I’ve heard it said, that people come in to our lives for a reason…

Hanging before the tea with Kate,
my pastor's daughter

          This Friday was the ACA graduation for the senior class of 2011! We had 11 students graduate and 6 different nationalities represented! It was one of the classes at ACA with the most US missionaries (3), and also had Paraguayans, Koreans, a Taiwanese, a Peruvian, and a British student. Most of these students have been at ACA since kindergarten and in the same class together through the years! Their pictures, memories, and stories were special to hear as they grew together. All of this time together, and now they are separating and going truly around the world! Each has made an impact on each to help them grow and become who they are and who they will become! From dreams of becoming a diplomat, to an opera singer, to banking, and the undecided, each is heading out into the world to make their mark! With memories being stated about even as far back as elementary and kindergarten, it was a wonderful end of the year reminder and extra jolt for why we do what we do and the impact a little action of love can one day make on the world!!!

Filling up before the ten minutes
are up. I could hear the ocean!



         On Saturday, I went to my church for nearly 8 hours to help set up, decorate and clean up from the Té de Damas (Ladies Tea)! It was certainly a wonderful time for the ladies of the church to join together, have fun, and learn more about the Lord. The theme was Winter Wonderland (selected by some Paraguayan ladies)! The irony was that while we are entering into our winter here that can get cold (no snow though), this last week was the annual heat wave that accompanies the festival de San Juan. So while I was hanging up snowflakes from the ceiling on my church I was sweating in the 80 degree weather! Still the decorations turned out very well and the women loved it! We had food, tea (Paraguayan cocido (a very sweet hot tea)), crafts, a testimony from a woman on a mission trip, and games. One of the games as you can see involved trying to stick as many balloons onto a group model (aren’t my Paraguayan sisters in Christ so sweet to pick me)! Within ten minutes I had 39 balloons all over me! It was a wonderful time being able to grow closer to these women and laugh together!



Winter wonderland, Paraguayan style!



Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for a good end to our school year as it is coming up soon! (June 24th)

- Please pray for the board as they are working on making important decisions about this next year!
- Please Pray for our new teachers that are coming!

Firsts:
- First ACA Graduation!

- First Té de Damas at my church! (Ladies tea)

They decided to pop the balloons to count them!!!

A week of joy, in the midst of the end

My award poster that my students
made for me!!!

        This week has been such a huge blessing in so many ways! The little things that can bring so much joy often come in the unexpected ways! We are ending the year with firsts, lasts, and hope of what is yet to come.

         Art Club for the younger students is now over for the year and we finished our recycled animals and they also decided to make a poster for all of the teachers thanking them for the year! The students were so creative and have really grown so much! Tomorrow we will have our last meeting for the older art club and finish the pillows that they are making! They have worked so hard and for many of them it is their first sewing experience! They are embroidering the pillows with a wonderful design of their creation! (They and I are so excited for next year!)



Art Club with their poster!!!!



         Blessings and joy also came from all of the support and love from my friends and students on my birthday! From the sweet notes and surprise party that my co-teacher and students planned, to my first time riding and then driving a motorcycle (I am so Paraguayan!), fun with the best ice cream in Paraguay, and a wonderful girls’ night to end it well! It was the perfect boost and surge to finish it off.

Prayer Requests:


Soy de Paraguay! This was the crazy
paraguayan motorcycle that had different
parts not working(including the hand brake)!



- Please pray for a good end to our school year as it is coming up soon! (June 24th)



- Please pray for the board as they are working on making important decisions about this next year!

Firsts:
- First time having school on my birthday!!!!

- First time riding a motorcycle (1 lap) and then driving it for 9 laps!!!
- First time planning decorations for a winter wonderland ladies tea! (The women of my church picked the them! : )

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too!

Talent Show!

Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me, too,

Went for a ride in a flying shoe,

Hurray,

What fun,

It’s time we flew!

Cried Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too.

      This week (or even really this day) has been rather like this poem! From a talent show tonight, to disease presentations and funky fruits, we have been full of the wacky and the weird, and yet so fun! Tonight along with 2 of my fourth graders, we recited Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me too for our school talent show! The girls had wanted to participate with an act, but didn’t know what to do, and were very nervous. So we went for it with a little color of our own, and a whole lot of Shel silverstein fun!

Kaki fruit!

5th Grade presentation on
our diseases!

(P.S. the girl in the red was Ickle, the pink was Pickle, and I was Tickle!)

       My 5th graders just completed their disease presentations today! They did a fantastic job each researching a disease, its characteristics and components. Then they looked into the major immune responses to the disease. They each made a PowerPoint or a poster to use for their presentation! They were creative, insightful, very entertaining! It is crazy to think back at how much they each have changed and grown in this last year! Some of them had no English, were quiet, and hated presentations. Now each of them put on quite the informative, thorough, fantastic, English presentation.



My Younger Art Club finished
their recycled animals!



       I know I haven’t had a new fruit in a while, but take a look at these! They are super sweet and called Kaki. They are primarily from Brazil, but as you may have noticed, Paraguay imports a lot of things from our huge neighbor!

Prayer Requests:

- Please pray for a good end to our school year as it is coming up soon! (June 24th)

- Please pray for us to have plenty of wonderful people apply to fill the open positions for next year! (Also if you know anyone who may be interested in teaching here, you can send them to www.acaknights.org or have them contact me!)

5th grade presentation on Chicken Pox!

Firsts:

- First time eating kaki

- First time being in an ACA talent show with my students!

Peruvian, Medialunas, Karaoke, and Admision Permanente!!!!

The three of us, sporting our Paraguayan
Admisiones Permanente!

          I have certainly been blessed to make some wonderful friends and been blessed to have the opportunities to get out, and learn more about Paraguay! This Friday I had a fantastic time going out to eat at a Peruvian restaurant that was incredibly delicious! Then we popped over for medialunas, croissants that believe it or not actually taste like, but better than, Krespy Kremes! Finally we ended the night with Karaoke Paraguayan Style!!!! It has been such a blessing to be able to get out and take a break while seeing more of the Paraguayan culture!

        



Yet more exciting.... I officially have an ADMISION PERMANENTE!!!!!!!!! This is more or less the equivalent of a Paraguayan green card! No longer do I have to worry about a visa, or leaving the country every 90 days, instead Paraguay now officially trusts me enough to allow me to come and go as I want!!!! It has taken since July to get this card and get all of my paperwork through the process. I am so incredibly thankful for Hebert, a co worker at ACA who was the paperwork expert who helped us navigate everything! He is truly impressive and a wonderful! All I had to do to was follow him around, sign on the line several times, wait in lines (for a few hours ; ) and smile (actually NOT) for a picture! If you notice, my card in the picture is conveniently held far away from camera so that you don’t see the “almost laughing smirk, because I can’t smile” expression on my face!

Next Stop, Cedula!





On the way to pick up our cards!!! Finally! (Nate and Cassie
 (a couple that also teaches at ACA, and Cassie's sister Molly
 on the right)

Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for a good end to our school year as it is coming up soon! (June 24th)
- Please pray for us to have plenty of wonderful people apply to fill the open positions for next year! (Also if you know anyone who may be interested in teaching here, you can send them to www.acaknights.org or have them contact me!)

Firsts:
- First time eating at a Peruvian Restaurant!

- First time eating medialunas! I am hooked!
- First time doing going to a Paraguayan Karaoke!
- First time getting my ADMISION PERMANENTE!!!!