Poverty Meal

This week is Missions week at my school. My roommate and I attended "Poverty meal" instead of going to our usual dinner. Instead of having a choice of several items to choose from, we simply had 1 bowl of porridge. As I'm sitting in the sectioned off area of the cafe I couldn't help but look around. There were students everywhere- many laughing, with huge trays filled with food. That was a new perpective for sure. I get up to the pot and fill up my bowl (which was a little bigger than my fists) with one ladel full. It wasn't so bad. It was grainy, but tasted a lot like potatoes. The more I ate though, the more I was impacted. Sure, one bite is okay, but after awhile it gets pretty boring and it makes your throat sore. What did I do? I got a glass of water. That helped a lot. But it got me really thinking. People eat this same dry mush everyday with no water. Others eat nothing at all. What really aches is that 10 million children go hungry in the US alone and that a child dies every 7 seconds from malnourishment. In an unfair world, it's easy to forget to pray for our brothers and sisters and our children. But let's remember and be thankful for the unlimited supply of nourishment we have within our reach.

Where to begin? Recently I've been experiencing a great time of change in a very exciting way. Last week I made it "official"- I'm studying Elementary Education with a psychology minor. My professor helped me see that my dreams of working in Romania and with orphans isn't just a side note that God is calling me to- it is a passion I can go for right here where I'm sitting. The schools around here are full of children who are hurting and broken. God is giving me opportunities. (I'd like a better word than that though...) Another one of my professors pointed out the harsh realities of a teacher's job. I wonder if I can really be a great teacher. At the same time, I know God has given me this love for learning and inspiring and loving. I've also stumbled upon an interesting book that is helping me know more about the cruelties of communism of Southern Europe in the mid 1900's. I still will never have all the answers if I ask "why?", so I will pray for the "when?" and "how to" in my life.

Recent thoughts

I am amazed at how God makes everything in my life fit together in such an amazing way! Sometimes I don't always see that right away. I will be leaving for college in two months and up until a few days ago, I knew I would be upset over being far away from home but it never hit me until just then. So I was laying there in the dark just sobbing to myself about how much I would miss my mom and dad and then it hit me: Going far from home is going to be a part of my life from this point on. Once college is over, I could find a teaching job anywhere. And if and when I find myself headed to Romania (or anywhere for that matter) I will be homesick, but I need to be strong. I know I will be able to with Gods help, but it will be tough. I am thankful for everyone is is praying for me and supports the passions that I have.

Thank-you for first graders

I haven't written here for awhile. I intended to write here whenever something really funny happened or something interesting ahppened, but I never got around to it. Oh well. But, I wanted to (in a way) say thank-yous for my first grade class this year. Technically, you weren't really my students, but I enjoyed helping you and watching you grow. You have all changed so much since I first came in September. Thank-you for showing me all about what first grade is like. Thank-you for making me laugh and think and listen. It's wierd to think that when I am out of college in four years, you will be in *gasps!* FIFTH GRADE! But it is okay. I will teach other kids, but your class will always be remembered as a special one. So, thank-you :)

Something I noticed...

Usually I come in to the class working on writing assigments, but today they were working on a math lesson. I sat at a table with five students. Many of them were so easily distracted and were doing pretty much anything besides "spill the beans" except for one little boy. He was speeding through the paper so fast! This is the kid who usually sits in front of his paper and says, "I have a headache, I can't think of what to write." So the question is, is he more interested in math related things or is he more skilled in math? O_o

I'm not eating ghosts yet...

When I get power hungry, I want to run everything my own way. Sometimes I just have to keep reminding myself that someday I'll be the boss,but right now I can't control everything, and that's okay. Sometimes I have to be like Pacman and eat the ghosts, other times I have to step away and let someone else lead. It's all about balance I guess...

So nice to be loved...

I walked in today and I was asked to help two students fix their sentences they had written about fire safety. One of the girls saw me and patted the table for me to sit by her. (Usually, I sit at the round table and watch a group of students while they write.) I sat at the smaller table and starting working with someone else. She came and sat down at the other chair, so I asked her, "Are you supposed to be sitting here?" She nodded yes and then I asked, "Did the teacher say you could be back here?" Again, she nodded, but I told her I was working with another student today. She said, "I wanted to sit here with you today."