Ahhh, home!

Man, what a whirlwind the last few days have been!  On Saturday, the three of us coming home had to get to the Bangalore airport at like 4:00 AM.  I would like to go on record saying that getting up that early is not one of my favorite things in the world.  When we finally got through customs and through the gate, we found out our flight was an hour and half delayed. Since there was nothing we could do about it, we found a little restaurant in the airport and had coffee.  I have never been so happy to see a latte in my life!  Our pilots from Bangalore to London really made up some time, but we still had to run through the London airport "Amazing Race style" in order to make our plane that would bring us home.  Once we landed in DFW and I was out of the plane, I had to refrain from kissing the ground!  I was so happy, tired, and ready to see my family.  When I finally saw Chris, it was a such a relief and happy moment.  He took me to Fuzzy's ASAP and then on to our boys.  Hugs and kisses galore!

Reflecting back on my week in India, I still can't believe I was there and how God used me.  I helped team members teach classes, I taught classes myself, and made connections with teachers in Hosur, India whom I never would've crossed paths otherwise if I hadn't signed up for this trip.  I thank God everyday for those who supported me from the very beginning of this journey because I feel like this was meant to happen.  I am very honored that God chose me to go with such an amazing group of people.  We really worked together well and complimented each other with the talents God has given us.  God taught me to be flexible and that I don't always have to have an agenda for every single minute of my life!  It's ok to go with the flow - really great things come out of spontanious moments!  From the very first class I worked in to the last hug I gave, I felt the prayers of those back home.  Teaching there is A LOT different than teaching here!  Like I had said in a previous blog, I totally understand where substitutes come from and hopefully this experience will help me this upcoming school year. 

I leave you with this -

" I can do all this through him who gives me strength. " (Phil. 4:13)

Please continue to pray for India and our team.  We still have people there.  They are returning this Saturday!

Spanish in India!

Oh my - my bilingual friends would've been so proud of me today!  Yesterday, some of the kindergarten teachers asked me if I knew any other languages since they know like 5 or 6.  I told them I knew a little Spanish but I wasn't fluent.  When I got to kindergarten, I ended up teaching a color lesson in Spanish.  I wrote, "Que color es este?"  (I know this is missing accent marks).  From there, I grabbed a handful of markers and since they knew the English color name, I taught them the Spanish color name.  I may have missed some accent marks on the color names, but they got the gist I think.  It was so much fun and I can't believe God would use me to teach Spanish in India!  This is crazy!!!!! 

Later on, I helped Karen teach a scripture class and after lunch, I went back to assist the kindergarten teachers with notebooks.  We're about to begin preparations for tonight's VBS. 

Quick prayer request - one member of my team, Stephanie G., is not feeling 100%.  Please lift her up and ask for healing.  Love you guys!

RESPECT for Kindergarten

So, today started out with leading the devotion the student assembly (I'll post pictures tomorrow).  There are so many kids at this school that they have to split the kids up for morning assembly, which is a time for singing a few songs, having a small devotion, and hearing the annoucements.  I spoke in front of the kinder-4th grade students.  I talked about fear and how God is always with us.  I wasn't sure how long to speak so I kept it pretty short.  The principal told me the message was good but it wasn't long enough - whoops! 

My assignment today was to help in the kindergarten area.  They have lower kinder and upper kinder.  The lower kinder is like pre-Kindergarten in American but at ACA they start at age 3!  When I walked into the kinder room I was assigned to, there were 45 kids in there, and this was a lower kinder class!!!!!  It was amazing, though.  There were very few discipline problems and pretty much very eager to learn.  When I left to go help in another classroom, the teacher asked if I would come back around 2:00 PM.  I wasn't sure what to expect because by that time, the kinder students are gone.  The afternoon time is reserved for teachers to work on grading and homework.  (I wish we could do that in the Texas!) Well, since the teachers don't have access to a copy machine, they have to input the homework in the students' notebooks by hand!  I think I traced about 40 cats into notebooks because they are working on the letter "c".  I also helped input more alphabet work in two class sets of notebooks.  They do this every day! Through all this work, I met two really wonderful ladies who love teaching and made an impact on my life today. 

I must end with this - GOD BLESS ALL KINDERGARTEN TEACHERS!  You amaze me! 

Sparkle

Happy Fourth of July!  I had to remind myself of the holiday since it’s not a big deal in India apparentlyJ.

Today was our first day on campus - wow, what a day!  Last night, Lela (one of the directors of the school) asked someone to do the devotion for the teachers this morning.  Naturally, I volunteered (no one else raised their hand).  I went to pray about what to say and this is the verse God showed me:

“Train a child how to live the right way.  Then even when he is old, he will still live that way” (Proverbs 22:6)

With this verse, I told the teachers that we are helping their parents raise their children and it is our responsibility to be good examples for them.  Even when the children grow up, they will have that Biblical foundation in their hearts.  We were told 30% of the teachers are Hindu, so I was a little intimidated to speak in front of them but it went ok.   

After the teacher devotion, we toured the school and found out that some teachers were absent and the school needed substitutes.  Well, ACA (Asian Christian Academy) doesn’t have a substitute list so myself and Sherry, one of my teammates and also a teacher, filled in.  We taught two third grade math classes and one fourth grade math class.  Piece of cake?  HARDLY.  I have more respect for substitute teachers now, that’s for sure.  One of the third grade classes was very hard to manage and there were two of us!  One student asked me if he could “use the toilet” and I said, “Yes” so every other student needed to go to the bathroom as well.  Oh, I forgot to mention there are 40-50 students per class.  It was crazy, but I’m glad we were there to help.

We had our first VBS session tonight for the House of Joy orphanage and the boarding school kids.  I’m not going to lie, I was little afraid based on the class behavior but it went really well!  I lead the songs and the other team members did a bible verse, story, and craft.  It was amazing how much background knowledge the students already had on the Bible! 

Tomorrow, I am speaking at the student assembly.  I am going to talk about fear and how God is ALWAYS with us.  It something I deal with often and have to remind myself that I put my trust and hope in Him.  Please continue to pray for our team.  I hope we leave a little "sparkle" in some little lives this week!

London

(I tried to post this from the London airport, but I was having issues staying connected.)

Hello from London!  Although we are only here for a short time, I still feel like a little kid, getting excited over something as simple an airport.  I love listening to all the different accents parading through this place.  I have to stop myself from staring.  I don't want to appear rude, I guess ;). 

My send-off from my hubby wasn't nearly as emotional as I thought it would be.  He didn't cry and beg me to stay ( I expected this because that's usually what I do when he travels).  What he did do, however, is leave me a strip of paper in my passport with this verse:

"And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary." Galatians 6:9

I was very touched by this little note from Chris.  I'm sure he knows how much I love him, but I love him even more for taking the time to leave me this little note.  God has reassured me over and over that I going to India for a reason, or perhaps several reasons.  Obviously, I don’t know and maybe I won’t know when I return, but God knows and that’s all that matters.  Please continue to pray!

Here we go!

This is my first official post, so if you're reading it - CONGRATS!  I wish I had some sort of prize for you, but as adults we're supposed to be happy with intrinsic rewards, right?  HA!  If you're like me, getting a prize is still one of the coolest things ever! 

I love life and the people God has blessed me with.  He chose me for such a time as this... I truly believe every avenue I have crossed and every person in my life has been placed there because God orchestrated it.  I have a husband who loves me for me and makes me want to be a better person.  When I married Chris, I gained Sterling, my stepson who is smart, handsome, and a great big brother to our youngest, Stephen.  Stephen is full of life and we love watching him learn new things every day!  It seems like a few moments ago I was walking the stage at my high school graduation.  I blinked a few times and now I'm married, a mother, and a teacher.  Some times I still feel like a kid but reality sets in that I'm actually a grown-up.

Tomorrow, I leave for India for a mission’s trip with my church.  I am going with 8 other people and I'll be gone for one week.  When I saw the posting in our church bulletin, the thought of going to India never left me.  After signing up, Chris helped me get the process started of raising funds to go on the trip. Within a few weeks, I had all the funds raised!  Again, thanks to some very Godly people in my life, this couldn't have been possible.  I am so excited to see what exactly God is going to do in me and through me during this trip.  I am going to try my best to keep everyone up to date while I'm in India.  Please pray!