Video Post

I put together this video to send to churches and supporters. These clips were taken this first week of school of my new class of 3 and 4 year olds. Enjoy!!

A fun science activity

Some of my favorite activities to do with the kids are activities outside. This past week we took magnifying glasses outside to look at all the different leaves on the trees around the school

Then we took the leaves inside and made crayon rubbings of our findings
It was a great activity, as the kids love to be outside as well. And I loved seeing their surprise and excitement as the image of the leaf showed up on their paper. That's what I love about teaching: the wonder and excitement of discovery.

End of the year Pics

next post..... graduation!!!

Cultures Collide

This past team I had the pleasure of not only working with a new team of American students, but also a group of Korean students. A group came from a church in Michigan with a group of mainly Korean exchange students. It was so fun for me to learn a little about Korean culture and I loved listening to them speak Korean amongst themselves. They were great students with amazing hearts for service. The kids at school especially enjoyed when they taught them how to write their names in Korean! Here we are with our names in Korean
Here is Chang Woo writing our names in Korean

My unofficial summer intern

Meet Abby.

Abby is the daughter of one of our Colombian staff members, Daisy, who works at the women's social work site. I invited Abby to come and help me out this summer in my class. She was a huge blessing to me as she is a native Spanish speaker and was able to be a big help to me in my class. And the surprise blessing came when I realized that she was also very fluent in English! She integrated herself right in with the summer teams of Americans that came and went every two weeks. I am so thankful for Abby's willingness to give up her summer vacation to help me and my kids and serve the Lord with her talents and love for children.

Thanks Abby!!!

VBS

Summer is winding down here is Mata Gorda. Both the teachers and the kids were feeling like we needed to change things up here at the school So we decided to put on a VBS for the kids. It was pretty simple, but turned out to be so much fun. The kids split into three groups and rotated throughout the day doing art activities, playing sports and learning a Bible story.


The best part of each day was the end when we would quiz the kids on the memory verse of the day. We had a sound system set up and the kids loved talking in the microphone. It was very entertaining watching the kids stumble through the verses, but even sweeter hearing the Word of God come out of these kids' mouths. I was reminded of Psalm 119:11 that says "I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You." Essentially that is our goal: to teach these kids God's word so that they might choose to follow Him. It was a sweet reminder of the eternal impact of every little thing that we do.

Meri Payano

Meri is the assistant in my classroom. She lives in Mata Gorda right next to our little school. She has been living in the community of Mata Gorda for about 9 years. She came to know the Lord soon after she moved to the community through the work of the local church in Mata Gorda. She has grown into an amazing woman of God and a great mother. She has three children, Frankely, Frannis, and Melany who all attend our school (Frankely has graduated and moved onto the public school). She is an amazing help in my classroom as she works one on one with students who need special help. I am so tahnkful for Meri's hard work in my class and also for her friendship.

Please pray for Meri also when you think of me in prayer. Pray for her financial situation, as her family is one of the poorest in the community. Pray for her education, as she is currently taking classes in the University studying to be a teacher. And most importantly, pray for her husband, who has yet to come to know the Lord.