Day ten in Panama

Today was the first day that went by very quickly. Looking back, I think “Wow, tomorrow is already Wednesday.” I get to see Ana and Rachelle again. I get to see Abraham again, Dayanis again. Last week seemed to drag on. The days were so long. But this week is different for some reason. This morning we pressed snooze a few times because Sarah and I had stayed up late talking again about all the God has taught us in Panama. When we were talking, I was telling her how I needed this step for my faith. It is hard to explain, but this trip has taught me that when I give up control and make myself vulnerable, God will be there to be my support. My eyes teared up last night as I was talking about the transformation that has happened in my heart on this trip. If students do not show, we should not get mad or angry at them. We are here to do God’s will. We are here to be patient with God. We are here to give our hearts. I said, just the step of me coming here has taught me so much. It has taught me how to trust God in ways that I have not known. This morning I led the devotional. I found a passage last night before bed that seemed to line up perfectly with our journey and obstacles we have faced on this trip. The passage is Philippians 4:10-20 from Paul’s writings in prison to the church of Philippi. He says, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me…” I continued on through verse 20. We reflected on how that passage related to our experiences at the school. Whether we have many students or one student, we have now learned to be content. Last week, we were not content if there was a problem or a no show. We would get frustrated because we wanted to see as many people as we could. But God had a different plan to teach us more about ourselves and the transformation that happens when we give control to Him. Today, we had every one of our students show. Some students even came 30 minutes early (including Joshua). My first of the students was Kimberly Quintero. What a sweetheart she is! I just love Kimberly. She works so hard to understand. She loves when I relate the story to an example in her life. When I do that, everything seems to click and she gets so excited. Kimberly is the perfect student to start off the day. She began my day at the school with a wide smile. Next came dear Joshua. He came half way through Kimberly’s lesson, so unfortunately I could not take him early. He had to wait until his scheduled time. When Joshua walked in, he again had a wonderfully huge smile on his face that is so very contagious. Immediately he starts digging in his back. He pulls out pictures that were printed off a computer. He was so excited to show me his baby nephew of only 4 months old. His nephew is in Southern California. He has never met him, but hopes to someday. I gave out a little squeal when I saw these pictures for 2 reasons. The first was because the baby so precious. Oh my goodness, these pictures were absolutely adorable. And second was because I was so excited that Joshua decided to share another piece of his life with me. Something that brought Joshua joy. Even when we got started and Joshua was reading the lesson out loud to me, I was still smiling. I just could not stop. This was pure joy from my Heavenly Father. Joshua asked me if he could work on his workbook at home, too. He said, “I just can’t stop reading these stories about Jesus” and wanted to know if he could read more while he is at home. He said that he read the lesson we were working on many times at home because he was not sure if he could move on. And let me tell you, his pronunciation and understanding of that story was phenomenal because of it. I could tell that Joshua was eager to know more about this Jesus. Joshua and I got to talk a little more about his family situation. I found out that they do not have very much money. Joshua rides the bus to and from school. If the bus breaks down, Joshua doesn’t go to school. They do not even have a telephone in their home. He said things are hard sometimes, but you learn to be thankful for the things that you have. I asked Joshua what he wants to do when he graduates high school in 4 years. Joshua has a lot of ambition. He said his number one choice would be to be a veterinarian. He wants to go to a university, but he told me that they will most likely not be able to afford that. Joshua is smart. If Joshua had the money, he would be able to get through all the schooling. He could do it. But when he told me that his family could not afford it, my heart broke inside. Everything in me wanted to go home, sell everything I have and give all the money to him. He means so much to me and he deserves an opportunity just like you and I. I want to do what I can to raise some money for him or at least save up some money of my own to give to him in 4 years. I will do my best to stay in contact with him, and to keep updated on his life when I go back to the states. I must see Joshua again. I must always be a prayer support for my friend Joshua. Joshua will be in my prayers. Thursday is my last time to see Joshua this year. He has truly touched my heart. Next came in Leonel. Leonel’s English is very broken, but it just amazes me how much you can get to know about someone with very few words. Leonel was such a joy to work with. He is very eager to learn, and he really tested my teaching skills. I had to explain almost every word in the story to get him to understand what Jesus was trying to say. And all glory be to God, he understood and was amazed at Jesus’ teachings. I am excited to work with Leonel again on Thursday. Finally came my last students for the day… Joy! I learned that all of Joy’s friends call him Ariza (his last name) because in his classes, there are many people named Joy or Joyce. So to be less confusing, they call him Ariza. Joy today was making me laugh so hard. He could not get the pronunciation of one word. I would tell him how to pronounce it, but then when the word would show up again, he would forget! Everytime this happened, he would hit his forehead and say, “Ariza! Que pasa?” I laughed so hard. That means “Ariza what’s happening?” Today I taught Joy a song with his name in it. I don’t know why… just because I’m silly. “I got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart….” And so on. He loved it! During my English sessions with Joy, I learn much Spanish. Today, he told me why it is so difficult to pronounce things in English and it made perfect sense to me. He said that in English you speak using the throat, but in Spanish, it is more of a musical pronunciation. You use only the tongue, teeth, and lips. We practiced with a few words and I understood. It was so true and so interesting! We also had fun during this lesson. I tried on Ariza’s glasses and he was laughing at how I looked with them on. When Joy was leaving, (he did not want to leave) he said, “I write poems! I will write you one in Spanish like I do for my friends!” On Thursday he is going to give it to me. I’m so excited! Now, only being 2pm in the afternoon, we were able to go home! An early day! This was because, for this week, we do not have any teachers scheduled in the afternoon like we normally do. So every day this week, we get to leave the school at 2 rather than 5. So we got home and I got to take a nap! I woke up at 5, ate some lasagna, and was ready for Christopher, Cassandra, and Christian. At the end of the lesson, his mom was talking to Sarah and she said, “The boys never want to leave when they come here. They love hanging out with you all.” So she invited Sarah and I over to their house on Thursday! We are so excited! We’ll play the piano, guitar, video games, and just have fun together like normal friends would. It’s amazing how quickly relationships can be formed. It’s only been a week here and this family feels like family to me. I’m so excited to go hang out at their house! Tonight, the second team flies into Panama. Terry is on his way back from the airport right now! Mike and the Richardsons… sounds like a band from the 70’s or something. Haha. When they get here, we will visit for awhile and then head off to bed to recharge for another God-given day! I’m getting feelings of sadness that tomorrow will be my last day with my Mon/Wed. students, but maybe I will be blessed to see them again one day. Duerma bien mi familia. (Sleep well my family) Until tomorrow…