“Remember
George, no man is a failure who has friends.” There really is nothing like
watching “It’s a Wonderful Life” during the holiday season to remind us that
life truly is wonderful. I find this message more true this year than in past
years as my current surroundings have helped me to realize just how right the
above statement is. Being away from home during the holidays really makes you
realize just what makes the holidays special, it is not the cookies, the
presents under the tree, or the Claymation movies. It is the people that you
are with during this time, your family and friends; they are what makes this
time of year special. Here in Honduras we have the cookies, the presents under
the tree, and the Claymation movies all to a lesser extent of course. But the
people here have their family and friends around them and they know the true
meaning of what Christmas is (second true meaning… first true meaning being the
celebration of the birth of Christ), and it is simply spending time with the
people that you love. What I am lacking is my family and friends and for this
reason Christmas just kind of seems like another day. Now I am not trying to be
a Debbie Downer here, please stick with me, I have my friends and host family
down here who have done their absolute best to make this holiday season special
and they have done it however it just is not the same.
Having just
found out that I will be asked to pick up my life in a matter of 2 or 3 weeks
and transport everything I have back to the United States after thinking that I
would have two years down here in Dulce Nombre (still might… got to have hope)
it is very easy to think that you have failed your mission. I think back to the
day before we were being sworn in as volunteers and our country director Emily
(smart lady) told us that we are going to want to do these grand projects in
which we “change the world” however that is not entirely realistic and that we
have to remember that we are working at every moment, it is that conversation
with the person at the corner, that hello to the young boy or girl passing by,
or even just the person that watches you day after day without every talking to
you. These relationships are our biggest impacts and they have become even more
important now since we may not have the rest of our time to work on the
projects that we had set out to do in our communities. Just as the quote says
above, those of us with friends have no failed; we have had an impact on all of
the people that we have touched in our communities as likewise they have also
had an impact on us.
I have also
learned, and it is a fact that I have brought up numerous times, that God has a
plan for all of us and all we have to do is trust in His plan. I had my plan
all set up: I was going to finish up my two years here in the Peace Corps in
Honduras, return home and find a job as a special education teacher where I
could also use my Spanish skills, eventually move into school administration
and become an elementary school principal. Along the way I had planned to get
married, have kids, and raise my family. Everything was going according to
plan, but then someone introduced one little agent of chaos (in the form of a
bullet into a volunteer’s leg) and the whole world turned upside down. Now it
is uncertain whether I will return to Dulce Nombre or if I will move onto
another country or even if I will finish up my service as a Peace Corps
Volunteer. With all of his uncertainty, there is one thing that I do know and
that is if I simply place my trust in God things are going to be just fine.
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