teachable moments...

we have finished just over one full week of school, me a teacher and jason the much appreciated and esteemed middle school counselor. more from him to come... but just to keep your interest peaked, he LOVES it and even more, they LOVE him! my job responsibilities have become more and more defined as time has gone on :) i am: 8th grade language arts, 8th grade pre-algebra (resource/pull out) and 8th grade resource teacher/liason. here are some pictures of our first week and my classroom that I am sharing with Mike (from CA).


me and mike in our brand new room


our desk


8th grade language arts & social studies


reading


writing


can you see the poster/mural i painted above the white board??


feeling pretty good at the end of our first week... even though it's 6am and we're waiting for the bus to pick us up ;)

i am feeling very hopeful for this year of teaching for a few reasons. first, with another year under my belt, i am feeling more confident and comfortable in my abilities and because of my diverse experiences. i consider this my sixth year teaching, fourth in the school system with two years as the quest program's teacher/education coordinator. i have been blessed with such varying experiences in teaching overall, from teaching kids (and adults) how to swim since i was fourteen, to sunday school, youth group, internships, hubble, quest, hubble (again), franklin and now honduras. god put it in my heart years ago (right sisters?) :) to consider teaching as an avenue from which He could use me to bless others and live out my faith. He has confirmed this "calling" on my life through feedback i've received from other teachers, friends, family members, my students and even at times through dreams. one of the most vivid dreams i can remember was during college at unl. i saw myself teaching "rough" kids in some inner city neighborhood. the kids seemed to be hopeless, at the very end of the line. that dream has stayed with me, since then, and has remained a driving force behind the decisions i've made regarding the "whos", the "wheres" and the "hows" of my teaching. i am realizing more and more that God has gifted me in such a way as to really meet with kids and connect. they respond to my firm methods, and consistently high expectations. they begin to demand more from themselves when they realize that i won't stop encouraging them to reach higher, dream bigger and plan greater than they ever thought possible. i have even had the divine privilege to pray for and with some of my students, sharing how much God loves them and desires a place in their lives. when i realize though the brevity of my time with them, i'm confronted with thoughts of shame and lost opportunities. i could have been bolder, more passionate, more committed to prayer...

and that's where i'm at today. why am i teaching in honduras? why some of the wealthiest and most promising youth of this struggling nation? why language arts and math? the answer to each of these questions, and all my silent ones, should be to be the light of Christ to each and every student, teacher and staff member I encounter. sadly, this can be hard for me. i get so wrapped up in my teaching methods, the students' performances and others' perceptions of me as a teacher, that i quickly lose sight of my more meaningful purpose here. to love god with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. and to love my neighbor as myself. oh God, let that be on my mind daily. let that be enough to give me purpose here. use me in any way you see fit.

honduras: august 2011

click here for our online album!

nuestras aventuras

so far...

1. beach time in omoa & tela about an hour away from sps






2. team building day with the middle school staff






3. exploring el lago yojoa and camping







4. pulhapanzak falls.... we swam under, jumped off and climbed through caves. crazy!







5. our first creepy crawly friends





6. injury day one. no more soccer with jas ;)

segunda semana

exactly two weeks ago we were frantically racing through the atlanta airport, hoping against all odds to catch our connecting flight to sps. we landed at terminal b4 and had to run through the atlanta airport, which we later found out is the largest in the country, all the way to e2. jason was the brute force in the occasion, carrying 3 out of the 4 of our carry on bags. i was the sweet talker, begging the airline attendant to hold the plane for us. this arrangement has proven quite successful in the past :) and with a lot of prayer, we were able to board our plane a full 20 minutes late (for us!!) god (and atlanta) was good to us!

two weeks later now we are feeling like we've been here for a few months. to be brief, i want to catch you up on some of the highlights so far...
- getting comfortable taxi-ing around the city (necesito un taxi en la colonia universidad a la 20 calle A)
- organizing our office and classroom
- trips to multiple grocery stores, our favorite so far is “los andes” because they have glutino products!
-“comida tipica”
- day trip to Tela, a beach on the coast of the Caribbean
- another day trip to Omoa beach
- ultimate Frisbee
- soccer
- running
- joining the “Nautilus” gym… it has a racquetball court, lap pool, treadmills, weights, pilates, spinning and zumba!
- my first French tip pedicure, it’s VERY popular here!
- Panchito, the EIS middle school mascot, an iguana
- getting to know more teachers here, especially the new hires
- getting to know our neighbors, they’re WONDERFUL!
- playing Kinect with the neighbors
- “Diyunsa”, Honduras’ version of a Target, with 20% off everything as a teacher….sweet.
- church at Christian Fellowship with another teacher. They meet at the Hotel Copantil, gorgeous with a very nice pool…maybe after church next time ☺
- several taxi rides
- Mercado Guamalito helped us to decorate our apartment
- a lot of Spanish, so much so that I am feeling tired pretty often and even overwhelmed with how much I am speaking and have to speak for others
- the nightly debate about whether or not to sleep with the air conditioning on. To keep it on means we might be receiving our very first and quite astronomical bill, but to keep it off is probably pretty close to torture
- “chicky’s mex” restaurant down the street from has good steak tacos, not even close to Aurora, but probably the closest I’ll get until June
- I made a huge wall bulletin board with all my fridge collage pictures from home, it’s by the door so we see it in and out every day and think of all of you that we love so much
- a very dicey internet connection which leaves us feeling disconnected since we haven’t been able to really talk to anyone since we’ve been here. Sorry for that. We’re working on it, but things in Honduras take quite a while.


okay… my short list became long pretty quick!


pray for us please tomorrow (Saturday). We’re traveling with our neighbors about an hour south of SPS to the largest natural lake in the country, accompanied by incredible waterfalls. We’re planning to stay the night at a microbrewery/hostel run by an Oregonian. Sounds like Two Brothers + exotic jungle-esque hostel with “the most incredible chocolate chip cookies you’ll ever taste”. Needless to say, Jason is stoked!

We love you all and MISS you like crazy!

bienvenidos a honduras!

we've have heard this kind and inviting welcome many times since saturday afternoon. we finally arrived in san pedro sula, honduras saturday, july 30 at 12 pm local time (1 pm in chicago...until day light savings time at least) :) the airport was extremely busy, and since we had some confusion with our flight out of o'hare, we weren't sure if any one knew we actually had boarded a plane and arrived on time. fortunately, we saw a smiling honduran face, holding a sign for another new hire at EIS (Escuela International Sampedrana). needless to say, i ran right up to her and practically knocked her over in excitement. :) we had found our new friends! thank God that she was waiting with a sign for someone else, otherwise we would have been navigating the busy terminals of SPS International Airport, alone. yikes! well, after we collected ALL of our bags (ahem... 6 and counting) :), we found another friendly group of EIS teachers and administrators waiting to greet us outside the apartment. we felt immediately welcomed and accepted. they didn't even mind the pools of sweat that were pouring down my face within a minute of stepping outside the airport. oh boy!

from the airport, we drove around to each of the foreign hires' apartments buildings where we received some spending money (lempiras, soon to be referred to as "lems"), keys to our apartment, and a local cell phone. not sure yet about international rates, but you can reach us immediately at:
jason: 504.958.33287
sarah: 504.958.53715

everyone's accommodations were wonderful, but most of all OURS!! :) we are living in what could be considered a middle class family's house. a few highlights are the 3 bathrooms, 4 air conditioners, multiple living spaces, backyard and garage. we have already been informed that we are expected to host "salsa" night. sign us up! here are some preliminary pictures, prior to any decorating or receiving our furniture:





okay, well we just finished some training at school and are waiting for our bus home.... more to come! miss you all!!

where we're going and where we've been.

the first image is likely more recognizable to many of you than the second. this shot of downtown wheaton represents so much of where i think jason and i are coming from. we come from very loving and very involved families who have and would do anything for us. we come from a place of security, in which we have always had what we needed, and more often that not what we wanted. our faith was instilled and fostered since childhood, and continues to shape our minds and hearts today. our life paths have been relatively "easy", nothing we couldn't walk through without our family, friends and God carrying us through.

the second image struck me the first time i saw it. yes, as you may have guessed, it's a shot of san pedro sula at night. i was struck by the chaos that seems to be everywhere. cars, pedestrians, bright signs, no clearly evident traffic flow. from my previous experiences in large (international) cities, this was also the case. every city has it's own personality, and it's only with time that one can learn it. most captivating to me though was the dim street light, shining ever so boldly in the midst of it all. it's there for you whether you think about it or not, lighting your path as you navigate the uncertain routes ahead.

as i have taken a few moments this week to be still in the presence of God, i read through much of 2 Corinthians and was drawn to the references about light. 2 Corinthians 4: 6-7: For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

we have been granted so powerful a gift, the presence of God in our lives, which has the potential to shine like a bright beacon of hope to those around us. just as that one single light post lit the busy streets of honduras, God's presence wants to light up the brokenness and chaos that is our lives (aka: jars of clay), and draw others into relationship with Himself. if nothing else, our prayer is that the light that He has already shown in our hearts would burn brighter and stronger because of our time living in Honduras.

delight-ing...

i wish i could say i had a countdown playing over and over in my mind, but i don't. it's hard to imagine moving out of the country when i don't even know yet when we're moving. it's so like God to leave me out of the details, which for those of you who know me well know that this is likely the most uncomfortable place for me to be. i love details. well, God you've definitely been teaching me this lesson time and again, trust You and You alone, not the ways of the world (even if the ways of the world are neat, organized, predictable and clearly communicated). so far, we haven't experienced much of these "ways of world" when it comes to preparing to pack our things in to a few small suitcases and move to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. That's okay though, I'm finding my own ways to cope :)

our personal belongings are perfectly packed into 90 some inventoried, and categorically organized boxes, and stowed safely into our parents' basements and friends' attic (THANK YOU!) i am rockin' the google docs spreadsheet and can tell you right down to the box exactly where each and every precious "thing" we own is stored. since february, jason and i have been systematically checking things off our never-ending list, each month bringing us new challenges and assignments as we prepare to re-locate. we've finished boxing our things and loaning out precious possessions to friends and family who have agreed to "babysit" them while we're gone, and pray for us each time we come to mind. we've been immunized, had our teeth cleaned, studied a little Spanish, taken a couple dance classes, said goodbye to friends and family and worked hard to cherish every moment we have left in the beautiful suburbs of Chicago.

somehow in the midst of all the preparations, i've neglected the equally important job of preparing my mind and my heart for all the change to come. i've very conveniently distracted myself with my list of to-do's, and avoided dealing with the doubts in my mind and the fears in my heart. i try to be a very positive person and focus on the good around me, it's like looking at life from the "half-full" perspective. there's nothing fundamentally wrong with living out of this mentality, but i have been known to live among the clouds, instead of dealing with the reality facing me. i am confronted with a choice, look ahead to all the unknown and exciting possibilities to come, or look back at all that i am leaving behind. both directions have value and their place in my mind, yet both leave me feeling empty somehow.

lately it seems like i have to listen very carefully to hear that still, small voice that pleads with me. it's that tender voice that reminds me how dearly loved i am to Him who created me to be me, no more, no less. it's that confident voice that promises me safety if i just surrender my control and allow myself to be led. it's that all-knowing voice that speaks just what i need when i need it.

"delight yourself in ME, and I will give you the desires of your heart"

this promise comforted me so many times along my journey to wait for my companion, and boy did He deliver. i love you my sweet jason. this promise brought me much peace as i wrestled with how i should use my time and talents to honor God and serve others. i have been jumping at the bit to serve God and others internationally ever since that first summer in Brasil. my dear brasilian friends and mentors reminded me so many times that it's not so much about the "place" as it is about my heart and how it is made to love God and others wherever and whenever. and so i have been working on delighting myself more in God Himself, and less on the things i feel i "should" be doing. it's always been the "doing" that distracts me from my first priority of loving God.

where does that leave me today, as i continue to prepare for so much change to come? continuing to imagine all that lays ahead and cherishing all that we have to leave behind. but more importantly, i continue to delight...

an excerpt from Erwin McMannus' Uprising:
"When you make God your primary passion, He transforms all the passions of your heart. The result of this transformation is that it will be God's pleasure to fulfill those passions. Beyond this wonderful promise is the realization that when this transformation occurs, your passions become your best compass for your spiritual journey. When God is your desire, you can trust the passions of your heart. It is in this state that you can most fully live a uniquely passionate life."