Much to Learn

So I came here to teach, but so far all I have been doing is learning! I am learning about Mexican culture, speaking in Spanish, setting up a classroom, preparing for the first day of school, and even how to change a flat tire! Let me show you...

Here I am with Hope and Ruby, the other 2 SMCA teachers. My first weekend here we went to a traditional Mexican Charreada. This is the highest form of Mexican horsemanship based on a mixture of Spanish and Native traditions (thank you Wikipedia). The people riding the horses had on traditional Spanish outfits and did a variety of skills on the horses. It was such a fun day and I
feel like a got a good taste of true Mexican culture.
Here is a mariachi playing along with the various events that are taking place. I loved it!!

This the arena where all the events took place. Look at the mountains in the back ground! Monterrey is truly such a marvelous city because of the mountains!

Another thing that I learned was that Mexico has a rainy season. And it is right now! All week it has been raining and it doesn't look like it will clear anytime soon. This makes doing laundry a little difficult because my washer and dryer are outside behind my apartment! But don't worry, the mountains even look beautiful in the cloudy weather. The picture shown above is the view right outside my front door!

In my last blog I promised some pictures of my classroom, so here you go! On the left is my classroom!! Updates have been made since this picture was taken, but this will give you a pretty good idea of where I will be spending most of my time this year. You may notice that there are only 4 desks... that is because I am starting the year off with 4 kids! The Guckenbergers are working in the home office for the first few months for school, so my numbers dropped from 7 to 4. So tomorrow I will be starting the school year with three 4th graders (Chloe, Corinna and Luke) and one 7th grader (Ben). I know that it is only 4 kids, but I am so thankful that I get to start off only teaching two grades instead of all of them. God is so gracious to me!

Not only have I been busy in the classroom, but I have been busy learning some valuable life skills! Today Checke taught Hope and I how to change a tire! Next on the list is how to change my oil and how to drive a stick shift! Also, next week I start taking Spanish lessons from Priscilla Garcia.

So this is a little bit about what I have been up to over the past week. School starts tomorrow and I am so excited! Please pray that God will give me the wisdom and guidance to teach these precious children in a way that brings glory to Him!

Something I read the other night really stuck out to me and I wanted to share it with you. The book said, "God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time... God is awfully good at getting us where he wants us to go. But here's the catch: The right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time." Later it goes on to say, "God is in the resume building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities. But those God-given opportunities often come disguised as man eating lions. And how we react when we encounter those lions will determine our destiny. We can cower in fear and run away from our greatest challenges. Or we can chase our God-ordained destiny by seizing the God-ordained opportunity." (In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day,by Mark Batterson)

This made me think about all the ways that God used my past to prepare me for where I am today. And it made me wonder how he will use today to prepare me for what is yet to come. It is cool to think that all of the things I am learning about God, myself and life in a foreign country could be preparing me for something down the road. God sees the big picture and I am so excited for the day when I will get to Heaven and be able to fully see how all the pieces fit together!


Joyful Blessings,

Jess