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!!!