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June 10, 2007

Queridos amigos,

Wow… what a week. There is so much to say that I hardly know where to begin. It's truly incredible how quickly we have been immersed in life here at the Finca. This past week has presented immense challenges and incredible moments of grace. Life here is certainly not always easy, but it is quite blessed. I tangibly feel God breathing life and hope into this place and calling it all "good".

I know my last email was pretty rushed (email is quite sketchy here) and some of you may be wondering just exactly what's happened or what we're doing here. The run-down: Cassidy and I live in a house with about fifteen other volunteers, two bathrooms, cold mountain water(sometimes), plenty of geckoes and an abundance of love. To be honest, I've gotten used to the simplicity of life pretty quickly… hand-washing clothes, cooking all meals from complete scratch, thin mattresses on wooden slabs, roosters crowing at all hours of thenight. Our bodies are holding up quite well despite countless bugbites, lots of heat, our perpetual body odor, and a few strange rashes :) Neither Cassidy nor I have gotten too terribly sick yet, which is a huge blessing.

The volunteer community here is quite incredible… compassionate, faith-filled, idealistic young people with so much love to give our kids and each other. Living, eating, and praying with them has been one of my biggest blessings. From giving tips on washing our clothes in the pila to encouragement after an excruciating day at school, they have been a constant source of support for us, and I have been immensely blessed by their companionship through late-night talks on the beach under the bright stars of the Caribbean sky, lessons in tajada-making, and folk-choir jam sessions in the kitchen. Beautiful and bizarre and totally unique, all of them. How blessed I am to be their sister.

We're beginning to get a pretty good feel for the rhyme and rhythm of life here and jump into it quickly. I'm going to be teaching at the school most of the summer, filling in for random classes (mostly 3-4 Science, 5-6 English, and 6 Spanish) in the beginning of the summer and teaching the Special Education classes towards the end of July. Cassidy will be working mostly with the colegio (older kids). I have a newfound respect for teachers after my first day with the 5th grade this past Wednesday… I never thought a group of 12-year-olds could tear me down so much. The language barrier makes things difficult, as we teach entirely in Spanish, and the kids often are not as respectful of new "profas" as they should be. My class was given some pretty severe consequences, and I do have some pretty wonderful apology notes to show off to you all when I get home :) Amazingly, they were much more well-behaved the rest of the week. Teaching will be one of my biggest challenges, especially because my class schedule won't always be consistent. While it isn't exactly an excuse, I constantly have to remind myself that almost all of our kids come from broken, abusive backgrounds and often act out without reason. Each morning, I pray that I may be intentional about loving them in truth and action.

And I do love them… all of them, so much, in spite of everything. I frequently have moments here which are simply too much for words… moments filled with grace and love. I find God's alegria in the wide, smiling eyes of Honduran kids watching their four "profas" jump into the "posa" (fresh-water swimming hole) fully clothed after hiking an hour down the mountain back from mass, in the sign of peace, in knowing that we are all part of the Body of Christ. God speaks through beautiful Honduran sunsets, through the songs and games of the littlest girls in House 1, through my newfound family here at the Finca. I cling to these sacred moments. I am learning to love, to be small, to pour out to others.

For any of you who might be able to pray for me "por nombre" this coming week… prayers for continued health, quick learning of Spanish,and above all the grace to love would be so very appreciated. Know that I love you all so much... thank you for being part of my journey.

Open. Empty. Be filled.
Hug children.
Erin