Picture Update

So, I was going to write a long blog this weekend, but then I didn't. I already had downloaded all this pictures though, so I will just give you a snapshot of my life the past few weeks. The above picture is of me and one of the girls at the girl's home at a birthday party for one of the girls.
Independence Day here--27th of February. Friday was the 26th so they celebrated then. The boys are all men from the campo--country men, and I think the girls are too.
Cute Girls!
More cute girls!
Really cute campo men!
March is Reading Month! This was bring your stuffed animal to school day!


And my favorite picture from the day! He was just reading with his bear on his head, not distracted by it or anything. Gotta love it!

Well, enjoy bits of my life here. I will write a longer post later...

March?!?!

How is it March already?!?! And the third at that! Time flies! March here is a busy month--we are right in the middle of Spiritual Emphasis Week and this month is also Reading Month. When do I have time to teach? Oh well, it's fun. The kids love it. For Spiritual Emphasis Week, a group of seniors from a Christian School in Pennsylvania come down to help with it. My kids LOVE them! I swear they have all turned into superheroes this week! Story to prove it? (I have many :)). We were supposed to divide the classes in half for an activity, so I did. Well one boy was in one group, but the senior he loves was standing closer to the other group. So he was trying to pretend like he was in that group. I caught him and made him move, and he was so sad. But thankfully the senior followed him! He was so happy! My kids also wanted to show them the Bible walk-through they know, so we did that too! What a great chance these seniors have to reach out to my kids!

Things that make me smile? That definitely did. Today we had cooking class, which I am running as an after-school program with TWENTY ONE kids! Oh man! I am so thankful for my two assistants! One of the little first graders is SO cute--all he wanted to make was "spagetty." We had them write down their favorite food, and i bet you can guess what he wrote! Today we did tacos though, and he seemed to like that. One of my boys when he gets disappointed starts to "droop." You have to see it to believe it, but he really does. It's like he melts. Well, he picked up his taco and it fell apart, so of course he started to droop. It was all I could do not to laugh!

In other news, I would appreciate prayers as I have been dizzy for the past three weeks. I went to the ear dr. and she gave me meds for that a couple weeks ago and it got better but now it is not. I have to go to the neurologist at some point. Please pray that it would just go away!

I have a lot of deep thoughts somewhere in my head, but the dizziness makes them hard to express. Email me if you want to know more. I hope all of you are having a blessed day!

Life

Well, I do so well blogging for a while and then I stop but life doesn't. I start to get overwhelmed by how much I have to say and don't even know where to start. haha. I need to learn that I don't need to say everything and just blog when I feel like it, which is hopefully more often :).

Let's see. Life...hmm....let's do an acronym....

L--lots on my plate. A lot has happened in the last month. I was sick (again) and missed two and a half days of school. they still don't know exactly what was wrong (sounds familiar) and I have had a headache constantly for the past two weeks since I got sick. Being sick just makes life crazier. My class is doing well though, so that's good.

I--in the kitchen. My school likes to offer after school classes to give the students an opportunity to try new sports, crafts, etc. I hadn't taught one yet because I am not really good at any of that kind of stuff. I mentioned to the coordinator that I like to cook, and she said I could do a cooking class! My friends Amanda and Amy are helping me, which is good because we have 22 kids! And it's not really in a kitchen either--we do most of it in Amanda's classroom. There is a tiny stove in a closet type room that we can use. It's been a little interesting to say the least.

F--faith. I went to a women's retreat a couple of weeks ago that was really refreshing. It was good to fellowship in English and to just have time to spent with God. They schedule in a lot of individual time, which is so good. I was challenged in my faith in many ways. I need to make God my priority. It is so worth it! It was good to meet others who live close to us here in the city. We have hung out with two of them a couple times, which has been really fun.

E--energy. Something my kids seem to always have. They love to run around and get so excited when we play outside! Please pray that I would have energy in many ways: energy to be patient with them, energy to pour more and more into them, energy to meet their needs, and energy to share my faith with them often.

Well, there's a little snapshot of what my life is like now. I wrote a prayer letter about a week ago for some churches. Maybe I will post it on here. May you feel the presence of God today!

January Journalings part 4

First of all, YAY for two days off! We have no school today or Monday. It's really nice to have a break, and even though we just had one, I need another one! Agenda? CLEAN MY ROOM! I haven't quite unpacked yet, and that was almost two weeks ago. Uggh. Oh well.

I love that on really hard days, God gives you things to smile about. He is still good, even when life is really hard. And then I think about my trials compared to what Haiti is going through, and they are nothing. Yet God even still cares about my momentary sufferings! He is truly amazing!

In other news, they moved my classroom back to my old room! There is no air, but they redid the windows, so hopefully that will help my throat. My kids were very excited to move back, but it is going to be a rude awakening when there is no more air conditioning! Thankfully we had a teacher workday yesterday and I was able to stay late to get it all moved.

I am trying to think of any funny things that happened with my kids. We had a really great conversation about how God made us all equal. Unfortunately, many of them hear that light skin is better, which is totally not true. We read a book and talked about the issue of racism and they were really with me. May they learn to live it out!

January Journalings part 3

Let's see how long this often-posting can happen. I don't even know if anyone ever reads this. I have a feeling it's like 2. Oh well. It's good to get my thoughts out anyways.

Thoughts today? God loves you no matter how emotional you are. One of my little boys had another break down today. He thinks that other people make him mad and that gives him the right to shut down. It was a good reminder to me that I can choose to be mad or let go. And even if I do fall apart sometimes, God still loves me. He loves my little guy who doesn't listen to reason. He can give me love for each and every one of them!

One of my girls melted my heart today. They can earn stickers to buy things from my store. She spent a lot of stickers to buy something for her brother today, and never once rubbed it in that she was doing something kind. Wow. I wish I always thought of others like that.

Random thought? My itunes shuffle is very random. I have such a crazy selection of music. Let me give you a typical progression: Contempory Christian song, Christmas song, Scream-o song, baby kid's song, another Christmas song, jazzed up crazy kid's song from this ridiculous cd I have, instrumental hymn. This is no joke. It makes me laugh and sometimes drives me crazy.

Haiti is still heavy on my mind. Please pray for them. I am hoping to get there sometime in the next couple of months. We can stay on this side of the border so as to not use up their resources.


Cool verse? One thing God has spoken; two things I have heard; that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving." Psalm 62:11-12a. I love how those two things are paired together. God really is both strong and loving. What a neat picture. May you rest in that love today!

January Journalings part 2

i want to write about things that make me smile today. I need to think about those things. God is good. That is the main thing that is making me smile!

My verse! The part I love...Do you not know? Have you not heard? Our God is the everlasting God!" I love the whole thing, but that one is really good for me to remember. On those days when I am overwhelmed by life, I can remember, "Duh Mindy!" He is God! He is the creator of the ends of the earth! He understands me, and yet He still loves me. He is amazing!

Tonight in Bible study we were talking about how God is passionate. That is a side of God that I often forget about. He cares about things, and He is passionate about them. Wow. I can take great comfort in that! When I am overwhelmed by the fact that I am passionate, I can focus on how God too is passionate, and much more than I am. It's not just a bad thing!

May you see God's goodness today. Great is His faithfulness!

January Journalings part 1

Hopefully this will be more than one part in January. This one might be a little more serious in nature for at least part of it. We will see. Things on my mind...

Haiti. I am sure most of you have heard/followed the news on the earthquake in Haiti. The Dominican Republic is right next door. We were not hit nearly as bad; in fact, barely at all. But there are many Haitians living here who have family there. My neighbors are Haitian, and one of them has not heard anything from his family. He left to go there yesterday to try and find them. I can't even imagine what he is going through, and so many others as well. Please continue to pray for Haiti. We here are collecting food, clothing, and other things for the victims. I would love to go over and help. We will see if the time/place comes for that.

School. This week was rough, as the first week back usually is. My kids could not pay attention! And of course, some of my lessons flopped since I did not have as much time to prepare. Oh well. I love my kids though and am excited to have them the rest of this year. I am working on uploading pictures right now, so hopefully they will actually work.

Thoughts. My brain has been on overload lately and I have had a lot on my mind. A lot of deep questions. I am a deep person, though some never see that side of me. i am going to be brave and post some of those thoughts. Well, we'll see if I can actually send it. I would love to hear your thoughts on the issues. You can either post a comment or email me at mindyseeman@gmail.com. Here goes me being brave: So, I am wondering...is it possible to love too deeply? To care about people so much that it is too much? To give yourself so much that when you are done, you have nothing left to give? Or will you be filled up in some other way? It may just not happen right away. Are we supposed to give of ourselves like that? We are supposed to lay down our lives for our friends, to bear each others burdens. What does that look like? And can we take on other people's burdens that we are not supposed to take on. I think I can answer my own question. Yes, we can. But how do we stop? And where is the line between caring the right about and caring too much?

Well, that's all for now. I am forming a post in my head about my theme verses for this next year. They are a little different from the last two, but really powerful nonetheless. To give you a sneak peak, go check out Isaiah 40:27-31.

Random smattering of snapshots from this year:
Halloween Party. Can you guess? Sugar, spice, and everything nice! This is one of the student teachers, Brittany, myself, and Amanda.
We took our third graders on a trip to where we gave food in November. These are adorable little Haitian children. My heart hurts for all those in Haiti who no longer have parents or homes. Wow.
One of my little silly ones from last year. I love this kid!
Another one of my boys from last year from the game we went to.
Making paper beads on Green and Clean Day, where we talked about protecting the environment and using recycled products. The beads turned out really cool!
My class on the field trip. Here we are at the Botanical Gardens.
Yes, we know we are cute! Sitting on the back of the bus on the field trip and being a little silly!
In the underwater tunnel at the aquarium. They were all so excited!
Field trips wear you out! Here is one of my little guys sleeping with the toys from Burger King. He was like for most of the trip back.