thoughts....

So the month of September is a myriad of parties and holidays in celebration of Honduran Independence Day. This week there is the big parade in Siguatepeque in which all the schools are marching, and consequently, for which we practiced this morning for two hours in the hot sun and will practice for another two hours on Thursday morning. I must say that the group that I was assigned to ‘done me proud’ – not that I had anything to do with it – but they were so organized and had things so down pat that it made me grin and the other students jealous. Marching is a SERIOUS business here – they count and must stop and go at the EXACT same time. They must salute the crowd on their knee with their arm out. It’s pretty intense.
So part of this month includes Teacher’s Day (next Monday – holiday!) and Children’s Day, which took place yesterday. The kids from K-6 have a huge party with lots of food and sweets, cake and ice cream, and of course, the obligatory piñata – leaving them high on sugar and low on concentration. The high school kids take a party to a rural school – where the poverty overwhelmed me and made me thankful and reflective of class and opportunity.
We arrived at the school following a 45 minute bus ride (not the same as here folks – after a ride like that chiropractors would be in business for YEARS to come) into the mountains. We pulled up in front of two buildings which together were smaller than the apartment I live in. The kids were in clothes that obviously have been handed down and well-worn (and loved.) As I am the Homeroom teacher for Grade 7, it was my job to lead my class in leading games with some kids from the school. Small problem: although my kids are bilingual, these rural kids are not. I quickly needed a translator and my students stepped up to the plate. So we went around the circle introducing our name and ages. Now I had been expecting to have kindergarteners or grade 1s – and that is certainly the size that these children were. So when one child told me that he was twelve (and he was the size of my brother Jacob who is seven) I nearly fell over. The same went for the rest. They were in Grade 4 and most were 11 years old (they should have been in grade 6). They were so malnourished that they had no even grown properly.
So – out went all my game plans – I could not play duck, duck goose with these kids! Well, my class just stepped right up! (And it was the first time they had ever done this – last year they were in elementary school.) The boys and girls split up and led different games. One of my shiest boys just shone – and as I write this I think I am grinning like an idiot because they made me so proud. We then beat a piñata to smithereens and feed the children sandwiches, cupcakes, bags of candies, and tang. This was probably more food then they ever get to see.
Arriving back at our school I had my class reflect on what they saw and what they learned. Many wrote that they were very thankful for all that they had – and said that it was obvious that they had more. Others said that it was obvious that they had to work as a team to get things done – and needed each other.
For me – this day brings back the struggle that I have about coming into a country like this and immediately being considered part of the upper class of this society. We ARE much better off – and even coming to this school only exposes me to the upper-middle class. There is nothing in place in this country to make sure that people are getting educated. The school that we visited did not go past Grade 6 and there would never be money for children to go on to high school – let alone university. It is interesting to be considered a missionary by people - what does that word mean especially in meeting people where they are at? How does that look economically for me - a wealthier person in this country? And even if I don't have a lot of money to my name...the people here automatically assume that I have money - which can create barriers and obstacles when meeting people who do not go to this school. What scares me the most probably is that I am so unaware of what God has given me. I think of the parable with the talents - where many are given and much is required. BUT - we dont' even realize just how much we have been given! The question is: what does God want me to do with what I have been given? Because I know I often swing to the other side and feel bad for being given so much. If anyone has any comments on that: let me know!