There’s something so sweet and so beautiful about feeling a child’s arms wrap around your waist. Or that feeling when they fall and scrape their knee and you are the person they run to for comfort. Or when they are having a rough day and go to your arms for relief. Or when they are excited about any small accomplishment and rush to tell you every detail.
That is my life everyday at the school. Whether or not the school day itself is good or bad, whether i’m happy and lighthearted or tired and stressed, that is one thing that is always a constant. Those precious babies are why I am here, and being with them is my happy place.
When my heart is heavy with homesickness, their laughter picks it back up.
When my emotions are raw and on edge, their smiles are what soothes them.
When I am filled with joy and contentment, their faces remind me why.
From wiping tears from their cheeks to dancing in circles and laughing in unison, I adore every moment I get to spend with this group of fourth graders. I truly wish I could bring each of them back to the States with me so that everyone back home could meet them and see how much potential pours from their souls.
MINISTRY/DAILY LIFE
The last few weeks, we have continued to adjust to our new lives and busy schedules. I get to help teach science to my class because the book is in English and the teacher only speaks Spanish. Getting to help teach lessons and make quizzes has really helped me feel more at home and involved with my role in the school. A couple weeks ago, it was fourth grade’s turn to run elementary chapel. Since our story for that week was Daniel and the Lion’s Den, I was able to write a short play that involved each student. They worked so hard to make their costumes and memorize each line and did such an amazing job. I was so blown away and so proud of them.
We got to go to a waterfall a couple weeks ago. It was a beautiful hike and felt so refreshing to swim in the cold water spending time with our team and the singles group from church. If you ever happen to be in Honduras, I highly recommend going on one of the waterfall hikes!
A few days ago, Josh, Mac, Cam and I spontaneously decided to hike up a mountain. We took Keneth as our guide and found ourselves on a three-hour hike that was mostly uphill as we climbed the side of the mountain. From getting stuck in stinging nettle to exploring an abandoned house, this hike is probably the coolest thing I’ve done here. The view was breathtaking; we could see the city and the airport mountains and valleys and sugarcane fields and villages for miles on end. We even ended up seeing the sunset over this scene on our way back down; hands down my favorite adventure so far.
PRAYER REQUESTS
INTERESTING/FUNNY STORIES
The other night, my roommate Mary Elisabeth had just showered and had her hair wrapped up in a towel. As we sat talking, I noticed something dark sticking up from the top of her towel; the next thing I knew, the biggest scorpion yet was crawling around on top of the towel on her head! I said, “Ma... Ma... Mary... there’s a scorpion on your head!” She saw the look on my face and knew I wasn’t joking around.
There a few huge bulls loose in our village right now. (AKA, they got away from their herd and now they just go where they want). One charged a few of my teammates, one ran into the middle of third grade’s PE class and sent kids screaming and running every direction, and one had a stare down with me as I slowly backed away. It’s been quite the adventure trying to avoid the bulls and their horns as we go about the village!
As always, thank you dearly for taking the time to follow my life on the mission field. In Spanish, they don’t say “I miss you” the way we do. They say, “te echa de menos,” which literally means “you are missing from me.” I think that is so beautiful; and so, to all my friends and family and my church family back home: you are missing from me, and I am overjoyed at the thought of getting to share all of my experiences with you.
With so much love,
Allee
