Photos Speak

I am SO excited and blessed to be in Honduras, and for 7 weeks! I am surrounded by cuteness, cuddles, smiles, and fun. And I wanted to share it with you! A picture is worth a thousand words, right? Well, here's a load of adorable faces and forever laughing spirits!

Isabella is a TOTAL baby model. All I did was call her name and she struck this pose! 

Christian - He may throw some serious fits, but how can you not love this little guy! He is such a joy!

Oh Brenda, Brendita, Dita! You are so full of sweetness! Always wanting to help and constantly bringing me my water bottle, baby bottles, and trash. 

More Isabella! Look at that laugh! And she just adores Tia Samantha - forever loving both of these girls! 

Kaleb - you have come so far! I remember meeting you last year, you were so tiny! Love your carefree spirit and peacefulness. 

Alejandro is SO fun. He loves to sit up and see the world - and also get hugged by Isabella. And look at her little tongue! LOVE <3 

NEVER getting tired of this view out of the balcony. Even a forest fire can't take away the beauty of God's creation! 

I caught a gecko! He may be small (okay, REALLY small), but he is so cute!

"Look, I cleanin I cleanin!" -Anthony

A little ball of fun and energy who loves to collect beetles. 

What's a pulperia you ask? Well, the best way to describe it is a small convenience store. Sodas and snacks galore! (And it's also next door - yay!)

Bienvenidos a Casita Spangler!


Much love + blessings,

Preescolar

Hoy fue el primer día de clases que tenía que enseñar.

Today was the first day of school that I had to teach.

Yesterday I unpacked a bunch of school supplies that were donated by a class from last semester. I was, and still am, overjoyed at their generosity without any prompting. They came to me and asked what they could do and they exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. I am so excited to get to use them as I teach through the end of the school year.

Preschool is what I do. I teach, I lead, I prep, and I love every minute of it. I have to say that it was everything and nothing that I expected. It was exhausting and rewarding at the same time.

Prepping may be one of the best parts. I love going through books and finding lessons and ideas. I love brainstorming and envisioning how it will all come together in the classroom. I love everything about it, even writing lesson plans. I especially loved prepping last night; finding all sorts of resources and ideas.

One of my greatest joys is seeing kids sitting around a table learning. Whether it's coloring or doing a worksheet, it makes my heart happy. It's so rewarding, but today was also exhausting. This is a bilingual preschool, and I am teaching the English portion with only 2 kids knowing any English. I may be difficult or stressful at times, but the result is so rewarding. 

One of the little girls, Britney, has trouble with new people and people she doesn't know. I was anticipating her to give me the most trouble. But she listened and did her best to understand. I was, and am, so proud of her. She is such a great helper and has already shown a lot of progress with her English. These little moments throughout the day are what I do this for. I love seeing progress and the looks on the kids' faces when they understand something knew. 

I am so blessed that God has given me this desire and gift. Nothing makes me happier, and I can't wait to see what happens through the next 4 weeks. I'm excited that I get to teach and experience new things, and to experience a (sort of) new place. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support as I embark on this incredible journey. 

Much love + blessings,

The Journey Begins

As I'm sitting here on my bed, surrounded by suitcases, bags, and supplies, it doesn't feel like I should be leaving in 2 days. Only a little over a month ago were my plans being discussed and worked out. Looking back over the whole process, I realize that it was all a blur. I don't vividly remember special moments or 'break throughs'. Maybe it's because I was also finishing school and working at church. School is now over, and today is the first day I have had to sit and reflect on what is happening. I am going to Honduras for 7 weeks to teach preschool and help in a foster home full of tiny little babies and wonderful children. This is what I have dreamed of, this is what God has been preparing me for over the last 19 years. 

It's funny. In high school, we needed to pick a 'pathway' in order to choose our classes. Basically, we needed to know what we wanted to do when we grew up so that we could pick classes that would help accomplish that goal. Now, I am one of the most indecisive people you will ever know so of course mine changed like a million times. Okay, maybe not that many. First, it was a veterinarian. Then it was science, specifically forensic chemistry. I even had that narrowed down to toxicology or fingerprinting. After that, I considered being a cop or going into the Coast Guard to join their investigative service (NCIS may have had a bigger influence on me than I let on). Then I realized I wanted to teach, so I chose secondary chem ed. Finally, I realized I was being dumb and knew that God wanted me with little kids. So I now major in Early Grades Education (Pre-K through 4th). I guess after working in the children's ministry at church for 10 years, I understood that's what I wanted to do. 

The other defining factor in this whole thing was how I grew up. Or, more accurately, what I grew up around. I basically lived at my church, and my family was passionate about missions. It wasn't a foreign concept to me. When I was old enough to join the youth group, I wanted to go on a missions trip to London but my parents said I was too young. Needless to say I was heart broken. But I got my chance. In 2009 I had the opportunity to go to Philadelphia for a week with an awesome organization called Holy Hands (their name has since changed to One18). I have been going on trips ever since then. 2009 and 2010, I was in Philly. In 2011, I was able to go to Haiti for a week. And in 2012 was my first encounter with Honduras. In 2013, I was able to be an intern for Holy Hands and traveled around the state and into New York for 5 weeks, and in 2014 I went back to Honduras. I have loved every trip, city, and country. But Honduras has stolen my heart. 

Now, in 2015, I am going to Honduras for 7 weeks. Even after typing all of this, it still doesn't seem real. It seems so far yet so close. And it seems like such a long time yet not enough. It's just so surreal. Today, being my only and last day off in a long time, was my packing day. And being the coolest cat around, my dear friend Kelsey came over to help. 

She really is the coolest. Helping decide what clothes to take, helping fold and roll them, and helping me shove them in a suitcase. We even had to unpack and repack multiple times to get everything to fit. But through it all, she had a smile. She even brought over my favorite soda, candy, and ice cream. I am so grateful and blessed that God has given me friends like her, that are more like sisters than friends. I think this will be the hardest thing of all. But I know that God has so many things planned for me while I am gone that I can't get too upset. 

I know this post may not make a lot of sense, but this is what has been going through my mind the last few days. I am so excited to be doing what I love, where I love. And I am excited to share lots of stories and photos with you as my adventure begins.

With love and many blessings, 

Becky <3