TGIF

Can I just say, I am so thrilled to have the place to myself tonight? All in all I would say this week was good, and so was the day. However, it was also a long day. I've been extremely tired this week and have been hating the first 10-20 minutes of my days with passion. This afternoon, I rode a school bus into the city with two other teachers, and we braved the bank... Banks here are really weird compared to the Regions banks that I'm used to. You can usually hear crickets at the ones back home, but these are very crowded. We only had to stand in line for about 30 minutes, which I'm pretty sure was a good record. It's also interesting to go to the bank here because of safety concerns. They have guards all over, and getting into the bank is similar to getting through an airport. You have to be extremely aware of everyone around you, and you're not supposed to withdraw too much at one time because you could then become a target for theft. We didn't have any problems, though - praise the Lord.

Then we went grocery shopping, which takes a really long time with a full bus of people. So now we're finally home. I was going to go play games with some people in another apartment - but I need to rest and refuel a bit instead.

Tomorrow we are going to a place that translates to Valley of Angels. Apparently it's a pretty big tourist attraction full of shops and Honduran market-type stuff. I'm pretty excited about it. Of course, we don't have a long weekend like everyone else - but we do next week! The Honduran Independence Day is on the 15th, so we're out on that Monday and Tuesday. Yay for a 4-day weekend! A group of us are planning to travel to Amapala. Apparently we'll be sharing a house, playing on the beach (my first trip to the Pacific!), and possibly hiking a volcano! I am so excited and can't wait to share stories and pictures! :)

One of my prayers for this experience has been that I will love every single one of my students whole-heartedly... I can really see that love developing - for those both easy and difficult to love. In fact, my biggest challenge could end up with the largest piece of my heart. :)

They're so funny, and when they are under control - I really enjoy them. I wish I could post some audio of their adorable accents and the ways they butcher the English language. :)

My heart has been in a very different place for the last few mornings. I burned two cds of my favorite worship songs, and I play them every morning as we start our day. I love the tone it sets... And recently, in the very few minutes when I'm in my classroom after teacher devotions and before the kids arrive, I have felt such an overwhelming awe of God... It's nice to feel a refreshed adoration of my Father. It radically changes the state of my mind and my demeanor.

Today on the bus ride into the city, I had a wonderful conversation with my small group leader. She is 30 and like me, has never had a serious relationship - but yet it is something she wants... I asked her if it's ever a big struggle for her, and she said it's usually not a huge deal. She said, "My prayer is 'Lord - You don't have to make me happy. Just make me Yours.'" She said that she still lives a life of love and she has joy - so even if she dies without ever having had a husband or children, she will have what matters most. She has such a beautiful peace... Of course, we were actually discussing it because of an article in Christianity Today that says we should all get married early. I haven't read the entire thing yet, but it really baffles me a little bit because it's not like I can really control the age when I get married. It's not like in a few months I can say, "Okay - now I'm 25. I think I'll get married this year." It takes two to tango.

I'm really struggling to understand the way that the US is handling Honduras's political problems. Apparently Clinton met with Mel yesterday and they are still backing him 100% - now withholding the rest of their money and claiming that they will not recognize the upcoming election as valid as long as this interim government is still in control when the election is held. It just doesn't make sense to me that our country would be siding with Chavez and Ortega. I don't understand how they can be so forceful with a country who is following their own democratic constitution, just because it doesn't exactly match that of the U.S... And what I really don't understand is how the people working at the United States Embassy are not clearing things up back home by relaying truth. They say that Honduran government is corrupt, and a huge part of me is starting to think something shady is going down with some of the US liasons. I absolutely just don't understand...

A wise person once told me that you will realize who you are closest to and who you love based on who you miss the most when you leave. As of tomorrow, I will have been here for four weeks. It's interesting to think about the people who still come to mind every single day. It's funny because four weeks doesn't seem like a long time, but it's almost been a month. Possibly one down and ten to go. That's just crazy when I think back to all the time spent anticipating this.

In other news, I highly recommend that anybody and everybody do the Esther Bible study by Beth Moore. I still haven't been incredibly consistent - but this study has matched my needs, my burdens, and my weaknesses more than any other that I've done in the past... I love how the timing of each lesson is so perfectly planned, even when it seems kind of random because of my inconsistency. I'm pretty sure I may do it over again as soon as I finish. :)

As for the food update: I now have all the ingredients for my grandmother's chicken spaghetti except chili powder - and it's possible that one of the spices in the kitchen is the same as that - but I just can't quite figure out the Spanish label.

So as of now, I think the only thing I'm really struggling to find is Rotel. Looks like I'll be making room for that in my next 50 lb. suitcase. :)

Tomorrow is a very big day here because Honduras is playing Trinidad and Tobago for a world cup qualifying game in San Pedro Sula... However, I'm still sporting the orange and blue and saying "War eagle!"