Excited

Well it is official! I will be teaching Fourth Grade for the entire year next year! I am super excited! Starting at the end of this month I will spend a month at Nashville School helping them in whatever aspect they see fit. I will then be home for a month before returning to start the school year at Interamerican! The teachers and administration here have been so helpful and friendly and I can not wait to be with them for an entire year! My class size next year will almost double! I also hope to do some language school over my break to be able to help in more ways at Breaking Chains while I am here.

"Love each other as I have loved you"

We are always taught as children to treat other how we would want to be treated. This lesson would come to my mind a lot when I first came here to Honduras. Now however it seems to be second nature. I have met the widest variety of people here in Honduras. From my various students and my new coworkers, to the people from the street here in Honduras, I LOVE them all. This message is so very important. It doesn't matter what we are or where we have come from, it doesn't matter the clothes we have on or the cars we drive. What truly matters is the relationships we can forge and the lives we have the power to change. If you are reading this it means you are on the hard side of the equation. The side of the equation that can shape, mold, and save the other side. We have the means to do amazing things for people less fortunate than we are. Whether its a smile to a stranger or a hug to someone in need it is important for us to do these things because it is what He would do. We need to be open to everyone God puts into our lives because there is a reason for their presence.
I can now say I treat people the way I want to be treated. I want people to smile, laugh, and give me a great big hug. So that is what I'll do. And it is as simple as that.

Breath of Fresh Air

The last few days have been pretty frustrating for me at school. My kids were not doing homework assignments, not paying attention in class, and just flat out behaving badly. With only a few weeks left of school I can't blame them for being antsy but it has been really tough, and to top it all off I have a head cold and have been losing my voice all week. Today, yet again, the majority of my 4th graders didn't do their homework. They were punished with a day without recess and they were yet again pretty mad with me. On the bus (van) ride home I sat in the back of the van instead of where I usually sit which is up front. In the back is where most of the younger kids sit and because they are just beginning to learn english I usually can't talk with them too much. As I sat towards the back the kids kept pointing out everything they could find that they knew the english word for. I realized they were doing this because they wanted to show me that they could speak my language. Also I now know just about every house's color in the entire city thanks to them. It was just what I needed today. I needed God to show me yet again that there is a reason that I am here. I was put here to help these kids and not just the 4th graders I spend the majority of my time with. I am here because of the entire school, I am here because of the sweet faces at Breaking Chains, and I am here because of the countless people I will still be meeting on my journey here in Honduras.

My Students

My kids and I at the Museo para la Identidad Nacional!

The Faces I Love

A few of the people I have come to know at Breaking Chains

This is Kimberly, however everyone else calls her by her other name Nicole. I love this girl. She might be a bit mischievous but she is my favorite. She greets me with a big hug everyday and is constantly starting tickle wars with me.

Here we have Kimberly, Diana, and Escarleth. These are some of the sweetest girls you could meet. Well Diana not so much.... She is a handful but her and I have been able to share some sweet moments together. Escarleth loves running with us. She has recently been the only child that comes with us and she keeps up with the adults just fine.

A sweet moment for Diana and I!

This is Martin. But I call him Luscious because of that great hair of his. He does not live at the building but shows up consistently now. At first he would not allow us to give him clothes but that has changed. My next goal is to get him to accept a pair of shoes.

There are two babies at the building and I constantly get their names mixed up. This is me slowly getting over my fear of holding babies.

Jonatan and Arol. These are two brothers that can always bring a smile to my face. They are my movie watching buddies even though Jonatan has succeeded in falling asleep at every movie so far. I am especially excited about bringing these two kids to see Lion King this week!


For even more info on some of the people at the Breaking Chains Building visit Amber's blog at http://amberinhonduras.blogspot.com/ She updates the blog all the time with stories and some beautiful photos!

A New Family

Last night was a monumental day at the Breaking Chains building! The number of people living there has not reached 40! The newest addition is a family which includes a boy with down's syndrome, his two siblings, and grandmother. The family is as sweet as can be and had nowhere else to turn. They first arrived at church on Sunday and said that they were being evicted from their current residence because they could not afford to pay the rent. The move in date was set for the next day and last night we went to help them move their belongings. I was amazed by what I saw.

David, Amber, Rosie, Yovany, Escarleth, and the mother of the family went in David's truck to pick up the family and all their belongings. It was raining when we arrived at a small apartment building. The entrance to the building was wide open and we walked down a long corridor until we reached their room. Yes just a room. A room where 6 people live. A room the size of the room I am sitting in right now. They had only one mattress. It suddenly hit me how much I take for granted how truly blessed I am. I can't imagine having everything my family owns fit into half of a truck bed. I though about all this as I sat in the truck bed with two homeless teens, Yovany (a.k.a. King Kong) and Escarleth. These two are always smiling and always quick to make you laugh and two of the most fun loving kids at the building. It shows a lot about them seeing them be the first to volunteer to help a family they had just now met. When we got back to the building everyone came outside in the rain to bring all the family's belongings into their new room. I appreciate more and more everyday just how awesome the things my new friends down here are doing to help show the people of this country love and friendship.

Love

It is OCTOBER! Wait that can't be right. Two months ago I started my journey when I got offered a position to come down here to Honduras and teach and I have been blessed with such an amazing experience so far. Between school and the homeless shelter the last few weeks have been super busy which means I have been neglecting the blog so I apologize for that. It is a holiday weekend down here so I don't have to work again til Monday! It will be nice for a few days of sleeping in. This last Friday was definitely one of my favorite days so far at Interamerican. They day was filled with traditional Honduran games and events which meant I got to play with the kids almost all day! The highlight of this was when the school chanting "Mr.Corey" while I was jumping some rope! I was in charge of encostalados. Which is a potato sack race back in the states! The kids from grade pre-K to 6th (and of course the teachers) all had a great time! One of the things I LOVE most about working at Interamerican is the amazing teaching staff here. They are all so helpful to one another, and especially helpful to me! But also they are always ready to have fun with the kids and one another!

We have now begun having movie night every Saturday night at the homeless ministry! This has become the highlight of me week down here. Every week we bring a projector and watch a movie with all the people at Breaking Chains. The residents absolutely LOVE the movies and I have to admit I LOVE being able to share my Saturday evenings with them! The last 3 movie nights Jonatan has managed to fall asleep on me, he is definitely one of my favorite kids ever!

I really LOVE this country. It has welcomed me with open arms and has taught me so much about myself already in such a short amount of time. I am so excited to see what He has in store for me next as every day brings with it another amazing adventure.