Week Nine. NO WAY!

I really, really, really can't believe that a week from tomorrow I have to tell my kids bye for the summer. Sitting here right now thinking about it makes me so sad.

I told two of the older girls goodbye today, and got a glimpse of what it's going to be like. 

It was rough, to say the least. I'm not good at goodbyes and after this past May, they don't bring back good memories at all. These kids, these people, this place has stolen a piece of my heart and I'm not ready to leave it all behind for now.

Last week was a ton of fun with my kids.

I am so blessed to have been paired with Leslie to teach three year olds.

We rode water slides with the kids on Water Day together, and then on Messy Games dug for "worms" in pudding with our faces for our kids, and let them paint our faces with pudding, whipped cream and sprinkles. It ended up being so much fun, and days that I probably won't ever forget. MY GOODNESS, I LOVE MY THREE YEAR OLDS!

Saturday. we had a nice short staff meeting, and got our last lesson plans checked for the summer. Sunday. some of us went to lunch with our supervisors. It was alot of fun. They are constantly wanting to get to know us more than just them being our bosses, so time with them laughing and relaxing was really great. Sunday night. We went camping.. Lake Tahoe style. 

Some of the girls had been wanting to go and since it was our last free weekend, we decided to go. It was so nice to spend a night in God's creation, laughing our heads off with friends :)

Monday morning. our last Monday off. we woke up to a pancake breakfast made for us fireside by the wonderful youth pastor here. We headed to the beach for our last day of getting sunburnt. This was a different beach than usual, and it seriously looked like the Caribbean. The water was so beautiful, and just reminded me of how fortunate I am to be spending my summer in such a beautiful place.

Monday night I took up my first Tahoe babysitting job. I went with another missionary because there were four kids. The view from the house we went to was breathtaking. The house was lakeside, and it made for good viewing once we put the kids to bed :) That night, the mom had alot of questions for us about what we did, and what we were learning this summer. It was a really neat experience to be able to share since it wasn't apparent if the lady was a believer or not.

Tuesday began our second to last week with our kids. 

pretty good day with the kids, and i'm getting to teach kindergarteners in the afternoons this week. 

Wednesday. we got to take them on a field trip to Kids Zone nearby.

It was a small children's mueseum, and needless to say my kids loved it.

I enjoyed watching them have fun.

Today was a good day. The other teacher was gone on a field trip with the older kids, so I had a different missionary than normal teaching with me, but she did a great job helping :)

However, it has hit me. I HAVE FIVE DAYS LEFT TO SPEND WITH MY KIDS. 

That is absolutely crazy! As I had one of my kids sitting with me today in timeout, after talking to him about what had gone wrong, I asked him to come and sit in my lap, and I got all teary-eyed sitting there holding him, thinking about leaving this place. The same thing happened Sunday, with Camille, my little friend with cerebral palsy. 

At the same moment, I tried to make Jett's little small three-year old mind understand how much God loves him. It sounds crazy because I'm finding out more and more every day that not even I have any idea how crazy he is about me! His mom has some problems, and I hate it so much for him. I explained to him that I have to punish him when he doesn't listen because I love him, and then I asked him if he knew how much more than that God loved him. He kept telling me over and over again how much he loved his mommy, and I explained as we watched the birds hopping around that the same God that made those birds loved him SO much. One minute I was upset with him for not listening, and the next I was having a heart to heart conversation with him. Moments like that make every annoyance and frustration my kids may bring completely and totally worth it.

Another God moment from last week.

I had an opportunity to share Christ with a little 5th grader in my afternoon class. 

She asked how I knew that God loved her after I wrote her a note that said God loves you.

I explained that I knew because he died for me, and after asking how we knew that was true and questioning some more, I told her that I wouldn't have come across the United States to spend my summer out here for no reason at all, but that was the exact reason I was here. This moment remains so near to my heart, as well as this child. After talking to some people, I figured out that what she was saying was a direct result of her mom. I ask that you pray for Alexsandra, and that she will cling to the seeds we have been able to plant in her life.

I feel like I'm at a really low point tonight. The whole single digit countdown thing has got me down big time.. (Even though a cute little boy at BigA today from Memphis made me miss Tennessee a little bit). I have so much on my mind. I am having to remember everything I've learned all summer about trusting God this week. I'm honestly dreading going back and making this huge change in my life that is known as MTSU. I know God has a plan for me there, and Im just having to seek that out so much right now. 

So..

Pray for strength for the next week saying bye. It's going to be one of the hardest yet.

Pray for peace about returning to a new life at home.

Pray for strength to hold on to everything I've learned this summer, and not let that go.

Thank you for keeping up continuously, and the next time I update may be when I'm back at home. Tahoe City. Summer of 2009. will NEVER EVER be forgotten. Praise God!

I'll close with a song that is on my mind right now... 

Third Day. Take My Life.

How many times have I turned away
The number is the same as the sand on the shore
But every time You've taken me back
And now I pray You do it once more.

Chorus:
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
to give it away to You Jesus

How many times have I turned away
The number is the same as the stars in the sky
But every time You've taken me back
And now I pray You do it tonight.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Im on week five on Big A Club. It is SO hard to believe.

This summer has went by WAY too fast, and Im not ready for it to end. 

The past week has been good, but so eventful. 

The fourth of July was AMAZING out here. 

Seein

g fireworks out on the lake gave me even more of a reason to fall in love with this place.

That Sunday I was able to get some much needed relaxation and then go to LivingStones in Reno for church that night. Worship there is always such a blessing!

Monday. the girls and I got to lay out on the beach most of the day.

and finished the night out with Marlise. a church member. coming to cook us fried chicken for dinner. Southern Comfort Food is always a blessing out here :)

Tuesday began another week of BIG A. Even though these are usually are biggest days, and toughest.. I love Tuesday mornings. getting to see my kids for the first time since Friday, and being tackled about 50 times by three year olds... doesn't get much better.

Tuesday was fantastic food fun. fun, fun, fun.

Wednesday brought on an eventful but super fun day.

Since all the other little kids got to go mini-golfing this day, and we didn't because I have the youngest.. we got to do an Easter Egg Hunt this day. Needless to say, my kids absolutely loved it! It was precious, and more space to move around in the church allowed us to get to play with shaving cream that day as well. Very fun for them!

Thursday. I got to go to Wild Island waterpark with the older kids. Big A Club takes three trips to Wild Island in the summer, a

nd they divide it up so that the missionaries all get a chance to go. I always work with the little ones, so spending time with some of the older kids was a lot of fun for me. Forrest, one of my new favorites is 14 years old, and has Aspergers. I was able to spend quite a bit of time with him this day, and his reaction while we were going down water slides together was absolutely priceless. I wouldn't trade that moment for the whole summer.

We all have an hour of wave pool duty during our time there to watch our kids. I was dreading this time all day, but it ended up being a lot of fun. and I got to hang out with some of favorite boys in the deep end ridin waves :) As if this day couldn't get any better.. 

I had told my parents that I would be in Reno at Wild Island when they landed in Reno. They used their GPS system and showed up outside the gate when we were lining our kids up without me expecting it. Supposedly, my reaction was priceless, and I have to say.. I was pretty stoked to see them! I ended up getting to ride back to the church with them since 

there was extra help on the field trip. I finished up the afternoon at Big A, and we went to Brian and Ruth's house for dinner. Our team has come to love this couple so much over the summer, and we love spending time with them. Not to mention, the AMAZING food :)

Friday wrapped up a busy week. My kids got to do pottery painting today which they liked alot.

Friday morning my parents got to come see our opening ceremony and meet a lot of the kids I have poured my heart out to over the summer. That was really neat, and I think they enjoyed their time with my children and my team alot :)

Friday night, we were slow at Parents Night Out and I got let go early to go with my parents. I spent the night relaxing in the hottub

 with my sister catching up on the past seven weeks, and got to bed early that night. thank the lord! At 5AM the next morning, we were Yosemite bound. 

We spent Saturday driving around just adoring God's creation. It was alot of fun, and the sites to see were incredible. After a long day we drove to a town called Mariposa, California and called it a night. The next morning we were up and at it again and on our way to San Francisco. Having family devotion on the way in the car was good as always, and I loved being able to share a little bit of what God has shown me this far with my family :) San Francisco was a ton of fun, but it makes me appreciate the slow country life after being there three days in two weeks. haha. Monday morning, we headed back to Tahoe City after staying in Vac

aville Sunday night. Kaitlin and I got to parasail over Lake Tahoe, and i loved every minute of it. The view was absolutely beautiful, and I think I can officially say that I've gotten to do everything out here that I want to for the summer now :) I took my family to a lakeside restaurant for lunch, and then we did a short hike to finish off their time with me. Saying bye to them again wasn't the easiest thing I've ever done, but three weeks is gonna come way faster than I want it to!

I knew it would be hard taking everything I've learned this summer and applying it to the real world, but my parents coming out here gave me a huge chance to start doing that. I realize I still have a lot of growing, stretching and toughening up to do before I fly home, but God is definitely at work still, and it absolutely amazes me. 

Today, we started week 5 of BigA. Absolutely unbelievable.

The numbers of my three year old class today was 24 children! 

If that's not incredible, I dont know what is. 

This is the biggest number that we've had, and while its such a blessing..

It was a tough day to say the least. When the numbers are bigger, we have to be more careful,

and everyone seems tense. It's those days that I learn so much more about who God has made me, and how much more he can do through me than I often think. I learn to rely on him for absolutely everything, and that he REALLY can do anything. And as if i haven't learned enough, It's not about me at all. 

So.. Here's to a week of Water Day, and Messy Games Day, and hopefully more love than I've ever given away. Time is running out so quickly and it breaks my heart every time I think about telling my kids bye. Pray that God will ease that situation, and allow me to have the energy to give 110 percent the rest of my time here :)

Be Blessed, and thanks for keeping up with me all summer!

He must increase. I must decrease.

Tuesday began week three of BIG A Club.

Really? Time is flying by way too incredibly fast here.

Tuesday morning began an incredibly eye opening experience for me.

I was sitting in my music class with my kids and we learned a new song that day for our musical.

The words are "It's not about me. It's all about you, Lord. It's not about me. It's you I want to please. It's not about me. It's a

ll about you, Lord. It's all about you. You are my king. I'll go anywhere, anytime, do anything. Whatever you ask of me, that's what I'll do. It's all about you. He must increase, I must decrease. All myself I put aside."

As I was sitting there with my three year olds, and our numbers kept getting bigger and bigger for the day, I couldn't help but to be completely humbled. 

HOW ABSOLUTELY AMAZING IS IT WHEN GOD SPEAKS IN THE MOST UNEXPECTED, BIZZARE WAYS!

I laughed at this moment with Debbie later on, because we had 22 kids in my class that day after that. May not sound like a big number, but 22 three year olds is alot! We made it through the day, and instead of being afraid at big numbers like that anymore.. I see it as time for these children to hear about Jesus. I am constantly learning that I am much more capable of what I thought when I first came here.

Our numbers after that were 17, 16 and 9. Fridays are always low. but the other three days. 

WOW. God is up to something. We haven't had numbers that big since I've been here, including Carnival Day. 

Frisbee hat parade was a hit among my class:)

Wednesday started off well. We had a really good team devo this morning, and I was able to open up and share with my team how I had seen God at work this week. Much different than when I was at home, I haven't been very emotional since I've been here. BUT on Wednesday, as I began to pour my heart out, the tears came right along. Sitting back and watching what God is doing here, and how he is changing me is so incredible. Today was a great day with my kids. Even with 17 of them running every direction at once :)

Thursday. 

My kids got to play with the parachute today during Rec and I absolutely loved watching them. Three year old recreation is a tough one to plan, but this was definitely a hit. I have some ADORABLE pictures from this. One of the highlights of my day was Rory Buckton on the playground. This kid has the potential to make me smile pretty much anytime. As he went through his whole family telling me their full names, I told him my full name. He answered with, "That's a weird name for a beautiful girl." I asked him for a hug right after, and he said, "No, but you can have a tiss." He might be one of the most precious 4 year olds I've ever seen.

In my Aplus class this week, I had preschool. Tuesday was kind of a disaster. They have TONS of energy, and very little attention span. It's weird how fast Im learning to adapt for that though. Thursday I taught them again, and it went VERY well. We went on an imaginary hayride outside and I think I enjoyed it more than they did. Acting like a complete goofball, using my extreme imagination, we rolled in the mud with the pigs, milked the cows, and one boy even threw a rabbit across a field. :) I laughed alot during this, needless to say. 

It really is awesome to see how much more confidence the Lord has given me when Im teaching these kids. Instead of being intimidated by it, it makes me excited now. I see it as an opportunity.

Thursday night, we had staff meeting so we could have the weekend off. 

Usually these are long and not so fun, but it wound up being not so bad. 

We sang our musical songs as a team f

or Debbie to prove that we know the words to teach the kids, and I seriously died laughing. Hearing the class by class updates was really encouraging, and I love seeing how our team is progressing. These 13 girls who were complete strangers are nothing short of my Tahoe family now. I love them so much and it seems we keep growing closer and closer every day. 

We were reminded how little time we have left here, and everytime I hear that, it seriously breaks my heart. Im not ready to leave Tahoe, but Im pretty sure that time will never come.

Im falling in love with my class more everyday, and the people of this community constantly win my heart over :)

Friday. The end to a GREAT week.

Long day, as every Friday is, but still a blessing :)

Nerd Day. Once again, these themed days are more fun for the staff than the kids sometime I think. haha. 

Our bible story today during Big A was a huge encouragement.

Called, "The Man who Remembered," it was about remembering to Thank Jesus.

After I finished telling the story, and asking questions, getting the kids involved, 

one of my little girls who has been to BigA twice asked me if I could tell it again.

I was so excited! Of course, I told it again, and my kids seemed to remember alot from the first story. Moments like these are HUGE blessings :)

Debbie showed me a video today of

 my baby, Seth, jumping on his bed singing one of our songs from our musical. I seriously was cheesing the whole time, and ran to hug him right after.

Its moments like these when I realize that when I go to bed on Friday night absolutely wasted of energy, that its completely worth it. 

 

As I said in my previous entry, his family is Jewish, and they are listening to their CD about God's love at home! :) Not only that, I try every day to get him to participate in music, by dancing with him or telling him to sing and he NEVER does. I was seriously blown away when I saw this. The video is absolutely precious, so Im going to share it with you guys.

Go to..  http://sharing.theflip.com/session/dc4c887c0a22106f1026c338625a155a/video/4888829

to watch it. You HAVE to. 

I keep telling my team that Im going to have a whole wall in my apartment of Seth Rosen. If anyone asks, I have a new love, and its this kid. He melts my heart every day. 

I asked him yesterday if he wanted to go to Tennessee with me, and he said yes. Too bad he has no clue how far away that is. Another precious thing his dad told us.. He came in his Dad's office the night he was singing his songs

 and said I have songs in my bellybutton. Push it to hear them. :) :) I think we'll all never forget that quote.

In afternoon Aplus on Friday, the numbers were really low because of the holiday.

Most of the missionaries got to take on the task of sealing the wood all around the church. 

If only you knew how much there is to do, but its all about the kingdom. and of course, we made it fun. For all those people that say we're not suffering out here. I have pictures to prove it :)

                                 

Reilly and I with our raggedy ann dolls. When I showed her mine, her reaction was priceless.

Compared to last week, everyone on my team is healthy again which is a praise.

But it seems like a lot is going on at home with some of our teammates. 

Pray for their families health and safety and peace for them to be able to focus on the reason they are here.

Pray for humility for me, as I seem to be learning and seeking that so much lately.

Pray that I continue to really take advantage of my time here. It's running out so fast!

Tonight we are celebrating the 4th with team time on Commons Beach on Lake Tahoe watching fireworks. Should be a good time :)

Mom, Dad, and Kaitlin are coming out to visit next weekend. Pray for their safety.

Im SO excited to show them around up here. and to go parasailing with Kait out on Lake Tahoe :)

I'll leave with the quote of the week..

"Love and Serve. Go and Tell. Follow Him."

I pray that this is