7 months here in Mexico

Today officially makes 7 months here in Mexico, so crazy! Only 3 more to go. What a journey it has been! I can't say enough how thankful I am for this opportunity to serve here and for the people that have taken me in here and shown me so much love and grace as well as for the many people back home and around the world that are supporting, praying and encouraging! Most days have been good, but of course there have been hard days, but with God by my side and His strength, peace and love He has gotten me through.

Some days it feels like I just got here and other days it feels like I have been here forever. Honestly, most days go by pretty fast, but some days do seem to go by a little slow. It all depends on what's happening. This weekend we are just hanging out at home, so things are slower, but that's okay : )

Things at school are going well, most days : ) I have to admit, some days, I need to work on being more patient and relying on God for that patience and strength. Last week, I had one of those days, but with prayers and God's help, things got better.

There are three students in the primary class that are very pokey with their work. It's not hard work, but they are just easily distracted. Honestly, they have been pokey all year, but for some reason, one day last week it was driving me crazy. My attitude was not good and God convicted me of it. I felt terrible for not being patient and how I responded, so I sent out a prayer request. As I mentioned, things got better. Of course there are still moments, but I need to remind myself to take a breath and say for this I have Jesus!

I feel like I am often after these three students to stay on task. There is another student in the secondary class that often needs reminders to stay on task. Then in preschool, there is a student that has lots of energy and needs reminders to listen and keep their hands to themselves. As an educator of 22 years, these are not new behaviors and God reminds me that I need to love them like He does, even in those trying times. I was sharing with my mom on the phone one night, that these students are the ones that come and give me the most hugs! I am reminded that they want those boundaries and disciplines. Thank you Lord for those reminders.

I was sharing the same information with my dear friend Brenda and she reminded me that these kids may be the reason God sent me to Mexico and they might need me more than anyone to show them Jesus. That was such a powerful message for me and a great reminder to respond how Jesus would respond, even when I just want to scream : ) I am thinking my teacher friends and anyone with children can relate to what I am talking about!

One morning, I was walking to school and one of these students that I often think I am hounding came running behind me yelling Ms. Sarah : ) Another reminder that I not the worst teacher ever. I am where I need to be and what I need to be doing-keeping these students on task.

I love it when I see the kids on my way to school or way home from school. They always greet me with a smile and a wave. Sometimes a hug : )

Last week, we played letter bingo with Mrs. Gallant's class over zoom and I bought some fun marshmallows for prizes : ) The preschoolers loved them and loved playing bingo. We love zooming with Mrs. Gallant's class. This week, we played a game and worked on body parts. We had an interactive dice where our class got to shake it and then each number had a body part to draw. Another fun game, but learning numbers and body parts while we played.

I thought I had a great idea to tell the primary class if we got all our work done we could play bingo. Who wouldn't be motivated by marshmallows?! This worked great the first day as those that finished were all able to get a bingo. Well, the second day, we didn't have as much time, so only a couple kids got a bingo. My dear friend Dani was not happy about this! I could tell he was upset before I left, so I just said if he was going to pout we wouldn't be able to play bingo again. Then I went to the preschool class.

As I am sitting with the preschoolers, Rosa, the director of the school, comes in and asks me what I said to Dani and that I need to go talk to him. I go in the room and he is in tears and screaming because he didn't get a marshmallow. The easy thing, would have been to give him a marshmallow and go back to the preschool room. Of course, I didn't choose to do the easy thing. Why would I do that?! I said a few things in English with google translate and Dani would stop crying to listen to the message in Spanish when I played it. I am thankful for google translate : ) I tried crouching next to his desk and just rubbing his back and tried to comfort him. It felt like forever that I was in there and he wasn't calming down. It was probably only 5 minutes. I offered to take him on a walk, but he wasn't leaving his desk.

The rest of the students were trying to have class, so I felt bad that Dani is crying and screaming, so I finally messaged Liz and asked her to come help me. I thought the two of us could take him out for a walk. Then Rosa said to leave him as his mom was coming. This was so hard to see Dani so sad and upset, especially over a marshmallow. We talked about how not everyone wins at games. We also talked about how if we will be upset over not winning, we won't be able to play fun games with prizes. We talked about how not everything in life is fair. Let me tell, you this was a hard, but good life lesson for both of us!

After Dani's mom came and got him calmed down, Liz came and got me and Dani gave me big hug. I almost cried. I am teary eyed writing about it now. We talked again how sometimes we win and sometimes we lose, but we have to be a good sport about it. If you have read my previous posts, Dani is the boy that has loved me from day one. He always wants me to sit by him at lunch : ) I truly believe he is one of the reasons I am here in Mexico. He may be one of those pokey students I was talking about earlier : ) It was now time for lunch and Dani still wanted me to sit by him. Thank you Lord for that hard lesson and the strength to get through.

Later that day as I went home I was thinking about that incident and how sometimes I am like Dani in life. Obviously, not over a marshmallow : ) But I was thinking about different things I have wanted in life and maybe haven't gotten and how I have responded. The thing that came to mind was a husband and family. Some days, I am good with it and other days, I may respond how Dani did, crying and screaming. God reminded me sometimes we get things and sometimes we don't. Thankfully, He knows best and His timing is perfect. Again, thank you Lord for that life lesson for both Dani and I. May this be a life lesson for all of us. How will we respond when we don't get something we want?

Another day at school, Liz was sharing her heart with me and I just asked her if I could pray for her. As I was praying I started crying and she started crying. We gave each other a big hug afterwards. I know I have said it before, but so thankful for Liz and her patience and grace! To think we didn't even know each other 7 months ago. Later, Liz thanked me for praying and shared that she felt so much peace as I prayed. Another reminder that sometimes we just need to be a listening ear and offer to pray for someone. We don't need to try and give them advice and solve things for them, but let them know you hear them and you care. Thank you Lord for opportunities to pray and love others. I also believe Liz is another reason God brought me here to Mexico : )

I continue to work on being flexible. Two Fridays ago, the teacher that was suppose to be in primary was busy setting up for movie day, so I stepped in the primary room to cover for what I thought was just for a little bit. It ended up being a whole hour. We ended up playing pictionary : ) Fun way to practice naming things in English. I have learned to always have extra games ready to go.

Then this last Friday, Liz had a meeting, so I had to teach secondary. I have shared before that secondary is not my gift and not my favorite class to teach, but I did it with a great attitude this last Friday. Thank you Lord for changing my attitude and reminding me I have you for unexpected changes. Keep giving me your strength to get through those moments as they will happen again : )

Wow, that was lots of emotions to share about what's happening at school. Please continue praying for the construction of the school as well as financial needs. They continue building the school and I shared some pictures that Pastor Francisco shared with us. Be sure to check them out. It sounds like they may not be in the actual school building until the 2024-2025 school year as it will take time to get all the permission from the government. This will give them time to continue raising funds for the school. God reminded me that He is in control and His timing is perfect! Thank you Lord, that they have a few classrooms at the church to use until the school is ready. Thank you for providing!

I remember when I first came here, they talked about being in the new school in January. That seemed quick to me and it seemed silly to move mid school year, but I was open and willing to do whatever they said. January came and then it was April, the classrooms will be ready to go. April is just a few weeks away and they won't be ready to go, but that's okay. All that to say, I don't know when the school will be finished : ) Thank you Lord for the team that is building the school. May you guide and direct them and their work. Keep them safe!

I have learned many things while being here in Mexico, but one thing I have learned is often things don't get finished or done as planned. Sometimes they just don't get finished because they run out of funds. I have also learned that sometimes you talk about doing something and it doesn't happen. I will be honest, this was frustrating the first few times as I am a person that if I say I am going to do something, I do it. I stick to my word. One of my pet peeves is people that don't follow through. I had to remind myself I am in another culture and adjust how I responded to these situations. Now, I often tell my parents, well we talked about doing this, but you know how that goes : )

I think I have adjusted to the Mexican time : ) That's another thing I have to remind myself of, if Norma says we will go in a few minutes, that really might be an hour. I have learned to just do my thing until Norma says it's time to go. Again, the first few times, I was frustrated as I sat there just waiting as I was thinking it was just going to be a few minutes. Thank you Lord, for changing my attitude and helping me adjust to the culture.

The time thing is interesting though, as Rosa & Rafael as well as Raquel were both early to church when I was with them. I didn't know what to do being there before the service : ) Our family still goes usually 15-30 minutes late. Church is usually 2 hours long, so we still get plenty of time at the church. I have to remind myself when I am with certain people they mean the time they say and others may or may not mean the time they say.

Last weekend, I was able to spend the weekend with Raquel, one of the other teachers at school, who I have gotten to know a little more since coming back in December. She doesn't speak much English, but she does at least try to converse with me. We also use google translate to communicate : ) She has two sons and her oldest sons name is Raymond. That was my grandpa's name, so that's special and I think of my grandpa often. Her son, Raymond, really enjoys visiting with me and enjoyed having me spend the weekend with them. Saturday night he asked if I could stay one more night, but I needed to be back home Sunday afternoon. I told him I would come back another time.

It was a very relaxing weekend with them! I love relaxing weekends : ) Friday night, we went and watched Raymond at Tae Kwon Doe. Dulce, is the Tae Kwon Doe teacher from school, so it was fun to hang out with her and her family a little. They treated us to Raspados and Pizza-two of my favorite things here. Then we went home and watched a movie. Check out pictures of our weekend together.

Saturday we hung around the house and watched a few movies. I brought my s'mores maker and we enjoyed some s'mores. Raquel cooked some delicious food for breakfast and supper. I didn't go hungry. Raquel and I did go to central Iraupuato to get a couple things. She treated me to some frozen strawberries and whip cream. Raquel is very caring, loving and generous! So thankful for her and that we have gotten to know each other better. I believe she is another reason God brought me here : )

Raquel and her boys live in a very small house, but are very content. This was such a good reminder that we don't need bigger and better things to be happy. We think we do, but really Jesus is the only thing that will satisfy us. This was also a reminder of how blessed I am to have my own room with the family I am staying with. Do I need to have my own room, no, but it is nice to have a place to go to when I need some alone time. Thank you Lord that you knew I would need a space to have some alone time while being here. Thank you for this family that has taken me under their wings! Thank you that you knew I wouldn't be able to live on my own while here in Mexico.

This week, I got to try two new foods at home. They were both very good, but time consuming to make. Bless Norma's heart and her love for cooking. That is definitely her gift. Cooking is not my gift, but I try to enjoy the time I can be in the kitchen with Norma and helping her. I can cook some good lasagna and pizza, but I am not a fan of cooking where there are many steps. I don't want to spend three hours in the kitchen preparing a meal, but some times I do : ) Thank you Lord for the time Norma and I can spend together doing what she enjoys. Be sure to check out the pictures of the new foods I tried.

Monday Liz and I studied for a little bit. Then we enjoyed making s'mores and watching a movie. I always enjoy my time with Liz and her daughter Mia : )

I was also sick this week. It was probably all those s'mores I ate. Thankfully it was short lived and only lasted for about a day. I think it was something I ate. Thankfully I was able to come home from school and rest. Sweet Norma wanted to make me a tea when I came home as she is always so good at take care of us when we are sick, but I told her I just needed to rest. Thank you Lord for Norma and her love for others and you! Thank you for extra rest and the sickness was short lived!

Friday was Ricardo's birthday, so we went out for supper to celebrate. Then we went to the mall to return some gifts Norma had bought that didn't fit. It was a fun night as a family with laughs. Thank you Lord for time together as a family. Thank you that you continue to work on each person in this family and grow us closer together.

Like I mentioned before, we are just hanging out at home this weekend. I was thinking about rearranging my room, so my bed is closer to the ceiling fan. It is starting to be warm here all the time. While I am thankful for sunshine and warmth, I do miss the cool mornings and evenings. Thank you Lord for ceiling fans! Please be praying that I can stay hydrated as they say April, May and June are their hottest months. I enjoy the heat, but my husky body was not made to be in heat all the time : )

I shared some prayers and praises through out the blog, but will share again or for the first time : ) So much to be thankful for! Thank you Lord for the many relationships that you continue to build here. Thank you that even though we speak different languages we can still love and care for each other. Thank you Lord for the many reminders these last two weeks and for life lessons. Thank you Lord that you have help me adjust to the culture. Thank you that you are always with me and give me strength for each day! Thank you for the home and space I have to spend time alone if needed. Thank you for the support, prayers and love back home.

Please continue praying for the school as they are building as well as finances to come in for building and scholarships. Thank you for the rooms at church that we can use while we wait for the school to be up and running. Continue praying for my attitude and to respond to how Jesus would respond, even in those hard moments. Pray for health and to tolerate the heat and stay hydrated. Pray for my eyes, ears and heart to be open to whatever God continues to have for me here in Mexico.

Enjoy some pictures from the last couple weeks : )

Some photos that Pastor Francisco shared of the construction at the school