Update 3/3: Christmas Concerts

Christmas Concerts:

Conducting the 7th-9th grade band.

I survived my first Christmas concerts as band director! 

My kids did a decent job…I must admit I was nervous about how it would sound. Thursday evening, after just two combined practices, the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th grade bands played together for the concert, which put a twist on things. The 7^th grade struggled to get one song ready, the 8^th graders could play if they focused long enough to do so, and the 9^th graders are a small group whose positive attitudes far outweigh their musical skills as a whole group. The whole band started out the concert with “Do You Hear What I Hear?”.  Later, the 9^th graders (4 flutes, 2 clarinets and 4 trumpets) played “What Child Is This?” which I arranged for that specific combination of instruments. The 8^th and 9^th also played “Carol of the Bells,” a song they really like. Along with the band, the guitars, bells, strings, and choir performed.

My roommates and I are wondering, "Where did baby Jesus go??"

Friday evening was the elementary concert, and I conducted the 6^th grade band. We played “Joy to the World” three times to give each of the drummers a chance to play. 

Susanna, the strings and choir teacher, and I with the city lights of Tegucigalpa behind us.

"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.'" ~Luke 2:13-14

Update 2/3: AFE

AFE:
Amore Fe y Esperanza (Love, Faith and Hope): http://afehonduras.drupalgardens.com/

 

Handing out a gift and a hug to a young boy. 

In November we were able to bless the children who attend the AFE school. These students come from the shanty towns surrounding the dump outside of Tegucigalpa, known as the dump community.
A teacher from Pinares coordinated with AFE the names and ages of the students and we each chose a name and filled up shoe boxes with gifts, (a towel, soap, school supplies, a few fun things) much like what Operation Christmas Child does.
We loaded up a bus Saturday morning and headed to AFE. When we arrived, the children were all waiting for us, seated in a large multi-purpose room. We gave them each a plate of snacks and then handed out the gifts. They were so happy to be receiving a present and almost all of them gave each of us a hug as they left.

The children excitedly opening their gifts.
Hardened faces were transformed with smiles!

A little about AFE: AFE teaches children up to 11^th grade, has a nursery for small children, and a small health clinic as well. The harsh reality of where these children come from is absolutely stunning. Standing on the grounds of AFE you can look up and see the ominous ridge on the hill above us that constitutes the way of life for too many people. These people, adults and children alike, sort through the dump day after day in hopes of finding enough garbage to sell to recyclers in order to possibly make a few dollars each day. There is no shade from the heat of the day, food is scavenged from the garbage and most of the “good” garbage has already been taken by the dump truck drivers who scrounge through the garbage even before it is taken up to the dump. You may think that students would be lined up to get into this school, but that is not the case. These people don’t want to leave the “comfort” of the dump for the unknown of the school, and families need the meager income that each child can bring in. Those students who do make it until graduation are not supported by their family or community because they are thought of as lazy for not having a job. The cycle of poverty is certainly not one easily broken.

This website shows some pictures and a little information on dump workers’ lives:  http://www.micahcentral.org/dumplife.htm

This is the view of the dump from AFE. It extends a long ways along this ridge.
The buzzards show where the fresh dump of the day is at. 

"No, this is the kind of fasting I [the Lord] want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help." ~Isaiah 58:6-7 nlt

Update 1/3: Thanksgiving in El Salvador

Since Thanksgiving I have done a myriad of wonderful things, and now that I am sitting on my couch in Ohio eating my mom's chex mix with my dog beside me with the Christmas tree all lit up, I finally have found time to write about all of them.

Thanksgiving Break:

A group of 10 teachers trekked to El Salvador to spend a few days on the beach of the Pacific Ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous, not to mention relaxing, and a wonderful opportunity to soak in God's beauty. 

We spent a lot of time on the beach, and we mostly had it to ourselves.

Some of what we did:

-played in the black sand
-jumped in the ginormous ocean waves
-watched the little crabs scuttle back and forth
-collected wave-polished rocks
-read in the sunshine
-swam in the pool
-walked along the beach
-made a campfire after watching the sun go down
-looked at the clear stars 
-drank fresh coconut water after the neighbor boy shimmied up a tree with his machete to get the coconuts
-walked down the dirt road beside sugar cane fields and very simple houses and got attacked by a goose 

Our beach house and the view we had

The house we rented was somewhat....interesting....

-We made our Thanksgiving meal on a gas camping stove with one low heat setting and it took 3 hours, but it was worth it! (Mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, chicken, stuffing, and oreo pie.) We only had 2 skillets and a large pot that were usable, and had to keep our food in a dorm sized fridge.

-The sink only drained where it was supposed to 80% of the time and the rest ended up on the floor, which made doing dishes a little soggy for the feet.
-One of the toilets leaked onto the floor of the main room.
-At night a bat would fly in and out of our house because the main room was open all the way through.
-There were ants trying to carry away any hint of food we tried to prepare.
-One night a stray dog came through and ate our bread.
-The next morning the boy who was our “go-to/guard” asked if we wanted some “pan Frances,” which we thought would be French bread, so we said sure we would take some since the dog had eaten ours, and he came back with 6 packaged muffins. So much for bread. And literal translations. 

Beautiful sunset over the Pacific.

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." ~Psalm 19:1

In Other News...

I have a bunny! Her name is Sophie. I got her from one of the science teachers. Sophie is a grey-ish color and has super fluffy fur because she is part Angora. Right now she is living in my room in her cage because it's cold outside and she is still small. She loves to be held and petted and I'm pretty sure she's going to be the most spoiled rabbit ever! Having a warm, soft bunny to love on makes the apartment feel more like home.

Two weekends ago I got to go to the concert of the symphonic orchestra of Honduras. It was wonderful to hear live string music again. It made me smile because as the beautiful music of Beethoven was coming from the stage, bats were flying in and out....this is Honduras.

As you know, I love market days. Here I am, with my roommate Susanne, eating baleadas (large tortillas with beans, eggs, creama, cheese and avacado) and drinking a drink from a bag :) good times.

Also, if you would continue to lift me up in prayer, I would appreciate it. The past few weeks have been busy with grades being due and having parent teacher conferences. The Christmas concert is coming up quickly as well. I am still working on discipline, I am slowly getting better at it, but it is hard to be on top of things and consistent. Keep praying specifically for the 8th grade class for that. My prayer for me is that I can be in God's presence and be filled with Him that I may be a light to my students and those around me.

~Claire

Women Of Purpose Retreat

This weekend I had the privilege of attending a retreat put on by Women of Purpose, who come in from the U.S. just for the weekend to bless us. The whole time was very prayerfully planned, from the songs we sang to the activities we got to do. 

The cabins made for a summer camp feel.

I was overwhelmed by how the women leading the weekend came to  bless us and so intentionally serve us from the moment we arrived. We even found chocolate on our pillows (chocolate is expensive here, so it's even more special!) and were given a copy of all of the worship songs we sang, an endless supply of coffee and hot chocolate, cookie dough for snack, a scrap-booking table, and an effort by the leaders to talk to each one of us. 

Serving us by washing our hands.

Friday evening they had set up different stations for us to worship at. This ended up being a great place of meeting with God. Some of the stations were: hand washing by the ladies in charge, making crowns out of tin foil and later as we sang,"We bow down, we lay our crowns..." we laid them at the cross of Jesus, praying over the names of God and writing one that meant the most to us on a banner, writing a letter to our sponsor, stapling our prayer requests in faith to the hem of Jesus' robe, praying for all of the different areas of Honduras that had ministries represented at the retreat, and creating something out of play-doh that God was working on your heart. These things may seem cliche, but the explanation we were to read before each station took it to a beautiful level of worship. 

Saturday morning we woke up and found that we had 6 parrots in a cage right outside our cabin. These were talented parrots. They spoke Spanish...."Hola. Hola. Hola. Hola. Como esta? Hola......." and whistled cat calls and one also cried like a baby, and I must admit I looked around to be sure there wasn't an actual baby somewhere. There wasn't. It was the parrot. 

On Sunday, we ended our time together with communion. As we got in line to receive communion, we were asked to lay a hand on the woman in front of us and say a prayer for her. The blood of Jesus is what unites us all as we go back to our daily ministries. What a powerful visual that was.

Another touching moment was when the ladies presented us each with t-shirts. Not just any t-shirt, but representative of the women in the states who had chosen to sponsor us, pray for us, and bless us with making the weekend possible. We were reminded that those backing us in prayer, from those who understood being on the mission field to those who have our picture on their desk, are praying not only for each of us but for each person we come into contact with. This prayer ripple is such an awesome thing as I think that all of my students are also covered in prayer. There was not a dry eye in the room as the ladies wrapped a shirt around us and gave us each a warm hug. 

 There were missionaries there who were who rarely got to see other English speakers in Honduras. That is one blessing of Pinares. Even if we get tired of each other because we work together and keep each other company, the Christian community we have with one another is a support that I will not take for granted.

The women from Pinares who were able to attend. What a wonderful group!   

A Trip to the Beach!

This weekend I got the chance to go to Amapala with the Matutes. I work with the Matutues at Pinares. He teaches guitar classes and helps with band. Mrs. Matute is a substitute for the high school. They have two children, Samuel and Daisy (who was taking the picture).

Tuk-Tuk! Our island transportation.
Yes, we all 5 (plus driver) fit in it!

We left Saturday afternoon, took a short boat ride across to the island and then got a tuk-tuk to our hotel. The tuk-tuk ran out of gas at a really picturesque spot where we could see Nicaragua and El Salvador while standing in Honduras. 

In the morning we got up early and were at the beach by 6 A.M.
This was a great idea because we had the beach to ourselves and it was not too hot yet. 

The water was warm, but not too warm, and the view was fantastic!

The beach with its colorful fishing boats.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power." ~Ephesians 6:10 This verse stuck out to me yesterday. Being strong in the Lord does not necessarily mean striving as hard as possible but rather resting in God's presence. His Name is power enough and His Word is truth enough to draw our focus to Him. Let Him be all that we need.

Also, I missed an adventure at our apartment of a flooding toilet. If you want to read one of my roommate's account, here is the link to her blog: http://talesfromteguc.blogspot.com/2012/10/not-your-typical-saturday.html 

Market Day!

Today (Saturday) was farmer's market day. I love the market! It is a snapshot of the culture that surrounds me. We walk through the many aisles between the tables piled high with colorful fruits and vegetables. Today I got green beans, snap peas, cucumbers, carrots,  a couple bananas, spinach, potatoes and ciruelas all for 75 Limpiras or $3.75. Not too bad, eh? We walked towards the back half of the market that has all of the vegetables, past the egg cartons and the cheese vendor (avoiding the place where raw meat is hanging) and found a lady who had good, fresh vegetables, which is where I got most of my produce. She even gave me an extra cucumber as a gift. Then we made our way to the front and found the pineapple man. Today I found out his name is Juan, and we told him we wanted a pineapple that would be ready to eat in 3 days so he plunked a couple on his table. He is a jolly fellow, a burly man for a Honduran, with a big smile and curly chest hair sticking above his shirt and a cowboy hat. I forgot to mention what a ciruela is. It is called a Spanish plum but to me it has the texture and flavor of a mango. They are small and the seed takes up most of the fruit, but they are fun.
Then we ate freshly made baleadas, a large thin tortilla with refried beans, eggs, cheese and creama inside, before we weaved our way through the traffic back to the bus.
When we get home we have to wash all of the vegetables and fruit in either bleach or vinegar water to kill all the things that we shouldn't be ingesting.

School has been going well. This week was busy because we had to make sure all of our grades were in and then we had to print progress reports. I am still trying to find my niche in discipline, especially with my 8th graders. Sometimes it seems like focus and respect are not on their radars. 5th grade is fun because the students are so excited to learn and finally play their instruments, so while they certainly wear me out with their energy, their enthusiasm is encouraging.

Church has been a time of refreshment. I have been going to an English speaking church in the city. It is a small family of about 50 people. Sunday was an all worship service, it was a blessing to get to play guitar with the praise band, and to quote the worship leader, "Humbly I have to say, God's presence was beautiful among us tonight. Thank you, worship team!"

Please pray for health for the teachers as many things are starting to go around. Pray for energy and strength. And pray that we may know Jesus deeper so that we can be lights to our students.

Yo Vivo en Honduras, a Trantula, and Answered Prayer

I am an official resident of Honduras! This morning we went down to the immigration office and filled out the paperwork.
I need more Saturdays in my week. This weekend I made salsa and then graded papers all afternoon with my roommates. Oh, and of course got to sleep in!

This past week flew by, ending with a school-wide celebration of the Honduran Independence Day. On Friday the school day started with a small parade of pre-kinder and kinder students wore costumes from fruit and animals to traditional Honduran dress. It was adorable! It was then followed by an assembly. Then all afternoon students set up presentations about the different departments or states in Honduras, which was great because many of them included tasty food!
After school I again helped with the Alive program. I am co-leading the small group time for 9th and 10th grade girls. I am looking forward to seeing how God will work this year through Alive.

The other day, the other music teacher comes into my room and says, "I found something in my filing cabinet." Me, "oh?" Susie, "A big spider." So of course I went to check it out. This was not just a big spider. It was brown and hairy and ginormeous. Come to find out, it was tarantula. Gross. It is now one of the 5th grade classes' pet.

I keep praying that God would do a loaves-and-fishes miracle with my band instruments. My heart drops to my toes when I have to say, no, I don't have any more flutes or trumpets I can lend out. Sigh.But today (Tues) God answered that prayer in a small way. I had one mom, who works in the high school office, ask me last week if I had a flute her 5th grade daughter could borrow, so I checked my lists, and rechecked them and had to tell her no, I don't have any available. She was disappointed and said she wasn't sure what to do because she wasn't sure they had the money to buy a new one. This morning when I walked in my room, I saw one of my flutes with a name of a girl who had just switched to orchestra. I ran to the secretary and excitedly told her I now have an available flute..."Thanks be to God," she said.

  

That's all I have time for right now, I have a few more short stories I will share later.
I was excited about the "I spy" this morning of finding a flute for my secretary's daughter.
God is good.

That's Honduras For You

      A lot of things have happened since I last wrote. I also cannot believe it has been just 4 weeks that we have been here. It seems like a lot longer, and that I have known these people for a very long time.
      Let's start with the past week. It was the first (almost) full week of school. It was crazy too. There were multiple scheduling conflict. Monday I literally went from Plan A to Plan G and then probably Plan Z. I lost track. Welcome to Honduras. I had forgotten to send a worksheet to get copied, so I had to change what I was doing. Then I found out I couldn't be in my room for general music, and couldn't go in the auditorium because of chapel. So I took my class down to the cafeteria, in which parents were meeting. We ended up on the soccer bleachers. The only downside was my students saying, "Miss, I'm going to turn black." (from the sunshine. oh dear.)
      Later that same day we realized that we had 6th grade at the same time I had to teach the other general music class. The other teacher ended up taking all of the 6th grade for that day. ah well. That day ended with  me and her collapsing in chairs in relief the day was over.
     The next day I spent a lot of time talking to the vice principal about discipline because my 9th grade general music class was too big and very rowdy. I must admit I worried about it all day, writing out what I needed to do differently; making a seating chart etc. Then as I was lying in bed, I realized the 9th grade was going to be gone that day! The next morning, Mrs. Bert the principal who had agreed to sit in on my class, gave me a huge hug when I told her what I had realized!
      Friday we had open house in the afternoon. Basically we had parents come through and talk with us. I gave a ton of Honduran greetings and smelled like 10 different lady's perfumes by the end of the day.
      Yesterday I decided it was time to clean the rug I had set on the back porch. When I moved it, there were two ginormeous cockroaches under it. Blah. So I yelled for one of my roommates, who came out with matches to light it on fire (supposedly you're supposed to burn it so the eggs don't hatch). Needless to say, cockroaches aren't immediately flammable. She's yelling and I'm hooting and the whole apartments were getting entertained. About that time a guy walked by and we made him smash them and then we set them on fire with paper. The end.
      A few things from last week...In Honduras having a headlamp is a key asset. We had the power go out and we ended up making pancakes by candlelight for supper. (Thankfully we have a gas stove).
      We can hike up our mountain and there are some good trails and really awesome views. After school one day a huge group of teachers decided to go on a hike. We may have gotten lost. Twice. We were trying to go to a look-out, and I was with a 2 others and we got separated from the larger group. We veered off when we weren't supposed to and ended up taking a very steep detour. When we finally met back up with the larger group and started following them back, we ended up on the wrong side of the mountain. By this time we had to book it back because it was soon to be getting dark, and it gets dark fast here. We found our path and made it back in the nick of time, but we were certainly tired.

(View from the first look-out. About 20 min up the mountain. Pretty cool!)

      Ahh. So last weekend at the mall I decided to get some Honduran food for lunch. I ordered the soup, which looked good, in my wonderful Spanish, and the lady asked if i wanted the mondongo soup and I said "Si, si." My roommate came over and asked what I was getting and I said some kind of soup, so she asked the lady, who said mondongo, and my roommate looked at me and asked if I knew what it was. By this time it was already on my tray and as we walked away my roommate said, "You know that's cow stomach, right??" whooops! I tried it, that's for sure, but mostly I ate the veggies around it. hmmm.
    Last weekend the other music teacher and I went to the church of a Honduran couple who teaches at Pinares to play violin at their service. It was a small congregation who appreciated our music, even though I couldn't really see my music, and one thing I have found over and over is how incredibly welcoming the people are. The previous Sunday I had attended a small Mennonite service down in El Centro with a gal who is actually also from Archbold and who now lives here. I didn't understand everything that was said, but once again the people were so welcoming. One lady told me that there is a chair here every Sunday for you. A little girl named Marilyn decided to talk to me and pretty soon I had a whole group of little kids trying to talk to me and laughing at my attempts at Spanish. It was pretty cute!
      Today I am playing guitar with the praise band at CCI, an English service that I have gone to regularly. It is a blessing to worship in English, although it is wonderful all the same to worship in a different language. I am amazed at how much I have played guitar in different things, staff morning devotions, worship night, the first day assembly. It is something I haven't done for a while and it is a great thing.
Pray for confidence in my classroom discipline. Pray for support in a new, albeit great, community. Pray for daily strength and energy.
~Psalm 40:3 "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God."

Snippets from the past week...

     This has been a crazy week. We have had teacher meetings every day and have been overloaded with information. It is a lot to compound all the school information and reality that I am in charge of a classroom with the fact of moving to a different culture. I think I'm finally beginning to settle into knowing this is my home for now and am beginning to be more comfortable than overwhelmed by this environment.
     It is such a blessing to be united with Christian teachers with a mission to be the light of Christ to these students. Every morning we have begun our day with devotions. We have put a lot of work into getting prepared for our students to come. I'm not sure I'll ever feel ready, but things like the syllabus, lesson plans and cleaning and repairing the instruments are what I've been working on the past few days.
    I am also so blessed by my roommates/apartment-mates. They are wonderful girls. We have been able to share a few meals together and it is nice to go through the process of being new teachers together. I taught my roommate Alysse to play the tuba the other evening. That was certainly entertaining. 
     Church last Sunday was an adventure. We hopped on a Rapidito, a small bus that runs from just outside our gate to downtown Tegus, and we took our time getting to Santidad, the church I had attended last year. When we got to the church the service was almost over and we were confused, but we found someone who informed us there was only one service that day, so we went back to a coffee shop and shared verses with each other and then had a time of prayer, which was refreshing. Then in the afternoon I attended an English service farther downtown. It was nice to worship in English as well.
     The school provides transportation to get groceries down in the city every weekend. Today we went to the farmers' market. I love the farmers' market!! I got bananas, mangoes, green beans, snap peas, peppers, and carrots all for a little less than $5. I also ate a baleada, a thin tortilla with beans, eggs, creama, and dried cheese. so delicious! and then washed it down with bag of water. Everything comes in bags, even water.
     I've walked down to the mercadito (little grocery store) a couple times this week. One evening it was raining, but we were in dire need for ice cream! It's a nice short walk and it's good to get off of the campus every once in a while.
     There are a lot of things to pray for right now. Confidence in the classroom, especially with discipline these first couple of weeks. Relationships with all of the teachers and with my apartment-mates, that I can be encouraging as well as be encouraged. Wisdom in my teaching. Humbleness to ask daily for the strength from God that is more than enough.
Jeremiah 15:16 "Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by Your Name, O Lord, God of hosts."
I like this verse, not only because of the analogy of eating God's word, but because it goes on to say that it is because we are called by God's Name.

New Keys and Honduran Sounds

Today I got my keys to my classroom! That was exciting. I feel official. Except for the fact that my room is currently packed wall to wall with desks that don't belong there.
I've noticed all sorts of noises around me. My favorite is the parrot across the street that sounds like a pterodactyl. Then there are the random fireworks that make me jumpy. And there are all sorts of honking horns interspersed with cars driving by with loudspeakers announcing things. 
Then there are colors. The flowers are in bloom right now. Everything is so green. We live in a mountain forest jungle. Let me explain: there are a few palm trees, but lots of pine trees also, and then a bunch of jungle foliage and we are on a mountain. 
Our apartment is a cacophony of color. Every other wall is a different color. My favorite is our cotton candy blue counters with candy apple red walls. That's interesting.
Smells...well in the city it smells, well, city-ish. mostly smog smelling. Then as you drive up the mountain the air continues to get fresher. The past few days it has rained and it is delicious to smell rain again as we haven't had rain in Ohio for too long. It also smells mildew-y in the classrooms.
The first thing I ate here was a papusa. best thing ever. Cheese infused tortilla topped with cabbage. The wide variety of fresh veggies and fruit is so great, but it takes longer to prepare food because everything has to be properly washed.
I feel like I've been here forever but we've only been here a few days. We have had a ton of meetings with our brains sponging up exorbitant amounts of information. Tomorrow we are going to a staff retreat, so that should be good and hopefully refreshing.
The administrators have been so welcoming to us. They have prepared meals for us and we have met in their houses. It is a wonderful blessing to be in such a great community.
Thanks for your prayers. My carpal tunnel is a ton better. Such a relief.
Also, my apartment mates are awesome. I am looking forward to sharing this next year with them.
In the next week, prayer for energy and not feeling overwhelmed in the whirlwind of the start of the school year.

T-minus 3 days

      In 72 hours, my feet will be touching the Honduran ground. I will be landing on one of the world's shortest international runways. I will get Honduran greetings of a hug and kiss. I will look out the busito window as we wind in and out of unorganized traffic. I will hear the thump of bass from the Rapiditos. I will look out over Tegucigalpa on the way up the mountain to Pinares. I will meet new people and see familiar faces. I will be teaching some amazing kids. I will be eating Chikys from the mercadito.
Honduras - the place I will live for the next 11ish months.

This week I was planning on working til Friday, but since my hands decided to get carpal tunnel, I stopped work on Tuesday. I still can't move my right hand very much, so pray with me that it heals quickly.

As I head to this new adventure, I know I'll miss my family and my dog and being able to drive around by myself and eating my mom's cooking and my dad's corny jokes and my brother calling me his "sweet sister."
Beyond that, I am excited to see what God has in store on this next leg of the journey with Him.

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose minds are fixed on You." - Isaiah 26:3
"Those who know Your Name will trust in You, for You, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek You." -Psalm 9:10

Two Weeks (The amount of time it takes to make a Gobstopper)

Two weeks. You can reach out and touch Two Weeks! The reality of being in Honduras is sinking in as I begin to organize piles of clothes and odds and ends to pack into suitcases.
I am continually amazed at how God brought me to this place; beginning with a love of Central American culture, student teaching at Pinares under a wonderful mentoring teacher who just 'happened' to be leaving, and the provision of a built-in community at Pinares, taking away some of my excuses to say no.
"Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" ~Isaiah 30:21

God Before Me

In just four weeks and four days I will be in Honduras. wow! As I look towards that quickly nearing day, I am continually reminded that God promises to "go before me and follow me." (Psalm 139:5 NLT). God holds the future in His hands and I know His presence is already at work at Pinares, as well is in my heart, so that His Name will be glorified. 
The summer is going by fast. I was blessed by the opportunity to work at Little Eden camp for two weeks. It was refreshing to see how God is always drawing me near to Him. He showed me that He is the giver and source of Hope (2 Corinth 4:16). He goes beyond our fears and gives us the strength we need to seek Him (Jer 29:13). 

Pray

     I was reminded again today of the importance of prayer as I prepare for Honduras. As I continue to tell people that I will be teaching at Pinares, I see that staying in touch with those who have impacted my life is and will be crucial. Honduras can be a spiritually dark country, so having people backing me with prayer has huge value. I can improvise on a lot of things and make do in a different environment, but without prayer support from my church family, mentors, friends, classmates and maybe even people I have never met, going to Honduras would be impossible and futile.
     I ate lunch yesterday with Susanne, another girl from Taylor who will be teaching at Pinares in the fall. I have been realizing that as I have become weighted down by my school work, I have lost sight of where I will be in a few short months. We shared the excitement (and apprehension) of going to Honduras and I was very much refreshed after that. I was also reminded of how evident God's hand is in all of this. From going to Guatemala as a freshman, majoring in music education, student teaching in Honduras at a Christian school under a wonderful supervising teacher and then being offered a job teaching band when band programs here in the states are going under, well, I only have one reason why I am where I am -thank You God.
     So as you finish reading this, please take a few seconds to say a prayer. For me, for the kids I will be teaching, for the relationships with teachers and staff, for health, for safety, for God's protection.

Back to Honduras

It's been a little over a week since I've signed my contract to go back to Honduras and teach. Since then I have been flooded with how surreal it seems. In just 5 months I will be back in Honduras...to live for a year. how crazy is that? and the band? I won't simply be student teaching, i'll be running the band program. how crazy is THAT?
on the flip side of crazy, i will be living with a great Christian community and seeing familiar faces again. i will be looking out over the city on my way up to Pinares. I will be worshiping at Iglesia Santidad again. i will be teaching my kids again. how awesome is that? :)
Over and around all of this is God's provision. I know He will continue to help me grow as I step out - to many things known and unknown. My prayer is that I have confidence that I have chosen to walk through a door that God has opened. Also that my head knowledge of being back in Honduras will catch up with my heart, a part of which is still in Honduras.

Some Verses and a Song

A couple things I want to share.

First, a few verses that I shared in orchestra devotions this week.

The first is Romans 12:2 "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."
Romans 12:2 is a great reminder that when we change our perspective and focus on God and worship Him (the verses before that are about worship) then we can rest in His will.

Genesis 28:15 "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go... I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”
Psalm 9:10 "Those who know your name will trust in you,
   for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you."

These two verses are really good promises from God. God will NEVER leave, but says "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go." So great.

I wrote a song the other day and these are the words. It's mostly a prayer and the things I desire with my relationship with God.

Dear God (I Want to Have Your Strength)
Claire Graber
2/4/12

I want to have Your strength
Quietly apparent when I stand
I want to hear You say my name
Until it is just who I am

I want to be known as Yours
I want to be completely in love
I want to find You in my prayers
And fall inside Your peace

Lead me to where I understand
The knowledge of Your Word
I want to see Your healing power
Working as You change my life

I seek the words to ask You who You are
Where I go is where You lead
And where I am is in Your hand
Right where I'm supposed to be

This Blog Needs a First Post

As I think back on Honduras I thank God for the time I spent there....learning so much!
     I have realized that God provides family in unexpected ways and unexpected proportions. Even though I missed my family, I was surrounded by a wonderful community of believers that supported me in so many wonderful ways. It was encouraging to start the school days with staff devotions and then throughout the week have small groups and worship times. I was also connected to an awesome church family and always looked forward to connecting with them each week.
I found within myself the passion for teaching that God had steadily been building in me since my freshman year. I can feel myself light up when I talk about "my" students and classroom or tell stories about my teaching experiences.
     One of my journal entries sums this up well: "As I stood looking at my classroom for the last time, tears welled up in my eyes. In the short time I had been there, I had learned much about myself and learned to love my students. I had found the passion for teaching had grown from deep within me, a God-answer within itself. I had built relationships with other teachers and staff persons that went deeper than relationships within the fast-paced American culture. I had seen the truth of the verse in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”"
   I left a part of my heart in Honduras, a country of so many contradictions, and as I re-read a poem I wrote about a week before leaving Honduras, my heart aches. I remember driving up the mountain at night looking over the city and seeing the lights, which were so distinctly seen, and thinking of the people represented by each light.The people who are so warm and welcoming as individuals, yet who are lost in a land of corruption.

Para Honduras en el nombre de Jesús. Amen y amen. 

(Claire Graber 12/11/2011)

Las luces de azul y oro
Dan un oración a Dios
Cada luz brilla clara
Una en el valle de millones

Una ciudad de mucha gente
Puertas cerradas para el mundo
Las calles giran arriba y abajo
Va rápido, va lento

Bienvenidos y bendiciones a ti, pero
La necesidad para el Señor es grande
Un lugar de gran corrupción
En la tierra linda de Dios

¿Es una luz mi vida?
Un líder o una sirvienta
Para los corazones hambrientos
Que necesitan un fuego santo