For most of you, it is not news that my family and I moved back to Honduras. I have two young boys: David (10) and Frederick (8). Today is our 8-week anniversary. It seems to have gone so fast. During these 8 weeks I have seen some serious changes in my children.
My son Frederick never liked school. The idea of having to get up every day and go to school to perform academically was torture for him. He would beg every morning to stay home. Many days, probably too many, I let him stay home. Why did he want to stay home? It was easy to say he was addicted to video games. Even easier to call him lazy. At the end of the day, he did not feel safe. He would feel bombarded by expectations and pushed into corners. He still misses his friends and teachers from his old school, because he never blamed anyone for his experience. He blamed himself.
Here my son Frederick wakes up early, helps make lunch and nudges his brother to roust him. Frederick wants to go to school. Is his school experience here challenging academically? No. Do they follow standards? No. Do standardized testing? No. But he is learning. His teachers give him lots of hugs. He plays tag at recess. He is speaking Spanish and enjoying the autonomy of choice daily at the school cafeteria.
David likes to joke, but his jokes are border line dad-jokes. He is silly and kind. He holds himself to high moral standards. In Florida, he was the butt of every joke. When trying to make kids laugh, he became a clown. Trying to fit in, he lost himself. The loneliness of losing yourself is something we all understand, but he is too young. The weight of that took a toll on his soul in the darkest of ways.
Here in Honduras, he gets to be silly. His classmates are too. Fart jokes and high fives are an everyday occurrence. The boys in his class hug to say goodbye and when I pick them up, his classmates hug me too. The amount of love dripping out of these kids is amazing. David feels like a leader. He is not shining because it is easy to be a star here. Don’t get it wrong. He is shining because the softness of the culture isn’t chipping away at his self-esteem.
I am not sure how much money my kids will make. They might not get into a good college. But learning to live in God’s peace and accepting what that means for your life, is a lesson they will never forget. 105-degree weather, constant bug eviction, power outages and warm hugs; that is where they are meant to be.
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