Community

One of my biggest fears in moving to Honduras was not being able to find community. A place where I could know people and be known by people. Sure, there were certain cultural differences that made me nervous, but nothing like the thought of being alone. I know that loneliness is part of the process of being a stranger in a strange land, but there are certainly different degrees of loneliness that vary with degrees of community.

As life transitions have occurred, I have become familiar with saying goodbye and hello to different groups of people. I left a wonderful community of people behind in Ohio (and other states as people have started to spread out). These people know my heart. They know my personality. They understand the quirks that make me uniquely me. It's hard leaving them behind knowing I'll have to start fresh and probably feel misunderstood during the transitional period. However, letting go of one community means being able to embrace another. If we never say goodbye, then we will have no room in our lives to meet more of the wonderful people out there waiting to cross our paths.

Teachers at Pinares come from all over the United States and Canada. I now have friends from Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Connecticut, and Oregon (and probably some others I've forgotten). I may have never had the chance to meet these people had I refused to leave my Ohio University community.

In thinking about the idea of community, there are three questions that come to mind: 1) What does community look like in a new place? 2) What does it mean to have fellowship with the people around you? 3) What is the result or response of community and fellowship?

Community

One of the characteristics of Pinares that influenced my decision to work at this particular school is the built-in community. Most of the teachers live in an apartment complex on campus or in houses just outside the gate. We live together, work together, and spend our free time together. This kind of community looks different than your average US public high school. We have care groups (small group Bible study and prayer groups) and morning devotions. We fill our free time with potlucks, movie nights, game nights, and trips to the city. Last week I only cooked dinner for myself twice. Every other night was a community dinner of some kind prepared by an individual or a group. We've watched Top Gun, The Sound of Music, and Fiddler on the Roof. We've played Dutch Blitz, Mao, Apples to Apples, Crazy Uno, and Canadian Salad. We've gone to malls, the city center plaza, church, an open air market, and grocery stores. Needless to say, there is no lack of spending time together. We share beliefs, values, and a love for both Christ and education. While our relationships are not yet deep, I hope we will continue to grow together as we share these experiences.

Fellowship
The Bible has many things to say about fellowship. The church in Acts 2 had certain characteristics that increased their fellowship: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people" [Acts 2:42, 44-47].

These are the disciplines I hope will characterize our community. I have seen many of them exercised already in my short time here. People are devoted to teaching, including regular local church attendance. We break bread and pray together. We live together and share our possessions as we find a need. We meet together daily to begin each day focused on Jesus.

What was the result of this kind of fellowship? "

And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved" [Acts 2:47]. This is our vision and dream for the students and staff of Pinares.

Community + Fellowship

We have been blessed with community and fellowship. Now what? What is the result, the response, to this blessing? The Bible says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" [Hebrews 12:1]. As we look forward to the beginning of the school year, I pray we will not be entangled by sin or obstacles and that we will persevere no matter what challenges we face.