Life Outside Of School

A lot of times I feel like I don't really have a life outside of school, my day at school ends anywhere between the hours of 2:30 and 3:30 and I am generally too tired to want to do anything in the almost 6 hours I have before bed. Although I have been working on my "grandmother skills" which include sewing, baking and crocheting.
Monday nights school does not end. I get home from school, prepare something for supper (Mondays are my night to cook), and at about 6:00 My 23 year old english student comes over for a conversational english class. Which is generally less stressful than my kindergarten class....depending on the topic of the night. This lesson usually goes on until about 9:00, which is my bed time.
Tuesday nights I have a break from whatever time I am finished at school until 7:00pm. This usually includes working on crocheting, sewing, reading or baking something. Then at 7:00 we have a womens Bible study/discussion group. Right now we are watching the Nooma videos by Rob Bell. So far we've had some really awesome conversations and I feel like we will really learn a lot from each other. It's been good to get different prospectives on things that God has been teaching us. (of course after this which can last until 10, is bedtime)
Wednesday nights again I have nothing in particular planned until 6:30 and then it's off to Patti Sue's for dinner! Wednesday nights have to be my favorite night. I love spending time over there with the now 4 babies she has in her house and the 3 girls. It's definately a family and it feels very homey and warm there. It's refreshing and relaxing to even just sit on the couch and watch tv holding a baby and having the girls play with your hair. I am excited for when the new property is ready and each kid in the orphanage has the chance to experience a real, unconditional loving family.

Wednesday Nights at Patti Sue's!

Progress on the property
Thursday nights are similar to Monday nights, except it's Dallas's night to cook! (Dallas is one of my roommates if I have not mentioned them before?) Also instead of the english class, it is spanish class for me! Which is good, because I feel like being here as long as I have been, I should definately be able to speak a lot more spanish then I can, or feel comfortable speaking. Last night was probably the most successful spanish class yet as I was having to tell stories about my life in spanish. It definately took a lot longer, but I didn't do to bad.

Fridays...it's Fridays and not Friday nights because we get out of school at noon on Fridays! After lunch we have a meeting with the director of the school. These are always really nice because we get all of our lesson planning done with the help of each other and of Katie (the director). Also this is a time to get out any venting or concerns we have. It's really a relief to know that there is someone there keeping us accountable to our work as well as someone we can go to whether we feel like crying or screaming. After our meetings it's catching up on phone calls and emails until 6:30. Then it's time for Friday Night Dinners...which is always different. Different peoples houses...sometimes we play games and sometimes we watch movies.

A Friday Night Dinner dedicated to Tandy's birthday and the "Death" to her early twenties.

Saturdays are days to do absolutely nothing. (except working on "Grandma Skills")

homemade bread

Sundays it's off to church and lunch either with "Proactive Award" kids from our classes or pre-schoolers and the rest of the day is filled with preparing everything for the week ahead.

Nicole and I on the walk from church to lunch!

Explaining all of this, my life does sound pleanty busy, and very much like a life outside of school. Maybe it's just that life is a lot more slow paced and consistant here. Every week here is very much the same although people are constantly coming and going.

I've found my favorite times outside of school to be between the hours of 6:00 and 7:00pm sitting alone on my roof watching the sky change and the sunset with a cup of tea. This is the time when I am really able to step back and process all the different things God is doing in my life here as well as others. I think that sometimes we can become too busy and stressed out and blinded by our everyday lives or just thrown into a consistant pattern that we forget that there is a bigger picture, and there is more to life than just eating, drinking, working and playing.

Our God is creative. Look how he paints the skies and carves the mountains. Think if he is this creative with the sky and the mountains how much more creativity he puts in ourlives.

ITS EXCITING!

Begin With The End In Mind :-)

Miss Melissa, Antoney, Alondra, Ana, Jeff, Ivan, Vero


Our Alphabet wall



They get High Five's for being proactive..







Also for beginning with the end in mind :-)

It's been over a month since school started! I can not believe how fast time goes by. Kindergarten has been such an experience and challenge so far. I wasnot very aware of how creative you have to be to teach kindergarten. So far in this last month we've learned the letters a,c,d,f and are working on the letter g. We've also learned the numbers 1-5 and are working on learning the number 6. The creative struggle is coming up with a million different ways to teach the same thing. We've used numerous things from rice, string and macaroni to play dough and paint to shape our letters and numbers. Also several different objects for counting.

We have now moved on to learning our second rule. "BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND". On Thursday we got to watch 2 skits that Miss Alison's class put together onbeginning with the end in mind. One was a weight lifting competition where 2 of the kids practiced and won first place and one kid did not practice and he failedbecause he did not "BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND". The second skit was about 3 friends going on vacation. The first two knew were they were going and invited the thirdfriend along. The third friend did not ask questions about where they were going and not "BEGINNING WITH THE END IN MIND" she packed a swim suit, sunglasses, and other summer clothes when they were going to Alaska. The kids did a great job. On Friday with my kindergarten class we baked 2 cakes. The first cake we didn't "BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND"and we didn't use a recipe, we just guessed how much of each ingredients to put in. For the second cake we used a recipe. We compared the taste, sight and texture of the two cakesto decide if it was better to "BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND" or to just do without thinking or planning.

Prayer Thoughts:
Thanksgiving-
My monthly support has been pledged!
2 of my best friends are getting married, Becky and Levi!
Saturdays :-) My only day to completely do nothing!
Requests-
Patience and understanding in class.
Plane tickets...I need one back to Ecuador after Christmas, and one back after Becky and
Levi's wedding.
For the Lord to be with Becky and Levi in their engagement and their wedding, that they
don't get to stressed out planning and that He is the center of their
relationship.
Stephen, the new baby, who has trouble breathing, for his health
Anita Bebe, that the Lord heals her from her "nightmare" episodes

Matthew 6:25-34
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.