I pulled up in front of the house just as it started coming down. In my rush to get inside, I opened the gates, then tried to get into the car at the same time as I was opening the door which resulted in a nice purple egg on my head. Who does that? What do I say to people who ask why I have a lump on my head? "I walked into my car door," sounds like something an abused woman would make up to cover for her abuser. I am not being abused folks. I was just in a hurry to get inside and out of the rain.
My first devotional at my new "job" was even cooler than I imagined. My boss plays the guitar and we sing worship songs. Then we prayed and talked about the life of Moses from a psychological point of view. So interesting! A man raised by two very different families, in two different cultures. We talked about how his childhood may have effected his behavior as an adult. We prayed that all of our choices and actions this week be led not by emotion, but by God's calling because that is when we are most effective.
After the time of devotion we broke into teams according to the area we serve, and shared what happened last week. Some people from my team were out training teachers. The teachers reported that kids are harassing them, popping their car tires and being threatening. One of the kids is a boy we serve. The team had already talked with his teacher and with his mother. Our boss decided that we are going to send the head of our security into the school to "straighten things out" and train the teachers. I thought that was so cool! Way to step up and make changes.
I thought I'd get sent home after the meeting, but I was asked to stay and help the interns finish planning for a training this week. We worked on that in the morning. This afternoon 21 area teachers came in and met with us. We are going to their classrooms Wednesday - Friday to teach pregnancy prevention and sex ed. It is a three day campaign for 4th-6th graders in our areas. We discussed our campaign with the teachers. They loved it and are really excited for us to come talk to the kids.
Working with these people is more like what I am accustomed to from my experiences in the US. They are more progressive in their ideas.
For example, I have been extra frustrated and concerned about the way little girls are treated in Honduran culture. A couple of days after I posted in this blog about how little girls learn to pose in a sexual way, a Honduran friend posted this:
Translated it says, "How they dress the girls today" and "How they dressed me." It's talking about clothing, yes, but look at the poses! I felt a little better knowing that other people are upset by what they see.
Last week I was talking to a friend while her daughter was trying to run around us. She complained she couldn't run fast because she was wearing high heels. She is 3 years old. I commented to the mother that my mother didn't allow me to wear heels while I was in 4th grade - much older than this little girl. I remember I wanted clogs desperately, but my mother said no. This mother replied that this is what the little girl likes.
Today in the meeting they talked about 6 year old kids showing up at school in heels. They said by the time kids are 12 years old they are so "grown up" it is scary. They are right. It is scary! But who is buying the shoes for the 6 year old or the 12 year old? Their parents. So who is allowing and even encouraging this behavior? The parents. Because they say it's cute.
I like working with people who realize this is not cute. I like working with people who are willing to take a stand against things like this. I don't feel like the lone, crazy gringa with my crazy gringa ideas. These people are all Honduran people and they see things from the same point of view. I hope, through the teachers and the programs we are serving through, we can help these little girls. I believe we can.
Finally I found a place where I fit in.
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday we get picked up from the office at 7 a.m. and taken to the school in Villa Nueva. Our program starts at 8 am and ends at 5 pm. By the time the kids leave and our transportation picks us up to go home I am figuring on 11 - 12 hour days, but it will be worth it!
Saturday we have a time of prayer with the families of Villa Nueva from 10-12. The teen program is from 12-2. Afterward I was invited to spend the afternoon with my friend Oneida.
Oneida and her family (her father, 4 of her 8 siblings, her kids and nephews) are part of my church. She is probably my closest friend from church. We don't get to spend much time together, but we just hit it off. It's Oneida's father's birthday. I am going to celebrate with them. Last week after the retreat I went to their house and had the BEST time. They all have houses on one property. It is so peaceful there! Oneida's family all are eager to take me in, since I don't have family here. So, I am invited to the birthday celebration this weekend.
Tomorrow I have a day of rest, which means washing clothes and preparing for no free time until next Monday afternoon. It feels good to be part of such cool things! I am excited to see where this will lead. So far this position is exceeding my hopes.
I am not allowed to take any photos at my new "job". I am only allowed to share what they share publicly. BUT this week I am in charge of taking photos at the events. I hope they will publish some of my photos on Facebook so I can share them with you.
