Let the Little Children Come to Me

A few weeks ago, during my first few days here, I attended a teacher's training on sharing your faith with children. Our psychologist at The Oasis, who lead the training, spoke about how the Bible calls us to come to Jesus like little children. Children, she said, have the ability to love endlessly, unaffected by worries, jobs, busy schedules, past heartbreaks, and everything else that we put between our hearts and God.

The girls here are teaching me what it truly means to love like a child. Wendy (4) and Tanya (2) are especially good teachers. Whenever I walk in, they immediately come running to me and jump into my arms to give me hugs and the biggest kisses they can manage. My skin color does not matter. My age, gender, and intelligence mean nothing. Nor does my past, my family, or even the fact that I speak another language. Nothing poses a barrier to their love.

Children, in addition to loving profusely, are dependent on others for their survival. We often pride ourselves on our independence and ability to take care of ourselves. God, however, asks us to give up our independence and trust in His ability to care for us. Although sometimes this can be a rather uncomfortable task, I find that the more I give to God, the more at peace and protected I feel. Never vulnerable; always safe.

The more time I spend with the girls here, the more I learn about how to approach God as a child--as one who loves without prerequisites, willingly accepts love from others, and gives her life over to the only one who can truly take care of her. I challenge you all to approach our Lord and Savior through the eyes of a child. He never disappoints.

"Here I Go Again"

“Here I Go Again”
Casting Crowns

Father, hear my prayer
I need the perfect words
Words that she will hear
And know they're straight from You
I don't know what to say
I only know it hurts
To see my friend slowly fade away

Chorus:
So maybe this time
I'll speak the words of life
With Your fire in my eyes
But that old familiar fear
is tearin' at my words
What am I so afraid of?
'Cause here I go again
Talkin' 'bout the rain
And mullin' over things
that won't live past today
And as I dance around the truth
Time is not her friend
This might be my last chance
to tell her that You love her

But here I go again
Here I go again

Lord, You love her so
You gave Your only Son
If she will just believe
She will never die
But how then will she know
What she has never heard?
Lord she has never seen mirrored in my life

Chorus:

But here I go again
Here I go, here I go

Chorus:

This might be my last chance
To tell her that You love her
This might be my last chance
To tell her that You love her

You love her, You love her
What am I so afraid
What am I so afraid
What am I so afraid of?
How then will she know
What she has never heard?

This song, slightly adapted from the original Casting Crowns version, was playing on Kimberly’s computer earlier this evening. After listening to the lyrics, I felt like the band was right here, singing to me about the girls at The Oasis. My prayer for my time here is that every day I will OOOZE with God’s love. That it will stick to everyone I touch, see, greet, and talk with. That they will be so stuck in it that they would give up trying to run from it.

The lyrics say “This might be my last chance to tell her that You love her.” We have girls constantly in and out of The Oasis, depending on the outcome of their court dates, but regardless of what the courts say, God has not guaranteed me tomorrow to show them His love. It needs to happen TODAY.

Please be with me in prayer that God will shine His light through my life, so bright that no one can ignore it. That the girls will see God’s love through the way that I love them, and that they will want more.

To all my TEACHERS

I am passionate about my girls.

I am passionate about education.

I am passionate about my girls getting an education.

They’re not always so thrilled.

The girls here at The Oasis go to school on-site using a home school program based out of Guatemala City, called Hebron. We bring in 4 teachers, one for grades 1, 2-3, 4-6, and 7-9. We have just started using the Hebron program this year and many of the girls are finding it difficult, because the level of difficulty of the material is much higher than they have ever had to deal with before. Also, it often requires independent study, not facilitated by the teacher—also something they are not used to.

I am excited to see the girls here receiving a higher level of education; however we are fighting an uphill battle. Not a single girl here is ahead or even up to speed in her studies. So many of them started late, some not beginning kindergarten until the age of 8-10, that they missed the formative years where children learn the basics of all learning (letters, numbers, counting, listening, following directions, etc.) We have 10 year olds in kindergarten, 14 year olds in 4th grade.

Also, the method of learning here in Guatemala is far different than that of the States. There’s no push to understand the “why” behind what you’re learning. All is rote memorization--- copy a paragraph and memorize your multiplication tables. As good as memorization is, it does not facilitate the ability to be able to solve problems other than the ones you’ve memorized. For example, they know that 3 x 4=12, but they have not learned that multiplication is addition of the same number to itself (they don’t understand that 3+3+3+3 = 3 x 4). Therefore, whenever they are presented with a new problem, they freeze and don’t know how to begin to work it out. If they understood the concept behind what they are learning, they might be able to work it out, but problem solving is just not taught.

We received the girls’ final exam scores last week. Many failed 3-5 classes, and those who passed are in the minority. So, this week we have 8am-12 tutoring for all girls who will be taking retake exams in just a few weeks. I love to tutor. It has always given me such a thrill to teach someone something new, to see them begin to understand a concept that confused them before. It’s an adrenaline rush. Yet, I struggle with how to fight the education system, their years without study, laziness, and lack of confidence. Often, I find myself regressing to the very basics of what they are studying, to explain the fundamentals of algebra, biology, or European history. Every day I am reminded of how grateful I am to all of my teachers, tutors, and those who took the time to teach me over the past 18 years. They may never know it, but the information they so painstakingly explained to me over and over is now being passed on to beautiful Guatemalan girls. So, THANK YOU, to all of my teachers—all forms—over the past years. You’re words carried farther than you ever expected.

Soup a la...cow hoof?

Almost 4 years ago now, I went to Honduras with my mom on my first mission trip. There, we stayed on site of a clinic in the tiny city of Guimaca. On day, while we were eating dinner, I found a fly in my food and proceeded to pick it out and continue eating. The missionary there began telling us about the 3 Stages of missionary eating:

• Stage 1: You find a bug in your food, throw out your food, and start over with a new plate.

• Stage 2: You find a bug in your food, pick it out, and continue eating.

• Stage 3: You find bug in your food, keep eating, and say “Mmm, extra protein.”

Well folks, last night I officially moved to Stage 4. I ate cow hoof.

They serve a soup here that is made of broth (which I now know is cow hoof broth), potatoes, greens, carrots, and giant chunks of blubbery-looking things. These, they explained to me, are called “pata de vaca” literally translating into “cow foot.” Apparently, they are extremely high in protein and vitamins. Despite the fact that they look like blubber and taste like rubber.

I had been able to discreetly pick them out of my food up until last night. Last night, dinner was broth with a giant bowl of pata de vaca. Mm,mm, good.

Anyway, I’m definitely getting my share of new experiences, good and not so good.

Number one moto: Be Flexible!!!