Unforgettable

The boys in this picture have definitely become an unforgettable part of my year in Honduras... Any teacher understands that while you may grow to love your entire class as you serve them for a year, there will always be those who stand out and who you will remember for the rest of your life - maybe for good, for bad, or both... They may not even know, but they grab onto your heart and may never let go - even if you don't see them anymore.

First, there was Nyah and Dalton...

Then there were many in a class absolutely hand-picked by God. Chaney, Ambran, Jasmine... Chris... Tim...

Last year there were Deandre and Brooke... Saylor...

This year, there will be a few, and somewhere in that list will be the names Pablo and Eduardo.

Pablo, on the left, has been the center of attention in many of my classroom stories and through many of our days together in class, whether I liked it or not. Pablo and I have developed a bit of a love-hate relationship, and I mean that in the nicest ways possible... I love him and think that he is a one-of-a-kind kid. He goes through seasons of being funny and easy to appreciate and then sometimes he becomes rebellious and extra-impulsive. He's a funny kid though, and I just may always think of him when I see anything related to the Peanuts cartoons, because that has been his newest obsession for the last two or three months or so.

Pablo is a great kid that I'm honored to know, but the real reason for this post is the other boy in the picture.

Eduardo.

At the beginning of the year, there were definitely days when I thought that my class would be almost perfect if only I could get rid of him. He walked into my classroom on the first morning of school without even acknowledging me in the doorway and then raised up both of his arms into some sort of dramatically presented entrance as if to say, "What's up? I'm here..." His attitude was cocky, oppositional, and often just defiant. He looked at me with hatred and often refused to do anything. I honestly had to pray that God would help me to love him...

And you know what? God answers prayer.

I was overwhelmed with emotion a few days ago as I watched him play soccer at recess because I realized just how much I've come to love him... He's still not perfect by any means - but he's usually not defiant anymore. Lazy, yes. Oppositional, no. We've developed a wonderful relationship that involves a lot of sarcasm and smiling... Somewhere deep down, underneath his tough-guy exterior, I've glimpsed compassion for others. I almost cried one day as I watched him sacrifice some of his own very valuable recess time to make sure another kid was okay and to help him to the nurse... And he didn't just do this for one of his friends in the cool crowd. He helped a kid that I've heard him tease before.

Praise the Lord for the encouragement that I feel from realizing these changes, and I pray that they are taking deep roots in his life so that they are never pulled up...