My Birthday!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday extra special this week! I had a chance to Skype with my family and received numerous emails and facebook messages. I felt all of your love and support!

My birthday ended up having an extra twist to it that I did NOT expect. If you don't like gross stories, you may want to skip ahead to the pictures :). And so here the story begins...I awoke early this morning to a very strange sensation in my inner ear. As I came out of my grogginess, it became apparent to me that something was inside my ear. Yes, something alive and moving. I woke up poor Jenny who came to my aid as we tried to flush it out with water, oil, alcohol, you name it. We succeeded in killing it, but were unable to get it out. So...we took a short drive to the clinic in town once it opened and had the doctor look at it. Unfortunately, she didn't have the right tools, so I had to go to the hospital in a neighboring town so that they could extract it. Upon looking in my ear, the doctor told me that he thought it was a cockroach. For those of you who don't know, cockroaches are the ONE thing in the WHOLE world that I cannot stand! They absolutely terrify me. I realize there is no real logic behind this phobia, but I'd rather have a scorpion in the room than a cockroach (I've gotten my wish many a time :). Gripping the table, I tried to fight back a little wave of panic. Ok, a big wave of panic! Many prayers and a long pair of tweezers later, my little friend was disposed of and I was home free! Just so you know, it was NOT a cockroach in the end-just a grain bug!

So, my birthday morning started out quite eventfully. However, I am truly thankful for a number of things. First of all, that neither doctor charged for seeing me. Secondly, that the medicine to help my ear heal was only about $5. Thirdly, that I didn't cause any additional driving as the director was already traveling into the neighboring town for appointments. I came back to the house as a celebrity, answering questions all day long like "Why did the bug go in your ear?" "What did it look like?", etc.

Thankfully, the events that occurred the rest of the day were much more birthday-like. I had a wonderful celebration with more presents than anyone could ever wish for! They made me a special lunch of my choice (no easy task in a house of 30 people)! The best presents, however, were the stack of cards that the kids wrote for me and the cake that one of the teen girls created for me! Check out the pictures below!

Some excellent quotes from the day:
-"Maestra Amber, you're almost 100!-from a 7-year old
-"Maestra Amber, we all know you had a hard time this morning, but remember it's still your birthday!...Just trust in the Lord in hard times and good times."-written in the 10-year-old's card to me
-"Maestra Amber-you're too old!"-from a 7-year-old
-"Maestra Amber-I like it when you smile 'cause your cheeks puff up!"-from an 8-year-old

My hospital visit!

My amazing cake and presents! (I love owls!) 

I'm slightly addicted to Cheetos...

A special birthday meal from my wonderful roommates!

Jenny and Kylie made strawberry/nutella crepes for my birthday breakfast!

Our teen small group threw a mini-celebration for me at night when I thought all the festivities were already over! I was so spoiled!

A beautiful sunset to end off the day! 

Exciting News!

Well, first of all, I am so excited to share that I have decided to commit to another school year here in Camichines! Jenny did as well, so it makes our upcoming “farewell” a little easier! We are both eager to be a part of the continuing growth and outreach of this ministry.

We have had a FULL week! I know, nothing new :). 

Ladies from Guadalajara

The group of ladies from Guadalajara came out for their “once a month” visit. This week, they shared about the country of Holland. The kids had the opportunity to listen to a presentation and experience a mini-economy system using euros. They went “shopping” with their euros and ended up with a lot of fun new items!

Field Trip

Later this week, we had the chance to take the kids into Cocula (a neighboring town) for the day. They visited a pet store, where they learned about tarantulas, turtles, and other random little critters. We then visited the mariachi museum and discovered a little more about that wonderful Mexican-style music! 

End-of-the-Year Program

The students have been working so hard all year and we wanted to show off some of the things they have learned! We put together an “end-of-the-year” program (even though we still have a month left) to show to family, friends, and staff and performed it this week! See pictures below.

Dad and Mission Team

My wonderful father has put together a construction mission team that will be visiting us soon and helping us make headway on the rooms that will be used for the school next year. I can’t wait to see him!

Presentation about the Netherlands

Spending their euros at the "store!"

Exciting new "purchases!"

Gouda cheese with the Netherlands flag!

The Mariachi Museum

We like guitars! 

I love my coworkers!

Our program welcome table!

Say Cheese!  

Multiplication songs!

Come on in and see our program!

Our awesome electricity demonstration!

Singing loud and proud!

Hanging out! :) 

Recent Happenings

As always, a lot is going on around here! The weather is starting to warm up, but it is always deliciously cool in the mornings and evenings.

Spring Break
We took a few days off school to celebrate Holy Week. The first day, we took the kids on a picnic to a small grassy spot by the "presa" (pond). So...we loaded up the donkey (Dixie) with our food items, and started on our merry way! The kids each took turns riding Dixie and, of course, I brought my volleyball! I've posted pictures below!


Over Easter weekend, Kylie, Jenny, and I had the wonderful opportunity to take a Spring Break in the city. We stayed at a hotel and just relaxed in every way possibly. It was an amazing time of renewal, catching up on Skype with friends and family, reading, spending time reflecting and praying, etc. As much as the break was nice, I was excited to return last week to dive in again!

Mission Team
A mission team from Florida has been ministering in Camichines this week. They have set up an eye clinic, where members of the community can come and get an eye exam done for a little less than $5. If needed, they were given frames and reading glasses at extremely low costs as well as free sunglasses. Around 300 people from the village were blessed by their work!

School
This week has been a pretty standard week, working our way through the curriculum as we begin wrapping up the school year. I can't believe how fast time flies! We started talking about our end-of-the-year program, as well as the end-of-the-year piano recital. It has been a joy to see how far my piano students have come in a year. They are all different ages and levels, but are working hard!

The Small Things...
I'm learning to bask in the small things, to recognize the little gifts that God gives us each moment of the day. It's amazing how focusing on these gifts this can lift my spirit immensely and take my focus off my workload or my exhaustion. Some of the small things God has blessed me with this week:

• Sitting outside playing guitar with a small crowd of delighted children listening and singing along
• Being "mobbed" by eager students every time I walk across the courtyard
• Hearing "Maestra Amber" hundreds of times a day
• Finding notes on my desk with phrases like "best teacher ever :)" 
• Finding little candies on my desk by students eager to share 
• Quote from yesterday: "You silly teacher! I just want to keep you forever!" 
• Watching the sun set over the mountains 
• Hearing students quote memorized Scripture 
• Seeing students make connections from the Scripture to their own lives 
• Being HERE! 

Thank you, Lord, for granting me the blessing of being here! 

Preparing sandwiches for the picnic!

Spending time out with the animals while we picked up Dixie.

Picking up Dixie

Loading up Dixie!

Miss Kylie's first time on Dixie!

Food, hanging out, and volleyball! Not much better than this! 

Our wonderful pool rooftop at the hotel! 

Enjoying a wonderful breakfast at our hotel

Outdoor track on the roof of our hotel! We loved to go running as the sun was setting over the city!

Fun at recess!

Dressed in White

We were walking through a mall the other day, when I heard someone say, “Look at that girl!” Casually turning around, I saw a girl of around 6 years old in a beautiful, white, lacy dress. It wasn’t the dress that caught my eye, although it was snowy white. It wasn’t her outward beauty, although she was adorable. It was what she was doing. With her eyes half closed, her head tilted back, her arms out to the side, she was dancing. People were walking by everywhere, staring, pointing, wondering. But she didn’t even see them. I absolutely could not take my eyes off her. I don’t know how I could tell, but it was so clear to me that she knew she was beautiful. Confidence and joy radiated from her as her faltering, six-year-old steps and twirls formed one of the most beautiful dances I’ve ever seen. That’s when I saw him-an elderly gentleman seated on a stone wall a few feet away, watching his grandaughter with a smile on his age-worn face. That was why she danced.  

This is a little different from my usual updates and posts, but I knew, upon seeing this girl, that I had to write about her. She made such a deep impression on me and God has used it as such a clear picture of his love for me. I often get so caught up in trying to be perfect for God and beating myself up when I’m obviously not. But the truth is: he delights in me; to him, I am dressed in white. To him, my stumbling steps are a dance, as his power changes my weakness into strength. And to picture Him as that elderly grandfather, smiling with delight as his little child tries to dance…what greater joy have I than this-to be in relationship with someone who loves me so?