You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important

Sorry it has been over a month since my last blog post. There has been so much going on at school. School has taken up most of my life here. I get to work around 7am and then get home around 7pm. Once I get home, I continue working on school things. There is just so much to do. Since my roommate and I are the only full time English teachers that have returned to our school, a lot of people look to us for answers. I don’t mind helping the foreign staff figure out how to plan and give insights for teaching, but the jobs given to me are beyond what I came here for. So far this year I have helped come up with routines and procedures for our whole school to operate, help rearrange the school schedule, made a supervision schedule, changed the supervision schedule, and changed it again because there is always something that doesn’t work for someone. It is really hard to make everyone happy at our school. Sometimes I feel like it is my job to make sure everyone is happy, but I am learning that I am going to have to let some things fail in order for change to happen.

All these extra jobs and tasks have caused a lot of different feelings that I didn’t have last year. Last year, even in the midst of tension and unease, I knew this was where God called me. However, this year it has been very difficult. The devil has definitely attacked my mind. I have questioned whether I am supposed to be here or not. I have felt purposeless, unwanted, unnecessary, and many other feelings. There have been many nights I have wanted to book a flight home the next day, because I couldn’t see my purpose here. Many tears have been shed, just wanting to go to something familiar and stable. But God reminds me in his gentle yet firm voice, I am called to be here. And I am reminded of this quote from The Help, “You is Kind, You is Smart, You is Important”. I am kind; I care about the school and the people in the school. I want to see it succeed. I am smart; I have good ideas and I have something to offer here. I am important; I have a role to play here.

God has called me here. He never said it was going to be easy to move across the world and help start a school, but he did say he would never forsake me! Even in the darkest of times the one thing that carried me through is knowing God is with me and feeling the His presence. His constant reminder that I am meant to be here has kept me here. I am learning more and more every day. God is teaching me what my limits are. He is teaching me to set boundaries. He is teaching me to trust him. He has it all in his hands. There is nothing that surprises God! And I am constantly learning of his love. I am a beloved daughter of the King. He will never forsake me. There is nothing I can do to make him love me less. I desire to be pleasing to Him.

 “Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders, Let me walk upon the waters, Wherever You would call me, Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander, And my faith will be made stronger, in the presence of my Savior!” (Oceans – Hillsong)

Oceans always seems to be on my mind and speaks to my life. God lead me where you want me to go. Guide my steps so that all I do points to you and for you to be the only explanation for what I am able to do. Help me to have faith in you even when it can be hard to see the good in the day. Thank you for your presence in my life every day and in every step I take!

Please pray for me as I continue to set boundaries and trust in God’s plan. Pray that I learn how to say no, even if that means that something doesn’t get done. Pray for the school that we will listen and follow God’s will and plan. Pray for our foreign staff, as everyone is tired and trying to learn how to navigate a bilingual environment. Pray for our national staff, as they are just as tired and exhausted but have no one to turn to as they are not Christians. Thank you so much for your prayers! They truly make a difference!!! 

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! 

An Unordinary Saturday

The 5th of September is National School Day.  

Our day began at 7am on this Saturday (meaning no sleeping in!). We had to be at school to help set everything up for the festivities that were to begin at 8am. The dress was formal attire and the weather was hot and humid. So I found the nicest dress I brought that was also light because I knew too much fabric would me even more sweat! I thought I would try to wear my hair down as well, but I didn't even make it 30 minutes. It was just too hot!!! 

We walked to school and when we got there it looked completely different than when we left Friday night.  Everyone was in the yard putting covers on chair with red satin bows. We jumped right in to help. My goodness who knew you would work up such a sweat putting on seat covers? All the staff was helping with this in their transitional dress. They all looked so pretty (the staff and the chairs LOL). 

National School Day setup.  

After finishing the chairs I went inside to find some air! I made the mistake of not drinking any water so I got hot super fast and I was just praying I would make it through the program without passing out! At 8am the students lined up to go outside and sit in the yellow lunch chairs according to class. And then the program began.  

David and Ngan were our MCs for the event. They introduced each performance by Sakura Montessori and then by Gateway. The kindergarteners were so cute and I really enjoyed watching my 2nd graders do the YMCA (with a few different moves). The performances ended at 10am and were followed by pictures. After pictures (around 10:30am) we were allowed to go home! 

Performances by all the kids. Top left is 2nd grade and top right is 1st grade!  Sakura had the best costumes!!!

​We made our exit quickly because we wanted to get a rest in before going back to school for a game day with the young adults. At 2pm the HIF young adults were meeting at our school for a game day! I was really excited about having our Christian group at the school being a bright light for Jesus. There is so much heaviness and darkness (lots of oppression) at the school I knew we would be met with some opposition.

The communication was dropped and the security guard was left out of the loop. The Board of Managers (head honchos) gave us permission to use the school for these 2 hours and Valyn let the lady in charge of security know that we had permission to be there and use the facilities. However she didn't tell the guard and he was very upset that we kept coming into the building and using the air conditioner and the fan. He'd keep coming back every 30 minutes to turn off the fan or the air con. And he would yell at some of the young adults. They later came and told me he was being very rude. I'm sad this happened but I know it could have been much worse!

The game time was awesome! We played some ice breaker games and some games that maybe one day we could implement in the classroom. Then we played volleyball with a balloon ball. I don't know any way to describe it other than that and mention that it was a ball that had a balloon inside it. This just made it so it didn't hurt when you got hit by it (I got hit in the face twice!). 

The top is a yoko circle where every other leans back with the other lean forward. Pretty cool! And the bottom is our sit down volleyball game! Such a fun time!!! 

We split into teams and played on game of volleyball sitting down. This is a lot harder than you think! But it was a lot of fun! My team won the sitting down game. Then we decided to expand our court and play standing up. This should be easier except we (I) kept forgetting that we had to hit it at least twice before sending it over. We got close but in the end we lost. :(. But I had so much fun! It makes me miss playing volleyball. Hopefully one day Gateway has the option for a volleyball team! 

Such an awesome group of people! I absolutely love spending time with these young adults! God has bless me with great friends here! 

After the game time I went to the pastor's apartment to talk with his wife and Lydia about the Women's FB page. Lydia and I are in charge of the FB page and we wanted to figure out what all we needed and wanted to have on the page. We walked back to their apartment and on the way I was hit by a motorbike. Yes you read that correctly. However it wasn't bad. The guy's handlebar nicked my side. The guy lost control of his bike and slide on the ground. My fear of walking on the street was realized today. He was staring for too long and not paying attention to how close he was too me. :(. I'm just thankful I only have a bruise!

At the pastor's house I iced my side and talked to the girls about what we wanted to use the FB page for and how we wanted it to look. We spent about 3 hours talking about the FB page and how to keep it effective for the women here. We also squeezed in time to eat pizza :). By 9pm we had a Facebook page and we were heading home.  

Such a long day but a great day! God is providing so many opportunities to get involved. I love meeting people who have a heart for this nation and talking about our plans to reach the people even if it is just teaching English. There is a purpose for why we are here and God is revealing more and more everyday! 

Blessings until next time!