ABCs of Jesus

Have you ever gone through the ABCs, naming a character/quality of God or Jesus for each one? I was doing that as I went to sleep last night and meditating on those things rather than fears or worries. I need to work on doing that more often! Anyways, A, B, and C were all pretty normal for what I have thought of before. I think I said Awesome, Beautiful, and Compassionate or something. Then I got to D and my mind all the sudden said "daring." I realized what I thought and was like "No, that doesn't fit." But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my Jesus is indeed daring. Dictionary dot com says the following for daring: "audacity, bravery. 2. dauntless, undaunted, venturesome,audacious, brave" I sure think that fits. My Jesus was dauntless as he came down to save a people He knew would walk away from Him. He had the audacity to do it anyway. Wow. I know I would not have been daring and died for people who would walk away from me. He was brave enough to leave perfect heaven to come to sinful earth, walk on this earth for 33 years, and then die a cruel death. Yes, I would say my Jesus is daring.

What a friend we have in Jesus! I am so blessed that He died to take away my sins, and the sins of anyone who asks Him to take away their sins. He is worth living for. He is worth dying for. May I live my life for Him!

Stuffed Suitcases

How do you fit three years of things in three suitcases? I think I am figuring out the answer...you don't. I am not going to post a picture of what my brother's room, aka my packing room, looks like right now. Explosion city. There is no way it's all going to fit. I might have to take a fourth bag, though it's very expensive and I am tired of spending money. Haha.

I leave a week from today! Woah. I am trying to fit everything in this week. I have been spending lots of time with friends and lots of time shopping. Last week my mom and I went and saw my friend who had her baby 11 weeks early. I have never seen a baby so small! But it was super good to see them and meet the baby's big sister who I had never met. It's been busy around here but good. If you live in Dubuque and want to get together before I leave, let me know!

In Transition

Well, it's been a long while since I wrote on here. Hopefully I will never go that long. Frankly, every time I think about writing I am just not sure where to begin. Leaving the Dominican Republic was very hard. Pulling a sobbing first grader off you twice and having her pulled off you another time is not very fun. I miss my kids, my friends, my life there. BUT I am also excited about what's coming. I am in Iowa for three more weeks and then off to KENYA. I am trying to get everything ready for the big move. It's hard to fit everything in life in just a couple suitcases! This summer I spent a few weeks on the west coast. Unfortunately, I took like no pictures. Sorry! My family took the train out, so that was a lot of fun (and a lot of bumps!) It was great to see my grandma and friends out in Seattle and east of the mountains. I realized that is the last time I will see my brother for a while because he is still in Seattle and won't be back until after I leave. I am not a fan of goodbyes! Oh well.

Several of you have asked if my blog address will stay the same. I am not planning on changing it, but if I do, I will make it very clear how to get to the new one. I won't be in the DR anymore, but that's okay. You all know that.

I am learning a lot about trusting God during this season of my life. It's easy to question what He is doing and what is happening, but then I realize again that He has a plan, that He is in charge, and that if I follow Him, I am right where I should be. I am blessed that I have a job. Several of my teacher friends do not, and my heart aches for them. I have so many blessings to count!

Thank you to all who have been and are praying for me. I hope to keep updating here and then also plan to send out email updates. Please continue to pray for my time in transition, especially adjusting to life in Kenya. I haven't taught second grade before, so it's going to be a lot of adjustments, to say the least! But God is good.

Here are just some fun pictures of my last few weeks in the DR.

At the beach. Usually there are swarms of people right here, but not that day. My friend Amanda and I went for the weekend. It was so great. I miss her a lot!
My crazy class on the last day of school. I miss them too!
One of my church friends on my last day at my Dominican Church.
With Angie, a kindergarten teacher, Jenn, the art teacher, and Eileen, my amazing principal, at Camp David. This is up on the mountain overlooking the city.
Field Day. We were the red team. That yellow glob is a sponge filled with water. I just LOVE that little girl's face! Isn't that awesome?!?!

Have a great week everyone! I will try to write more soon and post more pictures!