Somewhere He opens a window

Lots of bad news has probably been filtering your way about this part of the world. Lots has happened this fall and in the midst of lockdowns and packing evac bags, I've found the small blessings that come my way are more precious than ever. Emails and phone calls from people I rarely hear from have encouraged my heart and comforted me. Sunrises and sunsets have brought the spark of beauty and hope, even in the middle of a dark and dirty city. The hospitality of strangers has allowed me to send and recieve mail from home at a time when I was feeling especially isolated and a safe place to visit when I was going stir crazy in our compound cage.
When the doors in our lives close and we are walled in and full of fear, somewhere He opens a window...a release...a way to stand up under it.

Back in the Saddle Again

Life as a second year teacher is decidedly easier than that of a first year teacher. I'm enjoying my 16 mild-mannered third graders a ton! Here's a picture of my class and one of my students with our pet salamander named Charlie.

Summer

Oregon is one of the best places in the world to spend the summer. I've enjoyed tolerable temperatures, the Wallowa Mountains, my favorite coastal spots and fresh berries plucked from the bush and plopped directly onto my bowl of cereal. What could be better?! Here are a few highlights from my time in Oregon.

In June I ran a 1/2 marathon in Sunriver. My parents and friends Jo Carol, JD and Keri competed as well. Besides the fact I could barely walk for few days afterwards, it was a great weekend!

After the race, my parents and I headed to northeastern Oregon to spend a week and a half camping in the Wallowa Mountains. What a beautiful place! It was a treat to have that time with my parents.

Dad on dish duty!

Dad and I at our stop in the Painted Hills on our way to the Wallowas.

Montana is another one of the best places in the world to spend summer. I enjoyed old friends, made new friends, hiked, shot a rifle, played with two cute little kids and was encouraged to persevere in the Fight. Here are a few highlights from my time in Montana.

Samuel, Jarret, Sarah and I on the four wheeler.

Me and Bob out calling coyotes.

Enjoying the Dearborn River near MWSB.

As I go back, I'm unsure of what this next year will hold for me. I have peace in going but am sad to leave. Regardless of what happens, I'm trusting that I'll be Led and I'm thankful for a summer that's been filled with good gifts.

Thailand

We had a wonderfully refreshing time in Thailand! First, we spent 4 days in Bangkok at the educator's conference where I got some good, practical ideas for my classroom. I have to admit though that the highlight for me was swimming and then having breakfast by the river each morning with a good friend of mine.


After the conference, three friends and I headed to the beach for two days. We started out taking the train, but when we realized we were on the slowest train imaginable, we got off and took a "taxi" the rest of the way.

Mandy on the "slow boat" train.


With Mandy and Adrianne in the truck taxi we took to Hua Hin.


Our bungalow was quite literally right on the beach. When the tide came in, the ocean lapped at the base of our patio. We spent most of our time swimming or walking on the beach. We also climbed up a nearby hill to visit the massive colony of monkeys that live there, shopped at the local night market, and got up early to watch two beautiful sunrises.





Now it's back to work with my lovely third graders! Six more weeks of school!

Toucans, Taxes and Thailand Tomorrows

Life gets busy so easily. I feel like I'm in a continual battle with that and busyness has been winning lately. There's been little time to reflect, and therefore little time to add any pictures or thoughts to this blog. Life has been wearing me down and adding wrinkles to my face, so I've declared this weekend to be a mini vacation and I'm not doing any school work at all and am trying to relax and be refilled.
Here's some pictures from some of the things I've been doing lately:

Local Art Show: My friend R and some other young women displayed their art at a local high school recently. It was interesting to see their work and hear their opinions about politics and the treatment of women in this country. It is exciting to see that they have the freedom to do this now.


My friend R with her painting reflecting Suffi Muslim beliefs, which is a more mystical branch of Islam.

I really liked this painting. The women are being herded in one direction toward the darkness, but you can see that their faces are turned the opposite way toward the light.




Rainforest Unit: My classroom has been developing into a jungle lately. Look closely and you may even see some rainforest wildlife (besides the kids, that is!).



Our Reader's Theater "The Great Kapok Tree" that we did for the first graders. (That's a boa constrictor crawling up the tree!)


Making toucans that we hung from the ceiling/ canopy layer.


My English class (for a week) in an old, bombed out school.


An apartment building next to the school. There are lots of buildings that still look this war torn and people do live in them, even during the winter.

Winter

This place is beautiful in the winter. The white covers all the dust... at least until it turns to mud. We just got about 4 or 5 inches of snow yesterday and everything is still white. The sky is clear and blue, the birds are singing...its beautiful. When the sun is out, the cold temperatures aren't so bad. Its the cloudy days and mornings that are tough. I'm getting better at knowing how to stay warm. My classroom heaters get turned on half an hour before I go to school now (there was ice inside our windows this week!) My bedroom electric heater is rigged up right by my chair and is turned on pretty much whenever I don't need hot water (since I have to unplug my water heater to turn on my heater). I'm getting the hang of it. Tomorrow we don't have school and are planning to build snow forts and have a huge snowball fight on campus. Such is the life of teachers, especially when they are trapped on a compound! Some of you may have heard about a recent attack here at a hotel. This has us all staying close to home these days. One of our main forms of entertainment is going out to eat, but resturants are off limits for now. Winter is usually quiet here, and when I step out my door it feels subdued and calm in this city. But its a deceptive serenity. Underneath the pure snow, the mud exists and for now, we are feeling the effects of its evil intent. Please think of this land and lift it up during these winter days.

Home

I decided to surprise my parents and return to Oregon for Christmas unannounced. It worked and I made it, but it wasn't the surprise I had envisioned. Part way through my journey, I developed an unrelenting stabbing pain in my back that continued until my arrival in Portland and a subsequent trip to the emergency room. As it turned out, the leftovers of a head cold had developed into a nasty case of pneumonia. So when I finally got home, all I could manage was a weak wave to my dad before crashing on the couch, where I remained for 3 or 4 days before I gradually regained some strength. Though my break turned out very different than I had anticipated, I was thankful to be in a warm, comfortable place with easily accessible health care and a mom to make me chicken soup! Plus, our family was together for Christmas, which hasn't happened for a few years and I enjoyed seeing friends who weren't expecting me.