It's been about 3 weeks since I've posted an update. Sorry Grandma!
The end of January marked the deadline for us teachers to decide whether we were going to return to teach in Guatemala for the next school year. We were required to sign another contract or inform that we had other plans for the next year. And I have chosen one of those two options, but I'll make you wait until the end of this post to find out :)
For the weeks that I have been back in Guatemala from Christmas break, I have been teaching my students how to research through reading biographies and compiling information about a person whom they were able to choose. Some of the people they chose to research were Lady Gaga, Tom Cruise, Anne Frank, Cleopatra, Eminem, Leonardo da Vinci, and Walt Disney. There were many others, but as you can see from the short list, we had quite a variety. Each student was required to design a poster to use as a guide during his or her presentation of the personality chosen to research. The posters were good; the research was hectic, but it turned out successful, too. Honestly, I was so tired of teaching research that I was ready for them to be DONE! And now, they are!
During the month that we've been back, each student was also required to read a novel and present a book report about it. The book reports were presented on Thursday and Friday of this week, and they went really well! The students had three options of book report styles to choose from: a "movie poster," a comic strip, or a letter. The majority of my 35 students chose to do a "move poster." I was happy about this because now I have many posters to decorate my classroom with! I am still in the process of grading them, but when they're hung up, I'll take a picture and share it with you.
I have really been enjoying my Bible class recently. I have been teaching John chapters 9-11 over the past three weeks, and teaching them has been really beneficial to me as well as the students (hopefully). I have been trying to be more creative in my lessons, so I'll share a picture with you at the end of this post, showing you one of the illustrations I used in John 10.
Speaking of the Bible...and spiritual things, last Sunday I tried a new church here in Xela! It is called First Baptist Church of Quetzaltenango (Primera Iglesia Bautista de Quetzaltenango). I attended with Sean and Jessica, two of my good friends here, and I really liked the church! It is pretty small, only about 75-80 people attended the service last Sunday. I felt very comfortable there, and I'm really excited to go back tomorrow!
In my Bible study with other teachers from the school, we have been studying Malachi. The first week of the study, while studying chapter 1, the main theme was love. We began talking about how we could love our students and meet their spiritual needs. I began praying for God to show me how to love my students better (this was Monday). On Wednesday of that same week, I had to email a student's parents because of his grade in my class. I informed the student of my email so that he would know what to expect when he got home, and he began crying...a lot. I pulled him to the side and through talking with him, realized that his home life is not very supportive or encouraging; because of things at home, he doesn't focus well in school, and as a result his grades are low. I understood this opportunity as the Lord showing me how to love him. I've been praying for him, and the Lord has helped my relationship with him grow stronger.
I'll finish with a lighter note, but still on the theme of love: Valentine's Day. A few weeks ago, I posted on Facebook that I was having chocolate withdrawals. Because of this post, my mother asked for my address because she wanted to send me chocolate (she didn't say this, but I assumed). So, I got a call from the office on Tuesday saying that I had a package. I knew that it was from my mom, and I assumed that it was my usual heart-shaped box of Russel Stover chocolates that I get every year. So as I open the outer box, I see that it has been opened already, which I wasn't surprised by, because when packages come into the country, they have to be checked by the customs department. I continue opening the two outer boxes until I get to the inner box, the heart-shaped one that contains the chocolates, but I notice that the wrapper is already torn open, and I think, "Wow, customs even opened the sealed box of chocolates." As I open the box, what comes next is totally astonishing to me: THEY TOOK ONE OF MY CHOCOLATES!!! I mean, I know they need to make sure that it's not cocaine-infused chocolates, but it was sealed! And I'm sure they didn't wash their hands first! (Also, I learned form the "chocolate map" that's included with chocolates that they actually took a "fruit and nut" one, which aren't my favorite; however, it's just the fact that they STOLE my CHOCOLATE!!) Moral of the story: Don't expect to send food overseas without someone taste-testing it first.
Devin
I went to the school today, Saturday, with some other teachers to help build on 2 new classrooms! I laid block with mortar! It was fun!
As you can tell, Liz and Jess were a BIG help while I was working hard laying block.
Here's the picture of the illustration I did for Bible. The ones blindfolded are sheep and their shepherd is guiding them around the school :)
And we'll finish with a picture of the city from my apartment!
P.S. I signed the contract; I'll be teaching in Guatemala next year!! This just means that you have more time to come visit me :) I know you needed more time; you're welcome!
