Feliz año nuevo

i just got off the phone with Ilania, my old "muchacha" from the first month of school. she cleaned my office area at the school. she was also the one who bought me a large tin of gourmet cookies for my birthday, just 3 weeks after school started. she's probably the reason i am feeling more and more confident in my spanish. we used to talk each and every day. about work, family, our pasts, our dreams. when she was moved to the elementary school she cried, we both did actually. i realized then that we had become friends. the middle school threw her a surprise going away party, and she looked so happy. in the midst of all of her tears, she looked like the happiest person i'd ever seen. i'll always remember that. now our conversations are fewer and far between, but bless her heart, she always makes time to find me in my office for a quick visit. it seems like she has my schedule memorized, because she always knows when and where to find me. when i'm not there, she asks about where i was and if i was okay. i met her husband at the christmas party, he loves her very much. i can see why. tonight she called to wish me a happy new year, ask how i was feeling (i was very sick before break), and in the end, just to talk. to be honest, i almost didn't answer the phone. i care about Ilania very much, and treasure our conversations together at school, but tonight i was tired. i didn't think my spanish was up to the task. jason and i were eating dinner, relaxing on the couch. it was not a convenient time. ugh. i hate that this is true about me sometimes. for whatever reason, i answered anyways tonight. boy am i glad that i did. tonight i remembered how life can happen to you at any time. God can bring something or someone across your path at any time, for His purposes. our task is to watch for His hand in life, watch for it very carefully. listen for His voice to prompt you. then, take a step of faith, most often towards something that makes you feel uncomfortable, inadequate or simply inconvenienced. i love Ilania for the way she has considered it her mission to help me feel like i belong here, in honduras. she is selfless, generous, joyful, and so very strong. it's hard for me to think about, or even imagine fully, how different our lives really are. but, to her it doesn't matter. our paths have crossed, thanks be to God, and we're both working to build a very unlikely and unconventional friendship. if jason and i were counting up our reasons to stay, she'd be at the top of the list ;)