It is what it is...

I blinked and April is just about over, how did that happen? Where has the time gone? It is hard to believe we are almost into May already. This past month and a half have been filled with ups and downs in many different areas. April was especially tough for me as I traveled home on an unexpected family emergency trip. I was home for almost 2 weeks dealing with a lot of hurt. I appreciate the prayers and support through it all. After returning to Moscow, I found out of my students was moving back to Korea. Our school is such a transit community but it doesn't ever make it easy to say goodbye. Along with losing a student for good, I had another student out of country and 2 students out sick. That put me at having only 4 students for a whole week. Now, you would think that would be a blessing after the year I have had, but I missed those kiddos so very much while they were gone. It also puts added stress on the teacher for doing make up assignments and test as well as keeping up with the grades.

Things started looking normal but I felt like I was still drowning in paperwork for my job, my masters classes, drama still back home, as well as Easter approaching and 2nd and 3rd grades chapel. April was definitely a whirlwind of events, emotions, and a whole lot of stress. But as Easter approached, I was able to reflect on the true meaning of life. It is amazing to look at the story through the eyes of a child. I am so very blessed working where I work and with the families and students I get to interact with on a daily basis. 

Good news from the school... HCA was approved after months of long hours and paperwork to continue ministering to families in Moscow. Praise God for His provision for the school and for the staff who fought hard to make sure we had everything we needed to stay in operation. God continues to show His faithfulness to those who do the work of the Lord. 

Not so good news, but not terrible news either. For those of you who do not know, this year is my last year working at Hinkson. My life is going in another direction and I am blessed to say that I am excited to see where that leads. As I just finished the half way mark to having my masters degree in Children's Minstry, I am moving back to FL to pursue furthering my education and working in my church. I will be working with my church to better serve them and help use my education to the fullest. I will be finishing my degree as well as working at a learning center with VPK students. God has great plans for my future and I cannot wait to share those with you. 

As May quickly makes its entrance, it is that time of year when things seem to spiral out of control. Not necessarily in a bad way, but things spiral. It is crunch time for finishing material, staying on top of grades, all the end of the year events, and finishing the year well and with goodbyes. I will do my best to update everyone before heading home to FL. I fly out of Moscow on June 2. Please keep the school in your prayers as well as myself during the busiest time of year for a teacher. 

Prayer Request: 

~Staff needed for next year 

~Protection over all our staff and families 

~Finishing this year well 

~Being intentional with relationships 

What does spring mean?

         Spring has always been my second favorite season. Spring is the time of year that things start to bloom, the temperature starts to go up, its a time to come out of hibernation and get active in the outside world again. Since moving to Moscow, I have had many different opinions about spring. You see, it is still cold, there is still snow covering the ground, the sun works when it feels like it but it definitely takes longer for spring to arrive in Moscow. By mid February I am getting over the snow but by mid March, it needs to be gone and is not. Fortunately this year, the snow is melting and there has been an increase in temperature. All of my Florida friends and family get a kick out of it when I think 38 degrees Fahrenheit is warm. It is so true though! Welcome spring, glad you arrived here in Moscow.

Spring time here in Moscow means 4th quarter is quickly approaching us and there is much to be done in the world of a teacher. As we wrap up quarter 3 next week, I am bombarded with papers, projects, and tests as we finish out our units before the break. On top of the paperwork of being a teacher, there are so many other things we focus on as we end out of the quarter and prepare to start a new quarter. Ending well is always something we strive for so we can be sure to start the next quarter off fresh. As a teacher, spring is also a difficult time because we start making decisions and having conversations with parents about what next year will look like for their child. Unfortunately, I have a couple of students who are struggling with second grade and may need to repeat. This is always an emotional stressful time for any teacher, the parent, and the student.

For me, this is my last spring in Moscow. So as I watch the snow melt, trees and flowers bloom, smell the fresh paint around the city, I am saddened by the idea of not knowing when I will see snow again or the idea of leaving the city that has been my home for 4 years. The convenience of public transportation, the sharma stands on every corner, abteka's everywhere you turn, and the amount of people who are always outside taking in the view and fresh air each day.

Prayer Request:

• The building project at our school 
• New teachers/staff for Hinkson next year 
• Finishing this quarter and semester out well
• Continued guidance and wisdom for me as I work with the second grade class 

Praises: 

• Financial support - thank you for everything you all do to help me stay here 
• Progress in the second grade classroom 
• It is Spring time!! The sun is OUT! 

The gift of Love

Love... Always seems to be the word for the month of February. We celebrate Valentine's Day with our kids and significant other. We often times, buy gifts of chocolate and flowers, or go out on a romantic date, and spend more planned time with those we love. Why is it that we most often think about the word Love in February? We should focus on the word Love, each and every day not just when we schedule time in to plan special events.

According to Google, the Bible uses the word Love, 551 times in the NIV version. In John, it tells us that "For God so LOVED the world, that He gave His one and only son..." In 1 John, "We LOVE because He first LOVED us." And in Mark, "LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: ‘LOVE your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

There are many more scriptures that talk about Love, but these scriptures I believe are so very important. We should LOVE always because He did so much for us, He LOVED us first. We are called to LOVE all people. Right now, in second grade we are having a difficult time loving each other. My children are constantly arguing, fighting, saying unkind things, and snapping at every sound each other makes. Trying to teach the word LOVE is not only used in my classroom in February, it is used each and every day. I show my students that I love them but ultimately how much God loves them. We do strategies each day about loving one another because that is what God says to do and we should want to love each person. When we stop loving the people and the world around us, we have stopped sharing God's love to the world. If we all chose our words wisely, thought about our actions and how they would affect those around us, but instead LOVED... what an amazing world we would live in.

Sometimes I struggle to love those around me. When someone makes me mad, my students don't listen when I am teaching, my parents only call when they want something, etc... But God loved me first and it is His will for my life that I witness to all of these people in LOVE. February is a month of Love and I will fall into the group of people who celebrate Valentine's Day with my students and my boyfriend, but I will also stretch this Love and think about how I can show love each and every day of my life. I choose to make an impact in someone's life by first Loving God and because I love Him, I can love, no matter what.

Happy February Friends and Family. I love you all!

Prayer Request:
 - Safe Travels to Greece this weekend
 - Being Intentional with my time left in Moscow (4 months)
 - Our school as we look for new teachers/staff for next year
 - Support

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

с новым годом. (Pronounced, Snovym Godom) Happy New Year friends. 2016 ended very well. As it is difficult to be away from family and friends during the holiday season, I found great joy being with new family and friends in Moscow.

The end of the year is always an extremely busy time of year. My end of the year consisted of things such as: Concerts, Art shows, Staff Christmas, a ex-coworker visiting us, wrapping up units in our classroom, classroom parties, chapels, HCA Christmas service, exploring the city lights, Christmas eve service, Christmas day with friends, and unfortunately being sick. That is just a condensed list of what the end of the year entailed.

Being in Moscow through all of this has truly been amazing. Worshiping our God with fellow believers has been a blessing. Even though the gifts and decorations are a great part of Christmas, being able to share the Story of Christ birth with my students has been a gift in itself. The awe in the children's eyes is incredible. I always bake a birthday cake for Jesus and we sing to Him at our Christmas party. This year I recorded my children singing Happy Birthday to Jesus in 3 different languages. What an amazing thing to be a part of and witness as a believer. If you are friends with me on Fb, you probably seen the video already. If you haven't, email me, I will be happy to share it with you!

Christmas Eve, I was invited to my bosses place for a mini Christmas Service. There were 11 people altogether singing songs, sharing in devotion, and enjoying great food and fellowship. It was a blessing to be able to be a part of a Christmas Eve service because here in Russia, Christmas isn't celebrated until January 7th. It is a strange thing to be able to go out shopping and out to eat on Christmas day because it is just a normal day here in Russia. With it being "so normal" here, it almost doesn't ever feel like Christmas unless you can get together with others and celebrate together.

My year also ended and started in Ireland. I have always wanted to go to Ireland and with it being my last year in Moscow, what a great opportunity to visit the countries I have wanted to. I was blessed significantly with support from you all to make my dream of going to Ireland a reality. Many of you blessed me for Christmas in a way that couldn't be captured in pictures. Although I have a ton of pictures, it is just a glimpse of what I really did experience. Ireland is a beautiful country and a great example of God's wonderful creation.

With all of this being said, I truly am a blessed girl serving in God's great big world! Thank you for your love, prayers, and support. Below are some things you can be praying for with me as we get ready to take on the last semester of the school year. With much love from Russia, Courtney.

Prayer Request:
~ All HCA staff and families traveling
~ Continued prayers for the laws and authority situations
~ Financial support thru the end of the year

Winding down the year

       Happy Thanksgiving (A day late) to all my friends and family reading this update. How can it be that Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is just around the corner? Man,  this year is flying by before any of us  can even blink! Let me see if I can catch you up on everything that has gone on over the past month. 

 At the end of October,my roommates and I hosted a Fall Party at our apt for the female staff we work with. It was full of great laughter, food, and friends. We had a great turn out of about 16 people total. The following weekend was our school Fall Festival. I was unable to attend this event because I was sick and I had my masters classes to catch up on but I heard from my roommates that it was a great success. Fall is such a fun time of year! 

The beginning of November is a bit of a blur for me because I spent about 2 weeks off and on being sick and it seemed I was constantly playing catch up, whether on sleep, classes, my school responsibilities, or just adult life. But, November 10th, I had the opportunity to put everything down and take an evening out with friends to see the ballet, "Золушка" (Cinderella) in Russian. It was a magical evening. :) A few days after this event, I had the opportunity to take Christmas photos for a family that I have become great friends with here in Moscow who recently had a baby! The H family and new edition Baby E is a beautiful family and I just thank God for bringing these people into my life. 

 Life in second grade has become much more busy as we wind down the quarter and first half of the year. My class has finally caught onto second grade and have put their hands and feet in full fledged. They have really started to show responsibility and maturity since my last post. Praise the Lord. We had our first field trip to the Oceanarium and Zoopark where we explored 7 different habitats. To expand our knowledge on habitats, which is what we are learning in science right now, they also had to make their own habitat diorama. My students did a phenomenal job for only being 2nd graders. I am very proud of them! 

There are a lot of things happening at our school of which we are thankful for, Our building project is supposed to be finished on December 31st. What a blessing since the projected date was in February. This experience is very different because here in Russia, everything seems to be complicated and things tend to not get finished. But, the workers are actually living on our school campus in tin rooms and they work diligently everyday to finish in a timely manner. We praise the Lord for answered prayers and the diligence of these men. Also, we recently had some issues with people calling and complaining about our school, which has caused complications in many ways; well friends, the leaders in charge of investigating decided to drop the case because they said it seemed foolish and they had nothing to go by. Again, Praise the Lord! God is clearly watching over us and has better plans and future for Hinkson! 

This past week we had a Staff Thanksgiving, Class Thanksgiving, and Friends Thanksgiving. I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to experience so many wonderful Thanksgivings with people who are dear to my heart. God has truly blessed me. I am thankful for each of you who read these updates, pray for me, support me, and encourage me, I could not be here without each of you sharing life with me. Thank you all for everything you do! May the Lord bless you! 

Lastly, I want to inform all of you of my future plans. With much prayer it has been decided that this year is going to be my last year teaching abroad. I have been at Hinkson for 4 years and have loved every minute of it but my career path is changing, my future is changing. God is great plans in store for me and He is guiding me to bigger things in my future. I am leaning on Him and His faithfulness to carry me through and to set the path for me to take. Please be in prayer that His plans become more clear and that I will see them and follow through! 

Until next time, 

Much Love

"Falling" out of October

Fall in Moscow disappeared just as quick as it came this year. We have been in the highs of about 45 degrees each day. The sun has only made its appearance about once a week. The leaves changed and fell fast and we enjoyed it for about 2 days. The rain has been pretty consistent which changes things around here for our students, our commute to work, and our after work plans. Fall is my absolute favorite season and if you ask me, it is way too short here! My goal is to make it to a park here soon to catch some photography moments before Fall is completely gone. 

Since my last post, it seems like life has taken off on a path that I was not entirely prepared for. Some of these things I am unable to get into details but I can ask you all to pray for our school. Things are not looking too good right now for a number of reasons and we can definitely use the prayers from all over the world. As a staff, we recently had to go through our annual medical examines, which are never pleasant but we can praise God that everything went smoothly. Our building project, the gym, is still continuing to go up, we see progress everyday. The students, as well as everyone else, are anxious for it to be completed. Again, we praise God for allowing this project that was prayed about for 10 years or so, to be doing so well despite neighbors opinions and complaints. 

As far as second grade goes, well friends, it is going. I can sure use a lot of prayer for this group of students this year. After meetings with counselors, my boss, parents, and other teachers, I think we have come up with a conclusion that will help in the classroom. You see it is not just the energetic students I had at the beginning but rather behavior off the charts, disrespect, and a lot of aggression. These students are facing life to the fullest and have struggles that I pray I can help guide in the classroom. These students are also really low in academics and with their english skills. My days are exhausting and some days I feel like I hit a wall that I can't seem to get over. If you can pray with me for my students behavior, hearts, and desire to learn, I would greatly appreciate it. Pray that I have wisdom and strength to teach them and help in the areas they struggle with on a day to day basis. 

On another note, this coming week, we are having Elementary Spiritual Emphasis Week. We have a team coming from Calvary Bible College in Kansas City to help lead VBS with our students. This is a fun experience for a lot of students here have never experienced an American VBS. YAY!! :) 

Prayer Requests: 

• Our school as a whole 
• VBS Next week 
• Wisdom and Energy
• Decision making about next school year 

Another school year, another beginning

As I returned back to Moscow a little over 3 weeks ago, I have found myself reflecting back on my summer. An unforgettable summer that I praise God for daily. A summer of reconnecting with my family, friends, and church back home. A summer of making new memories, a lot of driving, making connections with supporters, and mending relationships. I am thankful I was able to spend my time in visiting great people that I miss terribly while I am away. I am especially thankful for the relationships I was able to mend and for new relationships that were created.

Leaving home was much more difficult this summer than any other but I am grateful for returning to a place that I can call "home." Having wonderful friends, a job, and a great community, I have been blessed to be a part of what we do here in Moscow. My transition from Florida to Moscow went as smoothly as it can when traveling internationally. Our teacher training and first week of work (without students) went really well. Being back in a work place where we all come for the same reason and love the same God is truly an amazing experience. It was a time of reunion with one another, getting to know the new staff, and being there to help each other get things ready for the beginning of school. This coming week we are preparing for our annual staff retreat outside of Moscow. It is a time for worship, building relationships, and relaxation.

We just finished our 2 week of classes and my second grade class is an exciting but exhausting class. My class consists of 8 students. I have 4 boys and 4 girls: Russian, American, Rwandan, and Korean students. This particular group of kids have much more energy than I do. I find myself hitting a wall of exhaustion by about noon each day, I definitely need prayer for strength and energy to last until 3:30 each day. We have had a good time getting to know each other, learn Ms. Macomber's rules and expectations, and what it means to be a second grader.

My roommates and I have enjoyed getting back in our new amazing apartment. We have found our place here and made it feel more like home. We have helped each other get all the cleaning and shopping done each week as well as chatting over dinner or a fun little game. We are thankful we are able to host in our home again this year. A couple weeks ago we held our first staff game night and it was an amazing turn out. We played games, ate great food, laughed a lot, and had wonderful conversations together.

I am happy to be back in Moscow where I can continue my updates as much as possible. I enjoy sharing what God is doing over here in my life, my work place, as well as the community. Until next time, love you all!

Prayer Requests:

• That I can connect with each of my students and meet their individual needs 
• Staff Retreat this week 
• Our gym building (We have a foundation built, now to finish out the process) 

Praises: 

• I made it safely
• Support raising (Thank you everyone for your support whether it is through prayer or finances. If you know anyone who would like to support what I do, please forward my emails on) 

Countdown to Summer

           The flowers are blooming, the sun is shining, Spring has hopefully made its full arrival to Moscow. Life since my last posting has been extremely busy and full of events, travel, goodbyes, baby showers, and so much more. The Lord has shown His great love and faithfulness for our school in so many ways. Hinkson had many positions to be filled and our goal each year is to fill them before leaving for the summer. Sometimes, this is unsuccessful but we have managed to fill every position with a month left of school. We also have been praying and working with many Russian lawyers in order to get approved for a new gym to be built on our property. Our director and our lawyers have jumped through many hoops, we have made many changes at our school to be in appliance, and we have raised the funds to provide what we need to go through with this project. With Gods great love and always providing, we have been approved and should break ground this summer. Prayers that there are no more hoops or documents needed to finish this project. 

We have had 3 teachers this year become with child. 2 of my coworkers have been told they would never have children and have gone through a lot of medical things while trying to get pregnant. Our God is so good and I am blessed to be apart of these families while they welcome these precious baby boys into the community here. Alongside the new lives coming we have also had the tears and hard goodbyes to great teachers who are leaving Hinkson to return home or somewhere new to teach and further their education. God has truly blessed Hinkson with a wonderful community of love and support for one another. I am also wrapping up the year with second grade, where 2 of my 7 students will be leaving at the end of the year. It has been an exciting year and I will miss these children very much. I have been so blessed to have been apart of their learning and their lives. Being a teacher at Hinkson has blessed me in ways I cannot explain to others who have not yet experienced this kind of place. The staff, students, families, the whole community is amazing. The hellos are incredible to add new people in, the goodbyes are tough, but we all love and know we share so much even across the world. 

We are now into the last month of school and there is much to happen before we can all return home to our families for the summer. We had our annual English cafe picnic at Kolomenskoye Park, where we were able to play some baseball and enjoy some conversational english with Russians. Today, I had the opportunity to assist my coworkers in leading Hinkson to their Very First Track and Field Meet. We had about 25 students and 6 events. Many of our students placed very high and we look forward to adding this new sport to Hinkson's community. As we prepare to finish the school year we have concerts, banquets, field day, birthdays, goodbyes, and exams. As well as finishing the school year, I am wrapping up my final exams for my masters classes this week. Praise the Lord my first 2 classes in my masters program have gone extremely well and I look forward to taking the summer off. My roommates and I are attending a ballet and a hockey game in the coming weeks as well as moving to a new apt. We appreciate all of the prayers we can get as the next 3 weeks will be extremely busy with our work life and home life. 

Because I will be traveling soon to head back to America. You will probably not hear from me until after I get home and get settled over jet lag. Until then, stay well and keep praying. If you are in Florida, I will be home June 7th and would love to see you! 

Praises: 

• First 2 masters classes, down! 
• Gym has been approved 
• All 2016-2017 teaching positions have been filled 
• Successful year in second grade 

Prayer Request:

• Safe travels home 
• Financial support to continue 
• Good farewells 

A short yet eventful month

              February was a month filled with experiences that are not newsletter worthy. Although it was a short month, it will a busy, productive, learning experience. At the apartment we had some serious plumbing issues that took multiple days to fix, we got a brand new washer, our cat had her first bath (and yes we survived) and there has been a lot of discussion while we brew up our next and probably last girls night at our place for the year.

While February is a short month a lot happened at school as well. We started our month with medical exams at work which were very interesting but needed to be done for school/Russian policy. Our school has been undergoing a series of inspection and making sure we are fully equipped to remain open here in Russia. We are asking for much needed prayer as we undergo all the changes that need to take place within a certain time frame. The medical exams were extensive and required for all teachers at Hinkson, thankfully we were able to make the day a half day to meet the needs required from the country.

Spirit week was a blast at the school. All grades participated in a week of dressing up and creating skits and door decor to support our basketball as they headed to Budapest for the tournaments. Our girls team came in 2nd place in finals and our boys came in 3rd. Great job Huskies! After spirit week, we celebrated Valentine's day with our students and had a 4 day weekend where some stayed and some took the time to get away from Moscow and explore surrounding cities.

My class has been hit very hard with all sorts of sickness. For the majority of February, I cannot count on one hand when I had all of my children at school at the same time. We had everything from the flu, common head cold, fevers, sinus problems, rubella, rashes, to a busted head. It seemed like something was going on, I eventually caught the mess going around as well. Thankfully everyone is back to their normal selves and we are all catching up very nicely in class.

This past week was Dr. Seuss week and we celebrated Dr. Seuss everyday in class with a special activity. My children expressed themselves in many ways and even practiced writing their own silly stories. All of elementary came together on Friday and celebrated Seuss's birthday with shared activities, a story, and cupcakes! On top of Dr. Seuss week, 2nd and 3rd grade also was in charge of putting together music and skits for chapel. We had the opportunity to learn very well the story of the Good Samaritan and share what we learned with the rest of elementary! Our kids did a GREAT job!

This Tuesday is a Russian Holiday, Women's Day where all women are celebrated. It is a beautiful holiday and a day of being appreciated for being a woman! Because of the holiday we only have a 4 day week and then it is Spring Break. I am so excited about a vacation and a break from school. I, along with many of our teachers at HCA are going to Germany for a conference and following the conference me and some friends will be exploring the surrounding cities in Germany, France, and Switzerland! I look forward to being able to share those experiences with you all!

Praises:

• First inspection is over 
• 3rd quarter is coming to a close 
• Health is back for all teachers and students 

Prayer Request:

• Continued inspection 
• Getting everything done before 3rd quarter ends (Friday) 
• Travel mercies for Conference trip and all Spring Break travelers

Endings and Beginnings

December came and went it seems before I even had time to blink. As we went from a pretty steady pace in the classroom, there was much to be completed. The semester was coming to a close but there was still plenty to be done.  Birthdays, Christmas celebrations, music programs, finishing units in subjects, grades getting finished, and good-byes that needed to be made, made December fly by. 

Even through all the chaos of getting things done, on time, we never lost sight of the True Meaning of Christmas. My students were delighted in decorating for Christmas, exchanging gifts, and all the events that happen around Christmas time, but their favorite part of it all was reading thru the story of Jesus's birth and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Seeing the joy in my kids reminded me to not think about all the chaos happening around me but to celebrate with Joy that little baby that came to Earth that very night! Praise God! 

While we finished off December being on Christmas Break, we ended it well! My roommates and I had a well balanced 3 weeks off. We rested enough but made sure we got out of our apt enough to breathe in some fresh air. I am so thankful to have 2 great roommates this year who love games, down time, but also time to explore our surroundings. We have so much fun together but also can sit and engage into each others personal lives on a level I am grateful for. Christmas Day was special for the 3 of us because we enjoyed it together. We made a big breakfast, opened gifts, read the Christmas Story, watched a movie and went out to eat for dinner. Moving into the New Year was just as good! 

New Years is a celebration here that I absolutely love. New Years in Russia is celebrated the same as America with Fireworks and such but also very different than our usual in America. New Years to Russians is very much the equivalent to the American traditions at Christmas time, decorating, parties, gifts, etc. My roommates and I spent the night just the three of us at a friends apt. The view from her apt was so great we were able to watch approx 18 different firework shows all at the same time! What a loud, beautiful sight to see. We played games until wee hours in the morning until we managed to fall asleep. Bringing in the New Year is always a dear place in my heart because of the memories bringing in the New Year with my church family back home. Being able to bring in the New Year here, in Russia, has a new meaning and memory for me now, and I am happy to spend it with new amazing friends. с новым годом!! (Happy New Year) 

Christmas Break was over quickly and boy was I so antsy and thankful to be getting back to work. I need routine and people in my life more than I realized. While Christmas break was amazing and I have great roommates and friends to spend time with here, I needed something a little more to keep me on track and focused. I felt like Nemo from "Finding Nemo" on the first day of school. I was bouncing around, super happy (which is not me first thing in the morning) and out the door early. The first week of school is down and I still feel just as excited to be at school as I was on Monday but I am a tired teacher. Pouring out so much energy into planning, activity prep, classroom organization, and the actual teaching part is such a joy but I am reminded daily that I need to take time to focus on God and give myself a break and rest. My goal for this year is to continue to focus on finding rest in God. Without rest for myself or resting to seek Him, I cannot live out my calling of which He has called me to do and that is to serve these students, serve this community. 

Praises: 

• Some of my health issues have been fixed 
• Restful break and return to school 
• support and prayers (Thank you, without you I couldn't be here) 

Prayers: 

• Continued support for this upcoming school year 
• Mended relationships 
• The students, families, and staff at Hinkson Christian Academy 

Learning and Thanksgiving

    Time is such an amazing thing. When you are in the moment it sometimes seems to be passing so slowly but when you look back, where did the time go? It seems that just yesterday was Halloween and now Thanksgiving is less than a week away. Where has the last 3 weeks gone? 

November is a busy time of the year, preparing for winter season, finishing units before the holiday breaks, parties, projects, and tests. There is much to get done in what seems to be plenty of time but yet the time sneaks up on you before you blink. Second grade has been very busy learning all about habitats and during our unit each child has to make a Habitat Diorama. I am thrilled to see the outcomes on Monday. We have experienced many new things in class as well like: place value, fire safety, proper nouns, cursive sentences, producer and consumers, and the story of David in the Bible.

I constantly am telling my students that they aren't the only ones learning on a daily basis but that teachers learn too. That was shocking to them, they thought teachers knew everything. (which of course we still let them think that is true about most things, lol) My students have taught me a lot in the past few weeks. I have had to learn how to be more patient with them in everything I say, do, and expect. I have learned to extend more grace. I have learned to listen and comfort on a different level than ever before, and I am learning how to be a better teacher each and every day! 

I am teaching my children what it means to be Thankful on a daily basis and not just in the month of November. As a writing assignment each day in November, we have to write something we are thankful for and why. As I think of something everyday with the kids, I realize how truly blessed I am. Of course, we all can think of things we are Thankful for but there is a new thankfulness in my heart that I would like to share. 

I am truly so thankful for my job. Now as many of us are thankful we have jobs or that we like our jobs, I am thankful that I work where I work. I work in a country surrounded by people from many different cultures whom all have different beliefs. I have the ability to read the Bible, teach of God, guide children to Christ, and pray every single day with my students. I am able to change a part of our community through teaching and simply showing love to students and families who desire to love, know, and serve God. I am so very thankful for this opportunity to serve this community in such a time that our world is hurting and struggling to look to our Creator!

As a teacher and a believer, the most beautiful thing a student can say to you is, "I love learning about God" or when they ask, "Is it Bible time yet?" My heart jumps for joy every day because I have a class that has this attitude every day! We should all be asking ourselves, is it Bible time yet? We should be eager to get into the Word each and every day! We should be Thankful that we are able to read His Word and draw close to Him. Don't miss out! Make sure you get your Bible time and God time everyday! 

Praises:

• Financial support flow (Thank you, I couldn't do it without you) 
• Knee is doing much better but not fully healed
• Thanksgiving and spending time with friends
• Acceptance into Master's Program - start Jan 25th
• I HAVE DECIDED TO RETURN TO HINKSON FOR 2016-2017 SCHOOL YEAR! 

Prayers: 

• Master course classes in Jan (Balance, rest, do well) 
• continued financial support 
• students, faculty, and families at HCA 

Optimistic October

 I asked my kiddos what their favorite subject was in second grade and these are the answers I received: K#1- Science, K#2-Spelling/writing, K#3-Reading, K#4-Math, K#5-Bible, K#6-Science, K#7- Bible, and K#8-Math. I proceeded to ask what their least favorite subject was and they all said, learning is fun but sometimes Social Studies is hard. I am so blessed to have a class that has a strong love for learning. I expected social studies to be hard for most of my kids given this is the first time  they have had to learn Social Studies. I also expected it to be hard because our first unit was all about American History and half of my class has never been to America nor has any connection with it. Even though they have no connection with America, their teacher does and I do my best to be energetic and engaging while learning the material. We held our very own class election and voting station right in our classroom. My students did a phenomenal job with their projects and speeches. I am amazed every day at the eagerness to learn. They come in every day with questions about what we learning or silly stories to share that relate to the material. My students at this present time are ecstatic to be learning about the human body. We learned about the skeletal, Muscular, respiratory, and digestive systems. The favorite part was learning the bone song and jump roping in class to see how different parts of our body work. Being a second grade teacher is so much fun!

After two and a half months of being back in Moscow, I am almost positive I have found my niche. Being a second grade teacher is becoming more and more my thing. I love the discussions, interactions, independence level, inquisitiveness, the love for learning and God. Let me be real, sometimes getting up in the morning and going to work is tough. Dealing with some behavior issues or second grade drama (yes there is some) is not entirely how I want to spend my day. The smiles, thank you notes, pile of leaves or other little surprises, hugs or high fives, and the "Light" that clicks on when they get it, that is what it is about. Teaching is so much more than giving material for knowledge to pass a test, it is investing into each child's life and loving them for who they are!
My niche outside of the classroom is being on the Praise Team at International Christian Fellowship, where I attend church. I thoroughly enjoy the team we have at the church. We all get along great, our voices mesh well together, and the love we all have for Christ shows through song. My walk with Christ is getting much stronger and the love I have for Him pours out more than just on Sunday.

This weekend we are celebrating time off for Fall Break. This is a much needed time to regroup and get ready for the second 9 weeks. To kick off fall break we had parent teacher conferences on Friday. On Saturday, my roomies and I hosted a "Fall Fling" at our apt where we made chili and cornbread and had a bunch of fun fall games planned. The turnout was amazing. I love seeing the community of Hinkson come together to enjoy each other’s company, cooking, and fellowship, so very encouraging! Here is to another 9 weeks of fun, learning, love, and community!

Praises:
• 1st nine weeks is down
• Financial support is flowing (without you all, I couldn't be here) Thank you!
Prayer Request:
• Knee recovery
• Master's program possible start date in the Spring
• Students, faculty, and families at Hinkson
• Continued financial support

Swamped September

School has been in session now for 6 weeks and I have been in Moscow for 7 weeks. "Staying busy" is how I have explained my time here so far to family and friends back home. Although it may seem that I have had more "free" time than not, I am constantly filling the free time with little things. School is one form of busy. I am constantly engaged in school activities, planning, teaching, tutoring, fulfilling my duties, and helping students and families in any way needed. I am also busy outside of school with English cafe, exploring the city, and spending quality time with my flatmates. Busy sums up my entire life here but I wouldn't use busy as a negative word. 

In the 'teaching realm', second grade has been a huge adjustment. We have been learning academically, spiritually, and socially. Each day is a new challenge of some sort but as a class we work through it together. In the end, we come out on top. We gain experience together in every thing we learn. Currently we are learning all about: Cursive letters, poetry, how people change and grow, government, and Moses. We learn through reading, writing, using imagination, hands on activities, building curiosity, songs and videos, and through each others experiments. I am so blessed to have the class I have now, all of my students love each other and get along great. They encourage each other, help each other, and support each other.  

Outside of my teaching life, I often stay busy. September was filled with many adventurous, fun filled, relaxing, happy, activities. My flatmates and I decided to host a Ladies Game Night where we had 14 Ladies in our apt. Thankfully we have been blessed with a nice big apt to host fun nights such as this. It was a night full of laughs and new friendships built. My flatmates and I went on an adventure to Kolomenskoye Park where we went to a Honey Festival. Honey is a huge deal here in Moscow. We walked around to all the vendors and purchased our share of 7 different kinds of Honey. After this we walked through the park and my flatmates climbed some apple trees and picked apples. It was a fun filled day together. I had the opportunity alongside of 9 colleagues to go see, "Phantom of the Opera" live in a Russian theater. It was a beautiful production. I am thankful for great friends to embrace the Russian culture together thru show. The Moscow Marathon took place this month and I was a part of this by being the photographer for a student at our school who ran the marathon. What a fun experience for him but also for those of us who went and cheered him on at different stations. During this month I also had the chance to be a part of our English Cafe group again, where I speak with Russians who speak little to advance english and our staff went on staff retreat to a little retreat center out of Moscow. It was beautiful and the atmosphere was filled with Fall. :) 

Although this past month was swamped with activities whether school related or not, I enjoyed all the opportunities I had to be a part of each event. I gained more knowledge of the Russian culture. I have grown closer to my colleagues and students. I have embraced the beauty of Gods Creation, and I also have stepped out on faith more. God is carrying me through each and every day! 

Praise Reports: 

• Umida's family made it back to Moscow safely from Uzbekistan 
• Weather is absolutely perfect and beautiful 
• Dental problems are solved!!!! 

Ways you can pray for me: 

• Continued support flow
• Me - I joined the praise team at my church 
• Sickness and Chicken Pox has infected our student/teacher body
• Our school, staff, students, and families 

Another beginning full of Emotions

Moving internationally is a tedious process that can never be done easily. Hiccups will always come along just when you think you are in the clear. Within the 2 months of preparing to come to Moscow, I felt like I was constantly in the hiccup stage, like they were never going to go away. Just a few days before I was supposed to board my plane, my visa and important documents were misplaced by the post office. During this stressful time, the thought that kept going through my mind was, “God has a purpose and there is a reason this has happened.”  As hard as it was for me to not be discouraged, I stayed in prayer and continued to seek God’s purpose for my life. I was able to get on the plane on Saturday and start my journey to Moscow.

Showing up to work the day after I flew in was tough but it was such an incredible feeling to be “home.” The excitement, love, support, and dear hugs I received from faces I have missed was such an amazing way to be welcomed back to Moscow, to Hinkson. Teacher in-service was the rest of the week and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the “Virtuous Minds” discussion among my fellow colleagues. You could definitely see the vision, the excitement, and the love for God and teaching among the teachers while we prepared for the school year to start.

Teaching second grade has been fun and interesting to say the least. I absolutely love having the opportunity to teach second grade and seeing what it all entails. The experience of children being more independent, curious, and the conversations we are able to have amazes me. I have 8 children, four of which I had two years ago in Kindergarten and four others who were at Hinkson last year. Each child is unique. I have 1 student from Africa, 2 Americans, 2 Russians, 1 Russian/American, 1 Canadian, and 1 Uzbekistan. My class is very diverse but we all come together every day to learn, to love, and to serve our God!  

Our theme verse in Elementary is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understandings, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.”

I am so very thankful that I serve a God who will always direct my path even when things seem so uncertain and we cannot see the clear picture as to why things are happening the way they are. We must learn to Trust Him and not do things on our own!

Prayer Request :
My Uzbekistan students’ family can receive their visas to make it to Russia to start school.
My class as they adjust to the changes of being in second grade.
Our school, staff, students, and families.

When a door Opens.... go through it

       When I came home from Moscow, I knew it wouldn't be long until I went back, but I didn't expect it to happen as fast as it did. In the 401 days that I have been home, life has taken me through many obstacles and accomplishments that I wouldn't trade for anything.The accomplishments have reminded me that my hard work and commitment has paid off. The obstacles have taught me to have more faith and to keep pressing forward, not to give up. This is exactly what I am doing by returning to Moscow in August of 2015.

I have been contacted from different people at the school in Russia to return this Fall. During each conversation, I repeated over and over again that I was unable to return for a couple of years due to financial hardship and support. The thought of returning never left my mind. I wanted to return desperately, I prayed about it religiously, but I also had to continue my life here and focus on work to survive. After applying to the school system here, I received another email from the director about returning... instead of jumping the gun to say, "I can't" I read the email intently and prayerfully. Through the entire email, I cried. My heart was set on going back but the deep emotions of leaving and knowledge of support I had, tore me apart.

After days of skype calls, conversations with those closest to me, praying, budgeting, and making phone calls to obligations I had here, my decision was made. God was opening doors left and right, it felt so right. I continued to pray up until the call and email I made to my director to confirm I would be returning to Hinkson in the Fall of 2015.

Even through the 401 days spent in Florida, through the obstacles, accomplishments, friends, family, 3 jobs, a house, and car, all things paid off well. My dream that I never stopped believing would happen again soon, happened! As hard as it has been in the past month figuring all the details out, I know this all happened because it was God orchestrated. The faith, strength and courage I have gained is all because I serve a God bigger than any obstacle and He is in the middle of every accomplishment.

Hinkson Christian Academy in Moscow, Russia, will once again be my home away from home!


Prayer Requests:

• Monthly Financial Support
• LOI and Visa documents on time 
• Traveling Mercies (August 8)   

Riding the Roller Coaster

April ended just a quick as it came. It is the middle of May and I have been extremely busy. There hasn't been many moments that I have actually had time to just sit and breathe (unless I was sleeping). We are now on the downward slope and its going to be a fast ride! As the end of the year rolls around there are many things that happen at the school as well as in our own lives as we prepare to wrap up another 10 months in Moscow. I am going to give you a quick summary of what has happened so far in the month of May.

On May 2nd, we had a half day at school because that evening the staff at Hinkson were being appreciated as staff members. The school paid for all of the staff to go on a Ghezl River Boat Cruise down the Moscow River! It was absolutely beautiful. Everyone was dressed so fancy, and we were able to see downtown Moscow at sunset! I will never forget the beauty of God's creation even in a fallen world! We celebrated going through accreditation again and doing well and we also celebrated the time and service those staff whom are leaving have given to Hinkson! Another bittersweet moment of being a part of Hinkson and having this year be my last year. My weekend ended by me administering the SAT early Saturday morning and ending the day with a great picnic with our English Cafe group at Kolomenskye Park! It was a great afternoon of fun, laughter, food, and games! Thank God for wonderful friends.

The next weekend was probably the most eventful weekend I have had in a very long time. 7 of the Hinkson women including myself decided to take a trip over to St. Petersburg. After a long day of work on Thursday and a farewell party for me and a couple other teachers, we headed out on an overnight train to St. Pete. The train ride was approximately 6.5 hours. We arrived in St. Pete at 6:30 in the morning and we were on the go until 3:30 the next morning. We slept for about 5-6 hours and were on the go from 10am until 10 Pm when we headed to the train to make our way back to Moscow. In a total of 40 hours and 20 mins we slept for 6 hours but managed to seen about 10 sights in 34 hours. Our feet were killing us and we were exhausted when we returned to Moscow but it was well worth the trip, even in the rain!

When we got back to work it was also going to be a busy week. I had a field trip with my kiddos to the Moscow Zoo. It was a beautiful sunshine day and the kids really enjoyed seeing all the "smelly" animals! At the end of the week we had our last Elementary Music Program and the kids rocked it! They looked great, they sang beautifully, and they remembered all their parts and motions! Thank you Ms. Siwak for a wonderful performance! It was definitely "Oceans of Fun."

There are now 18 days until I leave this place that I have been able to call home to head back to my home in Florida. There are many emotions that are full of nerves, excitement, and sadness. Through all of the emotions I am trusting that God will continue to provide for me what I will need upon my arrival in Florida but also that I can say goodbye well and adjust back to the culture! I would like to ask for prayers from all you of as the next 2 weeks are going to fly by and be full of emotions but also that I can have a safe return to Florida in June!!!

Where did the time go?

March?? Nope it is now April... Wait, when did that happen? Time is something that just keeps on ticking even when it seems other things take forever to come or go. The time here in Russia has just been flying by without anyone really noticing. It doesn't seem possible that it could be April right now but then again, it has been a very busy eventful couple of months. Everything from, Spirit week, Men's Day, Dr. Seuss Day,Valentines Day, Women's Day, English Cafe's, ACSI Team coming, Spring Break, and many more has made the month of April arrive much sooner than we were expecting. Maybe we didn't notice because the fact that even though it is April the weather has been cold and off and on with snow showers. Just when we think to ourselves, "yay the sun is out and it is getting warm," the dark clouds roll in and snow dumps on us. I do not believe the sun knows how to work here. It shines but that doesn't mean there is heat that radiates from it.

As I sit in my apartment staring out the window at the beauty that the sun brings to Moscow, I think about everything that I have to get done at school and at home before I can depart from this beautiful busy life and return to the states. The things that I ponder actually crack me up and to think that not many people in America will even understand kind of makes me sad! I will miss the public transportation, I will miss the daylight hours, I will miss the scenery, I will miss the snow (maybe not the length snow stayed but the snow in general is beautiful), I will miss my work place, the people, the fun 1st time moments, the adventure, I will miss many things about Moscow. To think that in 7.5 weeks I will be on my way back to America leaves a bittersweet feeling. Everything I have learned here will stay with me, everything I have gained will be near to my heart always, and everything that frustrated me while I was here- I am sure I will miss at one point.

The last 7 weeks of teaching at Hinkson will be dear, happy, and sad. I think about the lives I have touched and how my life was touched and blessed by many others. As much as I missed home, my family, my friends, sunshine, and Florida - I wouldn't have traded the last 2 years of my life for anything! Where else can you go and get squashed and pushed out of the metro at rush hour? Where else would a babushka yell at you for not wearing your scarf when it is 40 degrees F outside? Where else would you go through 4 cement doors and use 4 different keys just to get into your apt? Life here was very interesting, weird, funny, cold, irritating but it was also a new life experience, a great adventure!!!

Here is something I want to leave you with today... As we are approaching Easter, I have been teaching my littles the story of Easter and what it means. My very inquisitive kiddos have had so many conversations and questions about this story it blows my mind. It reminds me that, no matter where in the world we are from - Africa, America, or Russia (all the cultures of my kids) We all serve the same God who lived and died just for US. We are special to Him, He died for us, and He wants us to live for Him!!! It is our job to go and teach this story to all people of all cultures and to celebrate His life and Resurrection!!

The last thing I will leave you with... As I sat at my desk while my students where finishing their Bible worksheet, I typed quickly the conversation they had among themselves.

Student A - What color was Jesus Cloth when he died? Purple Right?
Student B - No one knows, ask him when you get to Heaven.
Student B - When we die, Satan will die and go to Hell.
Student A- But he is already in Hell.
Student B - But how?
Student A- Satan can get into our bodies and make us bad….
Student B - Yea that is why God put him in Hell to stay out of our bodies so we can be good and go to Heaven.
Student C – Jesus is Awesome.

Happy Easter Everyone!!! 

A little bit of my Heart

My whole life had been in shambles from things like: my dad being a severe alcoholic, a car accident that almost killed me, being sexually abused, my sister dying at a young age, my mom going into depression, and the end of my junior year in high school-we were being evicted from our home. This really rocked my world because this meant I had to change schools going into my senior year, quit soccer, not go to church, and everything else I loved. I decided at this point it was best for me to leave my parents and find somewhere else to go, I had no idea where I would stay, how I would eat, how I could finish school and survive. I looked to God in the midst of the nasty storm in my life and He took care of me. For the next 8 years, although I was taken care of, there still seemed to be uncertainty in my life.  I really started to lose faith around this point because I never thought I would get out of this circle of my life. I had a youth pastors spouse tell me that I would never be anything. That I would turn out just like the rest of my family, unmarried, pregnant, a drug user, and a drunk. I began to believe this and because I was always told these things and lived in it, I started to believe it and acted on it. I did many things I regret ever doing but in doing these things I learned I wanted nothing more to do with this part of my life and I could be better than this and I would show everyone that I was capable!! I still bounced house to house, I had to say goodbye to many of those who truly cared about me as I left to go away to college alone, I had no idea how I could manage to pay for college, live on my own, work, and study. Through it all, God never left my side and in 2011 I graduated college, something I always dreamed of but never thought I would have the chance to succeed! I did it and I did it for me! Even after college, life was still rocky, I still bounced around, I still was unsure how I could live, but again, God opened a door to a teaching job and I survived one more year without my parents or all of those negative people in my life. Throughout all this time, I always wished my parents would come around and want me, to want to be a part of my life, but my hopes were always crushed because they only wanted my money (what little I had) and when I didn’t do what they wanted, they would yell, cuss, and tell me how horrible I am. I never wanted to hurt anyone but I knew I had to do this for myself. I knew I couldn’t turn back to their lifestyle. I was very active in church, made wonderful friends, and my life continued even through the pain I suffered from daily.
God had much bigger and better plans for my life and it was laid upon my heart to really consider teaching overseas. Before reality even sank in, I was on a plane heading to Moscow to start a life there. My whole world was about to change, again. I was unsure how I was actually going to handle it after reality sank it and jet lag wore off but God knew what he was doing and exactly what I needed in my life! Moving across the ocean into the total unknown all alone was extremely frightening. It was rough living so far away from people that I loved and a church that had always been there for me through all the storms. I must say, that in all my years of heartache and change, being here in Moscow I have felt so much more encouragement and sense of belonging that I have ever felt. I am accepted here for me and it is a great feeling to have. I had many rocky moments my first year in Moscow but I made it through with Gods continual guidance and faithfulness. I am now ending my second year in Moscow and I am preparing how to say goodbyes once again. I am prepping for yet another change in my life. I don’t know where life is going to take me. I don’t know where I will stay, how I make it once I move home again, but the one thing that is still constant is Gods love and Faithfulness through it all. God still continues to show Himself to me in all of the storms and changes of my life, it is my job to trust and obey what He is calling me to do.
I am not good at goodbyes, I never have been. I keep telling myself, “the more I do them, the easier it will get.” That is a lie! It will never be easy to tell my true friends and family goodbye or until next time. I have met some amazing people here in Moscow that I can call family and I know I can always call on them. As I begin to process all of this “change” that is about to happen, a lot of pain along with happy memories rise to the surface. I will miss Moscow very much, maybe not all the cold and lack of sunshine, but I will miss the love, support, encouragement, and friendship! I believe that my being here in Moscow has brought me to be a different person with a new perspective. I am going back home a new changed person with a better understanding of who I truly am! Being here in Moscow, I have found ME!!!

The New Year has Begun

Snovym Godom! As it is pronounced in Russian, Happy New Year! Fireworks boomed throughout Moscow from approximately 10pm-6am. It was one of the longest nights I have witnessed here in Moscow. Just when I think I could roll over and fall asleep, huge flashes of light would come through my window and the sound would startle me awake! Although I didn't get too much sleep it was a beautiful night! For the first two weeks of January we were still out of school for the Holiday break! I stayed home, enjoyed the peace and quiet since my roommate was gone away to a camp. I did my favorite things; cleaned, watched movies, cleaned some more, and enjoyed being able to skype with home as much as I wanted to. It was a glorious time.

January 7th is Russia's Christmas, I had the opportunity to go over to my bosses house and have dinner and play games with their family. It was a great night, I was introduced to new games! What great fun we had! The following Friday was a busy day but it ended with great fellowship at our directors house for dinner and games. If you haven't noticed food and games are a very common interest we all have here at Hinkson. :) Our Christmas break was coming to an end but we were all very anxious to get back into the swing of things at school. I was especially excited because I was getting a new student, A GIRL! YAY! That now makes for 6 boys and a total of 2 girls in Kindergarten class this year!

The first week back was an exciting but extremely exhausting week back. There is nothing like having to retrain your kiddos every little thing from how to get dressed to go outside to write your name on your paper!! It also amazes me how much dynamics of the classroom change when you add one student or even if one student is absent. Boy, has it been an interesting start to the new year. The rest of January seemed so very busy and exhausted as we were battling issues in Kindergarten, trying to finish Curriculum trak for our re-accreditation, meetings galore, tutoring everyday after school, and also trying to keep up with my own things at my apt. It seemed so busy and overwhelming that I turned around and February had arrived so soon!

February arrived and was quite a happy but rushed start. February started off quite calm but as we sat in our staff meeting it became very busy and overwhelming to write down all the dates on the calendar. The calmness of February has ended and the hoopla of stuff is just about to begin. This coming week we have Spirit Week; Twin Day, Wacky Tacky Day, and Character Day. Followed by Valentines parties, finishing Curriculum trak completely, Winter Break, 100th Day of School, Mens Day, and Dr. Seuss Day! I believe that February, already being a short month, is going to pass right before our eyes. I am prepared as much as I can be but the prayers are very much appreciated for our whole staff team as February is a very crucial cram month! Re-accreditation is vastly approaching here in March and there still is a lot to be done!

I still must say that through all the chaos of things happening at school and around us, our staff has been incredible at uplifting each other and helping in any way possible. I am blessed to be a part of the staff here at Hinkson! God is using each of us to serve the school and the students/families that we come in contact with on a daily basis!

Who gets a break??

            Since my last posting, I don't think I have actually stopped moving long enough (until now) to think about what to write next. The hoopla of Holidays and end of the semester at work completely took over my life. The end of November came and went in a flash. Mostly I remember having 3 Thanksgivings in 3 days, one with Kindergarten, one with the staff at work, and one on Thanksgiving with wonderful friends. Being able to share stories, love, and laughter with amazing people in my life is truly what I am most blessed by.

Not long after Thanksgiving ended did we start preparing for Christmas. On Saturday December 7, we had our annual Staff Christmas Party. We all dressed up, enjoyed the company, had wonderful food and fondue, and sang Christmas Carols together. The weekend couldn't have been better hadn't I gone to church on Sunday and Ice Skating. Some friends and I decided it has been too long since we have ice skated so it was time to go out. Now if you know me (klutz) it was going to be a long interesting night. We arrived to Gorky Park and after the wait in the bitter cold, we finally had our skates and were ready to tackle this fun. Well you dont need all the details so we will just say, it was a blast! We skated, laughed, sang songs, tried dancing in our skates over the lite up ground, sat by a fire, and fell.

The last two weeks of school for the semester were crazy busy and filled with excitement at the same time. We held the Elementary Christmas Program this year with no music teacher, I tutored almost every day after school, I lost my voice, there were meetings galore, decorating for Christmas, preparing Parties, and there was shopping for Christmas. We ended the second semester very well. We sang Happy Birthday to Jesus at our Christmas party in Kindergarten and that was the kiddos favorite part. It is so wonderful to see the love of Jesus in my classroom and to think that I get to be there teacher. Since Christmas Break started, I have been busy doing something everyday. Is it really a break for me?

I ask myself if it is a break and when I look at my calendar I would say no but I have to say, even though I am busy everyday, this Christmas break may not be about me at work from 8-6 but the fact that my focus over break is to spend quality time with friends here. Time for me to step away from the business of life at work to regain strength and energy but also to focus more on the Reason for the Season.

December 21, the annual HCA Family Christmas Service. What a great time to worship and fellowship with our HCA Family the birth of Jesus and this Christmas Season. Sunday at church was the kids Christmas program, although we are an international church and people are always coming and going, we had about 6 kids learn songs in English and sing for the congregation, it was beautiful. Afterwards, I enjoyed lunch and games at a friends house. Christmas Day approached quickly, at first I was bummed about not being able to come home for the holidays or at least visit my friends in Italy but I began to see how truly blessed I was to be able to stay here in Moscow with my new friends and family. My roommate and I stuffed each others stockings with fun little things and we enjoyed building two puzzles and watching Christmas movies the whole Christmas day! The day after Christmas, some friends and I decided to rent a limo and ride around the City of Moscow and see all the beautiful Christmas lights! Oh what a glorious time we had singing Christmas songs in the limo, seeing the lights, and building relationships and memories together.  

Christmas is over for Americans but in Russia Christmas isn't until January 7. I get to spend New Years Eve on Red Square this year and then celebrate Christmas again, Russian Style! I am praying for you all back home or wherever you may be. I know Christmas is over but something we should always remember is why we are here. The true reason for everything is because of the birth of Jesus, because without his birth there would be no death. Be a blessing to someone else and in return you will be blessed!!