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.""