First 2 Weeks

The first 2 weeks in Kinder have been very busy. I have 11 (with 8 of them being boys) energetic, talkative, curious Kindergartners. We have been going over the rules of school and routines in the classroom over and over and over again! It takes time to get them into the school mode.

It hasn’t been too hard to come back and get into the swing of things once again. I’ve seen: the dirty streets, poor and hungry children, dogs with mange, goats and cows walking into the road, and pollution. I spent a year here and became used to: being stared at by Filipino men, having ANYWHERE you go take at least 40 minutes, heat and humidity, noise of motorbikes, washing everything before eating and not drinking tap water, taking low-pressure showers.

I’ve also been blessed by so much: lots and lots of awesome friends, being surrounded by beautiful countryside, GORGEOUS sunsets, good books to read, availability of healthy food that I like, a chance to start running and someone to run with, prayer group to meet with weekly and opportunities to attend weekly bible studies. I’m learning: how to play the guitar, to get along with others from different backgrounds, how to teach starting VERY basic and make learning the alphabet interesting.

Prayer Requests:
1) One of my students, Ethan. He is repeating Kinder this year, so right now he is a little bored with what we are learning and it’s just really hard for him to see all his friends move up, and then he doesn’t know anyone in the new group. He also started the year with a defiant attitude – he didn’t want to do anything we were doing. I’m trying to decide how to respond to Ethan – with love and a firm hand; with love and a gentle, guiding hard; or something in between. I don’t know when to show grace to him or when he should really feel the consequences of his actions.

2) My knee. I started running regularly while I was at home this summer. I really want to keep it up and I found someone who is willing to run with me. Yet, last week while I was running my knee started to hurt and bothered me for a couple of days. I’m letting it rest and hoping it heals completely so I can run again.

3) Wisdom. I need wisdom and discernment, because I am making so many judgments and decisions each day in my teaching and in working with Ethan.