international day

This Friday we had international at school. I love seeing all of our students dressed in their national costumes. It really just shows why I am here in Ghana at AIS and all the different types of people that we are reaching. Here are some pictures.

Students that represent India

This is Meghann and Me at the international day lunch.

All of the parents bring in food from their country and share and the whole school and parents eat and then there is a part where we see

all the students and parents from the different countries.


Before lunch a group of students and the science

teacher did a traditional ghanian dance.

THis is our PE teacher who was

Presenting on Scotland. He got in full character.

Most teachers research a country and then tell the students

about the country and do an activity that goes with

the country,

My wonderful third graders doing

of course silly things.


My third graders and me taking a

picture in their traditional dress and representing

their countries.

Beauty from Ashes

Beauty from pain

Wow so much has gone on the last couple of weeks. These past couple of weeks have not been easy but as I look back on everything that has happened I have come out a stronger person and the phrase that really got me is beauty from pain. God uses pain to make us more beautiful. I have learned so much this past week and just seen God in so many ways even when I thought everything was to much He was still there. I have realized that I have so much. I am not the richest person and I am not by any means the poorest person. Today looking at the street kids get the books and how excited they are to just receive a book and how that is more than they could ever imagine. I just think what happened if I looked at everything that I have or get and be that exciting just because God allowed me to have it. He allowed me to have a trailing week but he also allowed me to see the joy that comes with getting through those trials.

Also this week in Bible we have talked about Salvation and pictures God uses to show us salvation and our focus this week is becoming a new creature. II Corinthians 5:17 is our memory verse and just looking at how we are something new once Christ has come into our lives. Well this one-day they had to finish this phrase Salvation is like…and fill it in. My students came up with amazing analogies that related to their lives I wish I could share them with you but they were so good I showed them to the director and haven’t gotten them back yet.

Please pray for my class and that their hearts are opened to the gospel. Please pray especially for two boys in my class who have a huge influence on how the day goes. Lately it has not been very good. Please pray that no one gets lice in my class, which includes me, we have had some students out with it. Pray for our electricity it is starting to go out more pray that it stays on. Pray for the NICS family as one of the director’s wife died suddenly this past weekend after collapsing in front of her class on Friday.

Blessings

1. God makes us beautiful through trials

2. Blessed with more things than I could ever imagine

3. The joy and the hope that I have something so much more to live for

4. That God already has an outcome for every situation.

5. Great friends around the world that know what it is like to go through things over seas even though we are not in the same country but deal with the same things.

To end this I have some lyrics from a SuperChic(k) song that have been an encouragement to me and I hope they are an encouragement to you.

The lights go out all around me

One last candle to keep out the night

And then the darkness surrounds me

I know I'm alive but I feel like I've died

And all that's left is to accept that it's over

My dreams ran like sand through the fists that I made

I try to keep warm but I just grow colder

I feel like I'm slipping away

After all this has passed, I still will remain

After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain

Though it won't be today,

Someday I'll hope again

And there'll be beauty from pain

You will bring beauty from my pain

My whole world is the pain inside me

The best I can do is just get through the day

When life before is only a memory

I wonder why God lets me walk through this place

And though I can't understand why this happened

I know that I will when I look back someday

And see how you've brought beauty from ashes

And made me as gold purified through these flames

[ From: http://www.metrolyrics.com/beauty-from-pain-lyrics-superchick.html ]

After all this has passed, I still will remain

After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain

Though it won't be today,

Someday I'll hope again

And there'll be beauty from pain

You will bring beauty from my pain

Here I am, at the end of me

Tryin to hold to what I can't see

I forgot how to hope

This night's been so long

I cling to Your promise

There will be a dawn

After all this has passed, I still will remain

After I've cried my last, there'll be beauty from pain

Though it won't be today,

Someday i'll hope again

And there'll be beauty from pain

You will bring beauty from my pain

Isaiah 61.3

A New Year and a lot of fun

This semester has been so much fun already and I have only been here a week. So many times I would just get in a routine and it was that same routine everyday never really seeing the excitement of what I was doing.

This started before I even left the states. My whole trip was full of new experiences. First leaving Chicago we had about an hour delay where we sat on the plane because something was broken but I was really excited because I got to sit by the window. Then I get to Washington D.C. and we go to get on the flight and when I handed my ticket to the guy it flashed red and I was like what is wrong and he said I had a seat change. I look at my new ticket and I had been upgraded to United Business which is just like sitting in first class. It was amazing! Never would I have imagined sitting up enjoying all of that. It was totally a switch up, definitely out of my routine.

Wednesday when we started school I was so excited to get back into my routine of being in school. It is funny how God works in little ways and reminds us of why He put us here. Wednesday was probably the best day of this year, I had so much fun being with my students and it made me realize how much I love teaching these kids. I have never had so much fun being in my classroom. I was excited to see if I would have any more students added to my class and I only had one new friend. My class is now up to 14 wonderful students. 6 boys and 8 girls. It is really amazing to see how my class welcomes the new students and it is really awesome to see how God unites them and allows them to all get along for the most part.

I also got to see the impact of having the study hall last semester. I don't get the pleasure of having them this semester but they still come by my class and say hi. It was really cool because I had more than one of them come by and tell me how much they miss being in the study hall. I do miss them a lot.

This weekend me and three other teachers went to our favorite Chinese restaurant for dinner on Friday night and it was such a blast I really do love hanging out with these teachers. This was a random night in itself. So we always go to this restaurant we want to order the sweet and sour pork in a whole pineapple but they never have to pineapple. So this time we decided we were going to bring our own. So we stopped on the side of the road picked up the pineapple and took it to the restaurant. Kim is ordering so she says we would like the sweet and sour pork in the whole pineapple. Waiter- We don't have that. Us- no worries we brought our own. Waiter- laughed and took the pineapple to the kitchen. We all laughed so hard. Never in America would that happen.Then on Saturday we got to go to the Koffee House which is our new little spot that we like to go to and just hung out and talk.

As I was thinking about how I could keep everyone better informed of what God was doing each week when I write I am going to add a section called Get your Praise On and I am just going to say a couple of things that God has done.

GET YOUR PRAISE ON

1. We have our land purchased and will start clearing for a soccer field hopefully next week.

2. This new semester is starting off great with 14 students.

3. I got here safely and in style.

4. A wonderful family and church family at home that really supports me. Thanks soooo much !