Changes

This is a complicated to write about.

Rachel has decided to leave JVC. Her reasons are her business, but I want to be clear that she isn't copping out. I fully support her decision.

I feel compelled to share that news because it affects life here in many ways. It's a part of the story I'm telling. Also it would be dishonest to pretend she is still here; and it would be a disservice to her to not mention her on this blog for the rest of the year.

Rachel's departure has a few significant impacts on the next five months.

First, we are a community of three instead of four. And because JVC is sending 2 JVs in December, the Mountain House will be a 3 person community next year as well. Fortunately Erin, Lauren, and I all get along. An important thing to balance in a three person community is hanging out. If two people are doing something, that means the other person is alone. That can be ok, as long as the community isn't divided into a pair and a loner. But only spending time all three together in order to avoid such a division would also be unwise. There needs to be space for natural one-on-one relationships to flourish. Just as in any home, if one-on-one relationships aren't nurtured, eventually the group dynamic falls apart. There's also the practical questions of keeping our 7-bedroo/5-bathroom house clean. Last year there were 6 of us to split the chores, now we are half as many. Some things will probably be allowed to get dirtier, and we'll each have to work harder. Another rotation to think about is the cooking rotation. There are 6 nights a week that we have to cook dinner. Will we each take two nights? Will we stick with only one night each but cook double so that we can do leftovers the other nights? We don't know yet, but we'll figure it out. Intentional community is always complicated and has its ups downs, but I'm not worried about us as a community. It will be a different dynamic, but we will be ok.

Outside of the house, the biggest impact of Rachel's departure is the lack of a religion teacher in Primaria. As I posted last month, I've been subbing in. But I can only work 6 classes a week without sacrificing the integrity of my work in Secundaria. With 12 classrooms in Primaria, that leaves 6 blocks empty. Lauren has stepped up to fill the gap. Between Lauren, me, and the auxiliar teacher of Primaria (basically the building sub), all students will get Religion class every week.

When I wrote last month, I wasn't excited about going back to Primaria. But my experience there in July was actually a lot of fun. The stress of dealing with 30 children at once is mitigated by only teaching 6 classes a week. Most days I only have to teach one block. While three 90 minute blocks in a row can be exhausting, just one a day is invigorating. I can give my full teacher attention to those 90 minutes and those 30 students. I'm excited to share this responsibility with Lauren and continue practicing the classrooms skills that I am so eager to develop. As educator Eric Jensen writes in Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind (the book I'm currently reading): “Teaching students who live in poverty...exposes every single weakness a teacher has.” I welcome the chance to have my many weaknesses exposed. The sooner I know them, the sooner I can turn them into strengths. But my ego is thankful I'll only be spending 6 blocks a week getting my classroom teacher weaknesses exposed instead of 12.

We will all miss Rachel. We wish her nothing but the best. We'll keep her in our prayers and in our hearts. She'll be invited to participate in any FJV events the same as if she'd spent her entire 2 years here. But the work goes on. Pray for us, that we may be up to the task.