Andy Again

1. I freakin' love Andy Stanley.
2. He meddles in my business sometimes.
3. I needed this phrase from him so I can preach it to myself repeatedly:

"Every woman I see is made in the image of God,
her God is Heavenly Father,
and the same Jesus that died for me died for her."

Dedicated To My First Foreign Language Teacher

Here's to Mademoiselle Zumudio, my 5th grade French teacher:

I haven't seen or heard of her since I left grade school, but I've realized that there are times when her excited, animated language instruction informs the moves I make with language learners I teach today.

I have also realized that the day Mademoiselle Zumudio announced that she was soon to become "Madame Dabbs" was, in fact, the worst day of elementary school. The memory still stings a little!

For Better And Worse

No clue if I'll ever live there again after Honduras, but one thing is for sure:

Nashville is changing in ways I never expected.

It's changing for the worse and also for the better.

Worse - some of my favorite people are leaving town to live elsewhere.

Better - I have a growing collection of friends who have decided to move to Tennessee and give Nashville a try. Folks in this category include a few Americans I met in Copan...people who spent a few years in Honduras and then happened to settle on Music City for their next stop.

Return

Here's to another successful collaboration between American Airlines and me -- round two of me landing in Honduras to stay for a while.

As soon as I saw it, I took a liking to this painting by one of my teenagers. It is beautiful.
I was caught off guard by the skill of my student.
And maybe the solitary man in a boat sky-gazing subconsciously reminded me of me.

Last time I touched down here for July in Copan, there was so much that felt foreign. So much to figure out...accept...learn to live with. I had a lot of adapting to do twelve months ago when I arrived. But today, the simple life in this small town somehow makes more sense than life back home in the U.S.

I'm not sure how I'll feel if the time comes to adapt back!

Goodbye For Now

This little guy is always walking around town selling handmade dolls.
He wasn't expecting to be photographed in this moment, so this isn't necessarily his model pose.

Locals in Copan won't see me around for the next couple weeks. Stepping away to travel a bit.

I have learned that it's a funny sensation to roll back into town, walk through the bus station, and catch a taxi now that I have clue how to do those things. What makes it feel funny is the vivid memory of what I felt and experienced back in July when I arrived with no language skills and no sign of the contact who was supposed to drive me from the bus station to my apartment.

Leaving The Classroom

The students got to ditch class to complete beautification projects across campus and around town. All this was done for the annual Tree Day celebration.

Perks

The market in Copan.

One of the perks of living in an agricultural society like mine is
the availability and affordability of quality produce! Love my fruits and veggies.

My big problem in life right now: the little worms I find sometimes while cutting open a delicious mango!