I should be in bed...

I can't believe that work starts again bright and early tomorrow morning. This weekend feels like it has evaporated.

The most surprising and exciting point in my weekend came yesterday afternoon around 4:30 as I was lying on my bed and stalking my friend Kassi on Facebook. I heard a knock on my door and Twana busted in saying, "Come jump on the bungee cord trampoline with me!" The Catholic church across the street had set up this contraption similar to those you often see in a mall or something like that, and it was free to participate. We walked over there and met up with three other teachers, and the next thing I knew, my shoes were off and the harness was on.

I started by jumping a little bit while they lifted the bungee cord. Then, next thing I knew, this Honduran guy was hanging onto my harness and sling-shotting me up into the air... I definitely screamed and squealed, because the height surprised me. From that point on, my feet didn't really touch the trampoline, and I would kick my feet (with pointed toes) when I got scared at the top... Every time I would stop going quite so high, the guy would catch me and sling-shot me sky-high again. I didn't have the courage to attempt a flip, but at one point I did realize that I should look out and see what was around me as I looked over the trees. Apparently I entertained my friends because I was laughing and squealing and talking to them, and the next thing they knew I was saying, "Hey! There are horses over there!"

Seriously... You never know what your day will be like in Honduras.

We're trying to keep that in mind as we try once again to travel to the Pacific at the end of this week because of our days off for Thanksgiving. The elections are scheduled for next Sunday, and there are rumors that the city will be blocked off starting on either Wednesday or Friday, preventing anyone from getting into or out of Tegus. I think I'll be okay if we get blocked in - but I'm not super-thrilled about the idea of getting blocked out.

The key to life in Honduras is flexibility.

I bought some twinkle-lights at the grocery school last weekend, and I hung them up tonight. I like them so much, they just might stay in place until June. :)

I feel like a broken record as I sing the praises of the ways the Lord speaks to me through the Esther Bible study, but it's definitely happened again today. I watched the seventh video session, and I was so blessed by the ways it spoke to my circumstances and my questions. I've always been a bit of a control freak, even in my relationship with the Lord and in seeking His plans for my life. I'm usually looking to the details of the next steps and how He's working everything out and just asking Him to give me wisdom and show me what He is doing and what He wants... And now is no exception.

But the scenarios addressed this week really targeted my struggles...

"It's tough being a woman who feels responsible for the 'how'."
Even as I consider the options of the end results, I'm trying to figure out the means... But 2 Peter 2:9 and Psalm 103:14 are just a couple of examples that show us that The Lord knows how!

"It's tough being a woman who can balance passion with patience."
This one talked about waiting on the Lord and longing for something while you wait - but trusting in Him to use the wait for a purpose and to bring the whirlwind answer at the perfect time.

I'm feeling comforted...

I'm thankful for the amazing, godly women that God has placed in my life to give me sound council - Mom, Faith, Katherine, Kassi, Mrs. Leigh Ann, and others...

I'm thankful that even a sermon on giving from Malachi points me in the right direction toward my answers.

And I'm thankful that December is only a month away... :)

Yes - I should be teaching now...

I just want to take a minute to document this wonderful day. We've actually had a great week (as a whole) and I'm thrilled in moments like this when I can look out all over my peaceful classroom and see 22 sets of eyes that are glued to the pages of books.

Praise You Lord for the beautiful moments that, though fleeting, keep us going...

Today is...

November 19th.

Do you know what that means???

I'm coming home in ONE MONTH!!!

In fact, I'm coming home four weeks from Saturday.

And I feel pretty confident that the next month will pass quickly. After all, next week is just half a week of school. Then I'm leaving with a group Thursday morning and going to Amapala - which is the south beach here in Honduras. It's nothing glamorous - except for the volvano and black sand... :) That should be adventurous.

Then when we return, I'm sure that just like at home - we will be full-swing into the wonderful madness that is the Christmas season... We have a Christmas bazaar/program to prepare for and have, and at some point I think there are a couple of Christmas parties for the teachers, on top of the class party that I guess we'll have on the 18th.

The time has been passing quickly ever since we started teaching for full weeks, so I know home will be here before I know it. It's incredibly tempting to live for the future - but for now, the present is calling... It's time to check the homework, prepare the morning devotion, look over the math lesson, and make sure these crazy loons are following directions on their morning work.

Que les vaya bien... :)

And the greatest of these is love...

I was late for devotions this morning (as usual...). I don't know what my problem is. I usually consider myself to be a fairly punctual person. However, when it comes to devotions at 6:55 - it's like there's a magnetic force holding me in my apartment no matter how early I get up.

When I walked in, I was surprised to see one of our newest employees, who has been here for about a week or two, sharing. It just seemed like it was a little early for him to be in the devotion rotation. Anyway - I'm sad that I missed part of what he shared because it's obvious that it really meant a lot to a lot of people, and it's come up in bits and pieces of conversations throughout the day.

He was talking about love, and he questioned and challenged how well we show genuine love to people who are hard to love.

He talked about how faith, hope, and love abide; but the greatest of these is love. Why is love the greatest? Because it is the only one that will never change. One day, faith will be sight and hope will be reality - but love is everlasting.

He read 1 Corinthians 13 and was choked up all the way through it.

In his translation, it said love is not easily angered - and that really resounded with me as I thought about how often my class feels hard to love. That has really been something I have been challenged with this year. Even when they are being loud or silly or rude and I can't hear myself think, much less get a word in edgewise, I'm learning to not be easily angered. Even when I'm displeased, I can be calm and just wait.

As I've gone through my day and heard more about what he shared, I learned that he really focused on the truth from 1 John 4:8 which says, "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

If God is love, then 1 Corinthians 13 changes - and it is no longer just an impossible and overwhelming list of rules about how we should love our spouse or our children or our annoying students... It becomes more like something we receive...

God is patient.

God is kind.

God does not envy.

He does not boast.

He is not proud.

God is not rude.

He is not self-seeking.

God is not easily angered.

God keeps no record of wrongs. (because of the blood of Christ!)

He does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

God always protects...

Always trusts...

Always hopes...

Always perseveres...

God never fails.

My cup overflows... :)

This morning, as I rode on the school bus through the city on the way to church and looked around at this place that I call "home" this year, I struggled to fight back tears of joy and thanksgiving. I LOVE IT HERE. As I look at the people and the places, all I see is beauty...

Last night, I was journaling my prayers, and this is part of what I wrote:

"The blessings in my life abound. I can't believe this is the life You've chosen for me. It actually feels too good, like something really bad is going to happen soon.
I am so thankful that I can cling to You for stability. This year feels like it should be a valley because my life is harder, I'm away from my family, my class is worse, my living situation is awkward, etc. However, this feels like a mountaintop.
And yet I haven't done anything to deserve it.
But You have not only given me everything I need... You've given me so much of everything that I want."

One of the newest additions to the list of experiences here was going to the stadium in the city last night to watch Honduras beat Latvia 2-1. It was really loud... A lot of the fans buy these plastic horns and basically blow on them through the WHOLE game... It's better to sit close to the top so nothing gets thrown on you, but seats are first-come, first-serve. There are people walking through the stands selling beer, food, cigarettes, gum, and more - and they walk through the seats and basically climb and drip all over you. That wasn't my favorite part. However, I thoroughly enjoyed jumping and singing "Ole!!! Ole! Ole! Oleeeee!!!" when we scored. And - Hondurans like to do the wave too! :)

I feel like I'm learning so much here. I really hope it all sinks in so I can genuinely look back on this as a life-changing experience.

This morning, I was really convicted about some grand statements that I've made lately that have revealed a lack of submission in my life - as if I think I'm in control and making my own plans which I expect others to try to fit into. I'm learning that God is the provider of life to the fullest - not matter where that life is planted. It's His time. It's His place. It's His job. It's His family. It's His friends. It's His ministry. It's His heart...

What a week...

This week has been a whirl-wind. It's nice to sit back and realize that it went by quickly. On the other hand, weeks like this demand downtime for recovery...

Most of my days were crazy as usual. We had some rough moments - like this morning when Roberto turned to me and said over all the noise going on during unpacking time, "Miss... I can't hear myself think!" I told him, "I know. That's how I feel all the time!" And yet - what's the solution? Yelling over them to tell them to quiet down seems oddly inappropriate. We also had some good times... Our Bible lesson this week was about the Ten Commandments (which was nice considering I taught about them at camp this summer) and I definitely taught my kids the song that has helped me remember them ever since VBS in 2001. They were part of the theme song for Truth Trackers, and now they'll hopefully stick in the minds of 21 Hondurans and 1 North American...

Speaking of singing, they also insisted on calling my daddy and singing "Happy Birthday" to him via Skype this morning. It was something we did for Mom, and they didn't want him to be left out.

Happy birthday, Daddy!

Tuesday and Wednesday were half-days for the students so we could spend our afternoons conferencing with parents. Here at Pinares, students can only receive their 9-week report cards if their parents come pick them up at a parent teacher conference. This was a new experience for me because although we were "required" to have two parent conferences per year at Vincent, it never really happened. As it turns out, I believe conferences hold the teacher accountable just as much as the students... It is a time to look into the eyes of someone who cares deeply and to really evaluate the grades much more closely than when they are just entered into the gradebook or computer as quickly as possible.

So in that light, there's nothing quite like 21 parent-teacher conferences in 28 hours to make you feel like a terrible teacher. After all, if they're failing - is it because I'm failing them?

And those same 21 parent-teacher conferences can also leave you feeling very inexperienced and clueless. What do you say when a parent looks at you helplessly and asks, "So what do we do to help her (or him)?"

So - I've tried to raise the bar on my teaching this week. I feel like I've spent the last nine weeks trying to keep things fun for the kids to minimize boredom. I've constantly focused on switching up my instructional methods from whole-group to small groups to partners to independent studies in order to fight against routine and to keep the kids interested while simultaneously minimizing protests and complaining. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I've had learning that results from quality instruction at the top of my priority list. This week I realized that their growth has to come before their entertainment.

So this week, I've tried to be much more hands-on... Of course, I can't promise that they're listening. In fact, with this group - I can pretty much guarantee that at least a fourth of them are not at any given time. However, it seems like this will be a year when at the very least, I won't go down without a fight... Unfortunately, this has also meant that productivity on tasks such as grading and lesson plans was lowered drastically during the school day. It's funny because we're required to have our weekly lesson plans finished and papers graded by Friday afternoons. That means that we have to do it all during the week. It's nice to try to quit the habit of spending each weekend on school things, but it's funny because the weekend sometimes feels like the only time when the days are long enough to get anything done. So the battle ensues between dedicating devoted attention to instruction and monitoring students' work all day, or using testing and assignment times to accomplish tasks that could consume the after-school hours.

I feel like I'm rambling.

A few days ago, someone asked me how long I've been teaching... That's such an awkward question because I've technically taught for two and a half years (three as of next month) - but this is my fourth class.

I can't believe that. This is my fourth class...

I've taught about 95 kids - and if they remember me as they grow up, I will forever be included in the list of their elementary school teachers. I still remember every teacher I had when I was little... I can't believe I am one of them now.

So tonight has turned into a night of movies and coloring. Yes. That's right. I'm 25 years old and I've been coloring for a few hours. It's very relaxing. So are You've Got Mail (my favorite!) and Sweet Home Alabama. In fact - it's time for a dvd change. On to Serendipity... :)

Oh, and it's also past time to call Mom.

But before I do, I know I need to add a few things to my list of things that I can't wait to do over Christmas break - I'll be coming home five weeks from tomorrow!!!!!!!

• burn the midnight oil at Jason's Deli with Megan (and hopefully Tina, Lolita, Big Rhonda, and Milton Thorton - if they decide to show up) and maybe even a sleepover!
• finally hear the story of Sarah's engagement (and if you're reading this and you know it, please don't ruin it for me... I've been waiting until she can tell me in person!) and maybe even see her new house.
• hopefully have dinner and spend a little time with Charli the girl... :)
• eat at Chickfila, Jim n Nick's, Zaxby's, Taco Bell, Don Pepe, and Mi Casita...

I'm not sure two weeks and two days are enough time for all these wonderful blessings...

In the holiday spirit...

So - visions of sugar-plums have been dancing in my head all day... Except not really. But I have definitely had Christmas on the brain! We've got a bit of a cold snap going on here, so maybe that's part of it... It really hit me this morning that the next time I am home - it will be full-on Christmas season! I'M SO EXCITED!!!!

I can't wait to:

• go to the Brook Hills Christmas Eve service
• drive around looking at Christmas lights
• go to Starbucks for hot chocolate
• drive past the Summit to see if they have the dreidels again
• eat lots of yummy food... :)
• watch Christmas movies (Elf and The Santa Clause!)
• give and receive gifts
• drive Caroline and listen to 96.5 (confession - i'm streaming it right now!!!!)
• sleep in my bed
• spend time with my family
• see Faith, Katherine, Leslie, and Mrs. Leigh Ann
• see Jera, John, Rachel, and lots of extended family!!!
• see the boy
• see Miranda and Nashville
• go to Brook Hills on Dec. 20th, Dec. 27th, and Jan. 3rd!!!!!!!!!!

I've definitely had, "Oh there's no place like home for the holidays... 'Cause no matter how far away you roam... If you want to be happy in a million ways... For the holidays you can't beat home, sweet home" stuck in my head ALL DAY. But I think it's been more like the version from the Lowe's commercial. How weird is that? I'm not even sure I've seen that commercial. (I did, however, see a commercial for Taco Bell that made me a little misty-eyed last night.)

If I had twinkle lights - I would untangle and hang them tonight!

But since I don't, I'll just decorate the blog. That's right - I'm skipping Thanksgiving. It's okay though. One of my students told me on Monday that his family put up their tree last weekend! :)