“Of all the women in my family, I’m the only one who is not a teacher!”
Yes, that’s what I’ve declared for the past 7 years… until now.
I’ve been given a very special task: to teach English to Mario.
Mario doesn’t go to school. He says he’s 14 but we don’t really know that for sure. He’s a street kid in Tegucigalpa. He gets high often, and we don’t know his family very well.
We had our first lesson on the 15th. I expected him to ignore me. I expected him to run out when his friends called. I didn’t expect him to care.
And I was completely wrong.
Mario sat down on a rock beside me, listening to me, smiling, and gladly repeating everything I taught him. He laughed at my cheesy jokes, and showed no desire to leave. When his friends yelled out in the distance, he was focused on me. I taught him
Hi, My name is Mario, I’m 14, What’s your name? How are you? I’m fine, and you?
And random vocabulary words like sky, house, shoes, sandals…
He diligently repeated after me.
Then I taught him ‘I love you” again he repeated, smiling.
I told him how smart he is, and how fast he’s learning. I said I was so proud of him.
We went over what he learned, and I told him that I’d teach him a little bit each day.
As we walked back to the building, I put my arm around him and said “I love you!”
He smiled and said “I love you” and gave me a hug.
I’d been struggling to connect with the boys here. We are at a place called Zion’s Gate, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Tony (our contact) works with street kids. There’s a solid group of 6 boys here, and their friends come by. They are loud, affectionate, fun, sometimes aggressive kiddos. They play rough. If you can imagine me, I don’t play very rough haha. Mario’s hug was the first time I’ve connected with one of them aside from the usual push and shove. Be in prayer for God to use me and teach me how to teach. Pray for Mario and the boys. Pray for their families.
Oh and pray for more hugs, please =)
