Estamos Cambiando - #LaAventuraDeLaVida

Welcome to my time capsule. 😊 We are traveling back several years to meet a girl much like me, but far younger and more naive. I will be telling you her story through her eyes over the coming weeks and months. I hope you enjoy it and see the many ways her Savior has guided her every step of the way! All of my posts marked with #LaAventuraDeLaVida are a part of this ongoing series.

~ Dec 19, 2013 ~

Estamos cambiando. We are changing.

The most noticeable change is that I am no longer the official teacher for 8th grade. Instead, I am the assistant teacher in 8th grade, and the main teacher for 2nd grade. It was a hard decision to make, but Jenna (the second grade teacher) and I both prayed long and hard about it, and we both felt it was the right decision. So starting 3 weeks ago, we switched classes. And since then, I have had SO much fun teaching 2nd grade.

I have to admit, I’m not super big on having to engage my brain at 8am for teaching (my other class was at 1:50 pm), but it is so worth it. Every day, I finish the class exhausted, but grateful. It is a world away from teaching middle schoolers, but even very different from 3rd grade, which I have been assisting in since the beginning.

This picture was taken on the day we gave them cards with the name of their sponsor. They were so excited!

I am so thankful for my time with the 8th graders, and each one of them has become special to me in their own way. But I don’t think they are my gift. God, at least as of right now, has given me a heart for the kids that can barely reach my waist to give me a hug but do their darndest to give it anyway. The kids who are excited for life because everything is an adventure. These are my kids. And I am so happy to be able to be their teacher.

Today was our “Happy Birthday Jesus” party at the school, and everyone performed a song, dance, or skit. My 8th graders did admirably, despite the fact that we were missing someone, the layout changed last-minute, and their song started late. I’m very proud of them!

These are the obvious changes that have happened over the past month. I’m still working through the ones happening inside of me, but those are a little harder to write about. I am hoping over Christmas break I can download and figure all this stuff out, but I’m pretty sure these two weeks at home are going to be pretty crazy too. I’m so excited to see everyone at home! But it was kind of sweet how much the 2nd graders said they would miss me. Several of them wanted to make sure I was coming back to teach them in January, which I assured them I was. =)

The hardest thing about coming to Honduras was leaving my family and friends. The hardest thing about being in Honduras is missing my family and friends. But by far, the hardest thing about leaving Honduras will be the looks on the kids’ faces when I tell them goodbye. These past three months, I have felt like I have been living the Carrie Underwood song, “Starts with Goodbye.”

I guess it’s gonna have to hurt
I guess I’m gonna have to cry
and let go of some things I’ve loved
to get to the other side
I guess it’s gonna break me down
like falling when you’re trying to fly,
It’s sad, but sometimes moving on with the rest of your life
starts with goodbye.

I’m not a fan of goodbyes. And although it’s often very hard to remember, with every goodbye comes a new hello for someone. Even in death, we can know that there is a glorious hello waiting in heaven for those who have followed the Savior. So we can embrace the goodbye, perhaps not exuberantly, but with a quiet joy that we have a Friend who has no need of goodbyes. Gloria a Dios.