Little Treasures

Man, I love these kids so much…but, they drive me crazy!  Always testing the waters, pushing my buttons, but pushing each other’s more.  They can be so sweet and then ten minutes later they’re throwing a fit on the ground or fighting.   I just keep telling myself to suck it up and get through winter school—their version of summer camp and what the newbies are in charge of every year…which is me, Curtis, and Kit—but it’s hard.  I hope this is good training for Kinder though.  Lord knows I need it.  Tutoring in the middle school every morning, on the other hand, is so much more calm and relaxed!  I love it and love teaching them, even when they have attitude.  They don’t get nearly as disrespectful as some of the little guys can. 

This is really when I need to remind myself that I’m in the thick of it now.  I’m finally living out my mission.  I work at a children’s home in rural Honduras—there are endless amounts of chickens and turkeys living outside my window under the roof of our clothesline—and my job is to help  teach, love, raise, cherish, and care for these 37 kids and I know I’m right where I should be.  No one ever said this would be easy. They did say it would be one of the most fulfilling things I’ll do my whole life. 

A new pet turtle the kids found at winter camp

Oso, our resident watch dog who isn't actually ours

And I see this at the end of the day when I’ve finished with the long meetings, the disciplining, my (sometimes very gross) chores, the cooking after struggling to light that fire in the rain and waiting three hours for the beans to be done, and even after that cold shower that’s feeling more and more unwelcomingly icy every day.  That’s when I think to myself, “Thank you God so much for bringing me here.  Thank you for letting them steal my heart.”  Because if I really look back and think about my day I’m reminded of the beauty around me and of those priceless moments I know I’ll remember for years to come.  From sitting in morning prayer with the little girls who are cuddled up to me, still shivering from the morning shower, to the beautiful sunrise that greets us every morning as we walk to the Chapel, warming our hearts as it’s gentle rays peek over the mountains and dance through the branches.  I’m reminded of making coffee and donuts from scratch with the older girls who need the love and attention all teenage girls seek; of laughing and joking and doing each others hair; of simple, quiet games of chess, even as they teach me by way of relentlessly destroying me; of those sweet moments when a house 4 boy runs up to hug me with an unfaltering joy-filled smile.  I’m even reminded in the times I struggle to light the fire only to be surprised by the girls next door cheering me on and encouraging me with their shouts and crazy cheers.  And finally when I make myself get into that icy cold shower and dry off, I know my endurance and will power is getting stronger and more resilient. I’m becoming a more patient person every day.  

God works in these moments of all our lives, but I think I’m finally learning that it all really depends on the attitudes we take.  Some days will always be harder than others, but we still have that choice. I think the same goes for understanding blessings in the world where so much suffering exists. We live in a fallen world and must choose to look for the beauty that God creates out of tragedies. 

(Thanksgiving blog to come! Just got to the internet after it rained and flooded for 3 days straight...pictures to come soon too! Promise!)