2.5 Weeks Left

Buenas Dias!

It has been awhile since my last update. Things are still busy here and it is hard to believe that I only have 2.5 weeks left. I will fly back to the States on May 18th. I will be going straight to my sisters Graduation in Colorado and will be back in New Hampshire May 30th.

Where has the time gone? How is it May already? These are some thoughts that are going through my mind as I think about wrapping things up and leaving. This year has been an incredible growing year. With the help of the lady I am meeting with, I have learned a lot about myself and have grown in a lot of ways. I have also learned a lot about what it means to be in full-time ministry. I have seen myself grow as a teacher as well. So while at times this year has been extremely tough, I also know that I can look back at this year and know that I have learned so much.

School is continuing to go well. I am teaching Charlotte's Web to my class, which has been so fun. I enjoyed this book when I was young and was excited when I found out that I could teach this in my class. It has been fun to see my students pick their favorite character( Charlotte was the favorite) , to write as if they were one of the animals on the farm when Wilbur started getting all the attention, and to want to read different pages of the book in class. I have also had my students draw pictures for different parts of the book, and it has been so neat to see my students artistic ability.

In Math we have been doing division facts and seeing the relationship between multiplication and division. It has been neat to see my students grasp these concepts and to see the connection between what we have learned before and what we are learning now.

I am continuing to enjoy teaching 6th grade Bible. It has been fun to be able to teach these students about Paul as we go through his letters. My students have been asking great questions and we have had some neat discussion. This past week we read through Philemon and talked about his relationship with Onesimus. It was neat to be able to talk through this relationship and discuss the concept of forgiveness.

Basketball is continuing to go well. Our girls have won all their games within the league, which has been really fun. It has been neat to see the girls mesh as a team as the season has gone on and to get to know the girls better. At the beginning of the April our school competed in a tournament with 3 other schools. Our girls team came in second to a team from La Paz. The girls played really well, I was encouraged to see their good attitudes throughout the 3 days. One really encouraging thing happened at the beginning of our Championship games. The girls were warming up and we all got together right before the game started, when one of the girls asked if we could pray before we started. It was so encouraging to hear these girls ask for this and to be able to pray as a team together.

I am continuing to be so thankful for the friends that I have made here. When I think of leaving, the bittersweet feelings come in when I think about leaving my friends here. We have all become really close over the year and they have been such a huge encouragement to me. It will definitely be weird to not see them everyday.

As I think about leaving soon, it leads me to think about the future. I will be heading home to New Hampshire for the summer to work and continue to look for a full time teaching job. I have applied to several jobs and am just waiting on the Lord to see where he wants me. I am not fearful about it, which has been a huge area of growth. I am just applying to jobs that I find and trusting God.

Adios!! - Rachel