"Home is wherever you are, if there's love there too"

Hello Everybody!

As you know, I have accepted a job for a year as a Pre Kindergarten teacher in Gracias, Lempira...Honduras!  This job is through Abundant Life Christian Schools.

Here is a little background information about the schools, which are located in Gracias and La Union, Lempira.  ALCS is a bilingual school system that seeks to provide the highest quality education to students from all different economic situations.  Many of the students are sponsored, which means that they can't pay their own tuition.

I will be leaving for Honduras during the 2nd week of August.  There is still a lot of time before my departure, and I promise I am living "in the moment" right now, but I would be lying if I said I wasn't already excited.  Gracias is a Spanish speaking community, but the school I will be teaching at uses an English Christian Curriculum.  I have been practicing a little Spanish already though, and hope to know a decent amount of the language by August!

Here is a fun story I want to share:

My friend sent me the link, in an email, to apply for this job.  I didn't pay attention to the other email addresses listed in the email.  I always said I would most likely never travel anywhere on my own.  I absolutely love to travel, but the thought of traveling somewhere on my own was never my cup of tea (and I also love many types of tea). I applied for the job anyways, connected back and forth with a teacher in Honduras, set up an interview, completed the interview, and a bit later I was offered the job.  From the time I applied for the job to the time I accepted the job, it just felt more and more "right."  This surely is God's plan for me for this next year.  

Well, I received an email with a list of all the teachers that will also be traveling to Honduras to teach for the year.  I was overcome with shock and happiness when I saw my friend Jen's name on the list.  Now she has a last name that is not too common, so I knew right away it was her.  Jen and I met our final year at CMU, as we headed out in a group of other student teachers to Ghana.  (Adam, who sent this job opportunity email to me, also went to Ghana with Jen and I, and therefore, sent the email also to Jen!)  We had an amazing experience together in Africa.  We hadn't talked since our last group reunion a few months ago, so neither one of us new that we both had applied for the teaching positions, nor that we both were offered a position and both accepted them.  I called her immediately after seeing her name in the email, and here is how the beginning of our conversation went, or something like it: 

Jen: Hey Kendall! How are you?

Me: Hi Jen! I'm great--but I have a random question.  Are you going to Honduras to teach for a year?

Jen: Yes I am!

Me: Me too!

The both of us: AHHHHHHH!!!!

Anyways, we are both very excited to share in this experience together!  I was perfectly content going to Honduras knowing no one, as well as excited.  Learning that an awesome person I know is also going to share in this opportunity with me, makes me that much more excited.

My best friend once gave me a note with a quote on it. 

     "Home is wherever you are, if there's love there too."  

I already have so much joy and love in my heart for the year ahead in Honduras, and I'm not even leaving for quite some time still.  Needless to say, I don't believe I will have any problem calling Honduras "Home."

Todo Mi Amor, (English to Spanish Translation tells me this is "All my love")
Kendall