You Are Beautiful My Sweet, Sweet Song.

I can't believe it's already Thursday. Time flies when you're changing your life. I've been going through a bit of homesickness and mopeyness. That's my excuse for having writer's block and refusing to touch this blog until now. That's probably the only thing I'm worried about here- not being able to escape feelings of lonelyness when I'm missing home. The fog I've been in seems to have cleared for now, and hopefully for the duration of the trip. Let me catch you up on the whirlwind of excitment we've been through this week so far.

Monday is laundry/clean the house/be a bum day. The washer in the house is broken, so we took seven teenager's worth of laundry to a laundromat. Jorge and his friend Eduardo showed us around the university they attend. It's a beautiful campus. That's where Jorge is going to be teaching his sign language class every Saturday, and I'm hoping to attend when they start in September. The best part about the campus was probably the fact that we ate Little Ceasars there. Terrible, I know, but a little taste of home was really needed at that point. We also went to the mall again and jumped on those trampoline things where you're strapped to the bungee cords and fly in the air. It was a lot of fun, and definately worth the chaffing I suffered.

Tuesday was our first day of school. 5:30AM wake up call anyone? I've been assigned to teach English with Teacher Cristy. She and the principal and Jorge brought us around to all of the classes and got introduced to all of the students. It's so amazing to watch their faces light up when they see us. The younger ones especially seem to be in awe of us. I can't get enough of how sweet and silly they are. Teacher Cristy does not have a fourth grade class so Katelyn (my teaching partner) teamed up with Wes to help him since Kirk had not yet arrived. This fourth grade class is by far my favorite. They are so eager to learn and share what they know with us. This is also the day we were informed that there is a festival on Friday for the parents of the students. Our team of eight is singing "You Are So Good To Me" by Third Day with the ninth and tenth graders. There is one solo in the song and guess who's singing it? That's right, yours truely. We were exaughsted by the time we got home that day, but overall that first day was the most refreshing and heartening day thus far. It doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in going into the day. When I see those kids running towards me everything else seems so insignificant besides the happiness they send rushing through my soul. Kirk met us at the school at lunch time and we are all so excited to have him here. Our little family is finally complete and our bond can only grow stronger from here.

Wednesday's schedules are a little bit differnet than every other day. We get to school about 25 mintues later and teach the seniors on only this day. Our Spanish classes are really exciting. Our teacher Sylvia (the one who went to the beach with us) is so kind and really has a passion for helping us learn the language. We've only just begin to scratch the surface, but everyday I feel my mind opening more and more to this strange new world. We were sitting in the cafeteria surrounded by the younger kids when an alarm began to sound. None of us had any idea what was going on but two of my favorite girls took my hands and dragged me out of the building. A sea of children with their hands sheltering their heads surrounded me. Apparently earthquakes are a common occurance in El Salvador. Teacher Cristy was polite enough to inform me it was just a drill after we were already outside. It's amazing how quickly and efficiently those kids got out of the building. When it comes to earthquakes, these people don't mess around. We rehearsed for the festival instead of teaching. I doubted myself more than ever during this time. What was I thinking volunteering for a solo? Not only have I never performed for an audience before, but I shake and get crazy nervous. I got through it though, and Leah reminded me that with God, I can do anything. We left school at around 1:30 and relaxed at home for a little while. We headed off to church for the Wednesday night service at 5:30. We were not fortunate enough to have a translator this time so it was a struggle to even stay awake. Dinner, however, was amazing. For someone struggling with stomach issues, a good meal is nothing short of miraculous.

Today so far has been fantastic. Our driver was late picking us up so we missed our 7:20AM Spanish class. As strange as it may seem I was dissapointed to miss what little school I actually have these days. We went straight to the final rehearsal in the church. The entire school was there. While waiting for it to be our turn, my stomach was churning and my mouth was bone dry. I again began to doubt myself until I looked up at those kids performing and realized that everyone is so excited to have us there, what better audience to share my passion for singing with? After I sang my part the entire group of kids went crazy, and the song wasn't even over yet. It was such a spectacular feeling, and I know tomorrow at the festival I'll do my best and it will be good enough for them no matter what happens. I taught a 9th grade class today. Because I'm teaching the advanced level classes, they already speak really good English. I'm basically there to force them to use it. I also co-taught Wes and Kirk's fourth grade class again. It continues to be the highlight of my day. Wes managed to work in putting on his rainbow clown wig somehow. The kids are so drawn to him and it's incredible to observe their interactions with him. In Spanish right now we're learning about Phonetics, so that when we talk we won't have an accent and we will truely sound like native speakers. After classes are over everyday we are going to be taking bible study classes for an hour. Today was just an introduction period for the Youth Pastor, Mario, to be able to get to know us and check up on how we're doing.

It's crazy to me how I can look out the car window at home and not take anything in. I can't imagine what beauty I've been missing even in the place I've been living in for my entire eighteen years of life. Even the rain here is beautiful. I want to really start seeing the world, instead of passively looking. I urge you to do the same, because you never know what you'll let pass you by.

All for His Glory,
 Taylor