Out of My Comfort-zone!

Words simply cannot express how wonderful today was. It seems that with each dawning day, the Lord asks something more of me, daring me to step out of my comfort-zone and to do something crazier than the day before. And He uses Betsy to encourage--no, shove me out of that comfort-zone.
     Being the first, legit day of school, the students arrived early for classes. I joined them for every class, sitting next to them and helping as needed. I too, even learned a few new things. Halfway through math class, I was leaning over Francis' shoulder, giving her subtraction problems to solve. Gosh, this girl is a smart one! Suddenly, Betsy called my name from where she stood at the front of the classroom, scrawling huge numbers onto the board. I looked up, hands poised in mid-air. "Come here a minute, please," she motioned to me. I froze as all eyes turned towards me. "Uh, now?" I glanced around into all of the sweet faces watching me expectantly. No pressure. Without looking at me, she responded with, "Yeah, now. You want to become an interpreter...so you may as well get some practice."
     Now, I'm sure after our shenanigans yesterday during church, one would think I should be getting used to this spontaneous volunteering thing. But apparently not quite yet. So caught completely off-guard, I slowly stood and smoothed my skirt as I hesitantly made my way to the front of the classroom. Remember, I had volunteered to help the students in the classroom, one-on-one; but I was not aware that my job description included an object lesson.
     "....Now, Rachel will give some examples of the numbers...so watch closely!" Betsy stepped back and I realized suddenly that I now had the floor. I swallowed and took a deep breath. I stared at the board and absorbed the size of the numbers written. Oh, honestly. Out of all the things for me to interpret, it would be the numbers. I am the least familiar with numbers and have never signed anything apart from the word, "one-thousand." I tore my gaze away from the board and pointed to the first number before slowly Signing, 1012. The students all nodded in understanding and urged me to continue. Feeling slightly reassured by their unspoken consent, I pointed to the next number, when Betsy suddenly leaped at me. "No, no!" I shrunk against the wall, stunned and mortified. What did I do now? It had looked so correct.... Oh, this was very bad! I turned towards the students and raised an eyebrow at Kevin. "What did I do?"
     It wasn't until they all began laughing that I realized I had been correct all along. I released the breath I hadn't known I was holding in an audible whoosh. Betsy was only messing with my head and trying to determine how focused they were. Good grief! I Signed the remaining numbers and after Betsy repeated the process several more times, I sauntered back to my seat, more befuddled than ever. That went well.

     Then later this afternoon, I was again assisting Betsy in the classroom and I was helping with the reading. Thankfully, this class was only one-on-one. Thus, I sat next to Mizael and helped him study his reading. Oh my word, that kid is so much fun! He insisted first on interpreting his lesson to me and once finished, he was asking me for the answers. Silly little dude. "Ha, I'm not telling you the answers." I told him matter-of-factly. "If you don't remember, then go back and read it again." He made a face and I could only laugh. When Larimar asked me questions about her spelling, he would sit there and tap my arm until I acknowledged him and then growled me for not paying attention. When in reality, every two minutes I would have to remind him to focus.... Oh, that kid had me laughing so hard I couldn't talk (or sign for that matter.)
     I had graded Mizael's paper and to his delight, he had earned a 100% (and he sure did earn it). Thus, he had to move on and write, so I was then available to answer Larimar's questions. So when Betsy moved her on to another project, I had just sat down to organize my thoughts. At that moment, Kevin had a question regarding his Spanish homework. Now this would be interesting. So grabbing my pen, I took a seat next to him and muddled over his Spanish. He knew most of the Spanish, but the long English words were slightly hazy. Whereas, I knew all of the English but virtually none of the Spanish. It was like the blind leading the blind. But as usual, Betsy came to the rescue and saved the day. But I now know what "Tierra" means in Spanish; aren't you proud? (With this newfound knowledge, I know I can move up in the world and do something great.)
     Then, after he got everything figured out, I went to assist Francis. After taking her book, I quizzed her on her English and she did wonderfully! I am so proud of her! I Signed the words she had copied from Spanish into English and watched as she finger-spelled them back to me in English. Wow, that girl is one smart cookie.
     Today has certainly been one of the greatest, most memorable days of my life. Sitting in the classrooms, watching the kids learn and being a part of it, has given me a new sense of purpose. The feeling of accomplishment and the satisfaction I felt when helping them study and learn, was irreplaceable. The feeling of knowing that I am doing something useful is one of the best things I have ever experienced. And whether I am sitting there explaining something for fifteen minutes, or fifteen seconds; it is just as rewarding to see the moment when their faces light up and they finally have that "ah-ha" moment--that is definitely one of the most amazing things I have ever experienced. I have virtually no words to describe it, but suffice it to say...I am completely at home here, I love these people more than anything, and I am having the time of my life. And while I still don't know exactly what all of God's plans are for me yet, I know that He knows the desires of my heart and that He purposes to fulfill them!