Camp is on the horizon!



We definitely have some characters in
4th and 5th grade!

              Feliz Dia de Boqueron! Tomorrow is a national holiday to celebrate a great battle of Paraguay and we have the day off school! It is nice getting additional holidays to celebrate! This week has certainly been a whirlwind! The 1st quarter ended on Friday (wow how the time flies!), so our grades will be due this week! I find it hard to believe that I have been teaching these students for over nine weeks! Thankfully I have kept up with my grades and don’t have too much extra work.  Still next week is elementary camp! For one whole week the school and teachers work to provide a Christian camp experience to our students! This includes staying at a camp overnight, devotions, Bible studies, games, guest speakers, and all of the wonderful memories and experiences that it will bring! These students look forward to camp all year long, and we try to do the best we can planning and preparing for this time! We have definitely spent a lot of time and work planning for this time and would greatly appreciate your prayers!

Firsts:


We dissected flowers to look at the
different parts of the flowers during a
lab last week!



o First time being a regular at a meat counter! Oh yes, it is official, after two weeks of walking up to the chicken section of the meat counter and having my favorite attendee start preparing my order of two chicken breasts (the safest and healthiest chicken choice!), I believe that I am a certified regular!

o First time being to a Mexican restaurant in Paraguay. And it is officially my favorite Mexican Restaurant! It was incredible and the first time I have ever had fajitas with beef, chicken, and shrimp!


o First time having my apartment fumigated. A rough road, but hopefully for the better in the end. The chemicals that many of the companies use here are banned from the States. But thankfully the school chose a good choice with a non-toxic paste.

Last Wednesday was the highschool math
teacher's 60th birthday! So we dressed up like
her to welcome in this happy day or dressed
a little older too!

Prayer Requests:

- Please pray the elementary camp this next week! It will be a long and wonderful week. I can't wait to interact with my students in a different way and hope to give them as much of the joy and memories that I received from going to a Christian church camp.

- Please also pray for the opportunities that can arise to talk with the students during this time!

- Please pray for our continued protection and health. The exterminators also found lice on the balconies of our apartment, but hopefully the spraying of the paste has killed them as well!

- Please also pray for the people of Paraguay as some of the rebel groups have been acting out more in the last few weeks.

We worked with mushrooms and studied the
spores that they produce to reproduce!

Bed Bugs, Mosquitoes, and the Welcoming of Spring with 100°F!

        Today is the first day of spring here in Paraguay, and the temperature reached a high of 96°F (projected at 100) with very high humidity and pollution! It was the day of flowers and youth and another day filled with memories. In the apartments we have… oh yes, bed bugs! We have had them now for over a week and are hopefully getting them fumigated by the end of this week! They are going to use a yogurt-like paste in all of the walls and floor cracks. Apparently we do not need to leave the building for this process which is a relief.

       Along with the heat come more and more mosquitoes! They are everywhere! Thankfully I am doing well with several means of protection in this area, but please keep us all in your prayers as many diseases are being transmitted through these abundant critters.

        Class and school have been going well. We do have some trouble with a few troubled students that have a lot of things going on at home and in their lives that have surfaced at school. We are praying and working to help these students as best we can, but additional prayers are greatly needed.

Firsts:

- First time riding a bus by myself! It was crazy as the first time that I jump on a bus by myself as it flies away and then starts deviating from the regular path and going on to the back streets that are cobble and only fit one car at a time!

- First time hearing one of my sweet little Asian students proudly announced that he knew the capital on my great state of Pennsylvania. Hamburger!

- First time having my ticket checked on the bus! I had rode the bus easily 60 times and the time that I drop my little ticket into my bag, instead of holding it in my hand the whole trip! Thankfully I was able to find it at the last minute!

- First time getting this response from student explaining the similarities between horses and donkeys. “ Horse is sume at dunky becuase they both have hook.” (Translation: “A horse is similar to a donkey because they both have hoofs.”

- First time having my apartment fumigated for bedbugs with a yogurt- like paste…. It is suppose to go in all the cracks in the floors and walls, which could take a long time!

- First time that our friendly neighbors began playing a Christian Song for the world to hear! I and the rest of the people in the apartments was up at 3am in the morning listening to their crazy music that plays all day long with high pitched voices and pounding low beats. Suddenly a Kutless song comes on. While I doubt they understood much of what was being said, it was a nice break!

Prayer Requests:

- Please pray for my students, other teachers, and the people here in Paraguay for their protection during this heat and with the bug problems!

- Please pray for my students! Pray that I would have wisdom with how best to teach and guide them.

- Please pray for my new roommate, her adjustment to the new culture and environment.

Long, but Good Week!

        This last week have been long, but good. For the first time I was able to get out of the city and start to see more of the country! In many ways it reminds me of the other Latin American countries, yet it also has some of its own beauty that makes it unique. If you click on my slide show and click on some of the bottom pictures you can see more of what I say and hear more about my trip!

        I have a new roomate! Finally the 3rd grade teacher was able to arrive safely. Kristen is adjusting well and settling into her routine and Paraguay. The third grade class is finally with their 3rd and last teacher this year so far. Please pray for her as she works to adjust and get settled.

       My students and class are doing well. I can't believe that were are almost at the end of the first quarter! Time truly does fly when you are loving what you do!

Firsts:
- First time outside of Asuncion to see Paraguay! I went to Itagua and Aregua two nearby towns know for their Nanduti ( like lace) and ceramics.




- First time seeing a man fill a plastic bag with gasoline, jump on the back of a motorcycle and ride away with the driver smoking the whole time!


- First time seeing the flowering bush know as “Miranotoca”, which means Lookdon’ttouch. The bush has beautiful flowers, but also thorns that are hidden under the leaves.

Prayer Requests:
- Please pray for Kristen, the new third grade teacher!

- Please pray for the sickness that has been going around for the students and the staff!

- Please pray for wisdom with my students, what to do, and what to say.

A Full Week Ahead!

            I have a full week, but a good week ahead of me! Tomorrow I have a college student coming to observe my science class for 4th grade as well as art club for the older students! On Thursday, I will be leading the chapel for my elementary students, and then leading a Skype call to GCC admissions to discuss GCC and the admissions process there. Also on Thursday my new roommate in my apartment will be arriving at 10:30PM. Friday also holds several other commitments. Then with all of the students being absent and traveling and other usual weekly challenges these are sure to just add to the business of the week.

           We have been having a wonderful time studying about organisms, what make things living, and so much more! We have been working with microscopes, acid experiments, and have been working on computer research projects. In math we have been practicing our multiplication and addition skills and are learning how to apply them to decimals! We have been able to do some great centers and practical application activities.


Firsts:

- First time riding on a bus in Paraguay that was deemed too full to take anyone else on. This was 2 people after me, who were literally hanging off the bus behind me. There were about 5 people and me in the standard US personal space bubble.
Prayer Requests:


- Please pray for the safe arrival of my new roommate. She will be the 3rd grade teacher and will be jumping in to observe on Friday and starting to teach on Monday! Also please prayer that my roommate and I will be able to quickly find a routine that works well for the two of us. It will certainly be different after living in the apartment for 7 weeks and now switching. For her she will be jumping in so quickly and will certainly feel a little left behind as most of us already have our routines down.
- Please pray for the students!
- Please pray the chapel and Skype call/conference goes well this Thursday!