As I write this, a crazy storm is dumping rain on the metal roof of our little blue house! The power is out, as always when it rains, so I will type this now and copy it to my blog later…

With less than a month to go before heading back to the United States, I have been reflecting on all that my experience in Mexico has taught me and all that I hope to accomplish as far as giving service and trying new things while I’m here! I am learning the importance of loving everyone you meet, despite differences in ideas, culture and background. I can feel that my Heavenly Father loves every one of them and I need to learn how to emulate that more. I have learned that there are different ways of life that are still acceptable, and there are pros and cons to every lifestyle, so we should try to take apply the good from everything we can!

Hannah and I hope to continue to see progress with the 8 ladies we are teaching in the rancho and motivate them to continue their studies. We also hope to evaluate our English teaching in the “secundaria” school with the kids and encourage them to continue to make education a priority. We are also going to leave some helpful ideas for the teachers and students on how they can make English teaching and learning more enjoyable and effective in the school.

As far as my own Mexican goals, I want to learn how to dance with a partner like they do to salsa and bachata music, take lots of pictures with the people we’ve met, try to make some more tortillas without destroying them, do some more fun sightseeing with my BYU friends on the weekends!

I’m grateful for this opportunity the Lord has given me to learn and teach and live abroad! There are so many things to learn, and even though it’s hard sometimes, I already know that my life wouldn’t be the same without Mexico!