Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Rest

"We must be wholly at rest that God may work in us; we must yield our will; we must resign our heart; we must give up all our fleshly desires. In short, we must rest from all activities of our own contriving, so that, having God working in us (Heb. 13:21), we may repose [rest] in Him (Heb. 4:9)..."

John Calvin

Sunday, June 11, 2006

Phew!

I apologize profusely for the lack of blogs! I need to make sure I do it for 10 minutes a week or something, but the past three weeks have been SOOO full...of everything!

Here are some of the highlights: :)
June 1: Surprise birthday party
My students threw me the most beautiful surprise party ever! Actually, it is the only surprise birthday party I've ever had....which made it even better! (My birthday is June 22, but we're not in school. ) It was sooo sweet because they really did surprise me, and they had planned it ALL on their own, down to the last details of collecting their allowance money and throwing balloons at me! :) We shared a special time together.


June 2: Field Trip to the Children's Cancer Center
My students decided that for their field trip, they'd like to do a service project to the locial hospital to visit the children in the cancer center. I was so encouraged by their enthusiasm and excitement for this event; they were so full of love and compassion! We collected used clothes and shoes, books, crayons, and snack food to share with them. Loaded up with stickers (including on our faces), balloons, and our supplies, we spent the morning reading, sharing, listening, and playing games with the children. Some of my students spent time in the intensive care ward while others spent time with the day-treatment children.
Although it was hard for some of them to see the suffering, it was very special/important to the children there. I was very encouraged by the entire process and look forward to building a long-term relationship between the school and the children's cancer center!

June 8: Visiting my Sponor Child, Victor
This is Victor Moises, my sponsor child at Nueva Esperanza (here with his teacher). It finally worked out for me to go down and meet him and his family. He is a very sweet and bright young four-year-old. :) It was very special to meet his Mom, two sisters, and his brother and to visit their tiny house-shelter. It once again reminded me of the needs in Honduras and of the incredible opportunity I have to share with and encouarge others. I'm excited to spend more time with his family next year! :)

June 11: Choir Concert
I have been part of a staff choir this year, and we held a joint Sunday afternoon concert with the choir from the local Spanish church. It was so fun and beautiful to hear the different music. I love any opportunity to sing! :)))

More on the end of school, 6th grade promotion, etc. later.
:)
Thanks for your patience!