Matematicas

I've got a story for you (Ags...(and not ags)).

I've started helping some of the kids here with math homework because I happen to be a has-been math major. Perfect! There is a kid in particular, Solomon by name, that I have been spending a particularly large amount of time with in pursuit of mathematical glory. And by that I mean that he's 15, probably ADD, behind in school and has trouble conceptualizing abstract mathematical processes. Imagine that. When I started working with him two weeks ago he was convinced he couldn't do math and was just stupid. I banned the words 'no le puedo' (I can't do it) and 'pero es dificil' (but its hard (said in a really whiny voice)) from coming out of his mouth. We would work for almost two and a half to three hours each day, most of that time being spent on making him focus on me and what I was saying. It doesn't help that I'm having to speak Spanish, a language I can hardly use, to teach math, a subject that is hard to teach, to a kid that can hardly focus. It got a little frustrating because we spent a lot of time and got very little results.

But recently things have started changing. He's speaking about himself more positively; his rhetoric is changing; he's acting more susceptible to what I'm trying to say. I haven't heard him say he can't do math. Woot. What encourages me about this is that it seems to be more of a reflection of changes going on internally. Like a lot of our kids here, Solomon has hurts that run far beneath the surface and deals with situations he can hardly imagine being otherwise. It seems that the time spent with him has, if nothing else, helped whatever junk is lieing beneath the surface. Or so I hope.

Is he any better at math right now? Eh, probably not much. But does he display potential far beyond what he thinks he has, to not only do math but do life in the way God's calling him to? H yes. So please, please pray for Solomon, for his mind, his learning and his focus.

Gotta love the healing power of math. Bless the good Lord for giving it to us....yup.

Factoid: I played in a soccer tournament at the home today against a bunch of loco Guatemaltecans. We had a team of white people. We lost our first game 10-1. But that 1? Mine. Then we played the team with kids from the home. We lost 7-4 but I think only because they felt sorry for us.

O and I've been doing handstands again, but don't tell my mom. Or my roommates.