Basic Skills

My class's combined weight of 14 kids is probably only 625 pounds. But those 625 pounds outweigh me by miles. What these munchkins don't know is that i was blessed with the energy level of at least twenty 1st graders. That being said, i'm exhausted and it is only lunch time.

The exhaustion may stem from more than just the 1st and 2nd graders though. This morning at the odd hour of 5:30 (try explaining odd numbers to 5-7 year olds (also odd)) our mysterious phone of mystery rang (missiontotheisland.blogspot.com). i laid in bed wishing i hadn't stayed up until midnight the night before writing, and hoping i could make Ryan or River get the phone, but before we had the chance the phone finally stopped ringing. Then the rooster crowed and the phone began ringing again. Two more times this happened before i finally got up and unplugged it. "unplug the phone" was promptly added to my list of things to do before bed along with "kill the ants", "check the sheets for geckos", and "tell mom you are alive".

These small inconveniences have yet to come close to overshadowing how much we are blessed here. We have yet to starve (came close but Pastor took us to ACE hardware where we stocked up on white rice and beans), run out of water (more specifically drinking water, last night we had no tap water for showers, flushing the toilet, or washing dishes), die from heat exhaustion (mid 80s at 100% humidity isn't THAT bad), or be washed away by a typhoon. What we do have is an amazing community on a beautiful island surrounded by clear blue water that is teaming with VERY fast fish that sleep at night according to the locals. Add "fish for protein" to the list of things to do nightly.

More stories later. For now i'll be praying my way through language class. Add "pray furiously" to that list as well.