So i'm now back on FB and Blogger... and months to catch you up on. I have had a life, as you can see from below.
A few pictures should help...
Enjoy reading, and I hope that you've had a blessed Christmas season!
Christmas found me in a 5 star hotel on the club level with my mentor Janet - and for our 5th night we upgraded to a king suite! :) Living large in Shanghai, I tell you. WE got 5 days off this year, and a 3day weekend for New YEars - both of which were much needed. We spent our time resting and relaxing on the club lounge level with happy hour, working out, eating late breakfasts, taking naps, and even visiting some quaint art/shopping streets in town as well as the Nutcracker Ballet on Christmas Eve! :) Shanghai has so much to offer! Now we only have 3 full days of teaching left, and then we're on our 3 - week Feb. break for Chinese New Year! :) I'm stoked to get to go to Israel, with some of my bestest friends here, which has been a dream of my life since forever! :)
So what have i been doing?? :)
At the end of last year I decided I was going to be bored this year having it be my 2nd year in a school, and not having to start from scratch, so I decided to make my life interesting with being 3rd grade level leader, leading an after-school English storybook (Bible!) club for chinese track kiddos, having a chinese tutor, and being a mentor for a 3rd grade teacher that hasn’t ever taught before. Well, I’m certainly not bored, I can say that.
I thoroughly enjoy my 25 bright-eyed third graders this year. They bring joy to my heart, and make my job teaching them enjoyable. I have a large classroom this year that I’ve gotten to enrich with a loft and couch in a comfortable reading area for my students, which they love. :) We just finished Spirit week, where we got to have Crazy Hair, pajama day, and my fav. was when i got to dress up like Benjamin Franklin - the kids really got a kick out of it! :)
Grace and I are having a great year together - we're very focused and working well as a team. She's gotten a new apartment with a friend of mine, now lives in my building, and loves to cook every night!
October Holiday I spent at the youth retreat where we saw huge decisions made - nearly 100 accepted for the first time, and nearly all the rest re-committed their lives. It was a season of great fruit, and a great beginning of the year I have with my new small group. I have some new girls in my small group this year- 8th graders, and some of my 7th graders from last year. We’re doing a Beth Moore Study, the Beloved Disciple, with 3 girls show great leadership potential and have a desire to learn. They constantly saying... “ You remember when Beth said this”, or “I love how Beth Moore...” In a place of not much sp. guidance, it’s awesome for them to have another mentor to be pouring into them! :) Speaking of mentors, there started an amazing focus on mentorship this year, and nearly 1/2 of our whole youth group has a mentor and/or is a mentor to another younger sibling in the faith. It’s an exciting time! I’m encouraged by their diligence, and at times feel that they are near the same place I’m at spiritually - amazing to see the depth of love for their Dad, and the questions they have. Friday evenings studying with the Beth Moore girls and at KG are always recharging for me.
Just last night we had a vision meeting with the adult leaders, and one on Sunday with the student leaders, and all the times we've had discussion, it's been a feeling of excitement, passion, and like we're on the brink of something new, something incredible. I can't wait to see where he takes us, and as our passions align with his, the work that will be done beyond our expectations.
The second half of my October holiday I went to Korea with Diane(one of the new 3rd grade teachers) and Sussanah. We enjoyed the clean air, blue sky, and green mountains and trees! :) It was only an 1 1/2 hour flight from Shanghai, but it felt like I was back in the Northwest! We got to visit the DMZ(Demilitarizing Zone between N. and S. Korea), eat some Korean BBQ with a friend I taught with last year that lives there now, and did tons of shopping and hiking! I thought that I was a shopper...mom taught me well... but not after hanging out with them. I would be worn out and go back to the hotel and they'd keep at it for hours longer! They take shopping to a new level. :)
Susannah, Diane, and I at the DMZ line. Behind us is Freedom Bridge and N. Korea.
I loved Seoul - so much like Portland! And it was warm there in October... perfect! :)
Reminds me of somewhere else... :) Mountains, green, skyscrapers... Hm.....
This was when we went into the tunnel that S. Korea discovered - it was pretty fun to walk down the closest you can get to N. Korea, but creepy knowing what the tunnel was made for.
I was blessed by teaching an after-school English Storybook class, where I got to share the best news of all from the OT stories, songs, and activities. Two other teachers also taught other classes, so total we had over 30 young ones hearing the news every week! I look into their young faces, and I don’t know how much they understand of what I shared as their oral English is pretty low. But I know they got a smile and got to hear about love every week, and it was an encouragement to me to see them soak in the truth. We ended our class with a Christmas party, and I'm signed up to teach it again next sem... but this time to 2nd graders. Hopefully their english will be higher and they'll get more of what I'm teaching them.
Despite the challenges this year has brought, it has been filled with blessings of dad's grace and presence beyond imaginable. It’s been wonderful being in my 2nd year knowing the community, having solid friendships built, and getting to know new friends. I’m grateful that he abides in us, and as we love him more, he promises that through his strength we bear much fruit. Great things Dad has done in 2009, and greater fruit he has in store for 2010! I can see how hes been working, and can't wait to see how he continues to grow me this year. May we draw near to Dad, our refuge, that we may tell of all the deeds that he does! (Ps. 73:28) Thanks for reading the long overdue update... and check back for pictures from the Holy Land! :)
