Lessons Learned

Before I came here, I was fresh out of college. I was ready to explore “grown-up” life. Little did I know, this “grown-up” year would be much different than most of my fellow graduates. I was moving to a third-world country; not only was a beginning an adult life, I was also starting my adult life in a small mountain town in the middle of Honduras. Usually during your first year in the real world there are quite a few lessons learned. I feel like I have grown over this past year, especially since I’ve lived in an entirely different culture. This “stuff” I’ve learned may be different than the “stuff” I might have learned if I had lived in the United States this year. Without further-to-do here are my top ten things:

1. Do not ever take modern conveniences for granted

Toasting bread in a toaster instead of on a frying pan, having central heating/air conditioning, screens on windows to keep out the bugs, garbage disposal to dump unwanted food, using a coffee brewer instead of filtering it through a cloth bag, hot water, reliable source of electricity and water, microwave, washing machines, …I could go on and on.

All the above I never thought twice about in the United States; I would say they are all quite essential conveniences I used daily. It wasn’t usual for me to wake up and think, ‘I hope we have water in our house today’ or ‘I wonder if the electricity will come back on anytime soon’. In fact, I don’t know if those thoughts have ever crossed my mind before living in Honduras. How blessed am I? When I move back (in just 9 days) I think I’m going to continually be surprised by all of the handy technology readily available for me. Just the sight of a toaster is going to bring a smile to my face!!

2. Kids are kids, no matter where you are in the world

My students may not speak my native tongue perfectly, but they have the same needs as students would back home. They still are in need of love, guidance, education, and wisdom…wherever they are from in this big world. My students love to have tickling wars, they beg to be spun around in circles, they crave attention, a high five could motivate them for weeks, and any kind of sticker will brighten their day!!

3. God is everywhere you go

Just because I’m in Honduras, a completely different world than my home, in a place where my native tongue is not spoken, does not mean God has ever left my side. He is always with me during the day, right next to me in every situation. I see Him working in the lives of so many people in this community. There are packed churches full of people with the Holy Spirit. It’s refreshing to see people all over the world sharing one faith and love in Jesus Christ.

4. You can’t save the world, but keep helping those in need

In my safe little bubble in the United States, it’s hard to imagine that extreme poverty affects a large percentage of people in our world. But now as I’m surrounded by poverty, I’m overwhelming with the amount of help everyone needs. It can make you feel like you want to do everything in your power to change the problem of poverty. The minute you calculate the amount of communities, schools, families, and children suffering from poverty, helping them seems impossible. Obviously I can’t help everyone, but there are little, easy things I can do that may alter one person’s life. For example: supporting a child’s education in La Union. Giving them this education will change their life completely. And hopefully if I help them change their life, they’ll want to give back and return the favor to other children.

5. Material wealth does not equal happiness

It is very obvious that people here do not have a lot of material wealth. Half of my students live in houses with dirt floors. Most of my students’ parents make about a dollar a day. Paying 5 dollars for a meal is absolutely mind blowing. You would think they wouldn’t be happy, enthusiastic, or excited about life. This could not be more opposite for most people in La Union. My students are always smiling, always bringing joy to the classroom!! It doesn’t break their heart that they need to share 3 sets of markers as a class, that they need to use stones and leaves for checkers pieces, or that they have 2 other sets of clothing besides their school uniform.  

Yes, they may not live as comfortable as we do in our lazy-boy recliners in the U.S., but they are still happy. They still have reason to give praise to God for the life they were given. And that is something to admire.

6. Praise God in all situations

This year God has thrown me into some pretty difficult situations. There have been times when I’ve thought, ‘I did NOT sign up for this’. My morning devotionals this year focused so much on trusting God and praising Him, no matter what. No matter what kind of day comes my way, whatever situation I may get myself into, I need to keep reminding myself to praise God through the good and the bad. He will get you through the impossible, just trust!!

7. Education is an empowering privilege

While growing up I never thought I was lucky for going to a school; a school that had teachers who cared and a curriculum that would enhance my learning. I never realized how privileged I was to receive that education. Not everyone attends schools, GOOD schools, as easily as I have. There are children all over this world that are starving for knowledge, but there is no one to willing or qualified to teach them. Education changes people’s lives. Education can change poverty. Education can build up countries. It is a basic necessity that (in a perfect world) everyone should be offered. And those who do receive it should realize it is a precious gift, and we should be eternally grateful for it.

8. Always be an example of Christ, you never know who is watching

Living as an American in a small Honduran village, its apparent people are watching. I know there are people in the town always observing Gayle and me on every adventure we go through…but not always have I realized how closely they are watching our actions. A few weeks ago one of Gayle’s students told me, “My neighbor said to me that you and Miss Gayle are always happy and you are always laughing together.” Which is completely true...we usually are laughing and smiling at the craziness of our day. But it struck me that people are watching all of our actions, all day every day. They watch how we respond to the crude whistling men on the street, they see how we interact with our students on the street, how we act when rain is pouring down on us (without umbrellas), when a driver splashes us in mud, when we get stuck in mud holes, when we purchase items at the pulparia, and most importantly they remember how we react in all of these situations. I can only hope that all of them could see Christ living in our hearts this year, and that we represented Him in everything that we did.

9. Respect other cultures

When I first came to Honduras I thought I had moved to a whole new world. This culture is not even close to being similar to my own. But over the year I have gotten used to the many different customs. I am going to miss kissing my friends cheeks whenever I greet them hello, I will miss leaving my front door open whenever I’m home, I’ll miss cooking tortillas on the kumal (oooh wait..my neighbors do that for me), I will miss being able to freely hug and kiss my students cheeks without someone thinking I’m inappropriate. Maybe I won’t miss being hissed at by the men on the street or the 5 o’clock wake up and 8 o’clock bedtime; but I still have become accustomed to a Honduran lifestyle and hopefully it will be part of me forever.

10. Never give up on a child

You need to have faith in your students! You cannot give up on them, no matter how far they are trailing behind. At the beginning of the year I was ready to give up on half of my class—they barely understood me when I told them to sit down! But I had a little faith, I worked with them constantly, and they improved beyond belief. My students went from understanding 15% of what I said in the classroom to now understanding 85% of what I say. Children need someone to believe in them, to give them a chance, and you’ll be AMAZED at what they can do when given that!!

Here’s some ways I have not changed:

-I still prefer to live in a house that has hot water and where there aren’t bugs that call my house their home.  

-I’m horrid at games.. seriously it’s amazing how I can lose every single time!

- I’m in the right profession; teaching is definitely my life-long calling

- It takes a lot for me to get tired of children

- Inventive cooking should not be done by me…stick to a recipe!!

- God still guides all of my life decisions

- Organization is my best friend (one I miss terribly)

- I love traveling

- The people God has placed in my life is what make it so special!