Help!

I'm in need of some help. I am so thoroughly bored by the websites that I check on a daily basis. I'm tired of the same dull news and e-mail and facebook. Do you have a fantastic website that you're addicted to that you wouldn't mind lending me so that I too may discover it's joys?

Eat the Book

I've been attending UCM (Union Church of Manila) for the past two months partially for the Sunday service but mostly to be able to dig into the Word during the Sunday School time each week. It has been an incredible experience and I have so valued the knowledge and expertise of the people who are teaching. Each month is a different module. So, last month, the first month I attended, was "Bible Interpretation for Regular People" taught by a seminary professor. Very interesting. This month, taught by another seminary professor is "Five Books and God's Chosen People: The Pentateuch." I am learning so much! Have you ever looked at the Creation story like this?

Day 1: light (day)/darkness (night) Day 4: sun/moon
Day 2: waters of heavens and earth Day 5: fish/birds
Day 3: dry ground(land)/waters (sea) Day 6: animals/humans
Day 7: rest/Sabbath

Look! Have you ever seen that the days match up? Day 4 fills the Day 1 creation. Day 5 fills the Day 2 creation. Day 6 fills the Day 3 creation.

It has been so incredible to see the narrative story of God and His people. I am continually challenged to read the Word. And, let me let you in on a secret, I might be starting to like the Old Testament. It's been a while since I've read the OT without cringing at the violence, especially the violence against women. It has been so refreshing to read the Bible through a different lens!

You deserve a real entry...

You deserve a real blog entry to accompany the funny things that I see.

I've been back from Kuala Lumpur for 2 weeks now. It has been an absolute mad-house of trying to get caught back up and staying on top of life. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed my trip to KL. The city itself, the few parts of it that I saw, were absolutely beautiful. The food was so delicious! I am a bit embarrassed to admit that I did eat on more than one occasion in the food court of malls but, in my defense, the food there was to die for. The food courts are this amazing amalgamations of foods representing nearly every ethnic background in Malaysia. I ate Indian, Indonesian, Mediterranean, and Malay. Beautiful. I really cannot wait to go back!


The conferences that I attended were incredibly insightful and have already changed the way that I am teaching. I spent my first 2 days at an AP Literature and Language conference. Mary Ellen Ackerman is an incredible teacher. She was so right-on with so many things she said, techniques she uses, and suggestions for improving our teaching. I would love to attend a whole-week seminar. I feel like there's so many more things I can learn from her. However, those two days really solidified my thought that I am wildly unprepared to be teaching classes like AP Literature or Language. I need to do much more reading before I can guide students through that level of reading and work.

The three following days were the EARCOS conference. I couldn't believe how many teachers were there from all over Asia. I was in awe at meals when I would listen to the travel stories of these international school educators. They've been everywhere! Who knows what my future holds but it sure would be fun to have some my own vivid stories of Africa, the Mediterranean, Europe, South America.

And overall I was proud of myself for traveling to a city, to a country that I'm totally unfamiliar with. I didn't know the language. I didn't know so many of the customs. I didn't know. And during the week that I was there, I found my way around on public transportation. I visited places on my own. I survived for the week.

Speaking of survival, don't get me started on how I survived the airline that I flew. Oh my goodness. In the future, if I ever fly that airline again, I will be paying for express boarding. Express boarding? Yes, the airline is a general admission airline. No assigned seats. They look at your ticket when you walk into the terminal. When you pay for express boarding get to go first. For the general public, the rat race starts when it's nearing time for departure. Suddenly a mob forms where there was no line a moment before. They call your flight and everyone rushes out the door, runs to the airplane, and claims their seat. Doesn't do a lot to show the kindness and charity of humanity.

I am so thankful for the opportunity that I had to attend this week of professional development. I really feel as though I gained so much by listening to the variety of experts and teachers like myself. What an absolutely amazing opportunity!

Definitely what I need in my life...

So I leave things many places. One of my latest "leaves" - my travel soap container. I left it at my mom and dad's house. So off to the store to get a new one because I only shower at home probably half of the time. Let me clarify that. I do shower on a daily basis. I just shower other places as well - after swimming at Faith, weekends away, etc.

Bought a new soap container. Looks like a regular soap container, right?

Look closely. Read the label.

Yes, it does read, "This is goods for those who wish to enjoy simple and rational lives." If I knew that a soap container was all I needed to live a simple and rational life, I would've bought another one long ago!

I'm in Malaysia!

I'm spending a week in Malaysia to attend 6 days of conferences in AP Literature and Language and other fun school-related topics. I got to go out last night and do a little bit of the touristy thing and see the Petronas Towers. So cool! 88 stories of beauty. Tonight is a super-touristy night at Starbucks to check e-mail, download handouts for the conference, and update my blog and Facebook accounts. Check back later in the week - I'll try to have a few more pictures and fun up on here.

It Happens...

This week has been one for the books. As a side note, I'm cancelling Thursday next week. Thursdays are the problem, I've decided. Last week Thursday night, my phone registered a number of missed calls as I came home from dinner with friends. I called the numbers back and talked to my brother's dormdad. Tim was doubled over in pain and they thought that he might have appendicitis. Kim and I hopped into the car, drove up to get him from the dorm, and brought him in to the hospital. The end of the story is that we still have no idea what was wrong with him that night. Tim and I made it back to my house at 4 a.m. after numerous tests and inconclusive results. Not really what I had planned for my Thursday night. However, we are very thankful that a week later, he seems to be doing absolutely fine.

This week Thursday, Kim joined me for dinner at our friends' home. We headed home around 7 p.m. As I was still getting stuff out of the car, Kim came straight back out of the house and said, "We've been robbed."

In hindsight, we knew that something was amiss on Wednesday night when we came home to different lights on and off than we usually leave on and off. We did a full search around the house and nothing else seemed out of order. Now, we figure that they must've cased out the house. We have no idea why they didn't just grab the stuff then but, for whatever reason, they did come back on Thursday night.

They ended up taking Kim's laptop (but not the powercord), a 110v DVD player, a backpack from each of us (necessary to hide a laptop and DVD player in), some jewelry from Kim (high sentimental value but worth just about nothing monetarily), and our sense of safety in our own home. This is the second time that Kim has been robbed in the last three years. We both are definitely frustrated and saddened by this.

Probably the most immense sadness comes from the fact that a small child was used in this break-in. Extreme poverty pushes them to do just about anything for a few meager pesos for food. Our hearts hurt as we see kids having to resort to such measures.

Please keep us in your prayers. Pray for wisdom to know how to deal with our landlord in matters like these. Pray for peace as we come home each night. Pray for this country and the poverty that influences every aspect of life here.

Sitting in the Girls Dorm

So the longer story about the flood isn't coming. I'm so sorry. It was a crazy experience that we are still digesting and discussing and recovering from. That fear was something I would never wish upon anyone. The screams of the Filipino families across the river were horrific. The terror of not knowing where Tim, Anna, and Carla were was heart-stopping. But we continually thank the Lord for His hand of protection that was on us that night and in the days following. My mom brought up pictures of Nasuli when she was here last. Just three weeks after the traumatic event, most of the brown had been replaced by green. Although the mud laid just below, the grass seemed more full and even more green.

Now, eight weeks after that night, I am sitting in the girls dorm listening to the sounds of studying. Study hour lasts for another 40 minutes and I think it might be the death of some. It is a good reminder of my previous life here. I sat at these tables, in these chairs, under these lights and enjoyed life. I wish I could tell my younger self that those problems that felt so monstrous at the time weren't so dramatic. I wish I could tell my younger self to have more fun and get into a bit more trouble. And one more, I wish I could tell my younger self to pick up something besides Christian romance novels. Agh.

We've dormsat three times now in the past two weeks. It is fun to hang out with the kids and hear their perspectives on things. Twice in the last week we've been at the girls dorm giving their dormparents just the evening off. It's a really tough job. You know - free dinner, good conversation, and an hour and half of quiet to get a few things done. My other dormsitting experience was two weekends ago at my brother's dorm. An entire weekend - Friday to Sunday - of 17 high school boys plus the dormparents' 4 kids. I love being able to help out in this way!

I promise to be a bit more proactive with my blogging. No more 1 1/2 months off.