Kids Say the Darndest Things

Last week I missed a day of childcare when I went down to Branson to meet with the church-planting consultant for Mexico. When I returned to work on Wednesday, I had a few good laughs. All the kids get dropped off between 7:45 - 8:00. They free play for about half an hour, then they go potty, then we run them around the room to get some energy out. About 9:00 we sit down for circle time, talk about things, learn about numbers, letters, and read a story or something. As we were talking in circle time, about 9:15, one and a half hours after we'd all been together playing, one of the boys suddenly got super excited and said, "Miss Rachel, Miss Rachel, YOU'RE HERE!!"

That same morning, as one of the dad's dropped off his girl, he told me what had happened at their house the night before. He put his daughter to bed, and she prayed her normal prayer. But, then, she said she wanted to pray for her friends, too. So she proceeded to list all the kids in childcare, Miss Christine, Miss Edna, and the new teacher (fill-in mom while I was gone.) Her dad asked her if she wanted to pray for Miss Rachel, too. She said no, because she wasn't at school today. Needless to say, I was not prayed for that night by little Lucy. I didn't realise there were such dire consequences of missing a day of childcare! :)

I usually put my hair up, looped up in a pony tail when I'm in childcare. It keeps it out of my face & out of the way. Well, one day this week I left my hair down, straight & long. One of the little boys came in the door, "Good morning!" Then, he looked at me and said, "Miss Rachel, you put your hair on today!" And, then ran off to play with some of the toys!
This is what I look like when I "put my hair on!"

It's getting a little crazy in here!!!!

So crazy, they're going cross-eyed!!

Those 2-year old teachers are as crazy as the kids!

We've got a room full of wild characters... a lion, a tiger, a bear, oh my! And a dragon! Is that Miss Christine? She succumbed to 2-year old peer pressure and put on the dragon suit. Wanting to fit in, I tried to get into the duck, but got stuck! Haha! (The duck suit is smaller, I'm sure, than the dragon suit. I'll have to try that one!)

How would you go about teaching the letter "U"? We paraded around the room under an umbrella!!

That's about all the crazy this post can handle. How about some semblance of order & normalcy?

Ah, tranquility. Nice, quiet sticker work.

Getting ready to play musical chairs. Up until a few weeks ago, we played "nice" musical chairs. Everyone always won. We never removed chairs, everyone always got a chair when the music stopped. Now, we've moved it up a notch. We remove a chair each round, muahaha. Each round, whoever doesn't get a chair has to go sit down at their place at the table. We have to congratulate them & high five the ones who DON'T get chairs or else it's a bucket of tears we have to wipe up each time! It's good for them - teaches them that we don't always get what we want, that we have to share/take turns, etc. Good life lessons at a young age! And, it is entertaining for us teachers!

I guess I'm still a kid at heart. The simple things thrill me. I love to swing. I took this opportunity to swing doubles with this kiddo after he fell off the swing. So, as we swung we talked about ALWAYS holding on to the swing with BOTH hands or else you fall & get an owie! Consequences of unwise actions. Another good lesson for a 2 year old!

Sliding is so much fun!!

The sand box is a daily activity - monitored a few at a time. I think we'd have a mutiny on our hands if we skipped sand for just one day!

Thomas the Train is another special toy that comes out randomly with other vehicles - trains, tractors, trucks, police cars. It's another one of those "sharing" lessons that we love to help them with!

So, you can see, we stay quite busy, and at times I don't know if we're quite ourselves! But, we have tons of fun!!!

Thank you for praying for us, I know the Lord has given us creativity & patience with these kids. They truly are a joy!

Potential Partner

The big new development is actually an answer to prayer. You have been praying with me for some time now for a partner to be able to work in a tribe in Mexico or elsewhere if the Lord so led. There is a girl in the area who has just recently decided to go to Mexico to work in a tribe there. She is a teacher and is joining a team of 2 families to homeschool their kids so the moms will be free to study the language and culture of the people group. We met in December and talked about the possibility of partnering if she decided to head to Mexico. Now that she has decided to work in Mexico, we’ve talked to some of the leadership in Mexico, to both families on the church-planting team, and at this point, we are getting to know each other and talking about working together.

Her name is Katie Moore. She grew up in Venezuela and returned there as a teacher to teach the kids of some of the missionaries. However, several of the families left and she was no longer needed to teach. So, now she’s headed to Mexico.

Would you pray with us as we get to know each other in these next few months and talk through a lot of things. Would you pray for wisdom for us and that we would clearly see God’s hand working in leading us and guiding us. Also pray that everyone would be in unity in this decision of partnership.

I covet your prayers as the Lord lays us on your hearts. I feel kinda overwhelmed, as this has come together in the last few weeks rather quickly and in a way I wasn’t expecting. I was thinking I’d get to know someone before deciding to be partners. However, God has brought us together and we’re doing it backwards – talking about partnering, then getting to know one another.

Thank you all for your faithfulness to pray for me. It is a real battle out there, and our greatest weapon is prayer. Thank you to those who pray on my behalf.
Thank you also to those who give financially so that I can be involved in this ministry. I really appreciate your sacrifice, especially as we are falling on harder economic times. Thank you.
Thank you also to those of you who have encouraged me through phone calls, email, lunch dates. You’ve lifted up my spirits & let me know that people care. Thanks.

Snow Days!!

A little bit ago, we had two days of precipitation. It began as sleet, then changed into snow. We had several inches of accumulation & it was gorgoeus! Here's some pictures of the campus:
The second day was after the storm had passed. The sun came out & it made everything even more beautiful.

Looking toward the lake. Our cove was frozen out until the main body of the lake - but the ice wasn't thick enough to walk on.

Student Apartment Buildings. There are 4 apartments to each building. I live in a student apartment just like these.

Canoes that won't be used for a while yet.

Snow accumulation. So pretty.

It reminds me of God's creativity, majesty & control over everything.

Psalms says... The LORD does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. He causes the clouds to rise over the whole earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.

He sends his orders to the world - how swiftly his word flies! He sends the snow like white wool; he scatters frost upon the ground like ashes. He hurls the hail like stones. Then, at his command it all melts. He sends his wind, and the ice thaws.

He has EVERYTHING under his control! Praise Him!