Ready & Willing

I am ready to go to Africa.
You were willing to send me.

Thank you to everyone who is helping me get to Kenya in few weeks (16 days to be exact!!!). I was completely overwhelmed with the outpouring of financial support from friends, family, and co-workers. God is SO good because He pressed upon your hearts to send me to do His work in a place that I love so very much! Thank you for responding to that call. I am very happy to report that I have ALL of my money raised and I am simply waiting on the day to arrive!!!! Isn't that exciting?!?! :)

Just a reminder that once we are on the trip we will be blogging at this address: http://kenyateam2012.blogspot.com/

A Renewed Desire

Summertime!!!!! It is FINALLY here! I wasn't sure that I'd make it, but I did! 

As I look back on my first year of teaching I am amazed. Amazed by God's goodness. Amazed by the amount of work it takes to be a teacher. Amazed at how expensive this career is. Amazed by all that I accomplished and all that I did not accomplish. Amazed by all of the knowledge that I thought I had but actually gained this year. Amazed that I juggled teaching about 7 subjects each day. Amazed by the wonderful 5th grade team of teachers the Lord gave me. Amazed by how the Father hand-picked 20 precious children for me to shepherd. Amazed at how quickly it went by and at how slowly it drug along. Amazed that I am finished and I live to tell about it. Amazed.

These past 10 months have been a challenge. Of course, all good things take work and sometimes a little heartache. And pretty much every teacher I know says that your first year is always the hardest. (I'm praying they aren't lying!!! ;)  I had moments when I questioned why the Lord had lead me to teaching. There are many reasons why I love being a teacher, but let's not lie, this is a stinkin' hard career! The Lord answered my prayers and re-affirmed His will for my life on the last day of school. 

The story begins about 1 year ago when I returned from Africa. I LOVED my time in Sudan but I wasn't sure how the Lord could really use me and my experiences there. I was expressing this frustration to God one day and I felt Him tell me that my job is to share my heart with the children who would soon be my students. Hmmm. How was this going to make a difference? But, I obeyed the Lord's direction and pretty much talked every day about my love for Africa, missions, and the fact that there are children all over the world who need a home, love, food, and the sweet saving grace of Jesus. I had no idea what impact this would have on the 20 kiddos the Lord let me lead each day, but I knew that this was what I was called to do. My class seemed pretty interested (They even raised about $500 to help feed orphans around the world!!!), but the tediousness of the job began to shake my confidence in my ability to make a difference. 

Fast forward to last Wednesday at our Christian Character Awards where I presented each student with a character quality and Bible verse that I believe describes them. This day was such a blessing for me because it allowed me to focus on each child and how the Lord has uniquely gifted them. What a blessing to be able to encourage these children to use their gifts to further the Kingdom!!! I also asked the students where they see themselves in 10 years. This was SO fun (and sometimes hilarious) and the parents loved hearing these goals! The biggest blessing of the year comes when 7 of my students say that they want to be missionaries. I was blown away! I know that they are only 11, but I believe that I have done what the Lord wanted me to do by planting a seed of awareness in their hearts about missions. I had a few parents come up to me and say that their child had never spoken about an interest in missions until this year. This is when it hit me; the Lord was answering my prayers! He was reminding me why I became a teacher. He was showing me that the desire he put in my heart at the beginning of the year to share my love and His love for the nations with my students had paid off. He was renewing my desire to make a difference through teaching. 

What a mighty and faithful God we serve!!! Never give up on the dreams that the Lord has put in your heart. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."   ~Jeremiah 29:11

Almost There

Wow! My first year of teaching is almost complete! What a blessing. I am SOOOOOOOO ready for summer but I'm going to really miss my first group of babies. Okay, they really aren't babies anymore.......they are almost 6th graders! CRAZY!!!!! I would really covet your prayers during the next 3 weeks as I wrap up the year and tackle all of the stress. It is going to be an emotional time as this has been a challenging growing process this year. 

Here is the craziness I have to accomplish in the next few weeks.

1. Character Awards

2. Field Day

3. Zoo Field Trip

4. 3 more birthday celebrations (1 is mine, yay!)

5. Plan/create End-of-Year awards

6. Gifts for kiddos

7. Gifts for precious parent volunteers

8. Plan and execute an awesome lingerie shower and bachelorette night for my sweet cousin

9. Pack up my classroom

10. Finish grades for the year

11. Write letters to my kids

12. Help work on a baby shower

13. Keep preparing and planning for Kenya trip

14. Get my bridesmaid dress altered

15. Help with wedding stuff (Very exciting because we are SOOO close!)

16. Say goodbye to my students (definitely the hardest)

I am sure there are more things that I need to do but for now this is all that I can think of. When you think of it, say a prayer for all of your teacher friends as they enter a challenging and rewarding season. We are blessed to have this career but it is also one of the most difficult, in my opinion. 

My challenge to you: Pray for and hug a teacher this week! :)