My Question

Oh What to Blog... that is the Question

When you first start out on this journey of being a missionary teacher you are given all kinds of advice of what to do and what not to do. Good ideas and bad ideas. Ideas and advice about fundraising, about sending letters, about keeping up with social media and about keeping connected with those that support and send you. I have been warned not to post too many pictures of my adventures with the implication that people may think I am on a glorified vacation. I have been reminded that people also don't solely want to hear about just what is going on in the classroom. Frankly how many pictures of kids reading and everyday discoveries do I write about? There is this fine line between being real about what my life is about and painting this picture of what people think it should be. Ultimately I remind myself that the Lord has called me here to serve. This however does not mean that I am chained to my desk and that I do not get to experience this wonderful world and its people that God has created.

Part of being overseas is having the opportunity to see other countries, visit and encourage other missionaries and enjoy the rich culture that surrounds us. Another part is all that happens outside of our ministry this is the ministry we have to our friends and our family.

I have had a very busy October and November where I got to spend some time outside of Prague visiting friends and family in other countries. In October we have a fall break where I was able to join my flatmate in visiting our sister school in Budapest and stay with some of the girls from the school. It was great to share and encourage one another with stories of our lives and experiences as missionary teachers.

 I debated sharing any pictures of my trips on the possible interpretation that all I have been doing is going on vacation. However, I will let you in on the teacher's world; taking a day off is much, much harder than staying at work! I avoid sick days as much as possible and unless I am physically unable to leave my home I do not call in sick. Planning for a substitute is 10x's harder than just showing up and battling through the day. So you can imagine what it takes for me to plan to take days off. It takes 2 days of planning, photocopying and prepping for every day you are away. So missing 7 days of school requires 2 weeks to prepare for it! Not to mention the toll it takes on the kids and that often not much gets accomplished when the teacher is away.

All this said I do not miss school unless there is a very good reason. This reason came in the form of my older brother's wedding, to happen in Mexico. I was very blessed to have family help pay for my travels and a very supportive administration to make it possible for me to go and celebrate in this joyous occasion. I had some wonderful volunteers to sub for my classes and the kids faired quite well and accomplished more than I expected. The trip was a memorable time where I got to meet my nephew for the first time, and spend a week with my family welcoming my newest sister.

So with all this said I have decided to share a few shots of the highlights of my adventures.

Budapest, Hungary

Since I moved to Prague I have been invited to visit this glorious city by some missionary friends serving with TeachBeyond at the International Christian school of Budapest. It was great to visit with the girls and see this beautiful city.

 

Amanda (left) was our tour guide and she did a fabulous job.
Thanks for the wonderful time Amanda!

Have made it a goal to find chocolate bars wherever I go!
Hot melted chocolate: basically chocolate soup YUM

 Since our hosts didn't have spare keys to the gate we had to climb it on our morning outing. Lucky that it wasn't very big :)

Thanks to our hostess with the mostess! They went out of their way to accommodate us and it was lovely!

 

 

   

Rose ice cream. They scoop it to look like a rose. Tasty and pretty.

     

 The school in Budapest has been around for 20 years and it was so neat to visit and see what is happening in another international school. They have larger classes of 16-20 kids and I was a tad envious of such a class size. So much more you can do when you have more than 2! Budapest is a lovely city, though I always love coming home to Prague.

Puerto Aventuras, Mexico

We stayed at a resort about an hour from Cancun and about 25 minutes from Playa del Carmen. It was the first time I got to see my nephew Benjamin since he was born in January. It was a wonderful week of celebrating and enjoying the beauty that is Mexico. The wedding was attended by just over 30 guests and was simply beautiful. Like every wedding there were some bumps and snags but we rolled through them and had a marvellous time. Congrats Dale and Rolandia on a wonderful day!

 

 

 

  

 
The one benefit to jet lag is that you are awake to see the sunrise!

 

Took AirFrance for the first time. Bonus three seats to myself! Brilliant! 

 

 

  

   

   

 

Had a lot of fun getting to know my lil' nephew Benjamin
So this is my Aunty brag book of photos

 

 
 He is a moose! So big for his age and so much like his Daddy!

 He celebrate his 10 month birthday while we were there. 

Our family attempted to play volleyball.
Let's just say there is no volley in our ball ;)

Merry Christmas! Since I won't be around we had a little mini Christmas with gift exchanges and goodies. Ben's first time tearing through the Christmas wrap. Found the wrapping more exciting than the gifts.

 

We did some of the touristy stuff too. Went snorkelling, wandered some Mayan ruins in Tulum and went out on a catamaran.  

 

 

 

Overall a grand adventure! Thanks family for making this trip possible for me!

What you find when you go for a stroll

You Know you live in Europe when...

...you are walking down the street and happen across a movie set with an old fashioned bus on fire and tanks in the street. Indeed this was our Saturday afternoon stroll down the street where I live. Though we were given a heads up with a newspaper article that declared POZOR TANKS! Pozor means caution or watch out. The article went on to explain that some films were being done about the soviet invasion of the 60's and that there would be film crews with tanks. So what better thing to do than to go on a tank hunt :) Just a little part of living the Prague Life.

     

 

Exploring "the Nature"

Also took a trek out into the beautiful Czech countryside with some co-workers and Czech friends last weekend. It was a gorgeous fall day. A wonderful day for a stroll in the woods.

Do you see Jabba the Hutt?

One of the interesting parts of this trip is that one of the members of our group is legally blind. Though he has some sight, getting him through the rough terrain was an eye opening experience (pardon the unintended punn) for me. I had never been so aware of my surroundings or where my feet should go than when I was explaining every rock, ledge, dip and hole we came across, as we climbed the switchback, rocky trail. It gave me a new appreciation for my sense of sight and how much I rely on it.

Mind Blown

God IS

September has come and gone and I was holding off writing in hopes of sharing miraculous news of a sudden influx of students. Alas this has not happened and instead of having one grade three student we have none.
  In the primary department we have 2 students in grade two. So once more this has meant some change ... the sense of having two teachers teach 2 students was ridiculous and so I have been given grade two and our third grade teacher is teaching ELL and tutoring. I enjoy having my class back as it seems we have just picked up where we left off last year. Enjoying our learning and earnestly praying for the Lord to send us more classmates to fill our vast classroom.

Teaching two is much more difficult than teaching 20! It is like teaching siblings, they are stuck with each other and if they disagree about something they can't just go play with someone else because the other person is all they've got. However through the challenges come the joys of teaching only 2. No one can hide! There is a closeness and a trust that needs to be built out of sheer necessity.

My favourite moments so far have been during our Bible times where we have been discussing God's promises and who God is. We were talking about heaven and God's creation and how the world began. How God doesn't have a beginning or an end, because God IS. That is what makes him God. The looks on their faces with this statement was a mixture between confusion and pure admiration. My one boy's jaw drops and then he makes an explosion sound (that only boys can do) "Mind Blown!" He informs me. GOD IS! That is what makes him God. All knowing, no beginning, no end. "Like a circle" they reply.

He just is ... no start... no end. The sheer magnitude of this thought is mind blowing and amazing. It brings me comfort to know that this awesome, infinite God knows me. Knows what is in store for my students and for our school. We put our hope and our trust in Him. For He IS!