The Christmas Mouse

‘Twas three nights before Christmas and all the through the house,

Not a creature was stirring, except for a mouse.

We named him Stuart; he was grey and fat,

And when I walked in the kitchen, there he sat.

He ran for the counters, the window, then stove;

He crawled in somewhere--nobody knows.

We waited with angst for him to appear;

For the tiniest movement, we waited with fear.

Then with a groan the stove started to slide;

We screamed, ran for cover, and all tried to hide.

Then it dawned on us, mice can’t move stoves!

So within a moment, laughter came in droves.

The mouse is still hiding; we hope he soon finds the door,

Because if we find him, we will settle the score.

17 Kilometers...6 hours...1 volcano

Ok, I know some of you have been waiting for this post for a week, so I am finally posting it. Last week I volunteered to climb to the rim of a dormant volcano and then walk around the rim all the way to the summit of 2800 meters (1.7 miles) above sea level. I may have been slightly insane to have thought this was a good idea. The thing was that although everyone else who had done it said they were in so much pain the next day and that it was so hard, they all said it was worth it to see what the Great Rift Valley looked like from the summit. So I decided to give it a go (especially since it only cost about $7). So I, along with about 11 other people, boarded a bus at 7:30 in the morning and drove out into the Great Rift Valley to Mt. Longonot. I decided early on that I was going to take my time and not try to keep up with everyone else (even though it is slightly terrifying to be alone since the Rift Valley is home to water buffalo, giraffe, lions, and leopards among other things!). Another staff member from the school, Lori, was kind enough to stick with me throughout the journey. She had already climbed this mountain a few weeks ago because she is preparing to hike Mt. Kenya in just a few days. This was her training. As soon as we started walking I knew that this was going to be one of the most physically challenging hikes of my life because not only was I going to have to climb to an altitude that makes you feel like you are breathing through a straw, but it was also extremely hot (since it is summer here in Kenya). To top it off, imagine that you have to climb in those conditions up a mountain made of sand. See, volcanic rock is a very soft rock that tends to crumble beneath you. After many years of people hiking this same path up to the top, the ground has become what almost looks like sand. If you step up a foot, you slide back 6 inches. You feel like you aren't getting anywhere. We would climb about 20 feet and then need to rest because our muscles were sore and our lungs were burning. It was going to be a very long day! After hiking for over an hour (that felt like 5), Lori and I finally made it to the rim! It was gorgeous up there to be able to look out over the valley. There is this tiny little hut when you reach the top that is a great place to sit and eat. It is also a great motivational tool as you can see it while you are hiking and it helps you to know how much further you have to go. Lori and I took some pictures and then had a seat in this little hut to eat our lunches. Just as we get settled, the Athletic Director from our school, Drew, comes sprinting passed us. Now, I don't know about you, but when I have just barely made it to the top of a volcano, you think that some who can sprint it must be insane! He sits down and says he made it around the rim in just over an hour. This guy is a marathon runner, so we knew that comparing ourselves to him would be pointless. We just decided to finish our lunches and then take our time to walk around the rim. As we walked, Lori and I talked about what it might look like if this place was in the US. First, it would have guard rails so you don't fall over the edge. Second, they probably would have turned it into a tourist attraction in which you could take a gandala to the top where there would be a restaurant with super expensive food. Lucky for us, Kenya has left this place as natural as possible. It took us over an hour to make it half way if that gives you any indication of how much better in shape Drew was than we were. But again, I reminded myself that i didn't need to be the first person done, or even the eighth person done. I just wanted to finish it for myself to prove I could. By the time we made it to the summit (the half way point) I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to finish. It was beautiful up there, but looking at how far I still had to go and then knowing that I had to climb back down the mountain, well let's just say I was doing a lot of praying (I may have also sang Miley Cyrus's song "The Climb" in my head to keep me moving...don't judge). I thought to myself, well at least it is all down hill from here, so it must be easier than climbing up. Boy was I wrong. I was reminded of an excursion that I took while in Australia. We had gone to some giant sand dunes and took these pieces of polished wood and went sand sledding. It sounds fun, but it is slightly terrifying. Hiking down from the summit of this mountain was very similar to that. Imagine skiing on sand with just your sneakers on. I slipped and slid almost the whole way down that first hill. At one point it was so bad that I had to sit and slide down for fear of falling over the edge and into the crater. When I was about 3/4 of the way around the rim, Lori decided to just keep hiking and not take breaks. I decided to hang back and just take my time. Just as I saw Lori, from afar, about to reach the hut and head down the mountain, some giant storm clouds started to form overhead. I thought that if I didn't pick up the pace I was about to be soaked with some freezing cold rain. Rain in Kenya is very cold because of the high altitude. The drops are also very big most of the time and can be painful if it is raining hard. Miraculously the rain held off for the rest of my hike. By the time I finally reached the hut I didn't think I was going to be able to make it down the mountain. Many of you know that I have some issues with my knees. I was wearing my knee brace, but it didn't seem to help much. I thought for sure my knees were going to give out and I wouldn't be able to hike down the rest of the way. My feet and toes also began to hurt from sliding down the mountain so many times. Your feet slide to the front of your shoes no matter how tightly they are tied because it is so steep. About half way down the mountain I caught up with another member from our group. She was also in pain and was just very tired and hungry. We stuck together until we made it back to the bus. Even with stretching, I was sore for a few days. My knees have yet to go a day without some sort of pain in them, but they are getting better slowly. I may be crazy, but in a few minutes I am actually going to go jog/walk 3 miles (Paul, they didn't give me my number to pin to my shirt yet, but I am working on it!). This is my life in Kenya :)

Prayer Requests:
- For my friend Tina. She is going to South Africa in a few weeks to do an internship there. Pray for financial help for her and for an easy transition to life in SA.
- For my friends who are doing missions in China, Mexico, and many other places around the world.
- For the people of Connecticut. My prayers are with the families who lost children in the shootings yesterday.
- For finances to be able to bring a student from our school who is an orphan to the US this summer. (Contact me if you would like to donate toward this trip my roommate and I are gifting her with.)
- For safe travels for my parents as they come to visit me for Christmas and for my brother to survive 18 days on his own :)

Verse of Encouragement:

“But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of this father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:30-33

It's beginning to look a lot like.....summer?

There has only ever been one other time in my life that I was in a tropical climate during the holidays. We went to Mexico for a family vacation and I decided I never wanted to be away from the cold weather during this time of year again. Being in Kenya this Christmastime has not changed my mind. I know so many people in the US are thinking, "Are you crazy?! 85 degrees and sunny with very little humidity and you aren't happy?" Yes, the weather is beautiful here, but it is really hard to get in the Christmas spirit when it isn't cold. Having grown up in a place where I have actually woken up to a snowy Christmas morning, makes it very difficult to believe it is really December here in Kenya. Last week Lancaster got it's first snow and I made my mom carry the computer outside during our Skype session so that I could see it. Anyone who really knows me will know how much I love snow! I also got a video of the snow from Ginny Bailey and I have it saved on my computer so I can watch it whenever I want. Even with these things though, I still have a hard time wrapping my mind around the fact that Christmas is in just a few weeks. Some of the businesses have put up Christmas lights and there are even fake trees for sale in Nakumatt. There is Christmas music playing everywhere and we attended a Christmas craft fair this weekend to buy gifts like ornaments and nativity scenes. But it still doesn't feel like the holiday season is here. I told my roommate, Jenn, yesterday that sometimes, if I can't see through any windows, I imagine that it might be snowing. The burst of hot air through the doorway quickly takes that image away. My parents are coming to visit in 3 weeks and I am happy that I will at least get to spend the holiday with some of my family members.We will be going on a lot of day trips while they are here and will also be going for a 3 day safari. This will be my first safari as well, so I think it will be a good time.

Thanksgiving was a few days ago and although I had been sick for the 6 days leading up to Thanksgiving day, I decided to still go on a trip I had planned to Diani, a beach on the coast of Kenya. I was still a little worn out when I got there, but after a few days in the sun (with a LOT of sunscreen) and some ocean waves, I was feeling much better. I mostly spent the 4 day vacation by the pool/ocean relaxing and swimming. I did however get to go on an amazing glass bottom boat and snorkeling tour. I have had the opportunity to snorkel in some amazing places around the world, including the Great Barrier Reef, but this was by far the coolest snorkeling I have done. The guides brought some sea-creatures onto the boat for us to hold. There was a red star fish, something called a pillow star fish, some sea spiders, and two different kinds of sea urchins. The sea spider was the most interesting one to me because it looked like a star fish with spikes that crawled like an octopus. It was really cool. When we got in the water to snorkel, we also saw a sea snake, a lion fish, some clown fish, and a few eels. I even got to hold and feed the eel. It was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever done! Afterward, we went to a sand bar in the middle of the ocean and played around and took some pictures. What I have failed to mention is that although this was the coolest trip ever, we may or may not have felt like we were being captured by pirates. When the van picked us up in the morning, the guy told us to leave our keys at the front desk. We politely declined and said we would keep them. He then told us that the place we were going was not the usual place that they take people to, and if they asked, we were with another hotel. When we arrived, the gate guard asked only one question; "The yellow boat?" We then proceeded to walk through an abandoned resort out to the ocean where 4 glass bottom boats waited. Obviously it all ended ok, but we were a little skeptical for a while. One of the members of our group had even come up with couple different plans in his head of how to kill our tour guide if needed. After we returned to the resort, I decided to go wind surfing with 3 other teachers in the Indian Ocean. The same tour guide that took us snorkeling was the instructor, so I had a little more trust for him now that I knew he wouldn't kidnap us. Wind surfing is by far one of the most mentally and physically challenging sports I have ever tried. Not only do you have to balance on the board, but you also need to shuffle in a circle around the sail, have enough energy and strength to hold the sail, be able to turn the sail in the correct direction so that the wind catches it, and learn how to steer. The added challenge for us was not to fall into the water where the hundreds of poisonous sea urchins were sitting on the coral. It took about an hour, but I finally figured out the basics and was even able to sail back to the resort on my own. It was definitely worth the experience! At the end of the trip I really didn't want to return to Nairobi, and neither did my friend Danielle. So we decided to scope out some resorts that were for sale in the area. We decided on a  place that would be big enough to hold the restaurant that we plan to open some day and it even had a swimming pool with a life size cement elephant! The cost was only 12 million US dollars, so if any of you want to contribute, we will surely allow you to come visit for a few nights for free :)
We returned on Sunday from the beach, and on Monday returned to school. It was quite the week! We had the middle and high school Christmas concert on Wednesday night and I played 3 songs on drum kit. Then on Thursday we found out that the matatus (like taxi vans that are part of mass transit and used by most Kenyans to get to work) were on strike and rioting because they don't like the new traffic laws that came out last week. They are not happy about the licensing process or the severity of the fines/jail time for traffic violations. This was a major problem for our school because many of our Kenyan staff members get to school through this form of transportation. At the end of the day we were even told that we might not have school on Friday because of these riots. We were still able to open on Friday, and everyone made it to school and back safely. On Thursday we also had slight scare when the schools director came on the intercom and gave the signal for a lock down. This is always scary in Kenya because of the violence that does occur here. After about a minute the power went out for a few seconds and then it came back on. Finally, after about 4 minutes the director came back on and thanked us for our quick response and said that the lock down occurred because a 4-5 foot tall baboon had wandered onto campus and had become agitated when he got shocked during his attempt to climb the electric fence to escape. We had to turn the power out to allow him to get over the wall. Needless to say, we were happy that was the only reason for the lock down.
There are only two more weeks of school left before Christmas break, so my students and I are planning some fun activities. We will be having a Mexican Fiesta this week with the ESL class next door, and the following week we will be baking a ton of Christmas cookies!  I look forward to seeing where the next semester will take my class.
Thank you all for your love and support. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Prayer Requests:
- I have a returning student starting in January. Please be praying for his transition into my classroom (especially since he will be the only boy!)
- For more students at our school. Our enrollment is down this year.
- For health among our staff and students.
- for safe travels for my parents over the holidays when they come to visit me.

Verse of Encouragement:
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of compassion and the God of all comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:3

Spirit Week

Another two weeks have passed in the blink of an eye. First quarter is over and parent-teacher conferences are this week. Even though things have been very busy around here and sometimes a little stressful, we have been having some fun too! Last week was spirit week at school. We had a blast, but I sure am glad it is only once a year! I don't think I could dress up every day and still be able to get other work done. Each day of the week had a different theme, and it was really funny to see how people dressed up! Monday was senior citizen day. This was probably my favorite day of the week because the kids looked so adorable! Even the pre-schoolers dressed up like senior citizens. Tuesday was book day. We could dress like our favorite book character, author, or even the book itself. I was dressed as the scare crow from the Wizard of Oz and a bunch of other teachers played the other characters. One of my favorite costumes was our Art teacher's. She dressed like a character from the comic book series made by Roy Lichtenstein. She had red dots all over her face and the kids had no idea who she was! Wednesday was fairy tale day. I dressed as the big bad wolf and my students dressed as the three little pigs. The costumes were all very cute that day as well. Thursday was our last day of the week because we had Friday off of school. Thursday was country day at school and each classroom picked a different country to study about and dress like. Our class did Australia. I dressed in an Australian rugby jersey (sorry Bryce Taylor), and surfer shorts. We made Aboriginal drawings and turned them into didgeridoos. We also tried Vegemite, which my students were not fans of, and watched Finding Nemo since it takes place in Australia. Our door was decorated with paper boomerangs with our names on them, and we practiced saying "g'day mate!"  My favorite part of the day was when I remembered that platypuses were native to Australia and we looked up pictures of 'Perry the Platypus' from 'Phineas and Ferb.' Those who know me well know that 'Phineas and Ferb' is one of my favorite kids shows! Overall it was a fun day.
Since we had off school on Friday, we decided to have a 'Harry Potter' movie marathon. We got through the first five movies and just had a blast hanging out (and eating :) ). Saturday I went to Rift Valley Academy with the tennis team to compete, and then got sushi for dinner with one of the other tennis coaches. Sunday was church and then I mostly just did work for the rest of the day. I also decided on Sunday to start a Facebook and Pinterest fast because I have been spending way too much time on those sites. I wont be on for at least a week. Luckily that gave me enough time to write this blog post :)
One of my prayer requests for this blog will be to pray about upcoming decisions. I need to decide by December 1st if I will be renewing my contract here in Kenya. I have an idea about what I am going to do, but please still be praying for wisdom and guidance. Thank you to those who have been giving me Godly advice and been praying for me already. I love you all!

Prayer Requests:
- Parent-Teacher conferences this week to go smoothly
- For God's will to be revealed to me about the decision I have to make
- For the staff and students at our school to be healed of their ailments! We have some nasty coughs and colds going around. And for protection for those of us who aren't sick now.
- For my friends who are doing missions all around the world right now (including those in the US!)

Verse of Encouragement:
1 Peter 3:8-12 "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For,
"Whoever would love life
and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
and their lips from deceitful speech.
They must turn from evil and do good
they must seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.""
   

Just another Kenyan moment to laugh at :)

I'm doing better! I think it has only been a week since my last blog...or something like that. I really am trying to blog more often, just please be patient with me as I attempt to juggle 50 things at once!
I thought I would do a post about our weekend staff retreat and then tell you a funny story about mixing languages.
Last week we had a half day of school on Thursday and a full day off on Friday. We have a staff retreat every year in the first few months of school, and this weekend happened to be when it was scheduled. We had the opportunity to go to a beautiful retreat center about an hour outside of Nairobi called Brackenhurst. This retreat center is geared toward missionaries and is amazing! The property is comprised of hundreds of different types of plants that attract different types of birds. There are beautiful brightly colored flowers, and everything is just so green! The retreat center is set right in the heart of Kenyan tea country. Kenya is the largest exporter of tea in the world, and this area is where a lot of it comes from. There are rolling hills of bright green tea plants as far as you can see. While at the retreat center we got to go on an excursion to see the tea farms and learn a little bit about their history. We visited with an older English woman who has a beautiful property and house right in the middle of her tea farm that was started by her grandfather in the early 1900's. She told us all about the growing of tea and how you have to pick it a certain way, and then explained the entire process of how you go from the tea leaf to the tea bags you buy in the store. It was so fascinating. I seriously could have listened to her for hours! I think the most fascinating thing I learned is that all tea comes from the same plant. Black tea is made by chopping up the leaves and stem and then heating it to a high temperature. Green tea is just dried the way it is and is not chopped up. White tea comes from only the bud of a new leaf that is forming on the plant. It was all just so interesting. She also prepared a wonderful lunch for us and even had homemade ice cream for dessert made with cream from her cows. A man who works for her gave us a tour of the land and took us into the forested area that used to be what the land looked like before tea was brought there. After the tea farm visit we just mostly relaxed and ate delicious American style food at the Brackenhurst cafe. I decided to try their version of the "Philly Cheesesteak." It was of course nothing like the cheesesteaks in Philly, but it wasn't terrible. I also got to skype with my cousin Emily while I was there and that made my week. I haven't gotten to talk to her for quite a long time since neither of us live in Lancaster anymore. Overall it was a super relaxing weekend and I will be going back the first chance I get!
Ok, on to the funny story. So in Kenya we use British English which can sometimes trip us up. For example, the trunk of the car is called the boot, french fries are called chips, chips are called crisps, and napkins are called serviettes. Now, the one that trips us up the most is that pants are called trousers, and underwear are called pants. This makes for some very awkward situations if you use the wrong term...of course I did this the other day. You would think that after living here for a year I would remember, but somehow I forgot. I was rushed yesterday as I was getting ready for school, and I had to write our house-help a note to do laundry for me (yes we have someone do laundry for us, but it is not because we are lazy. we are giving them a job and helping to improve the economy.). I wrote on the note, "Please do the laundry in the basket next to the washer. Line dry towels, shirts, and pants. Put other clothes in dryer." When I got home from school I went to see if there were clothes in the dryer because sometimes our house help doesn't fold and put stuff away if she doesn't have time. To my surprise, my khakis were in the dryer. My first thought was "Why did she dry my pants in the dryer?!" It was only at that moment did I realize what I had done. I pretty much burst out laughing in the laundry room and then went to search for my "pants" which had been line dried. It was quite a cultural experience, but it made me laugh. Hopefully, if you ever go to a former British colony, you will remember this story and save yourself the embarrassment :)
 One more funny story before I finish up. I have three students and they are all so awesome and soooo funny. My coworkers are always talking about what these three girls say. They get sarcasm so well and use it even better. Yesterday, one of my students was so tired she couldn't keep her eyes open. I decided to take all three girls outside to run a few laps on the basketball court so that they could wake up. This student was angry that I made her stay awake, so she just walked in circles and glared at me :) After returning to the classroom and doing some work, that same student started to fall asleep again. My teacher's aid asked her if she needed more exercise. She said "I don't need exercise, I already ran!". I replied with "You didn't run, you walked!" to which she responded "It's called slow motion baby!" I pretty much just laughed for 5 minutes. I am so grateful for students who make me laugh!

Prayer Requests:
- Please be praying for me for some decision making that I will need to be making soon (I will e-mail some of you specifics about this).
- Please pray for better financial situations this month. Last month I had to get our dog spayed and it took a quarter of my paycheck...this month should be better.
-Please be praying for my friends who are serving in missions all around the world (Germany, China, Mexico, different parts of the US, and others). Pray for transitions for them and their kids if they have them. Also pray for good friendships and relationships to be built in their host country. I know from experience that relationships can make or break a missionary.
- For Kenya- we have had a lot of grenade attacks in different parts of Kenya recently. Pray for peace.

Verse of Encouragement:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

The beginning of year two!

Ok, I know I haven’t posted for almost two months. My goal was to continue trying to post every two weeks like I did the second half of the year last year, but it just didn’t happen. Things have been busier this year than they were last year and when I do have “free time,” I am usually just too exhausted to do anything! Another week is almost over (we have a day and a half off this week!) and I can’t figure out where the time went. I still have to finish my lesson plans for next week, but I figured I could take a few minutes to update you all on my life.

                The school year is starting off well. I am teaching Life Skills Special Education. I absolutely love working with my three girls. I think my favorite part of working with children with special needs is the excitement in a new goal being met. It’s almost like you can see the light bulb go off in their heads. You can work on something for days and finally it will just click and you can see the student’s excitement when they know they finally get it. My class is designed to help students learn independent living skills in conjunction with their school work. We have been doing a cooking and sewing program while also learning math, reading, writing, science, and social studies. We practice things like how to purchase things at the grocery store when we are making a meal. We also sell sodas during some lunches each week to raise money for the 8^th grade trip. This also helps us to practice making change and using money. I have been so busy because this job also requires a lot of individualized attention for each student. There really are no breaks throughout the day except for 20 minutes at lunch recess. To keep the girls updated with technology, they each have a blog where they post about a topic that I give them. This gives them the opportunity to express themselves and also learn more about social networking which keeps them up to date with what their peers are doing to help them better relate to other kids their age. Overall, I enjoy working in this classroom and can’t wait to see how much more these kids grow throughout the school year!

                As far as outside-of-school activities go, my life is pretty busy as well. I am taking Swahili classes every Monday after school. Tuesday and Thursday a group of teachers get together to do worship and practice for staff devotions on Fridays. On Saturday afternoons I practice with my church’s worship team for Sunday morning services. I play drums for both worship teams. It is giving me the opportunity to practice and improve on what I have already learned. It also helps to relieve some of the stress from the week. I mean, I get to hit things and worship God at the same time; you can’t really get a better stress reliever than that!  I am coaching tennis again this year and practices are 4 days a week. The students have been practicing so hard and have improved so much over the last year. Finally, on Wednesday afternoons, my roommate Kristin and I are tutoring some students at our school who come from an orphanage. We are helping them to improve their grades by catching them up on things they have missed, or helping them understand things that are confusing to them in class. They are really sweet kids and we love having them around!

                Last week I decided to take two days off school and go visit Dorothy Dulo in her village in Alendu, Kenya. Dorothy and her husband Roger are missionaries from Worship Center who run an organization and ministry called Rafiki Africa Foundation (http://www.rafikiafrica.org/). Through this organization they minister to the people from Dorothy’s village in the western part of Kenya. They have a Christian school that ministers mostly to an orphaned population. Almost all of the students at their school are sponsored to be there by supporters from around the world. They also have a women’s program that focuses on improving the sustainability of a community by training the women in things like tailoring, business management, farming, and other job skills. It also provides a place for the women to share and find healing through Christ. When I went last week I had the opportunity to work with the women and girls. I sat in on a women’s meeting where they discussed the rights of women in Kenya. They talked about their rights to shelter, food, having an opinion, and to being loved. These women are so strong! I also had the opportunity to talk to a group of girls from the school, Lighthouse Academy. I decided to talk to them about being a light in their homes, community, and school since that is our theme at our school this year as well. The girls asked a lot of good questions about the bible that kept me on my toes! Finally, we were able to do a small health clinic for the women. My pharmacy skills came in handy when I got put in charge of dispensing medication. We got to serve about 40 women by providing much needed medication for many ailments. One of the members of the group that was in the village with me was Lisa Landis from WJTL, a Christian radio station in Lancaster. She was there to help promote Rafiki Africa. She did a lot of voice recordings of all different things that happened on the trip. Dannette was another woman from my church in Lancaster that came on the trip. She was there to help teach the women some tailoring skills to be able to sew the student uniforms. It was so nice to have some familiar faces around! Finally, there was a couple from another organization, Decent Life Volunteers (http://decentlife.org/), who were also on the team. They were awesome to meet and hang out with as well! They have hearts for people all around the world! One thing that I haven’t mentioned yet was the craziness that surrounded this trip. As relaxing as it is to be in the village, there were some crazy moments as well. On night one we had a bat in the house that was dive-bombing our heads. We called a Masai guard to take it out. On night two we had a baby black mamba in the house. We called 3 people to take it out. One night three we had a mouse in the house…we just let him stay. On day three we had a car accident in Kisumu, and on day four, my last day, we had a flat tire. It was quite the eventful trip as you can see. Even amongst all the craziness, I would go back in a heartbeat! It was a good reminder as to why I came back to Kenya in the first place.

                Ok, I think I have typed enough for today. I want to thank you all for your mercy and grace as I try to get back into the swing of things!

Prayer Requests:
- For the women and children at Rafiki Africa to find sponsors. They are in need of a lot, so if you think you can set aside a few dollars a month to help them out, please visit their website (http://www.rafikiafrica.org/)
- For myself and my students at school. Just be in prayer for the school year.
- For me to find ways to readjust better to the culture. This year has been harder than last year to be away from home.

Verse of Encouragment:
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”

SHINE

     On Tuesday night I returned to Kenya from the US. As much as I am missing my family and friends in America, it definitely feels good to be back. I really missed some things around here, like my church family. I was greeted with a lot of hugs and "Karibu tena Kenya" (Welcome again to Kenya) this morning at church. This was followed by "Are you going to play the drums now?" They just can't wait to get me playing for worship, regardless of the fact that I have told them I have never played this kind of music before on kit. Prayers would be appreciated!
     On Thursday I was able to go into my classroom for a few hours to try to get some work done. There is a lot to do in that room! They painted this summer, so the furniture is all over the place. I am looking forward to getting it set up and ready for my students. Speaking of students, last time I posted, I had mentioned that I would be teaching life skills special education. Because of a lot of different reasons, my class size has reduced itself to 2 students! I will have two girls, one in elementary, and one in middle school. I was sad to see the other students go, but I am looking forward to hearing what God has in store for them and their families. I am also looking forward to giving the two students in my class more individualized instruction. How often does a teach get this type of an opportunity?! I feel very blessed. We have also added a great group of new teachers this year! I have not gotten to know all of them very well yet, but they are all very excited to minister to our kids. I can't wait to see how much our kids grow this year.

     Something else I am very thankful for this year is that I can get the Living Room (the young adults group from my church in the states) messages on iTunes! I am so thankful to be able to listen to the messages that I am missing while I am gone. In fact, I am listening to one right now. :) This summer really helped me to realize how much I had been drained over the last year. It was great to be filled up again this summer and to be encouraged by so many people from Living Room. I was especially thankful for the group of people that prayed for me the night before I left. It really helped me to feel so much better about leaving and I seriously can't thank you enough! You are an amazing group of people that are not only ready to change the people in your place of work, but ready to change your communities, Lancaster, and the rest of the world. I am praying for all of you who are leaving for Mexico tomorrow and can't wait to hear your testimonies! God is going to do amazing things!

     This brings me to the title of my post, SHINE. A few weeks ago, I bought a t-shirt to help support the Mexico missions team. The shirt says "Let it shine" and has a picture of a big sun with a city behind it. I really loved the shirt, and also loved supporting the group of people going to Mexico. Flash-forward to Thursday morning in Kenya. The director of our school got up and announced the theme for our school year, shine! I was so excited to see God lining up these things in my life. It brought together two of my worlds that sometimes feel so far apart. This year we will be focusing on letting God's light shine on our campus. I can't wait to see our campus lit up and on fire for God!

Prayer Requests:

- For myself, the other teachers in the school, and the students to have a great first week of school

- For the Mexico missions team from Living Room

- For God's light to be spread throughout Kenya

Verse Of Encouragement:

"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16

Winding Down

      I apologize again for the delay in posting. It has been a busy and challenging few weeks. Here is a quick update about what has been going on:
Spring Break~ During spring break, Kristin and I spent a large amount of time planning activities to do with some of the kids from the orphanage. We went bowling (which they had never heard of!), got ice cream, and spoiled them rotten with Easter gifts! We have decided to semi-adopt them. We can't legally adopt them because single females can't adopt boys, but we are doing what we can to give them the family experiences that they haven't had.
      The other part of my spring break was spent hanging out with the group from Turkey as well as our friend Tonya who was visiting from our school in Ghana. We went on safari with the group from turkey and saw three young lions (two female, one male). They were hunting, but we didn't get to see any kills. Later that same day we went to Crescent Island again to walk with the giraffes, wildebeest, and zebra. That will seriously never get old! It was a relaxing break and no one was ready to get back to work.

     Since spring break, it has been life as usual. Teaching has been challenging the last few weeks because the students are looking forward to break and the rains have finally come. This means that they are inside much more often than before. I feel like I am rushing to get through the last of the curriculum which I guess is typical for a first year teacher. It takes some time to figure it all out.
     Two weeks ago, Jenn and I went "up-country" to the town of Kericho for a Women's Conference with our church. It was great to get to know the women from our church a little better, but it was definitely an experience in Kenyan culture! Jenn and I happened to be the only two white people there. This brought about some entertaining moments! On the first day we had Ugali for dinner. Every person who walked passed us stopped to stare and see if we were actually going to eat this traditional Kenyan dish. Little did they know, our Kenyan diet in November prepared us well for this retreat :) There was also a photographer at the retreat to take pictures of the groups from different churches and whoever else wanted their photo taken. We had some women come up to us and ask if we would take a picture with them. We called it "photo opp with the wazungu." Finally, on our last day there, the leader of the conference was thanking all the people who had helped make the conference possible. At the end, she thanked "the girls from America." After three days with ice cold showers (there was only hot water at 4am...) and foam mattress beds, it felt nice to be home. It was a really good experience, however, especially to see more of the Kenyan culture.
     I finished up the after-school program last week. I had been coaching softball and t-ball for the last few weeks to the elementary school students. They did a fabulous job! I was so proud of them and can't wait to do it again next year (or maybe get a program started :) ). My roommate Lisa helped me out considerably with softball and I could not have done it without her!
     In the last week I have gotten to go to the movies twice. We saw Hunger Games and The Avengers (that's right, we got The Avengers before the US!). They were both excellent movies! What makes them even more excellent is that I paid less than $8 to see the movie and get popcorn and a drink! I also got my hair cut when we had off school yesterday for Kenya's Labor Day.
    The only other exciting thing that I can think of is when we got invaded by termites when rainy season started. We had hundreds of termites flying around our car-port area and about 30 came in the house. It was like playing baseball with a flyswatter! They have huge wings and tend to dive-bomb your head when you least expect it. If you missed the video, check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=364703176905238 .
     Thank you for your continued prayers. The year is winding down and with only 17 days of school left, I can't believe the time went so fast! I am looking forward to coming home for a few weeks this summer and getting to see my friends and family. If you want to meet up with me, shoot me an e-mail or facebook message!

Prayer Requests:
- finances
- for a good ending to the school year. Help us to finish well.
- for everyone preparing to travel back to the US for the summer or for good.

Verse Of Encouragement:
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." ~ Psalm 51:10

I bless the rains down in Africa!

     I apologize for the late post. I got a little carried away with being on spring break and missed my deadline by 3 days. I hope you will all forgive me :)
     The Thursday and Friday after my last post were half days at school. We had parent-teacher conferences both of those days. I was happy to have the parents of 15 f my 20 students show up for conferences. I got to meet a few new parents and chat with a few I have met before. I also got a chocolate bar from one parent and a cake from another just to "help me get through conferences." The parents of my classroom are awesome. They are very involved in helping their child to succeed.
     On Friday and Saturday the school theater class put on a play that they have been practicing for all year. The presented Neil Simon's "Fools." The play is a comedy about a town in Russia that has been cursed with foolishness and ignorance. A school master must come and educate a young girl in the village within 24 hours of his arrival or else he himself will become cursed. Of course the school master falls in love with the girl and the story has a happy ending. The students did a phenomenal job presenting this play! I had a blast helping with costumes and am now on a sewing kick thanks to this show :)
     On Saturday before we went to the play, two other teachers and I went to the orphanage to visit with the kids. We played with the babies for about an hour and then got a "tour" of campus from one of the kids that we know pretty well. It was more like a wild goose chase, but we went along with it anyway :) I love going to this orphanage, but it can be really hard sometimes to see how many kids are without families. My roommate Kristin and I are working on taking a few of the kids on excursions and just hanging out with them to get them out of the orphanage for a few hours.
     This final week before spring break was a typical week of school. No crazy stories or funny comments were made. On Friday night I went to the airport with one of the teachers, Gari, to pick up a group of students and teachers from our sister school in Turkey. They were initially supposed to arrive at 1:40am, and the flight got so delayed that they only got to the bus at 4:45am. Needless to say, I did not get very much sleep that night. It has been great getting to know some of the students and teachers. One of the teachers will be our new science teacher next year, so it has been fun to talk to her.
     On Saturday I went downtown with some of the other teachers to buy fabric for skirts and dresses. I got a black and white patterned fabric, one with teal and brown, some striped Kikoy, and a piece or fabric that I will use as a wall hanging that has a picture of Africa on it. Overall, I would say it was a successful day.
    Today we took a trip over to Village Market which is pretty much just an outdoor shopping mall. It has a water-slide, bowling alley, mini golf course, and movie theater. It is probably the most Americanized place I have been to here. Kristin and I saw the movie "This Means War." It was pretty funny, and we were the only two people in the theater, so it was a blast! The events of the rest of this week are mostly yet to be determined, but I will update when I figure them all out :)
    Finally, the reason for the title of this blog post is because we made it rain yesterday. And when I say we made it rain, I mean that we have absolutely no control over the weather, but wish we did ;). Jenn decided yesterday that it needed to rain. Rainy season was supposed to start weeks ago but it never came. It has been so dry and we have had sore throats from the dust. So Jenn and I made a "Rain Dance" playlist on Jenn's computer. We played it non-stop for about 2 hours while our friends were visiting. When they were leaving, they yelled back into the house "It is raining!!!" And sure enough, it was. In fact, it poured for the next 3 hours :) We then played the Toto song, "Africa," on loop for most of the night. So happy that the dust has finally settled. Thanking the Lord that it is finally rainy season!

Prayer Requests:
- Safety for all the people traveling during spring break.
- Finances
- Continued  rain

Verse of Encouragement:
"Jesus said to him, ' If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.'" ~ Mark 9:23

I was born this way...

     The last week and a half has flown by incredibly quickly! I don't even really know where my time was spent, but somehow I made it to today :) After my last post we mostly just had a typical week of school. Many people ask me about wild and crazy things that they think I am doing here in Kenya. Sometimes my life is a little wild and crazy while I am petting elephants and walking with giraffes and zebras. However, on most weeks I am just a typical teacher. I don't do anything different than a teacher in the states would do (except relate everything I teach to Kenyan culture). I also get to share God with my students which I would also not do in the states if I was teaching at a public school.
     On Friday last week we hosted the Junior/Senior banquet (Similar to Prom) at our home. The banquet was Hollywood themed. Our yard was transformed into a beautiful outdoor room. There were caterers that set up beautiful tables served delicious food. Some of the other teachers at the school also helped to set up a red carpet, a photo booth, a Hollywood walk of fame, and a juice bar. Glittery stars and white lights hung from the tree branches and ceiling in our house. Glitter still covers much of our living room :) I had the opportunity to play a celebrity on our version of Hollywood Squares. I got to play Lady Gaga. I covered a dress in socks and had my friend Tara put a ton of makeup on me. I think Paul would probably have called me "Sparkles" that night. Tara played Snookie from Jersey Shore, and then other teachers played Bruce Willis, Ozzy Ozborne, Hilary Duff, Whoopie Goldberg, Angelina Jolie, and Lil' Wayne. We had so much fun and I think the students did also.
     After recovering from the banquet, I went to the doctor on Saturday morning to get a physical for my MDA camp application. As many of you know, I have not had the best luck with doctors in Kenya, so I was a little nervous about trying this new person. The doctor is from Australia, and she was so nice! She had awesome bedside manner and joked around with me about living here. I think I will continue to go to her whenever I am sick instead of the guy who tried to purposely give me a medicine I was allergic to.
     On Sunday, Jenn and I went to church. In my last post, I mistakenly called it Langata AGC, it is really Karen African Gospel Church (KAGC). It is located on Langata road which is why I was confused. Jenn and I signed up for a women's conference in April. We are excited to go and fellowship with some of the women from the church. We also went to a travel fair on Sunday to check out the prices of taking small trips around Kenya and into other parts of Africa. We found some great deals, but I don't think I am travelling anywhere until next school year.
    Last week we started the after school program for our elementary students. I am coaching softball and kickball which I am beyond excited about! It is so interesting to teach these students softball and kickball because they do not have either of those sports of baseball at our school. They have never really had the opportunity to play, so I am trying to gain interest so that we might be able to grow a program. I continue to brainwash my students into believing that the Phillies are the only team worth rooting for :)

Prayer Requests:
- Health for everyone at school. Students, teachers, and other staff are all falling ill.
- Continued finances for my trip home this summer.
- The after school programs to continue to go well
- Energy to make it through the next week and a half until spring break.
- Parent- Teacher Conferences this week.

Verse of Encouragement:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for  yourselves treasures in heave, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- Matthew 6:19-21

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

     Wow! What a week! This was probably one of the most fun weeks so far in Kenya. It was also probably one of the busiest. Spiritual Emphasis Week went really well, and my students really seemed to grow a lot. They have been begging to listen to worship music everyday instead of just 3 times a week. I think this week we will rearrange the schedule and see how it goes :) I have been working with 3 other teachers from the school to make the elementary worship more active. We have been doing hand motions and teaching them what it means to really worship God. It has been awesome to see the students really singing with everything they have! A pre-schooler and a 1st grade caught my attention this week during Spiritual Emphasis week. One was singing as loudly as she could, and another had her eyes closed and arms partially raised to praise God. How awesome it is to see such young children giving God all that they have!

      Last Friday we also got to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. The students split up into different classrooms where teachers read many different Dr. Seuss books. I read "Green Eggs and Ham" to the students who came to my room. I also read "Oh! The Places You'll Go" to my own students. After we had all read our stories, the entire elementary school filed down to the bandas (our lunch area), and got to listen to one of the middle school teachers read "Cat in the Hat." We finished off the day with lots of homemade cakes that were Dr. Seuss themed.
     I decided, this week, that my students really needed to learn some study skills as well as test taking skills. I learned a lot about their study habits, and encouraged them to change some of the things that they were doing. One thing that I really encouraged them to do was change their diets. Many of them were not eating foods or drinking drinks that will keep them at a good energy level. I also played a little trick on my kids during this unit. One of the things that I taught them was that they need to be sure they read the directions before answering a question. Many of them had been missing very important parts of directions on homework and losing points for it. I decided to give them a fake quiz. At the top it said "Read ENTIRE page before answering any questions." Then the paper had a list of funny things they had to do like put the paper on top of their head and then raise their hand for me to come sign it. At the very bottom of the paper, however, the paper said "Do not do anything on this page. Turn it over and watch the fun." Needless to say, the students were very upset that I made them look silly, but the point was to teach them how important it is to read the directions before doing anything else.
    Last weekend we hosted a baby shower at our house for a couple from our school who will be adopting a baby in the next couple weeks. We played games and had some awesome chocolate cake. The new parents were able to get some really awesome baby supplies. It is harder to prepare when you don't have the full 9 months! They now have almost everything they need.
     I also got to help make props and costumes last weekend for the school's play. I helped to sew some vests for the boys. The play is called "Fools." The whole thing reminded me of sewing season at Hempfield which I am missing very much right now! It really helped to be part of the sewing for this play to make me feel like I was at home (Even though I didn't have my second mom, Donna, around to keep me in line :) ).
       Yesterday we had a random day off of school. Our household decided to go to the elephant orphanage near our home. This orphanage helps raise baby elephants whose mothers were killed by poachers or who have abandoned them. We lined up with about a hundred other people and watched as they brought in a bunch of baby elephants ranging from 4 months to a few years old. They all drank out of bottles and then had fun playing in a mud hole that was provided for them to cool off in. I even got to pet the 4 month old elephant! His skin felt very rough and scratchy. It was so awesome! At the elephant orphanage they also have a very large black rhino. He is blind and can't be released into the wild, but he stays at the orphanage and they take very good care of him. How amazing it was to be within a few feet of these two amazing animals!
     After returning from the elephant orphanage, we had to take Ginger to the vet for a check up. She has had some problems with itching and with losing the fur on her legs. The vet determined it was a fungal infection on her skin. We have to give her a bath every 5 days along with some anti-biotics daily. Hopefully this will help her to recover quickly. The doctors were awesome with her. I was really impressed by the care they provided...even if they did bring all the treatments and shots out to the car to treat her :) What can I say...this it Africa!
     Today I went to the movie theater with a few of my roommates. We saw the movie "We Bought a Zoo." It was a good movie, and the experience was almost like being in a movie theater in the states. Evidently they usually have everyone sing the Kenyan national anthem before starting the movie, but I think because there was only one other person in the theater with us, they skipped it today. The movie was still done with a film projector, not digital. It was interesting because there was scratches on the film and you could also hear the clicking of the film rolling on the projector. I haven't heard that sound in so many years. Oh, and did I mention that a movie only cost about the equivalent of $4 here? A bag of popcorn is only $1. I think we will be going more often!
    Jenn and I have decided to attend the Langata African Gospel Church regularly. Last weekend I was really not feeling well, and so we decided to do home church. The worship pastor from the LAGC e-mailed us and said they were praying for me to feel better and that they missed seeing us that day. I am aware that we are the only two Wazungu (white people) in the church, but it was nice to know that they noticed that we were missing.

Prayer Requests:
- For my finances for coming home this summer
- For the couple who is adopting that the final paper work will come through this week
- For the overall health of our campus. We have had a lot of students and faculty with various illnesses lately.
- For the end of quarter and for parent-teacher conferences in 2 weeks.

Verse of Encouragement:
" I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of Your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:2

And now we will learn about the WNS test boycotts :)

     Sometimes, at night, I sit back and wonder, "Did my students really learn any of the stuff I taught them today?" Well, last week, I found out that not only have my students been paying attention, but they are able to apply their newly acquired knowledge to more than just the test itself. Every teacher's dream right?  My students decided that they would boycott their test last week on civil rights. I had to smile and be just a little bit proud of them for grasping what it was that we had been talking about for 2 weeks. While I humored them for a little while, I finally gave them an ultimatum. No test, no recess. They quickly sat down and removed their pencils from their supplies cases. This whole unit was an eye opener to me. I almost cried with joy a few times when I realized that these students are the products of a battle that so many people fought just a few decades ago. When students say things like "What do you mean I couldn't be in school with her because she is white and I am black?" it makes you realize that this generation of students doesn't see color of skin as any different than the color of the persons shirt. It just makes them who they are. Last week we also read a story about a young Korean girl who had to hide her gender because her mom wanted her to be educated. The story was written about a time in Korea when women were treated as less than men. We related the story to what we had been reading about in social studies. The students were fired up about both discrimination based on race and discrimination based on gender. I asked if they could think of anything that still encourages discrimination of gender today and when no one could think of anything, I asked them about colors of toys and clothing. They began to note that toys and clothing for girls are mostly pink, purple, pastels, etc; and clothing and toys for boys are blue and red and green. On student noted "People wearing clothes specific to gender is like racism against clothing." My goal with all of this is to get the kids thinking about how different things are for them and what issues they still face. It is interesting to me to see how they respond to what is going on around them.
     Tuesday this past week was Fasnacht Day, as most of you in Lancaster know :) For those of you who have never heard of Fasnacht Day, you are missing out! It is my favorite holiday based solely on the reason that it is the only holiday in which people celebrate a baked good. Now, I know that the point is not to celebrate the baked good itself, but it still makes me smile! Fasnacht Day is know by most of the rest of the world as "Fat Tuesday." It is the day before the first day of Lent in which all of your sugar and fats are supposed to be used up. Fasnachts are similar to donuts, however, they are traditionally made with potatoes. Luckily for me, all of the ingredients are readily accessible in Kenya, so I decided to make some! I found a recipe that said it made about 20. Now, I don't know about you, but whenever I read a recipe for a baked good and it says that it makes about 20, it really means 10-15 because they want you to make the size about half of what you really will make it. Well, evidently that is not the case for fasnachts. I ended up with almost 50 fasnachts! I just kept cutting them out and there was still more dough left. Needless to say, we had fasnachts for almost a whole week with 5 people in our house. We of course coated them with powdered sugar for extra flavor :)
     Over the weekend, my roommate, Kristin, and I went shopping for some things we needed. I bought a new pair of running sneakers that are so bright that I think that they might glow in the dark. For those of you who know me well, you will know that I am not really a runner. I try to get into it, but with my knee problems, I have just never enjoyed running and then being in pain the next day. However, I have decided to try jogging and walking with Kristin and Jenn every day after school. Even though we only started to jog today, I have to say, I kind of enjoyed it! I think it helps to have a jogging partner, which is something I have never had before.
     Kristin and I also bought a bunch of new and used books for our classrooms during our excursion this weekend. We found a really awesome books store in a mall about 20 minutes away that has hundreds of used books! We were so excited! I got 6 new books for my classroom and Kristin got a few for her's as well. The kids are so eager to get their hands on them! I love seeing kids eager to read :) This weekend I also started, and finished, The Hunger Games  book series. I loved reading them! If you have time to read, I highly recommend them!
     This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week at our school. We are setting aside extra time to have chapel every day and to pray for certain things each day. Yesterday the students prayed for other students at the school who may not be Christians. Today we prayed for families that are struggling, and for family members who aren't Christians. I love hearing my students pray, and I love that they WANT to pray! They are always asking for us to pray for them for all kinds of different things. This Friday we will also be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. We will be reading many of his books and having a party with all of the elementary school students! It should be a lot of fun!
     Finally, I just wanted to share that one of my students brought in a chameleon today as a class pet. He found it at his house and put it in a soda bottle with holes in it, added some leaves and brought it in. It was really cool, so I thought I would share. I love being able to see this kind of thing on a daily basis here! PS, it was smaller than my pinky finger!

Prayer Requests:
- Finances for myself and my coworkers as we prepare for traveling this summer.
- For Spiritual Emphasis Week at our school to help students grow in their knowledge of Christ.
- For the safe travel of the parents of the students in my class. Maybe are missionaries as well, and they travel much of the year.

Verse of Encouragement:
    "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19-21

Posting again already?! No way!

Hi everyone! I know, pigs must be flying because I am posting again in less than 10 days! I know many of you would like to have more updates, so I am going to try to post about every 10 days or so. Maybe my posts will be shorter then :) So here it goes...

Last week we had a Valentine's Day party in my classroom. It was a blast! The students all got to make bags to put their candy in as well as make cards with hand prints formed into a heart. The picture you see is one from Pintrest, but ours looked similar. We had cookies and soda, and more cookies and candy, and more sugar and then I sent them all home to their parents :)

Last week, my students read a story about baseball and I may or may not have brainwashed them to believe that the Phillies are the best baseball team on the planet. They learned quickly, from the White Sox loving 3rd grade teacher, that I may have been slightly biased. :) The week pretty much continued normally. I slowly regained back my strength from being sick and was able to get a lot of sleep to recover. On Friday night, two of my roommates and I babysat for the principal's three adorable children. I have never babysat with so many other adults! It was a fun time though. We watched Power Rangers with the kids, and it took me back to the good old days when I wanted to be the pink ranger :) After the kids went to bed, my roommates and I watched the first Lord of the Rings movie. I think we still have about 100 movies left on the list of movies I need to see. I was evidently sheltered growing up!

On Saturday, all four of my roommates and I went with a few of the other teachers to Crescent Island again. We got to walk with the animals like Doctor Dolittle (although I am still working on that talking thing :) ). Jenn got within about 10 feet of a giraffe before it noticed she was there. It was incredible! It drizzled all day, but it wasn't too bad until we were headed back to the bus. We got about 300 yards away and it started to downpour! It was the hardest rain I have ever been trapped in. I thought it was hailing because the drops hurt so badly! We finally made it back to the bus and just as we were about to leave, we saw a hippo out of the water! It was huge! We stayed clear of it though because they can get mean if they feel threatened. Finally, we headed back to school on a one hour bus ride, completely soaked. 

On Sunday, Jenn and I decided to go back to a church I had attended only once before, and she had attended twice. We really liked the service and the pastor. I think we may have finally found a church to attend regularly! Praise the Lord! After church we got the best ice cream we have had in Kenya. It almost tasted like home. We decided that we can get the ice cream whenever we want as long as we walk a 5K afterwards :)

Finally, I want to write about my finances. Some of you are supporting my monthly, and I am so grateful for that support! It helps with the day to day expenses like food, transportation, and rewards for my students. I am, however, in need of some one time donations if anyone is willing to help. The one time donations that were given at the beginning of my time here have been used for furniture, a car, and other start up costs. I would like to come home this summer, but plane ticket prices have gone up a few hundred dollars since I came home at Christmas. My goal is to raise $2000 before June in order to cover my plane ticket and have a small amount of money left over for gas and a few social outings while I am home for 7 weeks. If you are able to help with these costs, please e-mail me or message me on facebook so that I can talk to you about how to donate. You can also go to http://nics.org/Donate-start to donate anonymously. If you use the website, you can click on "single donation" and then select "missionary support" under the drop down menu for "destination." You can then type my name in the box provided. All donations done through the website are tax deductible. NICS does take out 8-10% of donations to support the home office. I am so thankful for all of you who pray for me every day and for those of you who are supporting me financially so that I am able to stay here and work with the students at WNS. I could not do this without you!

Prayer Requests:

- For the heath of the staff at the school. Everyone seems to be getting colds and stomach viruses like I had. Pray for healing for them please.

- For all of the teachers who are transitioning to or from Kenya this coming year. Pray for wisdom in decision making and for peace about the decisions they do make. 

Verse of Encouragement:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, I want to include a funny photo that I think many of you will enjoy :)

February

      We are 5 weeks into the new semester here at WNS. Time seems to be flying by so quickly! Students are growing both physically and spiritually. I love getting to see the gears turn and minds expand each day while I am teaching. I have 21 students this semester, and each of them is so unique. It's amazing how, at such a young age, you can see the potential in each student to become something great, even if they don't yet see it themselves. I try to remind my students every day that they have the passion, potential, and determination to do great things, but they have to choose if those great things are going to be good or bad. Each day I see them make choices and decide whether they were good or bad. 

      We started off the year talking about resolutions, and I broke the students into prayer groups. I asked them to pray for each other about a fruit of the Spirit that they thought they might need to work on this year. It was amazing how united the students became when they started praying for each other, not just as a whole class, but individually. The students have also started to do individual journaling every day. I give them a prompt that makes them think about themselves and who they are. The last two weeks in Chapel, we heard students and teachers give testimonies about what God has done in their lives. Afterwards, I asked my students to write about their stories. Their immediate reactions were to say "I don't have a story." or "God hasn't done anything big in my life." I reminded them that if they are a Christian, God has done some major things in their lives. Immediately, they went to work, and my room was silent for more than 10 minutes (which is not very common if you know how my classroom usually functions :) We like to have fun!). My goal is to help them to explore what they believe for themselves and not just follow the crowd.
     This week is Valentine's Day, and so my students and I read 1 Corinthians 13 to see what the Bible says about love. We then made a wreath to hang on our door. I had each student put their hand print on a piece of construction paper and then they wrote part of 1 Cor. 13 on the palm. As I was painting their hands to make the hand print, one very ticklish student said to me "This must be what buildings feel like....I feel really bad for buildings!" It made me laugh :)
     I have continued to do volunteer work on the weekends when I have time, and also find some time to have fun. Last weekend was Super Bowl weekend. Because we are 8 hours ahead of the East Coast, we were able to see the game at 2am. A bunch of the teachers got together at someone's house who had satellite cable, and we watched the game throughout the wee hours of the morning. It was quite the experience! Afterwards, we had a "southern breakfast." Those seem to happen a lot here with all of these southerners that I work with :) I have come to love biscuits and gravy, but I am still warming up to grits. Yesterday, I also went bowling for the first time at the one and only bowling alley (that I know of ) here in Nairobi. It was a lot of fun. The lanes are much skinnier and the pins are smaller, but it was still a blast! I also got to attend a soccer tournament that some of my students were participating in. They played so well and got 7th place out of 32 teams in their division. It really helped me to bond with some of the parents and students from my class. I think I will continue to try to go to some of their games because it was so much fun!
    This past week I was very sick with a bacterial infection in my stomach. The doctor told me it was food poisoning, but no one else at school or home was sick, and we all ate the same thing. 5 days later, I am still recovering, but I feel like I have more and more energy each day. I missed a day and a half of school due to being sick, but the one day that I was there this week, my students were so helpful and kind to me. They kept asking if I felt any better yet and telling me they were sorry that I was so sick.
     Friday night we also had our talent show at school. Although I was still not feeling great, I decided to go. I tried to keep an open mind knowing that it would not be the kind of show I have been accustomed to seeing at Hempfield. I was blown away! The students did an incredible job! They worked so hard to prepare some amazing acts! The finale to the show (not a contestant) was a group of 4 boys who did a break-dancing act that was incredible. My other favorite act was that of a student who "read" a poem that she wrote. I put read in quotes because reading doesn't always include as much passion and energy as this young woman put into her poem. She wrote a poem called "No Application Form" about disabilities. She talked about the fact that there is no application form for someone to get a disability, it is something they are given without ever asking for it. It was beautiful and she got a standing ovation from the audience.
     Overall, things are going well here. I am just taking every thing day by day and looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me at this school for the next year and possibly beyond. I thank each of you for your support as always. I miss all of you very much and can't wait to see you the next time I am home (dates to come soon :) ).

Prayer Requests:

- For continued spiritual growth in my classroom

- For my health to continue to get better

- For the 7 couples I know that got engaged in the last 3 months (seriously...there are 7 of them!). Just pray for their wedding plans to come together smoothly and for them to cherish this time together.

Verse of Encouragement:

"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12

A New Year

Hi everyone! I hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Day with your friends and families. I wanted to do a quick (and hopefully short) update for you all, so here it goes :)
In  November, Jenn and I finished our Kenyan diet and figured out that we had only spent about $25 for both of us to eat for the entire month! It was amazing to see how little we were able to live on! On Thanksgiving day we went to a coworker's house to have Thanksgiving lunch/dinner. It tasted so good after the Kenyan diet!! We had  a pretty traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. It was even more amazing that we were able to eat on time because the power was out the entire evening and night before Thanksgiving, so no one was able to prep anything. The last week of November or first few days of December we had a high school and middle school concert for band, orchestra, and chorus. I was asked to play drum kit for the chorus show. Even though I was a little out of practice I think I did alright, and I had a lot of fun.
In December we finally moved to the new house! It is beautiful here and feels like a resort to escape to after a long day at school. The landlord ended up putting in an additional bathroom, so we ended up with 4.5 baths! A few days before school ended, the school hired a new high school science teacher and we found out that she would be living with us in the new house. It will be a full house with 5 women, but I think we will be able to handle it :) December 12th was our last day of school and we had an Elementary Christmas concert as well as a class party. I got to play snare drum for a band piece that was being played. Evidently I am the only drummer at the school or something ;) At our class party I planned some minute to win it games for my students to play. Having never saw the show before, it took them a while to learn what to do, but they eventually got it. The parents that were there to celebrate with us really enjoyed watching the games. They were quite amused! That same evening, I caught a flight back to the US to spend time with my family and friends for the holidays. I was able to surprise most of my co-workers, even though some(...cough...Paul...) guessed I was coming home. It was great to be able to see everyone again. Being home was an interesting experience. I had some funny experiences like turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal while driving (our turn signal and wind shield wipers are on opposite sides here). My mom had to keep reminding me that in the US we drive on the right. I was so happy to get to see so many people while I was home, and I hope to see the rest of you when I come home in the summer.
Since arriving back in Kenya a little over a week ago, my roommates and I have gotten a puppy. We adopted her from the KSPCA and named her Ginger Snap. She is a mix of "kenyan dog" and maybe a boxer or german shepherd. We think she will be a medium sized dog. She is very well behaved and we have been working with her daily to get her socialized. While I was home over break I bought a zebra shaped dog toy for the dog I knew we would eventually get. She has been playing with it like crazy! She also loves the puppy treats that I brought back. We were hoping to train her to be a guard dog, but she seems to already have the natural instinct of one. The second night she was here she growled at our night guard because he put his hood on his coat up. I think we will keep her :)
I am so thankful for all of you and I can't wait to see you all this summer while I am home. One thing that will be changing for me next year is that I will not be teaching 4th grade anymore, but instead I will be teaching life skills special ed. I am so excited about this opportunity, and can't wait to get started! Please be praying for that in addition to these other requests:
- For my new roommates and I to figure out the best ways to live together. We not only have to learn each other's habits, likes, and dislikes, but also learn how to spend our finances wisely.
- For my students, and for myself for patience with them.
- For my supporters. I am so thankful that people are willing to help me to be used by God.

Verse of Encouragement:
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9