the ministry office

For those of you in colder parts of the world and interested in the weather here in Honduras, my phone says that it's 79 degrees. The sun is shining brightly, and if I could send you all sunshine I would. Trust me. My mom already asked about that.

I've officially been back in Honduras for just over a week. There have been a lot of changes, moving difficulties, and new things to get used to, but honestly things just feel so familiar. It's so nice to recognize people and places around to have a sense of normalcy even a place I've been away from for 6 months. I have been so supported by family and friends that I'm left speechless at times. Thank you for all of your prayers and encouragement in this time of transition!

I'd love to give you guys a quick recap of my week before I forget what happened. I landed back in Tegucigalpa on Friday the 6th where I got picked up by the Barahonas. We went to lunch and I got some groceries before we made it to my apartment. My landlords greeted me and made sure I had everything I needed! Every time I think about this apartment, I just think of how blessed I am to live here. It's so wonderful! After having some frustrations with getting in contact with people in the states, I was able to talk to my family and get unpacked.

Friends!

On Saturday, two of my wonderful friends came to pick me up for a day of shopping (you know, for practical stuff) and just reconnecting. We made lunch together and definitely had some laughs. That night, 14 other friends came over. I am so thankful for friends who will come over and sit on my living room floor just to enjoy a time of fellowship. I do have places to sit, just not enough for that many people.
On Sunday, I was able to return to Union church and see some familiar faces. I went out to lunch and did some grocery shopping with my favorite Cruz family afterwards. Have I mentioned that I'm so thankful for the community I have? Monday was a day of rest since I didn't have to start work at Nueva Esperanza until Tuesday.

Barbara and Carlos picked me up around 9:30 on Tuesday to go to the ministry. Barbara showed me my desk upstairs and gave me a key. After I stopped staring at the view from my desk, I started working right away on editing child information sheets that need to be mailed out to sponsors in February. I was also introduced to the teachers at the ministry when I went down to eat lunch with them. Since Tuesday, I've started riding to work with a woman who works at the ministry,  practiced speaking Spanish a lot, gave a short teaching training on Wednesday, worked a lot on child information sheets, and gave a birthday gift to a teenage girl in the youth program at the ministry.

Iced Aeropress coffee at one of my favorite cafés in Tegus. 

Outside of the ministry, I've also been able to do a lot with friends these past few days. I went to a Bible study with some women from my church on Wednesday night, and I went to a friend's house for dinner on Thursday. Friday night I stayed at the Barahonas' house for a game night, and this morning I met a friend for coffee after thoroughly confusing a really kind taxi driver. I have really enjoyed my time with people this past week as I'm relearning what my community might look like here.

Even though I'm living in Honduras again, I've said more than once this week that I'm starting to learn my "new part" of the city. The school I worked at for the past 3 years is across town, so every time I get in a car I try to figure out how the roads around me connect. Most things feel normal, but I realize that what I'm doing now is so very different. I have learned so much about the children who are enrolled at Nueva Esperanza through reading and rereading the child information sheets I've been editing. Tears have formed in my eyes more than once as I read what the families at the ministry have been through. I have also been encouraged to read how some of the kids have changed through what they have learned about Christ and the love He has for them through Nueva Esperanza.

To say that I am excited to work with this ministry would be a drastic understatement. Although I'm excited, I also am slightly scared and nervous to be working in such a different capacity. Tutoring five year olds in Reading and Writing in Spanish will definitely stretch me. This is so much different than IST.  I know that my heart will be broken more than once as I get to know these kids and families more personally. I know that I haven't cried in the ministry office for the last time; however, I do have hope. Kids' lives and the lives of their family members are being affected through Nueva Esperanza. I am so glad to be apart of it in this capacity.

Here are some specific prayer requests:

• the families involved with Nueva Esperanza
• the teachers at the ministry as they prepare for a new school year
• practical things for me in transitioning--figuring out rides, how to continue transitioning well, taking taxis on my own, finishing child information sheets, etc.

Once again, thank you for your support, prayers, and encouragement that helped me get here. When I think about the amazing, supportive community that I have all over the world, I'm left speechless. I am definitely looking forward to working with Nueva Esperanza this year, and I couldn't have done it without you. Also, below are some pictures of my apartment. Yes they are all different sizes and not arranged in any sort of pattern.