Helloooo! :)
Ben invited me to this blog a while ago, but unfortunately I wasn't able to join until now because I didn't have internet at the mission center for several weeks. Right now, I'm actually at home. I'm going back to Honduras in less than 2 days.
For those of you who don't know me.. hi! I'm a freshman but I'm not returning to Duke until the fall. I'm in Honduras serving on missions until I get back. I've been there since late January. My old home church built a Christian school and mission center in a village called El Castaño. So I'm living in the mission center with a pastor we call Pastor Jennifer or PJ, another college student, and two roommates. I've been teaching English for grades 2 and 6 through 10. It's quite an experience. haha It took me a while to get used to everything and for the kids to get used to me, but I love it and it's so much fun!
Every year, our church sponsors a trip for 10-12 of the best students from the school. It's called the Vision Trip, and the kids come to the States and tour different churches, sharing their story and school, then performing songs, dances, skits etc. This year, Pastor Jennifer asked me and my roommates to go with her to help out, so I've been helping the kids practice after school to prepare for it. I guess you can say I'm their "music teacher" since I'm teaching them songs in English and Korean, and playing piano accompaniment for them. It's great :) They have so much work to do, though, in not much time. We're leaving on May 29 from Honduras to Miami, FL. Then we're basically taking a huge road trip with two big vans upward through the eastern states like Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina (not sure if we're passing through the Raleigh/Durham area, but if we are, I want to stop by Duke and show the kids around!), Maryland, D.C. etc. then finally get to New York, where our church is located. Then we'll come back down taking a different route and stopping at more churches, and we're probably going to fly to Colorado because someone specifically invited us to his church. I think the trip will take about a month or even a bit longer; last year it took the whole month of June. I'm so excited!! No doubt it'll be tiring- it already is tiring practicing with the kids! But I know it's going to be an amazing experience.
It's only been about 10 days since I've been home, but I really miss my kids already! hahaha I told my dad that and he said I sound like a mom referring to "my kids". But really, they're so precious to me. I never pictured myself teaching, but somehow God gave me this awesome opportunity. You really do learn a lot by teaching, especially when you have a language barrier. I think my Spanish is slightly improving, but I can't really tell. haha I took it throughout high school and then I took Spanish 63 at Duke, but it was never my forte. It's funny because my students thought I spoke and understood nothing and now they know I do, so they make fun of me. I try not to speak Spanish too much with them because I'm teaching them English and they need to learn by engaging in conversation more. But most of the other teachers, who are Honduran, do not speak English or speak very little, so I guess I get to practice my Spanish with them. One of my roommates, also a teacher, is actually Honduran, so I always bug her with questions. She even started Spanish class for all of us at the mission center, but after a few classes it kind of died because we've been so busy.
Random thought: Before I knew I was going to Honduras, I had always wanted to participate in DukeEngage some time, but now I feel like I'm kind of experiencing something similar or even better in a way, and I did not anticipate any of this coming. God really does provide, and I'm so glad He made a way.
Well, I'll leave it at that for now. Sorry for the somewhat cluttered entry. I kind of just wrote what came to mind. I'm hoping I'll have internet when I return to Honduras so that I'll be able to post more! I miss Duke and IV so so much!!! Praying for everyone.
much love and peace,
michelle, aka kwakky/kwakward. :)
4 comments:
whoa! that sounds like an amazing experience for you and your kids :) it's really encouraging to see how churches are getting involved in missions around the world, and seeing how many lives they can touch, especially for kids!
Yay! I was really excited to see that you posted something to this blog. I was worried that we wouldn't be able to hear from you that often since I guessed that you wouldn't have too much internet access while working with the kids. I'm glad that your church and pastor picked you to go along with them and that you're really seeing God blessing you as well as the kids. Keep on being a light!
really glad to hear all you've been able to do. hope u can come to dooook :)
kwakky <3
thanks for the update! and aww...i can totally see you as a music teacher. it seems that your love for your kids has certainly grown - what a blessing.
God does indeed provide. i'm glad you're experiencing this personally, and i strongly hope that he provides a way for you to drive through duke over the summer :]
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