Aventuras

Send Me to the Moon and Wrap Jupiter Up in Some Tin Foil

So.. Last day of our 2011 - 2012 Honors Academy school year tomorrow. I can say this has been one of the best years of my life. When I first came down to Honduras over 2 years ago, I was an 18-year-old kid thirsty for adventure and ready to throw myself through any open door. After getting smacked in the face just the right amount of times, I changed my ways based on a change of heart which lead to a change of mindset. Last year I worked on a lot of internal things, which are obviously not perfect now, but to say the least, I’m not a hyper-spastic teenager with no direction anymore. I find it rare that I’ve been here long enough now where I can say the “good old times” and refer to my time spent in a foreign country. There is an “old” me, a past, a change in me and all around me, shared experiences, stories traced with mascara-ruined cheeks, constant noise of a child’s laughter, ideas tossed across the room just like the tortillas are flung from hand to hand.. This used to be something that I wanted to take pictures of everything, but not so much now. Not because it’s become boring and mundane, but because it’s my real life. I am a missionary. I am a teacher. I do have a vision and dreams that will be fulfilled with my heavenly Father aligning every detail in his plan. Everything. He’s planning how the clouds with be arranged in the sky for every special day in my life because he knows how much I think about Him when I look up into the sky. I am now part of not only one biological semi-functional family, but a family of many strange, crazy, irreplaceable people that the only way we can all be strung together is with the thread and needle that God so carefully uses to heal every hurt in our hearts. With that, we must not remain immobile, waiting for time to pass, just like the very watch on your wrist, until the next good thing passes us by. No, we are healed to go heal others, spreading our story, making it known how what we used to be no longer is. What am I trying to say with this sleep-deprived jarble of words? I’ve realized how much has changed in me in a year’s time.. and I wouldn’t be where I am today without you:

John, Tarah, Pastor Pete, Mama Ty, Erika, Dom, Cinthia, Debbie, Allie, Valentina, Andres, Rolando, Bertha, Ramon, Other 15 Carrette Kids, Bob, Julie, Lauren, Mary Beth, Josh, Mr. Sarmiento, David, Marlon, My Girls’ Group, Eli, All La Gente en La Colonia Los Estados Unidos, Indira, Claudia, Claudia and her kids, Alex, Sarah, Katelyn, Mom and Dad, Omi and Opa, and Stoley.

And obviously, none of this is possible without our Creator. 

No idea what my problem is, but I’ve been inundated with a passion and a love I’ve never known all of a sudden.. so get ready for it to just keep getting better with a never-give-up mentality.