Chin up

The first week of school was fairly uneventful, with the exception of two things that happened Wednesday afternoon.

Taking my 4th graders on a nature walk around the school grounds seemed like a harmless idea, a chance to point out the flora and fauna of the landscape and serve as an intriguing introduction to the Plants science unit. I invited them to sit on the benches near the baby palm trees and instructed them to sketch the tree in their observation notebook. "Miss," a student whined, "It's hot." Every student at the school calls their teacher "Miss" ("mees") or "Mister" ("meestir"), not sure why, except that it's cultural. I considered the student's comment and glanced at the sun beating down from above. There was an area of shade underneath the palm tree the students were sketching, so we relocated to the shade.



No sooner had the students gotten settled, that I began to feel that something was crawling up my leg. I walked around a little bit, keeping an eye on my students, while wacking my leg occasionally. A few ants, no big deal. Then every few seconds I felt tiny bites around my ankles. The principal walked by and I gave him an "everything's okay" smile. He walked past and I looked down at the bottom of my nice white pants, a little muddy and now crawling with ants...fire ants. Nice and easy, I started to brush the fire ants off my legs, trying not to spread any panic among my students. Too late. "Hormigas coloradas!" One of my boys jumped to his feet and began stomping the damp grass below him. Several students followed his lead, stood up quickly, and walked back to the benches where I was motioning for them to go. Thankfully no one was bitten, and they did finish their drawing of the palm tree from a safe distance away. Lesson #1 learned: Don't sit in the fire ants.










Lesson #2: Students will do what you least expect. (*Names were changed to protect the naive.)


The last thirty minutes of class on Wednesday, the students are cleaning up the room and packing up their bags like I've instructed. I am transitioning the students who are all packed up and whose areas are clean over to the reading circle. A few students are still sealing up their bookbags and organizing their desks. *Jeremy is getting his backpack out of his cubby, when he stands stock still, directs all of his attention toward me and states, "Miss, *Angelina is stuck."
Um...I don't know what to think. The worst scenarios flash through my mind, and I want to immediate answers: What? How? Why? Where?

I cross the room in three strides and am by Angelina's side or rather, backside.
I look down and see her bent over on her knees, her hands clutching the back legs of her desk chair, and her short brown braids threaded through the desk chair opening. She has gotten her head stuck inside the hole of her desk chair!!
Okay, revised lesson objectives: 1) Keep the other kids calm and in their seat. 2) Get Angelina's head out of the chair hole. 3) Be able to laugh about this later. Please Lord..

Well, number 1 got ruled out when all the students in the class started to gather around, like true Hondurans. While number 2 was still possible, I sent a student upstairs to get the vice principal just in case we weren't able to free Angelina from the chair. Thankfully, Angelina is the most calm and optomistic child I have ever met. She talked cheerfully to me the whole time she was stuck, and as I asked her to move her head this way or that. Finally, we solved the rubix cube of head positions and POP her head was free! She stood to her feet, and the whole class cheered. (Talk about ways to build classroom community.)

A minute later the principal arrived and offered a witty remark to the students about how rules are there because we ourselves have done these stupid things before and want students to avoid them. Everybody had a good laugh and objective number 3 was met.


All in all, God is good and He gave me the stamina to finish out the week and prevented any further predicaments from arising under my watch. On Friday morning, Jeremy* walks over to my desk and hands me an apple. I am flabbergasted by the gift. "Thank you," I manage to say with a sincere smile. For now, I feel like a teacher.

The First and Second Days of School

The first day of school was hectic, but good.
Lots of procedures, alternating with get-to-know you games, writing biography poems, starting to organize materials, and three free periods, which were helpful to regroup and plan for the day's changes, like not yet having a specialist teacher for Bible.

I didn't get very much sleep the night before, so by the end of the day I was exhausted. Already, it felt like a week of school had gone by, and it was only the end of the first day! Later, I swapped stories with other teachers on the late bus, and it seemed we had similar feelings and experiences throughout the day, so I was comforted knowing what I was going through was normal. I was also really encouraged by the people whose circumstances were sour (like being locked out of their classroom for an hour and a half-improvising lessons in the hallway) but they remained positive about it.
I made an action plan to change my bathroom procedure (1 emergency a week, then the kids flip their card), move some talkative boys, and make transitions quicker.

This morning, I returned for Day 2, and it went a lot smoother than I anticipated. Students were starting to know the routines; that I refused to talk over them, that they could only speak English, and that not even whispering was not allowed in the hallway.

On the flip side, some highlights of my day were:
1) Seeing my students' faces light up when they shared their writing with the class.
2) Getting to know my students more through hearing their stories: a broken arm, a birthday party with a fruit fight, a mouse in a mom's shoe, etc. My students are pretty hilarious, and it's so exciting to see them eager to write and share their experiences! I hope to encourage this even more throughout the year and provide daily opportunities to do so.
3) Teaching my students a Math Place Value Game (Marilyn Burns), where they rolled a die and had to choose where to put the number on their grid. Also, introducing them to their "personal whiteboards" (basically three pieces of paper stuffed inside a plastic sheet); they want to use them all the time!

I'm learning, the students are learning, and we're both looking forward to each new day!
Keep us all in your prayers : )

Impacto

A few days ago, a bunch of the teachers and I piled onto a bus in our Sunday best with our Bibles and purses in tow. We were heading toward a bilingual church, called Impacto, where some of the returning IST teachers regularly attended. A large sanctuary, accompanied by powerpoint screens, lobby coffee maker, offering box, and vision plans to build a new building greeted us as we walked into what could have very well been a church in the States. We were given the option of borrowing church headphones, where we could listen to someone translating the sermon message, but I opted out, feeling that if I had the English translation I would not pay as close attention to the Spanish, which I need to learn.

Through the worship songs, sermon, and the baptisms afterward, I was reminded of the unity of the Church and how we need to make Christ the center of our work and relationships. I had great conversations with congregation members after the service, and found out that the church had started in a home with only 18 people! And now they're starting to outgrow their new meeting place. Wow-God provides and multiplies!

Following the service, all the teachers went to a nice Chinese restaurant nearby. Chinese food in Honduras is surprisingly amazing! It was a great time of fellowship and hearing more from returning teachers about their experiences living in Honduras and getting school and traveling advice! Next week, I'll visit a different church with some of the returning teachers, and I hope to get a feel for church in Honduras and get to know how God is working here.

The Floodgates of Heaven

Boom!! Thunder rocked the sky like a bowling strike, and the sound ricocheted off the hills of Tegucigalpa. It has rained almost everyday I’ve been here, but never like it did today!

My sheer amazement at the approaching storm quickly turned into apprehension as the wind blew the rain sideways and pelted down hail against our windows. “Is this normal?” I asked one of the Honduran teachers. “No.” she replied, and I stared at her in alarm. Today was Open House for the K-1^st and 6^thgraders, which had thankfully ended just a half hour before the monsoon hit, and many of the teachers had made some serious progress on their rooms, now feeling almost ready for Open House on Saturday. We prepared for rain as always, but never expected this big of a storm.

The principal was making his rounds, and he stopped by my room just when the rain turned directions and water started pouring through my windows. (My windows were shut.) He helped me grab everything off of the shelves and relocate it to the other side of the room, then he hurried to the next room where someone had left their windows open and door locked. (Most of the teachers' things were salvageable but some bulletin boards need to be reassembled.)

I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I stay in the room, staying out of the rain, or run around and try to help people wade out of their classrooms? I peeked out of my room and the rain was coming down hard. My classroom is on the second floor of the elementary building, and the third floor above acts as an overhang, but the rest of the building is open, including the stairway. I sloshed through the hallway reuniting with some other teachers who were also in shock and awe. It seriously looked like we were on the Titanic, the view from the open stairway was completely obscured by the thrashing rain, and everybody was running (more like splashing) around filling buckets and pouring them over the side of the building.

I returned to my classroom to find the water from the hallway seeping under my classroom door. Oh no! I didn’t have any towels or way to stop the overflow, and I threw open the cabinets in search of anything that would help plug the leak. I looked up and realized I had a large cardboard box, from my Promethean board that was just installed, and quick, ripped off a large chunk of it and stuffed it under the door. It worked! So with the threshold finally plugged, I sunk into a chair, relieved, though trapped in my classroom trying to concentrate on teaching preparations I still needed to do, trying not to mind that the bottoms of my jeans were soaking, and miniature lakes formed around my students' desks. I ended up staring out the window at the storm and praying that the rain would stop.

I thanked God for my safety and prayed for the school, for the decisions the administration make this year and on a daily basis, for the protection over the staff, and for wisdom and peace amidst the unexpected.

I prayed for my students and their well-being, that they would grow closer to God this year, that they would have the drive to learn, and that what they learned would transfer over to their lives.

I prayed for the other teachers, that they would continue to have positive attitudes, trusting God no matter what happens, that they would see the kids as God sees them. Praying especially for my fellow first-time teachers that they would have wisdom in the situations they encounter, giving love and discipline to the kids, and in navigating their ways around Tegucigalpa. I prayed that God would bind us more and more together as a community and use us daily to uplift, encourage, and challenge one another to live more like Christ.

Thanking God for my safety, I couldn’t help but think about the people I had encountered on the streets of downtown Tegucigalpa or the ramshackle homes on the side of the hill. I prayed that they would find a roof to huddle under, that their homes would not flood, and that they would learn to trust God even more through this.

I think God likes to be ironic, because as I was praying these things I glanced up on my wall where I have my classroom verse, which says, “Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and mighty things which you do not know.” (Jer. 33:3) Wow! What a promise! God is sovereign, He will answer, and He will provide.

As I’m writing this, the rain has ceased, and sunlight is streaming through my windows. The custodial staff is sweeping/mopping up the layer of water in the hallway, and the cheerful chatter of the elementary floors has returned. It will take some work to get everything back in its place and have the school looking Open House-ready again, but we can trust that God is sovereign and this year is His. He has not left us on our own to accomplish the task He’s given us. He is with us always; which is the most comforting promise of all.

Orientation Week

Wow..this week has gone by so quickly! It's already Wednesday, and it's now T-minus 3 days until Open House and 5 days until the start of the school year! Pray that all the preparations go smoothly and pray especially for my 4th grade students as they transition back to school, after not speaking English for probably an entire summer.

I've been pretty busy this week with staff meetings, setting up my classroom, and trying to learn more about Honduras. The meetings have been very informative and have been on various topics, including Health Insurance, Banking, Curriculum, and how to work the school's technology (almost every classroom has a Promethean board-http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en/). At first, the meetings seemed like information overload, as I still felt fresh off the airplane. But then I remembered why I was here and realized I was thankful that the school was preparing us and giving us the information in the little time we have before the school year starts.

Some exciting excursions I have enjoyed while not at school:

*A wonderful orientation/welcome buffet at the high school principal's house. Complete with traditional Honduran dancing (will post a video soon).

*A trip with other teachers to El Metro Mall for grocery shopping and buying school supplies : )
I'm starting to figure out the price conversions from Lempiras to dollars, which is exciting, but I'll definitely need more practice if I want to avoid getting ripped off.

*Buying a bottle of clean water from the pulperia and visiting to the fruit guy.
-I bought a strange looking fruit, called Annona squamosa for the lempira equivalent of 50 cents and tried to convince my housemates to try it. I was surprise to peel back the skin of the annona to find a soft, white pulp inside. I scooped the stuff out and put it on a plate to serve everyone. However, I didn't realize that inside the white pulp were little black seeds, so, directly after I took the first bite, I ran over to the garbage can to spit out the seeds. My housemate saw my reaction to the first bite and declared, "I am not trying whatever that was."

After perhaps a bit of coercion, I convinced her it really wasn't that bad. Then another teacher came over and he tried it. First reaction: "Looks like casserole." Second reaction: "Tastes like casserole." When I tried annona the first time, I thought it could taste like banana, but after the other teacher said it tasted like casserole, I could not get the thought out of my mind. We ended up throwing the fruit away, because, in the end, no one really liked it. Oh well..did it for the adventure anyway.

*Taking a Latin aerobics dance class with my housemates
-The IST new teachers coordinator lives in the other part of my house, and she invited my housemate and I to come check out Chepe, an aerobics dance studio down the hill from us. Three things you should know:
A. The class is entirely in Spanish., B. Before this, I had never been to any type of aerobics class--ever.
C. I am the most gringa dancer you will ever see.
Combine all these and you will get 2 hours of hilarious entertainment and a very fun time of learning new dance moves to salsa music. I'm definitely going again!

(new Spanish words I learned: arriba, abajo, en frente, atras, y caderas)

*Having a Catch Phrase Game night at Casa Azul! It was so fun to get together with the teachers outside of the school and enjoy time together. I'm so thankful that I'm not in this journey alone-that I have an incredible community of people along for the ride!

Domingo

I've only been in Honduras three days, but already I feel we have done so much!
Going to Iglesia Santidad was an important reminder of why I'm here and where my focus should be. It is so easy to get overwhelmed in a new culture, where you're trying to get settled, build relationships, and you're learning so much everyday, and I will need to remind myself of my purpose:

2 Corinthians 5:14-15
¹⁴For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. ¹⁵And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Fellowshipping with Honduran believers was such a blessing, and we sang praises to God in both Spanish and English. I was particularly struck by the words of "Dios Puede Salvar" ("Mighty to Save"), because they offer such a powerful reminder of God's sovereignty and the incredible work He does in saving and transforming lives. This year is in God's hands.

Please be praying for my 4th grade students that I will be ministering to that they would come to know Christ if they don't already and/or grow deeper in their relationship with Him. Pray that my encounters with Hondurans/the people I meet this year would glorify God and that He would prepare and use me to draw others closer to Him. I can't wait to see how God's going to work!

Tomorrow begins orientation of the school and the beginning of preparing for classes to start!

Sábado

This morning was wonderful! We had the chance to sleep in, and I relished the opportunity, having been up late the past few nights. I woke up leisurely and convinced my housemate, Jenny to do a Tae-Bo work-out video with me, which turned out to be awesome exercise and hilarious at the same time. Then Jessica (my other housemate) joined us to clean up the kitchen, washing all the dishes, silverware, etc. that the previous tenants had left us, wiping down the insides of cabinets, and fixing drawers. It was a great time to get to know each other more, and I feel that Casa Verde is becoming more of a "home" because I know where everything is now!

This afternoon all the new teachers split into groups of 3-4 and were led on a "scavenger hunt" tour around Tegucigalpa. It was a blast, and I'm so thankful for all the insight I gained about the different types of transportation and for the chance to finally see the city! Basically there are 3 main ways to get around: 1) Take the collectivo for 12 Lempiras (about 50 cents). Collectivos follow certain routes, like to the mall or downtown, and you can ask to stop anywhere along the route and get out. 2) Take a taxi for a pre-negotiated price. They usually charge you more than you should pay so you have to talk their price down. Taxis are safest when you ride with other people you know; if there are only 2-3 of you, the taxi will probably stop and pick up 1-2 people along the way. The safest taxis have radios. 3) Busitos (little buses) go almost everywhere as well, but I did learn that there is a neighborhood with a similar name to mine, Loarque. So, in the future, I will have to make sure I'm getting on the right bus.

Our tour group (led by a knowledgeable 2nd year teacher) took the collectivo to El Centro, which is the downtown area of Tegucigalpa. As we learned the answers to the scavenger hunt survey, we also were able to explore downtown and catch a glimpse of a different side of Teguc.

El Centro has many pulperias (mini-grocery stores with Coca Cola, chiquis, and simple things), little shops selling everything, a photo place, and a large parque next to the new Catedral. It was along a walkway, which I later learned is called, Liquidamba (named for the liquid amber/maple trees near it). We also passed a national art museum and two cathedrals, which we entered briefly to observe the mass service.

There are many people along this walkway, hanging out in the doorways, passing out flyers on the street, ordering helado, preaching the gospel over loudspeakers, and even begging. Although I have been in impoverished areas before, I was pretty shocked to see the extent of poverty all around me.

A little boy with big brown eyes tugged on my pant leg asking if I would buy candy from him; I was told that, for safety reasons and to not encourage begging, I needed to ignore him and keep walking. One of the hardest things to do...

There was a crippled man sitting in the middle of the street and people just stepped around him, walking on their way, not paying any attention. In fact, the loudspeaker preacher was shouting about Christ's love just meters away.

I had heard about the division between rich and poor in Honduras, but now I am beginning to see it. What can we, as the Body of Christ, do to reach out to them, to tangibly show what Christ love looks like? Or, is it better, to give them to God in prayer, trusting that He will take care of them, and go on with our safe and comfortable lives? How do I teach/provide experiences for my students (of middle to upper class backgrounds) about Christ's call to take care of the poor and needy? Please pray for me as God teaches me more about this.

Our tour group also visited the fútbol stadium, walked through the outdoor market, and took a taxi back to visit Miraflores mall (on a street with a lot of American restaurants) and meet up with the rest of the teachers at El Patio, where we shared a traditional meal of Puchi de pollo, anafre con tostadas, y otra comida nacional. The rain pattered on the tin roof above us while we ate, and I reflected on everything God has blessed me with, including the experience of being here in Honduras. Gracias a Dios!

Comprendo comprando

Following the start of orientation, which consisted of worship/devotional time, insurance/banking talks, and meeting our principals, we were given our first set of Lempiras [Honduran currency, where 20 Lempiras is roughly equivalent to 1 US dollar], a basic shopping list, and told to meet back at the bus in 2 hours.

Apparently it was shopping day for everyone in Tegucigalpa, because the mall grocery store was packed with people. We first stopped by the photo place, where we got our residency card pictures taken. When I asked the new teacher coordinator what a residency card was, she said that basically it's to say you have permission to be here in Honduras and you don't get kicked out of the country. Needless to say we won't get our cards for awhile still, so I'll have to keep acting American, which is not hard every time I open my mouth.

We then commenced to grab some empty grocery carts and wheel them into Hiper (the Honduran Wal-Mart), eyeing our shopping lists and at the same time trying to navigate our way among the many aisles. Thankfully my housemate and I stuck together most of the time, which was most helpful when converting prices from lempiras to dollars (to find out realistically how expensive something is) and trying to find the best deals. My housemates and I decided to buy our own groceries, and it was quite the adventure finding my inventory in the store. The Honduran brands, for the most part, tended to be cheapest, and I learned that soup (sopa) comes in a bag. Also, we each bought a fan for our rooms, to drown out the dogs barking/neighborhood noises and to keep cool when the humidity intensifies.

At the end of our time in this one-stop shop, each teacher had piled high items in their cart and we caravaned over to the cash registers. At one point, I looked down the row of registers, and the IST teachers had almost completely taken over! It was almost comical. I did notice that Honduran families, unless they know each other, are usually reserved in the grocery lines, paying and leaving, not making much conversation with the clerk as I expected they would.

After we paid (counting out our Lempiras and hoping we had the right amount) and bagged our groceries, we were able to push our carts right out to the IST bus waiting for us outside. Because of the lines, my housemates and I were the last to get back to the bus. Although, I think I also slowed us down, because I had a dud shopping cart, which kept forcefully veering to the right, as if it had a mind of its own. So I had to dig in my heels and push it the other way just to make it go straight. Thanks to the help of another teacher also helping me counteract the force of the cart, we were able to avoid the mud puddles in the parking lot, but by the time we arrived back at the bus, I was exhausted. With all of our newly made purchases (fans, ironing boards, fruit, microwaves, rice, sheets, etc.) taking up the seat space, we all squeezed in where we could. I was nudged in between the back of a seat, three grocery bags (which I alternated to my lap), and a microwave; the bus seat kept tipping over with the imbalance of weight, causing me and whatever I was holding to go toppling onto the floor. I thought it was pretty hilarious--another experience to remember.

The crazy part was that at each drop-off, the teachers of the house would have to find their groceries in the pile up. My bags were all over the bus, and I'm so grateful for the chain of teachers who helped me find them! And of course, as soon as we unloaded our groceries onto the pavement in front of our casa, it started raining! Gotta love Tegucigalpa!

Fortunately

We had only been in Casa Verde an hour when we found ourselves out on the street in the rain.
Now, I feel I have been truly welcomed to Honduras.

My housemates and I were half-way unpacked, having discovered the items the last teachers had left behind (anyone want a bright purple hat?), when we found ourselves informally congregating around the dining room table. Interrupting our talk, Eduardo beeped his horn and we ran out to get our lunch delivery.

Here's how the story unfolded:

Fortunately, my housemates and I had lunch.
Unfortunately, our house door slammed shut and locked behind us.
Fortunately, I had snatched my keys off the dining room table before we ran outside.
Unfortunately, we spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to use them.
Fortunately, we had time to kill and were able to be flexible.
Unfortunately, storm clouds were rolling in.
Fortunately, we knew where the other teachers lived and they were welcoming to us and let us use their internet.
Unfortunately, they didn't know how to open our door either.
Fortunately, they had a cell phone where we could reach the new teacher coordinator.
Unfortunately, we saw lightning and felt the first drops of a rainstorm.
Fortunately, the neighbor across the street wanted to welcome us with homemade "enchiladas" (similar to tostadas), which were a delicious and pleasant surprise.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to express as much gratitude as I felt.
Fortunately, it was pouring rain while we met neighbors, enjoyed Honduran enchiladas, and I learned the first lesson in being flexible and making the most of the given moment.

(Oh and if you're wondering: After much needed coaching and various trial/error sequences, we were, in the end, successful in unlocking the door of our house. It will be an adjustment, but, in my mind, that's all part of the adventure.)

New Arrivals

At 11:15am, our airplane came to a screeching halt at the end of the Tegucigalpa runway. Everyone (including native Hondurans) cheered and clapped for the successful, if not impossible, landing. We had arrived!

I had already met up with several other new IST teachers in Houston, and after lugging my carry-ons up the flight of stairs, ran into the rest of the group, which had arrived from Miami just moments before. Perfect timing! We made it through customs with no problems and created our own IST corner of the airport, where the school chaplain and new teacher coordinators were eagerly expecting us. Our train of unwieldy duffel bags snaked behind them across the parking lot to the awaiting school bus, and I'm so thankful for the IST staff who gave up their lunch break to load all the luggage! On the way, there was a flurry of introductions and I tried to sort out all the names of my fellow teachers. I'm excited to get to know them!

The bus driver meandered us wide-eyed newcomers through the narrow streets of the city, stopping at each of the teachers' houses and helping us locate our suitcases from among the pile. The smell of warm bread wafted through the bus windows and made us smile in anticipation of Honduran cuisine. I will get used to a similar bus route to todos las casas as I share the "teacher bus" in the morning and after school.

Finally, we arrived to mi nueva casa and I unloaded my bags along with my new housemates, Jenny and Jessica. With the luck of the draw, we chose rooms for the year and checked to see if everything worked. Once that was done, we put on some music and began the process of unpacking. I'm thankful all our suitcases arrived and for a place to call "home" while I'm in Honduras. This is orientation week.

A Story About a Donkey

Yesterday, a couple from church called to offer encouragement and prayer over me before I left. After hearing their words, I knew God had spoken through them.

They shared with me:
Psalm 18 (Go read it, and you can't help but be more in awe of the God who rescues!)
and this story:

An old farmer was walking into town, with his donkey trotting faithfully alongside him. His donkey had been with him since he bought his first farm, but now was too old and tired to carry him. So they sauntered together down the dirt trail as the old farmer hummed a despondent tune.

They were nearing the edge of town, when the donkey misstepped, and, trying to right himself, tripped a second time and fell head-first into a very deep and ancient well. Surprised and distraught, the farmer gazed down at his donkey and considered the situation hopeless. "I'm old, the donkey's old, and the well's old. Best, let it be the donkey's resting place."
So the farmer continued into town and gathered all the men and shovels he could, to help give the donkey somewhat of a proper burial inside of the old well.

The truth was, the donkey was, although shaken by the sudden fall, still very much alive and trapped inside the well. So, when the clods of dirt started raining down on him, he shook them off, annoyed, and stamped his feet. More and more shovelfuls poured over the edge of the well, and the donkey kept shaking them off. After a while, he realized the ground below him was getting higher with each time he shook the dirt off his back, and he could step up on this higher ground! So, he shook off the dirt, and stepped up. Shook off the dirt, and stepped up.

Soon, he neared the well's opening and he could hear the voice of the farmer. "More dirt, men!" the farmer called. The loads of dirt and rocks piled on quicker and heavier than before. The dirt stung the donkey's eyes and the rocks dug into his skin, as he struggled to shake off the dirt and step up onto the next level of ground. He caught glimpses of the cloudless sky above and knew he was almost free. "Last load now," the donkey heard the farmer's voice go hoarse and the farmer commence into a coughing fit.

The donkey pushed hard against the ton of dirt, propelling dirt clods into all directions and splattering the astonished faces of his gravediggers. Reactions of "What the..?" then, "Look Marv!" broke out among the men. The old farmer's shovel slipped out of his grasp, as he stared wide-eyed into the face of his donkey. The donkey shook himself off one last time and gave a loud bray. The farmer scratched his head, astonished at this unforeseen miracle, "Well, I'll be darned..that's some determination" He went over, patted the donkey's back, and grabbed the muddy reins. "Let's go home, boy." [And they did.]

******

So, whether we find ourselves at the bottom of a well or seemingly being buried alive, we can trust that God will use adversity in our lives. Trials test us and we have a choice to rely on God's power in our weakness, helping us to step up and out of the pit, or to give up hope and end up suffocating on something that was intended to strengthen and empower us. When we choose to trust God with our trials and to deliver us from our enemies, he indeed rescues and brings us into the light of his promise and plan for our lives. Each trial forms us more into the image of Christ.

Prayer for 100 years..and then some

As I sit here in the Sacramento airport, I contemplate the amount of encouragement and prayer I have received over the past few weeks. From laying on of hands at Bible Study to the warm hugs at my Adios party, I have been richly blessed by friends and family interceding for my journey.

Thank you to all who committed to praying for me, all who fixed my missionary card to their fridge, all who gave me scripture or shared about your time in Honduras, and all who have been influential in bringing me to this point. All of your time and prayers have meant more than you know, and God who is faithful will answer.

At International School Tegucigalpa (IST), each elementary school teacher selects a class verse for the year. As I prayed about what verse to share with my 4th grade students, I was reminded of countless times in my life when God had answered prayer (often in ways I could never plan) and particularly of His promise in Jeremiah 33:3.

So as you continue to pray and follow me along this adventure of serving God in Honduras, be reminded that God is sovereign and that He hears, provides wisdom, and works in ways we would never expect.

Jer. 33:3
'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

Mailing Address

Several of you have asked me about my mailing address in Honduras.

If you want to reach me by mail, my mailing address will be at the International School.

You should address any mail like this:

Laura Diaz

International School

Box 2282

Tegucigalpa Honduras
CENTRAL AMERICA

It takes approximately one month for letters/packages to arrive in Honduras from the States.

And of course, you can always keep in touch through e-mail (ldiaz@westmont.edu), facebook (Laura C. Diaz), or skype (misslauradiaz). Hearing from you would be a great encouragement to me!

Adios and Rootbeer floats

You are invited to drop by for a Root Beer float at the Diaz Home, 13 Marlin Court, anytime from 7-9 pm Sunday night - August 8th- to say "Adios" to me as I'm leaving this week to teach 4th grade at International School of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I'll have a slide show of pictures of the school/Tegucigalpa, so you can see where I'll be! Stop by if you can; I'd love to see you before I embark.