The View Outside My Window (Written Saturday, June 10th)

The view outside my window has had many changes in the past weeks.

The view outside my window was of newborn goats and Malaysian apples.

Then view outside my window changed to an apartment building and a playground set.

The current view outside my window is of roads, cars, and houses, thousands of feet below me.

In a few hours, the view outside of my window will be the city of Philadelphia and then of my dogs in my backyard.

As I sit here on plane ride #21 since July of 2016, I feel like the views outside my window reflect my life in transition.

For someone that struggles with change, life overseas is filled with it! I’ve adjusted to a new culture, climate, home, language, school, and job. I have to meet and then say goodbye to dozens of new people. I taught a grade I’ve never imagined being a part of. I’ve learned to live away from family for the first time. I’ve adjusted to life with two housemates and wayyyy less animals then I’m used to.

So much change in just 10 months!

Though it hasn’t always been easy, it has always been worth it! As one of my housemates and I used to say, “This life is hard, but it is good.”

I love my new life in Haiti, all the change included. I love how God is 

using all of these experiences to shape me, hopefully into looking more like Him. I love how God is using my family, friends, and church family to build me up, encourage, and support me in the call God has put on my life.

Thank you for your part in my story, no matter what view outside my widow there is. 

My ministry is not possible without you.

Discombobulated Thoughts

Discombobulated Thoughts

      Hello! First of all, I apologize for the lack of posting in 2017 so far. Every time I would start to write, something would interrupt or my thoughts would jumble. I am also currently on my third round of antibiotics since New Year’s for what was/is some sort of respiratory/sinus infection that just might have been walking pneumonia. Please forgive me! J  We are now on spring break and this the first actual  “pause” I have taken since December. 

   So… I thought about writing about embracing the “messy” parts of life, like building cross-cultural friendships, working with kids from hard places, or navigating tough decisions about the future without having my mom close by.

     I thought about copying my housemate Susie’s idea on writing about the verse that states, “How beautiful are the feet of those who share the good news.” Because, you see these feet?

They are almost always dusty, peeling, and mosquito bitten, and a little bit sore. Beautiful is not the word I would use for them. (And yes, I know that’s not what the Bible literally meant).

     But finally, as I walked home from school hand-in-hand with a couple of my girlies, I decided I would show some pictures of things that have made me reflect on what love has looked like the past couple months.

      Love is freshly picked flowers from my students.

      Love is half-birthday celebrations.

Love is notes from my mom.

      Love is friends taking you to get food when your lazy.

      Love is a “Sign if you love your teacher!” board.

      Love is fourth grade completing 100 acts of kindness.

      Love is chocolate from a stranger for loving on her kids when she can’t.

      Love is having personal hairstylists almost every day.

      Love is “Have you had enough water today, Miss Kacie?”

      Love is school supplies from pen-pals.

      Love is a picture drawn of my and student with the words, “This is me and my teacher. I love her and I know she loves me.”

      Love is long talks and Hawaii 5-0 with housemates. (We need more pictures!)

     Love is “Kacie! Eske ou manje ak nou souple?” “Will you eat with us please?”

      Love is morning hugs.

      Love is students praying for me and each other.

      Love is a “pixie dust holder.”

      Love is handmade dresses from mom & grandma for the orphanage.

Love is a happy face on my sidewalk “because you love everything cute.”

Love is this:

Fourth Grade Lessons

Fourth Grade Lessons

I’m not sure how many people I’ve told, but teaching fourth graders was never on my bucket-list. All my life, I have wanted to work with little kids. My mom and mommom have passed on enough materials that I could teach preschool without much preparation. So when my two supervisors from student teaching in Haiti asked me to teach fourth grade this year, I was a bit skeptical (and if I’m being honest, a bit scared too).

Now that we are half way through the second marking period though, I can say that that has changed! Every day isn’t a piece of cake, but I love my fourth graders. I love how I can have real, deep conversations with them and really work through our material. In the process of me learning how to teach them in the most effective ways, they’ve been teaching me some things along way. I thought I’d share some lessons from fourth grade.

1.)            Be silly!

2.)          Be kind.

3.)          Don’t forget to play.

4.)          Ask questions.

"Miss Kacie, how many galaxies are there?““Are elk bigger than deer?” “How big is the sun compared to earth?” “What is the world’s biggest insect?” (Thank God for Google!) 

     

http://pics-about-space.com/

5.)          Love all of God’s creations.

Ok, so this one is kinda my fault. I'm one that cannot kill a bug without feeling guilty..It annoys people, but I can't help it, I promise! :P .I may have turned many of my students into that too. Where they used to freak out at bugs, spiders, snakes, etc. they now are curious and kind. Now, instead of screaming at a giant spider, they say, "Aww! It's so cute! Let's move our stuff so that he can be safe where he is." 

6.)          Dig deep into God’s Word.

This one goes alongside the questions one. They have so many impressive questions about the Word! Where did dinosaurs go and where are they in the Bible? (Genesis & Job in case you were wondering) What does the Bible say about angels? What will heaven be like? If Jesus was born in 4 A.D., how was He at creation? How can one God have three persons? I love these questions as it makes me dive deep into the Bible to make sure I am teaching them correctly. It is also evidence that they are thinking through these issues at a young age! 

7.)          Sing “Bless the Lord (10,000 reasons)” whenever it comes to mind.

This is some of my kids' favorite song (which I love)! We started adding in some worship song time to our Bible time recently. I've found that it really sets the pace of the day and makes everyone in a better mood. This song though, it's not just sung at Bible time...It is hummed while I am teaching. It is done as a duet, quartet, 11-tet as we are doing stations. It is begged for at chapel. It brings a calm across the room as we sing, "Bless the Lord oh my soul. Worship His Holy name. Sing like never before, oh my soul, worship His holy name." 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtwIT8JjddM

8.)          Pray boldly.

One of the best decisions I've made this year is to turn from one or two people praying each day to doing "popcorn prayers." Though there are some that will whine that it takes too long, for the most part they offer up pure, bold prayers about so many things. I just have to give you some examples. 

"God, thank you for all that you have made and all you have given us. Please comfort those who don't have as much."

"God, thank you that we go to a school where we can grow more in you. Please be with those who cannot hear about You at school and with those who cannot even go to school. Help them find a way to learn about you."

"Lord, please come back soon so we can see the New Heaven and New Earth...but God give us enough time to tell more people about you so that no one will spend forever without you"

"Let the bad guys stop doing wrong, and turn to You so that others will see and do the same." 

"Thank you for loving us. Help kids without parents get to go home soon with forever families."

"Help the people dealing the flood so that they can fix their homes, find food, and a safe place to sleep." 

I'm telling you- when these kids really pray, I get the goosebumps and feel the Spirit in my classroom. I even told them that I don't care when it takes more than 5 minutes to pray because I imagine God listening and smiling in Heaven at us. 

9.)          Hug often.

If you have questions about this one, please see my post about my "clingy class." ;) . 

10.)        There is something way more important than lesson plans, conferences, and standards. These 4th graders "love Jesus deep down in their hearts!" ♡

What I’m Here For

What I’m Here For

          Everyone knows that a teacher’s life isn’t easy. There are endless lessons to plans, papers to grade, standards to meet, and students to reach. Even in Haiti, separated from mainstream education systems, these things can be exhausting. These past two weeks though, I’ve gotten many reminders as to my purpose of being here this year.

          My class and I have sort of an agreement. We can have fun and run things differently as long as we are safe, respectful, and learning. This works out well for us usually and allows for our small class bond to grow. I started to feel though, that maybe we were too close and that they were too clingy. It started with read aloud time where I just read through a fun novel. Instead of sitting at their seats, I allow them to sit on the floor or in the coveted comfy chairs. Now, most of my students want to be right up next to me or at my feet within reach. At snack/ first recess time, they want to spend it inside with me. At lunch, it’s a race to see who will ask me to sit with them first. Then recess comes and they still want to sit and talk with me. (Note: this is not every day and every time, they still play with their friends, but it is a very common occurrence). It was to the point where all my food/recess/break time that I use for prep was taken up each day.

          The teacher in me would groan. Didn’t they realize I had work to do, copies to make, lessons to plan? All the work that comes with giving them their education? Then I felt a nudge from God reminding me why I am here and why I ever wanted to be a teacher in the first place. I’m here for the relationships. I’m here for the hugs, the laughs, the drying of tears, the lunch table discussions. I’m here for the hand-in-hand walk down sidewalk in the mornings, for the “Miss Kacie, did you know”s, the never-ending stories, and lame fourth grade jokes. I want them to confide in me when they are frustrated with more than a math problem and trust me to know their fears and life questions. I want them to see how I live my life and think that maybe they want to follow my Jesus too.

          After this reminder, I found a lot more joy in my days and a lot less exhaustion. I am still definitely tired, but it’s that good fulfilled, satisfied tired. I enjoy sitting with them and taking part in their conversations. While some days the conversations are wacky, others bring a lot of nine-year-old wisdom. No matter what the case, our time is now being cherished a whole lot more and I look forward to what the rest of the year will bring to me and my clingy class.