A Good Source of Protein

Saturday night around 12:30am I awoke to the sound of a blood-curtling screem on the other side of my bedroom wall.  Startled at the noise and terrified of what may be going on in the room beside mine, my heart froze.  But after a moment I was able to take a deep breath of relief and fall back asleep when I realized what was going on...

Halie, another single female missionary who lives in the dorm/apartment with me and the other single missionaries, had spotted something in her bed.  Not a blanket or a pillow or any ordinary bedtime comfort article, but a large, brown, tentacly cockroach!  This was not the first insect siting that had been made in my first week here.  I'd already killed a hairy black and white spider and a mid-sized cockroach in my bedroom, not to mention the swarms of tiny black ants that march through kitchen daily.  Bugs are becoming a norm around here.  So much so that when Halie and I sat down to enjoy a movie together with a bowl of maccaroni and cheese, it did not phase either of us when we spotted a few shiny black insects lodged snuggly inside the occasional noodle.  We simply removed those noodles from the feast and continued chowing down.  Halie is much more cautious than I since she is a vegetarian, but we agree that a little extra protein never hurt anyone. 

Bugs are just one of the few little inconveniences I've had to get used to since arriving.  Other things include being hot and sweaty ALL OF THE TIME (although we did have cold front come through this weekend, cooling it down some), throwing toilet paper in the trash instead of the toilet (but at least they have scented toilet paper so it doesn't smell too bad), always feeling dirty and having my eyes irritated from the dust in the air (however, that should calm down in the rainy season), and not having any privacy (at least I get my own room, though...even if there are only screens for windows and the wall does not reach the ceiling). 

Since I arrived last Monday, it has been a non-stop adventure.  Upon placing my bags in my room I was immediately whisked away into town where I spent the entire afternoon and evening shopping for things to set up my new home.  The next morning I had to go through orientation for new teachers at SAM Academy and I got to see the text books I'll be working from for the first time.  And then school started not even twenty-four hours later.  It was slow-moving the first few days but I finally feel like I'm getting into the swing of things.  I'm teaching the middle school and high school Bible classes as well as middle school Geography and Language Arts.  I'm struggling a little with the last two subjects since I'm not qualified to teach them (another teacher will be taking those classes over when she raises enough financial support to get here), but I'm praying my way through them and God is really coming through.  The kids are very encouraging and seem to enjoy my teaching style.  I've also been able to connect with another missionary who was a school teacher for several years before moving to the field.  She's been praying with and encouraging me as well as giving me tips on lesson planning and material to help me through the classes.  Praise God!  I'm teaching the children of American, German and Peruvian missionaries.  They all speak English, but for many of them it is their second language (and Spanish their third!). 

As for my language skills, I still do not consider myself fluent in Spanish, but I am very thankful for the amount that I can communicate and can already tell I'll be learning more and more each day.  There are also several other ministries I may be able to get involved in where I will need to use Spanish and hopefully increase my speaking abilities.  I will write more when that all happens :)  I'm sorry this post is so long and that there are no pictures, but I'll be sure to upload some for you all when I get a chance. Thanks for reading.  Keep me in your prayers!  God bless!