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!