I had the strangest start to my day! Right as I was ready to leave the house I looked at the cable box and it said it was an hour later than my alarm clock read. The cable is often screwy so I dismissed it. When I got out to the car and saw the time on the clock there I was shocked! How could I be an hour late and not even notice? I must have slept a whole extra hour!
I was a little late for class, but they were making homemade tortillas in the kitchen so the food was running late. The class is supposed to be a half hour, but we got in a full hour as usual. Then the kids ate.
I had my first real power struggle today with one of the kids. I have worked with teens long enough to recognize a power struggle a mile away. Normally I make an effort not to engage, but this time I really felt I had to. Ugh. This week the kids all picked their favorite bible verse to share with the class. We talked about each verse afterward. I told each student when they were going to present their verse since we could not do them all in one day because there are about 25 kids each day!!!
One boy said he was not ready and would do it tomorrow. I reminded him there is not class tomorrow because it is their free day. So he insisted he was going to present his verse next week. I told him no, he is going to do it today, just like everyone else.
The other kids all presented their verses. Some were not quite ready. But when they realized we were going to wait until they found a verse, they searched and found one. This boy sat with the bible closed on his lap. He refused to even open it!
Finally we moved into the English part of the class. I told him he could participate in English or search for his verse. I said I was free all day and all night I could wait until he found a verse. I asked if it was because he didn't have one in mind, or because he couldn't find the one he had in mind. He didn't really answer.
He fully participated in English. I complimented him when he did well. We prayed before lunch and he stayed put in his chair when everyone else left. I was surprised he didn't try to leave. I couldn't have made him stay.
We ended up having a really nice talk. About the bible. About his faith. About why I felt like I had to be strict with him and not let him slide by without doing the homework. He found a verse and we talked about it. Then I felt really strongly that I was supposed to share Psalm 139 with him. We took turns reading it verse by verse and then discussed it together. He seemed to appreciate it.
He said he does believe in Christ as his savior. He does believe the bible is the word of God. I felt like he was being honest. (Many of the kids of Buen Provecho come for the physcial nutrition, but are not Christ followers.) He said that he doesn't read the bible because he finds it intimidating and unapproachable. That was when I came up with the idea of getting him a daily devotional that has a bible verse for each day. He said that he would indeed study those verses and it would make the bible more approachable for him. Then I thanked him because it was also a great idea to use a devotional in the classroom too - a devotion each morning after our prayer would be really cool. I am still going to get him his own devotional for home.
We ended up closer than we ever were before. He is a tough kid. He got kicked out of school and has a history of drugs, according to Belinda. But today when it was just him and me he was soft and kind.
When we left the classroom everyone was looking at us. I could see they were all wondering what happened. They could see that both of us were calm and happy and talking. One kid asked if he had read his verse and I told them yes, he had. I think things will be easier for the two of us now. I believe so.
The afternoon class was big again. There are about 25 kids every day! That is a huge deal to me. The afternoon class went smoothly. We started early so I told them they could leave a half hour later. But they said no! It's not 1:30 yet! I explained we started early so they could leave early. They said, "No! Teach us more English!" How could I say no? They stayed and we worked until 1:30 which is the time they are supposed to normally leave. I was surprised that they wanted to do more work. And really happy! Apparently they like our class as much as I do.
I stopped by the vet and as I got out of the car, the shoulder strap to my dress snapped and broke. I was headed to the Christian bookstore to buy the devotionals. I couldn't go there with my dress hanging off. So that will be an errand for tomorrow.
At the veterinarians office I needed advice about what food I should be giving my cat. Thank God the girl at the front desk of the vet's office checked with a Dr for advice. I learned that I am giving my cat medicine 2x/day and she is supposed to get it 2x/week! No wonder she is not well.
Yesterday I was invited to lunch with a lady from the church. I enjoy her company. She has lived in the US and understands me better than many people in Honduras can. We tend to see things in similar ways. It was nice to have a lady's afternoon together. We talked and ate and then looked at expensive shoes. It was fun pretending which we would buy.
Tomorrow is Friday. It is free day at Buen Provecho, but guess what? The kids asked me for more English classes on their free day! That is so awesome!! Of course I told them yes. I am so blessed that God gave them such a strong desire to learn. I pray I will be a good teacher to them.
