I’m not sure how long this is going to take. What I mean by that is that as I am writing, I’m sitting on the bus with 35 tenth grade students on our way home from Copan. (There is another bus ahead of ours with just as many students.) We just pulled out of the Clarion Hotel and are driving at about 10 mph because the roads are so bad. I’m quite hopeful that the journey home does not take 11 hours, like it did to get here. After two blown tires, TV that did not work, no air conditioning or windows and a bumpy road, the students (and I) were ready to get off of the bus and arrive in Copan. It was a packed day and a half of visiting the Mayan Ruins, going to a water park, going to a museum, getting dressed up for dinner, playing basketball and soccer, and performing in a talent show. Not to mention, as a chaperon, only getting to sleep a few hours each night so that I could “monitor” the exhausted, sleeping students.
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| One of the Mayan Structures |
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| My group |
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| I don't know what this is, the tour guide only spoke Spanish |
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| 10th grade girls and I on some more of the ruins |
That about sums up the trip, although I could write this whole blog about just the events that happened yesterday, but I’d rather tell you more about the past few weeks. Speaking of which, I’m sorry that it’s been so long since I have written. I sat down and started typing once, but decided to wait on my update.
In a nutshell, here are the things that have been going on in my life.
1. I was robbed at gunpoint
2. I have gone from a size 0 to a size 2 (almost)
3. I played air guitar and sang in a band
4. There are pictures of me all around the school
5. I found that teaching to students who “want” to learn cuts the amount of teaching time exponentially
6. I realized that my boyfriend and family do not have it easy back home, but are really great at supporting me from so far away
With that list in place, allow me to divulge.
1. This may be the most shocking event on the list, and rightfully so. I’m not sure I can explain my emotions accurately but I’ll give it my best shot. As I was running home with Ben Manting from playing Frisbee at school a few Sunday afternoons ago, a taxi drove past with what felt like inches to spare without hitting me. It immediately stopped in front of us and three guys jumped out of the backseat, one with a gun. They started telling us to give them everything we had, which for me was just my water bottle. Ben gave over his wallet and phone, but I was completely empty handed. Everything was so quick and I’m still working on getting all of the memories out. I’m very thankful that the Lord protected us, but it does make living here much more difficult. Walking out of my house to my neighbors is no longer an option and I haven’t been running since then.
2. You probably all know, and have told me at some point that I’m too skinny. This issue has surfaced in my life, and while I won’t tell you all the details, I’m working on it.
3. I was able to spend the weekend (a couple weeks ago) with the Crooks. We made-up a restaurant and served Mimi, Scott and Pastor Ken a delicious Italian dinner on the patio. Of course, what is dinner without a show, so we provided live entertainment for our dinner guests. We sang “Our Song” by Taylor Swift and sang at the top of our lungs. The girls loved it (and I quite enjoyed it myself)!
4. Don’t worry, they aren’t bad pictures. Actually it’s just the opposite. You see, Dan Tao (the Chemistry teacher) and I have a competition going on. The Math Team always sells roses for Valentines Day and we decided to help boost the sales by seeing who could get the most roses. It’s backwards than what you are probably thinking; my goal is to NOT get roses, but to get students to buy them for Mr. Tao. Whoever gets more on Monday has to color his/her hair. There for Mr. Tao has put up posters of me all over school that say “Buy a rose for Ms. Pittman” in some form or other. It’s become a pretty big deal, but I am pretty confident that more students will buy roses for Mr. Tao. I’ve rallied a pretty large group of students to help me out. I’ll keep you posted with the results.
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| One of the many signs convincing students to buy me a rose |
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| He even brought Jeremy into the picture (well kinda) |
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| 1 of the 17 signs posted by Dan |
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| My students helped me make signs for Mr. Tao |
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5. This leads up to the Math Team (who Dan Tao and I coach). These students are incredibly smart and catch on to concepts in the blink of an eye. Most of them are much more intelligent than I am, I just happen to know a bit more right now than they do. Last Wednesday I prepared 3 Power Point Presentations on Conics for the Math Team. It took me about 3 weeks to go through this material in my Calculus class during the first half of the year. However, it took literally, 30 minutes to cover everything, and for them to actually understand what I was saying. I was amazed.
6. With so many crazy changes going on in my life here in Honduras, I know it must be hard for those who love me to be so far away, Not being able to do anything except pray can make those at home feel pretty helpless. I would just like to say for the record, that I have never felt more loved and supported in my life. I’ve got people in my house here, in my town, at my school, and back in the States who I am able to go to. However, the Lord has really been teaching me that people will fail me. He is the only one who I can go to and not have to worry at all. He’s also the only one who is able to really change my life, because He is the only one who completely understands. Yes, he has blessed me with people here who love me and can physically stand by me, but they won’t change me. God will, and is changing me.
Now that you are a bit more updated on my life, and know what you can be praying for, please do. This is not an easy time for me, and I can definitely use prayer. I have seen it work powerfully since I’ve been here and I have full faith that it will continue to be my saving grace.
