Sunday and Monday

Alright so I failed on my first day, but I will catch up. Last week was a tough week for me and by the weekend I just felt like I needed some time away. I decided to go and hang out at the beach all day on Sunday. I went with Stacy Cawley, while her husband went to church with the kids. It was so nice just to relax and share about our weeks. I also spent some time just resting and reading. After church Dan brought the kids over and we had lunch together. Then we all went swimming together. It was great to play with the kids in the water. We also had the chance to watch some fishermen pull in a huge net. It was quite the process. I wish I would have had my camera, but it was back on the beach. This beach is amazing because during low tide the water is probably out about a half mile, so you get to walk out into the ocean. It almost looks like you could cross to an island that isn't far away, but think it is farther than I thought. After I arrived home I decided to continue my day of rest and hang out in my room watching a movie, and skyping some people. My Sundays are not all like that, but it was a much needed complete day of rest.

MONDAY
My mondays are not my busiest day so it is nice to have time to prepare for the week. I get up around 5:00 am on Mondays and try to be at school by 6:15. There are two boys that I open up a tiny little room for that has like 3 sets of weights that they can use to lift on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I usually spend some time catching up on emails or reading the newspaper online. At 7:00am a few of the secondary teachers meet together for five minutes or so to pray for the school day and any pressing things. I love starting my day out on the right foot and getting into the mindset of how can I serve the kids today. I then have a few minutes before homeroom. I am one of the homeroom teachers for the 6th grade class. On Mondays we have a secondary school assembly. We do worship together and have a speaker. Our theme for the year is Plugged In. We are challenging the students to think about what they are plugged into and how that influences the choices they make. We are then taking that and trying to give them ways to be plugged into God.

After assembly I have about 1hr and 30min of planning time, which I try to organize at least my Mondays and Tuesdays. I teach 6th - 8th grade for 40 min each on Mondays. They are a fun group, but it has been a challenge for me to teach middle schoolers. They are growing on me though and God is teaching me how to just love them right where they are at. Today I also spent alot of time inputting grades into our new online grading system.

On Mondays after school I go right to Swahili lessons from 2:30 till 3:15. I need alot of help in the Swahili department. I am not finding enough to practice so that doesn't help anything. After Swahili I go right into helping to set up for Sala Sala kids club. I will put more about this in my newsletter next month. It is such a privelage to work with these kids though and just be able to love on them for an hour and 30 min.

So that is my typical Monday. Every other monday night I meet with my housemates for a Bible study. Tonight happens to be the night for that, so I should start heading home.