Hola

It seems like not much has happened in the last week, but thought I would still share a post, so I don't go too long and forget : ) Of course there are always things happening, but maybe it seems quiet compared to the last week! I am thankful for a quieter week.

I forgot to share in my last post that we saw one of our students in the car next to us at the lights as we were driving to Guanjuato. It was so fun to see her big smile and have her wave back at us. This made me feel like I was building relationships : )

I also forgot to share that my dear friend Margie sent me a video of some of the ladies I was meeting with when I was back home, Solo Sisters. This is a group of single, divorced and widowed ladies that gets together once a month. It may just be going out to eat, may be a movie, playing a game or having a bonfire. It's always so fun to get together and fellowship with those in the same season. It was so fun to see and hear from those ladies. If you are single and looking for a group to hang out with, let me know and I can get you in contact with someone from the group : )

My other dear friend, Jenni, did a Marco video during the barn service that I was attending Sunday evenings when I was home. Sister Jenny was speaking, so it was good to listen to her message and see many people from the barn. It was so great to hear a message in English : )

Many people have texted, e mailed or facebooked to check in and encourage me. You may think these videos and messages are something little, but it means so much to me. So thank you to those of you that have reached out. It's always good to hear from those back home!

I still talk to mom and dad a few times a week. I have also talked to Stacey and Jenny a couple times. This last weekend I was able to facebook video chat with my dear friend Sarah. I am always up for a phone call or video call : ) Or a message is great too!

Last week, we went to Wal Mart and I walked around all by myself. You are probably thinking, you are almost 41 years, what's the big deal about that? Being in a new country where I don't speak the language, I haven't done much on my own, so that was kind of a big deal. Norma was at Wal Mart, but we walked around separately.

I also went out walking on my own last Saturday for the Princess Warrior 5K. This is an 11th annual event in memory of a dear friend Jane, who was taken too soon to cancer. Her dream was to have a walk to raise money for families with cancer. Since I wasn't in town, I did a virtual walk. My path here was different here, but was glad I was still able to participate. I took many pictures of God's beautiful creations while on my walk.

A couple other things that make me feel like relationships are being built, one of the girls brought me an apple to school one day last week : ) Last Friday we were walking the dogs at the park and we saw Damion, one of the preschool students, and he noticed me first. He had a big smile and gave a huge wave. His mom shared with Norma that He loves having me for a teacher, so that was nice to hear.

I have to share how God has been working on my heart. A couple weeks ago, I shared a frustration as I had worked hard to organize the many books in the library to find them messed up. As I worked on organizing, the other teacher worked on lesson plans. I stayed up late and worked on mine at home a couple nights during the week. Not sure I shared it here, but shared it with a couple prayer texts I have.

Good news, this last Friday, the same teacher was working on her lesson plans, but I handled the situation very differently. Thank goodness for God's grace and that He has been working on my heart and how I handle things. I was at peace and just worked on finishing organizing of the books. I decided to watch my own bobber.

I am still adjusting to the changes at school, but have learned it's normal to find out about things the morning of or minutes before it's happening. It's normal for your class to be interrupted several times. It's normal for the room to be switched around when you come back in the next day. I am working on letting things go and going with the slow. But man that's hard. My teacher friends, will understand this.

Last weekend was low key, so that was nice. As you read I did the princess warrior walk. We also went to Cortazar, a nearby city, but just ended up eating there. I helped Norma organize some cupboards in the kitchen, so that felt good to help. They have a cleaning fairy around here and don't let me help with that. Although I can usually sneak the dishes in : )

I enjoyed a video chat with my friend Sarah on Saturday afternoon. Chatted with Jenny on Sunday and had our family zoom. We ended up going out to the mall Sunday evening and having ice cream! Yum!

I don't think I have wrote about how every time you are at a stop light people are selling things, wanting to wash your windshield or doing juggling, hula hooping or some kind of activity to earn money. This seems like a lot of work to me, but this is what they know. It makes me appreciate my job in Minnesota and just being able to go to work and know I will have a paycheck.

Another thing I don't think I have shared yet, is every morning before school, we pray as a group of teachers and then we pray with students before heading to class. This is so good! Of course it's a Christian school, but I was thinking the other day, how I could meet with other believers at WDC and take time to pray for the school and students. Even if we did it once a week. Such a great reminder to take that time to give our work and students to God. He knows and He cares.

Well, I think that's enough for now. Thanks again for your continued prayers, support and encouragement. I can feel them. Thanks for being a part of this journey. Praise that my health seems to be good and haven't gotten sick from the food or water : ) Praise that I feel like relationships are being built. Still playing thumb wars with Daniel every day. Now other kids have joined in too. Praise for my host family, they are amazing! Praise that God has been working on my heart and how I respond to situations.

Prayers...continue to pray for me to learn and be able to speak the language. I can actually read it pretty well, but still working on understanding and speaking. Also continue to pray for relationships to be built. Pray for my attitude to be good and to continue to adjust to the new and different. Pray for Norma, host mom, as she is having some tests done this week for her health. Pray for Ricardo, host dad, and Marlen, host cousin as they both are dealing with difficult people at work. Pray for Michelle, host sister, as she is no longer with her boyfriend and is also attending school. Again, God knows and He cares!

Enjoy some pictures from the last week : ) Apparently I liked taking food pictures!

Dessert that Ricardo made : )

Fruit crepe and french fries for lunch at school : )

We did these hearts for International Peace Day on September 21st. Liz informed me on the 20th I should come up with an activity : )

Close up of peace activity

Having a Pepsi for my dear friend Jenni : )

Dessert at school. Looks like I enjoy food!

We had too many puzzles out in the preschool room and they had them all mixed up, so this is what teachers do, they put them back together as the kids had another class