The last day...

Well, today was the last day of school. It was a good day! I only had two kids for most of the day and so we did some fun games, including volleyball with the world. It was a good way to spend the last day with these kids since they won't be back in August. Then at noon we had our graduation ceremony for the eighth-graders. It was a great ceremony and a nice time to say good-bye to some of the people leaving. There were a few tears, which I was told tonight is healthy...for women, and there was a lot of signing of yearbooks. The high-schoolers did a great job on the yearbook. They dedicated it to Kelly since she is leaving after 3 years of working at the school. They also made her this awesome t-shirt that says I love SAM Academy on the front and then lists all the things she did at the school. It is a great shirt and I know she likes it a lot. It was really hard to say good-bye to one of my 5th graders today. Her family is heading back to the states this summer and I most likely won't see them before they leave. She had a hard time saying good-bye to me and I had an equally hard time saying it back to her. That is one of the hardest parts of being a teacher...having to say good-bye to the kids. They are so sweet and become a huge part of your life and then you have to say good-bye. Thankfully, as Christians, good-bye isn't forever...we will see each other again some day. And it is nice to know that I had an impact on these kids during my short time with them.

I am almost done packing up my room...it is crazy to think I am leaving on Sunday. At least I know I will be back in 2 months. It is going to be a difficult time away...but a good time too. I know I will learn a lot and will come back appreciating Pucallpa even more. Some people here might think it strange that I love Pucallpa so much...but I don't think it is strange. I know that it is God's love for Pucallpa filling me. Without God's love for Pucallpa...I would not be here.

Class party

Today was the elementary class party! We watched "Bee Movie" and had yummy popcorn, cookies and popcicles. It was a great way to end the school year. The kids have been awesome this year and I am really going to miss them. The only one that will be back next year is Alexis...the others are going back to the States and Germany.
My wonderful elementary class...Paul, Oliver, Alexis and Bethany. They are great kids!

So goofy...that is what makes them so great!
This is a wooden sloth that Bethany gave me as an end of the year present. It is so cute and I can't wait to find a place to hang it up. I am really going to miss this class...I'm sure I will always remember them. But then again, don't teachers always remember their first class? God has greatly blessed me this year!

Field Day

Today was field day at school. It was a great time! The kids all did a great job competing. It is always a little tricky to do field day with a really small school, but it works out. The kids competed by their grade level, which made for some interesting competitions. There is only one boy in the high school and so he didn't have anyone to compete against...but he still tried his hardest to break some records. The elementary kids did great and broke some of the elementary records. Middle school did great too...they also broke some of the records. In all it was a fun day and I know the kids were glad to only have half a day.

Tomorrow is another full day of school and there isn't much left to do. The kids and I are going to wash out the desks and shelves. Then we will most likely play some games and just enjoy the last few days of school. I leave on Sunday for Lima and still haven't started to pack. I guess I am just not all that motivated to pack up my stuff for the summer. I'm sure I will start soon enough...maybe Thursday or Friday. At least I am only taking one suitcase with me to Arequipa...that will make this a little easier. The rest of my stuff I just have to pack to store in our cool room for the 2 months I am gone.

Anyway, I have been enjoying some relaxing free time. Last night I sat and talked with David about friends from Moody for about an hour. It was really nice to sit and talk about college days again. Today I enjoyed a nap in my hammock and I am now watching a movie while working on a game for prayer meeting tomorrow night. Ahh...the joys of procrastination!

Cookout

Last night we had an awesome SAM Center cookout! It was a ton of fun and the food was great. Chris provided most of the meat, David grilled it, and everyone else brought dessert or side dishes. It was a lot of fun to get together one more time with just the people here at SAM Center before Kelly and Chris leave. After dinner some of us hung out and played games. We played some fun new games and had a great time. I think my favorite was visual telephone. You start by writing something like, boy with a hat. The next person has to draw a picture of what you wrote. Then it is passed to the next person and they have to write what they think the picture is. It goes on like that until it gets back to you...it is pretty funny to see what people draw and write and see how close the end one is to what was originally written.

Anyway, grades are done and it is so nice to not have to grade papers today. It is crazy to think that there is only one week of school left. And it isn't even a hard week...we will just be cleaning, having a party and getting everything closed down for the summer. And then I head to Arequipa. It is crazy!! So this week I get to pack and move stuff around in my apartment so that the summer team that is here while I am gone can use my place to stay in. Well, the rest of my day is going to be pretty relaxed and probably spent mostly in my hammock. Got to love the weekends!

Life

Becoming a missionary I knew I would have to face a lot of changes in my life. People are always coming and going from the mission field and if I stay long enough I am going to see a lot of people come and go. This week life has really hit me hard. Everything is going to be changing in a week and a half. Pretty much as soon as I leave for language school, nothing will be the same. Kelly, Chris and Emily are all leaving. I will be in Arequipa for 2 months. David is moving. Kyle is coming to Pucallpa. My family is coming to visit. I will most likely be living alone this fall. There are just so many changes that are happening in such a short time. I hate thinking about how when I come back from Arequipa everything will be different and I am not going to have a ton of time to get used to it before I have to start school again. Part of me feels lonely already thinking about how a big chunk of my single friends here are leaving. I've never lived alone and I am not too sure that it is going to be good for me. I mean, yeah I am going to learn a lot through it...but I am so used to having some one here to talk to. I might end up talking to the geckos!

Sometimes I just wish things didn't hit me all at once. I have know for a long time now that things would change this summer, but none of it actually hit me until yesterday. Life is crazy...but I guess that is what makes it fun and what helps you learn. God has a purpose for this season in my life...I just kind of wish I knew what it was.

Flexibility

Now I know being a missionary you are supposed to be flexible...but as a teacher sometimes it is hard to be as flexible as everyone would like you to be. Today I had to be extremely flexible because someone didn't communicate things to me when they should have. Let's just say it made for a stressful morning and a very busy night. But now I think it is all done until Friday when I will have another busy night finishing up grades. It isn't until you are faced with certain situations that need a lot of flexibility that you realize how non-flexible you really are. Thankfully, God has been good and is giving me time to learn even more how to be flexible down here.

Tonight I have spent about 3 1/2 hours in the library at school trying to get things together for one of my students and work on my grades. I thought that I would be spending the evening alone in the library...but thankfully I didn't have to. David has been over here keeping me company while working on some things. It is always nice to have someone to hang out with even if it is just to have another person's presence in the room. I am finally done with everything for the night and so I am going to head home.

The fire

So today was an exciting day at school. I was sitting in class when I heard this really loud cracking noise. I look out the back window of my classroom and I noticed that the property nextdoor to us was on fire. I also saw a person over there setting the fire. I knew they were burning their land to clear it and didn't think too much else about it. A little while later I saw some of the middle schoolers out there with Chris and Rosemary. It looked like they were just trying to wet down the grass and the fence to prevent them from catching fire. I figured they had enough help and kept working. A little while later I look out and the fire is right at the fence and starting to spread. The high schoolers had already joined the water chain and my kids and I went out to help. Thankfully we were able to get the fire out before it burned our fence and did some serious damage. If it wasn't for the awesome kids here and their hard work to put out the fire...the school could have caught fire. Our crazy neighbors thought it would be a good idea to clear their land by burning it...but I guess they either didn't think or didn't care that it would spread to the neighboring property. That's ok, it made for an interesting day and taught the kids how to work together to get the water to the fire the fastest.

Two weeks

Wow! I can't believe that in two weeks I will be in Lima on my way to language school in Arequipa. It is crazy to think that I have been here long enough to have already finished one school year at SAM Academy. I feel like time has just flown by. I was talking to David tonight about Arequipa and how I am slowly starting to look forward to going there. And he then tells me two things...number one: "You are going to freeze there" and number two "You are going to have culture shock." That just makes me feel so wonderful and really look forward to going there. =) That is ok...I actually pretty much already figured out those two things. I mean I am going from the jungle where the average temperature is 80s to the mountains (in the winter time). I am definitely going to freeze since I was totally made for the hot weather. And I figured I would have culture shock going to Arequipa since I haven't had any here in the jungle. It is going to be really hard to go back to a city where I actually have choices in the things I do and buy. But I know it will be a good time for me. I will have plenty of time to focus on improving my spanish and I will be able to build more friendships here in Peru. God is so great and everyday He slowly increases my excitement for lanuage school and Arequipa. If you think of it over the next two months...please pray for me while I am in this new situation and have to adjust to all the changes that are happening to me all at the same time. Thanks!

Kelly's shower

So tonight we had a surprise bridal shower for Kelly before she leaves Peru. I have been planning this shower with Stephanie for about 2 weeks now and it has been really hard to keep it a secret from her. It was finally all planned out that Kelly and I would head over to Chris and David's for dinner at 6pm. While we were over there Stephanie would go to our apartment and set everything up for the shower. Then at 7pm I would come back to the apartment with Kelly and everyone would surprise her. Well, it didn't work quite as planned. Chris was supposed to have dinner ready by 6pm so we could eat and still get back by 7pm for the shower. I had worked everything out with him and even reminded him again before he left at 3pm.

It was a little after 6pm and Kelly and I were getting ready to head out the door to go over to the guys' house, when there is a knock on our door. I open it and David is standing there. He asks us if we have seen Chris at all. I said no, isn't he at home cooking? David said no Chris wasn't home and hadn't been home at all since David got home. At first I thought he was kidding, but then I realized that he wasn't kidding. So I of course am quietly freaking out because Kelly is supposed to be out of the house by now and Stephanie could show up at anytime. Finally we determined that Chris had just gotten back and was about to start cooking. David thankfully suggests that we go out to eat instead. So we all decided to head into town for dinner. I was able to quickly write Stephanie a note telling her that we went to town to eat and would be back late. I was also able to pretend to lock the door so that she could get in when she got there. What I was not planning on was Kelly locking our other door with the new lock that David just installed. With that locked, Stephanie wouldn't be able to get in. So I asked Chris to leave my keys by the door for Stephanie to get in since the door was locked. He ran back and left the keys somewhere by the door for her.

We were walking out towards the gate when one of the students comes running up and asks us if the dorm is locked. He had left something in the bathroom and needed to get it. Now remember I don't have my keys but Kelly doesn't know that. So as she keeps walking I tell him that my keys are by the door, he can get them, get in and get his things and then bring me my keys without locking the outer door. So then of course we had to wait for him to come back with my keys and he took forever because he couldn't find the keys. But they were found, I got them back and the door was unlocked for Stephanie. We got into to town, ate dinner and David was really great at kind of rushing us along without really making it look like we were rushed along.

I rode back in the moto-taxi with Kelly to make sure she didn't get there before me. As we were walking down the drive at SAM Center, I could see the cars of the guests and really hoped she didn't notice and wonder why they were there. Thankfully, she didn't notice and didn't ask. Emily had gotten back before us, but she wasn't around as we walked back. Kelly kind of thought that was weird and was a little suspicious about where Emily had gone. We walk in the dorm and the outer door was open and so I just casually commented about how the student must have forgotten to lock the door. She then goes to unlock our apartment door and it was open. She kind of freaked out. I opened the door all the way and she was totally hiding off to the side of the door. I was trying not to laugh while pulling her in the doorway. Once she realized the people inside were people we knew and that it was a party...she relaxed a bit.

We accomplished a surprise shower and it was a lot of fun. It was small and all the people there were very special to her. They have all had some kind of impact on her life during her time here in Pucallpa. She really had a great time and for someone who doesn't like showers...she said this one was a lot of fun. I am glad that we were able to give her a shower and do this special thing for her before she leaves us.

Three more weeks

Well, the end of school is getting closer and closer. We have three weeks left before school will be out and I will hopefully be in language school. I finally am making some progress as to where I will be staying and what exactly I need to do before I get to language school. Communication hasn't been that great about what I need to do before I get there and I am glad that I am starting to figure all that out. Hopefully I will know really soon where I will be staying and can feel like I am making some progress. It has been a crazy week so far and it is just going to get crazier as the week goes on. Monday our class took a field trip to the zoo...it was a lot of fun, but exhausting too. Today was a full day of classes, Bible study, grading papers, and preparing things for prayer meeting snacks tomorrow. Wednesday will be just as full with classes, hopefully Spanish tutoring, cooking dinner for our cooking schedule and getting snacks ready for prayer meeting. I think I will be really grateful for the weekend and a little bit of time to relax. Of course probably not very much since there is so much to do in the next three weeks and they are just flying by. Anyway, life keeps moving even when I don't want it to...so I guess I should try to keep up. =)

This week I have finally started to realize that Kelly and Chris are both leaving really soon. It is going to be a sad day when I have to say bye to them...they have been such a blessing in my life these past 6 months and it is going to very strange to be here without them. So many changes in such a short time. If you know me at all, you know that certain changes I just don't like and to have so many at one time is really hard for me. Luckily I have God in my life and I know that I can rely on Him during this time. I am so thankful for Him and the strength He gives me every day. I am excited to see how He helps me grow during these next few months of changes and challenges.

Hard worker

I know...another post...sometimes I just can't help it. So today David came over to finish fixing our outer door. It is really nice to have a door that actually locks now. He had to do a lot to fix it up, but that is ok...it seemed like he enjoyed it. There was really only one little problem and he was able to quickly fix it. Now when Kelly is gone or when I am gone, the one still home will feel a little safer.

Here is David hand chiseling the hole for the latch. He did a great job at making the hole just right. It is so nice to have such a handy neighbor.
And of course, he had to pose for a picture too. He wasn't even using the measuring tape at this point...but oh well, he was the one fixing the door, he can pose however he wants.

The rest of my day is going to be spent relaxing and enjoying the beautiful weather. The past two days have been pretty stressful and so I think today is going to be dedicated to forgetting about those stresses and just enjoying the day. I can always handle the things tomorrow.

Blast from the past

So my aunt Karin sent an email today with a fun picture from my past. When we would visit my grandparents in Arkansas, my grandpa would go out and put marshmallows on a tree and we would go out and pick them all. It was always a lot of fun to go out and find the marshmallow tree and get to pick the marshmallows off of it. Got to love my hair style and the visor I am wearing...oh well, at least I can laugh at myself. Enjoy laughing along with me. =)

Mother/Daughter Banquet

Well, tonight was the mother/daughter banquet here at SAM Center. It was a great time for all the women to get together either with their daughters or just with friends. We had some special music, wonderful food, picture time, games and a great speaker. Kelly M. was our speaker and she did a great job of speaking about the women who have influenced her life and the way she parents her kids. It was great to hear how she has learned from the other women here on the field and hear her encourage us younger women to learn as much as we can from the older women. I was in charge of taking the pictures of the women. It was a lot of fun and kind of nice to do some photography again. I think for the most part the pictures turned out well and I'm sure the women will love to have recent pictures with their daughters. I also sang as part of the special music...it brought back memories of choir in college, especially since we sang a song from my years of choir. It was great to be a part of the banquet and help make it special for the other women. It would have been even better to have my mom there with me to celebrate mother's day, but at least I was able to do what I could for the other moms.

In other news...time is moving fast here. There is a little over three weeks of school left and then I leave for language school. It is kind of crazy how quickly time has passed since I got here. It has already been 6 months since I came to Pucallpa. So much has changed in such a short time...I am so curious to see what other changes God has for my life. I think the next biggest change will be learning to live by myself. It looks like I won't have a roommate for at least the first semester of the new school year...I am praying that God will give me great peace about living by myself. It will definitely be a change for me. I have always had a roommate...but I guess it has to happen sometime. I guess as long as I have friends to hang out with I will be ok. We will see when that time comes. Until then...I must focus on finishing up the school year and learning my Spanish!

Neighbor time...

Tonight was dinner with the Chiangs. They are fellow missionaries and our neighbors. It was a ton of fun to hang out with them and just enjoy everyones company. Here are some better group pictures with me in them....it is amazing...I know.

This one was supposed to be a nice picture...but David decided to be a little weird. Even still...it is a good picture.
This was supposed to be a serious picture, but as you can tell...still not very serious.
Another nice picture of the group of singles. You have Chris, David and Kyle in the back and me, Emily and Kelly in the front.
Our wonderful neighbors, the Chiangs. They are a ton of fun and I always enjoy hanging out with them.

La Jungla

Today after church a group of us singles went out for lunch and then we went out to La Jungla. La Jungla is a little zoo out on Lake Yarina. You have to take a little boat called a peki peki out across the lake to get to the zoo. Once there you can see some pretty cool animals and you can even get your picture taken with an anaconda. So here are a few pictures from our trip today.

This is our group picture minus me...since I am the one taking it. You have, starting on the left and going clockwise: Shannon, Kelly, Kyle, David and Chris. Chris really wanted to take a picture of me taking a picture, so you can't see his face. Oh well! This beautiful macaw was just hanging around trying to eat the wire fencing.
Some very large tortises...I think they are pretty old too!
This thing is some kind of rodent that is really quite ugly. But I still thought it deserved a picture.

This is Kyle holding the anaconda...good for him.

Kyle still holding the anaconda.

Shannon being very brave and holding the anaconda. She looks like a pro!

Shannon with the snake moving around her. Don't worry...it wasn't going to hurt her. It was just a little camera shy.

This animal is similar to an ocelot but isn't an ocelot...I don't remember what it is called. But it is still cute.

The caymen sunning themselves in the nice, warm afternoon sun.

Peruvian Labor Day

Well, Thursday was a holiday here in Peru and so we had no school. Got to love being in a different country when teaching...you get to take American and the other countries holidays. =) Anyway, so it was kind of a random day to have off since we had to go back to school the day after. But that is ok...I still had a great day. I actually went and did some work in the morning, grading papers and putting the grades in my computer. And then the fun began! My neighbors: Chris, David and Kyle (visitor), decided that they wanted to go out for lunch. But I reminded them that things would most likely be closed since it was a Peruvian holiday. So we decided to combine the little food we both had and we made hamburgers and french fries. It was a lot of fun to cook with the guys and hang out with them. After lunch the four of us wanted to play Risk and so I finally learned how to play. And I actually did pretty well considering it was my first time. I might have even won if we had finished playing. By the time we had reached the 4 hour mark and it had just gotten down to David and me, we decided to call a truce and end the game. But it was lots of fun and I will enjoy playing again. After we finished with Risk we made dinner and then watched a movie. It was a great day spent with some fun guys. Days off are always better when you have people to spend them with!