Meet my Students!

The first few days of school have been truly blessed.  Although there have been some struggles with a language barrier and adjusting to a new and hectic schedule that doesn't make sense to me, I have been able to see God each day through my students. So....

On Monday we started off the school year with Mass said by the Bishop of Comayagua.  A practice that isn't common here is to kneel after receiving the Eucharist.  I almost cried as I watched 6 of my eighth grade boys kneel to pray after receiving Jesus.  At that moment, my heart began to melt knowing that I was in a school where the values of our faith are instilled in the students. What a beautiful revelation to be given on the first day in the first hour of school!

Yesterday as I was hurriedly trying to start class because I was trying to communicate with another teacher and was running late. One of my students gently reminded me that we forgot to pray.  She was so polite! "Ms. Cheryl, don't you think we should begin the day with a prayer?" Again the stress of the day melted away as the faith of these students guides everything that they do.  What a blessing!

Today I was working with all of my students on a project called "A letter to Ms. Cheryl."  Its a way for me to get to know them while I see their writing styles and capabilities.  I am doing it with all of my students - grades 7, 8, and 10.  In the letter they must introduce themselves, tell me about their family, where they were from, things they like, things they dislike, and their goals.  As I was proofreading for them today, it was amazing to see the number of students who said that one of their goals was to grow closer to Jesus.  The one 10th grader even said "I know that I need Jesus always, so one of my goals is to grow in my faith."  JUST AWESOME!  

Another thing is that they all had big goals.  One of my seventh grade boys was really insightful. He wrote "Everyone has goals, but sometimes people's goals seem to be dreams. But my goals, I know they will happen." How motivating coming from the mouth of such a young person! He then went on to state how he was going to make it happen.  The very last sentence read "... because I trust that God will guide my life."  What a beautiful example of trust in our Lord!

I am so excited to see what this year has in store as I am reminded daily of my faith by these wonderful students!