Week 2 of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic

Last week I was so nervous before the literacy class! This week I was nothing but excited. What a change.

Fany snapped this as I was leaving the house yesterday
This is the "porton" or front gate for the property

As we climbed up the mountain I got even more excited! I couldn't wait to be there and to see everyone. Before we even got to the top of the mountain a lady was waiting for us. She said she was told to talk to us because her son is having a really hard time in first grade and his teacher doesn't know what to do with him. He can't sit still, he bothers other kids and he doesn't get any work done all day. She was hoping to get him psychological counseling. Doña Angelica, my coworker who accompanies me to class, said she will see what we can do.

(Doña Angelica has to go with me each week because our security guys can only drive part way up the mountain. From there we have to walk. It is a community where only people who belong there are allowed to enter. Since Doña Angelica started serving there before the gangs took control, and they like the things she does, the gangs allow her to come in. I am safe as long as I am with her.)

Our psychologists serve kids in Impacto Juvenil as well as their families. Impacto Juvenil kids have to be at least nine years old. It will be hard to help the six year old boy. As an NGO, we use our donors' money exactly as they request with complete transparency. Unfortunately, this boy wouldn't be covered because he doesn't have any older siblings in our Impacto Juvenil program. He won't be old enough for our program for three more years. I hope he can stick it out in school that long. Most don't.

Doña Angelica and I both gave the mom our best advice. I told her I respect the fact that she is trying so hard to help her son. She said, "Well, I have to!" I wish there were more parents like this lady! She is going to come Tuesday when we return for the sexual abuse prevention class. Then she can talk with the psychologists.

Me with Doña Angelica
I never realized what a giant I am!
In the US people used to say I was small.

We had one more student in the class this week - Nohemi was washing her laundry last week and couldn't come. This week she showed up with a big smile and hungry to learn. She is the most advanced of all the class. She can write her name. She is also legally married and doesn't have any kids yet. Outside of a lack of education, it seems like she's got a lot going for her so far.

Giving Nohemi her new books

Almost all of the students came a half hour early. When I got there, they were all cleaning up and changing their clothes for class. The ladies get dressed up in skirts, the girls put on makeup, and Luis puts gel in his hair.

Luis brought down the chairs and table and dry erase board. He got everything set up. He's the youngest student and the only male. He's also very timid and struggles with insecurity. This is a great experience for him - to be the man in our group. He seems to enjoy working hard for our class.

We waited for Rosa because she has to work and rushes home just for the class. Last week Rosa said she prayed and prayed she would get out in time. Usually they are a five person team, but only three showed up to work last week. Her boss told her she could leave when she was finished. She worked extra hard to do the work of five people and they finished early last week! This week she walked in right on time.

Since everyone else was there, but we needed to wait for Rosa, I pulled out a deck of UNO cards. I wasn't sure if they could identify numbers or not, so I figured this would be a gentle way to find out. Even if they didn't know the name of the number, they could match the figures on the cards.

Some people in Honduras are very against playing cards for religious reasons. But everyone I know plays cards. This was a first for this group. Everyone played, but I could feel them struggling with the idea. Doña Angelica reassured them that the cards are a learning tool, to identify numbers and colors. Nohemi said she wanted to get her own UNO cards. Doña Angelica told her they are sold in a special store for teacher's supplies. Throughout the whole game, Doña Angelica kept saying they were for learning and they were not a bad thing. I was glad to have Doña Angelica there to smooth things over.

To my left is Nohemi, Erika, Rosa, Luis, Francisca, two kids who hang around quietly and Dona Virginia - They gave me permission to share photos and stories about them.

Once Rosa arrived we got to work. They remembered everything from last week!!!!!! I was amazed! Doña Francisca, who is the mom of the three teens, and probably the lowest functioning except Luis, was the first to "read" the words we learned last week.

Francisca was the first one I invited to the class when we walked around enrolling people. She is the one who prayed and prayed for this opportunity for her kids. But she said she is not capable of retaining information due to a head injury. I encouraged her to come. She said she would not come, but she would make sure that her kids attended. That's why I was so happy and surprised when Francisca showed up last week.

There was actually a longer story behind her attendance, which Francisca didn't share with us until yesterday.

I told Francisca that I am happy to see how well she remembered things from last week, and I am so glad she decided to join the class. Then Doña Virginia shared something. She said that Francisca arrived at her door before the first day of class. She said Francisca was very sad. It was clear she wanted to be part of the class, but she was saying that she doesn't know anything and can't learn. Doña Virginia, who seems to be the leader of the community and someone they all seek for counsel, told Francisca she should try. But at the end of the conversation Francisca left still feeling sad and incapable of learning.

Francisca spoke up. She said when it came time for the class last week, she watched each of us arrive. She said we were all dressed up, with our hair combed nicely. (Note to self: I need to dress up for class!) She sank down to the ground next to her pila and cried.

Francisca said she sat on the ground feeling dirty and ugly and dumb. She said she cried and cried. And then she started to pray. Suddenly, through prayer, she said God lifted her up, took her inside where she dressed and fixed her hair, and propelled her feet until she was standing in the classroom.

It was Francisca who came in after we prayed last week and said, "Wait! I need to say a prayer too. I need to thank God for this class." At that moment, I thought she was only there to pray. But when she sat down and studied, I was so happy!

She said she had to fight to come this week too. A voice in her mind was telling her that she is not capable of doing the things we will do. But she is really doing well! I think I will spend Tuesdays with Francisca and Luis if I see them falling behind. I will already be up there for the sex abuse prevention class, so getting there will not be a problem. I do not want either of them to believe they can't be successful in this class.

PRAISE GOD for lifting Francisca off the ground and carrying her to class last week! She is a precious, precious woman and a great example for her kids.

Part way through the class they started to get restless and someone joked that they needed a snack. I had lollipops, thinking I would give them away as prizes. It's not really a snack, but at least it was something to keep them motivated. So I handed out lollipops.

Erika ripped right into hers, as I expected them all too. Then I saw her put it back in it's wrapper and I realized what was going on. Doña Virginia declared, "This is a classroom. We are in class. We do not eat in class." So nobody touched their lollipops. Now I know not to bring any food! I need to pay close attention to the rules of Doña Virginia. If not, I could end up losing the respect of the class.

Nohemi got right to work on her first day

Doña Virginia has beautiful writing
(so far we are drawing lines, but her's look great!)

A horse and two burros blocked the path on the way home

Doña Angelica was already waiting when I got to the spot where I was supposed to meet her. I told her I was late because a horse and two burros were blocking the path. I was afraid they'd kick me if I walked past. Nohemi assured me they don't kick in Honduras. Doña Angelica laughed and said I always have some crazy story to tell her every time she leaves me alone. (I'm not sure what she's referring to exactly, but she is probably right.)

There is a lot going on within the Honduran government right now. We are disappointed with the direction the president is taking. More corruption has come to light and it is not being handled effectively by the president. A few other things have happened as well, so security at work has gotten even tighter.

Yesterday I noticed that the person who usually just opens the door for us, now walks with us and watches us from the moment we arrive until we are safely inside our destination. When we dropped off Doña Angelica he strained to watch her get to her house, which is a ways off the road. That is new. He also circles around the car if we have to wait for people, looking around in all directions. And the drivers don't just take the most direct route any more. Our routes always vary. I admire the way our security does these things subtly, without mentioning the change or making it too obvious. They try to keep our lives as normal as possible.

Everyone at work is concerned about my car. They know it's been in the shop since the first week of February and they think it's time I change mechanics. I was thinking the same thing but I got the car back last night and the mechanic didn't charge me a penny after working on it all week. He even called in two other people to help him figure out why it pulls to the right. Nobody has a clue.

The only thing they can think of is a really expensive fix, and it still may not work. So my mechanic said I just need to get used to having it pull to the right until I can sell it. They even double checked the calibration of the machine that does the alignment. Nothing is wrong with the machine. So the car is aligned right. Something inside is wrong.

He and one of his buddies are keeping their eyes out for another car for me. He assured me the new tires will not be ruined by this, which was my biggest concern.

I dread buying a different car. This car has been so good to me for three years. I pray I'll be able to find one as good as this. It does seem like it's time. The final diagnosis that his friend gave was that my car is "too well maintained". They said most people wouldn't be so concerned about their car pulling to the right. Most people would be happy to have a car as "pretty" on the outside, with no bangs or scrapes. The mechanic explained to his friend that I am not like most Hondurans.

Please join me in prayer for Honduras, the government, the corruption, that we can effectively get rid of the corruption and avoid to martial law. Also please pray for my class. Each of the students is struggling with low self esteem. They say each week it's tough for them to show up. I pray they are able to come to class each week because they want to and that they come joyfully, not with anxiety.

I pray it will be something they look forward to as much as I do! Climbing that mountain and teaching those people is absolutely the highlight of my week.