Time with God

We have less than three weeks left of school. It seems surreal, I think partly because I am not going back to the states. Once all my friends start leaving I am sure it will feel very strange. My kids are sure ready to be done though!

This year I have spent quite a bit of time talking with them about different ways they can spend time with God: prayer journaling, drawing pictures and journaling, reading the Bible, dancing to music, etc. They are now to the point where they ask to spend time with God alone. My 20 second graders can do this for over 20 minutes. I know they are probably not always focused, but it is amazing to see them loving time spent with our Savior. Today one of them randomly found the book of Job, started reading it, and came up to me so excited about the story! She was reading me verses and then I heard her reading others verses too. She was able to explain what it all meant. How awesome is that to watch a second grader fall in love with God's word? I am so thankful for the opportunity to watch these kids fall more in love with Jesus. I have so much to learn from them!

Will you let me heal you?

Today in church I heard one of the best sermons I had heard in a very long time. The speaker was talking on John 5 about the man who was an invalid for 38 years and lying by the pool. He was never able to be the first one in and therefore be healed because he didn't have anyone to help him. Jesus asked him "Do you want to walk?" The speaker talked about how in our lives, God is asking us, "Do you want to be healed?" How often do I answer that question with a no. I am afraid it won't work, I am afraid I might look silly, I am afraid of letting go of that hurt. Jesus told the man to pick up his mat and walk. He didn't tell the man to leave it there for the next day because he might need it. It was needed no more! So often God wants to heal me but I still hold onto that hurt in some way. I want to allow God to come in and heal me, no matter how painful that process may be! He is good!

Oh man, it’s been a long time. I could give many excuses, but you don’t need that. In fact, I am not even sure why I stopped writing on here. I just did. I can’t promise I will continue, but I will try. I took myself to a coffee place in town so I would have to sit down and write an update to email as well as a blog entry. The update is done, and now I feel like my brain is empty! And I just spilled sugar all over the table. So if that gives you any indication of how well my brain is working right now…

Yes, in case you were wondering, I am still Miss Ridiculous. The ridiculous things I wrote about in November seem so far away now. I have since moved on to other ridiculous adventures. But the Christmas Walk/living nativity scene went really well. The best part, according to the kids, was that we had a “real” Jesus! One of my friends brought the three month old she was fostering, so Mary was able to have a real baby! They were so so excited. And Joseph did not dance in the stables, though he was the cutest thing I have ever seen holding that baby! He truly loved being Joseph. And cupcake the hamster is still alive. She has also never managed to escape her cage! The kids love her, and she has been pretty easy to take care of. The best part is when I put her in her ball and let her roll around. If the kids are around, she usually goes in a corner and hides from them. They always think she is stuck when in fact she is just trying to avoid them. Smart hamster J.

Looking back, I am not sure my new adventures are quite as ridiculous as those. But life never ceases to be interesting, and entertaining. This past week I helped judge the elementary talent show auditions. Let me tell you, I wish I had a video camera! They were so so so funny! I love that lots of kids are not afraid to get in front of people and sing or dance or do something crazy. If only us adults could be so confident! Well, not too confident J. I do wish however that I could dance like some of those kids J.

My sweet little Michuki got adopted, which means I have a precious little girl now. She is the best! She is four months and has the sweetest personality. It will be hard to let her go when she gets adopted, and I will be so happy at the same time!

Other ridiculous things…well…this one is ridiculous in a good way. Less than a month before spring break, my roommate asked if I wanted to go to Ethiopia with her. I of course said YES! We booked our tickets about two weeks before we left J. We had a great time and it was fun to see more of Africa. 

 The sweet little orphan boy I "babysat" for a week and a half when his foster parents were out of town.

 Anyone else want weather like this?

 Flags representing some of the countries our students are from.

 Sweetest girl EVER

 Carol and I

 Ethiopia

Being silly in Ethiopia :). If you have never heard of Lalibela, look it up. They have ancient stone churches that are beautiful!

Miss Ridiculous, Part Two

I now have a hamster in my room. Her name is cupcake. I need to get a picture of her. She bit me on Monday. I am not sure if we are friends or not :). The kids love her though. I have not let them hold her for fear of their fingers and Cupcake's life. They love it when I put her in her ball and let her go around the room.

Taking second graders to a restaurant is....interesting. Especially when it starts POURING rain as you need to leave! But they did pretty well considering. The boys pulled out the chairs for the girls. It was pretty cute :). Second grade conversations are pretty funny. One of the parents with us asked "Who built the Great Wall of China?" A girl answered "Jesus!" Ha!

Living nativity set with second graders...also interesting. I think it will be good if I can keep my Joseph from dancing in the stable! He is quite the character.

As for the Christmas tree, it is safely in my house. I think that would have been one too many ridiculous things!

I am so glad God is a God of order and design, even when I decide to do a bunch of random and ridiculous things. God is good!

Just Call Me Miss Ridiculous

That's about how I am feeling right now. Ridiculous. Not in a bad way, but in a "Did I really decide to do that?" way. Let me explain. It all started a couple weeks ago. Well, actually last year. Last year one of the families leaving said they would give me their Christmas tree for my classroom. It is beautiful, but it happens to be seven feet tall! Pretty big for a classroom, but my classroom is pretty big. So this was not a big deal. Well, a couple weeks ago we read a story about Chinatown. I remember going to a Chinatown as a kid and loving it. We don't have one here, but we do have a Chinese restaurant. So I thought it would be fun to take my kids there. So next Wednesday we are going to go to a restaurant. Yes, I am taking 19 second graders to a sit down restaurant. Beginning of ridiculous. Then I decided that I should start teaching them formal manners. Some have learned these at home, but others have not. Yesterday I taught the boys how to open doors for the girls, pull out their chairs, etc. Well, now the boys all fight to open the door and go last. More ridiculous. Haha! A week and a half ago my friend was talking to someone and all the sudden I heard "Well, let me check with the science teachers. Oh wait, maybe Miss Seeman would want it!" And she proceeded to ask if I wanted a hamster for my classroom. Yes, you guessed it, I said yes. Classroom pets are cool, right? Well, cupcake the hamster arrived today. Just in time for the Thanksgiving break. So on Monday morning, Cupcake will (hopefully) be ready to face 19 eager, very distractible, second graders. Oh, did I mention that she will bite if you squeeze her too hard? Yep, more ridiculous. So, Christmas tree, hamster, field trip, all in the same week. Can it get more ridiculous? Yes, yes it can. I was looking through our new Bible curriculum and saw that there is an optional Christmas Walk you can do, with a live nativity scene and more. There are lines, different scenes, murals to do, and more. Guess who decided to do it? And guess who is starting practicing next week? Yes, that would be me, Miss Ridiculous. Ha!

So if you hear screaming coming from Kenya, you will know why :). Hopefully I will live through next week. But I am so grateful to the Lord for all these opportunities. And hopefully my kids will not just remember how ridiculous I am, but how much Jesus loves them. Then I have done my job.

September 12th?!?!

Woah. Sorry to the two of you who actually still check this. It has been WAY too long! The last few months have been a whirlwind of activity and overall craziness. But they also have taught me so much more about the amazing God we serve. I was able to see many more parts of His creation and what He has empowered man to build. It was also great seeing many friends and family members in the states. Here is an overview of the last few months.

After leaving Kenya, my roommate and I spent a week exploring parts of Europe. You have to stop there for a layover anyways, so we decided to stay and explore. We were also able to get together with one of my friends who was living in Germany at the time. Here is a smattering of pictures from The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Austria. It was crazy busy but SO fun!

 This was the hardest but also one of the most interesting parts of our trip: going to Dachau concentration camp. I will never forget it. 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, I don't need captions on a lot of them!

After Europe I flew into Chicago and left the next day on a four day cross-country train trip with my parents. It was long but fun. While on the west coast, I also got to go on a special trip with my dad, so that was fun. Here are some pictures from that journey. 

I was  home for two days and then went to the Dominican Republic. I was able to see some of my friends and former students. I also got to spend some time at an awesome ministry called New Hope Girls Academy. The girls are SO cute!

 How come when the boys join the group picture it's not as good? :). The next two pictures are of camping with some of my friends from the DR.

Then I was home for about a week and then we drove to a friend's wedding about 8 hours away. It was good. Then I came back to Kenya.

It has been a busy first month and a half here, but I am excited about a familiar curriculum and city and such. My group of kids this year are quite interesting. They love to talk and dance and sing. They are a lot of fun but also tiring. I have also been enjoying going to The Nest and holding babies. I took one home this past weekend. He is quite a cutie! I didn't realize how much I missed doing that. 

 This is Irene, the last one I fostered. Her hair is braided in a mohawk style :). She has been adopted!

 And this cutie is the one I am fostering now! I love him SO much!

Thanks to those of you who have been thinking about me and praying for me. I really appreciate it. I am thankful that God is good even when things are hard and that He makes me stronger through it.

Hopefully that gave you a little snapshot into my life!

End of Year Four

I can't believe I am almost done with my fourth year of teaching! It seems like not that long ago yet forever ago that I was a student at Emmaus. Wow. I love that God has walked every step of the way with me. Some have not been easy, but He is so good! I love that He never gives up on us. What a good God I serve!

I will miss my little guys. They have been such a blessing to me. I love the hugs, smiles, and laughs they provide me during the day. Our current joke is still about my future husband. Any time that word is mentioned, they go crazy. It's pretty cute :). One of the boys today prayed that I wouldn't talk about my future husband any more! Don't worry, I don't talk about it all the time. But between the kids and I, it gets brought up just enough to be super funny EVERY time.

I love that God knows just what we need just when we need it. Last week I was able to babysit 4 great kids and we were all laughing so hard. That was just what I needed. I was able to go out to lunch with the same family a few days later. I love that God provides family for me as well.

In THREE days my roommate and I leave for Europe. I hope I can eventually post a bunch of pictures. We are meeting up with another friend which should be fun too. I am excited!

Tomorrow I am moving my classroom with 18 second grade "helpers." We will see how that goes :). I am excited about my new classroom though! Pictures to come next fall :)