Team Day!

This week has been another crazy one! But the best part is we hired a full time teacher taking us up to 8 foreign teachers!!! 6 full time and 2 part time. This is 4x more than last year! THis is something we have been praying for and had everyone praying for! God answered our prayers! This school is His and He knows all that needs to happen! He provides!!!

On Friday, we had a team building day. Our new coordinator, Luke, planed this awesome day of team building activities and reflection time. We played games, did a scavenger hunt, did a prayer walk of the new school campus (amazing! can't wait to see what God is going to do there), had reflection time, and enjoyed meals with each other! We learned so much about one another! I am so thankful for this amazing team of believers God has put at our school!

Thank you for praying! Please continue to pray for our new school building. We are supposed to move in on the 19th and school will start on the 22nd. There is still a lot of things to be done construction wise but it amazing what they can do in a day! This is God's school, lives be will changed here!

Transitions Keep Coming

So last week we got some shocking news at school. We walked into school expecting it to be a normal day only to find out that our principal and his wife (our lead teacher) had decided to leave. They weren't just leaving our school, they were leaving the country. And to make it even more shocking, we were told they were leaving as soon as possible. Of course the one thing on my mind is why? Unfortunately that question has never really been answered.  

So here we are with a school that is 4 months old and we are losing 2 of the 5 foreigners! What!? All week we were wondering and stressing about how we were going to cover all our lead teacher's responsibilities as well as our own and what we are going to do without an international principal. Thankfully our lead teacher decided to stay until the end of the week to get things together for the next week. However, some of the things that she wanted weren't going to happen because we are only 3 people. 

On Friday we had a farewell ceremony for them after our student of the month awards. They were showered with gifts to help them remember all the staff and great times at our school. The kids were all sad to see them leave. I didn't think I would see so many students crying. My heart broke! I had two kids holding onto me for 30 minutes. They are really going to miss them!  

Our Students of the Month! Girl Power!!!

Singing our school song with our principal and his wife one last time! 

It is really cool to see how God is moving at our school. So even though this news was shocking and we didn't know what we were going to do, God reminded us that he is in control! This wasn't a surprise to him. He has a plan! And the Monday after they left there was a new teacher ready to join our team. God provides even when we are three steps behind. 

 “For I know the plans I have for you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “plans for your welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you” — this is the Lord’s declaration — “and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you” — this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place I deported you from.””

‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29:11-14‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

The Two Month Mark!

Well I have been here for exactly 2 months! In some aspects it feels like forever and in other aspects I feel like I just got here. I have gotten involved in a lot of things, which I think helps in the transition of living overseas. Things are still not easy but it is slowly becoming the new normal. School is slowly getting better and better (however there was a small hiccup yesterday that sent my day into a tail spin). Also getting involved at the church is one of the best things, it is what helped me in China and is what is helping me here.

When people ask me how long I have lived here sometimes they are shocked by my answer. I have learned how to get a taxi and tell them where I need to go, whether by saying it in the language or showing the address on my phone. I know how to buy vegetables at the local street market. I don’t always understand what they are saying but I manage to pay them and not feel ripped off. I know a couple of key phrases and can give input on the way things work here. I am nowhere near perfect but I have learned quickly some of the things needed for survival.

Everyone at church knows I am new, but because I am involved in a lot of things (the young adults group and the women’s group) people tend to think I have been here longer. I think this is a big part of transitioning. Getting involved helps to not think about home so often and I meet tons of new people. The young adults have been meeting at our apartment for the past month. It is so awesome to have a big living room where everyone can sit comfortably. Also I am a part of the women’s connection team! It’s nice having things to do outside of school. It makes me feel like I have more of a purpose here and an impact on the city.

School has been an up and down roller coaster. Whether it is trying to understand co-workers or trying to learn from the other foreigners. There are so many people (yet so little) working here and we are all different. We have different ways of communicating, teaching, and experiences. It’s a lot of adjustments to make while also adjusting to teaching in a foreign country. It doesn’t help that we never hear encouraging words from parents. We only hear the negative things which in turn make us feel like failures. But God is at work here! I am so grateful for the daily reminders that He is here with me. Some days it is easy to see and others it is a little harder. But I always know he is here and he has called me here. Thank you for your continued prayers and love!

2 months down and 22 more to go!

Taco night! And a few games of Dutch Blitz!