Time flies...

Sorry that it’s been more than a week since I have written! Our internet has not been working at all since Wednesday. It’s the end of rainy season and it’s going out with a BANG! We’ve had heavy rain every day for the last week and una tormenta that knocked down several trees and caused some leaks in our house.  I can get our neighbors internet from my room (don’t worry they know!) and that is how I’m posting this.

In other news – I started running again. First you must know that I don’t breathe well at high altitudes. That is why I waited a full 3 weeks before even thinking about running. That first day casi morí . I made it 10 minutes before I had to quit. I.am.pathetic. But I kept it up and I am definitely doing better! Except that the family dogs sometimes forget who I am and bark ferociously at me.

More importantly, it’s been a busy week here! We had some car trouble that threw a wrench in a number of our plans. We did NOT make it to Tegucigalpa this week, which was a bummer for a number of reasons. I did make it to “Ladies’ Bible study”, which is such a blessing to me! We did not manage to go out to dinner for my birthday (that’s right - I’m 22 now!!), but we did make it to sign class and bible study – both good things! Also Paul bought me a cake, the family sang to me and all the kids made me cards :D.

 This weekend there was a Missionary conference here in Siguatepeque. I met A LOT of people! I know most of you recognize that I am very outgoing, but it is a little terrifying to me to introduce myself to people and be in a room full of people I don’t know. I did manage to get over my fears a bit and got to know some really cool people. I finally met the pastor of my church here! The family just got home from furlough last week. They seem like a really great family and Pastor Tim really has a heart for the Lord and for the people here in Honduras.  The speaker this weekend was Dave Howard. He is the brother –in-law of the late Jim Elliot, who was one of the 5 missionaries killed in Ecuador in the 1950s (book – Through Gates of Splendor – one of the best books I’ve ever read). He spoke the whole weekend about Peter and the example of his life and how it pertains especially to missionaries. He talked about the costs of being a missionary and following God’s call on your life and about mistakes, doubts, and things (like pride and self-sufficiency) that can ruin your ministry. I heard from God in a lot of ways over the weekend. I’m very glad I had the opportunity to go!

I also got to go to a different sign class – with pretty much all Hondureños. There are about 6 deaf people and maybe 15 hearing people and they’re all learning sign together. Until about 3 years ago, no one in this city knew sign language. There is definitely a deaf community here, but they had no one to teach them to sign. Deaf people don’t just KNOW sign, they need to be taught! Schools for students with special needs and ready information and resources for parents with children with disabilities are things we take for granted in the US. Can you even fathom being deaf and not knowing sign language? I hadn’t even considered it as a possibility until recently. I have met some incredibly intelligent and dedicated deaf people who in just a short time were able to learn how to sign and effectively communicate with others and finally show to those around them that they are people and they are worth something. They are teachers, painters, students and fellow members of the body of Christ. I praise God that I am learning sign and have the opportunity to get to know them. I am especially glad that I have already been able to communicate better with Jenni. She has a great sense of humor and I know that God is using this to teach both of us something.

Church yesterday was great. We talked about the true purpose of a church and even spent some time in groups brainstorming answers to these questions: “What comes to mind when you hear the word church? What is the purpose of a church? What does a church need to accomplish its purpose?” Unfortunately for my group, I was the scribe. My group was trilingual (Sign, English, Spanish) and it was hard for me to keep up with everyone. I learned some new words though. ‘Sabiduría’ means ‘wisdom’ and ‘liderazgo’ means ‘strong leader’.

Wow! I almost ended this blog post without talking about school! We only had three normal days last week, so not much happened. All of the kids are progressing well! The current hiccup for the older two is grammar. Their textbooks don’t always give the clearest explanation of some concepts and then we’re all in the dark! Math is a strength for all of them. They all think quickly and logically. I am working on reading skills most intensively with the youngest and I can already see some progress. He got a 100% on his spelling test this morning! Sometimes I wonder if having a class of 20 children of the same grade would be easier that trying to teach 3 grades at the same time.  I am responsible for helping my students with 20 different subjects.  That’s not even counting Spanish and Sign Language. It’s overwhelming sometimes!

ALSO this weekend we went to some really beautiful caves nearby. Please enjoy the following photos :D

My last thoughts for this post are about appreciation. I know you have all done things or had jobs that are completely thankless and TRUST ME, I have been there too. You don’t serve God expecting that you are going to be recognized or even thanked. The couple I work for though does fantastic job of thanking me and frequently tells people what a blessing I am to them and their family. I appreciate this and I will take the time to tell you they are all a blessing to me in different ways and this first month has FLOWN by!