Escuela

Note: This was a very old draft from 2011 that I just found and wanted to publish.

After receiving a tour of the school today, I am SO impressed! The library has a lot of interesting books in ENGLISH. This is a good thing, because English books are hard to find here, and I only brought 3, one of which is a Guatemala travel guide...not something I really want to read before I go to bed! The middle school has its own building at the bottom of a big hill. I'm going to try to take pictures tomorrow so that I can post them for you to see. Interesting history about the school...the school used to be a boarding school. All of the teachers lived in what is now the middle school building. So, it has a full kitchen, bathroom with a shower, and a laundry room. 


Things I am thankful for today:

• I'm feeling good! So far my body is adjusting well to the altitude and food. I really don't want to get sick. Today we talked about different hospitals and how to deal with insurance, and I don't want to have to experience that. I think teaching is going to be tiring at times, so I don't want to be sick on top of that. 
• This country is beautiful! The school sits on a hill, so we get a wonderful view of the city. It is lush and green, which is a big difference from dry and dusty Texas. 
• I am becoming good friends with the other new teachers. Since we are all kind of in the same spot, we are becoming a nice little community. 

A Tribute to Matt Wertz

Note: This was a very old draft from 2011 that I just found and wanted to publish. 

Hey, everything's right, said everything's right tonight
Hey, everything's right, said everything's right tonight

This is my theme song for today. Being here in Guatemala and at IAS seems so right! Today with all of the returning teachers, we went around in a (big) circle and introduced ourselves. We said the usual stuff plus what brought us to IAS. Talking about the journey that the Lord has taken me on since last November was a good reminder of His faithfulness and sovereignty. He knows what He's doing, and I definitely believe that I am where I should be for now! I am so thankful that God has brought me here! The people are great, and it's funny how much I have in common with a lot of them. A bunch of the teachers have a passion for missions and traveling. Also, the teacher that taught middle school math last year (who I just met this morning) and I practically looked like twins today. We were both wearing a gray t-shirt, skinny jeans, and navy Keds, and our hair was shoulder-length and straight. The only difference was that I cuffed my jeans, and she didn't. 

Hace un año

It's almost been a year since I've been back in the United States after 5 years in Guatemala. I flew back to Texas June 28, 2016, knowing it was the right thing to do and what God had for me, but I was not prepared for what was next...the adjustment, the guilt, the resentment, the tears, the loneliness, the uncertainty, the stress, the sense of failure. I understand more why God doesn't reveal things to us. Had I known what was in store, I would have put up a fight and said no gracias! This past year was year 6 of teaching and by far the most challenging in so many ways! Do I have regrets? Do I wish things had been different? I say no (with only a bit of hesitation), because I have learned a lot about the Lord and myself. This is always easier to say when you're on the other side of a difficult situation.

This blog seems outdated and irrelevant, and yet I don't want to get rid of it. It captures some of my first thoughts and reactions to initial experiences in Guatemala. What it doesn't really capture is the day-to-day life that came to be so normal. I got to a point where I didn't feel like my life was worth publicly writing about, because "being a missionary" in Guatemala started to look like everyday life. Maybe that was one of the lessons God wanted to teach me.

I keep holding onto Guatemala, and maybe I am wrong in doing so. I don't feel like doors to Guatemala are closed, and I like it that way. Am I remembering things better than they were? Probably in some ways. I felt like it was necessary to leave the school, but I was open to stay in Guatemala had I found another job. Interesting that I keep trying to get out of teaching, but God keeps saying stick with it. Right now, I am trying to live with palms up, because in that position God is able to give and take away. I am trying to trust Him in it all.

Right now the chalkboard in the kitchen has Psalm 73:25-26 and 28 written on it as a daily reminder of what I want to be true for myself.

...there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength (rock) of my heart and my portion forever...for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works. 

Before that it was the following quote:

He is bigger than the pain that aches within us. He is more lovely than all the things we are envious of. He is stronger than the grip of loneliness. He sees. He knows. He is enough. 

Until next time...you can now read along at This Beautiful Mess.

Funny E-mail

I just got an e-mail from a student that said this:

"Hi Ms. Barnett,

how was your weekend. I'm struggling with the math homework a bit, I did watch a Khan Academy video about it and its confusing, so if I do really bad... don't judge me"


Jaja...too funny! I'm definitely going to judge him for not knowing how to identify a function!

hola! Hello I am one of Miss Barnett's student. I am tutoring with her, but I haven't done absolutely anything in this hour. Miss doen't  vlog(yes it's cooler with a v). So here it goes:
- There was another huge earthquake  5.4 i believe...or so
-I am Niall Horan's and Liam Payne's future wife
- I....hate math, but I enjoy Miss as a Bible Teacher...i will post soon,i will kidnap her computer but whatever....anyway gtg hope you read this or else no one will read this and i will be posting for no one and will be forver alone forever :p

- Naomi Payne Horan

Spider

Yesterday I gave a boy a detention, because he caught a huge spider and then released it on the table where a girl in his class was working. She cried. I was a bad teacher and laughed a little. (I still can't kick the habit of laughing at inappropriate times!) The boy got mad at me and said I was unfair. He still got the detention. It's never a dull moment; that's for sure!

Class, Swag, and JB

Earlier this week an eighth grade boy asked me this...

"Miss, what would you rather have, class or swag?"

I laughed and said class. I'll let Lainey keep the reputation of unique swag. She pulls it off so well! Kids do make me laugh!


In other news, Justin Bieber is coming to Guatemala City in October, and Megan and I bought tickets to the concert, haha! We're not sitting in the "Belieber" zone by any means, but I still think it's going to be a blast...along with all of the other teenage girls that will be there!