Faith, Hope, and Love

Yesterday was the Houston Public Media Regional Spelling Bee. And since I am my school's spelling bee coordinator and we had a student competitng, I got to be one of the guests. Call me a nerd, but can I just say that it was the coolest experiences ever? Spelling Bees can be pretty intense and suspenseful as you watch a group of kids anywhere from 1st to 8th grade (most kids at the level are usually 4th to 8th) get thrown a series of words and try to spell them. The whole audience is on the edge of their seats each time a kid hesitates and there is a collective sigh of disappointment and pity if they get it wrong. We are all ready to clap and cheer them on as they progress. And even though we hope our kid is the one who comes up on top, in those moments we root for each child and feel for them as if they were our own. Or at least I did. The Bee started at 2pm and I didn't get out of there until it ended around 6:30. I was attached to every one of those 55 kids through the 10

One thing that I have loved about being a teacher is having built-in vacations. Summer, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring Break... and then the cycle repeats itself. It gives me the freedom/time to do things I've always wanted to do. Or really, one thing I've always wanted to do: travel. Over past breaks, I've been to England, France, Germany, Nigeria, Spain, Costa Rica, and Ghana. Each trip was special in its own way and has allowed me to feel like the globetrotter I always thought I'd become. But all those trips were only about me (except, perhaps Costa Rica and Ghana, since I did take students. And we did renovate a school building in Ghana). And as you may have picked up on some of my recent jobs, I've been trying to focus on "seeking God first" and making sure the things I do bring Him glory in some way. So when my co-worker suggested we spend our Spring Break in Haiti to work with a school, I was immediately on board. It would be a chance to trave