Thankfulness:
I realized that I’ve never told y’all what my schedule looks like. So I’m going to start off by telling you what my normal week looks like before I tell you guys about everything that I’m thankful for. If you already know my schedule or just don’t want to read it, you can skip to the thankfulness part.
I always forget that Sunday starts off the week, cause it’s part of the “weekend”, but I remembered it now. So, we will start with Sunday. Sunday is church day. My church starts at 10:30 or so. It ends anywhere from 1-3 with talking and fellowship afterwards. After church and fellowship are over, we go to my house and eat lunch. Usually, some church members join us so we have a bit of a party for lunch. Sometimes there are errands to do or little assignments.
Mondays are busy days. They are early days for me. I usually get up at 6:00. I get ready for the day, eat breakfast, and meet my Spanish teacher so she can give me a ride to school. Our Spanish class starts at 7:45 and lasts until 9:45. After my Spanish class, I teach Literature to the 8th graders in second period. Third period is teaching Literature to the 10th graders. Fourth period is writing with the 8th graders. I technically have a break during lunch, but I usually go outside and talk with some of the students after I finish eating. After lunch, I have two PE classes. The first is with the junior high and high school. The second is with the elementary school. PE is always an interesting time, because almost all of the students are very competitive. After school I have tutoring with one of my students. It’s supposed to take an hour, but sometimes we get distracted and it takes a bit longer.
Tuesdays are meeting days. I have a meeting starting at 10 with my mission team. The meetings usually deal with books that we’ve been assigned or helpful things for us to know. We’ve had meetings about the culture of Day of the Dead. We’ve also learned about culture shock and how to deal with that. So far we have finished a couple of books. I read a book about third culture kids, and all of us read a book called God in my Everything. Both books were very good and helpful.
Wednesdays are school days again, but slightly easier school days. I don’t have Spanish class until 8:45 so I get to sleep in a bit. Usually, our Spanish class starts even later than that because the students have a combined worship time. I have started joining them for that worship time. I’ve found that listening to my students praising God really speaks to me. After worship, I have my Spanish class for two periods. Third period is Literature with the 10th graders. Fourth is a free period. I will either grade papers or join another class as a “student”. I mainly join the combined 7th and 8th grade history class, but once I did join the 10th graders math class. After my free period, I have lunch duty which just means that I generally watch the kids outside for free time after they finish eating. The last two periods are literature and writing with the 8th graders. Then again after school, I have tutoring with one of my students.
Thursday is another meeting type day. I have Bible study and accountability with the other girls in my mission team. That usually starts at 9, but with distance and traffic, I generally have to leave my house at 7 to get there on time. So, Thursdays are another early morning for me. Thursdays are generally good days though. I usually enjoy them. We’re starting to do Bible studies in Spanish now. That will be a bit of a challenge since I’m still learning, but I think it will be good.
Fridays are my free days. I have been hanging out with Riley, one of the other girls in my mission team, on Fridays. We’ve done some fun things like go paddle boating in a swan paddleboat, walk around a park and ride fair rides, and go to a zoo. In the evening when I get home, I will skype my parents. It’s really nice to have time to speak with them every week. Sometimes it’s too late or our schedules don’t work out, so we talk on a different day. Generally, though, we talk on Fridays.
Saturdays are sort of free days. Most of the time, however, my host mom has plans and I join her in those plans. This upcoming Saturday, I am actually going to a Gilmore Girls revival watching party. That’s a super long title but oh well. So, Saturdays are family time or random events.
That’s my schedule. Now y’all know what I do during my week. J
Thankfulness!
I thought a list would be appropriate for this. So that’s what I’m going to do. Here are the things that I am thankful for.
- My students. I seriously love all of them, and I think they have taught me a lot about love. See, I loved my students before I ever met any of them. From the moment that God told me I was going to be teaching in Mexico City, an almost unexplainable love for my future students came over me. I started praying for them then, and I am still praying for them now. My love for my students is a love from God. Therefore, that love teaches me about the love of God, because no matter how my students act in class or how they treat me, I still love them. My love for them is not conditional. That has definitely been a learning experience
- Along that same vein, I am thankful for the lessons that I’m learning about love. Our world today portrays love as a feeling. Love is portrayed as something that goes away easily when you’re hurt. Love is shown as something that’s breakable or conditional. I have been learning that when the love comes from God, there is nothing breakable or conditional about that love. I think that’s a really important message, and I am so thankful that God is taking the time to teach me about what love really is.
- My family. Everywhere I go, my family seems to grow. (Please ignore the unintentional rhyme. Haha) Everyone knows of my biological family. My dad, mom, brother, aunt, and grandparents. Some of you may also know of my sisters, Mary and Rachel and Mama Doty. I also have another sister named Rachel who’s not at all related to my other Rachel sister. I have adopted grandparents in my church too. Now, in Mexico, I have my host family and adopted family. My host family consists of my mom, her many sisters, her son (my brother), his wife, and my niece and nephew. They’re a beautiful family. Then, I also have a little brother who’s not part of my host family. You probably remember reading about him in my last blog post. I love all my family, and I’m so thankful that I seem to find family even if I’m in a different country
- My mission. I have some pretty awesome people in my mission agency. I’m thankful that I was put here at this time with these people
- My church. I am grateful for my church back home and my church here.
- My supporters. Without you guys, I wouldn’t even be here. God has used you all in a mighty way and I appreciate it so much!
- Anyone who’s ever impacted my life. Hindsight is 2020. I think that’s the saying. (If not, then I’ve just changed it a bit) Anyway, looking back on my life, I can see how certain people and situations have gotten me to where I am today. Whether the situation was good or bad, I am thankful to everyone who got me here.
- My God and His salvation. I would be nothing without Him.