If anyone wants to donate school supplies to Faith Roots International Academy, the school I will be working for in Ghana, this is a list of things they are looking for:
Pencils
Folders
Notebooks
White board markers (some small ones for student use and larger ones for teacher's use)
Art supplies like construction paper, paint, etc
COLORING BOOKS...lots and lots of coloring books!
They will either be going over with me in September or December, depending on what I can fit... But they are cheapest to buy now! Let me know if this is something you are interested in! :)
In addition, here is the address to mail a check to if you are able to donate to my trip. I still have a large chunk of money to raise for my time there and would greatly appreciate your support.
City of Refuge Ministries
P.O. Box 91546
Sioux Falls, SD 57109
"KT-1" goes on the memo line.
18 August 2012
17 August 2012
Officially Unemployed
No, I did not lose my teaching job next year. I guess, technically, I signed a contract so I am "employed." But since I'm not getting paid, I prefer to describe it as being "volunteered." Which isn't quite as satisfying, since there are no paychecks that come with being volunteered. BUT that's not the point! The point is that summer camp with Seattle Parks & Rec is over and I LOVED it. The kids were awesome, my coworkers were great, and living in Seattle was so much fun. Here are a few pictures from my last few weeks.
This is my co-counselor, Ashley (with Peter). We work with the same co-counselor all summer so that we get to know how the other person works and be able to become a solid unit (ideally). Ashley and I always had a ton of fun making up songs about, well, pretty much everything, and keeping the Poppin' Penguins smiling.
As you can see, Anna is also in the background. We are asked to try and bring volunteers with us on Friday for zoo days as an extra set of eyes and hands, so Anna came with me one week and Caty was able to come the week before!
This is Hans, one of my favorite campers. It was Thursday during the last week of overnight camp, so we were all a liiiittle bit tired.
Gracie Lou Who! Gracie was in my group for two weeks and though they were DEFINITELY challenging, I'd say we came out on top. I adore this girl.
This is Hans again at the penguin exhibit at the Woodland Park Zoo. Day Camp is right across the street from the zoo and they let us in for free every Friday. It was pretty awesome!
Oh, sweet Tiffany... I wish I had a picture of her scrunched up face because it was the face we made at each other most of the time. She is so silly and loves to say "Shhh!" really loud at you in lieu of ever talking to us. She can talk, she just typically chooses not to. But she is so loving and sweet, I wish I had her in my group at some point.
This is just a little snapshot of my life there. I loved this summer and am sad that I won't be back in time to do the job again next year. If any SpEd people want a summer job next year (that ends in early August!), you should do it!!!
As you can see, Anna is also in the background. We are asked to try and bring volunteers with us on Friday for zoo days as an extra set of eyes and hands, so Anna came with me one week and Caty was able to come the week before!
This is just a little snapshot of my life there. I loved this summer and am sad that I won't be back in time to do the job again next year. If any SpEd people want a summer job next year (that ends in early August!), you should do it!!!
02 August 2012
Nerves
I've never been good at change. Since 8th grade, I would have been quick to admit that... I struggle with friendships changing, relationships being lost, comfort being shattered, and the huge pit at the bottom of my stomach that comes with the new. Sometimes I forget how much the beginning of college was a struggle for me... missing the security of home and the friends that knew me well. But now, I wish I could have stayed in those college moments forever.
But alas, I cannot. In 8 days I will go back to Spokane to see some dear friends before I leave. The Burrow will have new people living in it, volleyball girls will have taken over the Compound, I will be staying in West Central, Whitworth is no longer my school, and Louise will be surprised to see me, as I have not been to Pleasant Blends in almost 2 months... My life in Spokane is not there anymore. And that's the hardest hurdle for me to jump right now.
But it's also not the only hurdle. Anna leaves in one month to live in Germany with her wonderful husband-to-be for 3 years. Three years of uncertain visits and long distance relationships with the ones she loves... and I will miss her so.
Many friends of mine are preparing to start their own classrooms this fall all over the country, and then I think to myself, "Should I have done the same thing? Should I have applied for jobs here?"
My head tells me yes. My heart tells me "No... You are going exactly where you are supposed to be. You are going to Ghana. And God's got your back." Thank goodness.
I feel like I'm standing on a high platform over the ocean and I'm supposed to jump off, but I can't. In 32 days, God's just going to make the platform disappear, and I won't have a choice but to dive (or fall, very ungracefully) in. It feels terrifying... It feels lonely... It feels too big for me. But it is not too big for God.
Depending on who I talk to, I might get an "I couldn't do that... Good for you," a "Well it's only a year and then you can come back and do whatever else you want! You will love it so much," or an "Is it even safe there?" Possibly some other variation of essentially the same statement. No response really makes me feel any better about starting a new life in West Africa. Not even dear Margo's "We're all praying for you." But I am having a hard time praying for myself... It feels too real. And real is scary. And scary hurts. So what do I do?
I think of Kim telling me "I'm going to kick you in the ass if you don't go. You have to do this." How do I say no to that? I think this was really God talking to me through the mouth of a professor, telling me "Who are you to refuse my call?"
I think of Anna telling me, after a two-week trip to Doryumu this summer, "I'm even more excited for you to go now than I was last year when I came back."
I read blogs of those who are already in Ghana, cry, and then cry some more. And then get really excited to be there.
I think of life in two months from now... When I will have been there a month and things don't seem so scary anymore...
I remember that love does not end with distance. This is not an end, but rather a continuation with different circumstances.
I cry. A lot. And know that is okay.
And then I go.
Deuteronomy 31:6... "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
But alas, I cannot. In 8 days I will go back to Spokane to see some dear friends before I leave. The Burrow will have new people living in it, volleyball girls will have taken over the Compound, I will be staying in West Central, Whitworth is no longer my school, and Louise will be surprised to see me, as I have not been to Pleasant Blends in almost 2 months... My life in Spokane is not there anymore. And that's the hardest hurdle for me to jump right now.
But it's also not the only hurdle. Anna leaves in one month to live in Germany with her wonderful husband-to-be for 3 years. Three years of uncertain visits and long distance relationships with the ones she loves... and I will miss her so.
Many friends of mine are preparing to start their own classrooms this fall all over the country, and then I think to myself, "Should I have done the same thing? Should I have applied for jobs here?"
My head tells me yes. My heart tells me "No... You are going exactly where you are supposed to be. You are going to Ghana. And God's got your back." Thank goodness.
I feel like I'm standing on a high platform over the ocean and I'm supposed to jump off, but I can't. In 32 days, God's just going to make the platform disappear, and I won't have a choice but to dive (or fall, very ungracefully) in. It feels terrifying... It feels lonely... It feels too big for me. But it is not too big for God.
Depending on who I talk to, I might get an "I couldn't do that... Good for you," a "Well it's only a year and then you can come back and do whatever else you want! You will love it so much," or an "Is it even safe there?" Possibly some other variation of essentially the same statement. No response really makes me feel any better about starting a new life in West Africa. Not even dear Margo's "We're all praying for you." But I am having a hard time praying for myself... It feels too real. And real is scary. And scary hurts. So what do I do?
I think of Kim telling me "I'm going to kick you in the ass if you don't go. You have to do this." How do I say no to that? I think this was really God talking to me through the mouth of a professor, telling me "Who are you to refuse my call?"
I think of Anna telling me, after a two-week trip to Doryumu this summer, "I'm even more excited for you to go now than I was last year when I came back."
I read blogs of those who are already in Ghana, cry, and then cry some more. And then get really excited to be there.
I think of life in two months from now... When I will have been there a month and things don't seem so scary anymore...
I remember that love does not end with distance. This is not an end, but rather a continuation with different circumstances.
I cry. A lot. And know that is okay.
And then I go.
Deuteronomy 31:6... "Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
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