The Madness of March (and February)

  Hello, Sweet Family and Friends!

  It has been a long while since I have given everyone an update, and for that, I apologize! It has almost literally been two months and it is past time to let you know what is happening here in Belém.

Valentine's Day flowers from some of my students.

   February was a very tough month emotionally. My maternal grandmother passed away and I had to make the very hard decision of whether to fly back for the funeral or not. After discussing it with my mother, we decided that it would be much harder on both of us if I came back and had to leave three or four days later. My family videoed the service, so I was able to watch it via the internet later on. It was hard to not be there in person. I'm sad that I missed out on seeing cousins that I rarely see and not being able to have the closure that being there would have brought. It is still strange to remember that my grandmother is gone and won't be there when I come home this summer.
 
   February was also third-quarter midterms and Carnaval. Carnaval is basically a several-day Mardi Gras on major steroids. It's actually a bit dangerous to be out-and-about during that time period as lots of people are drunk, plus, from what we heard, a major lack of material covering people's bodies. We didn't have school during that week and I was quite content to hide in my room, deal with my grief, and catch up on some much needed sleep and time with Jesus.

The sunset during the talent show.

  Somewhere in February, we also had the "AVA's Got Talent" show. Many of the students showed off their singing, dancing, acting, and poem-writing talents. One little first grader recited Psalm 23 in three different languages! It was fun to watch the students show off their God-given talents and meet some of their parents and friends.




   March came in and decided that it should actually show us a glimpse of rainy season. It rains pretty much everyday, typically in the afternoon or early evening. Things got interesting earlier this month when the rain displaced a colony of termites who decided our apartment building looked like a good new home. There was much shrieking and running around spraying Brazilian Raid around all possible entry points of the building. Our apartment is the most air tight and we didn't have nearly the pest problems of the girls below and above us. The girls above us had termites coming in through the ceiling, along with the larvae!

Puddles forming on the playground during a rain in early March.

Kamikaze termite killed in action.

 












   The last week has been an absolute whirlwind. Last Saturday was Pi Day/Science Fair. Many students did an amazing job on their projects and an amazing job presenting them. As it also happened to be Pi Day (3/14---3.14), students were able to bring pies for a tasting contest. They could also memorize digits of pi. For every ten digits, they earned a ticket to vote for a teacher to receive a pie in the face. I am now up to 17 students and my little darlings worked hard to memorize those digits. Much to my chagrin, and their delight, I was one of the teachers that got pie'd at the end of the day's festivities. This past week has been incredibly busy with preparing grades for the end of third quarter and parent-teacher conferences this past Saturday.

Taking a break from lesson planning as I waited for the next parent to arrive.

  I've also been gone from school three days out of the past two weeks trying to procure my workbook from the Ministry of Labor so that I can be legally paid and open a bank account. When we arrived the first day, we were told that they had moved! (third time in a year!) We were given the new address, but told that they were having a cocktail celebration, so don't bother going until tomorrow. We waited an extra day and tried again, only to be told that they didn't have all the paperwork moved yet, but come back next week on Monday. We waited a few days extra again, and were finally able to procure my documents! Each time, I had to plan for two different substitutes because no one could cover my class for the whole day. It was quite stressful for me and for my students. They are so relieved that I won't have to be gone again for a while (as I am)!

   One of my favorite parts of being here is that I get to teach a Bible lesson every day. Most of my students are very open to the Gospel and often make wonderful observations and have good questions. This past week we talked about being 'born again.' One of the lessons was on the Roman Road, which spells out who needs salvation, why we need salvation, who provided it, and how to accept salvation (see Romans 3:10, 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10, 10:13). Towards the end of the lesson, one of my fourth-graders raised his hand and said, "So the Romans Road is the short story of what the whole Bible is about?" Yes! Wisdom from the mouth of babes! This week, we will be talking about what it looks like to respond to the Gospel and trying to identify if our hearts are good soil or another type as discussed in the Parable of the Sower. Please be praying for the seed of the Gospel to land on good soil and produce fruit in the lives of my students!

  March will finish out with the first week of the final quarter of the year and then Spring Break! My roommate and I have planned a vacation to one of the touristy towns with a nice beach. We hope to take in some sunshine and some cultural events not easily accessed here. We are both excited to be able to relax and play tourist rather than worry about school!

A nesting pair of toucans live on campus!