Friends.

For those of you who have been asking I have made friends...

These are two lovely ladies that I met in New York while attending my pre-field orientation.

Sharon (on the left) is the first grade teacher, and Kelli (on the right) is a middle school/high school teacher.
Sharon is quite the crack up. She takes pride in treating her first graders like adults, it's really very funny. She and I have done alot of "adventuring out" into the city together, she helps keep me sane. haha

This is Kelli. She is such a great girl, and is an excellent english teacher. We've been working our way through her Jane Austen movies as of recently. Just finished Persuasion and at the end of it I was so happy I cried (Kelli found this hilarious, but I couldn't help it SO HAPPY).

And if it weren't for these foods here I would probably be dead. For the first two weeks I didn't want to cook at all and so I lived off of banana bread, chips and salsa, and starbucks. I am happy to report that I am both eating healthier and cooking again!

Always looking for a quickand easy recipe!

God Will Take Care of You

Before I left just a few weeks ago my parents reminded me of a hymn that they used to sing to my sisters and I as kids, called God Will Take Care of You by William and Civilla Martin in 1905. The song lyrics go like this:

Be not dismayed what'er betide

God will take care of you

Beneath His wings of love abide

God will take care of you

God will take care of you

Through every day

O'er all the way

He will take care of you

God will take care of you

Through days of toil when heart doth fail

God will take care of you

When dangers fierce your path assail

God will take care of you

All you may need He will provide

God will take care of you

Nothing you ask will be denied

God will take care of you

No matter what may be the test

God will take care of you

Lean weary one upon His breast

God will take care of you

When singing this hymn I am reminded of the truth that is found in this song, and a truth that has been forever true and will continue to be true no matter how long ago it was written. I may feel inadequate and struggle to keep up with the world around me, but I know that the Lord will take care of me. I have felt so overwhelmed today. But then I think back on this song, and when my parents first gave it to me a few weeks ago. I felt so anxious, scared, and nervous for the changes that lied ahead, and now when I look at where I've come since then I can see that God truly does take care of us.

The idea of going to the Philippines was doubted on numerous occasions but God kept providing for me, and telling me in His ways that this is where I was supposed to be.

Everyday I remind myself that God will take care of me. I should not be dismayed over whatever the stress of the day is, or in days where I feel that I have failed, because God will take care of me.

Learning is fun?

This week the fourth grade is learning about longitude and latitude and in order for them to better understand this we're playing a giant game of battleship against the other fourth grade class. This is the board before we started. It took alot of time to get all those squares straight.

The kids were really excited about this, they were a little too energetic. I quickly gave all of them jobs, something they were "in charge" of.

These were the "guards" they were receiving the messages and relaying them back to the class. They were hilarious.

These were the masterminds. They were deciding what coordinates to send our missles to. They were so into their job, and they did an excellent job.

And then we had a committee that was in charge of keeping track of where the other team had shot at us. There are some repeat kids in some of the pictures, haha you can tell which ones were so excited they didn't know where they should go.

Learning alot this week. The first days of school came and went so fast and then the routine started up and the real teaching began and I became so anxious about what I was doing, and wondering if I was really ready to be teaching these kids. I keep praying that the Lord would just give me the words He wants me to say and that the rest would just go right over their heads.

He has been faithful in sending me scripture that is comforting. The other day when I was feeling anxious I opened my Bible to Proverbs 16 and stumbled across this verse, "Commit to the Lord everything you do. Then your plans will succeed. The Lord works everything out for His own purposes."

Everyday I live I give to the Lord, and pray that His will be done through me. I am His servant and I want to glorify Him, and even when I don't believe I'm worthy or prepared He is so faithful in comforting me and encouraging me through His word.

First Days of School...

This is the class. They are a great bunch of kids. I have a feeling I'll be learning alot of Korean this year. 11 out of my 17 are from Korea, and have already been teaching me how to say hello, good bye and thank you.

This is the oh so annoying "Amazon Reading Forest". I thought I was being really clever in choosing this name, since the fourth grade studies South America, but because of all the humidity those vines fall someway or another every night! I can't staple and I'm using so much tape! I may have to just think of something else...


The main part of the classroom. the front is kind of bare right now, but we'll be filling it through out the year with words that we're learning!

The other side.

Thanks for taking a look at my classroom. I warned my class that I would be bugging them with pictures for the rest of the year :)

I'm now a proffesional teacher, weird.

Rainy Season in Manila

Last time I came to the Philippines it was hot season, but at least is was dry. Now that I've moved to the Phils it's rainy season and when it rains it pours. Washington rain is nothing compared to the rains of the tropics. I've tried over and over to run through the rain to my car as fast as I can in effort to get as little wet as I can. But every time I get in my car I find myself soaking wet, I've never realized how embarrassing it is to walk into a restaurant or store with water dripping down your nose and hair looking like a wet dog. I don't know how many times I have to do this before I learn IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! No matter how close I park or how fast I unlock my car, I'm always going to get wet, and that's only from the water that comes from the sky, not to mention the rivers that come from out of no where on the streets.

There is a drainage problem in the Phils and so whenever it rains, it takes three times longer for it to drain as it does for it to actually build up. Puddles on the street becomes lakes, and on every curb there is a river running down along the sidewalk.

This makes driving very interesting as well. Some friends and I were driving back from a movie, when it started to pour and within minutes the lakes appeared. My friend Katy was driving and doing her best at maneuvering around the Manila traffic as well as avoiding splashing people with the puddles. But really there is only so much you can do, and when we drove past this motorcyclist it just so happened that we were next to a huge puddle, creating a splash so big it literally went over the motorcyclists head. My friend Katy quietly responded to us in the dry car, "oops, sorry." haha I was originally thinking about getting a bike here, but that made me reconsider.

I love hearing from you guys! Every time I check my Facebook or gmail it makes my day to see that someone has sent me a message! Love you guys!