new blog

Obviously, I haven't been updating my Honduras blog since leaving Honduras. But for anyone who is interested, I have a new blog where I share the lessons God is currently teaching me. It is: extravagant-love.blogspot.com

The end of one season, the beginning of another

I'm finally done. I've been working non-stop for the past month to get everything ready for the new teacher, and on Friday, I finished my last obligations, after only two hours of sleep. It's a relief to have that burden removed, but it's hard to have to say goodbye. I've cried just about every day for the past week or more at the thought of leaving my students. On Tuesday, my 6th graders blessed me with a surprise going away party, complete with cards, two slideshows, gifts, balloons, confetti, and lots of hugs. I can't tell you how special they made me feel. Below is one of the slideshows, which makes me cry every time I watch it.






As heartbroken as I am to leave, I thank God for having blessed me with relationships that are wonderful enough to make me cry at the thought of not being able to continue them in the same way as before. I am also grateful that I am going home to amazing relationships and that God has made it clear to me that it is time to go home. He confirmed my decision further by providing a woman from the States who lives in Honduras and is married to a Honduran to take my place. She was interested in working at our school before I ever decided to leave but didn't think she'd have the opportunity until next school year. She was able to observe my class on two different days, and I was able to explain to her in person many things she needed to know about the school, my students, and my teaching methods.

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:...a time to plant and a time to uproot...a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance...a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away...I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him. " ~Ecclesiastes 3

Bittersweet times

I've been praying about and debating a decision for months. A few weeks ago, I finally decided that, due to health reasons, I can't continue to be the teacher my students need me to be for them. I informed my bosses and then the board that I won't be coming back to Honduras after Christmas. This week, I told my coworkers, then my students' parents, and today my students. I know before God that this is what I need to do, but it was so hard to tell my 6th graders. I've been their teacher for the past year and a half, and they have a special place in my heart. I was expecting some tears and some "woohoo"s, but I was surprised. Almost every 6th grader cried, even the boys, and even the ones who always give me a hard time. It was so bittersweet, because after a really tough week of feeling disliked and unappreciated by my students, it was obvious that they really do love me and like having me as their teacher. I'm so grieved to be causing them such sadness, but I know it's the right thing to do. I have a ton of work to do to prepare things for the teacher that will replace me, and it's going to be a rough transition for everyone, so please keep us in your prayers. Thanks.

"By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it." ~1 Corinthians 3:10

Pictures, cultural notes, and quotables

This past weekend, I went with a group from Bible study to hike up a mountain to a waterfall and through a cloud forest. It's the same place I took my mom to in the spring and my dad to last month, but I got much farther this time. It was breathtaking. Pictures here.

Cultural notes:
Hondurans like things that make lots of noise. Especially firecrackers. My adolescent neighbors love it so much that they even set them off sometimes inside our mailbox, just to keep us on our feet.
For those of you who thought roosters only crowed at sunrise, just come spend a night here, and you will be shown your error sometime between 2 and 5 in the morning. But your attention may be divided between them and the dogs barking all night.

Quotes:
6th grade spelling sentence: "My best friend is a person that I say a secret and he don't told anyone and is God."
5th grade spelling sentences: "When my mom is pregnant is very biggest."
"Miss Emily is the happiest teacher in the school for me."
note from the parents of a 6th grader:‎"We appreciate very much your work and your creative methods." Thank you, God, for appreciative parents.
projected plot for a drama being written by a group of 6th-grade boys: "aliens attack zombies, then become friends and invade the earth together." characters: leinad-alien, oravla-alien, tovasalre-zombie, tikriansi-zombie
Many of my students couldn't care less about the consequences I've given them for misbehavior thus far, so I've resorted to an old-school method. Now they copy a sentence I invent based on the occasion 20 times for each time I have to speak to them. One 6th grader had to write, "I will be positive, respectful, and obedient," 200 times after testing my limits over and over. When he was done, he said,‎"Miss, I'm never going to do another bad thing in your class." He most certainly has done bad things in my class since then, but he hasn't had to write as much as 200 lines again.
6th graders practicing words with affixes:
"The miss Emily is so lovable with 6th grade."
"To me, Miss Emily is very beautiful."
"All of us love Miss Emily, she is lovable."
practicing paragraphs and idiomatic expressions: "...I love English classes because Miss Emily makes it fun, and she lets us work in groups, but I think she has a full plate..."

Dad's visit

My dad finally came to visit me in Honduras. It's supposed to be cold and rainy by the end of October, but that was the time that worked out best for his visit. So I had been doing a lot of praying that God would give us decent weather for the trip so we could do everything we had planned. It had gotten cold, but a few days before my dad got here, the weather started to get warmer. It was nice the whole time he was here, and the day he left was miserably cold and rainy - God held off the bad weather just long enough.

When he first got here, he helped me grade exams, go grocery shopping, went to church with me, etc. Then on my vacation days, we went to a park a little more than an hour from where I live, where we went zip lining over a waterfall. Then we explored the area under the waterfall, including a small cave, with a guide who held our hands and guided our feet when we couldn't open our eyes due to the water pounding down on top of us.


We spent the night at a rustic hotel on the lake - not the nicest place, but the view was pretty. The next day, we drove up to another park. The roads were terrible, and the only reason I knew we'd be able to make it was because I had made the same trip in the same rented car with my mom six months earlier. There we went hiking, saw some more beautiful views, including a smaller waterfall, and had lunch at the restaurant there.


On our way home, we stopped to tour some caves. The next day, my dad watched/helped me teach, and he went home the following day. It's wonderful to be able to share what has been my life for the past two and a half years with family.

To see more pictures of my dad's trip, click here.

As far as updates on my school, the missing teacher was found. All that the embassy will tell us is that he is fine and that he left the country voluntarily.

"For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse." ~Romans 1:20

Giving thanks in all circumstances

Our school has been going through rough times. A high school student was recently kidnapped for a ransom. Thankfully, he was returned to his family unharmed after five days but is still recovering emotionally. Two Mondays ago, one of our English teachers didn't show up to school. The U.S. embassy is on the case, but we still don't know where he is. There have been other things happening as well, but I won't go into the details. Just keep our community in prayer. Our school has been turning to God in the midst of all these trials. The day our student was kidnapped, we had a prayer chain so that prayer was continually being lifted up by one grade or another for an hour. We had a prayer meeting one night for all who wanted to attend, and I was comforted by the trust everyone put in our God to work everything out for good. There was another prayer meeting to give thanks to God after the student was returned.

Many of the school staff are also experiencing serious problems in their families. Profe Edith's husband, Profe Sandra's husband, Doña Ketty's husband, and Profe Sonia's dad are all having major health trouble. Profe Allison's husband has been without work for a while. Please keep them in prayer.

I really have been having a difficult time, and I was so distressed one night this week that I decided I needed to change something. The only thing I could change was my attitude, so I sat down and made a list of all the things I am thankful for. I felt much better, and the next day was the best school day I have had yet this school year.

David, one of my 6th graders, is leaving with his family for Spain as missionaries at the end of this week. He is a very pleasant kid and a natural leader, and we will miss him. Please keep him and his family in prayer. He is the boy standing next to me in the picture below (they are a crazy class):

Last year, I had a bit of an issue with flirting going on between two 5th graders. Now that they're 6th graders, the flame has died down, but I have a new problem. Two other students developed a crush, and recently a love triangle seems to have formed. Oh boy. That's all for now. Please see the new pictures in my online photo album - they tell about the events I didn't write about here.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." ~1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Prayers needed

This is how running water works in Honduras: Every house has a tank that gets filled, usually every other day, by a pipe bringing city water. The water from the tank supplies our faucets. Every house also has a reservoir for the times when the tank runs out. The city water isn't potable, so most people buy filtered water in huge bottles - one bottle costs about a dollar and lasts my household of three a couple of days. We use it for drinking, brushing teeth, and food prep. Those of you who have been following my blog from the beginning know that we were constantly praying for water in my first house in Honduras, and in each of the three (now four) houses I've lived in, I've run out of water completely at least once. It happened again. Our tank ran out of water on Saturday, and water hasn't come from the city since then. We've been using water from the reservoir to wash dishes and hands and flush the toilet. We've been taking showers at coworkers' houses all week. The reservoir has gotten really low, so we've started using our filtered water to wash hands and the necessary dishes - the rest are building up in the sink and attracting ants. I was informed that there is a problem with the tank that supplies water for our neighborhood, but that it should be fixed by the middle of the week. The middle of the week has come and gone, and we're now on day seven without water. I just pray that it will be fixed soooooooon. The weekend is the hardest time to be without water because we're actually home.


I'm enjoying my 6th graders. They're so smart and fun. They greet me joyfully in the morning, and I know that they like having me as their teacher. One student wrote on her homework, when she had to use the word "happiest": "When Miss Emily teach us I am the happiest person in the world."

My 5th graders are a different story. They don't pay attention, understand little, and are a serious discipline issue. I don't feel like I'm getting through to them at all and am at a loss for what to do. I don't understand how any of my 5th graders could enjoy my class, but I've been told differently. One of my studious 5th graders is the daughter of the school administrator, Karla. Esther, the English program coordinator, tells me that last year, Karla would often come crying to her because of how unhappy her daughter was in school, no doubt because of her classmates. This year, though, Karla goes to Esther about three times a week crying because of how happy her daughter is with her English class this year.

I have been so stressed this school year because of busyness, frustration, and the difficulties of living in Honduras that I literally tried to quit. I had it all planned out - going home after the first quarter ended, living with my parents, getting a job at home. But my boss and my conscience talked me out of it. I really, truly want to go home, but I know I'm having a positive impact and feel I have so much yet to accomplish here and that it would be unfair to my students to leave them. I'm just going to need an incredible amount of prayers, support, and encouragement. Thanks for taking the time to read, pray, and respond.

"He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." ~2 Corinthians 1:10-11