Seeing and Being

The Kindergarten Comics

2012-02-04T16:35:00.000-08:00

Okay. On the surface, I may seem to be a very quiet and gentle-spirited person. I don't generally have much to say when I am the "new kid on the block" or find myself in the midst of a large crowd. However, anyone that really knows me well knows that I can be quite the jokester. And corny jokes? I love them!

Well, every day when I walk into my classroom, I find myself with my serious game-face on. I am totally focused on making sure that EVERY child succeeds AND excels. Although this is important, sometimes I become so focused on the task at hand that I miss out on all of those super cute things that kids do and say. They go in one ear and right back out the other. Gone. Just like that. I am trying my best to lighten up a little and let my wonderful kiddos help me rediscover the simplicity of life through a child's eyes. Here are just a few stories from the past year and a half that made me smile (and in some cases, laugh uncontrollably!):

--During a discussion about the Pilgrims, I posed the question, "Who remembers what the name of the boat is that the pilgrims sailed to America on?" After a short period of silence, one students began waving his hand wildly. "Ooh, ooh! I know, Miss Jarrell! I know!" I finally called on him. His response? "The name of the boat was The Cauliflower!"

--Last year, I was gifted with a student who had severe behavior issues. He spent a portion of most days in the office for various offenses, before finally being sent to the county alternative school. Part of his daily routine became to run through the room as fast as he could during our afternoon pack-up. This afternoon run would continue until I was able to single-handedly corner and restrain him...... ALL THE WAY to the bus (En route to the buses, he would also wrap his legs around as many things as he could find to wrap them around!). One day, as I force him to the bus kicking and still trying to run away, my arms wrapped tightly around his, he begins screaming at the top of his lungs, "YOUUUU WILL NEVERRRRRRRR DEFEAT MEEEEEEE!!!!" My response- "Oh, yes I will. I already haaaave defeated youuuuu." And he continues- "NOOOOOOOO! YOU WILL NEVERRRRRRRR DEFEAT MEEEEEEE! NEVERRRRRRRRR!" What a hilarious scene!

--This year, I have a sweet little girl in my class. She is African-American, she is always wearing a smile, and she ALWAYS has something to say. From August to January, her hair was styled with little tiny braids all over. I get a running commentary from 800 to 300 every day from her on every move I make and every breath I take. My assistant and I have been working very hard on helping her learn to control her talking. One day recently she came in and had a different hair style. She had also been having an exceptionally great day. During pack up time, I said to her- "Sweet girl, I LOVE your hair like that! You look so cute and so grown-up. You need to keep your hair that way." Beaming from ear to ear, she replied, "Well thank you, Miss Jarrell! My mama said if I keep getting smiles in my folder every day, I can keep my hair. But, if I get a sad face, she gon' put it back in da box!" I replied, "Well, please do get a smile in your folder, then, because I really do LOVE that hair on you." After that, my assistant and I just couldn't hold our laughter in any longer. We both had to hide our faces from the sweet child until we regained composure.

God really does have a sense of hunor. I am so glad he gave me these children to remind me of that daily. Out of the mouths of babes... I LOVE these kids!!

Local International Missions... Is That Even Possible?

2011-06-10T18:59:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, I got a job as a Kindergarten teacher and intended to post here frequently about my adventures and challenges. However, as you can see, I last posted on August 4, 2010, shortly after I accepted the position. This job is so crazy... in a crazy awesome kind of a way. The only problem is that I have spent so much time planning and preparing and being flat out exhausted that I pretty much forgot this whole blogging thing even existed.

For now, I will do my best to give you a short and sweet reflection of my year, with more details/funny stories to come later...

Let's review since it has been awhile: I said I would NEVER teach Kindergarten. Never say never...

Now, here I am having just said goodbye to my 20 Kindergarten kiddos yesterday after a busy year of teaching them both academics and general life skills. My class consisted of many different socioeconomic backgrounds- from extremely rich to dirt poor, different races- White, Black, and Hispanic, and different home lives- overprotective parents, divorced parents, parents who could care less, and the list goes on! What an exhilarating and eye-opening year it has been! I have discovered many things this year.

First, Kindergarten is not what it used to be... epsecially in Lee County. I have discovered that one of the reasons I never wanted to teach K is because I saw it as a little bit of alphabet, a little bit of counting, and a lot of play. I think this is what many people think, but this preconceived notion is sooo wrong! Yes, this is what it used to be to a certain extent, but not anymore!

As I look back on the year, I think about my kids who were the lowest of the low academically at the start. And I think about how several of them really didn't even speak much English. And then I think about how these same kids just finished up our year reading 100+ sight words, writing stories of 4 or more sentences, and adding and subtracting and counting by 2's, 5's, and 10's like it's nobody's business. The only word that comes to my mind for this progress is WOW. This is HUGE. God just allowed me to be a part of a child's life by helping them to love learning, teaching them to always try their best, and paving the way for success in their future years of education. Yes, we did our fair share of playing, and there was plenty of fun to be had, but it wasn't the purposeless kind of fun I envisioned when I thought of Kindergarten before September 2010. SO maybe, just maybe, Kindergarten is where I belong??? I don't know about that just yet, but I would be perfectly fine to stay there if that is what God has in store for me!

Boy, did I ever think I had pretty much my whole life, figured out for myself. Go to college, go to FLI, be a Journeyman for two years, teach 3 years in NC to pay back my scholarship, and then move to a far away land to be an international missionary. .......Wrong.

To be honest, I was a little put out when the IMB wouldn't even let me past Stage 1 of the J-Man application process because my BMI was too high. Really J-Man? Really? You have never even laid eyes on me before...

Well, God had something bigger for me. He wanted me to discover that the foreign mission field is not just across the ocean or the border. It is actually right around us, in inner city America, in rural America, and most of all, in our public school classrooms where all the different cultures of America come together for a large portion of a child's day. The public school classroom IS the foreign mission field, and God has shown me that is where He intended me to be this year... In Lee County, at Deep River, in Kindergarten classroom 209... and at the risk of sounding conceited (although not intending to), no one else could have done the job in room 209 quite like I did. After all, if the job were intended for someone else, I hopefully would not have been there.

More than that, I truly and wholeheartedly believe that God placed me in that classroom for 24 unique children with 24 different sets of unique and special needs. Some were more needy than others, but all were in need of someone to share the love of our Abba with them through action at all times, and in word, when possible.

So, although I may not have crossed any oceans or continental borders this school year, I did complete my first year as an international missionary right here in our own backyard... And I knew I was right where God intended me to be every single step of the way. There's not a better feeling in the world!

Looking forward to sharing more details with you in future posts... maybe I won't abandon the blogging world this time, like I have done for the past 8 months! :)

Never Say Never...

2010-08-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Well, life has been pretty interesting lately. I guess that's the word to use for it anyhow! After a busy summer full of the craziness of Puerto Rico, chaperoning a trip to Centrifuge, and the many adventures of job hunting and interviewing, I am now ready to settle down and get to work... and maybe some more blogging. (Yes, I said the word WORK! Keep reading to find out the latest!)

Eager to get my dream job as a 3rd or 4th grade teacher in Wake County, I began checking their job postings in late February this year, depsite the fact that they were on a job freeze. Nothing... nothing... nothing... nothing... then May came. Jobs were being posted faster than I could read them, and I think I sent a resume out to just about every one with the exception of any openings for Kindergarten positions. During High School, I used to say that I really wanted to teach in the lower grades, K or 1. As I got a little older, I decided Id rather aim for 1 or 2. At the beginning of college I decided that 2 would be my top choice, but 3 would be okay if I had to. Then, I subbed and subbed and went through the AMAZING College of Ed at ASU and decided that 3 or 4 were my ultimate top choices. Not only that, but I began to formulate this priority list in my head: 4, 3, 2, 5, 1, K. In fact, I believe Ive said the following words at least once a month for the past 4 or so years: I will NEVER teach Kindergarten.

So I sent out resumes... and waited... and waited... and waited... and waited. NOTHING. I didnt even get email responses back. Principals were always in meetings no matter how many times I called and what times of the day of I called. Now Im no genius, but Im sure smart enough to know that NO ONE is in a meeting 24/7.

Finally, when I got back from Puerto Rico, I discovered that there were 3 new job openings at Deep River Elementary in Sanford... closer to my house than the school I did my student teaching at in Raleigh. AND one of my best college friends got a job there in January and LOVED it! (We had every class together since Junior year, and we both did our student teaching in 2nd grade at Fox Road in Raleigh.) So, I pursued the openings... this time in person rather than email. Ms. Lundy, the principal immediately invited me back for an interview a few days later.

To make a long story short, the interview went okay I thought. But it was extremely short, and that really scared me. However, I was encouraged by the fact that she asked me for a lot paperwork which she wouldnt have needed if she wasnt interested. Hmmmm... could it be?

God is a pretty cool cat, just in case ya didnt know. The next week I went to Centrifuge with the ARBC students, and planned on making a short return trip home for another interview in the middle of the week. Well, about 15 minutes before I got to the other school, Ms. Lundy called and wanted to know if I could return for a second interview with the 4th grade team first thing the next morning. So... my return trip lasted a bit longer than expected... but that was okay with me! Interview? AWESOME!

Then a few days later, a bomb fell out of the sky. First, Ms. Lundy called to ask if I would possibly consider another grade level due to some switching around she was having to do within the building. Sure! After all, flexibility is key right?

THEN, I got a call from the Lee Co Board of Education, "Miss Jarrell, the position available at Deep River will be a Kindergarten position. Are you still interested should we offer you the position?" Me: "Could I think about it? When do you need to know by?" Lee Co: "How about tomorrow by lunch?"

TOMORROW BY LUNCH?!?!?!? Is this woman crazy? Does she not know that I have vowed for years now that I WILL NEVER TEACH KINDERGARTEN and now I am being forced to make a quick decision between turning down a school and principal I love because of the grade level, or realizing that a good school and principal could potentially be worth more than having my preferred grade level and trying it out to get my foot in the door.

So I frantically began calling every teacher I knew for some good advice, as well as asking a few that taught Kindergarten if I could come and visit. Although it was good to talk to several different people, the most valuable conversation I had was with my adopted sister, Ashley Reffit. She was extremely helpful and helped me to think through some things no one else had brought up for me to consider. She's a pretty awesome gal! The next morning I made an emergency visit to a K class at my mom's school, and sat there the entire time with my mind racing about how a half day in a K class could possibly be part of my basis for such a huge decision.

Then noon came. I accepted the job. Yes, I am teaching Kindergarten this year.

The moral of the story: Never say never.

As I told my best friend Lyndsey, when these words leave our mouths, we just give God more content to work with when planning His next comedy act. God enjoys a good a laugh every now and then. So do all of us. And I am glad that I could be the one to provide it. :)

So, if youre ever feeling a little blue around 830 in the morning, just think of me enthusiastically singing crazy songs while surrounded by young children. That should fix you right up. And dont forget...

NEVER say NEVER!

The Least of These...

2010-04-23T18:23:00.000-07:00

So, Im pretty sure we all know this familiar verse from the Bible...

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" ~~Matthew 25:40

The question is, though, who exactly ARE 'the least of these'?

There is one obvious answer to this, but a recent devotion we had really changed the way I think of this verse and the way I see others. I feel compelled to share because I believe it has the potential to do the same for you if youve never heard it the way Im about to explain it...

The obvious answer:
My entire life I have been taught that the least of these includes the lost, the poor, the fatherless, the widow, the orphan, the lonely, etc, etc, etc. I think that is what we have all been taught... and that is absolutely correct. After all the Bible does tell us in James 1.27: Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. And there are countless other verses that speak on this issue.

The potentially not-so-obvious answer:
However, there is a greater overall theme in this passage. There is one thing that these people groups we generally consider to be part of "the least of these" all have in common...

THEY DONT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER.

In our humanness, we like to pretend we always have it all together. We put on a facade. A mask. But who does have it all together? I know I dont, and to be willing to acknolwedge this is something that many of us FLI'ers have been learning in a huge way this semester. None of us 'have it all together'. We all have our own issues and things to deal with and work through. In reality, there is only one person in all of history who has had it all together. His name is Jesus Christ and He desperately wants us to realize it is OKAY for us to not have it all together... thats why He came to this earth, died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day. Thats why He tells us in Matthew 11.28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. I certainly am tired of trying to have it all together all the time, and I am so glad I can rest in the arms of my Savior, Jesus Christ.

So, I guess we are all in this together... none of us have it together. I am one of 'the least of these'... and so are you. Every person I pass each day is one of the least of these, and they deserve the same care and compassion from me that I give (hopefully) to the people groups that this "label" is traditionally reserved for in our churches. Let's change that. Ultimately, this issue comes down to one of "loving your neighbor as yourself", and remembering who our NEIGHBOR is (I talked about this in my March 10 post!).

My neighbor is one of the least of these. You are one of the least of these. I am one of the least of these. I truly believe that this is how Christ has called us to live, and if we all begin to live in this frame of mind, we could start a revolution in this world. What are we waiting for? Let's do it.

Crazy side notes:
- It snowed today. Wow.
- My camera offically died a few days ago. I have a new one, but I'm still trying to figure out how to use it.
- Here are a few pictures I stole from friends on Facebook to hold you over until I learn!

Me and my good friend, Caitlin VanWagoner

Clogging it up at the FLI Follies!

The crazy hiking group on Red Mountain at sunrise

Caitlin Hetzel and I... huffing and puffing up the Incline

See everyone back in NC next week...

Grace and Peace!

Go Make A Mess!

2010-04-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well I just finished up my last final after a very busy week and a half! From Thursday until today we have had 5 different papers due, as well as two finals. Its fun to look back, though, and realize how well prepared I was for that kind of workload. For the past three semesters of my life, I have had class all day, every day AND had two to three assignments due each week. So finally, Im not the one stressing out about a large workload and fussing because "those teachers just don't understand". I suppose youre not really supposed to find joy in others' pain... but I do. Its so exciting, yet so sad all at the same time that everything is drawing to an end. I have made some crazy awesome friends that I am looking forward to keeping in contact with (and, I can visit pretty much any state now and have somewhere free to stay. ha.). However, I am also looking forward to living real life again, because as fun as this has been, I can assure you that it wasn't even close to real life!

I feel like I have learned so much cool stuff and been equipped with so many great leadership tools, but I am ready to share all of that now. I feel prepared and I am eager to pass on what Ive learned to someone else. I guess I feel a little like a bottle of coke right now. I've been shaken to the core this semester and I am just about to the point of erupting like a volcano with all of these tools and things Ive been given. And yes... I will defintely make a mess when I explode (hopefully!). I want to spew out God's love everywhere I go. I want to rock someone's world by permanently impacting the way they relate to God.

I think sometimes we like to try to put God into this nicely wrapped little package and make Him into this God that does things in a nice and neat little manner when He comes into our lives. God can't be contained in a box. In fact, we serve an infinite God who has broken into a finite world! How cool is that?! Furthermore... I hate to break it to ya, but God likes it when we make messes by spewing out His love everywhere we go. He's not like your mom after you spilled a coke all over the brand new carpet. He rejoices in the fact that we are so full of joy that we cant hold it in any longer.

So this isnt what I was going to write about when I started this, but since I have effectively gone off on a crazy tangent, maybe I should stop while Im ahead. Let's be honest, I have no idea if I wrote above even makes sense. But such is life when God gets hold of you, shakes you to the core, and gets you high off of the joy of learning about His nature and His unique design for me and the world I live in.

So dont hold in the love youve been given by God. Go make a mess!

God Is In The Room

2010-04-11T17:45:00.000-07:00

So, I should be working on my 5 papers that are due this coming week, but instead I am going to tell you about the most amazing day I just had! It all began when I got up at 4:30 am with plans to take a short hike up Red Mountain to see the sunrise. We arrived and began our hike, which was much more strenuous than anticipated. The view was beautiful though! We had a great time up at the top of the trail fellowshipping, reading the Bible, worshipping, and praying together. At some points on the trail, we could see a very famous and EXTREMELY strenuous hike called The Incline. We jokingly said that we should go do it since we were so close and such expert hikers (NOT!). Somewhere along the way, our jokes turned serious, and we decided to go for it.

Now you should know that The Incline is no normal hike, and most sane people who hike it do it while they are fresh... not after theyve already hiked 3 miles. So we grabbed some breakfast in nearby Manitou Springs and headed off. Here are some interesting facts on The Incline:
- It is 1.1 miles long, straight up, with grades anywhere from 40- 68%
- 2000 foot elevation gain from bottom to top, which is more than the Empire State Building
- It's basically like climbing an endless set of stairs (which used to be a tourist railway)
- It is the highest set of stairs in the world
- It is used often for Army and Air Force training exercises
- About 1/8 of the way up we saw a No Trespassing sign and thought, "Hmmmmm..." Well, apparently it is not legal for "law abiding citizens" to climb. So, YES, I just broke the law. I trespassed... along with the hundreds of other people that hike the trail each day. Oops. :)

The Bottom Looking Up... Hello Stairs!!!

The Top Looking Down

So we made it and it was super fun, but not without LOTS of hard work, perserverance, and feeling like I might throw up every 10 minutes. Sweet! After we finally made the 4 mile hike back down, we decided we needed a little rest before we took on our next challenge and headed back home. Fun fun!

Anyways, now for my words of wisdom. I have so many things that I could choose to write about, and it is so hard to choose just one! I suppose that is actually a positive thing though! So last week in our Marriage and Family Studies class we talked about parenting. As someone who isnt even married and doesnt really have any prospects, my first instinct was to just daydream for 3 hours. As we began class though, our matins time really caught my attention. It was about this concept: God is in the room. The devotional can actually be found here if youd like to read it for yourself. In essence, the devo talks about what our homes might begin to look like if we lived by the motto, "God is in the room." How might parents treat their children differently during moments of anger and frustration if they stopped a moment to remind themselves that God really is in the room. He also talks about how we simply pray at mealtimes, say "amen", and then pretend like that magic word is some kind of curtain that we can pull down in front of heaven. Ah hah!!! This doesnt just apply to families though.

Throughout the semester I have had a lot of time to reflect on how I can love my students in a godly manner when there are so many restrictions put on teachers. My first thought has always been that I would do whatever I wanted anyways, and then if I got fired then that would just be how it was. But I have come to realize that there are many other questions that along with that stance... How does my disobedience to authority reflect on the One I am serving? If I were to lose my job for some reason, does that potentially cut me off from ever having an influence in that sphere of society again? Even though this stance may not necessarily be a wrong one, I now am of the opinion that there are better ways to go about making the love of Christ known in public schools in an attractively winsome way.

During this matins time, I felt that God was speaking to me about how to be an attractively winsome teacher and co-worker. First, I must acknowledge that God is in the room- my classroom specifically. If I can brand this thought and image into my mind, how much more patience might I have with that one child who gets on my last nerve? Second, in the time that I have been here, I have made a commitment to myself that I will pray over the seats of my students each morning before school begins. I would encourage other teachers who read this to do the same! What a difference could we make in the life of a child and in schools if we brought them before God each day asking for His direction and guidance with each child who crosses our path? Not only will I pray over the seats of my students each morning, but I will have to make sure that when I say "amen" for the bell rings that I am not pulling that curtain down and shutting God out. You see, we really cant shut God out anyways. He resides in our homes and classrooms. He hates being ignored too, but how many times have we ignored God and pretended as though He wasnt really there with us?

And while we are at it, let's carry this principle over into the Student or Children's Ministry at church? What if part of getting our classroom prepped before the lesson each Sunday or Wednesday was to pray over the chairs in room for the students that will fill them? What in the world might happen in the hearts of our students if we fervently prayed for their hearts and other needs? God has always told us to pray and to seek His face in all that we do. He has always told us to present our requests to Him. He has always told to pray without ceasing? So why dont we take him seriously so many times?

Prayer is a conversation with God. It acknowledges to God that we know that He is in room and that we know He can guide through anything and want to give Him control.

So take a minute to stop, wherever you may be, and acknowledge that GOD IS IN THE ROOM... ( and no... He wont leave the building like Elvis did.) :)

On Top of the World!

2010-03-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Im not sure words can describe the experiences I have been blessed with over the past few weeks. Even if they could, Im sure the available words would be inadequate. So here are some pictures... Take a minute to take in the greatness of our God and His creation:

Grand Canyon, Arizona

Zion National Park, Utah

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night the pour forth knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. -- Psalm 19:1-3

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. --Psalm 95:3-5

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing. He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight. He covers the face of the full moon, spreading his clouds over it. The pillars of the heavens quake, aghast at his rebuke. By his power he churned up the sea.... By his breath the skies become fair.... And these are but the outer fringe of his works; how faint the whisper we hear of him! How then can we understand the thunder of his power? -- Job 26:7-9, 11-14

Over the past few years, I have been privileged to see many parts of God's creation that most people never get to experience. And it is all extremely beautiful and glorious! However, I dont think I have ever fully understood the power and might of the God we serve like I did when I reached the peak of Angel's Landing in Zion National Park last week with 10 wonderful friends. This is the thought that kept running through my head... "Here we are surrounded by massive rocks, bigger than any Ive ever seen before. Not only are we surrounded by them, we are ON TOP of one of these huge things... 1800 feet from the bottom! These rocks are gigantic! We say that God is our "solid rock", but can we ever really fathom exactly what that means? As unshakeable and unmoveable as these rocks seem, we serve a God who is so much more unshakeable and unmoveable than these rocks will ever be! And when, one day, these rocks may come tumbling down, our God will still remain, and He promises us that He is our solid rock to stand on in the midst of whatever trials or storms may come our way. What an awesome and mighty God we are given the privilege of serving!" Being able to stand on top of that rock and worship and pray with friends was one experience that will not be forgotten.

Now... on to a few rather interesting details of this little trip. (These are the details you dont tell your parents until after its over and you are safe once again!) Our hike up Angel's Landing began as a fun little hike over pretty easy terrain. We stopped about every 2 minutes to take another picture or just to rest and enjoy one another's company. That was the first 2.5 miles. The last half mile to the peak is another story. Let's just say that this hike is called Angel's Landing for a reason. People die on this trail fairly often, the most recent two deaths being in August and November (and no, I didnt know this before I started up it!) There are many caution signs along the path, but Im pretty sure no quantity of caution signs could have prepared for the intensity of the hike I was about to get myself into. The last half mile of this hike consisted of a very steep, and VERY narrow trail. In fact, Im pretty sure this part trail qualified as scrambling and not hiking. Oh yeah... did I mention that the trail was NARROW?!? Most of the way, you had a chain on one side of the path to hold on to in case you started to slip, but in essence you were gonna be dead meat if you took one wrong step. Perhaps this wasnt the smartest thing I have ever done, but I will be the first to tell you that I wouldnt trade my "mountain-top" experience for anything in the world now that I have done it. I will also be the first to tell you that I feel no need to EVER do it again!

One of many caution signs along the path... (If you go to YouTube and search "Angel's Landing" there are tons of videos that take you on a virtual hike to the top with a crazy person who thought it was a good idea to get the scramble to the top on tape!)

Its hard to believe we only have three weeks of class left. I cant wait to see, though, what the next three weeks will bring. More than that, I am excited to see how God is going to use me when I return home. This semester has been an experience like no other! I feel refreshed and re-charged after three extremely intense semesters in education program at ASU and although it wont always be fun, I am excited to return to the front lines of a kingdom-sized battle between the Truth of God and the lies of the world! Exciting stuff!

One last word... if you know any college aged students, they NEED to spend a semester at FLI and Id love to be able to get in touch with them and encourage them to pursue this awesome opportunity.

Here's the painting I have just recently completed... next time I consider writing small words in the background of painting, remind me what a pain it was (click to make it bigger!) :)

Grace and Peace... :)

Soli Deo Gloria!

2010-03-10T17:09:00.000-08:00

As the weeks go by, life just seems to get busier and busier. It is completely unbelievable to think that my time here in Colorado Springs is halfway over. And it is still unbelievable to me that I have been blessed with the opportunity to be able to look out at Pike's Peak every day and to learn from some of the most intelligent and God-centered people I have ever met.

I cant remember if I have talked about this or not, but there is SO much more to the FLI experience than simply going to class each day. The sense of community that we have been able to build here is simply astounding to me. This is not only true among the students here, but the staff, as well. In fact, some of the best times that I have had have been when I have, on a whim, gone over to my professor's homes to have supper, watch movies, or play Settlers of Catan. I cant even begin to explain how refreshing it is to experience this type of community. Although this idea of community should still be active among all Christians, it isn't. How much easier would it be for us to reach out to our lost neigbors with the overwhelming love of Christ if we could first learn to live in community with our fellow Christians?

As sad as it is, many folks dont even truly know who they go to church with anymore, including myself. Sure, we wave and say hi as we pass in the hallway, but isnt there so much more that? When is the last time that we took time out of our busy schedule to stop and have a real conversation with someone? To see how they were really doing and to ask how we could pray for them? When was the last time that we sat and talked with a friend about how they saw God at work in their life? When is the last time that we invited someone over to our home for a time of fellowship and having a meal or coffee together? Have we forgotten how to be a neighbor to our fellow Christian brothers and sisters? Furthermore, how can we be a neighbor to those who dont know Christ, if we cant even be a neighbor to those with whom we have the common bond of Christ?

Most recently in my Family, Church, and Society class, we have been talking about God's design for the social sphere of COMMUNITY. In this study, we focused specifically on the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10.25-37. Dr Tackett made the suggestion that since the subtitles we see in the Bible are put there by man, that we re-name this parable to be "The Parable of the Neighbor". As we looked at the story, I found how appropriate this title really is, as the verses that precede this parable begin with Jesus commanding us to love our neighbor as ourselves. Then this parable is told in response to the man who tests Jesus asking Him, "And who is my neighbor?" So then, when you examine this story, your two main characters are the needy and the neighbor. From there we were able to really examine God's design for community, and how being a neighbor and living in community with our neighbors really gets at the heart of how God designed this institution to be lived out. Those of you who know me well know how passionate I can be about this topic. There is so much more I could tell you, both from my own prior experiences as well as things we have talked about here, but I'll leave it there for now and give you something to think on. :)

Over the past two weeks, I have gotten the really awesome opportunity of being involved in some tapings of the FOTF daily radio broadcasts with Dr. Juli Slattery and John Fuller. Although I dont know that they will air the part of the show that I actually participated in, I got to be in the studio. So that was a super cool experience! The first show I particpated in was on Eating Disorders. I have not yet been able to find out when it will air. The second show I participated in was on parenting, and featured John Rosemond, who is from NC. That show, which is a 2 part series will air on March 22nd and 23rd.

As I have been sitting here typing this, the thought keeps popping in mind of how grateful I am that God has given me the oppotunity to be here, and also to be able to share with each of you through my blog. I know that some people think that I am here being brain-washed by some extreme right-winged Christian organization. However, just the opposite is true. Rather then being "brain-washed" I feel that, in a way, my brain has been freed. I am learning to think, to use my brain, and to ask questions, instead of just taking anyone at their word! Believe me, I have disagreed with my professor's more than just a time or two in the past 8 weeks. In my time here, I have been challenged more than ever to really examine what I believe and why I believe it. Most importantly, I have been learning to actually use the brain and intellectual abilities God has given me to examine His word, draw near to Him, and then come to my own conclusions about God and how I feel Him calling me to live out my life. I would encourage you to do the same. I have been discovering that living a more Christlike life means learning about the very nature of Christ Himself, and we can look all throughout the scriptures and see God revealing Himself to us through His words and actions. And for that, as we say at FLI, SOLI DEO GLORIA! To God Alone be the Glory!

In closing, I want to leave you with this quote I wrote down during Dr. Tackett's class last week: "We must always go back to the face of God, to His very nature. We must gaze upon His face. ALL truth emanates from Him, our ultimate source of TRUTH."

Til next time... Grace and Peace!

While I'm Waiting...

2010-02-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

This week has been an extremely crazy one! We have had some extraordinary guest speakers come in to talk to us throughout the week. Friday was Dr. Dobson's last day at FOTF so all the employees gathered for a special service to honor him. It was unreal to see how many people He has impacted over the past 33 years. At one point, they presented to Him the 30,000+ pieces of mail that have come in over the past month. It was so neat to get to be a part of such a historical time... except it lasted 3 hours.

Dr. Dobson speaking for the last time.

Mrs. Dobson

Then on Saturday, we were part of the live audience for the 2nd annual Focus on Marriage Simulcast. Despite the fact that I am not married, and its not looking like marriage is anywhere in my future for now, it was extremely good. The speakers included Francis Chan, Gary Chapman, and Kirk and Chelsea Cameron, just to name a few. John Waller also led worship. It was a super day... even though we had to be at Focus at 6 am, dressed professionally.

The common theme of the week seems to have been that it is absolutely possible, though not easy by any stretch of the imagination, to live out your faith in or crazy, secular society. Some of you, especially those in the business world may remember a few years ago when the CEO of Tyco International, Dennis Kozlowski, stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the company. Prior to Tuesday, we were all given information about a person who played a role in this case, and were asked to memorize the information and "be" that person. Then, on Tuesday, Eric Pillmore, one of the guys who came in and helped straighten out the mess Kozlowski had made, came in and helped us to reinact the whole case. Afterwards, he talked to us about what it was like for him, as a Christian in a position of power, to be in a place where there was still a lot of scandal and wrongdoing going on. I really enjoyed this experience and feel like I learned so much from Mr. Pillmore about how difficult it really is to be a person of integrity in the midst of so much evil.

On Thursday, we got to hear from and interact with special guest, Tim Goeglein, who served as Special Assistant to President Bush and Deputy Director of the White House Office of Public Liaison from 2001 t0 2008, when he resigned after getting caught in the act of plagiarism. It was amazing to hear his story of how he got caught up in the ways of the world, later realized how his poor decisions had affected his colleagues and essentially, the whole country, and how he was able to learn from those mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and by the grace of God, start over. He is now the VP of External Affairs for FOTF in Washington DC. I found it scary to hear how easily one can get caught up in such actions that we all know are blatantly wrong. Even scarier is that I know that it could just as easily happen to me as it could to anyone else.

During the simulcast on Saturday while Francis Chan was speaking, I really started thinking about what it looks like for me to be a Christian entering a secular workplace, especially a public school where there seems to be even more restrictions put on sharing your faith than in other parts of the secular workplace. Then I had a revelation. This revelation was something I have thought about before, but quickly dismissed as not that important. Yes, the simulcast was about marriage, but while Chan was speaking, he posed this question: Why do we think we can just study the WORD and not actually put it into action? After that, I dont remember the whole thought process that actually took place, but Chan continued to talk on this subject giving the example of Matthew 28:19-20 when Jesus tells us to go and make disciples. God does not necessarily care whether we have that verse memorized, he would much rather us GO and DO IT! For some reason, so many of us think that having a verse memorized is good enough. Well, it's not! I started thinking: I have always been so excited about being a teacher and being able to educate students and have an impact on their lives. That's great. That's what teachers are supposed to do. But then... here's the revelation: Being called, as a Christian, into the profession of education is about SO MUCH MORE than just the students. Thinking that it is, I feel, may not be allowing God to use me at my full potential where He has placed me. So I posed this question to myself: What if God has placed me (or any other Christian teacher, for that matter) in the school not only for my students, but also to reach out to my colleagues, to bathe them in prayer, and to make disciples of them? I feel that's exactly what He has done. That's a lot to swallow. Now I am trying to figure out exactly what that might look like.

Interesting statistic: Several time this semester, Dr. Leland has shared with us the statistic that the average person will change careers at least 5 times during their life. Not just jobs, but CAREERS. Wow. So maybe I'll be teacher for the next 35 years. Maybe not. Its probably not worth my time to worry about that though. I can't plan what God wants me to do, so... in the words of Dr. Del Tackett... Dont try and dont worry about!

On Saturday John Waller played his now famous song, "While I'm Waiting". It talks about the process of waiting on God as you journey through life and being obedient to his call even in the uncertainties of life. What a beautiful song and a beautiful message for us all to hear as we strive to seek His will in all that we do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7TSGptd3Y

Before I go (sorry for the super long post!), I just want to share with you all that I absolutely LOVE the church I have found to be a part of while I am here, Calvary Worship Center. The diverse make-up of the population is a huge draw for me, as it is, to me, a perfect picture of what worship in Heaven will be like, worshipping among believers of all ethnicities and races. The pastor is great too! You can go online and listen to some of his sermons at http://www.cwccs.org/ . I especially reccommend the sermon from today, which was about "being about the Father's business", taken from the text in Luke when Jesus is found in the temple among other teachers after getting separated from His parents on their trip to the Passover feast.

And... because I am so ahead on my reading, I have to have something to do while everyone else is doing theirs. Ha. So I have taken up painting. Here's my first one:

So.... there you have it!

Keep praying that I would continue to allow God to :teach me to be bold in my faith, keep my mind open and constantly soaking in all that I am learning, transform me into the woman of God He wants me to be!

Til next time... Grace and Peace!

Snow Capped Mountains and Other Crazy Antics

2010-02-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!

The past couple of weeks have super busy, and super fun... and even though Ive been here for a full month now, I still cant believe that God has given me the opportunity to be in this beautiful place for this short time. It is still nothing short of breathtaking to be able to gaze at snow-capped Pike's Peak every morning as we drive to Focus, or to be able to look up at the stars each night and actually be able to make out Orion in the sky, or to be able to drive 5 minutes and go hiking at the Garden of the Gods. I hope and pray that I dont ever begin to take God's glorious creations for granted during my time here.

I feel like I have learned so much here lately that it is so hard to know what to write about and share with everyone, so here is my best attempt to share what I think are some pretty important and/or interesting thoughts.

Lately, we have been learning about our strengths and how to focus on becoming better at the things we are good at, as well as using our strengths to manage our weaknesses. In my time on the Leadership Team at BCM we spent quite a bit of time on this topic, so it was something I was familiar with. But I also feel like I am at a much better place in my life now to understand exactly how this concept should play out in our lives. Although we are generally taught throughout our lives that we should be focusing our time on getting better at things we arent too good at, is that really a biblical concept? Does God ask us to be well-rounded Christians? No. He calls us to do our part to help make the body of Christ complete by using our spiritual gifts, which I believe to be closely tied to our strengths. Just as God did not give us all the same spiritual gifts, he also did not give us the same strengths. That said, we should all be team players in the Body of Christ. If I am not a people person, being a greeter is probably not a good job for me. But if you am very hospitable and enjoy making people feel welcome, then being a greeter is probably a great place for you to use the strengths God has given you. I fully believe that if every Christian would take the time to truly discover how God has shaped them for ministry with their spiritual gifts, passions, abilities, and strengths, then nothing could ever hold us back from accomplishing some powerful and Kingdom-sized things in our churches, communities, and world. As it stands now though, weve got a small portion of people doing a large percentage of the work. Just imagine how God could use us to bring people towards Him if we all simply knew our place in the Body of Christ and acted on it. Wow! My answers from the Strengths Test were a little different than the past time that I took it, which is normal. Some are the same, and it is likely that the ones that are different are still in my top 10. These are my top 5 strengths: adaptability, belief, connectedness, futuristic, and responsibility. Adaptability is self explanatory. Belief means that I have a core set of values that are the base for everything else I do. Connectedness means that I see the connections between all things and believe that all things happen for a reason. Futuristic means that I have a vision for the future and am able to relate that vision to others. Responsibility refers to loyalty and means that I take psychological ownership of what I say I will do. Although those were my top 5, I adopted a couple of others that I felt fit me to a tee-- achiever (a person who gets stuff done... they are usually the ones who finish the work that other people start) and harmony (someone with harmony likes for everyone to get along... they are a peacemaker). I would encourage you to buy either Living Your Strengths or Strengthsfinder 2.0 and take the Strengthsfinder Test online in order to help you discover even more about how God has shaped you as a person and leader.

There's so much more I could write about right now, but I'll save it for later. Maybe I can write again in the near future since I am currently over a week ahead on my readings... yay! Now for some fun little tidbits...
For Valentines Day, the FLI guys hosted "An Evening of Elegance" for all 40 of us ladies. The 13 of them picked us ap at our apartments and drove us to Focus. They had a special dinner for us which started off with a chocolate fondue bar. Then we had a salad, lasagna/chicken penne pasta, and cheesecake/tiramisu. After our candlelight dinner, they had prepared some special entertainment for us. They spent hours and hours on this and it was probably the funniest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Therefore, I feel like I should share it with you. I can promise you it is worth the next five minutes of your time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agM-TJVLk-Y :) .

So, if you just watched the video, you are now FULLY aware that FLI is not all about the books. According to the staff, every group that comes through seems have their own personality. I feel quite confident that we have already established ours as the "class full of clowns". :) Last Monday, my birthday, we had secretly planned for it to be Secret Agent Day. Imagine the surprise of Dr. Leland when all 53 of us came into class wearing all black. What a sight! When we went to the cafeteria for lunch, some of the guys decided it would be a good idea to stand along the walls like secret service agents (keep in mind this was the day after FOTF's Super Bowl commercial aired). Some old lady started freaking out and asking what was going on. This past Monday, we dressed in red/white/blue or "Presidential wear" for President's Day. How much fun it has been to surprise Dr. Leland each Monday morning with our crazy antics!

Here are a few things you can be praying for:
- That God will continue to open up my mind and teach me how to think critically about what I believe and why I believe it.
- That I would continue to grow deep friendships here
- That the beauty of God's creation would continue to amaze me and take my breath away every single day

That's all for now. I'll update again soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures:

My roomies and I at the Garden of the Gods

Another super cool view at Garden of the Gods

My friend, Duncan, and I at our Gangsta Gitdown party (another one of our crazy antics) :)

A few of us at our VDay get-together

Secret Agent Day

Grace and Peace.

Sh'ma, Yisrae'al!

2010-02-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

Hello friends!
So it has occurred to me that I havent really completely explained the classes that Institute students take or any of the stuff we do. So, I thought Id take a quick second to do that, as well as share our reading list with you.

Okay... so each day of the week we have one class from 8:10 - 11:30. We have Christian Worldview Studies; Marriage and Family Studies; Family, Church, and Society; and Gender and Leadership Studies. We are also assigned to a Practicum within the Colorado Springs community and we meet every few weeks for a Practicum Class. Each class starts out with Matins, or devotionals, that tie into the class in some way. In CWS, we discuss what it looks like to have a Christian worldview and how to defend the Christian worldview against other worldviews. In MFS, we discuss what the biblical marriage and family should look like, as well as how to go about building a healthy, functional, and enjoyable marriage and family. FCS is taught by Dr. Del Tackett, the creator of the Truth Project. He is an absolutely remarkable man and his class is, so far, my favorite without a doubt! This class focuses on helping us to understand God's design for social order and the relationships between the social spheres, and essentially helping us to answer the question of "what is truth"? Finally, in GLS, we discuss the issues of gender and leadership and the relation between the two. We will be learning a lot about what God's Word says to us about men and women and their roles in family, church, and society. Sometimes we have open forums with our professors after class where can ask any questions we want for an hour. Thats always fun!
My Practicum is working with an organization called Northern Churches Care. It is an emergency crisis clinic that offers help with food, clothing vouchers, gas vouchers, rent, utility bills, and much more. To be honest, I wasnt thrilled with my placement when I received it and I still am not. I am trying really hard to be positive about it though, and am constantly praying that God would change my heart and use me at NCC despite my selfishness.
Each of the classes have been very interesting so far, and it is always neat to get to class each day and realize how much each previous class ties into the next ones. And I think that's exactly how God intended it!
If you know me well, you know how much I despise writing papers. For that reason, I have really enjoyed these classes, which are primarily based off of the readings we do each night. As I have talked about before, there is soooo much reading to do, and although I dont necessarily agree with everything I have read, it is definitely enjoyable and provides me with plenty of food for thought. That said, I have typed up our reading list for the semester below. It doesnt include the countless articles we have to read or the audio recordings we listen to (Bold=the books we actually had to buy). Here it is... Get ready...

CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW STUDIES
To Everyone An Answer: A Case for the Christian Worldview by Beckwith & Moreland
Faith Has Its Reasons: An Integrative Approach to Defending Christianity by Boa
Cross and Crescent: Responding to the Challenge of Islam by Chapman
Faith, Film, and Philosophy: Big Ideas on the Big Screen by Geivett & Speigel
Five Sacred Crossings: A Novel Approach To A Reasonable Faith by Hazen
Handbook of Christian Apologetics by Kreeft & Tacelli
The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
Mere Christianity by CS Lewis
God Is Back: How The Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World by Micklethwait & Woolridge
Love Your God With All Your Mind by Moreland
The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith by Moreland
Eyes Wide Open by Romanowski
The Great Evangelical Disaster by Schaeffer
The Universe Next Door: A Basic Worldview Catalog by Sire
Postmodernism 101: A First Course for the Curious Christian by White
MARRIAGE AND FAMILY STUDIES
Revolutionary Parenting by Barna
When I Get Married by Clark
Boundaries by Cloud & Townsend
The New Dare To Discipline by Dobson
The New Hide and Seek by Dobson
The New Love Must be Tough by Dobson
Love and Respect by Eggerichs
Safe Haven by Hart & Morris
Hooked: New Science On How Casual Sex Is Affecting Our Children by McIlhaney & McKissic Bush
Finding the Hero In Your Husband by Slattery
Guilt Free Motherhood by Slattery
Complete Guide to the First Five Years of Marriage by Swihart & Wooten
Sacred Marriage by Thomas
Sacred Parenting by Thomas
The Blessing: Giving the Gift of Unconditional Love and Acceptance by Trent & Smalley
The Case for Marriage by Waite & Gallagher
FAMILY, CHURCH, AND SOCIETY STUDIES
Life Together by Bonhoeffer
Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan To Radically Change Your World by Briner
Democracy in America (Vol. 1) by de Tocqueville
Marriage Under Fire by Dobson
Not Yours To Give by Ellis
Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers by Kavanaugh
Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue by Lee
Why You Cant Stay Silent: A Biblical Mandate to Shape Our Culture by Minnery
William Wilberforce: A Man Who Changed His Times by Pollock
Idols for Destruction by Schlossberg
How Christianity Saved the World by Schmidt
The Vision of the Anointed by Sowell
The Fathers Speak—For Life! by St. Benedict Center
Common Ground—Without Compromise: 25 Questions to Create Dialogue on Abortion by Wagner
GENDER AND LEADERSHIP STUDIES
Every Man’s Battle by Arterburn & Stoeker
Desires In Conflict by Dallas
Bringing Up Boys by Dobson
Beyond Appearances by Focus on the Family
The Feminine Mystique by Friedan
101 Frequently Asked Questions About Homosexuality by Haley
Ethics: Approaching Moral Decisions by Holmes
Hope, Help, and Healing for Eating Disorders by Jantz
Leading Change by Kotter
Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge by Kouzes & Posner
The Way of the Shepherd by Leman & Pentak
The Search for Significance by McGee
In The Name of Jesus by Nouwen
Feminism: Mystique or Mistake? by Passno
When Good Men Are Tempted by Perkins
Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood by Piper & Grudem
Spiritual Leadership by Sanders
Genesis In Space and Time: The Flow of Biblical History by Schaeffer

Soooo... wow. Thats A LOT of books. I havent read them all yet, and for some of them we only read specific sections. However, if you are interested in one of the topics I have talked about and want me to recommend a book, let me know! :)
Since I have already talked a little about social activities in my previous post, I'll skip that for now...but I do feel it necessary to say that I have found that the whole Institute experience, above all, is about learning what it might look like to truly live out the love of Christ in a way that is relevant to our culture today.
Before I leave ya for tonight, I thought Id share a few other thoughts besides just the logistics of FLI... On the second day of class, our matins time was based on 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 4:7. As I sat and thought I just began to write whatever streams of consciousness came to mind about these pretty common verses. I encourage you to read them and really think on them. Here's what I wrote, and thought it was worth sharing, although Im not promising it will make complete sense, as I am copying exactly what i wrote-- how I wrote it:
-God is Love- If God is in us, we should have Love- A choice to make... to keep that Love bottled up OR to let it be poured out into the lives of others...
-To keep that Love bottled up would be SELFISH- Love is not selfish- IS THERE REALLY A CHOICE?
-LOVE = HUMILITY/SELFISHNESS
-Love humbly. Love selflessly. Love joyfully. Love justly. Love relentlessly. Love without boundaries. Love like Christ. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE.LOVE.

Last, I have always been told that whatever you take in, is what comes out of you. As I spend my semester I am finding that to be more and more true. One of our practices/traditions here at FLI is to recite the Sh'ma togthether each morning. The Sh'ma is part of the prayers that the Jewish community recites at their morning and evening prayers together. It is astounding, how even just making these words a part of your daily routine can totally change your outlook on how your day is going to go. It is my prayer that each of you would join me in beginning to truly live out the true meaning of the shema in every single moment of every single day. Be a world changer. Here it is below... (Hebrew scholars enjoy!):

Sh'ma Yisrae'al!

Adonai Eloheinu, Adonai echad

Ve'ahavta et Adonai Elohecha

Be'chol lava'cha

Uve'chol nafsch'cha

Uve'chol me'odecha

Ve'ahavta rayacha kamocha

Hear O Israel!

The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Love the Lord you God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your strength.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Grace and Peace.

BIG Questions....

2010-01-30T15:26:00.000-08:00

New and super awesome friends! :)

Focus on the Family!

A beautiful mountain view on the way home from our opening retreat.

Hello! Things are still going well here in the Springs and I am loving it here. We are being kept extremely busy both with our academic load as well as our social activities. We have all sorts of family dinners, worship services, small groups, and other spontaneous activities that pop up throughout the week. And if you read my last post, you know that I mentioned having to do a rather intense amount of reading. Here is a picture of the books we had to purchase (this does NOT include audio tapes to be listened to, or the entire library of required reading we have in our apartment):

Sooooo... needless to say, that is quite overwhelming, but many of the readings have been quite interesting and thought-provoking. My apartment mates and I have already been able to enjoy many "reading parties" with one another. We takes turns reading aloud and then discuss what we read to make sure we all understand. This has been especially helpful for books such as "The Abolition of Man" by CS Lewis. Thats a tough read!

Speaking of apartment mates... my roommates are MaryBeth from Illinois, Catherine from Wisconsin, and Karen from Alabama. We are loving one another's company so far and are enjoying getting to know one another. :)

There's not too much to say about class this week. We have mostly just been getting overviews for the rest of the semester. I know that I am going to be challenged in many ways. The primary purpose of each of these classes is to help us to become solid, Christ-following leaders in a society that so desperately needs Christ. As I sat at a dinner one night at our opening retreat and talked with one of our professors, Dr. Chris Leland, and he said something in our conversation that I found to be quite profound about the way that we, as Christians should be trying to influence our world in the public square. His quote: Dont argue biblically. Argue morally (with the Bible being the foundation for your morals). His point was that as soon as people hear us say, "Well the Bible says..." their ears are immediately turned off, and thus, we are never going to get anywhere. There's got to be more. That's not enough... especially when we are dealing with a society in which so few people believe in the authority and absolute truth of the scriptures. It doesn't matter to them what the Bible says if they dont believe in the Bible. In connection with this, one of our readings for this coming week was called "Love Your God with All Your Mind" (dont remember who it was by). The essence of this book was that modern Christianity has taken the power of reason and intellect completely out of its base. In a way, we have entered this era of being "anti-intellectual" and God doesn't want us to be that way. He intended for heart (faith) and head (reason) to go together and not to be completely separate from one another. If He did not want us to be rational and use reason, I dont believe He would have blessed us with the intellectual abilities He has given us. Our God is a rational God and therefore, we should also be rational if we want to be like Him.

Soooo... all that to say that basically our classes are about helping us to learn to answer the big questions of life in a way that get the attention of the secular world and causes them to want to stop and listen. In our Christian Worldview Studies class, the big question of the semester is, Why did you get up this morning? And, for those of you who have heard of the Truth Project by Dr. Del Tackett, our big question of the semester for his class, "Family, Church, and Society", is Do you REALLY believe that what you believe is REALLY REAL?

It is so refreshing to be surrounded by an awesome group of Christian brothers and sisters for just this short time, and I looking forward to being able to share in this community and learn about the very nature of God and how He can use us to impact His world wherever He takes us.

Please pray that:

-I would have a positive attitude about my practicum site and allow God to use me where He has placed me despite my own selfish attitudes.

-I would stay focused on the things that really matter this semester.

-I can keep my priorities straight and know that it IS okay if I dont get all my reading done. (Unlike a standard academic setting, these are the priorities of our community for the semester: 1. personal time with God. 2. community life 3. academics)

Cant wait to write again! Grace and Peace.

Welcome to Colorado!

2010-01-20T16:07:00.000-08:00

Hello! So, for those of you who arent quite sure what I am up to right now... I am currently in Colorado Springs, CO at the Focus Leadership Institute. I am not yet sure what all God has in store for me while I am here, or even why exactly I am here. But I am very excited about this opportunity and how it is going to help me to become a world-changer wherever I find my in the future!

So, heres what you can expect from my blog this semster: Today during orientation, I found out that we are expected to read about 5000 pages over the next 12 weeks. One word: WHOA. So dont expect anything too lengthy, in depth, or anything like that on a regular basis. However, in our first lecture today, I was very challenged by Dr. Tackett and some of the things he said. So, Ive decided this blog would be a great place for me to post things Ive heard/learned/discovered that are worth sharing and remembering...

1. The Ten Commandments
Why did God give us the Ten Commandments to live by? Is it just some set of rules/guidelines that He set before us so that there is some sense of order in the world? Maybe. But more importantly, the Ten Commandments allow us an opportunity to get a glimpse of the very nature of Christ. Therefore, we must conclude that if we are to aim to live Christ-like lives, then following the Ten Commandments is a great start on how to do that.
So, if God wanted to, could He have instead said that lying is right or murder is right? Could he have reversed the Ten Commandments to make these things okay? When I first heard this question, my immediate answer was, "Of course he could have. God can do anything he wants." However, upon further discussion, I realized how wrong I was. The answer is a clear NO. God could not have done that because those things/characteristics are not part of His nature and who He is.

2. What is eternal life?
Yeah, we've all heard about eternal life and talked about it endlessly... but really. What exactly is it? Can we even wrap our heads around it? I dont know... I am still trying to process all of this discussion in my head. Im sure I'll come back to it again later, but this is what Ive got for now. John 17:3-- And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have have sent. -- This word- know- is more than just a casual friend type thing. This "know" is a deeply intimate relationship with... the type of relationship we should always be striving for in our walk with God.
I'll leave that one there for now... What exactly is eternal life?

More to come!

Grace and Peace. :)

Goodbye Guadalajara!

2009-12-12T06:01:00.000-08:00

What a journey the past six weeks have been! There have been exciting times, frustrating times, happy and sad times, but through all, I can say that I have learned much and thoroughly enjoyed this unforgettable experience.

One thing that has truly inspired me during my time here is how the teachers at ASFG really do seek to do more than just teach their students-- they seek to turn them into individuals and great leaders. I know this was a constant topic of conversation in many of my classes at ASU, but to see it truly put into action has been a great learning experience for me. Here is an example: Last week three 2nd graders got up at our weekly flag assembly and shared the following message with their student body... Two of the girls, on their own time, had been reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortensen. They were very inspired by it and knew that there must be something they could do to help the education system in the Middle East. So they approached their teacher with the idea of a class project. Their teacher loved their idea so much that she encouraged them to go talk to the principal, and thus was born their school-wide (Pre-school thru 12th grade) campaign, called "Pesos for Peace". They have challenged every student in the school to give at least one peso in the next three weeks, and daily collect and count the money. As of this past week, they had already collected over 1500 pesos and are still going around to talk to classes about why what they are doing is so important. These are true leaders, and true leaders are never born without someone (maybe a teacher) to help them develop leadership skills. All I can really say to this is "WOW!"

Another huge thing that I have learned about teaching while here is how to integrate well. Throughout my time at ASU, this was something professors always urged us to do, but many of them also assumed that we already knew how to created a well integrated lesson. I would agree that this is very important, but this isnt something I had ever really learned how to do well. I was taking shots in the dark and hoping for the best. Because the studenst at ASFG receive 1/2 the instructional day in English and the other 1/2 in Spanish, a teacher's instructional time is greatly decreased, thus making it that much more important to integrate subject matter and to do it well. Spending time in an environment where integration is not just something that is good if it happens, but a necessity, has helped me to understand how to integrate subject matter well, as well as how much more valuable instruction can be when subjects are integrated. My teacher, Ms. Ivette, has a been teacher to learn from, and I am grateful to have the opportunity to spend six weeks learning from such a devoted and skilled professional.

My teacher, Ms. Ivette, and I

Although working with second language learners did provide a bit of a challenge at times, it was also lots of fun to see them learning, understanding new concepts, and taking in so much new knowledge and vocabulary like a sponge. Also, it was very difficult for to work a group of students from affluent homes, as that is not where my passion lies. Sometimes discipline was very difficult with this particular group of students, and at times I felt completely defeated, as they made it very obvious that they were used to being in charge and had no intentions of listening to the gringa who had only come into their lives for such a short period of time. However, it was interesting to see that, just as with many experiences I have had in the US, the ones who resisted discipline the most, were also the ones who were the saddest on my last day.

Overall, my experience outside of school was fabulous! I really enjoyed learning about Mexican culture and trying to immerse myself into it during my time in this huge city. I was very lucky to get to travel around some, as well as being a part of several true Mexican traditions such as the traditional Mexican fiesta, mariachi bands, and the Corrida del Toros (Running of the Bulls). And although the Health Departments in the US would surely not approve of many of the places I ate, I thorougly enjoyed getting to eat traditional Mexican cuisine daily. This included anything from fresh made quesadillas, tortas ahogadas, chilaquiles, and enchiladas, to a big ol' scoop of refried beans from the pot that had been sitting on the stove going on four days.

I would trade this experience for nothing else in the world, and cant wait to apply the things I have learned into my life as a teacher and professional, as I start my own journey of impacting children and creating leaders daily.

A beautiful view of the sunset on my trip to Zacatecas!

Adios Amigos!

Ole, Ole!

2009-12-03T13:41:00.001-08:00

This week has been really great! If you read my last update, you know that I was writing from a small town named Zacatecas, where I spent a short break that I had. The rest of my time there was just as much fun as the first part. In fact, I think I would have stayed forever if I could have! One night, I even got to go to the Lighting of the Christmas Tree celebration in the town square. It was very neat to how the whole town came together for this one event which, I didnt realize until I got back to the hostel, lasted about 3 hours!

On Sunday, when I returned to GDL, I got to do another thing that I have been dying to do... I got to go the Corrida del Toros (Running of the Bulls)! Even more interesting, this one showcased child toreros. Although some things were a little different, such as the children not beign allowed to actually kill the bull like usual, this was the last event of the season and I still feel that it was a great cultural experience. It was very stressful to sit there and watch people so close to such a dangerous animal, but it was also lots of fun to hear the shouts of "Ole!" all around and to take in what a huge part of Mexican culture this event is. I loved every minute of it!

This week at school has been good, although you can tell the students know the holiday season is quickly approaching. They are starting to go crazy, and being an international school, students and their families are beginning to take trips to visit family and friends in many different countries. It is also very interesting to see the wide variety of holidays celebrated by students around the school, and to hear about the family traditions. While I am here, my teacher has wanted to go ahead and study the traditions of Christmas with our class, since she wants the students to learn about Christmas traditions in the United States. Earlier this week, we did a lesson using "The Night Before Christmas" by C.C. Moore, a very traditional story. I have also been teaching a lot of math lately. We just started a unit on addition with regrouping. This has been really fun to teach so far and the students seems to be understanding it pretty well.

I cant believe that in just 7 short days, I will be on my way back to NC. My time here is flown by so quickly and it is hard to think that I only have four days left with my class. I know the next week is going to fly by!

Nos vemos! See you later!

ZACATECAS!!

2009-11-27T15:14:00.000-08:00

Wow! It has been a very crazy week here in Guadalajara and at The American School. One thing I have loved about ASFG is that they make sure to educate the students in both the American and Mexican culture and to give them quality educational experiences to help them understand each one. That said, this short school week was one of those that is wasted in terms of teaching time. On Monday, we had our weekly Flag Assembly along with a special presentation on the Mexican Revolution by the 4th graders. On Tuesday, we had an earthquake drill which took quite a long time to get through. Wednesday was a short day for the students, complete with a classroom Thanksgiving feast! Our students made pilgrim hatrs and wore them to the feast. They really enjoyed learning about the history and traditions of Thanksgiving throughout the week and it was lots of fun to be able to help teach them these things!

Last weekend turned out to be quite an interesting one. I wont bore you with all the details, but I will tell you that my adventures in the nearby town of Tonala and downtown Guadalajara involved asking for directions to a certain place and being sent to the exact opposite end of the city, almost getting in trouble with the military for taking pictures of a building I wasnt supposed to be taking pictures of (standing in the middle of a public park... and there were NO SIGNS!), and a crazy lady on the city bus claiming to have a knife. At the ArtFest I saw some absolutely fabulous art! I was very impressed by the quality of the art that the students had produced and the number of people from the community that came. I am very happy that I got to experience the ArtFest, as it is such a huge part of the culture of the school.

Right now, I am actually writing from a small town called Zacatecas and it is very cold here! I decided to come to Zacatecas to spend my two day break from school after some of my own research, plus a recommendation from my brother. I had heard many good things about the town and they were all true. I am loving it here! When I first arrived at the hostal I am staying at, I began talking with the owner and she remembered my brother and sister in law from a few months ago when they came through the area. That was very cool! So far, I have been to several museums and to an old mine. The mine, which is no longer in use, was the workplace of many slaves, child and adult, for many centruries-- up until the 1970´s. Its main product was silver, although some quartz can be found. I have also been to the top of a great big hill by teleferico (cable car) called Cerro de la Bufa. Zacatecas was one of the first cities in the world to have this service available to its citizens and it has some amazing views! This famed hill is supposedly where Pancho Villa fought and defeated a large army. I am very glad I came here and am sad to have to leave tomorrow.

Just a few of the 3000 masks inside this amazing museum! (There are 7000 more masks in storage. WOW!)

A look at the mine as we start the descent to the 4th of the 7 floors.

Its hard to believe that I have so little time left in Mexico. I cant wait to see what adventures the next week and a half bring though!

Hello Hello From Mexico!!!

2009-11-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

Hello again from Guadalajara!

I am still having a fabulous time here in Mexico and I am learning a lot!

I am continuing to teach lots of Guided Reading Groups in my class, as well as other math and reading lessons. This past week I taught a lesson on honeybees and then we made honeybee puppets out of paper bags. The students loved their puppets!

Also, last week we got to do Reading Buddies with a fourth grade class. It was amazing to see how much the kids loved reading with the older students. It was also really fun to hear the 4th graders giving the first graders reading tips!

Each year around this time, ASFG holds an ArtFest, in which the school displays student work, alongside the work of professional artists. Then, they have an auction and sell the artwork. I am excited to experience this and see all the artwork around the schoolgrounds. In addition, the students get to attend special art presentations all week long. So far, my class has been to a puppet show and another play.

Although Thanksgiving is not celebrated in Mexico, ASFG gives its students and staff a Thanksgiving break due to its affiliation with the US and the number of staff members that come from the US. So next week will be a very short week and we have all sorts of Thanksgiving lessons and festivities planned to teach the students about the holiday. I can't wait to see how it all turns out!

This past weekend was a long weekend for Mexico. Schools were closed Monday to celebrate the Mexican Revolution. So, I got to travel with my new friend, Clancy, and Danna, the teacher she lives with. We traveled about 4 hours south on a bus to a smaller town named Morelia. It was a beautiful colonial town. We spent some time walking around and exploring and had a great time! However, Morelia didnt give us quite the small town environment we had hoped for, so we decided to continue another hour south to an even smaller town named Patzcuaro. We absolutely loved it there! There were small shops and markets everywhere there, and the cobblestone streets were a nice touch too. I even made some pretty good bargains with the shop owners. We didnt want to leave!

The cathedral in the zocalo of Morelia. It took over a century to build!

A beautiful view of the street in Patzcuaro

Me hanging out with some leftover Day of the Dead decorations in Patzcuaro!!

I had hoped to continue travelling with Clancy while we are both in Guadalajara, but on Monday when we returned, Clancy had to go to the hospital. She has the dengue. I am still healthy, and I am hoping it stays that way.

One thing that I have to get used to here is that Guadalajara is not a very friendly city. Having traveled to many other destinations in Latin America, I am very used to everyone being friendly and treating you like family, no matter how much of a stranger you are. This is not the case here though and it makes for a very strange environment. It is a strange feeling to be in Latin America and to say that people aree not friendly.

Also, the weather here is crazy! In fact, it reminds me of Boone. Being that Guadalajara is the highlands of Mexico, it is very cold in the mornings, and then it is very hot in the afternoons. In fact, during the first days that I was here, it got down to about 4 derees Celsius every morning. That's not too cold for us, but for the Mexicans it's freezing! Its so funny to see everyone walking aroudn with their winter coats on. It's a good thing I brought my jacket!

Cant wait for the ArtFest this weekend!

Nos vemos amigos!

Saludos from Mexico!!

2009-11-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hello again!
This past week has been great and full of adventure!

I am, however, completely surrounded by lots of disease and sickness. An outbreak of head lice is finally on the decline at ASFG. However, the dengue is starting to go rampant in the city, and the flu is a problem too. Teachers at the school have had to create a contingency plan in the case that schools have to close... which is highly likely. The Mexican Government has said that they will under no circumstances close schools, but apparently whenever they say they will not do something, that really means they are going to do it. It's only a matter of time, and most believe that it will happen in the next few weeks.

I am starting to do a little more teaching now and I am really enjoying my school and my students. This past week I continued to Guided Reading Lessons almost everyday, as well as teaching a math lesson on ordinal numbers. One thing I really like about the American School is how low stress it is compared to schools in the States. The teachers and students are held to high standards, but the school day itself is not quite so daunting. Students at ASFG, a unviersity prep and bilingual school, actually receive 14 years of education before graduating, as well as the option of preschool beforehand. Students must complete Pre 1st Grade before they go to 1st. The math curriculum is followed per normal, but the reading and language curriculum for 1st grade students in the states is split between Pre-1st and 1st, allowing more time for English Language Acquisition to take place effectively. So, although I am teaching 1st graders, they are the age of my 2nd graders at Fox Road! My daily schedule includes about 2.5 hours of teaching time in the morning. The students have a Special and two recesses. At 12:30, the Spanish teacher comes and teaches for the rest of the day, allowing the classroom teacher some extra time to plan and get things done. The students are all very intelligent and I love seeing the work that they do. One of the things I love the most about being here is coming to school each day and hearing the beautiful sound of English and Spanish being spoken in the same room. It is music to my ears!

Last week, we began a unit on insects, and one day was focused on ladybugs. This was lots of fun and reminded me of my time at Fox Road ES, since my cooperating teacher's favorite animal was a ladybug and has her room decorated with them! Here are a few pictures of my beautiful children and their ladybug creations.

Look at this clever continuation of "The Grouchy Ladybug" by Eric Carle that one of my students wrote!

I usually really enjoy travelling alone. However, this past weekend, I tried to travel around a little, and quickly discovered that it was going to be much more difficult than I had anticipated. On Sunday, I first rode the bus dowtown, walked and walked trying to find the right bus station. Once I finally found it, I took a bus to San Juan Chapala, Ajijic, and Chapala- three very small towns about an hour from Guadalajara. These town are all on the edge of Lake Chapala. The lake was beautiful! They also had some absolutely gourgeous colonial churches in the zocalos/ city centers. The towns were really pretty, also. However, the normally adventurous Maria was a little too scared to go exploring and get too far off the beaten path as a lone female traveler.

Lake Chapala from the town of San Juan Cosala

The beautiful church in the zocalo of Ajijic

A view of the street in Chapala

Lucky for me, I have met two really nice people in the past few days. One girl, Sofia, lives with me. She is a Mexican student studying at the university. Hopefully she will be able to show me around some. Also, yesterday I met another girl, Clancy, who just arrived in Guadalajara from Canada on Sunday night. She will be working at ASFG doing something similar to myself for the next month. We exchanged contact info and hop to be travel buddies while we are both here. I was super excited to meet Clancy! Hopefully we will have had some great adventures togther before the next time I write!

Hasta la semana proxima!! Til next week!!

A Mountaineer in Mexico!

2009-11-04T15:38:00.000-08:00

Goodbye North Carolina!

Hello Guadalajara!

Things are going really well so far and I am liking it here, although I must admit that my time here has already been one adventure after the next. When I first arrived at my host home, Antonio, my host "father", asked me if I wanted to go to a party with him. This was at 12 pm. We got home at 8. Welcome to Mexican social life! I was very excited as this was a true Mexican fiesta. First, there was a mariachi band, then a belly dancer, and finally a banda, which played all night long while people danced and sang. There was also tons and tons of food-- peanuts, lots of meat, quesadillas, taquitos, beans, and lots of really yummy salsas. There was also lots of piña coladas, horchata, and agua de jamaica (hibiscus). That was Saturday.

What did I do on Sunday? I went to another party! This one began at 10 am and lasted until 8 pm. Lotas and lots of food and music were present once again. However, one of the foods we had at this party was menudo-- a soup of broth that has just about every pig part that someone in the United States wouldnt dare eat. It was interesting to say the least! At this party we played many hands of poker, as well as a game called Loteria. The fellowship and food was lots of fun to experience. Unfortunately, it was not an appropriate time to take pictures at either of these parties, although I would have LOVED to have had some. (I was able to sneak a few on Saturday, although they are not very good.)

On Monday, school was not in session, per a last minute decision by the Secretary of Education to give students a day to celebrate Day of the Dead. Although, this holiday is a dying tradition in some of the larger cities, it has been neat to see some of the altars people have set up outside their homes as I rode around town. Also, At ASFG, some of the students created two huge altares de muertos that were absolutely gorgeous, and people are still selling their leftover pan de muertos and sugar skulls on the streets.

Also, on Monday Antonio took me to figure out how to take the city bus to shool each day. It seemed really easy and I was pretty excited about getting to experience a huge part of the Latino culture in my everday life... until Tuesday morning came!

On Tuesday morning, I arrived at the bus stop a little before 7. I had to be at school between 730 and 8. Most of the buses come every 5 minutes or so... mine didnt. Ruta 24 only comes every 30 minutes. Also, if youve ever ridden a city bus in Central or South America, you know that there is always room for one more. Well, there is room for more in Guadalajara too... until the doors cant close anymore. So I waited, and the bus passed. I waited some more, and the bus passed again. And two more times this happened. I had been waitingfor almost two hours at this point, with a group of two other women and a man in the same situation. Each time we raced to the bus doors together, hoping to be one of the two or three that made it on. Finally, the man went and bought for us all to share, as we were headed in the same general direction. No, my mother would not approve, but I finally made it to school nonetheless.

There is tons more I could write about, but I´ll stop there for now!

I hope to be able to write about school and some of my experiences there next week. I have already started being in charge of some of the transition times in the classroom, and I have also taught some Guided Reading lessons. Also, once I have my credentials to enter the school, instead of wearing a visitor pass everyday, I will be able to take some pictures of the campus and the students!

(I would post more pictures, but this computer is being stubborn. Look at the ASU International Student Teaching Blog for more: http://blogs.rcoe.appstate.edu/projects/intstudteach_f09 )

Time Flies...

2009-08-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Sorry that I havent written in awhile... last week was so much busier than I ever anticipated that it could be. Let me just say, though, that God has been doing some really awesome stuff and I am so excited that I got to be a part of it this summer. I have loved being the leader of the 3rd and 4th graders over the past few weeks even though it has been very stressful at times. I have grown to love those kids in a way that I thought would never be possible and it has been so wonderful to see God working in their lives and changing them throughout the summer. I could write for hours and hours about the many ways I have seen this, but I just want to share with you one short example for now. I am sure more will come as I process all that God has allowed me to experience this summer.

Let's go back to the first few weeks of camp when Miss Maria was only known as the Lunch Lady and the Field Trip Lady... not as the leader of the Dolphins group. Each morning as the kids came into camp and got their breakfast, I always made to take time to have a short conversation with each child, hoping that this would help me build relationships with them even though I wasnt going to be around the kids very much. As relationships grew, many friendships were formed, trust was built, and some kids even let me them a hug before I handed their breakfast over. However, this was not the case with a young lady from the Dolphin group named Wilniya. Wilniya has lived a very difficult life thus far, and has a very hardened heart and personality. So on several occassions throughout the first three and a half weeks of camp, I would greet Wilniya with a pat on the back and say, "Good morning Wilniya! How are you today?" And each time, she would jerk her shoulder and in her raspy voice respond, "Don't touch me!" Sometimes I really began to think that there was no hope for this little. She was defiant and disrespectful in every way possible. When I became the Dolphins leader, things didnt get any better. She refused to do anything I asked and tried her hardest to make me lose my cool with her. If I got anywhere near her she would start yelling at me to get away from her and to quit following her around trying to get her in trouble. I was so frustrated with Wilniya. Im not sure words can even express how frustrated I was. I tried to let her know that I loved her very much just like all of the other children. That was hard to do though. Then, one day, I felt something squeezing me so hard around the waist that I could hardly breathe. I looked down and who was it? Wilniya. I think I just about went into shock when I saw her! This happened again several more times. Her behavior also began to really improve. She still had her days every now and then, but she really began to become a different child. One day during the last week of camp, she came up to me during breakfast and began to help me serve the other children. I simply couldnt believe what I was seeing: a once defiant and seemingly hopeless child who began to transfrm into a very sweet and respectful child full of hope. This wasnt just any hope my friends. I am convinced that God is doing huge things in Wilniya's life. He is forming her into a beautiful woman of God full of the hope that only He can offer. And I got to see and be a microscopic part of the process!

This past weekend I went on a trip with the TML Youth to Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay. We had a great time and it was so wonderful to get to spend some one on one time with them outside of the camp setting. They are an outstanding group of teens who are really learning what it means to live for Christ every day and becoming motivated to do their best in all that they do. I should mention that while in the park, I rode a roller coaster called the Sheikra, which goes 200 feet up in the air and has two 90 degree angle drops. So much fun! Before we left, one of the prayed a prayer which I thought was so simple, yet so profound... it has stuck with me ever since I heard it:

Dear God,
Thank you for waking us up today. Thank you for putting food on our table. Help keep us safe today. In Jesus' Name We Pray, Amen.

I am so sad yet so excited that I will be heading home tomorrow. I have loved Miami and Overtown. I also know that God has some awesome things in store for me this coming semester. I cant wait to find out what they are.

Please continue to pray for all of my fellow student missionaries as they finish out the summer and return to their college campuses to continue their ministry there.
Please continue to pray for the people of Overtown and for TML as they share the love of Christ with this needy community.

Get Up! Get Up! Get Your Praise On!

2009-07-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

Hello there friends! Its been awhile since I have been able to update.

The past week has been quite an adventure. Things are finally starting to settle back down a little after the shooting in Overtown, but this tragedy definitely took its toll on our children. Immediately after this event, there was a marked difference in their behavior. There still is, and I am afraid that this is something that these kids will continue to deal with for quite awhile. Although it is hard to have that extra bit of patience, grace, and compassion sometimes, I have learned a lot from the experience of having to dig way down deep and rely on God to find the strength to deal with this situation. I began to think though... It was so hard for me to give even a little extra patience and compassion to these children who needed it so badly. But each one of us IS that child to God. We are the ones who need the "extra patience and compassion" from God. No matter how much extra we need from God, He never ever runs out of patience and compassion for His children. If we are truly to be like Christ, oru patience and compassion toward others should never run out. We should have a never ending supply of it, overflowing out of our hearts for others.

So as I said before this week has been filled with adventure and it's funny how things happens sometimes. Here's the story... On Monday last week I was filling out my mid summer evaluation. One of the questions was, If you could change one thing about your experience what would you change? My response was something to this effect: "I wish I could spend a little more time with the kids at camp." As the saying goes... You get what you ask for. The next day, one of our interns had to return home suddenly. Because I am the only person who is trained to run the food service, I had to continue my old job, as well as taking on the job of being the leader of the 3rd and 4th Grade group of campers. To those of you who I asked to pray, Thank you so much! Your prayers were definitely felt. This group of campers, who have a reputation of being the worst behaved group at camp, was as angelic as anyone could have asked them to be for the entire week. There is only one word I can think of to describe this: miraculous! Last week could have been so disastrous, hectic, and stressful for me. But instead, I was able to handle all of my jobs without going completely crazy. All I can say is, GOD IS AWESOME!! So now I have 20 absolutely beautiful children to take care of for the remainder of the summer... and I am PUMPED about it!

God is really working in the children and teenagers of Overtown right now. He is daily increasing their hunger for the Word and their passion and desire to worship Him through song. Last week, our Music time had a bit of a HipHop/Gospel feel to it. The kids learned dances and lyrics to the music and were given CD's with all the music at the end of the week. This past weekend when I had the chance to take some kids on a special outing, that CD was all they wanted to listen to. Not only did they remember the dances and lyris they had learned, they also knew which songs corresponded to which track numbers. My favorite song says this... Get up! Get up! Get your praise on! You got a reason to lift up your hands! Hearing my kids sing this song over and over and over again made me smile the biggest smile you have ever seen made my heart feel the warmest its ever been. I Cant even begin to explain the feeling to you. It was music to my ears, and I know, without a doubt, that God was overjoyed to hear those little voices singing joyfully!

A few other side notes about this past week:

--I got to take four awesome kids to some Marlins games over the weekend. We got 17th row seats behind home plate and reserved parking! We treated them really special and had a great time!!
--I am really excited that I got to write a thousand + dollar check last Thursday on our field trip to the Seaquarium!
--I cant believe that my time in Miami is almost up. Sad day.
--I am taking a day trip to Key West this Saturday. Wooo!
--In case you havent heard, I went out on a boat last Saturday. I got 3rd degree sunburns from head to toe (literally), despite the fact I put on SPF 50 suncreen 3x. I was so burnt that I couldnt even walk without limping. Ouch.
--Sorry I am such a slacker and dont put up pictures on here. Honestly, I dont know how to and am too lazy to try to figure it out. Maybe if I find some motivation in the next few days, I will put up some super cute videos for you to see. :) Get excited!!

Please pray for:

--My team and I as we continue our ministry in Overtown
--A smooth transition for me as I continue to juggle two job positions at camp
--My fellow summer missions friends who are also getting ready to come back to NC
--the TML staff who will remain after we have gone back home

Grace and Peace.

Joy Comes in the Morning

2009-07-10T11:39:00.000-07:00

Words to describe this past week: rough, emotionally draining, sad, crazy, fun, awesome, awful, wonderful, devastating... REALLY??

Here is a short summary of the happenings:

On Monday morning, my team and I all got up, eager to start a new week with our kids. As I was driving the six of us to work, I noticed that there were police cars and crime scene tape ahead. We took a detour and wondered what in the world might have happened. The crime scene was about 5-6 blocks in area. We prayed. Not too long after that, the news came. Some folks had shot up a birthday party the night before. Twelve people were injured, but everyone seemed to be doing okay based on preliminary reports. Then, one victim died on Wednesday-- a 21 year female.

The week continued on and things started to get better... until this morning. The second shooting victim died.

(http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/breaking-news/story/1135777.html) He was a popular kid in the neighborhood, the boyfriend of an active TML teen, a star football player at the local high school. How much worse could things get?

Many of the teens who help run our day camp ended up going home for the day. The news was too much for them to swallow... too much for anyone to swallow. Many of the teens were at the party. Some were still there when the shooting happened. They are shaken. They are upset. They realize that any of the injured or dead just as easily could have been them.

This week has been a hard one for our kids, as well. Behavior problems and discipline issues were at an all time record high... during a week when my patience was already running low.

Its hard to make sense out of a tragedy like this. Its hard to make sense of it especially when it hits so close to home. Its hard to make sense of it when you look both to the left and straight ahead, and all you see is crime scene tape and people loooking on trying to figure out what just happened in their neighborhood.

Some people say that this is nothing new for Overtown. That everyone is used to stuff like this happening in the inner city. True. They are used to it, but that doesnt make it any easier to deal with. That doesnt make it any easier to lose a friend, a neighbor, a family member.

Thats why I am here though. I am here to be extra patient with children and teenagers, even when I dont think I have any patience left in me. I am here to give extra love to children and teenagers, even when I dont think I have any love left in me. I am here to encourage, support, and be the caring, kind, and compassionate face of Christ to the hurting, the grieving ,and the broken who surround. I am here to hurt, grieve, and be broken right along side those who are experiencing those emotions. And when someone rejoices or celebrates, I will rejoice and celebrate right along with them.

This is what the body of Christ does. We rejoice with one another in the good times, and we grieve with one another in the hard times.

Now is a time for grieving. But wait! Lets not forget... "Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I will say it again. Rejoice!"

So in the coming days, we will be grieving alongside the community of Overtown, but also ministering to and supporting them, reminding them that "joy will come in the morning", and reminding them of the healing power that can be found in Jesus Christ.

Please pray for the myself and the other TML staff members as we seek out an appropriate response to the events of this past week, and do our best to be Christ for those around us during a tough time.

(Still LOVING it here!!)

Grace and Peace.

Life in the Hood

2009-07-06T07:58:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Overtown.

Here's a link where you read about last night's adventure in Overtown. It happened one block away from the TML building where we have camp. Three whole blocks are still surrounded by crime scene tape.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/breaking-news/story/1129143.html

Pray for Overtown and TML.

And Justice for All?

2009-07-04T09:00:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I hope this finds you well. I am loving Miami and I am loving what I am doing! I truly believe that God has me right where He wants me for the summer, and although things aren't always easy, I am finding myself to be always filled to overflowing with the love of God. I just wanted to share with you, a conversation I had with a sixth grader at camp yesterday. I can't seem to get it off my mind.

This past week I was blessed by some wonderful help each morning as I did my daily breakfast duty. Her name was Angie. Yesterday morning, as I served breakfast, one of my favorite (oops! Youre not supposed to have those!) campers and children of God, Titi, came up and stood in between us with his hands wrapped around our shoulders. We carried on some casual "Hows the weather?" type conversation with him for a few minutes and then Angie began to ask Titi something about the shirt he had on. Since I was trying so diligently to make my tally marks at just the right angle to please the feds (not kidding. they care.) I tuned the conversation out for a few minutes, content knowing that Titi was being given the attention he deserved. Upon reentering the conversation this is what I hear...

Angie: You know what happens when you go the swamp dont ya?
Titi: (shaking head) Nope.
Me: You get eaten by a gator?!?
Titi: You knows what happens when you come to Overtown?
(Angie and I throw out all kinds of answers trying to find the right one. Fail.)
Me: Oh Titi! Is this some kind of silly riddle youre telling us?
Titi: You get shot.

You get shot? To some this answer may seem exxagerated and shocking, but others know full well that this answer is the all too common reality of life for Titi and the other children of Overtown, Enderly Park in Charlotte, Waco Texas, East St, Louis Illinois, and the other unnnamed inner city areas and pockets of poverty that are becoming all too common right in our own backyards. Please dont tell me that allowing children, teenagers, or any other person for that matter, to live under these conditions is just. Where is the "justice for all" that America has promised. I dont see it. If allowing these children and their families to continue in the cycle of poverty that they were born into or found themsleves wrapped up in is just, then I wonder what "unjust" conditions look like. And whats worse? Our federal government cares more about whether I follow the crazy rules of their food service program (see previous post) than they do about actually giving people the empowering assistance that they need to get back on their feet.

This is why Touching Miami with Love, Mission Waco, Hyaets, the CAC, and many other unnamed ministries and charirable organizations exist- to share with others the love of Christ and the freedom that can be found in that unimaginable love, and to loosen the chains of injustice that plague our society in order to be able to better share the freedom that can be found in Jesus Christ with those around us. We cant simply sit back, say that we support a certain ministry, and expect them to bear our portion of the workload for us. We ALL have to do our part. Until then, injustice will remain a part of our country and world, and the name of Jesus Christ will continue to be unheard of in the marginalized parts of the Earth.

Complacency is NOT an option.

(This post probably seems a little incomplete... because it is! Another post will follow which explores the Christian response to the poor and what the Bible says about this issue. This is something that I have been thinking on a lot lately, and hope my thoughts have raised some questions in you mind, as well.)

Please pray for:

--the people of Overtown

--people who live in poverty all over the world

--TML and other ministries who work to advocate for and empower the poor.

Grace and Peace.

That's Just Ridiculous...

2009-06-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

I am having a fabulous time down here in Miami. We have now completed three days of camp and although it has been a VERY stressful three days, I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have enjoyed some of those minutes moreso than others, but I have enjoyed them all to some extent.

So now that I am have been doing my job for awhile, here's what I do...

One of my primary jobs is to take care of the lunch and breakfasts that the children receive each day through a federal program. A community is eligible to receive this free lunch program if over half of the students in the area receive free/reduced lunch during the school year. Well... in Overtown, EVERY student gets free lunch at school. Wow. Thats an astounding statistic. So we all know that federal programs have ridiculous rules... we just dont ever know how ridiculous they are until we are thet ones that have to follow them. This past Thursday I had to attend a 2 hour training session in order to be able to serve the food to the children. 2 HOURS?!?!? I didnt realize that serving food was that complicated. Really? So here are just a few of the ridiculous rules with which I am forced to comply each morning at 8:30 am and 11:30 am, and my interpretations:
1. The food servicer may not begin until the time posted on your application and may not end until the time posted on your application. This means that if start serving breakfast at 8:28, our food service will be discontinued for a week. INTERPRETATION: We dont care if you have a hungry child that shows up late for camp. We care more about you following our rules than we do about the well being of a child.
2. Every child must be served every component of a meal. They may not take part of a meal and leave the other part at the serving area. We dont really care whether or not they want the carton of milk. They are gonna take because we say they are. Non compliance in this rule will result in the discontinuation of your food service for one week.
3. Because of "budget cuts", no child may receive a second serving of food. Even if there is leftover food, no one can eat it... not even the 20 hungry people that are too old to receive the lunch. Non compliance with this rule will result in the discontinuation of your food service for one week. INTERPRETATION: We enjoy watching you waste food every day. What we enjoy even more, though, is watching those children come up to you and ask for another peach, and then you telling them no even though there are still 44 peaches in the box. Dont let the food go to a good cause. Let it sit in your refrigerator and rot.

Besides those crazy rules, I must stand at the end of the serving line, verify that each component of the meal is there, and literally mark a box each time a child comes through the line.

Another part of my job is coordinating field trips. Last week, I was calling to confirm them all... have I ever mentioned how much I hate talking on the phone? ha. I called one place, and after I explained why I was calling, the woman said that we had no reservation there. WHAT do mean we have NO RESERVATION? You should also know that this wasnt the only place where I called and this happened.

So, as you can see, much of my job is behind the scenes, office type work. I must admit that it is very depressing that I do not get to spend much time with the kids here, and its really easy to get down about that... Here I am sitting in the office while my fellow interns are having fun playing with their group of kids. I realize, though, that this camp could not go on if there were no one to do the jobs that I do. The kids wouldn't have food and and they wouldn't get to go somewhere special every Thursday. Someone has to do it. Why should I think that I am too good to do the jobs that no one else wants to do. Several years ago, I would have told you that I had a servant's heart. Lately, I dont think that has been so true in my life. I pray that this experience will help me to regain the servant's heart that I once had, and that ance again, I would be just as happy to be behind the scenes as I am to be on stage. At first I didnt think my job was that important... now I am finding that it is so important and I and finding more and more joy in doing it every single day... even on the days when our lunch delivery guy doesnt show up until 1.5 hours after our serving time.

Just think though... at the end of the day, what could be more fulfilling than to know that you helped to provide 2 nourishing meals to a hungry child who may not have had food otherwise and that you helped give a child what may be the only opportunity they have ever had to exeprience life outside of the streets of Overtown? Who am I to say that these jobs are simply menial, unimportant tasks? My eyes tell me otherwise. My eyes tell me that every single time I look at one of those children, I am looking at the image of God. That's pretty sweet! Getting to see 80 little images of God around me every single day. What greater joy could there be in life?!?!?!

On a side note, our mission team from Oxford Baptist Church has been super fun to hang out with this week... we got to go on a duck tour of Miami with them on Saturday... we have been to South Beach/Ocean Ave/Lincoln Road several times already (Hint: Going at night probably isnt a very good idea. It is not rated PG 13. It is not rated R... I will leave the rest to your imagination.)

There is much more I would love to sharewith you all and reflect upon pretty soon on here, and hope to be able to do that in the near future. However, we start working at 730 and end at 5, and there is no internet at our living quarters. I'll do my best!! As for now, I am off to our first Community Cookout. Then tomorrow is field trip day... ChuckECheese here I come!!!!

Please continue to pray for:
- rest, strength, patience
- unity and community among our team
- that our mission teams would be changed through their experience at TML
- that we would see Jesus Christ in our 80 campers every day
- that our 80 campers would see Jesus Christ in us every day
- my fellow summer missions friends all over the world

Grace and Peace :)

Ohhhh Miami!!

2009-06-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hello friends! I am finally here in Miami and I am having a blast so far!! However, please know that my Internet access and free time to get on the Internet whenever I do have free time are both extremely sparse. So, I wont be able to update you all as often as I had hoped, but I will do my best to give an update when the opportunity arises.

So far, my team and I are having an awesome time getting to know one another and immersing ourselves into the culture of Miami and Overtown. Although Overtown is a part of Miami, the culture is so different that it seems like two completely different places. If you've ever wanted to go to Puerto Rico but dont want to cross an ocean to get there, Miami is your place. I am pretty sure I wouldnt know the difference if no one had told me. The people are extremely friendly, the weather is very tropical, and there are many Spanish signs around the city. On the other hand, Overtown is a predominantly African American neighborhood. (I have already used my Spanish on several occassions though!!!)

My team and I have been determining what each of our roles will be throughout the summer over the past few days. Because of how many of us there are, as well as a sudden decision by one of our interns not to join us this summer, I have actually taken on the role of Assistant Camp Director instead of being in charge of one of the age groups. I am not exactly sure of everything that entails yet, but I know that God has prepared me specially for whatever may be in store for me. It should be a great challenge and I am looking forward to it!

On Sunday, Amanda, Colby, and I went to the Christ Fellowship Dowtown Mission and shared breakfast, supper, and worship with the homeless. It was a great experience! Rather than volunteering and helping to serve, we simply sat with the people, talked with them, and did everything they did. I met some really great folks and I hope to be able to go back and share that time with them again. As I sat and observed the things around me, I began to think about what I had challenged myself to this summer- seeing Christ in those that I meet. One man I met, Benjamin, really helped me begin to put this concept into practice. He told me about his life on the streets and how he had made several trips through jail in his life. But he also told me about how he had finally discovered that violence and drugs were not the way to solve his life's problems. Ever since he discovered that, he has stayed true to his vow to not ever return down that path, and has also made it his job to help his fellow friends to discover this as well. As he listened to those around him talking about fights they had been involved in, he questioned them and talked to them about why they felt it necessary to fight and tried to help them find another way to resolve their problems. I found this to be very admirable, and I feel that I was truly able to see Christ in Benjamin through hearing his story and seeing the impact he has on those around him. It was really interesting for me to compare this church with Church Under the Bridge. Of course there are positives and negatives you can find in everything, but I feel that seeing these two ministries is helping me to better grasp onto my own ideas and thoughts about ministry to the poor and homeless, as well in reflecting on what Jesus has to say about this topic.

It has also been exciting to visit some of the places around Miami where I may have the opportunity to visit frequently. My team and I have been able to start some awesome conversations with cashiers we have met in stores. Whenever we start talking to these people, it is like they have just been waiting for someone to talk to--someone to listen to them-- someone to act interested in who they are. I hope that we are able to go back to those places and continue those relationships even though we will be so busy with summer camp during the day.

Today, a church came and had a Summer Kick-Off Party for the neighborhood. There was nail painting, face painting, crafts, cookie decorating, basketball, and lots of energy in the air. It was awesome to see everyone interacting and playing together just like they had known one another all their lives. I am excited to see this energy carried over into Summer Camp every week this summer.

A few important side notes:

1. I have already located Pollo Tropical. I am looking forward to a taste of Puerto Rico!

2. People's Drug in Overtown has some sick nasty soul food!

Please pray for: the mission teams that are coming to Overtown to run Summer Camp, the children who will be attending Summer Camp, that God would open doors for us to share his love all over Overtown and Miami.

Grace and Peace.

Seeing and Being?

2009-06-10T21:11:00.000-07:00

Many of you may be wondering about the title I have given my blog, "Seeing and Being". The following post is my rambling thoughts about this topic and my focus/goal for my summer in Miami. Hopefully, it makes sense!! :)

This title simply refers to God's command for each and every one of us as we live life daily. I think that all God commands of us in the Scriptures could be summed in two simple statements: 1) Look for Jesus Christ in all things by which you are surrounded. 2) Be Jesus Christ for all of those by which you are surrounded. Just think... Wouldn't the world be a much more peaceful place if everyone lived by these principles? I certainly think so.

This is a theme that I have been thinking about for quite some time. It enters my mind occassionally, and it re-enetered my mind as we talked about this very principle at our Orientation session in Birmingham, AL last week.

Here's the issue. It's really easy for us, as Christians, to focus a lot on being Christ for others. We talk about it all of the time. I mean, isn't this essentially the main or underlying theme for many of the Bible Studies we attend? The concept is nothing new for us. There has not ever been a mission trip I have attended where I haven't heard the "You are here to represent Christ." sermon. I don't want to give the impression that this is a bad thing. It's not! It is crucially important that we be reminded of this as often as possible.

However, I would like to pose a question. We, as humans, are creatures of habit. We learn things from someone modeling them for us. Doesn't a young child spend much time mimicking his parents and the people around him? And isn't the same true in our daily Christian walk? How can we be Christ for someone if we haven't ever seen Christ in someone else? How are we supposed to be Christ for someone if we haven't ever taken the time to observe what is around us and find Christ in his very own marvelous creations? We could just open up our Bible and read about the nature of Christ and what it looks like, as well as what fruits should be present in our lives in order to be Christ for another person. In fact, we should do this... a lot! After all, Christ is the most perfect example we have to follow. But doesn't a real, physical illustration- something that you can see- make everything that much more real for us? Doesn't it help a concept that you've read about or talked about become that much more real to you? Although Christ may present himself in different ways through each person that He has created, I believe that I can learn from others, even though Christ in them will look drastically different from Christ in me.

This is something I am going to challenge myself to do this summer. I would like to challenge you, wherever you are, to do it as well:
Take some time and try to focus on SEEING Christ in those by which you are surrounded. Don't just talk about it. Really do it!

I dont want to become so focused on BEING Christ for those around me, that I forget to look for Him. I hope that this will: 1) Help me begin to live seeing Christ in others at all times. 2) Become a better example of Christ around me.

Here are the lyrics to the song "Face of Christ" by Chris Rice. They are sure to make you think.

He shares a room outside with a dozen other guys
And the only roof he knows is that sometimes starry sky
A tattered sleeping bag on a concrete slab is his bed
And it's too cold to talk tonight
So I just sit with him instead and think

(Chorus)
How did I find myself in a better place
I can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face.
Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the eye
I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing
With the face of Christ

After sixteen years in a cold, gray prison yard
Somehow his heart is soft, but keeping simple faith is hard
He lays his Bible open on the table next to me
And as I hear his humble prayer
I feel his longing to be free someday

(Chorus)

See you had no choice which day you would be born
Or the color of your skin, or what planet you'd be on
Would your mind be strong, would your eyes be blue or brown
Whether daddy would be rich, or if momma stuck around at all

So if you find yourself in a better place
You can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
You gotta stoop down low, look him square in the eye
And get a funny feeling, 'cause you might be dealing ...

How did I find myself in a better place
I can't look down on the frown on the other guy's face
'Cause when I stoop down low, look him square in the eye
I get a funny feeling, I just might be dealing
With the face of Christ

Please continue to pray for the community of Overtown and the people that I will be working with. Pray that I would be able to see Christ in them, and that I would be able to be Christ for them. Also, please continue to pray for the students that God has placed all over the world this summer (a short list can be found at the bottom of my first post!!).

Grace and Peace!

MIAMI, FL!!!

2009-06-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

I must warn you... Im not much of a blogger. I decided to start this blog upon the requests of like 2, 598, 356 people to do so. I also started it so that I would have a way to process the things I experience this summer. I promise to do my best to keep it updated frequently. Now, on to more important things!

One of the passions that God has given me is a passion for the poor and marginalized people of society. I first began to discover this passion as I watched my brothers minister to the people of places like East St. Louis, IL and Hamtramck, MI. However, it wasnt until I spent a summer at MissionWaco in Waco, TX that this passion truly started becoming my own. It was Waco that I learned, firsthand, what it feels like to be poor. I also learned how much the Bible says about loving and serving the poor, as well as how to be an advocate for the poor in my own community. After serving at MissionWaco, I just couldnt get that experience out of my head. Three years later, I still cant. I think about how it has impacted my life and the way I choose to live it every single day.

So now, three years later, God has presented me with the opportunity to serve in Miami, FL for the summer with Touching Miami with Love. I will be doing urban ministries in a neighborhood called Overtown (This community has a very interesting history. I reccommend that you research it if this type of thing interests you.), which is a predominantly African American community. My primary job will be to help run a children's day camp for children living in drug-infested and otherwise unsafe households. I will be working alongside my six teammates: Bo, Colby, Amanda, Molly, Rebecca, and Joy. I am very excited that God has given me this opportunity and I cant wait to serve alongside this group of folks as we attempt to love on some kids and a community in need with the never ending love of Jesus Christ with which we are overflowing. I ask that you pray daily for myself and my team, the beautiful people whose paths we will cross everyday, and that God would give us a spirit of courage, humility, and unconditional love as we seek to listen God's still small voice in all that we do.

In closing, I am very excited to be just a small part of how God is using college students to make an eternal diference around the world this summer. I am stealing this idea from a few of my friends and placing a list of friends and fellow servants here for you to see. Please pray for these people daily:

Lauren Allen- Boone, NC
Gwen Arsenault- Newfoundland, Canada
Bruce Bentley- Los Angeles, California
Andrew Blakeley-NC and Canada
Nathan Bost-Malaysia
Thomas Chavez-Los Angeles, California
Randall Dameron- All over NC
Mandy Henderson-Kenya
Lyndsey Herring- Alaska
Megan Keith-Sanford, NC
Josh Littlejohn-Los Angeles, California
Amanda Mitchell- NC and Canada
Kelsey Morris-Los Angeles, California
Storm Stewart- Los Angeles, California
Luke Summey-Los Angeles, California
Katherine Wiggins- Johannesburg, South Africa
Rebekah Street- Perry County, AL
Amber Myers- Perry County, AL
Carson Foushee- Uganda
Abby Pratt- Uganda
Anna- Uganda