Accreditation Possible?

This week brought some exciting news for the shelter. First, we were able to obtain health insurance for every single one of our kids, even for those without birth certificates! This was evidence of God's hand at work and of his goodness!

Secondly, we found out that there is a possibility of becoming an accredited school, which would allow the kids that have birth certificates to take national tests in order to advance further in school. The church we attend in Guadalajara runs an English immersion Christian school, and the accreditation would be available if we partnered with them as a branch of their school. I would appreciate prayer for the whole process. Jenny and I sent in our resumes this week, and it is quite possible that we will be receiving a visit from a government representative who will observe us teach. This would truly be a blessing for the kids!

As for day-to-day living, I'm loving the adventure of teaching and learning right along with the kids. I taught both Bible classes in Spanish this week, which stretched me and encouraged me in my Spanish acquisition. My students and I had a good laugh when I accidentally said "the potato told his sons to come" instead of "the father told his sons to come." Yeah...let's just say my Spanish is a work in progress!

A quick prayer request: We've had Chicken Pox passing from child to child for about 3 weeks now. We think we're almost done with it, but currently the two babies have it. Please pray for healing! Thank you so much!

The kids earned a "compliment party" from us this week, something they've been working toward for a long time. So, we celebrated "Wacky Day" on Friday! As part of the festivities, we also dissected two owl pellets (don't worry, we sterilized them) that Jenny and I collected ourselves. What an experience! We discovered a bird beak and its bones in one, and a series of mice skulls and jaws in the other. We continue to use the owl as an educational experience, keeping tabs on the eggs-charting when they will hatch, watching what the owl brings to the nest, etc. SO COOL! I've posted pictures of Wacky Day below!

Wacky teachers (Jenny, myself, and Meredith-the intern who is with us until December)

Owl Pellet #1-bird discovered inside

Owl pellet #2-Mice/other small animal bones discovered

Falling into the Routine

Even though I've been here a month, I've just begun to feel as though a routine is emerging. I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my role, knowing when to help and when to rest.

My typical weekday looks something like this:
6:45-Have devotions and watch the sunrise
8:15-Grab breakfast and head to the schoolroom
9:00-Kids arrive
1:30-Lunch break!
4:00-School ends/Start supervising piano practices
4:30-8:00-Various activities (exercise, rest, study Spanish, help in the house with childcare or dishes)
8:30-Bible study (2-3 days a week)

Saturdays are a workday for me as well. I teach 3.5 hours of piano in the afternoons and then spend the majority of the day planning for the next week's lessons.

Sundays-the day of rest! Much of this day is taken up with the 1.5 hour drive into Guadalajara both ways and errand running if necessary (since it is the only day we are in the city). But I'm still hoping it will lend itself well to rest.

Overall, I'm busier than I expected, but I've really been enjoying it so far! It is amazing how close I feel to the students already after only one month. But teaching and living with them all at the same time will do that, I suppose! We've been having so much fun together! I've made them all into little bird-lovers (as I mentioned earlier) and I still giggle when I'm in the middle of teaching a lesson and they excitedly point out the window, saying: "Look Maestra Amber! A great egret!" One boy in particular is making his own bird list. When I told him today that I had found a bird book for him to read, he got so excited he sprang up and gave me a hug! :)

Along that note, we discovered that barn owls have made their home in the third story of the house. It is still unfinished, so it provides perfect lodging for them. Talk about a science teacher's dream! Owl pellet dissection, anyone? (Don't worry-we're going to figure out a way to do this in a sanitized manner). Or how about deciding to do a book club on owls, then taking your students on a field trip upstairs to see them? We also noticed that the Acostas' recently born kittens have gone missing in the past week...I'll let you piece that one together!

On a more serious level, one of our littlest boys had two seizures yesterday and had to be rushed to the hospital. He has had them in the past, but not this close together. We would love continued prayer for his health! We also would appreciate prayer for a couple children that currently have hardened hearts toward the Lord. One voiced quite clearly that she was upset with the Lord for letting the past pain in her life occur. We all deeply need wisdom to know how to help them not only process their past, but let life in. I know that God is mighty and he is the one who can touch their hearts. Also, Chuy (the dad in the home) is currently away presenting at a conference for the week. We are praying for his trip to go well. Thank you so much for your prayers!