First Days of School

Well.... I did it. I have officially survived my first week at school as a 6th grade teacher! I mean technically it wasn't a full week because the students did not arrive until Wednesday, but three days has got to count for something. This week has been one of the most "exciting" weeks I've had in a long time. At any given moment, I felt between 12-15 various feelings all at once. I think my emotions are more worn out than anything else this week, but I loved every day of it. 

I have a class with 22 beautiful, brilliant, loving Honduran children. They are so full of energy and life, it's contagious! I can't explain the joy I get when I walk into my classroom and know that I am able to start off each day with them by reading a devotional, talking about what a great God we all serve and praying over the students and the rest of the day. It is such a blessing to be able to talk about God with these students without worrying about getting fired or even sued. Many of my students have a pretty good understanding of who God is and what the Bible says. It's amazing to see that in such young children.

Yesterday I was even able to teach the lesson of Samson and Delilah to the students. Afterwards, one of my students asked, "Miss. Jaggi, if Samson knew that his girlfriend was lying to him and she only wanted the money, then why would Samson keep being her boyfriend?!" Haha It's moments like those when I love being a teacher. The students ask such great questions; questions that I can't answer sometimes. But we all learn through it, together.

As far as life goes when it comes to living in a city with a massive amount of people and those people don't speak the same language as you and it's a completely different culture than what you've grown up in..... it's interesting. I love it, don't get me wrong, but that doesn't mean there aren't challenges. I'm still trying to get used to the idea that I can't simply leave my house to run to the store or grab a bite to eat. Or the fact that at night I have to watch where I step or else I'll have a cockroach stuck to the bottom of my foot. Or that I still have to wear dress pants and closed toed shoes, regardless of the fact that it's in the 90's. All of these little things may sound like complaints.... but they are really not. I'm so thankful for all of it. I'm thankful I have a way of getting around, it's not always the most convenient... but I'm able to get from place to place. I'm thankful that I have a nice house to live in, whether I step on a cockroach or not (which hasn't happened yet and I'm praying I don't ever experience that). And I'm thankful that I am able to work in such a nice school, with professional coworkers and be seen as someone who takes their job seriously. 

Has my life been easy living here for the past two weeks..... absolutely not. Do I expect my life to be easy living here for the next 46 weeks? Not at all. Do I want my life to be easy? Now where's the fun in that? I've realized through past experience that when we face those seasons of great difficulty in our lives, we are left with nothing else to cling to but Jesus. I know it sounds cliche but it's 100% true. Sometimes the Lord needs to turn our world upside down so that we are able to experience his love and his grace in a completely new way. And although it's difficult, frustrating and tiring while trying to survive in those long, dry seasons.... the outcome is all worth it. All the pain and the struggles that we faced are now nothing compared to the glory of the God of this world, who proves to us time and time again, that we can draw close to him, and he will care for us. 

It reminds me of the lyrics of the song "Don't stop the madness" by Tenth Avenue North. The lyrics say:
Don't stop the madness
Don't stop the chaos
Don't stop the pain surrounding me
Don't be afraid, Lord, to break my heart
Just bring me down to my knees


Don't stop the madness
Don't stop the chaos
Don't stop the pain inside of me
Do whatever it takes to give me your heart
And bring me down to my knees, Lord 

How amazing is that?! As scary as it is to pray a prayer like that or sing lyrics that consist of giving God the permission to do whatever it takes, even bringing us down to our very knees in an act of surrender.... it is worth it all in the end. Because in the end, we will have a deeper relationship with the Lord. We will learn what it means to trust the Lord with all of our Heart, all of our Soul and all of our Strength. So as crazy as my life is right now and the fact that 97.4% of the time I have no idea what is going on around me.... I'm going to cling to Christ. He's the only one that can take away my fears and replace them with joy and peace.  

28"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. 30"For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."          
                                                                                                  Matthew 11:28-30

 Here are some pictures of my classroom.

 Here is the courtyard or "gancha" in the center of the school. Everything is basically outside.










There's also the beautiful view of the mountains in the background.

And here's a picture of the door to my room. I want to make sure that the students know when they walk into my classroom that they are respected, important, authors, scientists, explorers and loved <3