laundry, trash and teaching!

Hello all! I just want to give a special shout-out to all my Franuniv, to let you know that you’re all in my prayers as you begin your first week of school. Especially you seniors! You’re in charge now, eh? Make the most of your leadership on campus!

So, speaking of Franciscan, we just got our final roommate at the “spice house” where I live (I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that’s the name of our house yet-- It’s because I guess it used to house a bunch of party girls), now it’s Steubenville Central America because besides Alison R, Cathleen and Anne (a girl who went to Franuniv. For a year as an exchange student from Massachusettes), we have Faustina and Gertrude’s older sister Miriam Bianchi! Isn’t it a small Catholic world? Miriam looks just like Faustina, every time she walks into the room I think it’s her. So strange… Anyways, she’s here as a nurse, not a teacher, so it’s nice to have some diversity too.

My first week as a teacher is almost over, (praise him… go on sonlife) and I’m totally in love with these students. I must say that I’ve really softened up for the girls but I still shock myself at how strict I am with the boys (but then again, there’s more than thirty of them and some of them are bigger than me, so what choice do I have?). I gave my first quiz today, and only one of the kids failed it! I was pretty excited to realize that they’re comprehending the material and I can probably even speed up with them. This week I’ve been teaching the Incarnation and Revelation, to establish the foundation of the rest of the semester, and I’ve really been trying to get them to think about why they believe what they believe. I’ve explained to them that Religion is a class that isn’t about a subject but a Person, a Person who loves them and wants them to have faith in Him. The advice of Deacon Cal is still in my head-- just get them to realize that God loves them, and you’ve accomplished something in class. So, right now, everything is sort of going back to the love that God has for them and the invitation he’s giving them to follow him… That way, I can relate the rest of the class—all the doctrine we’re covering, to the love of God… I just have to say that all of you who are in the Religious Ed. Program at Franciscan right now are preparing for the most incredible job in the world! To sit at my desk every day and try to think of new ways to teach these kids about God brings me such joy!

Now, life as a missionary holds new… discoveries… every day. Case in point, on Tuesday I attempted to do laundry by hand, since we’ve yet to get a washing machine. We’re rapidly discovering that doing laundry and then allowing it to air dry actually causes stains in your clothes! Amazing. However, as I washed my clothes in the sink, I reflected on the miracle of modern appliances and realized that I will NEVER take a washing machine for granted again. On the brighter side, one of our neighbors who works at the school has extended to us the generous invitation to throw our trash away in her trash bin which is exciting, because the alternative to that is burning it in our back yard. We feel bad depriving the neighborhood of the spectacle of five white girls attempting to burn trash, but this solution is much more convenient (especially considering the delicate nature of the trash produced in Central America… those of you familiar with the plumbing here know what I’m talking about).

It’s starting to sound like a LOT of rain is about to fall very quickly, so I’m going to try and dash back to the teacher planning room to finish entering grades. I just want to thank everyone again for the thoughts and prayers! Please keep it up as every days offers new challenges! Also, I’m glad to hear all y’all on Hilton Head aren’t getting washed away right now!